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Into the Unknown

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Hello and welcome. I'm Joseph Hoffman
and today with help from my friend Olaf,
we brought my piano all the way up to
the kingdom of Arendelle
so we could learn how to play "Into The Unknown" from Frozen 2.
Queen Elsa, what an honor.
Mr. Hoffman, you must leave. Arendelle is no longer safe.
We need to go to the enchanted lands and,
♫into the unkno--♫
I know! I was just about to teach
everyone how to play "Into The Unknown."
You know, your song?
If you stay, you could be swept away by magic whirl winds, or crushed by stone giants.
Do you want that?
Well, how about we learned the song first, and then leave?
Okay!
Hi Olaf!
Great, then let's learn how to play..
♫"Into The Unknown"♫
All right, "Into The Unknown" has a rather
unusual time signature, 12/8.
Now, if you already are very familiar with what
12/8 is, feel free to skip ahead.
Otherwise, let me give you a real quick
explanation so you know how to count these rhythms.
12/8 is actually very similar to 4/4.
In 12/8, instead of 4 quarter note beats, you
get four dotted quarter note beats.
Everything kind of becomes dottified
in 12/8.
And, the reason for that 12,
is because when you split up each of these
dotted quarter notes into eighth notes, you actually get twelve of them.
Twelve eighth notes per measure,
but we don't count all twelve because that
would be: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10..
We just still count this as the beat.
1 2 3 4,
but inside each of these beats we get three little subdivisions.
1-&-a 2-&-a 3-&-a 4-&-a
That's part of the exciting rhythm of this piece.
So you're going to be seeing a lot of these dotted quarter notes.
Remember, each one will get 1 beat.
You also might see dotted
quarter rests. That will also equal 1 beat.
If you see a dotted half note,
that will get 2 beats in 12/8,
and if you see a dotted whole note
that will get 4 beats.
So again, everything kind of has become dotified.
It used to be that a half note would get 2 beats.
Now a dotted half note is getting 2 beats, and a dotted whole note is getting 4 beats.
If this all seems confusing,
don't worry, I'll walk you through it in the music.
So for example, down here in the sheet music, this dotted quarter rest that's beat 1,
and then beat 2 can take up
both of these.
Here's beat 3 on that dotted quarter note.
Here's beat 4,
then here's a dotted half note which is 2 beats: 1 2
A dotted half rest gets 2 more beats. 3 4 and then 1.
Now, if this is all too confusing don't worry, I'll guide you through, and you can always just
listen to the original sound track and learn the rhythms
by ear, and just match what you
hear on the sound track,
but for those who are like music theory nerds like me,
I kind of like to know what's going on
with the rhythms, and now you know what 12/8 is.
Let's come to the piano and start playing.
So to start off, we're going to need just these three
notes on the piano. Here's my middle C,
and I recommend that you use right hand fingers 1 2 3, remember your thumb is 1.
So just use those three fingers on E-flat F and G-flat.
and in your sheet music, you'll see all these flat symbols,
and that's just a reminder
that you'll be on one of these black keys.
Start off on the G-flat, and I'll
use finger numbers to try and guide you.
This is that mysterious voice that Queen
Elsa is hearing
We have: rest
♫Ah♫
And in finger numbers that's:
3 2 3 1 Now you try.
Good, and then we have rest, rest, rest, and then we hear it again.
♫Ah♫
3 2 3 1
Your turn.
Good.
After that, your right
hand is going to move down nearer to middle C
On E-flat F G-flat A-flat B-flat
Using fingers 1 2 3 4 5
So, let's just try putting your fingers
in that position.
Mostly on black keys. Your only white key is with finger 2 on this F, but go ahead and move it up
near the black keys, so it's more
comfortable like this.
So find this position let's just try playing all the notes.
1 2 3 4 5
Now you try.
Now those are the notes you'll need for your right hand.
Your left hand is going to be playing some middle C's every once in a while to help with the melody.
So go ahead and place your left hand finger 1
one on middle C.
So these are the notes
we're using for this next section,
and we have: ♫I can hear you♫ In the right hand
that's: 1 1 2 1
Your turn.
Then we have rest, rest, and the left hand plays
♫but♫, comes back to the right hand
♫I won't♫
Using finger 1 in both hands.
Left hand 1, right hand 1 1
♫but I won't♫ Your turn.
And then going on, the
right hand starts on finger 3.
♫Some look for trouble♫
Finger numbers it's: 3 2 1 2 1
Now your turn.
Rest, rest,
and then left hand again, ♫while♫ and
then right hand ♫others don't♫
In finger numbers, left hand 1, then right hand 1 2,
back to the left hand.
♫while others don't♫
Your turn.
Rest, rest, rest,
♫There's a thousand reasons♫
Finger numbers are: 1 1 5 3 2 1
Now you try.
Remember, if you just kind of let your
fingers rest in this position,
it will be a lot easier to know which note to play. You know, don't let your fingers wander around, just kind of
keep them resting on these keys.
♫There's a thousand reasons♫ And then we have this rest.
♫I should go about my day♫
In finger numbers that's: 2 1 2 1 2 3 1
Lots of back and forth between 2 and 1.
2 1 2 1 2 3 1
Now you try.
Another little eighth rest.
♫and ignore your whispers♫
In finger numbers that's:
1 1 5 3 2 1
Now your turn.
Little eighth rest.
♫which I wish would go away♫
In finger numbers that's: 2 1 2 1 2 3 4
Your turn.
And then we had this, ♫Oh♫
3 2 1
Now your turn.
Now let's put that together.
♫which I wish would go away. Oh♫
Now pause the video at any time you feel
like you need to stop and practice some of this,
and know that I'm doing this in
the same key as the original soundtrack.
So if you want to play along with Elsa
as she sings this with the original recording,
this key that I'm playing it in will match her singing,
so you can play right along with her for more fun practice.
Now once we get to this point,
then our right hand's got to go back up
to these three notes to play
the mysterious voice.
♫Ah♫
Okay, now your turn.
And then Elsa is going to sing this ♫Oh♫,
and in the left hand you're going to use your finger 2, and just cross over to that D-flat.
Finger 2 on D-flat,
and then finger 1 plays the C.
♫Oh♫ Now you try.
Good, then we hear the mysterious voice again. ♫Ah♫, way up high,
and then rest.
We come back down and Elsa's singing again, and we're going to be back in this same position.
Okay, E-flat F G-flat A-flat B flat. Only one white key,
and our right, sorry, our left hand still finger 1 on C.
♫You're not a voice♫
2 2 1 1 Now your turn.
Then left hand plays three notes. ♫You're
just a♫ and then 'ring-'
for 'ringing', the right hand plays one note. ♫You're just a ringing in my ear
So your right hand and left hand are just taking turns ♫You're just ringing in my ear♫
Now you try.
Then finger 3 plays.
♫and if I heard you, which I don't♫
Now in finger numbers that's: 3 2 1 2 1
Left-hand: 1 1 1
Now your turn.
And you might notice that Elsa when she does 'which I
don't', she kind of just speaks it: 'which I don't.'
So if you don't want to play there
and just speak it that's fine,
but if you were singing it, that's probably the note
she'd use.
Going on: ♫I'm spoken for♫
So 'I'm spoken for', your hands just go back and
forth. Left, right, left, right.
♫I'm spoken for♫ Now your turn.
Then ♫I fear♫ is just right hand finger 2 on F,
then left hand on C ♫I fear♫ Your turn.
Let's put that together.
♫I'm spoken for, I fear♫ Your turn.
Okay, now for just a moment your right
hand is going to need to shift up
with fingers 1 2 3 on these three black keys.
G-flat A-flat B-flat, and your finger 5
is on D-flat. Your finger 4 doesn't
really need to do anything in this section.
So go ahead and find this position. Fingers 1 2 3 on these three black keys. Finger 5 up here,
and that gives us ♫Everyone I've♫
In finger numbers that's: 3 5 2 1 Now you try.
Good, now after that, our fingers are
going to shift back
to the position we've been in the whole time, with the
E-flat F G-flat A-flat B-flat.
♫Ever loved is♫
And that's 4 3, sorry, 4 5 3 1. Now you try.
Now the trick is smoothly being able to shift from this position to this position
Without a pause. You have: ♫Everyone I've♫ shift ♫ever loved is♫. You've got to just kind of
glide down right in the middle of that phrase.
3 5 2 1 shift 4 5 3 1
♫Everyone I've ever loved is♫
Pause the video and just practice that
measure a few times
until you feel comfortable with that shift. Then press
play to go on.
In the next measure we get: ♫here within these walls♫
In finger numbers that's: 2 1 2 3 1
Now you try.
Let's put that all together.
♫Everyone I've ever loved is here within these walls.♫
Now, pause the video and work on that section, then press play to go on.
Next we have a
rest, and then 'I'm' with finger 1,
and then finger 3 is going to glide back up
to this position,
this slightly higher position.
♫I'm sorry, secret siren, but I'm♫ and you'll notice
those are the exact same notes we played
just a couple of measures before, okay, with that same
shift
♫I'm sorry, secret siren, but I'm♫
Okay, and then in the next measure finger 2 is back on this F.
♫blocking out your calls♫
Let's practice that. That's: 2 1 2 3 4. Now your turn.
Let's put that together with the measure before.
♫I'm sorry, secret siren, but I'm blocking out your calls.♫
Now, pause the video and work on that section, then press play to go on.
So, your hand's been back in this position
but now we need one more shift,
and we're going back to this position we had before, and I said your finger 4 wasn't doing anything,
but now it does get to do
something. It's going to be on this C
For: ♫I've had♫,
and that's 3 on B-flat, then we step up to this C.
♫I've had my adventure♫, and your left hand is finally
getting to do something other than just play this one C.
Our finger 2's going to be on this B-flat.
So our right hand plays B-flat C with 3/4.
♫I've had my adventure♫
In finger numbers that's: 3 4, then left
hand 1 2 1 1. Now you try.
Good.
Now our right hand is going to come back down
to almost the same position we've
been using for most of the songs so far
with one change. Now instead of this G-flat, we're going to be using a G natural.
Which is just regular G.
Let's go ahead and find that position with your right hand. Black, white, white, black, black.
Left hand still finger 1 on the middle C. Finger 2's on the B-flat.
And we have: ♫I
don't need something new!♫
Left, and then right, left, left, left, right with finger 2. Now
your turn.
♫I don't need something new!♫
Then,
we have two left's again: ♫I'm afraid♫ and on '-fraid' use finger 3 on the G. ♫I'm afraid♫
Your turn.
And then left hand again ♫of what I'm
risk-♫ and on 'risk-',
your finger 4 is on that A-flat. ♫Of what I'm risking if I♫
Now you try.
♫of what I'm risking if I follow you♫
And on 'follow you', your finger 5 is on
the B-flat, ♫fol-♫, and step down to A-flat,
step down to G. 5 4 3
♫follow you♫ Now you try.
Now let's put all this together we have:
♫I don't need something new! I'm afraid of what I'm risking if I follow you♫
Now notice how the right hand keeps stepping up, and the left hand stays on this C.
We have: 'I don't', with finger 1. ♫need something new!♫
Now we're on finger 2
♫I'm afraid♫ now we're on finger 3, ♫of what I'm risk-♫
Now we're on finger 4, ♫ing if I follow you♫
Then we finally make it up to finger
5. So just kind of notice that pattern.
Press pause and work on that section,
then press play to go on.
Now we're finally to the chorus!
♫into the unknown♫
So, for this your right hand plays three notes on E-flat.
♫into the♫
Then left hand finger 2 on B-flat,
then right hand finger 5 on B-flat.
♫into the unknown♫
And then you hold that for 4 extra beats
tied to 1 more beat,
and then rest.
♫into the unknown♫
And for this one it goes even higher, so you're going to have to scoot your fingers up
Finger 5 on C, finger 4 on B-flat.
Okay, so listen to those two together:
♫into the unknown♫ 1 2 3 4 1 rest.
♫into the unknown♫ 3 4 1 rest.
Okay? Pause the video and work on that section, then press play to go on.
Great, then we get: ♫into the un- ♫ Now
we've got to move way up high: ♫known♫
Okay, so you're going to move your finger 3
up to this E-flat.
Finger 2 and 1 are on this C and D.
♫into the un-♫ shift up ♫known♫
Okay,
pause the video and work on that shift up
up for that ♫into the unknown♫
Pause to work on that, then press play to go on.
And then we get the mysterious voice
again, so move back up to these three notes.
E-flat F G-flat, with fingers 1 2 3.
♫Ah, ah♫ this time they come a little bit closer together.
Okay, now you try. Let's play together, go:
♫Ah,♫ again, ♫ah♫ 1 2 rest rest, and then our
right hand is going to come down.
Now we need fingers 2 and 3 on A-flat B-flat, and our finger 1's going to be on this F.
So it's kind of these three notes.
♫Are you out there?♫
2 3 3 1, now you try.
♫Do yo know me?♫
3 3 3 1, now you try.
Now we're going to need our left hand. Our finger 2 of left hand's going to come up to this E-flat.
♫Can you feel me?♫
So it's just right hand: ♫Can you feel♫, then left hand on E-flat. ♫Can you feel me?♫ Now your turn.
And then: ♫Can you show me?♫ Now we're 3 4, on B-flat C. ♫Can you show me?♫ Now your turn.
Let's put that all together. So we have:
♫Are you out there? Do you know me? Can you feel me? Can you show me?♫
Pause the video if
you like to work on that section
Otherwise, let's go on.
You'll notice in
the sheet music at this point all the flats
are going to go away for a little
while, which means we're going to be on the white keys.
So our right hand is
going to take this position on A B C D E.
This is when Elsa starts singing with the
voice,
and finger three starting on C we have:
♫Ah♫
And then the voice echos, so Elsa's
going to hold that note
while the voice echoes with finger 5 ♫Ah♫
So watch that again. Elsa sings: ♫Ah♫. The voice: ♫Ah♫
Okay, kind of tricky because you're holding
this one note down which is Elsa,
while the voice sings this part up high.
In finger numbers it's: 3 2 3 1
5 4 5 3
Pause the video to
work on that, then press play to go on.
Then, after that we get:
♫Ah♫, and then they
join together: ♫Ah♫. You'll notice it's a 5 3
going to a 4-1
but first we have this
3 2, then 5 3, 4 1,
♫Ah♫ Then another 5 3
Okay, so watch all of that. We have: ♫Ah♫ 5 3 4 1
5 3
Okay, pause the video if you want some time to work on that,
Otherwise, let's keep going
Now, Elsa and
the mysterious voice are
going to be singing in thirds.
Now, you know, this is like a little kid way to
play, so don't do it this way.
I'm just showing you that these notes are all
going to have exactly one note in between,
but you're going to use finger 1 3
2 4
then back to 1 3 then 3 5.
Doesn't that sound nice?
♫Ah♫
♫Ah♫
♫Ah♫ They do that three times.
Okay, now this
can feel a little tricky. If this is too hard for your fingers to do,
your left hand can help
like this:
You could just do your left hand with the A and the B,
and your right hand with this,
but if you're up for the challenge,
you can do it all with one hand.
It's actually kind of a good finger exercise, okay?
Pause the
video if you want some time to work on that section.
Otherwise, let's go on and now you're going to shift up just one note, so now fingers 2
and 4 are on C and E.
and then on that last chord we're
coming to the interval of a sixth.
A and F,
♫Ah♫ And then you hold that for 3 beats,
and then rest.
pause if you want
some time to work on that,
otherwise, let's keep going.
So now we're to 'Where
are you going?'
Left hand finger 3 is coming to this D.
So now your left hand's
in this position we're going to need
really just these three notes for this
section with fingers 3 4 and 1,
and your right hand is going to be here
we're gonna need a G
and a B-flat with fingers 1 and 3. ♫Where are you going? Don't leave me alone!♫
With the left hand it's: 3 4 3 1 3
That's: ♫Where are you going?♫
Now you try.
And then in finger numbers remember that's: 3 4 3 1 3, and then 'Don't' is:
1, and then the right hand plays 1, back to the left
hand 1, back to the right hand 1.
3 on B-flat. So all together we get:
3 4 3 1 3 1, 1 in right hand, left 1, right
3
Okay, now pause the video and work on that
section, then press play to go on.
Getting close to the end now.
the left hand now needs fingers 2 and 3,
and we're going to shift to D-flat and E-flat.
♫How do I?♫
Now you try.
And then the right hand is going to use
fingers 2
and 5 on A-flat and D -flat. These two keys with fingers 2 and 5.
♫How do I♫ rest, ♫follow you♫
Okay, let's try that together. Play with me, go, left hand
♫How do I♫ rest, ♫follow you♫
And then we have 2 beats of rest: 1 2
♫into the unknown?♫
Now the right hand is going to come back. We just need a G and C with fingers 4 and 1.
♫into the unknown?♫
Now you try.
Then you hold that 4 beats.
♫into the unknown?♫ 1 2 3 4
and then
for a nice dramatic ending, the left hand is going to come down to this low C and G chord.
While the right hand comes up to high C.
So, ♫into the unknown?♫ 1 2 3 4
And that's the end.
Now, let's try putting
the whole thing together from the top.
1 2 3 4
1
1 2 3 4
2 3
1 2 3
1 2 3 4 1 2
3 4 1 2
1 2 3 4
1 2 3
2 3 4
1 2
2 3 4 1
Now remember, this is in the original key
so if you want to try playing along with Elsa, go for it.
I've left out one of the verses, but you can try and figure that out on your own.
I've tried to include most of the important parts of the song.
So, have lots
of fun playing the melody to "Into the Unknown."
Uh, oh, tickling someone!
Uh, oh,
a back massage!
Oh, oh you're like a computer guy typing on the computer.
No, I'm you playing the piano!
Ohh.