Matt
Matt
Ma-- Matt
Matt is here to give you an easy
tutorial for the "Original Pokémon Theme Song".
Let's go to the piano and check
this one out.
Before we begin, it's important to know that this is just an
excerpt of the music.
We're going to be starting using the pickup notes in
measure sixteen going into measure seventeen.
You can find the sheet music in the link below
in the description
Great, let's learn the entire right hand
for this song.
To start, I'm going to show you the position we'll be using very frequently for this.
It looks sort of like an F position where all of our
fingers are on white notes except we're
going to stretch our thumb down to E
instead of F.
Creating a position that's made up of E G A B and C.
Find that position and remember it, because we are going to go back to it a few times in this song.
To start, we're going to have to learn our pickup measure.
To count this out correctly, I'm going to count 2 beats of rest,
and then a half beat
of rest and come in on the & of 3 like this:
1-& 2-& 3-&
1-& 2-& 3-'Pokémon'
Let's move on to the next measure and talk about the
rhythm that we're going to see.
This rhythm sounds like this:
1 2-& 3 4
Rest, 2-& 3 4
Once you have that rhythm down, we can add the
notes to it. It'll sound like this:
Rest, E E G A
Once you've practiced that a few
times, we can move on to the next measure.
Let's start with the rhythm one more
time. This rhythm will sound like this:
1 2 3-& 4-&
Practice that a few times and then we can talk about the notes.
This measure is going to have our first position change.
We're going to start in our
sort of funny-looking
position with E and G spread out skipping the F,
but halfway through the measure we need to move down
to a standard C major
pentascale.
So let's practice starting here, and then
just very quickly moving to a C major position.
The most important thing is
that we get our pinkie on this G because
that's the first note we're going to
play when we move to our new position.
Here are the notes:
G A G E D C
I would
practice G A G,
and stop, making sure that you play that second G with your pinky.
G A G
Once you have that down, you can add the rest of the notes.
G A G E D C
Nicely done.
Let's check out the rhythm for the next measure.
We'll start with a rest, a
half rest, and we'll come in on the & of 2.
This is what this rhythm will sound like:
1-& 2-& 3-& 4
Here it is again:
1-& 2-& 3-& 4
At this point, we'll have moved
back to our first position
with our 2nd finger on G.
Here it is with the notes:
1-& 2 G A B C
Practice that a few times, and then move on to the next
measure.
You'll notice that we have a skip in this next measure.
We will need to move positions though because we already have the skip in our funny-looking position.
the rhythm sounds like this:
like this 1 2 3-& 4-&
Here it is with the notes:
B A G E G A
Nice!
Once we have those four measures
we could try putting them together.
Here it is all together.
1-& 2-& 3 E G A rest
E E G A
G A G E D C rest,
rest, G A B C
B A G E G A
This time try playing along with me.
I'll count you in by giving you 1 2 3,
and then we'll come in on the &
of 3 with our thumb E note.
1 2 3 E G A rest,
E E G A G A
G E D C rest,
rest, G A B C
B A G E G A
This is a great
opportunity to pause the video
and practice anything that you didn't get
the first time.
Pause the video, try it a few more times,
and then unpause the video when you're ready to move on to the next four measures.
Got it? Awesome. Let's move on to the next
four measures.
We'll start with the rhythm of the fifth bar. Sounds like this:
1 2 3 4
This rhythm is pretty easy, just make sure that you hold out the half note that comes in on beat 2.
Don't release it too early.
For this part,
we're going to need to shift our hand.
I'm going start with my pinkie on A, and
play both of these A's with my pinkie like this:
1 A 3 A
Just like that.
For the next measure the rhythm will sound like this:
1 2 3 4-&
For these notes, we're gonna have to stretch our thumb
one note down so you'll notice that I'm
going to play these next few notes with my
4th finger,
my 2nd finger and then I'll stretch my thumb down
to get C. Just like this:
4 2 1
but then at the very end of the measure,
I'll scoot the rest of my hand down to C
major position so that I can do this
stepwise motion that completes the measure
Like this:
4 2 1 1 2
G E C C D
try that a few times with the very small position shift until you have it down.
Let's move on to the third measure.
You'll notice that this measure is a little bit more complicated than the
other measures,
so make sure that you practice counting out loud while
clapping until you have this rhythm down.
Here's the rhythm:
1 2-& 3-& 4
One more time,
1 2-& 3-& 4
Pause the video and clap along while counting out loud if you need to.
Here
are the notes:
You'll notice that we're in the C position that we just ended our last measure in.
Here are the notes along with the rhythm.
E E D C E
this note is
tied over to the next note,
so we're not going to replay the E in the next
measure, we're simply going to hold this
E that we just played on count 4 for
two extra beats like this:
E E D C E, hold, hold,
and then we're done.
Nice job! Let's
try adding in the final measure.
Because we're holding that E from the last
measure, I'm not going to clap on beat 1.
I'm simply going to clap on the &
of 3, 4, and & of 4,
just llike the very first notes that we learned in
this song.
1 2 3-& 4-&
Let's add those notes in.
1 2 3 E G A
Awesome,
Let's try putting these four measures together.
We're going to start with our A on beat 2.
These four measures together sound like this:
rest, A A G E C
C D E E D C E hold, hold
rest E G A.
Try pausing the video at this
point and practicing along.
Once you have the rhythm down,
a really fun way to make sure that you have all the notes, is try singing along.
Use
the lyrics from the original song as you play the notes on the piano like this:
'Oh you're my best friend, in a world we must defend.' Hold, hold.
Off, 'Pokémon'.
Great! If you need
another chance to play that, press pause,
and try it a few more times on your own
before moving on.
Once you're ready to play the next four measures, unpause the video.
Awesome, let's take a look at these next
few measures.
We'll start with the rhythm like we have been doing
on, 'gotta catch
them all'. This rhythm sounds like this:
Rest 2-& 3 4.
These notes are going to
be using the position that we have been
using since the beginning of the song.
Where our thumb is on E and our pointer finger is on G like this:
Rest, E E G A
Great! Let's try clapping the rhythm of the
next measure like this:
1 2-& 3 4
Notice here that the A on the & of 2 is tied
to the A on count 3.
We're not going to play another A on beat 3.
Let's add in
those notes.
G A A G
Let's try clapping the rhythm of the next measure.
Lots of eighth notes,
and a few weird syncopated beats in there, so make sure that you count and clap along.
1-& 2-& 3-& 4
1-& 2-& 3-& 4
Pause the video, clap and count
if you need to.
With the notes, this measure will sound like this:
A G A A B C
Nice job.
For the fourth measure of this
section,
we can clap the beat,
but it won't be as hard as the other ones
because we're just going to be clapping
on beats 1 2 and 3 like this:
1 2 3
With the notes this measure will sound like this:
B A G
Once you feel like you have all of the notes and rhythms down for this section,
we can put these four measures together to sound like this:
rest, E E G A G A A
G A G A A B C B A G
Nice work! If you need a few more times
to practice this, pause the video at this point
and try it a few more times on
your own before unpausing and moving on to
the final section of music.
Nice job. It's time to move on to the
final section of music
which will split into two, three bar sections rather than
one, four bar section.
This first rhythm is pretty easy
it's just quarter notes.
1 2 3 4
With the notes, we'll be putting our
thumb on F instead of stretching down to
E like we have been for the other parts
of the song. Like this:
F C C C
The next measure is also pretty easy. The
rhythm is just counts 1 2 and 3.
1 2 3
We'll hold out that last note into beat
4 though, even though we're not
playing on beat 4.
With the notes it sounds like this:
G C C
For this third measure, the rhythm sounds like this:
1 2 3 4-&
Take a look at those
final notes on this measure.
You'll notice that we have both a B and an A
that we're going to be playing at the same time.
this last measure will sound like this:
C C C B
I'm going to say B here because if you
can't play both those notes at the same time,
it's more important to play the B
than to play the A.
But try to play both of them at the same time when I say B for this final note.
C C C B
Nice work. Let's try putting these three
measures together.
Ready go,
F C C C
G C C
C C C B
Pause the video and practice a few more
times if you need to
before moving on to the final bit.
Instead of putting our
thumb on F, we're going to stretch back
down to E like we've been doing since
the beginning.
You'll notice that this first set of notes at the beginning
are tied over to the notes from before so we won't play those.
We'll instead count
beat 1 as if it was a rest, and then play on beat 2,
like this:
1 2-& 3 4
Here it is with notes:
1E E G A
The next measure's rhythm sounds like
this:
1 2-& 3 4-&
With notes it'll sound like this:
A E E G A C
For this video we're going to jump right to the end of the song.
If you purchase the sheet music that goes along with this,
you'll notice however that
there is a first ending with four extra measures.
Feel free to learn those on your own if you want to extend the song to its full length.
To end the song, we
are going to play an A on beat 1
and then we'll play 'Pokémon' on E G and A
just like we've been doing for the rest of the song.
The rhythm sounds like this:
1 2-& 3
With the notes it goes:
A E G A
Here are those final three
measures all put together.
Rest, E E G A
A E E G A C
A E G A
Nice work!
Let's try playing this entire right hand from the very beginning.
I'll count you off by
giving you beats 1 2 and 3
and you'll come in on the & of 3.
Take a minute to review any notes before we start,
and we'll sing along as we play
through the entire right hand of this.
1 2 3 ♫Pokémon♫
♫Gotta catch 'em all it's you
and me♫
♫I know it's my destiny, Pokémon♫
♫Oh you're my best friend in a
world we must defend.♫
rest, ♫Pokémon♫
♫Gotta catch 'em all a heart so true our courage
will pull us through♫
♫You teach me and I'll teach you♫
♫Pokémon, gotta catch 'em
all gotta catch 'em all, Pokémon♫
Nice work! If you just wanted to get the
melody you've done it!
You can pause the video and come back for the left hand later.
If you're ready to learn the left hand so we can put everything together, keep watching.
the left hand of this song is relatively easy,
so we're going to
learn it along with the right hand.
For this first measure we're going to play an F
with our pointer finger.
It'll go right on that rest that we used with our right
hand, like this:
♫Pokémon♫ F
Practice that a few times until you have it.
Once you have the first note you can add
the rest of that measure.
F
These are whole notes, so don't just play them.
Hold them out for all 4 beats before moving on.
For the next measure, we'll add
a C with our pinkie.
When playing hands together, it's going to be really easy to forget some of the position changes that
we added in with our right hand, so make
sure while you're holding that C
that you don't forget to move to C position
partway through this right hand part.
Just like the beginning, we'll put an F
where we had a rest right on beat 1.
1 2-& 3-& 4
For this last measure we'll play
G with our thumb like this:
Once you think you have all those notes,
try
playing these first four measures hands together like this:
♫Pokémon, gotta catch
'em all it's you and me♫
♫I know it's my destiny, Pokémon♫
If you need a few more tries, pause the video now
and try it a few more times on your
own before unpausing and moving on.
For this next section,
let's take a look at these notes right away because the rhythm is pretty easy.
We're going to start with another whole note,
and we're going to start with an A using our pointer finger
We were just in C position, so it's good
to practice crossing your pointer finger
over your thumb like this, because that's
what we'll be doing in the song when we
put all the measures together.
Pointer finger to A, and everything moves up.
Let's try it together with the right hand.
A
A ♫Oh you're♫
Now our thumb is in position to play the B for the next measure.
Let's try putting that together with the right hand.
Once you have that part down, we can
move on to the rhythm for the next part.
The left hand rhythm is a little tricky
at first because we're going to be coming in
on beat 1 with the C, which
we've stretched down for,
and then D on the & of 2. The rhythm sounds like
this:
1-& 2-&
Another way to think about it if you have the right
hand part down already,
is to simply play a D in your left hand at the same time
you play a D in the right hand.
Like this:
E E D
E E D
Those two D's will line up.
Here's the whole measure together.
Let's check out the notes for the final
measure.
We'll move up a skip.
Let's put our pinkie on E, our thumb on B,
and our
middle finger on G-sharp.
We'll start by playing E on count 1,
B and A together on
count 2,
and then B and G-sharp together on count 3.
1 2 3
Remember, we're simply holding that right
hand note from the previous measure,
so when we're practicing this measure all
by itself, we won't play that E,
we'll simply come in on the & of 3 with Pokémon
Here's this measure hands together:
Practice that a few times and
make sure
that you're coming in on the & of 3 with your right hand.
It's easy to come in late and accidentally play on beat 4.
1-& 2-& 3-& 4-&
Nice work! Let's put those four measures
together.
Nice job! Let's check out the next four
measures.
The left hand won't have any complicated rhythms just whole notes,
but we will have a few extra notes to deal with this time around.
Let's put our
middle finger on F.
This F will play on beat 1 while the right hand is resting.
F
For the next measure I'm going to stretch my thumb up to B.
the reason I'm
going to do this instead of starting in a different position
is because we'll
eventually have to reach down to this D
later on, so I'm going to prepare our
hand for that.
We can simply stretch our thumb up to B for this
while also
playing G and our pointer finger.
This will happen on beat 1 while our right
hand plays G.
Now we can stretch back down
and play A with our thumb at the
same time our right hand plays A.
Now I'm going to stretch my thumb back up to the B
we were just on before,
but I won't be playing a G below.
I'll play this B at the same time as the B plays in my right hand.
Let's try these all together. While the
left-hand F is all by itself,
you'll notice that our left hand plays
a lot of the same notes as our right
hand at the same time.
Nice work. Pause the video and practice
it a few times if you need to
and then unpause it when you're ready to move on.
For this next section,
we're going to start with our pinkie on D.
Our left hand
will be in the same position that we
were just on previously so we won't have
to be moving it around too much.
This D will play at the same time that we play
the F in our right hand.
Just like our right hand moved up a step to G for this
first note of the next measure,
our left hand will also move up a step from D to
E. Here it is hands together.
For this next section we're going to be playing
C's at the same time,
so I'm going to need to move my left hand down a step.
Let's play these hands together.
You'll notice that we move to D on count
3
at the same time that we play the second C in our right hand.
This is a
good opportunity to practice the downbeat of the next measure,
because
we're playing 4-& in our right hand
and then immediately landing on beat 1
with our left hand.
Here is the measure we were just playing with the downbeat added from the next measure.
Try that a few times before moving on to
the next measure.
It'll make it a lot easier to put everything together.
Awesome, let's try these next three
measures that will finish the song.
We have our 3rd finger on E coming in on
beat 1,
while our right hand is holding the chord from before.
We won't play it, but we will have to hold it over when we are playing everything together.
Awesome!
For this next measure we'll play F with our pointer finger,
and G with our thumb
on beats 1 and 3.
Our G's will play at the same time
while our F starts on
beat 1 along with the A in our right hand.
Just like we did before, because we
have a 4, and an & of 4, and then a 1,
this is a great chance to practice
the downbeat of the next measure while
we're still working on this measure.
Let's add a single right hand A
on the downbeat of the next measure to finish
off this section.
Once you've practiced that a few times we can move on to the final part of the song.
Our left hand is going to move down to low A
and play three A's in a row that line up with our final 'Pokémon'.
We'll go, A 'Pokémon'.
Let's try putting these three final
measures together,
starting on E while our right hand is holding out
these top two notes.
Nice work!
Once you have all the notes and rhythms,
we can try it hands together.
We'll start from the very beginning, but take a
moment to pause the video and review any notes,
rhythms, or position changes that
you need to before we start.
Once you're ready to start, get in position and I'll
give you counts 1 2 and 3.
We'll come in on the & of 3 on 'Pokémon'.
1 2 3
♫Pokémon, gotta catch 'em all it's you and me♫
♫I know it's my destiny, Pokémon♫
♫Oh, you're my best friend in a world we must defend, Pokémon♫
♫Gotta catch 'em all, a heart so true, our courage will pull us through♫
♫You teach me and I'll teach you♫
♫Pokémon, gotta catch 'em all, gotta catch 'em all, Pokémon♫
Nice job!
Oh look! A funny bird licking Pokémon.
I'll just weaken it
with my own Pokémon and catch it for myself.
Hello!
Gahh!
Ahhh!