Please Help Me

[ltdixon]

I know that there are a lot of experienced musicians in this forum.  Would you please help me to get over my fear of chords and all that goes along with them.  I have been playing for about 5 years and I only know how to sightread music.  I want to learn how to play by ear and I know that I am going to have to further learn those chords that I have been avoiding.  So if there is a way, could you please help me to avoid my fear for learning and playing around with chords.  I really want to make beautiful music that everyone can sing and I know that the basis for that is learning the chords of the song.  I really need a good boost. To anyone who can help, thank you in advance. :oops:

[4hisglory]

I think that the was to learn to play by ear is to learn the funtion of chords.   The way in which I am learning myself is to learn progressions.  First learn the I IV V progression and then start on the ii V I.  And most of all, if you don't understand something, ask questikons to get understand and don't give up. God Bless.

[MinMarcus]

Playing by feel helps too. Most of our modern chords call for others. Like a 1-3 move, most of the time calls for a 6, then that chord mostly calls for a 2 then a 5, and most 5 chords alway call for 1. Play these and then you can kind of get a feel for how those chords feel too. Especially when playing a dramatic piece. When I started, I just played what I felt, then when I started to understand how they not only sounded but felt, then I could branch off to other types of expressions and combinations to make my own expression. Grace and peace...

[BBoy]

Do you know the beauty of playing in private? No-one can hear your mistakes!  :lol: Might sound strange, but it's true. I would say start a bit with what you know, for instance, you know a basic CEG triad, right? Well, of course a C chord in the left would do well. Experiment with other simple chords in your left hand . . . see what you like and what God shows you. Also, experiment with tone clusters, you know those notes that normally don't sound pleasing by themselves but paired with the right supporting chords add warmth and texture to the music. I'll just guess that you know more than you know . . . I, too, played by written music for years and thought that those chords I heard in church were scary. But, Bach used tone clusters all the time . . . fear makes things look more difficult than they actually are. So go forth and make your mistakes . . . just learn from them! Be Blessed . . . BBoy