| It's no secret that professional piano players use | | | | of the 3rd. |
| techniques that amateur piano players don't. So what | | | | 7: Chord Substitutions. Harmonizing songs using |
| else is new? Professional golfers use techniques that | | | | different chords than the traditional ones. |
| amateur golfers don't use (at least not very well), and | | | | 8: Voicing in 4ths. Stacking chords in intervals of 4ths |
| pro ball players use techniques that sandlot and | | | | instead of 3rds. |
| weekend athletes don't use -- or again, not very well. | | | | 9: Turn-Arounds. A chord progression that turns you |
| So it's not surprising that professional piano players | | | | around, like a cul-de-sac. |
| have some tricks up their sleeves that the rest of us | | | | 10: Introductions. Creating a front door for the song. |
| mortals don't have. But that doesn't mean we can't try | | | | 11: Endings. Creating a back door for the song. |
| to emulate the great pianists. We may not pull it off as | | | | 12: Transposing. Playing a song in a key different than it |
| well as them, but we sure can have a lot of fun trying, | | | | was written in. |
| and who knows? Maybe a few of us can actually | | | | 13: Modulating. Getting from key to key smoothly. |
| learn these techniques well enough to win some | | | | 14: Altering a Melody to Create a New Melody. Using |
| admiration from our friends, join a group, play for our | | | | neighboring tones to craft a new tune. |
| own enjoyment, or whatever. | | | | 15: Inversions. Instead of always playing chords in root |
| Here is a list of just a few of the technique the pros | | | | position, using a variety of "upside down" chords. |
| use when they play piano. There are more, of course, | | | | 16: Creating Original Chord Progressions. Linking chords |
| but this is a pretty good estimate of the most | | | | together creatively. |
| important skills: | | | | 17: Echoes - Rhythmic, Melodic, Harmonic. The easiest |
| Pro Secret 1: Straddles. Leaving one of more notes | | | | way to begin the arranging process. |
| out of a chord to create an open feeling. | | | | 18: Touch. The difference between a sledge hammer |
| 2: 2/1 & 3/1 Breakups. Breaking a chord up by playing | | | | and a pillow. |
| part of the chord & then the rest of the chord. | | | | 19: II7 to V7 Progression. One of the most common |
| 3: Waterfall Chords. Broken chords cascading down | | | | chord progressions. |
| from the top of the keyboard similar to a waterfall. | | | | 20: Latin-American Rhythms. Using various rhythm |
| 4: Tremolo-Fired Runs. Rapid-fire runs made of chords, | | | | patterns such as Samba, Bossa Nova, Cha Cha, etc. |
| but starting with a tremolo. | | | | There are other techniques the pros use, and new |
| 5: Half-Step Slides. Approaching the next chord from 1 | | | | techniques are always being invented. But for a list of |
| 2 step above or below. | | | | worthy goals for an aspiring piano player, this list will |
| 6: Suspensions. Using the 4th as a "hangover" instead | | | | keep us busy for a long time. |