I learned piano as an adult, and instead of reading sheet music, I play based on chords. It's super fun for showtunes, pop songs, folk songs, holiday music, etc. I think of it as "campfire" style, as in, nobody cares about the technical notes, they just want to sit around and feel entertained.
I've shared my system with some people privately on reddit, and maybe it will work for you too! The basic idea is to play chords quickly across the keyboard, and I have a trick for doing that. Here's the concept: Use your left hand for chord "structure," and use your right hand for chord "flavor."
Left hand: Use your pinky, index, and thumb. Only play the 1-5-1 of the chord. No matter what chord you're playing, just play that structure. Works for either major or minor chords.
Right hand: play the 1st inversion of the chord. So 3-5-1. Thumb, index, pinky. That solitary 3 is all you need to season the chord, it holds up against all those other 1s and 5s. Switching between major & minor is as simple as just slightly adjusting your thumb a half step. Voila!
(As a side note, for comparison, try playing a standard triad with both hands. Left hand - 1-3-5, and right hand 1-3-5. It will sound muddy and jumbled up into a small part of the keyboard. My system described above covers an additional octave of the keyboard and creates a big, rich wall of sound.)
If this sounds interesting, DM me and I can go into a little more detail. But for anyone looking to significantly improve their enjoyment factor of playing piano & quickly learning "fake" versions of songs, this will change your life.
Submitted March 20, 2021 at 06:48PM by YesMattRiley https://www.reddit.com/r/Learnmusic/comments/m9h1vr/heres_my_method_for_playing_easy_piano_campfire/?utm_source=ifttt