Guide Sheet
BEGINNER Piano Pattern: THIRDS +
MELODY = EPICNESS! [PLAY IT NOW]
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The Video - https://youtu.be/Q02vzNQP7qg

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Heyup creatives,

Its become somewhat of a mantra of mine.

But what if we can learn our piano skills whilst playing music, sounding
impressive and having fun all at the same time. It’s been devoid in most piano
lessons for far too long in my ‘not so’ humble opinion.

Whilst this pattern breaks no barriers in terms of its uniqueness or

originality… it serves its function very well.

Here we have a piano pattern which sounds nice, immediately grabs your
attention and you can be proud of playing it.

Its main function is to explore thirds and how we can use them to infuse
melody into our playing. In simple terms we take our ordinary triad (Root,
Third and Fifth) and play the root and the fifth in the left, but take that third
and shove it up an octave in the right.

So once we have our third in the right it turns a regular triad into a more epic
sounding open chord. An open chord meaning we spread our notes out
further than an octave.

From this we can then play around with some melody using this third feature
as a base. Which is in fact exactly what we have done.

As well as this, you will also get some hand independence practice in due to
the syncopated rhythms.

On the notation page, the first line is the regular pattern from the video.

The second is a slight variation of the right hand melody which is a great next
step if hand independence is what you are after.

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The third is an extra pattern I’ve thrown in for the hell of it. Rhythmically it is
easier but it is more complex with that fingering. You have to move that thumb
around a lot.

Practice Ideas

The usual applies.

If you are a happy owner of creative practice routines, this is a perfect

opportunity to dissect this pattern, analyse your struggles and craft a routine
around it.

The other day when I was teaching a kid the 12 bar blues… I noticed its a
real struggle for hand independence. He was just not getting it.

I deduced this is because were experimenting with syncopated rhythms.

(when we strike ‘off’ the beat).

So I got him to literally play just one beat / measure at a time until he got it.
So we would just play the first beat. Then a beat and a half. Then 2 beats. Etc
etc. not moving on until it was perfect.

Try this if you are particularly struggling with the rhythms.

Thats all for today,

Speak soon and till next time,

Have fun, keep playing and enjoy yourself!

Josef Sykora

© 2019 Creative Piano Academy creativepianoacademy.com

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Resources

Upgrade your piano pattern into a piece of music - https://creativepianoacademy.com/

piano-pattern-upgrade
The best adult piano practice plan - https://creativepianoacademy.com/the-best-adult-
piano-practice-plan
The top 5 exercises for beginners - https://creativepianoacademy.com/top-five-piano-
exercises/
Guidesheet on improving your rhythm - https://creativepianoacademy.com/cu-develop-
your-sense-of-rhythm-guide-sheet

Creative Practice Routines (premium course) - https://

members.creativepianoacademy.com/cpr

© 2019 Creative Piano Academy creativepianoacademy.com