How to Write Piano Music to a Song
Piano is one of the most common instruments that songwriters use to write songs. The piano's popularity as a composing instrument makes sense, because the piano can play both single-note melodies and accompaniments with chords. Writing piano music to a song consists of taking the song's melody and finding chords that work well with it to create an accompaniment.
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Instructions
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Notate your melody on blank sheet music paper, complete with rhythm and lyrics written underneath. The melody is the basis for your song and will guide your piano accompaniment.
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Determine the key of your song. By taking note of the sharps and flats in your melody, you can determine what musical key it is in. The key of the song will tell you which chords are appropriate for the song and which are not.
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Choose chords for your melody. Using a chord generator like the one at Zebrakeys.com, you can learn the basic chord shapes for chords in your song's key. Use your personal taste and judgement to determine which chords will sound good in your song.
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Notate the chords on your sheet music paper. Do this by writing the letter name and quality of the chord above the previously written melody and lyrics. As the chords change, write the new names of chords above the corresponding note in the melody.
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Tips & Warnings
Minor chords tend to sound sad or contemplative, while major chords sound happy or rejoicing. Try using a healthy mix of both types of chords to get a well-rounded sound.
Try adding other instruments to your song after completing the piano chords, such as drums and guitar or trumpet and bass.
Pay attention to whether the sharps and flats change in your melody, as some songs may change keys midway through the song. This will affect the chords that will work under the melody.
References
- Photo Credit piano image by Sergey Goruppa from Fotolia.com
