Why do you suppose is that?

It is probably because it sounds like one of those questions such as "How many grains of sand on the seashore are there?", or "How many stars are there in the sky?"

And in a sense it is, but in another sense, we can get a fairly accurate sense of chord population just by calculating all the chord types and then multiplying them by the number of inversions that are possible and the number of octaves that are possible on any given instrument.

So let's start with a listing of chord types:

Major

Minor

Diminished

Augmented

Diminished 7th

Major 6th

Minor 6th

Major 7th

Minor 7th

Half-diminished 7th

9th

Flat 9th

Sharp 9th

11th

Sharp 11th

Suspension

13th

Sus 7th

Aug 7th

9th/Major 7th

6th/9th

Add 2nd

Add 4th

Flat 5th

7th with flat 5th

That's 25 of the most-used types. There are several other variations, but these chord types will do nicely for our purposes of estimating the total number of chords.

Each chord can be inverted -- turned upside down -- by the number of notes in the chord. For example, a 3 note chord has 3 positions -- root position, first inversion, and second inversion. A 4 note chord has 4 positions, a five note chord has 5 positions, and so on.

We will say for arguments sake that 4 positions is the average, knowing that some chords have more and some have less. So if we multiply 25 chord types by 4 positions, that gives us 100 possible chords per octave.

But of course we can build chords not just on one note, but on 12: C, Db or C#, E, F, F# or Gb, G, G# or Ab, A, A# or Bb, and B -- 12 different roots. So 12 times the possible 100 or so chords per octave give us a rough total of 1200 possible chords.

Some instruments only have the range to play 2 or 3 octaves, whereas a piano with its 88 keys can play 7 octaves -- 100 chords in the lowest octave, 100 chords in the next octave, 100 chords in the next octave, and so on up to the top octave of the keyboard.

So on the piano we could theoretically play those 1200 chords in all 7 octaves, giving us some 8400 possible chords. Of course, some would sound so low or so high that they wouldn't really be useable in a song. But still, they are possible.

So what's the answer to the original question? It depends upon the instrument and how many variations of each chord the individual musician uses -- but in any case, it's a bunch!

Author: Duane Shinn

A series or free lessons from Duane on the various aspects of piano chords is available: "Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions!" Duane also is the author of over 500 music books and music educational materials such as DVD's, CD's, chord charts, musical software, and piano lesson instructional courses for adults. His book-CD-DVD course titled "How To Play CHORD Piano!" has sold over 100,000 copies around the world. He holds advanced degrees from Southern Oregon University.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Duane_Shinn

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Finding Free Sheet Music

Free sheet music is easily found, but some may be difficult. New musical hits are hard to find, though easy to find if you want to pay a few dollars for a sheet of music. Talent expansion begins with new sources of music to play, so free sheet music is pretty important to those that do play instruments.

Classical pieces are the easiest to find for free, but not necessarily what people want to play. New radio hits are definitely harder to find, but the most enjoyable to play.

The internet is a great place to start your search for free sheet music. Search engines may not pull up results immediately, but there are ways to look for old forums and websites that may contain free sheet music for the music that you want to play. It is highly recommended that you take your time in the search for free sheet music, because its probably not going to be right in front of you.

You can also resort to asking those who play instruments. They likely have sheet music located on their computer, and are probably willing to share with you. Sheet music sharing is probably the easiest and fastest way to get the music that you want to play.

If these people have sheet music but only on a physical piece of paper, ask if they can scan it to you. Don't count on strangers doing this for you though, it may take a really nice person to be so generous.

A number of places that sell sheet music, simply throw out the old stuff that doesn't sell or becomes damaged. Band classes at schools are also a good source for free sheet music. Just ask if they have any that is not in use or being prepared to be trashed.

The internet is probably the best place to search for free sheet music. There are countless websites and places that hand out free sheet music like candy, often a gold mine for music enthusiasts.

Asking about free sheet music should be easy, especially if people plan on throwing away their old sheet music. There is no point in wasting it, so why not ask? Search for free sheet music and watch all of the results that come up. Search forums and other old websites, and ask friends for other free sheet music resources.

Closing Comments
Free sheet music can be difficult for the musically inclined to find, but all is not lost. Looking around for even just an hour is sure to find you some great results.

By: Chris Channing

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

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Recognizing the names of the bass and treble staff notes can be fun and rather simple. Before we begin, remember that the treble staff is where you will find all your right hand notes, and the bass staff is where you will find all your left hand notes.

All you have to do is memorize a word for each note, like this.

Bass staff space notes: *A C E G (All Cows Eat Grass)
Bass staff line notes: *G B D F A (Good Boys Do Fine Always)
Treble staff space notes: *F A C E (This spells "face")
Treble staff line notes: *E G B D F (Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge)

*The first word/letter is always the bottom of the staff.

Now the fun begins. Here are some simple and fun ways to memorize these notes.

1) Speed Run: See how fast you can say the names of the notes. Try doing it first with the words, and then with the letter names only.

2) Reverse Speed Run: Now see how fast you can practice saying the letter names in reverse. This is a great way to see just how well you know the letter names.

3) Say-n-Play: While sitting at your piano, say the letter name out loud and then play it on the keyboard. If you are using flashcards, mix them up so that you can select a card at random and do the same activity. This is a very good memorization activity.

4) Play Them All: Now comes a fun way to test your knowledge. Say out loud the note then play all of those notes on the entire keyboard. For example, you have selected the note "A." Play all the "A" keys on the entire keyboard.

5) Flash Cards: Make a set of flash cards with one note on a staff on one side, and the answer on the other side. (Don't forget to specify which staff: bass or treble with the bass or treble clef sign.)

The sooner one can memorize the names of the notes and recognize where they are found on the keyboard, the more enjoyment that can be found playing the keyboard. Just like you learned the ABC's for reading you'll be a great success at learning your ABCDEFG's for the keyboard.

This is a quick and fun way to learn how to read and recognize notes written on the staff and on the piano. However, there is no replacement for learning how to sound smooth and pretty on the piano than with step by step instruction and with songs that allows gradual progress.

Enjoy!

By: Lisa Steeple

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

For more information and some video tips on how to learn piano gradually and easily, visit: www.LearnPianoOnline.com

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