I paid $3 for a D minor chord when I was 9 years old. I still use it. Never wears out.

I like to think of chords as cousins. For example, Am is a cousin of C, Em is a cousin of G, Dm is a cousin of F, Bdim is a cousin of G7, and, to stray out into unfamiliar territory, G13 is a cousin of G6. It's helpful to think of all these chords as one extended family. Thank-you, Aimee, for all these wonderful lessons!

Pretty much no one else I've seen on KZfaq is teaching people how to figure out songs for themselves. I was compelled to watch along even though I already know this. Great stuff.

*This* is how music should be taught. It's the missing link from far too much instruction on "learning an instrument." (and not learning music.) Keep up the great work, Aimee!

Your husband is so lucky to live with an awesome teacher like you!

It seems so obvious.. What’s amazing is that other people can’t explain it like that . Another gem from Aimee..

So simple, yet so foreign to this experienced piano player.👍

I don't even have time to watch this right now but I do have time enough to stop by and hit the LIKE button... You are So AWESOME Aimee Nolte! I will come back later and listen to the lesson. Your husband is the luckiest guy to draw breath. I love that you are SO married you wear your rings on both the left And right hand... LOL. Love you and all that you teach us.

At 7:47 I had to laugh because I’ve never heard of “don’t you want me baby “ but “Shenandoah” is a song I grew to love in my youth. It’s a beautiful song with a beautiful melody.

I like that you chose 'Don't you want me baby?" by The Human League (1981) for this video. I just played the song in the background while watching your video. Thank you.

These are the kind of things I do in lessons with students to try and teach them how them music really works. Seeing you do videos where you say the same stuff reassures me i'm doing the right thing!

I just want to say thank you from Brazil for your precious lessons. They're gold! Thank you for all the time you spend sharing your gift with us.

Nice to hear you play and sing the Shenandoah Song. it is an old favorite of mine growing up. We learned it in elementary school. As for the 'DYWM Baby' (new age)song, also special but as a grown-up. Thanks - Calv1n😃

I can’t imagine just singing the melody a whole step lower than the harmony like that.

Amy you are the greatest music teacher in the world, love your Lessons.

I'm at the staging that I am starting to discover these things myself. I spend a lot of time playing progressions where I keep trying to substitute other chords in the scale to see what works. This helps to crystallize my thinking.

A clear concise illuminating lesson on substitution.

This is REALLY helpful! Thank you.

Another great lesson. And love the NASA shirt! 👍

It's really sad you have to avoid singing words to dance around copyright claims. In this context it is so obviously a case of fair use. Come on KZfaq, this is ridiculous! Great video as always Aimee!

Bob's your uncle -- that's me. Thanks for transposing to my key.;

This is basically the way I learned to pick chords to go with a song, and basically in the order this video series presents them: I-IV-V, then substituting ii, iii and vi based on notes in common and based on melody notes. The next big breakthrough, many years later, was secondary dominants. I feel like most folk and rock music can be explained once you know about those.

John doing it inspired me to try it out too for a song which I got stuck in my head for no known reason (I haven't heard it in a long time): True Colors. It actually works. I kept it simple in C major: it starts with I VI V for the chorus and I used inversions to keep the notes close together. A modest starting point. It is a nice brainteaser, figuring out the inversions on the spot. I think that you will get used to it after gaining some experience. As usual, thanks for inspiring and teaching us, Aimee.

So, so !!! Helpful. Thank you!!

Great lesson!

Aimee, you just made my eyes well up. Played my dad's favorite song as he was born in the Shenandoah Valley, and he's now gone. Not your fault. I'm same way with O Holy Night that my mom sang in solo's in church, last time in her 70's.

I did the same lesson with my classes this semester and called it the "Money Chords" also. Freeky! I love your lessons Aimee. Keep em coming. Thanks for all that you do!

I'm loving this series. Thank you Aimee.

I'm with you, Roger. I pretty well knew this material but it was so well done I was compelled to keep watching. Great stuff indeed. Thanks, Aimee.

I think there’s one more thing to add. If, say, an F sounds okay but a D sounds better, a D7 might just hit the spot. So when substituting chords, keeping those notes when you find the real chord can sound really good.

You are a wonderful teacher Amy. Loved this video! Thanks for sharing your talents and tips with us. God bless!

You are the most originally insightful & inspiring teacher. My favourite piano channel with must watch videos. Thank you.

I’m learning guitar. When I can listen to the chords, it’s usually not a problem to find them. But if I can’t listen to it and have to go from memory, your technique of trying out diatonic chords that include the melody notes is a big help, because if I can’t recall the chord, I can recognize it when I play it! Thanks

Madame Nolte, I just saw this last episode of the greatest youtube piano lessons ever from a professional and as I've already used up all available superlatives, I would simply say "this was great (like all previous ones) too". I've even recorded and uploaded a little song for the previous lesson: nobody (other than me) listened or liked it! anyway; I do like it and I think that's the point ;-). And coming to this last lesson: I can say that I've got basic chord understanding and inversions and variations. Indeed I'm ok with majors, minors, 7th variations, diminished, augmented etc. I can even transpose (of course not like you! but veeeerry slowly compared to how I used to back in my youth). Thanks God, I learned them in my youth. I've to admit that a brain at 10+ captures like a crazy magnet, whereas a brain at 40+ may (and given that you can only practice after all day work) forget faster than it learns...So we shall have empathy to those new learners who find it quite difficult and complex to recognise and remember those chord patterns. Eventhough the theme of these last episodes is "by ear", when it comes to glueing the structures into the brain, writing (with pencil) is also of great help. Yes it's much slower and painful and may be that's why it is more persistent. Eventhough I cannot do it right now (lack of patience and durability!), in my second trial with music (after 15 years of blank period), I still advice people to read some simple songs from sheets and write their own compositons. And finally, the hardest part of piano playing is definetely on the left & right hand coordination; obviously this is the most difficult part of piano playing and it is the definitive distinction between a professional and amateurs just like me. I can hardly play with both hands in a fluent manner. If I try, it's mostly the left hand is less focused with static chord movements, whereas the right hand is fully focused on to the melody. Rarely there are songs that I could use both hands in multitasking; that's the real difficult thing... But also the most enjoyable! May be you can give us some tips on how to improve the right & left hand independence and coordination... Thank you again for your sincere uploads...

Drunk Amy is hilarious!!

Aimee, you have a gift. Thanks so much for sharing it!

Thanks Aimee!

Those are always fun times on stage when someone starts to sing in another key or a different song. You can't and should never just stop, just say to yourself, ok, this is where we're going with this, I'm with 'ya (we'll discuss this later...)

Love your new album. Also, thank you for all the teachings.

Thanks for sharing your expertise! This was so helpful to me

I sent some bones Aimee's way a couple of months ago. Those that can should once and awhile. This is gold. Between guitar, music in general, animation, science and history, I get gobs of learning every month and give less than one single lesson's worth. It's easy. Thank em', they'll thank you.

Very good lesson Aimee

This takes me back to my teenage years, Amy...discovering I could play certain chart songs by going up and down the white notes in triads. I vividly remember the first tune I found I could bash out by ear in this way was Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World. It was quite a few years before my ears tuned in properly and I realised some of my simple chords weren't quite correct (but the melody was all on the white notes so they weren't "wrong" wrong and WORKED fine for me at the time) Guitar later became my instrument and I applied the same techniques to learn by ear. Great video!

I love ''Don't You Want Me Baby''...I really like the modulations also as it builds tension really well in a dramatic way. Great video Aimee:)

This is great stuff! You’re a good teacher.

thanks. from morocco .you re a formidable teatcher .that lessons are what we need ..

"68 percent aren’t subscribers" - as I look over and thought to myself didn’t I subscribe sometime last year😂. Fixed it!

Awesome!

I love how u consider all aspects and from different perspectives when u make a point, it’s almost that u consider all (what if) scenarios that pops into my mind as the video proceeds; like I start feeling I am missing something but then bingo..... U hit on it immediately and I just connect the dots 🙏 amazing stuff

Brilliant!

Thanks Aimee! This series has been a really interesting watch! :D

Excellent! Thank you Aimee.

Another fine lesson!

Helpful and inspiring. So good! thank you!!

very interesting! just found your channel and will now walk through your videos. really great content!

Aimee, I am a long-time subscriber and this particular lesson is very helpful to me I've always been confused about when and how to choose inverted chords but this lesson and another recent one really help me understand these things better thanks!

Aimee, I love these series of lessons, what a lot of information! I am learning so much such as the minor cords, Rhythms and much more!. Love the Money cords, they have a nice sound to them. Also these series of lesson has my brain doing a lot of thinking, as to how you come up with the cords, that we have not covered in my skype lessons. Stuff is really starting to click, you are such an "AWESOME" Teacher!!! Thank you for you, I so much appreciate you and very grateful of all the "FREE" Lessons you have to offer on youtube, you are truly a gifted person.

The Human League. Wow. The hooks in that song. Great lesson! This stuff is much easier to see on a keyboard. On guitar one note's over here. Then here's one a couple strings away. We're not sure what it is. Think it's a D maybe.

Love your videos, thanks

I’m new to your videos and already a super fan of your amazing piano playing! Great lesson!

Great teacher. I watched a few vids. Great teacher. Very easy to relate to.

Very nicely explained

Great teacher, you are... Wish I had your videos when I started! Excellent lesson.

That song "Don't You Want Me" was a staple of my listening at about 14 years old. The IV-V-IV-V repeat sounded fine to me, but maybe that's because the bassline in that tune (a synth bass line) was very minimal. The right hand on the synth was doing 16th notes (3rds, I think). The way you play it with the Am for 2 beats before the G sounds good too though--and you're probably right.

Thanks... great lesson..

Good stuff Aimee.....I like the "No Astronauts Sent Anywhere" t shirt.

C fits perfect to your voice

This video is MONEY! Thank you, Aimee!

Brilliant lesson Aimee, really enjoyed this. Although I have a decent level of theory, a few things got cemented today. Many thanks for your great lessons.

I was considering subscribing but then you sang. I was sold by that. :) You have a beautiful voice.

Thank you for this simple and consistent lesson I have the same issue to I will try to practice it .

Just Yes - a tripple Yes ! Everytime i listening to your beloved teaching, it's just works imidiately here for everydays plays.. it's Magic" isn't it worth it for saying - beloved that time is Magic ! It works always more & more because after 20 years as a musician the steps to the fullest are smal enpugh to follow.. So glad your are here.. blessings & greetings & hugs. . God bless you / your Family ! Châpeau a tripple time .. happy New Year 2021

You are such a nice teacher! This is how I learned to play guitar and figure out songs. Just amazed at your talent. (fanboy off). And I rode my bike to 7-11 to play video games listening to Human League.

Great video!

NASA shirt seems appropriate, as this is out of this world ;)

Enjoyed this Aimee.. like your conversational style and you are so patient with us! :o) {Manchester UK}

amazing video. please do more like this! i imagine they're boring for you, but they're super helpful for many of us I'd bet. there's tons of stuff about how to play super abstract jazz piano on youtube but just dead simple songwriting deconstructions or lessons for pop and rock are few and far between, and even if you've mastered tons of theory it's harder than it seems at first.

Thank YOU ❤️🎵 🎵

Amy I didnt care much for this song until you broke it down here!! thank you for this lesson it is soo very helpful.

Hi Aimee. Just wanted to thank you for releasing such great videos. This "Money Chords" video has helped me solve a chord problem that doesn't sound quite right on a song that I am working up on GarageBand.

WOW! This series just keeps getting better and better. I know you said you think this is the end, but keep going please :) For me, one of the missing pieces for comping is the chord rhythm. Even on chord patterns I'm comfortable with, even when looking at chord changes on a site or app, it doesn't "feel" right. I know you touched on rhythm in the previous episode, but maybe that's an area to go just a little deeper on?

Really good.

Thanks, Aimee, great stuff. I think Drunkle Bob needs a lift home. And the 50% speed was fun. Talked like Judy Garland, sang like Peggy Lee. quite nice, really.

Your last 3 videos are the best.

Thank you, Aimee! This is eye opening!!! BTW I subscribed :)

Really great, find the power...

Great lesson Aimee. I like the way you call out the chords on degrees of the scale! IIm7, V7, I7, I, VIm7,IIm7, V7. Now I just have play these changes in different keys for “ drunk uncle Bob”.....

Great aimee

A funny thing: I can transpose blindly and instantly on guitar (or bass) but still need time/conscious thought to do the same on piano. I realized I unconsciously used visual patterns which obviously don't translate to the piano. I *thought* I had playing by numbers down; the piano showed me I didn't. I "knew" the place of the next chord before I called it out. Learning a new instrument - especially piano it seems - helps with playing the ones you were already comfortable with.

I just love your videos..

Love it. Inspired me to learn to play "Don't you want me". But - the lyric is *cocktail* bar!

that was so nice

Jo Stafford does a wonderful version of Shenandoah.

Interesting bit of synchronicity. After watching this I watched a film trailer (Blinded by the Light) that uses Don't You Want Me Baby. I love the resolution of the suspension at 17:14 -- really satisfying.

We sang that song in choir. Pretty song

Great video as usual. Can I ask that, when you use inversions, can ya say what chord you're playing because, we can't see which notes you're pressing down from that distance. The inversions take a lot of getting used to! I watch your videos to pick up skills I'm not familiar with, esp the learn by ear method which is more important than working to sheet music. We'd love to sed ya do more lessons like this to slowly show how you use the 1,4,5 chords (plus addition of the 2nd, 3rd and 6th minor) to work out pop songs or Xmas songs or even Happy Birthday by ear. I noticed you mentioned copyright and resisted singing words to songs. Does this allow people to teach as long as you don't sing the words but hum instead, even tho the notes sound like the song? That's great if so. Well done and, well done to your husband for contributing to you sharing your wonderful skills and lovely manner ;)

Love love LOVE YOU

Nice 1

you are the best

Love the shirt!!