newbie piano questions

[econoguy]

i have just recently started to learn to play the piano- at the tender age of 29yo. i have run into a problem not addressed well by the books i am reading. my main problem is what to do when a chord overlaps the melody?? for example when the f,g,a,b chords and their variations overlap the keys c,d,e,f,g in the melody. am i to simply drop the chord an octave or just figure out the best way in which to use my right hand to play part of the chord and continue w/ the melody? thanks for any help....

[Madaxeman]

Don't feel bad, I'm 32 and just starting to learn the piano. Are you talking about the chord moving up above middle C? Just as an example, Richard Marx's 'Right Here Waiting' has the piano intro on two connected treble clef's, then transitions into a regular grand staff, but the piece is played the same, just moved up above middle C...the hands don't overlap (it would be impossible to play).
Haven't got to anything more complicated yet, so this may not help.

[silent-storm]

chords on piano, voiced in 3rds, start to get pretty muddy pretty quick if you drop them down anywhere near an octave below middle C. Your best bet is to try and voice the chords using a bit of right hand and a bit of left hand at the same time with the melody on top. Just take a chord that you know will work, with the melody note on top, and try and grab it with a combination of right and left hand. It's hard at first, but will come in very handy in order to think of harmony and melody at the same time in both hands. Slow things down and figure out something that works for each chord and then try and fit things together. Write out the ones you like so you don't forget them. Then come up with variations. It's all about exploration. If you have a chord that works, but the melody isn't on top, just re-arrange the notes of the chord until you have room to put the melody on top. It doesn't matter what order the notes are in (most of the time) as long as they are all there.

hopefully that went somewhere in the direction of your question.

[econoguy]

i think i get what you are saying, but let me give an example of what i am talking about. for instance the chords Em/B followed by Am and C/G. meanwhile the melody range is middle C up to G. you are saying to play the left hand chord, but where i might overlap w/ the right hand use the right hand to play the overlap part of the chord along with the melody notes?? thanks for any help...

[silent-storm]

yup, as long as the melody stays on top it doesn't matter what hand plays the notes underneith

good luck

[econoguy]

i have run into a portion of a song that i am not sure how to play. in this song the bass clef has a typical jazz beat, but the treble clef is was confuses me. at the beginning of the measure there are two whole notes together- G and E. simple enough to play, but right after this double note there are single 1/4 notes in the rest of the measure that are an octave higher- E flat, E, E, E, C. the measures aftwards all start similarly with a whole double note followed by multiple fourth notes. i can make my pinky and ring fingure play these notes while holding the hole GE note and playing the base cleff, but it sure is a stretch/difficult. am i doing something wrong or is it one of those things that takes practice/patience? wish i could show you the sheet music. incidently the song is "great balls of fire" and the measures in question are 7-9ish.

[Julian]

do you mean eighths notes? i imagine you would use a sustain

[Aripitch]

All of this advice is great. Even though you've just started, you've got lots of time to advance. Do you have an applied teacher?