Learn to play “Yellow” by Coldplay : Piano Lesson #24

Hello everyone!

This is Shohini, and I am very pleased to have joined Edutainment! Playing the piano is my hobby and although I had wanted to play the piano since I was a child, I got the chance to learn and play this glorious instrument only as recently as 2005. I love picking up songs by ear and letting my mood decide what I play!

I am sure that all you piano lovers will agree that handing control of your thoughts to your fingers as they play the piano is nothing short of beautiful! Here is an honest confession though: I have never really been very fond of reading sheet music and prefer playing by ear any day!

It feels great to be a part of The Piano Encyclopedia team and I am very excited about bringing to you new songs to try out on the piano as part of the Piano Video Tutorials column of Edutainment!

I also have very exciting news to share! After almost three years of development, and more than 50 contributors – musicians, pianists, developers, graphic designers, writers and editors from all corners of the world, the second major venture of The Piano Encyclopedia, The Logic Behind Music Digital Home Study Course is completed!

Piano enthusiasts everywhere, rejoice! The method that revolutionizes conventional piano teaching is about to be unveiled to you!

I have been personally talking with Rod (the CEO & Founder of The Piano Encyclopedia) and he has been telling me some of the high points of our Digital Home Study Course. It is a dream come true for all of us here as we look forward to presenting before you the most exciting and fun way to “tickle the ivory”!

Interactive, innovative and exhaustive, The Logic Behind Music aims to help music enthusiasts learn the theory of music in a ‘practical way’ so that they have no trouble whatsoever in composing and improvising and get a well-deserved boost on their way to becoming musicians. So if you love playing the piano and don’t want to merely “interpret” music but “create” it as well, The Logic Behind Music is perfect for you!

Do watch this space, everyone, as I will be keeping you up to date with all the “secret” and inside sneak-peek news of the launch of the Digital Home Study Course “The Logic Behind Music”!

Today, I have a wonderful piano lesson for all of you –

You are about to learn:
Song: Yellow
Artist: Coldplay

Yellow strikes a hypnotically alluring note right from the first few chords. Produced by Coldplay and Nelson, Yellow released in 2000 and was the band’s first breakthrough hit. The song remains an eternal favourite among Coldplay fans even nine years after its original release.

Hauntingly beautiful, it is one of those songs that you simply cannot stop humming once you hear it! In fact, Yellow is one of my all-time favourite songs! The background music in the original song is mostly acoustic guitar, however, a song as melodious as Yellow can’t possibly sound anything but good on piano, can it?

The first video here is a tutorial that shows you how to play the song by slowly showing each note with the accompanying chords. If you are just starting out with the song then getting the notes right is very important so you can learn the right notes to play from this video and then listen to the actual song to get the tempo right.

The next video is an amazing piano rendition by Adrian Lee who has played this entirely by ear. You can see the notes and chords that he has played quite clearly. How we all wish we were this good, right?

Now let me tell you a little about the original song video. The band had come up with the idea to film the video in a happy, sunny background with moving stars in the sky – an allusion to the lyrics. Yet, the weather played spoilsport with Studland Bay, where the video was filmed, being held hostage by howling winds and rain. Right then, let us have a look at the video itself!

Enjoy yourselves while learning to play this, and remember to:
“Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And all the things you do”

I hope you liked this piano lesson!

If you would like to take your piano playing skills to the next level so that you can easily play all the songs you love on the piano, do look forward to the launch of The Logic Behind Music! I promise you that you will have even more fun creating your own music following our approach towards learning music!

Till then,
~ Shohini 🙂

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Now we have a new fun feature as part of the run-up to the release of The Logic Behind Music.

I will be asking trivia questions regarding the song taught in each post and all of you are invited to submit the answer in the comment box. In a particular quiz, the first person to give the right answer will be the winner. We are also going to have weekly “merit lists” where I will mention the winners with the most number of correct answers in this very column!

Sounds exciting, right? So are you ready for today’s question? Here it goes!

What, according to the band is the theme of the song, Yellow?
(Answer: “Yellow refers to the mood of the band. Brightness and hope and devotion” and also Chris Martin’s unrequited love.)