How to play "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth

 NOTE: THIS BLOG IS AN EARLY RELEASE AND IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS. THE REMAINING COMPONENTS ARE COMING SOON. 

Thank you for your understanding. 

For those of you who have not been completely up to date, "See You Again" by WizKhalifa ft. Charlie Puth has been at the top of the charts in North America, according to Voice of America.  Regardless of whether or not you have seen the movie Furious 7, this song may bring a tear to your eye.  Not going to lie, I blubbered like a baby while tapping my feet to the catchy tune.

Small refresher: PaulWalker died in a car crash in November 2013.  This left the Fast & Furious crew in a bit of a pickle because A) They were not done filming Furious 7, and B) Because he plays a major role in the series.  However, they managed to find a suitable replacement for his role: His brother, Cody Walker (who also looks 99.9% like Paul).

Now onto the song itself.  Below you will find each of the sections which comprise the song. There will be a small blurb explaining it and a YouTube video demonstrating how to play it.  Keep in mind that anyone can learn from these videos, but they are originally intended for people with no or very little piano experience.

  

See you Again:

Insert Piano Pic

Intro:

This section occurs between 0:00 and 0:10. 

Needless to say, it's extremely short.  Fortunately, it's fairly simple aaaaannnnnd, if you wanted to, you could actually play this part over and over again throughout the entire song and it sound fine (with the exception of the bridge, which you'll see further down).

See Video Here

 F C Bb F

Bb C D C Bb C

Bass (except Bridge)

0:00 - 3:55 (except 2:29 - 2:52)

These four notes are constantly repeated (except for the bridge).  This is probably what you want to play with your left hand while playing a melody with your right hand.  Alternatively, if you had a bassist playing with you, these would be the notes that he played.

Insert video

G, F, C, Bb

Chords

0:00 - 3:55 (except 2:29 - 2:52)

Think of the chords as the fancier version of the bass notes.  It's definitely harder to play, but it also pays off in musical beauty.  You'd be playing these with your right hand, while playing the bass notes with your left.

*He repeats "When I'll see you again" a couple of times.  When he does, simply play the last two chords again.

Insert video

Gm (Bb, D, G)

F (C, F, A)

*Cm (C, Eb, G)

Bb (Bb, D, F)

Charlie Puth Main Vocals:

0:10 - 0:38 & 1:13 - 1:40 & 2:52 - 3:20

Charlie Puth sings the same bit three times, which is nice because you only need to learn one section.  It's like the copy/paste of the musical world.  Unfortunately, it's not the easiest thing in the world.  If you can sing, I'd recommend that.  I also recommend that you check out the video below for timings/rhythm.  Shoot me a comment if you're having a hard time with this and I'll make a more in-depth tutorial explaining it.

Insert Video

Bb D F G F

C C Bb D

D F G A G F D C C Bb C C D Bb

Bb D F G F

C C Bb D

D F G Bb C D C Bb G Bb C C Bb Bb

Repeat end of that:

G Bb C C Bb Bb

Charlie Puth oooh's:

1:41 - 1:53 & 3:20 - end

Some of this is actually fairly similar to Wiz's section.  It's not hard, and if you're playing with a crowd, this is what will get them singing.  OOooooOOOh!

insert video

Bb A G F

Bb A G A G F D

F G Bb C D C D C D C D F D C Bb Bb G C Bb

Wiz Khalifa Rhythm

This section doesn't cover the vocal part for Wiz Khalifa because rap doesn't translate well into melody....at all.  It's the same note over and over again.  However, this does cover the melody in the back ground.  Fairly simple and if you want to, you could actually play this throughout the entire song (except the bridge)

0:39 - 1:13 & 1:54 - 2:29

insert video

D D C D D C D D C D F D C Bb Bb G Bb C D

Bb Bb G Bb C D

Bb Bb G Bb C Bb

(As long as he's singing)

Bridge Vocals

2:29 - 2:52

This section is intended to give some variety to the song, but also breaks up the pattern that most people fondly love (thankfully it's short). So there are a few things that you can do if you want to make this easier: 1)Only play the bass notes (next section) or 2) Not play anything, and wait for it to pass.  If you're feeling like a champ and wish to tackle it head on, then here are the notes.  Good luck.  Check out the video for guidance.

insert video

Bb D F G F Bb C D

G G G G F F D F G

C D Eb C Bb  *_ =octave higher

D C Bb A G A Bb

Bridge Bass

These are the bass notes for the bridge.  Fairly simple but not consistent, making it harder.

Insert video

G, F, C, Bb

G, F, C, Bb, Eb

Bb, A, G, F, Eb, F, Eb

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What to play with the left hand

So your left hand is playing the bass notes and you're cycling through them repeatedly. Well that's nice, but that isn't a  very developed song. Your right hand is where the real magic happens. 

What the heck do I play on my right hand so that it doesn't sound like a toddler is playing for me?

First of all, toddlers can be very good musicians: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omuYi2Vhgjo

Secondly, there are two easy formulas:

• Trial and error

• enabled keys

Trial and error is easy and can be a lot of fun.  When playing your bass note with your left hand - well say "A", try hitting different keys with your right hand.  For instance, depending on the context of the song, playing a "B" would not sound that great, so try to avoid the "B" for a while.  However, playing a "C" with an "A" almost always gives a nice rich sound.  Keep working your way up with different keys and eventually you'll find a formula of good sounding notes for your left (bass) hand.

"Enabled keys" is simply a term I use when I try to teach other students the concept of what to play and when to play it.  If I hit the "A" key with my left hand, and I want my song to sound sad, then I know that I can play the following notes with my left hand: A,C,E.  In this sense, the bass "A" has enabled my right hand to play these notes.  The better you become, the more notes you'll discover and in which context they fit.

Give it a go and let me know how it turns out. 

Also, check out my YouTube page at  see some of my tutorials, songs, and people's 4 letter songs at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdv4rKPoJ6qj13eyo1cloIwhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdv4rKPoJ6qj13eyo1cloIw

Creating your own music part 2

Hello again everyone,

Today we will continue with the creation of your music repertoire.

Pick four letters between the letters A and G (they do not need to be in alphabetical order) and then memorize them.  The four notes you will play can be in any order or you can move them around at any time within the song.  

Check out my video example above.  If you wish to follow along, that is fine, but I recommend you pick your own notes for the sake of calling it your own creation.

So now you have four letters, or instead four notes.  These will be your bass notes which you will play with your left hand. Play them over and over again until you get a good feeling for them.  Figure out a good steady tempo and just keep playing it.  Why? Finger (muscle) memory.

Finger memory is essentially when your conscious self can stop thinking about what your fingers are playing but they keep playing anyways.  Think of "Thing" from the Addams Family.  It's almost like your hand has a mind of its own at that point.

Your four bass notes are now the bread and butter of your song.  Sure you could leave it as is, but where is the meat (or tofu if you're a vegetarian)?  Try to pick random notes with your left hand.  Maybe create a little tune that repeats.  I'll get into more detail for the left hand next week in "Creating your own music part 3", but for now just try tinkering around with it.

Please post your four letters/notes in the comments section and I will make quick videos (my renditions of them) of as many as of as I can to my YouTube profile.

Till next week, fellow readers.

The head, the heart, and the emotion

Whether it be a small music project such as playing Wonderwall by Oasis, or a bigger undertaking such as your own composition, there are three things you need.  If you lack any of the three, either you will fail and get angry, or you will make your job a lot harder than it has to be...and get angry.  But if you follow these, you wont get angry...probably. 

 The three components are: 

• Head
• Heart
• Emotion

Let's start with head because it is the easiest to explain.  There needs to be a level of strategic thinking when playing music.  For instance, break the song into smaller bits and learn one bit a day. Music becomes less about failure and frustration and more about success and excitement for the next bit.  The head is what will break down the problem into manageable sizes.  I've tried tackling some complex songs at once and I always ended up quitting that song.

The next component is the heart.  You need to want to play that song.  People in music school are often forced into learning songs they do not want, and frequently end up quitting afterwards.  In my opinion, music schools should find the students interests and find songs that match that style.  At the end of the day, the heart is what will make you sit down with your instrument to start playing.  Listen to your heart....Cheesy joke ... I'm sorry.

Finally you need emotion.  It's what turns "Mary had a little lamb" to " MARY HAD A FREAKING LITTLE LAMB". Playing the required notes is fine, but the emotion is what will either make you speed up the tempo, slam the keys with your fingers, or play as softly as possible.  The emotion behind a song could easily turn it from happy to sad.  This is what makes your song worth listening to, and the best part is that it can change anytime you want.

Each component complements each other making music exactly that: Music. Give each one the attention they deserve and you'll be playing phenomenal music in no time.