“All of Me” is a hit song by John Legend written in 2013 and dedicated to his wife Chrissy Teigen. It is a beautiful love song set in a tender piano ballad. A perfect contemporary jazz piece for your piano student to learn, or – if you’re a student reading this – for you to learn independently! Instead of learning the piano score, try reading from a chord chart.
It’s easy once you know and understand what the symbols mean and how to move between chords. Then with a little practice and some creativity, you can accompany yourself singing this song! Here is a link to the song and now let me explain it.
Basic: https://chordsworld.com/john-legend-all-of-me-chords/
Advanced: https://www.yallemedia.com/piano-john-legend-all-of-me-piano-chords/
So, How Do You Read These “All of Me” Piano Chord Charts?
The first thing you have to understand is that every chord has a root position, a first inversion (root on top) and a second inversion (third on top) option. If you inverted a chord one more time it would be back to the root position, but an octave higher.
Basically, a chord is usually 3 notes and spaced apart by 1 note. A chord is always named for its root and then includes an interval of a third and a fifth up from that. In case you didn’t know, intervals measure the distance between two notes so a third would be 3 notes up from the root.
For example, a root position C chord would be C-E-G. First inversion would be E-G-C and second inversion would be G-C-E. If a chord is labeled as a capital letter then it is assumed that it is a major chord. If it has a little “m” next to the chord name then it is a minor chord. A minor chord is formed when the middle note (or 3rd) is lowered, giving it a sad or spooky kind of sound.
In the basic version of this song (link above), the intro starts with an em chord which is e minor (e, g, b), then C which is C major (C, E, G), then a G which is a G major chord (G, B, D) and finally a D which is a D major chord (D, F#, A). A sharp note is the current note raised or simply play the next key to the right, whether it’s white or black. Hint: an F# is a black key. The intro should be played twice (em, C, G, D) in the rhythm of a dotted quarter note followed by another dotted quarter note to a single quarter note on each chord.
The only other chord used besides C, G, D, and em is an am chord. That would be a, c, e. Now that you know how and what the chords are, how do you play it?
Now That You Know the Chords… What Do You Do?
Basically, you can follow the rhythm pattern of the drums or bass. If you are not familiar with playing this way, then try playing along with a YouTube video of the song with the general chords, and then add some rhythm when you get comfortable. In order to move smoothly from one chord to the next, try keeping the common note. In other words, if you are moving from a C chord to a G chord, the common note is G so keep the G note the same and rearrange the rest of the G chord and you’ll find out it will be the root position of the G chord.
Keeping the common note is an excellent way to make your playing sound smoother and less jumpy when you are moving between chords.
Reading Advanced Chord Charts
Now, let’s take a look at the advanced chord chart. It is similar but it also has some other symbols that need to be explained.
If a symbol is listed as a C/D then that means that you would play a C chord in your right hand and a D in the bass. Anything after the slash is for the bass, or your left hand. There are also a couple of “add9” to some chords. Remember that it is all in relation to the root, so a Dadd9 chord would be D, F#, A and then 9 up from the root, or an E an octave higher. Similarly, an amadd9 would be A, C, E, B (octave higher).
As a piano teacher, I offer this type of training in addition to their regular curriculum. I find that it is lacking in a lot of programs for piano but is so necessary. It helps with theory, improvisation, and ensemble playing and is vital for accompaniment. At first it may feel awkward and even intimidating, but the more you try it and experiment with it, the better you will get. Keep on keeping on!
Dorothy Clark