Musical intervals between notes on sheet music must be recognised at a glance when sight-reading. The 1st and 2nd intervals are obvious but the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th intervals are increasingly harder to recognise instantly.
A way to recognise intervals quicker is to see that the 3rd and 5th intervals, as an odd pair, always start and end on a line or start and end on a space. If the 3rd is on a line, the 5th is on a line. If the third is between two lines, the 5th will be too. The 3rd and 5th are five intervals apart.
After you learn to instantly recognise the 5th interval, you will recognise other intervals in relation to the 5th and 1st intervals.
Learn to play notes by reading them as intervals on the staff and not just by their names, a to g. Read the note and interval and play it with the right finger on the keyboard. This is easier when your right hand plays all the chords in the first position.
Changing chords like that is another technique in combining rhythms.
Just as a measure of music is made of even pulses, a piece of music is made of even measures. Think of a measure filled with even pulses, say four quarter notes. Think of a piece of music made of say 12 measures, all with four beats to the bar. Now write a progression of chords for that music, say in the key of C. In this example, change from one chord to a different chord on each new measure, except for measures 2 and 11. Those two measures are going to be different to strengthen the rhythm of the piece. Start with chord C for the first measure and keep that same chord for the second measure too. Change to chord F for the third measure, back to chord C for the third, then chord B flat for the fourth measure, C for the fifth, F for the sixth, C for the seventh, G7 for the eight and C for the ninth. Then change chords twice for the tenth measure, to chords F then G7. Then change back to chord C for the last measure.
That is one chord change for each measure except for repeating the same chord in one measure and playing two different chords in one measure. Exceptions in timing make the rhythm. Chord timing like that is often heard in blues and other popular music.
