HearandPlay.com Monthly Newsletter --- June 2005!
http://www.Hearandplay.com
Serving 183,955 Musicians
Worldwide!
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Contents:
I. Welcome
II. Announcements
III. Online Classroom:
"How to Master Every Major Key"
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Dear Member,
I'm so excited to
share a topic that has been increasingly
asked by hundreds of our members over the past few months --- and
because I only try to cover topics that will help a majority of my members, I've
decided to cover it this month!
This month's newsletter focuses on how to master every major key. Playing well in one key is good, but
if you're going to get to the next level, you'll need to be able to
play beautifully in all twelve
major keys!
Having several
gospel
courses and tons of gospel music
students, I understand why Db, Eb, and Ab (to name a few) are among the
favorite keys to play in. You know why?
Musicians love
familiarity. For example, if the first song you learned was in Db, you
probably had the tendency to learn other songs in that same key. You probably
also practiced mostly in that key because of the songs you were familiar with
at that time.
And in gospel music, it
just so happens that most songs are in Db, Eb, Ab, Gb, and Bb. In jazz, you'll
play in a variety of major keys, including F major and C major, to name a few,
but for
gospel,
it seems to be all about those flat keys.
So when a majority of your
songs are played in Db and Ab, you get skilled in those keys at a much faster
pace than others. In fact, in major keys like A major, E major, and D major,
you suffer because of lack of experience.
I challenge you to take
the techniques and principles
I'm going to show you and learn all twelve keys because at the end of the day,
it is indeed all up to you!
Believe it or not...
you're the one who decides whether or not to explore a new key or to remain
confined to the major keys you know best.
You're the one who decides
to take every chord you know and move it up a half step to the next major key
--- it really is that simple, but it takes time and patience and you may even
need to write down each chord or voicing as you get used to the new key.
... But what it all
amounts to is making the decision
to learn all twelve keys so that when the time comes to play a song in B
major (or any other unfamiliar key), you won't hesitate to shine!
Enjoy this month's online
classroom.
"The
Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear"
300pg Course - Learn the secrets to playing literally any song
on the piano with a few simple, "easy-to-understand" techniques and
principles! Join Jermaine Griggs in learning tons of music theory,
concepts, and tricks that will help you to learn piano by ear! Thousands
of musicians have already taken advantage of this excellent program ...
why not you?
"The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear" is
full of easy-to-understand tricks, tips, techniques and secrets to playing
piano by ear! For this month only, I've also been able to throw in a few
bonus items (3 additional piano software programs).
Click here to learn the secrets to playing absolutely any song on the
piano in virtually minutes! You won't regret it! |
2004/05 Newsletter Archive Available at
https://www.hearandplay.com/newsletters
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Online
Classroom:
"How to Master Every Major Key"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: You might want to
print this lesson out for easier
reading...
If you haven't recognized
already, the concept I've been discussing is called "transposition." You've
probably heard it said another way ... like "transposing" or "take it up!"
If you have the
300pg course, you can find detailed information
on transposing songs in chapter 20 (pgs 295-298). If you don't have the course
yet, just keep reading as I'll define key terms below.
Transposing a song is
basically moving it from one key to another. For example, if you're
playing a song in the key of C major, to transpose it simply means to take it
from C major and play the same exact song, but in terms of a new major key.
Anything can be transposed
... not just songs. You can transpose
chords, melodies,
scales, and more!
Let's get right to work...
Ok, let's say you know a
basic song (for the purposes of this lesson, let's play "Lean on Me"
by Bill Withers). This song will be easy for anyone to catch on to (whether
beginner or advanced). Plus, most people know this classic!
Here's a sample recording
of the chorus part that I'll use:
https://www.hearandplay.com/leanonme.html
If you're good at finding
the key center of a song (see
January
2005
newsletter), you already know that the recording above is played in the key of
C major. If you're not good at finding key centers of songs, refer to
my
300pg course
and the bonus CD-rom which comes along with it.
Piano Player Plus v1.0
helps you to train your ear with various sound exercises and tests, all done
on the computer.
But back to "Lean on
Me"...
Here's the main chorus:
Major key of C major
Left /// Right hand
C
/// E + G + C
C
/// E + G + C
D
/// F + A + D
E
/// G + C + E
F
/// A + C + F
F
/// A + C + F
E
/// G + C + E
D
/// F + A + D
C
/// E + G + C
Notice how these are just
basic triads. As famous as this song is, the chorus is nothing more than basic
triads walking up the first four notes of the C major scale and right back
down.
Try playing it now.
The left hand uses single
notes while the right hand simply plays various
three-fingered chords.
... so now that you know a
few chords, let's examine how to transpose this chorus to other major keys.
Transposing:
I'll cover two methods.
1 ) The first one uses half
steps and whole steps.
In music, the distance
between any two notes right next to each other is called a "half
step." So the relationship between C and Db, for example, is a half step.
The relationship between E and F is also a half step.
A "whole
step" is the distance between two notes that are separated by a key. So
the distance between C and D is a whole step (because Db is in between them).
Just remember this poem and you'll be alright:
Half steps are from key to key with no keys in between,
Whole steps always skip a key with one key in between.
So with that said, let's
take "Lean on Me" and figure out how to move it into another key.
Major key of C major
Left /// Right hand
C
/// E + G + C
C
/// E + G + C
D
/// F + A + D
E
/// G + C + E
F
/// A + C + F
F
/// A + C + F
E
/// G + C + E
D
/// F + A + D
C
/// E + G + C
Since we're already in the
key of C major, we'll need to figure out what key we want to move the current
song to.
Let's try D major first.
There's just two things
you have to do to move this song from C major to D major:
1. Ask yourself, how many half steps OR whole steps is D
major (the new key) from C major (the old key)
RECAP: Find out the
distance between the new key and the old (in either half steps or whole steps,
whichever one you prefer).
2. Move each chord up or down that many steps (whatever the
answer to question #1 is).
This is best explained by
demonstrating exactly what I mean:
Ok, our current major key
is C major.
In step one, we need to
know how many whole or half steps are in between C major and the new key we
want to transpose to (D major in this case).
So......
The
distance between C major and D major is 1 whole step.
(that is, C to Db is 1
half step, Db to D is another half step. 2 half steps = 1 whole step).
Now all we need to do is
move every one of our chords up 1 whole step:
"Lean on Me"
in C major |
"Lean on Me"
in D major |
Left /// Right hand
C
/// E + G + C
C
/// E + G + C
D
/// F + A + D
E
/// G + C + E
F
/// A + C + F
F
/// A + C + F
E
/// G + C + E
D
/// F + A + D
C
/// E + G + C
|
Left /// Right hand
D
/// F# + A + D
D
/// F# + A + D
E
/// G + B + E
F#
/// A + D + F#
G
/// B + D + G
G
/// B + D + G
F#
/// A + D + F#
E
/// G + B + E
D
/// F# + A + D
|
Notice the differences
between the old key and the new key.
For the first chord, C is
the bass in C major but in the new key, D is the bass (or left hand).
D is one whole step higher
than C so that makes perfect sense. For every note, this should be the case.
C /// E + G + C
D /// F# + A + D
D is 1 whole step higher
than C
F# (the first note in the
right hand) is one whole step higher than E
A is one whole step higher
than the G from the old chord
D is one whole step higher
than C from the old chord.
While this method can surely allow you to
transpose all the songs you know into new keys, it is very
time-consuming.
2. The second method involves relating the chords and
notes of one key to the other. Let me
explain:
The first method we used
looked at everything independently. That means no matter what you play,
whether a chord, scale, 5-fingered
chord, or 2-fingered chord, you move everything up 1 whole step (or how
many ever steps it takes you to reach the "new" key).
This second method looks
at the grand scheme of things. That means, we analyze "WHAT" chords or scales
are being played and we just apply those same type of chords to the new
key.
In order to master this
step, YES, you need to
know your scales and chords. I mean, to be an excellent musician, you should
know these things anyway, right?
Let's take a look at our
example once again:
Left /// Right hand
C
/// E + G + C
C
/// E + G + C
D
/// F + A + D
E
/// G + C + E
F
/// A + C + F
F
/// A + C + F
E
/// G + C + E
D
/// F + A + D
C
/// E + G + C
In this method, you'd
analyze the chords to see "what's going on" basically.
Here's what I see:
1) The first chord is a C
major because C is on the left-hand bass and E + G + C is played
in the right hand. Any time the notes C, E, and G are played together, that
means you're probably playing a C major chord or something related to it.
2) The second chord above
is also a C major. It's identical to the first chord.
3) The third chord above
is a D minor because D is being played on the left-hand bass
while F + A + D is being played on the right hand.
4) The fourth chord is a
C major chord with an E bass. Notice that it has the same
combination of notes as the first and second chord above ( C E G). It's
simply played in a different order this time (we call that "inversions")
5) The fifth chord is an F
major chord because F is the bass and A + C + F is played on the right
hand. While you're probably used to seeing F A C as an F major chord, A+C+F is
just another way to play it (another inversion).
Lastly, the next four
chords are just the same chords played in reverse order.
So with this method, you
just look at the BIGGER picture.
You say to yourself:
"Hmmm Self"
"The left hand bass is
basically the first four notes of the major scale of whatever key I'm in"
AND...
"The chords are basically:
1st chord major, 2nd chord minor, 1st chord major with "3" bass, and 4th chord
major ... and do the same thing going down."
With this type of method,
you should be able to go to any major key given that you know the major scale
of the new key.
Let's look at the C major
scale (the key in which this song is played in):
C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8
So we used the 1 major
chord (C major)
Then we used the 2 minor
chord (D is the 2nd tone of the scale and we used it's minor chord)
Then we used the 1 major
chord again (C major) but this time with the 3 bass. What is the 3rd tone of
the C major scale? E is the answer so basically we used E as the bass but the
same 1 major chord (just played in a different inversion).
Lastly, we used the 4
major chord (which is F major).
With this same pattern in
mind, just change the major key:
D major:
D E F# G A B C# D
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
What's the 1 major chord
of D major?
_______________
Answer: D major chord
What's the 2 minor chord
of D major?
_______________
Answer: E minor chord
What's the 1 major chord
of D major with the 3 bass?
_______________
Answer: D major with F#
bass (D major played with F# on top as well: A + D + F#)
What's the 4 major chord
of D major?
_______________
Answer: G major chord
And... once again, you should end up with "Lean on Me" now
in the new major key of D:
"Lean on Me"
in C major |
"Lean on Me"
in D major |
Left /// Right hand
C
/// E + G + C
C
/// E + G + C
D
/// F + A + D
E
/// G + C + E
F
/// A + C + F
F
/// A + C + F
E
/// G + C + E
D
/// F + A + D
C
/// E + G + C
|
Left /// Right hand
D
/// F# + A + D
D
/// F# + A + D
E
/// G + B + E
F#
/// A + D + F#
G
/// B + D + G
G
/// B + D + G
F#
/// A + D + F#
E
/// G + B + E
D
/// F# + A + D
|
Now one last time...
Try transposing the song
from C major to F major:
F major:
F G A Bb C D E F
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
What's the 1 major chord
of F major?
_______________
Answer: F major chord
What's the 2 minor chord
of F major?
_______________
Answer: G minor chord
What's the 1 major chord
of F major with the 3 bass?
_______________
Answer: F major with A
bass (F major played with A on top as well: C + F + A)
What's the 4 major chord
of F major?
_______________
Answer: Bb major chord
"Lean on Me"
in C major |
"Lean on Me"
in F major |
Left /// Right hand
C
/// E + G + C
C
/// E + G + C
D
/// F + A + D
E
/// G + C + E
F
/// A + C + F
F
/// A + C + F
E
/// G + C + E
D
/// F + A + D
C
/// E + G + C
|
Left /// Right hand
F
/// A + C + F
F
/// A + C + F
G
/// Bb + D + G
A
/// C + F + A
Bb
/// D + F + Bb
Bb
/// D + F + Bb
A
/// C + F + A
G
/// Bb + D + G
F ///
A + C + F
|
See how simple that is?
If you're really serious
about learning all your major scales, chords (like major chords, minor chords,
dominant chords, diminished chords, seventh chords, ninth chords, eleventh
chords, and more), then I strongly recommend that you check out my
300pg course "The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear.
Chords to study for this online classroom:
Well, I hope you enjoyed my June newsletter and
I'll be back soon! Practice hard until then!
This
concludes your June Online Classroom Lesson
If you were intrigued by
the online classroom lesson above,
then you would definitely
benefit from my
course!
*** “The Secrets to
Playing Piano By Ear” 300-pg Course ***
With 20 chapters and over
300 pages, the home piano course provides several
resources, techniques, tips, principles, and theories to playing the
piano by ear. Along with hundreds of chords and scales, you'll
also learn how to turn them into gospel, jazz and blues
chord progressions and better yet, how to use them to play
ABSOLUTELY any song you want ... IN VIRTUALLY MINUTES! Again, don't miss
this opportunity. I've even added an additional bonus if you
purchase the course this week --- You can read more about the
course at:
https://www.hearandplay.com/course
Enjoy this edition? Visit
our message board and let us know!
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NEWSLETTER TO YOUR ENTIRE E-MAIL ADDRESS BOOK.
Yours Truly,
Jermaine Griggs
www.HearandPlay.com
www.GospelKeys.com
Newsletter Archive -
Click here or visit
https://www.hearandplay.com/newsletters.html
Further References
"The Secrets to Playing
Piano By Ear" 300-pg Course
[5] Chords
&
Progressions:
pgs 65-78, 105-130, 147-165, 182-227.
Do you know what a
“2-5-1” or "3-6-2-5-1"
progression is? Or perhaps the famous
12-bar blues chord
progression? In
this piano course, you will not only learn how to play gospel, blues,
and
jazz progressions, but how to recognize them in songs. In addition, you
will learn the simple techniques to playing these progressions, hymns, and
songs in all 12 major
keys! ... Enjoy learning:
The famous "2-5-1" Chord Progression:
pgs 114-120, 153-156, 208,
235-236.
I - IV - I - V - I Chord Progressions:
pgs 66-70.
I - IV - V - IV - I Chord Progressions:
pgs 77-78.
Techniques behind the famous "5-->1" progression:
pgs 68-72.
I --> IV, I --> V Chord Progressions:
pgs 74-75.
"Circle of Fifths" Chord Exercises:
pg 78.
Major and Minor Chord Progressions:
pgs 105-130.
"6 - 2 - 5 - 1" Chord Progressions:
pgs 121-122, 157-159.
"3 - 6 - 2 - 5 - 1" Chord Progressions:
pgs 122-123, 160-162.
"7 - 3 - 6 - 2 - 5 - 1" Chord Progressions:
pgs 124-125, 190-191.
Gospel Chord Progressions ... ranging from "up-tempo praise"
chord Progressions to "worship-oriented" chord progressions:
pgs
65-78, 105-130, 147-165, 182-227.
Various Blues Progressions ... 12-bar, seventh chords, diminished
chords ... and others: pgs 163-165, 192.
Jazz Chord Progressions ... using dominant ninth, eleventh and
thirteenth chords: pgs 193-240
Study the different types of Root Progressions --- closing,
opening, circular and other types of progressions:
pgs 121-122.
Study how chord tones and scale degrees relate to each other [which
chord progressions are most likely to be compatible]:
pgs 122-130.
Learn various "turn-around" progressions [used in gospel music]:
pg 213-214.
If you don't have the
300-pg Course,
click here to read
more about it.
|
"The
Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear"
300pg Course - Learn the secrets to playing literally any song
on the piano with a few simple, "easy-to-understand" techniques and
principles! Join Jermaine Griggs in learning tons of music theory,
concepts, and tricks that will help you to learn piano by ear! Thousands
of musicians have already taken advantage of this excellent program ...
why not you?
"The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear" is
full of easy-to-understand tricks, tips, techniques and secrets to playing
piano by ear! For this month only, I've also been able to throw in a few
bonus items (3 additional piano software programs).
Click here to learn the secrets to playing absolutely any song on the
piano in virtually minutes! You won't regret it! |
Newsletter Archive -
Click here or visit
https://www.hearandplay.com/newsletters.html
|