The 1-4 chord progression is one of the most commonly used progressions in gospel and blues music. In our 300-pg course, we cover several ways to play 1-4 chord progressions.

In this lesson, I will show you a couple of ways to transition from a 1 chord to a 4 chord. These techniques are taken from pages 292 and 293 out of my 300-pg course…

1) Adding a Vmin9 — I 9 / 6 Chord Progression:

This progression can always lead to the IV chord. I play it all the time! In C major, this progression is: Cmaj - Gmin9 - C9 / 6 - F9

Don’t worry about all the terminology like C9 / 6 as this is covered in our workbook. Below, you will find the notes of each of the chords.

REFERENCE:

Cmaj = C + E + G
Gmin9 = F + A + Bb + D
C9/ 6 = E + A + Bb + D
F9 = Eb + G + A + C

Now … try playing them giving the Cmaj and F9 twice the amount of duration than the Gmin9 and C9 / 6 (pronounced “C minor nine with added 6th”).

Cmaj Gmin9 C9/6 F9

How did it sound? If it worked out for you, try adding it to some of your songs when you need to transition from any 1 chord (like Cmaj) to a 4 chord (like Fmaj) … that is, just simply add a Gmin9 –> C9/6. And don’t forget, the only REAL difference between the Gmin9 and C9 / 6 chord is the lowered F to E.

For more information on these types of chord progressions, check out my 300-pg “The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear!” at http://www.hearandplay.com/course or http://www.hearandplay.com/ordernow.html

2) Add a IV#9 right before the IV chord:

If the IV chord is a dom9 chord, then simply add the dom9 chord a half step higher to create a IV# 9 — IV 9 progression. This sounds great in blues and gospel music! For example, in C major, this is: C9 - F#9 - F9

REFERENCE:

C9 = Bb + D + E + G (this chord is inverted so that Bb is on the bottom)

F#9 = E + G# + A# + C#

F9 = Eb + G + A + C

… Try it!

C9 F#9 F9

>>> These two progressions can be used when you are in a situation that requires a fill-in between a C7 or C9 and an F7 or F9 (or any 1-4 relationship in another key). For more fills and progressions like the ones above, visit: http://www.http://www.hearandplay.com/course

This concludes this month’s lesson on “1-4 Chord Progressions.”

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