Wayne Dyer said: “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

It’s true in music too. Quite literally.

Take, for example, suspended chords.

If you ever see a suspended 4 chord (or “sus4″), it simply means to play the fourth instead of the third in a major chord.

Here’s a regular C major chord:

The “third” in this chord is “E.” (If you haven’t learned your intervals, you can use the search box in the upper right corner to find lessons on the topic).

Instead of playing “E,” you’d simply play “F” (which is the fourth).

This is a Csus4. Or Csus for short (if you ever see “sus,” automatically assume sus4).

There’s also such a thing as a suspended 2 chord (aka – “sus2″). The concept is similar except you’re replacing the third with a second interval.

So instead of playing the “E” in the C major chord:

…you’d play “D”:

Now, here’s where things get interesting with these two chords.

How would you play a Gsus4?

Step 1: Take a G major chord

Step 2: Replace the third degree (B) in the chord with the fourth (C)

Does this chord look familiar?

Let me give you a hint.

(Take the G off the bottom and put it on the top)

It’s a Csus2 but has the same exact notes as Gsus4.

That means, if you know your sus4 chords, you sort of automatically know your sus2 chords. They’re inversions of each other.

Csus4 (C F G) = Fsus2 (F G C)

Fsus4 (F Bb C) = Bbsus2 (Bb C F)

There are many coincidences and tricks like this in music.

It’s all in how you look at it!

P.S. – What’s God’s Favorite Chord?

Answer: Gsus!

I have a treat for you!

After being away for 5 years, I caught up with James Wrubel (from our jazz courses) and invited him to do some helpful lessons for you.

The first one is 17 minutes and available at: http://www.hearandplay.com/jazzlesson

You don’t want to miss this lesson as he shows you how to spice up chord progressions. This concept can be applied to just about ANYTHING you play.

Visit: http://www.hearandplay.com/jazzlesson

And if you like what you see, please leave a comment. Would love to hear what you think!

Visit: http://www.hearandplay.com/jazzlesson

This edition of “Ask Jermaine” was posted by Ronald Verwer in our Free Lessons area. He writes:

Hi Jermaine,

How fabulous the way you are explaining the composition of the various chords. Your flash cards are a great help. It becomes so easy to follow. By just sitting on the piano and practicing with the flashcards improves my playing tremendously. Even after 60 years of playing!

You are a legend.

The thing I want to know is how to create that Jazzy sound, not the rhythm but the Jazz chords. I have not been able to figure that out as yet. I look forward to your last and may be following videos. God Bless you and your family.

Kind regards, Ronald

Here’s what I replied to Ronald with inside the free video area:

Hey Ronald,

Thanks again for your kind words.

You create the really jazzy chords from the same old fantastic four chords from video 3: major, minor, diminished, augmented.

Try some of these out and let me know what you think:

C major 9
(C major) + (G major)
(C + E + G) + (B + D + G)
(C + E + G) + (D + G + B)
*Using numbers: 1-major + 5-major

C major 9 (#11)
(C major) + (B diminished)
(C + E + G) + (B + D + F#)
*Using numbers: 1-major + 7-minor

C minor 11
(C minor) + (Bb major)
(C + Eb + G) + (F + Bb + D)
*Using numbers: 1-minor + b7-major

C minor 11 (b5) — really dissonant but nice-sounding. Many places to put this:
(C diminished) + (Bb major)
(C + Eb + Gb) + (Bb + D + F)
*Using numbers: 1-minor + b7-major

I can go on and on. But it goes back to video 3 on the “magic chords.” That’s why I think those flash cards for the basic chords are so important. The rest is memorizing and retaining formulas like above.

-JG

Half-diminished 7th chords are very important.

Not only do they naturally occur on the 7th tone of any major scale, they are used as great preparers for dominant chords on the 5th tone.

If you play gospel, you’ve undoubtedly used a half-diminished 7th chord on the 2nd tone of the scale to lead to the 5th.

Half-Diminished 7th Chord Basics

By going to the 7th tone of any scale and playing every other note, you’ll form the half-diminished 7th chord.

For example, in C major, the 7th tone is B.

Simply play B + D + F + A (every other note of C major scale) and you’ve got yourself a B half-diminished 7th chord.

Other Alternatives to Forming Half-Diminished 7th Chords

The first three notes of a half-diminished 7th chord in root position look identical to the diminished triad. For example, in the chord above (B half-diminished 7th), if you take off the last note, you’re left with B + D + F, which is a B diminished triad.

And diminished chords are formed by simply stacking a bunch of minor third intervals together.

Note: Minor thirds have three half steps between them.

B to D is minor third.
D to F is minor third.

Where the “half-diminished 7th” chord differs is in the last interval. Instead of another minor third like the B diminished 7th chord (B + D + F + Ab), you play a major third, which is four half steps.

F to Ab is minor third.

F to A is major third. <---- This is the one you choose the differentiate the half-diminished 7th from a typical diminished 7th chord.

Compare the two: Half-diminished 7th vs diminished 7th

B diminished 7th

B half-diminished 7th

It’s all in the last interval… and the difference in one tiny half step.

We’ll talk about where to use the half-diminished 7th chord tomorrow.

In music, when you get this one single concept, it unlocks the door to many things!

The 6th tone of any major scale is your gateway to “minor!”

Just remember the 6th tone. That’s it.

For example, if you take a regular C major scale (C D E F G A B C) and start and end on the 6th tone without changing any of the notes, you’ll get an “A minor” scale (A B C D E F G A).

The same applies for chords.

If you take a C major chord (C + E + G) and play the 6th tone as the lowest “bass” note (A), you’ll have an “A minor 7″ chord (A + C + E + G).

Once you understand that concept, just make your C major chord bigger.

Playing C major 7 (C + E + G + B) on your right hand with “A” (the 6th tone of C) on your left, gives you an “A minor 9″ chord.

Want to take it a step further?

Simply play a C major 9 (C + E + G + B + D) on your right hand with the 6th tone, “A,” on your left and you’ve got yourself an “A minor 11″ chord.

Just remember: “If you know major, you know minor!” (an original quote I’ve made famous on my dvds).

It’s true.

Don’t think of minor as its own world. Don’t think of minor scales as things you have to memorize from scratch using half steps and whole steps.

You’ve already done the hard part by learning your major scales. Now, just convert them all to minor scales by starting and ending on the 6th tone. It’s that simple.

And the same goes for chords. Playing major chords over their “6″ bass gives you a minor chord. The bigger the chords involved, the bigger the end result.

Hope this 15 second trick changes your thinking about minor.

Until next time —

Polychords are huge extended chords that consist of two or more smaller chords.

As your chords get bigger and bigger, you’ll spot smaller chords within.

These smaller chords present opportunities to explore other voicings.

For example, if you spot a C minor triad and an Eb major 7 in the same chord, this gives you countless ways to voice the chord… including two-hand versions:

• C minor (root) on left hand /// Eb major 7 (root) on right hand
• Eb major 7 (third inversion) on left /// C minor (first inversion) on right
• C minor (first inversion) on left /// Eb major 7 (2nd inversion) on right

And these are just three quick examples of dozens of possibilities.

So the first step is to simply spot as many chords as you can.

Once you’ve identified all the chords present, try inverting (rearranging) each chord, mixing and matching one with another. If there are 3 or 4 different chords present, focus on two, noting how they sound together.

This is a big game of trial and error.

So let’s try it…

How many chords can you spot in this C dominant 13 chord?

Answer:

• C major
• E diminished
• G minor
• Bb major
• D minor
• F major
• A minor

And to be honest, there are probably many more. I just went for the obvious ones.

*Also note: For the F major and A minor, just picture the chord repeating itself. So, in your head, you’re not just seeing F+A, you’re seeing F+A+C as if the chord has started back over at C. The same thing for the A minor chord. You’re not just seeing the single note “A” (because it is, indeed, the highest note). You’re seeing A+C+E (because the C+E are in the beginning of the chord).

Now that you have a list of chords, this should keep you busy mixing and matching the ones you want. Not all will work because some are dependent on each other but take some time to fool around with it… “trial n error” style!

You’ll be amazed at how far this idea of “polychords” takes ya!

Until next time —

In this post, I figured I’d switch things up by showing you how easy it is to pick out Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never Piano Chords.

For years, I’ve been preaching how most popular songs use extremely simple chords and the same recurring patterns over and over.

My 4-year old daughter, Jadyn, like many other young girls is a huge fan so she pulled me to the piano and made me learn Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never chords.

Sarah joined us a few minutes later and was surprised I was already playing it while Jadyn was singing.

“Wow, daddy learned that fast, huh?” She says to Jadyn.

What they don’t know is the song is only 5 unique chords.

As you listen to this video of the song below, I want you to try to follow the bass.

The bass is KEY.

The song is in the key of A minor in the beginning but switches to C major for the chorus. For beginners, you can really just think about this being in C major the whole time if you want. No need to confuse yourself.

The only difference is you’ll find things centered around the “A minor” chord (which is the 6th tone of C major) in the verse of the song. You’ll find “A minor” starting the song and chords always coming back to it. That’s how you know it’s in “A minor” — because how it is functioning.

But if you’ve followed me for some time, you know A minor and C major are relatives. They share the same key signature… the same number of sharps and flats (in this case, zero), and practically live in the same house (one upstairs, the other downstairs). So this is no surprise.

So those are two hints for you. We’re in C major (or A minor in the beginning and C major for the chorus). And the first chord is A minor (A + C + E).

You do the rest. Follow the lowest bass note. And remember your C major scale (C D E F G A B C). If you’re more experienced, you can rely on the A minor scale (which, again, has the same notes in a different order – A B C D E F G A).

Remember, most songs use notes of the scale and don’t move far. So if your first chord is on “A,” you should ask yourself if the chords have gone “down” or “up” in pitch. If you say down, move over right next door and see if that sounds right. If not, keep moving over. Use the notes of the major scale because 80% of the time, that’s what’s being used. If something sounds a little different, it may be outside the scale but I can already tell you this song doesn’t do anything crazy. It’s very straightforward.

Also keep in mind the circle of fifths. Songs like to move in the counter clockwise direction of this chart (e.g. – “C to F to Bb to Eb” and so on around the circle). This song is no exception. If you find the notes right next door aren’t working, try the neighboring notes on this circle of fifths chart.

Good luck with Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never! I’ll give you the chords below.

Never Say Never Piano Chords – Exercise

Justin Bieber Never Say Never Chords

Verse:

A minor
C Major
G Major
D Major

(repeat)

*This is the part (above) that can be considered “A minor” but there’s no harm in ear-musicians thinking of this as C major.

If thinking in terms of “minor,” the numbers are:

1-minor
3-Major
7-Major
4-Major

If you’re going to think about this as “major,” the numbers are:

6-minor
1-Major
5-Major
2-Major

(When you understand numbers, you can take this to any key. Just apply the appropriate scale number and chord and you’re all set!)

When they get to main chorus (“I will never say never”)

F Major
C Major
G Major

(repeat x 2)

“Pick it up, pick it up, pick it up”

Just hang out at A minor doing the same rhythmic pattern til’ the song repeats back at the beginning (which starts on “A minor” again).

Never Say Never Piano Chords – Conclusion

See how easy that was?

There’s literally 5 unique chords in this song. Just arranged in various patterns that are hardly new to you.

This is how 80% of songs work too!

Until next time -

This week’s question is about “minor-major 7″ chords and comes from Amy S in Phoenix, AZ:

“Jermaine, I’ve heard of major and minor 7 chords but I just heard someone say minor-major 7 and thought they were joking until I realized this chord really exists. Do you mind shedding some light on it?”

My Answer:

Amy, great question.

Yes, there is such a thing as “minor-major 7″ chords and they’re very simple to grasp.

But in order to understand them, let’s recap how to form major 7 and minor 7 chords.

There are a few ways to look at it but let’s take the number approach.

For example, C major.

The C major scale is: C D E F G A B C

Now, we’ll number that scale from 1 to 7.

C is 1, D is 2, E is 3, F is 4, G is 5, A is 6, B is 7.

To form a C major 7, we literally take every other tone of this scale.

In other words, 1 + 3 + 5 + 7.

That’s C + E + G + B.

To form the minor 7 chord, we simply lower the 3rd and 7th degrees a half step.

So the formula becomes 1 + b3 + 5 + b7

Note: When I put “b” in front of a number, that means “flat.” So “b3″ literally means “flat 3″ or “flatted 3″ or “lowered 3.” All the same thing.

That means you literally take the “3,” which is E, and lower it a half step to Eb. You take the 7, which is B, and do the same… lower it to Bb.

That gives you:

C + Eb + G + Bb

The “minor-major 7″ chord sort of combines these two chords together.

You get the “beginning” of a minor 7 chord but the “end” of a major 7 chord.

So the formula is: 1 + b3 + 5 + 7

Instead of keeping it straight like the major 7 (which was 1 + 3 + 5 + 7), you lower only the 3rd tone.

Thus, giving you: C + Eb + G + B

And the cool part is you’re only a half step from either major 7 or minor 7.

If you wanted to convert this minor-major 7 chord to major 7, simply raise Eb to E.

If you wanted to convert it to minor 7, simply lower B to Bb.

So yes, there is such a thing as a minor-major 7 chord and I hope this demystifies it for you!

Until next time -

This lesson will be short and sweet.

There are many ways to play chords.

You can play them exactly as written in root position, first, and second inversion (e.g. – C major in root [C + E + G], in first inversion [E + G + C], in second inversion [G + C + E], etc.).

Or you can choose to be more “stylish” with your voicings. One of the ways you can switch things up is by understanding open voicings.

This is when you spread out the notes of a chord.

For example, instead of playing C major in root position as C + E + G:

You switch the “E” and “G”, thus giving you C + G + E

It’s like you’ve skipped the normal note in line, only to play it higher up.

Here’s an easy way to accomplish this with all triads (3-toned chords).

Simple rule: Just swap your second and third note.

That’s it.

If you’re working with triads, there will always be 3 notes. Don’t touch the first note. Just swap your second note for your third note and you’re done.

C + E + G becomes C + G+ E (like in our example above).

What about C major in first inversion (E + G + C). What happens when you swap the 2nd and 3rd notes?

Answer: E + C + G

What does C major in second inversion become (G + C + E)?

Answer: G + E + C

Imagine doing that for major 7 chords.

For example, C major 7 (C + E + G + B):

This time, swap the last two notes: C + E + B + G

You can really take this concept far.

Told you it would be quick!

Until next time -

In this lesson, I’m switching things up a little bit.

Warning: This isn’t for beginners. These chord progressions will require a “stretch” — multiple octave playing. But nevertheless, it’s good to feed the brain with what is to come (hopefully in the near future).

Today, I want to talk about altered minor chords and altered dominant chords.

These chords can be used as a “7-3-6″ progression in the key of Db or as a “3-6-2″ progression in the key of Ab.

Sidenote: An important point to bring up now is that what is a “7-3-6″ in one key can often times work as a “3-6-2″ in another key. Heck, you could even find a way to incorporate the same progressions as a “b5 – 7 – 3″ in another key. It’s because all of these tones have minor chords on them. You may know the 7th tone as a half-diminished 7 but that’s just another way to say minor 7 b5… still MINOR. The 3, 6, and 2 tones are naturally minor. That’s why the same progression can be used in different places… in different keys. Your job as an “ear player” is to look for opportunities like this. Let your ear be the final judge.

7-3-6 in Db
==========

Major scale: Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db

7th tone = C
3rd tone = F
6th tone = Bb

On the 7th tone, a nice chord taught in GospelKeys 202 is C minor 11 (C + Eb + G + Bb + D + F):

In this post, I want to make one change to this. We’re going to take the 5th degree in the chord and lower it a half step (“flat” it).

C minor 11 b5 (C + Eb + Gb + Bb + D + F)

(But the C and Eb will be played on left hand and the rest will be played on the right hand. Technically though, if your right hand is flexible, you can play the Eb on your right but it’s also a stretch.)

*I realize this is a “stretch” for most people. One strategy is to hit the C in your left hand bass, use your foot pedal to sustain the note, then follow up with the high Eb on left and the right hand chord (Gb + Bb + D + F). But don’t give up, I’ve seen very small hands hit that b10 interval (aka – “flat 10″… because C to regular E is a major 10th interval, C to Eb is a flat 10th or minor 10th interval).

Next chord…

F 7 b9 b5 (a.k.a. – “F dominant 7 flat 9, flat 5″)

Notes are: F + Eb on left /// Gb + A + Cb + Eb on right

*Just think of Cb as “B”

Now here’s some stylistic things you can do.

On the first C minor 11 b5 chord, halfway through sounding the chord, you can move your highest note from F to Eb. The original chord should be sustained with a pedal as you slide the F to Eb. Do not hit the chord again. Sounds really good.

Then on the second chord, F7 b9 b5, you’re going to take the “B” (or Cb) in the chord and move it up to C natural.

*Raising the B to C makes this chord an F7 b9. Relieves a lot of tension and thus makes for a wonderful resolution to a Bb minor chord.

And lastly, Bb minor 9 (Bb + Ab on left /// F + C + Db on right):

*And with this chord, you can resolve “C” down to “Bb.” Keeps the movement going.

So the notes that are moving in each chord are as follows:

First chord – Top F is moving down to Eb

Second chord – B is moving up to C

Last chord – C is moving down to Bb

These same 3 chords can be used in Ab as a 3-6-2 progression. C is the 3rd of Ab, F is the 6th, and Bb is the 2. No changes necessary… just new key.

Again, I warned you. These are pretty altered voicings so it may take a while for your ear to hear these and even for your fingers to play them. But hang in there. Or at the least, understand why they’re called what they’re called for now. If not ready yet, you’ll be playing them soon!

Until next time -

Today, I want to share a concept that a lot of beginners still don’t get.

There’s not much difference in playing major and minor chords when you think the way I think.

In fact, as the title loudly declares: There’s a major chord in every minor chord and a minor chord in every major chord.

Sure, this isn’t apparent in smaller triads, but it’s clear in seventh chords and up, when carefully analyzed.

First, let me start this discussion by showing you how easy it is to play a minor scale… IF you know your major scale.

Take this two octave C major scale: C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C.

There’s a minor scale in this scale and if you’ve been with me a while, you know exactly where it is.

Simple rule: Take the 6th tone of any MAJOR scale and play the same notes you’d normally play for that major scale — but simply starting and ending on the 6th tone.

What’s the 6th tone of C? Answer is “A.”

That means literally play the same notes of a C major scale starting and ending on A. That’s it. Don’t make it harder than it is. Don’t overanalyze. Play C major from A to A and you’ve got yourself an “A minor” scale.

C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C.

The same goes for chords too.

If the “A minor” scale contains the notes of the C major scale, what about their respective chords?

Yup.

They do too.

Here’s an A minor 7 chord: A + C + E + G

Do you see the C major chord there?

A + “C + E + G”

So we can make a rule out of this too.

Minor 7 chords can be created by playing any major chord with the 6th tone of that major chord’s scale as the bass note. In this case, we played C major with A as the lowest bass note. Altogether, it gave us an A minor 7 chord.

You can do this with all your major scales and their 6th tones. The 6th tone of F major is D so if you play an F major chord over D, you’ll have a D minor 7.

The 6th tone of G major is E so if you play a G major chord over E bass, you’ll have an E minor chord.

Now let’s look at a C major 7 chord: C + E + G + B

Do you see the minor chord in there?

I do.

C + E + G + B

There’s an E minor chord inside the C major 7 chord.

And understanding this lets you be very flexible with your major 7, major 9, and other extended chords.

For example, you can play C in your left hand and pick from any of these “minor” chord options in your right hand:

All three of these give you a C major 7 chord.

If you “upgrade” your E minor to E minor 7, that also upgrades your entire chord to C major 9 (instead of the former C major 7):

So the next time you feel the temptation to confuse yourself over major and minor chords, remember that they need each other. There’s one in the other.

This week’s question comes from Sunny:

“Thanks Jermaine, please can you spell out the C7 (#9#5) chord?”

My answer:

Great question Sunny because tons of people still struggle with altered chords.

When you see a “#” (sharp) or “b” (flat) appended to a chord, it’s signifying that something needs to be altered in the chord.

So the first step is to simply lay out the underlying chord.

In this case, C7 (a.k.a – “C Dominant 7″)

C7 (C + E + G + Bb)

Remember, dominant 7 chords start out like regular major chords (C + E + G). The only difference is the 7th degree is flatted. That gives you Bb instead of B. If this chord had “B,” it would be a C major 7 chord. Key point!

Now, the only other thing you need to understand is:

# (sharp) means to raise by a half step.
b (flat) means to lower by a half step.

That’s it. If you remember this, it’s hard to go wrong.

And what is this chord asking us to do?

Answer: To simply play a C dominant 7 but with a “raised 9th tone” and a “raised 5th tone.”

Because our underlying chord is 1 + 3 + 5 + b7 (if you spelled it out using numbers), we can start off with the easiest change — raising the 5th.

Remember, if you want to be correct, when you raise something, you never change the alphabet letter.

Since G is the 5th, we’re raising the G to G# (as opposed to using the favored “Ab” to describe this chord).

Because “A” is the 6th tone, using “Ab” would be the equivalent of saying “b6″ and this chord asked for #5. Even though G# and Ab yield the same sound, G# is the correct note because it is literally the 5th tone being raised.

So the chord is now C + E + G# + Bb

We’re not done because this chord also needs a #9.

The first step is to simply add to the chord whatever the regular 9th would be.

C is 1, D is 2, E is 3, F is 4, G is 5, A is 6, B is 7, C is 8, D is 9.

So, “D”, in the next octave up, is the 9th. Simply add it to the chord.

We’re not done because this chord didn’t ask for the “regular” 9th… it needs the “raised 9th.”

That gives us D#.

Why not Eb? Because we’re looking to take the 9th tone, D, and raise it without changing the alphabet letter. So, we simply use D#.

Side note: Professional musicians will say Eb or D#… same with the G# and Ab. At some point, at a practical level, it really doesn’t matter if you’re the type that just wants to play! But if you were taking a music theory test or something (why would you???), then it would matter. But whether you say “I’m not going” or “I ain’t going”… the same idea is conveyed. Theoreticians will hate me but that’s why they’re… theoreticians!

So the final chord: C7 #9#5 (C E G# Bb D#)

Can you do this to F7 #9 #5?

You try first, then scroll down to get my answer:

F7 #9 #5 (F A C# Eb G#)

How about G7 #9#5?

Go ahead, try it.

G7 #9#5 (G B D# F A#)

Hope this helps!

Over the years, we’ve brought you many west coast gospel musicians – Jonathan Powell, Jason White, Kevin Nickelson, Mike Bereal, to name a few – and without a doubt, they all share a commonality in their playing.

Don’t get me wrong… they each have their own distinct way of doing things but there is, undoubtedly, this west coast “feel” underlying their playing.

And when you add to the mix 7 more professional, west coast musicians we’re bringing you in our new Musician Breakthrough (14 discs / 17 hours), it not only shows you what each uniquely brings to the table but what they all share as well.

(Don’t worry east coast folks… I haven’t forgotten about you. Since we’re out here on the west coast, it’s just a lot easier and practical to access this incredible pool of talent. But in the future, rest assured we’ll be going on the road!).

One simple technique that is common out here is to take a chord, pull out the middle note, and simply play that middle note on your left hand.

It could be done to practically any chord.

For example, C major. Instead of voicing it like this:

You may find it voiced like this:

It’s commonly done with diminished 7 chords too.

For example, here’s a normal C# dim 7:

Now take out the “E” and put it on the left hand:

You can also do it with the “G” in the chord. Simply take it out and put it on your left hand:

Works well with half-diminished 7 chords too. Here’s the normal way to play an Eb half-dim 7:

Now with “A” moved to left hand:

Or you can try it with the “Gb”:

I can go on and on but here’s the principle:

Take chords you normally play and experiment with taking notes from the middle of the chord and placing them in your left hand bass. That’s it! Some will work really well, others won’t but let your ear be the final judge.

I hear some folks saying: “But what about my normal bass note?”

These would act as substitutes. So, for a quick moment, you don’t play your normal left hand bass and you’d play whatever this strategy calls for (whatever note is in the middle of your chord that you’re moving to the left hand).

Or better yet, if you have a bass player, you can do whatever you want on left hand because they’re always holding down the bass.

Alright, hope this helps. See ya soon!

When it comes to chord voicings and inversions, you have many options to explore.

And as your chords gets bigger, the possibilities only expand!

Remember my simple definition of an inversion…

It’s simply a different way to order the notes in a chord. More specifically, every note gets its turn on the bottom.

If you remember that, you’ll never go wrong.

When the root note is on the bottom, we call that root position.

For example: C major

“C” is the root note so if it’s on the bottom, the chord is said to be in root position.

In the same chord, “E” is the third (if you don’t understand intervals, click here). When the third is on the bottom, we call that FIRST INVERSION.

“G” is the fifth of the chord and when it’s on the bottom, we call this SECOND INVERSION.

If you know your numbers and understand your major chords as “1 + 3 + 5,” then determining inversions will be simple.

If the 1 is on bottom, root position. If the 3 is on bottom, first inversion. If the 5 is on bottom, second inversion. BAM!

As your chords get bigger, though, we introduce more inversions.

So for a C major 7, the first three still apply but we add another:

C on bottom = root position
E on bottom = first inversion
G on bottom = second inversion

New one…

If B is on bottom, the chord is in “THIRD INVERSION.”

And this is my favorite inversion! I love the sound of the seventh on bottom.

Granted, you’ll want to take the C from the right hand and put it in your bass. It sounds much better.

C major 7

I also prefer this inversion for major 9 chords. Even though we’ve added another note (which introduces the term, “4th inversion” — if the 9th were the lowest note), I still prefer the 7th on bottom of right-hand chord:

C major 9

I love this inversion for minor 7 and minor 9 chords as well:

C minor 7:

C minor 9:

Note: The clustered sound between “D” and “Eb” in this minor 9 chord gives it the sound you want whereas in major 7 chords, we got rid of the sound created by the “B” and “C” in our first example above by putting C in our left hand bass. You’ll develop these preferences all the time. You may do things in minor chords that you don’t do in major chords, vise versa. As I always say, your ear is the final judge.

Just for fun, to make any of these chords 4th inversion, what would you do?

Answer, put the 9th degree on the bottom. In the example above, the 9th degree is D.

(C is 1, D is 2, E is 3, F is 4, G is 5, A is 6, B is 7, C is 8, D is 9… SHORTCUT: Same letter as the second tone of scale).

C minor 9 (right hand in 4th inversion):

There’s a lot to think about here.

Enjoy and see ya next time -

Yesterday, we discussed how to use diminished passing chords a half step lower to transport us where we want to go.

In other words, if you wanted to get to D minor 7, you’ll use the diminished 7 chord a half step lower — in this case, Db dim 7 (or C# dim 7). That was yesterday’s concept.

Another Approach To Passing Chords

Today, we’re going to cover how to use passing chords a half step HIGHER than the target chord.

So, in trying to get to the same D minor 7 chord, we’ll now focus our attention on Eb — a half step higher — rather than Db (which is a half step lower and would usually carry a diminished 7 chord).

The only difference is we’re not using a diminished 7 chord this time. We’re going to use an altered dominant chord… a “#9 #5″ seventh chord to be exact.

Altered Passing Chords

Let’s back up and cover this dominant 7 (#9 #5) chord. (BTW, here’s a great article about them.)

First you simply start with a dominant 7 chord. Let’s use C as an example.

C7

That’s the base.

The chord calls for a sharp 9.

Ask yourself… “What is the 9th of C?”

C is 1, D is 2, E is 3, F is 4, G is 5, A is 6, B is 7, C is 8, D is 9

Answer: Pretty much the same letter as the 2nd tone of the scale (shortcut)… “D”.

That lets me know this chord will have some kind of D in it. But not any kind of D… it needs to be sharped (or raised).

D becomes D# (the sharped 9).

That’s one altered tone down, one more to go.

The chord also calls for a sharped (or raised) 5. Luckily, this tone is already in our chord so we don’t have to add it. We simply alter it.

The 5th of C is G. So we literally take the G in our chord and raise it to G#.

So to recap:

D (the 9th) became D# (the sharped 9)

G (the 5th) became G# (the sharped 5)

Put it all together and you’ve got yourself a C7 #9#5 chord (C + E + G# + Bb + D#):

Or play the C in your left hand bass and the rest of the chord on your right hand:

Now here’s the cool part about this chord.

It’s flexible.

You can either use the bass note as is (in this case “C”) or you can use the bass note 3 whole steps away (Gb).

I know this has officially crossed the “quick & easy” border but stick with me here. This is called a tritone substitution.

The same chord above can be played with Gb on bass. Granted, it changes the name of the chord to dominant 13 but that’s alright.

Note: C to D is one whole step, D to E is another whole step, and E to F# (or Gb) is the third whole step. That’s how I got Gb.

This is exactly the type of chord that works very well as a passing chord a half step higher.

Since the bass is Gb, this would be the perfect chord to come down to an F minor 7.

Now ask yourself, what major keys have F minor 7 in them?

Answers:

Eb major has an F minor 7 on the 2nd tone so this Gb passing chord could be used to take us to the 2nd tone.

Db major has an F minor 7 on the 3rd tone so this Gb passing chord could be used to take us to the 3rd tone.

Ab major has an F minor 7 on the 6th tone so this Gb passing chord could be used to take us to the 6th tone.

And if we back up, the original chord was C7 #9#5 (without changing our bass note to Gb). This is a fourth down from F minor 7 and we already know how strong fourth intervals are (think CIRCLE OF FOURTHS). So when you get tired of using the Gb passing chord, swap in the C7 altered chord and you still have a winner!

I know this post is loaded but there’s good information here.

Passing Chords Homework

Learn the dominant 7 #9#5 in all 12 keys. Just start with my C7 #9#5 above and move every finger up ONE note. Write down the chord. Moving every note in the chord up a half step will give you the chord in Db. Doing it again will give you the same chord in D. Do this 10 more times and you’ll have all 12 of them.

To multiply this chord, find the bass note 3 whole steps higher (or lower… you will get the same note). That will give you 12 more versions. These are the ones that work very well a half-step higher but you can still use the first versions too! So you get a 2-for-1 deal!

Lastly, look for opportunities to use these. They work very well before minor chords.

So there you have it — more passing chords to add to your arsenal.

Today, I want to cover passing chords.

It’s a topic I get asked about often… but it’s a simple concept once you understand it.

Passing Chords Explained

Passing chords help you get to and from main chords in your progression. They may or may not be in the key you’re in.

They are like connecting devices, making your music more interesting. Sure you can go from C major to A minor to D minor to G7 but there are ways to enhance this progression when you understand passing chords.

One of the most common passing chords is the diminished 7.

Whenever you want to go to the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and even 7th tones of the scale, try placing a diminished 7 chord a half step lower.

So if you’re in C major and you want to go to A minor (the 6th degree of C), you’d ask yourself what is a half step lower than “A” — answer: Ab. You’d simply play an Ab diminished 7 chord prior to your A minor 7.

More Passing Chords

Put a Db dim 7 (or C# dim7) prior to D minor 7:

An Eb dim 7 prior to E minor 7.

Passing Chords Are Simple

Of course, play around with inversions (the order in which you play the chords) and always be aware of your melody.

Adding passing chords is a great way to spice up your progressions.

Since I skipped a week of Ask Jermaine, I’m back with another one — this time, regarding major 2 chords.

This question comes from Obinna Peter:

“Just awesome Jermaine, what you’re doing here… thanks alot. Please, I would like to ask this question that has been torturing me for a while here. What does this means for example: Eb major 2 or Eb 2? Each time i see it i’d pause for awhile. I know recently u taught about sus2 & sus4 which I really understood very well. But, honestly speaking I don’t know what Eb major 2 or Eb2 means. Please, can u explain? Thanks!”

My Answer:

Great question Obinna.

Major 2 chords are actually much simpler than you think… and you’ll laugh once I explain them.

As a general rule, any time you see numbers, they almost ALWAYS relate to the scale.

So in this case, even if you didn’t know what Eb major 2 (aka – Eb2) was, you could make a guess that it probably has something to do with the second tone of the Eb major scale:

Eb is 1, F is 2, G is 3, Ab is 4, Bb is 5, C is 6, D is 7.

Major 2 Chords Explained

When you see major 2 (or just simply “2″) appended to any root note, it simply means to add the 2.

C major 2 means:

Take your C major chord (C + E + G)

And add the 2nd tone of the C major scale (which is D):

That’s how you get major 2 chords. It’s really that simple.

Here’s another voicing you’ll hear the pros use:

Note: You can play the D and E with your thumb. Just place it right in the middle and kill 2 birds with one stone.

Major 2 Chords vs “Add 9″ Chords

I’ll tell you why you don’t see the “2″ in chords notations that much… because it’s often looked at as the “9.”

In music, there are so many ways to look at things… and depending on whether you’re being super technical or lackadaisical, you can say the same thing several ways.

For example, if I said C major add 9, you might think:

(And this would be more correct because, while the 9 is the same as the 2nd tone of the scale, it’s more reserved for notes in the NEXT octave. That means: C is 1, D is 2, E is 3, F is 4, G is 5, A is 6, B is 7, C is 8, D is 9. Notice how we kept counting above 8 when we got to the next octave — and when you play extended chords like ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, you’re usually using tones from the NEXT octave.)

But that doesn’t stop people from also looking at C major add 9 as this:

(Which is the same chord we explained above as our C major 2).

So truth be told, major 2 chords and major “add 9″ chords are often times looked at as the same thing but now you truly know the difference. Another way to see them is as inversions of each other since you have the freedom to order your notes any way you want.

Major 2 Chords vs Sus 2 Chords

Recall, in this lesson, we talked about sus2 chords.

Sus 2 chords use the 2nd tone of the scale in place of the 3rd tone.

So whereas a C major chord is normally C + E + G — which is the 1 + 3 + 5 of the C major scale played all together — the Csus2 chord is C + D + G, which removes the “E” (3rd degree) altogether.

With major2 chords, you aren’t suspended anything so it’s simply C + D + E + G). It’s an “add on” rather than a replacement.

I hope this has unraveled the mysteries of major 2 chords for you!

We’re back with another “Ask Jermaine” session — this time, focusing on the phrase, “2-5-1 Of The 4.”

This question comes from Bill in San Antonio, TX.

“Jermaine, I’ve heard you and others talk about how important 2-5-1 progressions are and I understand all this. What I don’t get is when you say the 2-5-1 of the 4 or the 2-5-1 of the 6. What does this all mean?”

My Answer:

First off, great question Bill!

In music, even though you’re in one particular key (or as I always say, one planet or galaxy), you can borrow things from other places.

For example, if you live in the USA like me, it doesn’t stop us from importing goods from other countries.

Using chord progressions in your current key that would be typical in another key is very common… and helps to spice up your music.

If you only used the same diatonic chords of a key every time, things would get boring pretty fast. Now, don’t get me wrong… millions upon millions of songs use the typical diatonic chords (that is — major on 1, minor on 2, minor on 3, major on 4, dominant on 5, minor on 6, diminished or half-dim7 on 7). And with all the inversions and potential voicings available to you, these 7 chords can be turned into a lot!

So let’s explore the 2-5-1 in general. Then, we’ll turn to the “2-5-1 of the 4″ and once you get that concept, you’ll get them all (i.e. “2-5-1 of 6″ … “2-5-1 of 3″ etc).

If you’re a beginner, you must understand the numbers come from the major scale.

A 2-5-1 chord progression is no more than a chord off the 2nd tone of the scale moving to a chord off the 5… finally coming home to a chord on the 1.

In C major:

C is 1
D is 2
E is 3
F is 4
G is 5
A is 6
B is 7

So this would be some type of D chord going to some type of G chord… then coming home to some type of C chord.

Above, we covered diatonic chords briefly. Those are the chords that are most likely to occur on each tone of the scale.

So the D would most likely be D minor or D minor 7 because the 2nd tone of the scale naturally creates a minor chord.

The G would either be a G major or G dominant 7.

And the C — it would be a C major or C major 7.

D minor 7

G dominant 7 (a.k.a. – G7)

C major 7

This holds true in all keys.

If we wanted to take this to the key of F, we answer these questions:

1) What is the 2 in F? What is the 5? What is the 1?

Answer: The 2nd tone of F major is G, the 5th is C, and the 1 is F.

2) What diatonic chords occur on the 2, 5, and 1?

Answer: The same diatonic chords that occur on any 2, 5, or 1. The key doesn’t matter. The 2nd diatonic chord of any scale will be minor or minor7. The 5th will be major or dominant 7 and the 1 will be major or major7.

So, in F major:

G minor 7 >>> C7 >>> F major 7

G minor7

C7

F major 7

So, if you’re in C major and someone says “play the 2-5-1 of the 4,” they literally mean:

“Even though you’re in C major, think as if you were in F major because F is the 4th of C. What would be a 2-5-1 in the key of F major? Simply bring that chord progression to the key of C.”

Your song may start on C major 7 and since we know 2-5-1 progressions are very strong, we’d insert a “2-5-1 of the 4″ to give us a strong connection to the 4.

So the progression would be: C major 7 – G minor 7 – C7 – F major 7

You hear this all the time too! It’s simply a C major 7, followed by a “2-5-1 of the 4.”

F is the 4th tone of C… so “2-5-1 of the 4″ literally means “2-5-1 of F.” We’re bringing a 2-5-1 from F major into C major (and you know it’s not a chord progression native of C major because the G would never be minor… it would always be major or dominant so that’s an obvious giveaway that we’ve borrowed this progression.)

C major 7

G minor7

C7

F major 7

So whenever someone says “2-5-1 of the 4,” you’ll never be confused again!

I’m out of time but maybe next time I can cover the “2-5-1 of the 6.”

It’s the same concept except the 6 is minor… so you’re borrowing a “2-5-1″ from a minor key. Just check out this lesson I did on the diatonic chords of minor keys. Then figure out the 2, the 5, and the 1 of “A minor.” Once you’ve gotten that, bring those chords into C major and you’ve got yourself a “2-5-1 of the 6.”

There you have it, the “2-5-1 of the 4″ concept demystified!

Today, let’s talk about borrowed chords.

They are chords literally borrowed from what we call the “parallel” minor or major key.

Let’s not mix up “parallel” with “relative.”

If we were in the key of C, as we’ve learned in other lessons, A, the 6th degree of C, is the relative minor of C. Likewise, C is the relative major of A. That’s not what we’re talking about here.

Parallel keys have the same tonic note… or home base. That means, the starting note of their scales are the same.

So the parallel minor of C major is — you guessed it — C minor!

The parallel minor of A major is — yup, A minor!

So parallel keys have the same first note and understanding this allows you to start using borrowed chords almost immediately.

Borrowed Chords Explained

To really understand borrowed chords, let’s compare the diatonic chords of C major to C minor:

C major or C major 7

D minor or D minor 7

E minor or E minor 7

F major or F major 7

G major or G7

A minor or A minor 7

B diminished or B half-diminished 7

Vs. C minor:

C minor or C minor 7

D diminished or D half-diminished7

Eb major or Eb major 7

F minor or F minor 7

G minor or G minor 7

Ab major or Ab major 7

Bb major or Bb7

Borrowed Chords – Continued

So when you employ borrowed chords, you simply take chords from the parallel minor and play them in your major key. Or vise versa… if the song was in C minor, you could take chords from C major.

Some common borrowed chords in C major:

1) On the 2nd tone of the scale, instead of playing your normal D minor (or 2-minor), you could play D half-diminished 7. Sounds great leading to a 5-chord.

2) Instead of going to the 5-chord to end a song or half-cadence, you can go to Bb major (the “b7″). Sounds great and you hear it in a lot of contemporary music.

3) If you want to change the mood of your song, change your 4-chord — which is normally F major — to an F minor.

4) Use Ab major (the b6) to come down to your 5-chord (Gdom7)

5) Even though this chord isn’t technically in C natural minor (it’s in C harmonic minor), use Bdim7 (B+D+F+Ab) on the 7th degree. It’s a great leading tone back home to any C chord.

6) Use Eb major (b3 tone) in certain spots… like to lead to the 4-chord… or to lead to the b6 (Ab), which can come down to the 5-chord (G), which leads back home to C. See how these things are chained together?

Well, that’s all I have for today. It’s Saturday at about 6am so everyone’s sleep. I thought I’d add another content lesson but don’t get used to Saturdays… this is an anomaly! :-)

These borrowed chords should give you a lot to work on.

A cadence is a chord progression that pretty much ends a song, verse, phrase, or section — today, the Amen cadence.

Amen Cadence & Others

Don’t let the “Amen” fool ya. This isn’t just a churchy progression. Its technical name is the “Plagal” cadence but since it uses the same chords as “Amen” (what you would hear a church sing at the end of a hymn or scripture), it gets the nickname “Amen” cadence.

There are other cadences like the:

-Authentic cadence (when the 5-chord resolves to the 1-chord).

-Half cadence (any cadence ending on the 5-chord… sounds incomplete — usually in the middle of most songs, which leads to repeating the verse… which leads to a real ending).

-Deceptive cadence (when the 5-chord resolves to any other degree EXCEPT for the 1-chord — usually it goes to the 6-chord). Eventually, the song will end but this is a way to keep a song going at the end. And at some point, the song will end usually with a typical authentic cadence (5 to 1).

Amen Cadence Explored

But today, we’re talking about the Amen cadence, which uses the 4-chord to the 1-chord.

The most basic Amen cadence in C major is:

F major >>> C major

A Better Amen Cadence Option

To create an even stronger progression, you can employ the suspended chord we recently covered in this lesson.

Fsus2

C major

Another option is to keep your left-hand bass on C. This makes the chord a Csus4.

And just move one note (F to E) to get to your C major chord:

Another point to make is sus4 and sus2 chords are inversions of each other.

For example, this is a Csus4:

However, if you simply take the C off the bottom and move to the top, you get Fsus2:

Where can you apply the Amen cadence?

Usually at the end of songs.

The song “Hallelujah” is a perfect example. The lyrics aren’t hard at all… just 4 “hallelujahs”… but on the last hallelujah, you can use the amen cadence:

“lu”

“jah”

Here’s an example of the song Hallelujah being played in my new Song Learning software, “The Song Robot.” Check it out:

For more information on the Song Robot program, click here.

So there you have it — the amen cadence… yet another tool to add to your playing!

A Quick & Easy Way To Play Suspended Chords

In this last week’s post, I talked about quartal chords — which are chords built off fourth intervals.

Examples are: C + F + Bb… or G + C + F

(The interval between C and F is a fourth; likewise, the interval between F and Bb is a fourth. The same goes for the intervals between “G + C” and “C + F.”)

But here’s an interesting discovery with quartal chords.

They are actually inverted suspended chords. Yup, suspended chords!

(…which brings up another point. Music is filled with scales, chords, patterns, and theories that can be named different things… looked at from different perspectives… transformed to be different, etc.. Wayne Dyer says “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” This is especially true in music.)

Quartal Chords Are Inverted Suspended Chords

Remember, to invert something means to rearrange it so a different note is on the bottom. There are many ways to describe inversions but that’s the easiest I’ve found. When you’ve cycled through every inversion of a chord, every note has gotten its turn on the bottom. (There is something I’m dying to say to married couples on the topic of inversions but you figure it out!)

So what happens when you invert a quartal chord? Let’s take the C+F+Bb quartal.

Now, let’s rearrange it:

What do ya know… it’s a suspended 4 chord.

A Note About Suspended Chords

Suspended chords (aka – “sus” chords), and specifically sus4 chords (as there is a difference between sus4 and sus2 chords… more on this later), are basically major chords with one modification.

In a typical major chord, you’re playing the 1, 3, and 5. In C major, that’s C+E+G:

Suspended chords replace the 3rd degree of the chord (which is E). So again, the target is the 3.

We’re getting rid of the 3 and putting another note in its place.

The note we use depends on whether we want a “sus4″ or a “sus2″ chord.

Sus4 chords use the 4th degree of the scale in place of the 3rd. So instead of C+E+G, you get C+F+G:

Regular C major chord:

C sus4 chord:

Likewise, sus2 chords use the 2nd degree of the scale in place of the 3rd. So instead of C+E+G, you get C+D+G:

I love to play sus2 chords in slow, ballad-style songs. You’ll find they sound a lot better than plain major chords.

And as the name “suspended” implies, when you play these chords, you get a feeling that something should soon resolve… something needs to change. Even the untrained non-musician ear hears this and anticipates something happening soon after. And in the case of the sus4, the “4th” degree is dying to resolve down to the 3… and usually it will.

Quartal & Suspended Chords

So by simply inverting our C+F+Bb quartal chord, we got F+Bb+C, which is an Fsus4 chord.

Regular F major chord:

F sus4 chord:

If you keep inverting, you’ll get yet another surprise:

C + F + Bb becomes F + Bb + C, which becomes Bb + C + F.

What do ya know… a sus2 chord.

Regular Bb major chord:

Bb sus2 chord:

So basically:

1) In root position, a quartal chord is… umm… a quartal chord.
2) After inverting up once, you’ll get a sus4 chord.
3) After inverting up once again, you’ll get a sus2 chord.

One caveat: It won’t be the same sus4 and sus2. In other words, a quartal chord on C is not going to be a C sus4 and a C sus2. It’s going to be the sus4 of the second note in the original chord… and the sus2 of the last note in the original chord.

So if original chord is C quartal:

Root position gives you: C quartal

Inverting once gives you: F sus4

Inverting again gives you: Bb sus 2

There you have it, a lesson on quartal and suspended chords and how they, as is much of music, are connected.

I knew I had to share this story because there are some lessons about chord placement here.

So Jadyn, our oldest daughter, comes in our room this morning and while I never noticed, Sarah says “Jadyn, you have on your little sister’s pajamas!” Jadyn hadn’t realized it either and we all busted out in laughter.

Now, Layla, our youngest daughter is cute and chunky! Probably in the ninety percentile weight and height for 1 year olds so I’m not surprised Jadyn could fit into her pajama pants.

How does this relate to chord placement?

A few ways…

Chord placement tips

1) You’d be surprised what chords you can “fit in” between common patterns.

Just like Jadyn was able to turn Layla’s pajamas into capri pants, you too can turn smaller progressions into bigger ones if you understand this concept of chord placement.

For example, a song progressing from the 1 to the 4 can easily be expanded by using a “5-1″ progression in between. So instead of going directly from the 1 to the 4, you go: 1 > 5 > 1 > 4.

For more experienced players, you may also think of this as a “2-5-1″ of the 4. That’s when you temporarily treat the 4-chord as “home base.” So if we were in the key of C major, the 4 is F. In the key of F, a 2-5-1 uses the bass notes G > C > F. All we’re doing is borrowing that and using it in C major: C > G > C > F (aka - “1-5-1-4″ or 1 > “2-5-1 of 4″ … different ways to say the same thing).

I always say, “playing by ear is all about having options” and that “the ear is the final judge.” For all I knew, those were Jadyn’s pajama “shorts.” Your audience never knows what you intend… as long as it sounds good and acceptable to them.

2) What’s intended for one purpose can be used for another

I find this is the biggest breakthrough in musicians’ playing — when they start putting chords they’d normally only play in certain situations in totally new places. Or they start employing chords they’d normally only play in one key in other “foreign” keys. This is the art of chord placement.

Like putting a major9 chord on the 6th tone (which is normally “minor”) or putting a dominant7 #9#5 (popular altered chord) on the 7th tone, or even b5 tone (to lead to the 7th tone)… or even on the b2 to lead to the b5, which leads to the 7. As you can see, this can get really crazy! This is chord placement gone wild.

More Chord Placement Tips

3) Sometimes, you CAN do too much! Only get in where you fit in! (Another “hearandplayism” quote)

As they say, “less is sometimes more.” And sometimes, it’s obvious you’re trying to do too much. To Sarah, she was obviously in Layla’s clothes.

Jeremy Jeffers, from our all-new Musician Breakthrough series, says it best: “Music is a conversation… you talk, and you listen… you breathe.”

Some of us ought to give up them old blue jeans from the 90′s. They don’t fit anymore! They cut off circulation to the point where we can’t breathe. Are you suffocating your music?

Chord placement isn’t about “how many chords you can place” but rather what QUALITY placements you can make. Our Musician Breakthrough series, featuring 7 of the craziest west coast musicians, shows chord placement at its best. Check out the video clips to see chord placement at a mastery level.

4) Some progressions and patterns allow for flexible chord placement, others don’t.

Undoubtedly, there’s some articles of Layla that Jadyn could definitely not fit in. But these particular pajama pants were a little loose-fitting so they worked.

In music, you get progressions that ought not be touched… but you also get flexible progressions that can almost always be altered, embellished, expanded, etc.

Jason White, from our Ministry Musician course, relies on the melody to find as many chords as he can that has that same melody note on top. It need not matter what the bass notes are either because your ear will be the final judge. You may know 25 chords that have “Eb” on top. In the research and experimentation part of your practice, simply go through all those chords looking for possible matches… “trial-and-error” style. It’s perfectly okay to be wrong 24 times but when you come across that ONE unorthodox chord that works, it will turn the heads of the BEST musicians. This is a very popular chord placement discovery technique.

(That previous paragraph was a gem. It’s how the best of them find chords. You’d think there was a theoretical, organized process. Really, it’s trial and error, TIME, and the process of elimination.)

One Final Chord Placement Tip

5) Borrowing is good!

Staying on this blog, being a member of GMTC (where you get weekly chords, patterns, chord placement ideas, etc), and shedding with other players will build up your chordal vocabulary.

Remember, what one musician uses one particular way, you can take, “FLIP IT,” and use it a totally different way. Jadyn turned pants into shorts. I bet there will come a day when Layla will turn Jadyn’s shorts into pants or roll up the legs and wear them like they’re hers.

With your knowledge of chords, theory, substitutions, and placement, you can do the same. Sheet music is written in stone… playing by ear is not. You have the choice to do whatever you want… as long as it sounds good, you’re staying true to the melody, and not over-deviating to the detriment of the song.

So there you have it… chord placement lessons from a 4-year old, and her daddy :-).

I touched on primary chords and chord substitutions in this post last week, but today, I want to take it a step further.

(I recommend you go check out that post on primary chords as a primer to this lesson.)

In short, every key has primary chords built off the 1st, 4th, and 5th tones of the scale.

In C major:

C is 1
D is 2
E is 3
F is 4
G is 5
A is 6
B is 7

The primary chords are built off C, F, and G.

The 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th tones create what we call secondary chords.

But don’t let the “secondary” fool ya because they are very important when it comes to chord substitutions.

Recall in that past post how we paired certain primary chords with “brother-sister” secondary chords.

C major (primary) pairs up with A minor7 (secondary)
F major (primary) pairs up with D minor7 (secondary)
G major (primary) pairs up with E minor7 ( secondary)

…And even D minor (secondary) pairs up with B half-diminished7 (secondary).

Quick Primary/Secondary Chord Substitutions

Because C major (C+E+G) and A minor7 (A+C+E+G) share most of the same notes (including the highest note/melody), this makes the “A minor” a perfect replacement when it comes to chord substitutions.

For example, if you had a progression that went from C major to F major to G major (aka – “1-4-5,” one of the most popular chord progressions ever), you could actually swap out the C major for A minor 7.

Granted, you usually like to lay down the original progression by playing it the natural way first. But when it repeats, you’ll find it also sounds good (or even better) when you go to A minor (A+C+E+G) instead of C major (C+E+G).

But what’s really going on here?

If you look closely at the chord, we’re still playing a C major… we’ve just put “A” on the bottom as the bass or root note. And when you do that, it changes the whole chord to “A minor 7,” even though 75% of the notes belong to C major.

(That’s why C major and A minor7 have a really close relationship. In fact, they are relatives… but that’s another lesson).

So the progression could go something like this:

C major
F major
G major

(repeat with chord substitution)

A minor7
F major
G major

We’re not done though…

More Chord Substitutions

C major and A minor7 aren’t the only pair of the key.

F major and D minor7 link up just as good.

What if the third time around, you swapped in D minor7 (D+F+A+C) for the F major (F+A+C)?

That would give you two more possible chord substitutions:

C major
D minor7
G major

Or you could keep the first substitution with the C major / A minor7:

A minor7
D minor7
G major

What other combinations do you see?

So far, I can see:

C major
F major
G major

C major
D minor7
G major

A minor7
F major
G major

A minor7
D minor7
G major

(This is another lesson but the G major can easily be extended to a G dominant 7 for even more flavor).

Even More Chord Substitutions

What about the G major / E minor7 pair? Can we throw that in?

This expands our potential chord substitutions:

C major
F major
E minor7

A minor7
F major
E minor7 (which leads smoothly back to Aminor7 to repeat… that’s “circle of fifths” movement)

A minor7
D minor7
E minor7

C major
D minor7
E minor7

So, really, this is a game of “mix n match” and preference.

Because each of these chord substitutions preserves the melody (or what Jason White phrases, “never sacrifices the melody”) and pretty much has the same chord makeup, you get practically the same function.

Some chord substitutions will work brilliantly well, others you can pass on. But it’s all up to you.

It’s very important when playing by ear that you understand your options. As I always say, playing by ear is all about having options. You don’t have sheet music in front of you. You don’t have to copy someone else’s homework. You know countless ways to play the same thing… and this kinda stuff is where it starts.

How many places do you play 1, 4, and 5 chords that you can substitute in their relative minor partners (6, 2, and 3)? That’s your homework.

Well, that’s all I have for you on chord substitutions — see you next time.

Most people haven’t heard of quartal chords.

That’s because they are chords built off fourth intervals, whereas the most familiar chords (like major, minor, dominant, diminished, augmented) are built of thirds — aka “tertian chords.”

How to Form Quartal Chords

First, you gotta know your intervals. Here’s a quick way to learn fourth intervals (and subsequently fifth intervals because fourths and fifths are like the opposite of each other. If you go down a fourth, you’ll get the same note an octave higher by going up a fifth… and vise versa).

This chart will help you learn fourths. Just follow it counter clockwise.

If there is anything in music to commit to memory as fast as you can, it’s this chain of notes organized in fourths. It just so happens this is the way most songs progress, too. Think about all the songs you already know how to play. Compare them to this circle and I’d bet entire chunks will be consistent. Music moves in fourths!

In other words, F is a fourth up from C.

Bb is a fourth up from F.

(Others take the “fifth” route — C is the fifth of F… F is the fifth of Bb… and so on. But for the purposes of learning Quartal chords, we’ll stick with fourths. There is such a thing as Quintal chords built off fifths but that’s another lesson).

Using the chart above, if you circle any 3 notes neighboring each other, you’ve got yourself a quartal chord.

Let’s try it:

C + F + Bb = Quartal chord

F + Bb + Eb = Quartal chord

Can you do the rest? I’ll provide answers below.

Answers: Quartal Chords In All 12 Keys:

C + F + Bb

F + Bb + Eb

Bb + Eb + Ab

Eb + Ab + Db

Ab + Db + Gb

Db + Gb + Cb (or C# + F# + B)

F# + B + E

B + E + A

E + A + D

A + D + G

D + G + C

G + C + F

Quartal chords In Action

As the title of this post implies, quartal chords are really easy to use. It’s because of the open sound created by the fourth interval. Quintal chords, created by 5th intervals, have a similar effect.

Quartal chords can be used as 1-chords, as 4-chords, as passing chords… almost anywhere. In fact, you’ve probably marveled at jazz players using them and because of their distinct sound, you couldn’t even tell what the player was doing!

Try this:

1) Hit C on your left hand as bass.

2) Just start playing random quartal chords above while keeping C on your left hand.

You’ll find majority of them work. Keep the ones that sound good to you… throw out the ones that don’t.

For example, holding C on my left hand, these quartal chords sound good to me:

C on left /// C + F + Bb (this creates a suspended 7th chord… lower the F to E for resolution).

C on left /// D + G + C (nice major-sounding chord)

C on left /// Eb + Ab + Db (I’m sure you could find a place for this)

C on left /// E + A + D (similar to the other major-sounding one, this can be used on the “1″)

C on left /// F + Bb + Eb (push the envelope with this one)

C on left /// Ab + Db + Gb (dissonant but useful)

C on left /// A + D + G (one of my favorites to use on the “1″)

C on left /// Bb + Eb + Ab (one of my favorites to use as a passing chord on the “3″ in Ab major. For extra spice, add an “E” to left hand: C+E)

C on left /// B + E + A (nice major-sounding chord).

And truth be told, even the ones I skipped work!

You could almost hold C down and go up chromatically, note for note playing each quartal chord in rhythm, and create a nice little groove. Try it.

If you want even more guidance, check out my GospelKeys 202 program where I first started talking about quartal chords in 2003, when this course first came out.

Well, that’s all I have for you. To be honest, I thought this lesson would be short but I got a little carried away.

Comment below and let me know how you use or will start using quartal chords in your playing.

How to spice up minor chords

It’s been said “small hinges swing big doors” and it’s true. Today’s strategy is so simple and concise, yet it will be very valuable to you.

(I’ll make this fast because as I type, Jadyn, my oldest is banging on my home office door demanding to play “Reader Rabbit.” She goes to preschool Monday thru Thursday, home on Fridays so you can imagine our “Full House” — long story, but just 13.5 months ago, she was the only child. Now we have 3 and the youngest aren’t twins. What a riddle… you do the math!)

So with that said, here’s a simple alteration you can make to spice up minor chords and sound like you’ve been playing for years. When a pro hears you do this, you automatically get brownie points.

There are a few things like this I’ll cover in the future but these little secrets usually separate those who know what they’re doing from the rest.

How to spice up minor chords – Tip #1

So any time you’re on a minor 7 chord like C + Eb + G + Bb, all you have to do is identify the 5th degree of the chord and raise it a half step.

This gives you a minor 7 #5 chord and it sounds awesome! It’s that easy… and this is just one of many ways to spice up minor chords.

Now the trick is usually to start by playing the typical minor 7 chord, then a second after, raise the 5th!

Let’s do some examples.

C minor 7

Now, if you number the C minor scale (which happens to yield the same 5th degree as the C major scale, so either one can work), you get:

G is the 5th so that’s the note we want to raise a half step.

C minor 7 #5

How to spice up minor chords – Tip #2

Now the key is to practice this with all your minor 7 chords and their inversions

C minor 7 #5 (1st inversion)

C minor 7 #5 (2nd inversion)

C minor 7 #5 (3rd inversion)

How to spice up minor chords – Tip #3

The keynote is the root of the chord, the title of the chord. In this example, it’s “C” because we’ve been studying the “C minor 7″ chord.

When you invert your chords, the C will get lost in the mix. Many prefer to remove it from the right hand, especially if you’re going to play it in your left or you have a bass player holding down the root. It just sounds better omitting the root from the right hand.

C minor 7 #5

If you’ve been with me a while, you’ll know this is nothing more than a quartal chord on the right hand. Music is full of coincidences like this.

Here’s my favorite voicing:

Your turn: Spice up minor chords in all 12 keys. Start with the typical minor 7th chord, identify the 5th degree, and raise it a half step.

Well, time to go. We’re taking the kids for a walk down one of these trails around here. Quick story before I go…

When I first moved here to Orange County, the selling agent said these trails had coyotes and to take a stick (I think he was being more funny than cautionary because my grandma, also my agent, gets hysterical about things like that). So for 7 years, I avoided the trails… even though one starts right across the street!

Well, just a month ago, I got over it and we went on the trail and guess what??? There was NOTHING to fear after all. Just nature at its best! In fact, not being an outdoors guy, I was awe-inspired by the beauty. Come to find out, you can take this trail for 5 miles all the way down to Laguna Beach. Not trying to make this about race but I think it’s a cultural thing. Some folks just get out… others ain’t having it!

I did pick up a pocket knife and pepper spray. (I’m open to new discoveries but I ain’t stupid)!

Now go spice up minor chords!

The idea of “primary chords” is not new around here.

In fact, I talked about primary chords in this past lesson, over here, and even here.

But today, I want to talk about just how powerful primary chords are.

To recap, every scale has what we call diatonic chords. These are chords that are naturally formed off every tone of the scale.

So if you took a basic C major scale:

C D E F G A B C

…and you formed chords by skipping every other note, you’d get:

C E G (C major)
D F A (D minor)
E G B (E minor)
F A C (F major)
G B D (G major)
A C E (A minor)
B D F (B diminished)

We call these the diatonic chords of the scale. “Diatonic” literally means “pertaining to the scale.”

Now, not all of these chords are created equal. In this group, we have primary chords and secondary chords.

Primary Chords

If you numbered these chords, here’s what you’d get:

1st tone – C E G (C major)
2nd tone – D F A (D minor)
3rd tone – E G B (E minor)
4th tone – F A C (F major)
5th tone – G B D (G major)
6th tone – A C E (A minor)
7th tone – B D F (B diminished)

The primary chords are ones that fall on the 1st, 4th, and 5th tones.

C major, F major and G major.

In music, the 1-4-5 is one of the most popular progressions you’ll play.

The term “primary chords” are reserved for these because of their high level of consonance and stability in the current major key.

That’s not to say C major, F major, and G major are very harmonious in all keys. It’s all about “roles.” In one key, a chord can be primary. In another key, it may take the backseat role.

FYI – Since the 1, 4, and 5 are primary chords, that leaves the remaining ones (D minor, E minor, A minor, B diminished) as “secondary chords.”

The versatility of primary chords

We know the 1, 4, and 5 tones are primary chords.

But what if I said you could go to any key and by only knowing these 3 chords, you could play all the others?

Sure, you eventually want to know all your chords in all 12 keys. But what if you just got started and wanted a shortcut to remember all the other chords outside of the primary ones in a key?

Here’s how you do it…

Remember these “chord pairs.”

In music, there’s this concept called relative minor. I’ve written about this in the past. I can’t explain here but basically every major chord has a counterpart minor chord to go with it. And for that matter, every major KEY has a minor KEY that tags along.

For all intents and purposes, they share the same notes in their scales, draw from the same pool of notes for their chords, the same makeup, the same number of sharps and flats, EVERYTHING.

You can go to that separate lesson on your own time (see above) but basically if you want to know this “relative minor counterpart,” simply go to the 6th tone of whatever major key or chord you’re playing.

Pairing primary chords

If I’m playing a C major chord or scale, the 6th tone is A. That means A is the relative minor of C.

If I’m playing an F major chord or scale, the 6th tone is D. That means D is the relative minor of F.

If I’m playing a G major chord or scale, the 6th tone is E. That means E is the relative minor of G.

So if you were playing a C major chord (C E G) and you wanted to form an A minor 7 chord, just add “A” (which is the relative minor of C) to the bass on your left hand.

Bam! Now you have an A minor 7 chord.

C major

A minor 7

Same thing is true with F major and D minor 7.

F major is F A C. Add the D to the bass as lowest note and you get D F A C (D minor 7).

F major

D minor 7

And of course, same with G major and E minor 7.

G major

E minor 7

Now, you may have noticed we have one more diatonic chord left (B diminished).

This one is achieved with a similar concept. Except you’re taking the relative key of the D minor chord (which we formed by knowing the F relative major chord)… and you’re doing the same thing. B is the relative of D so the same concept is at work… just slightly different implementation.

D minor

B half diminished 7

Primary chords are covered extensively in my home study course, “The Secrets To Playing Piano By Ear.” I recommend you check it out by clicking here.

In a future lesson, I’ll talk about how these chords can be substituted and swapped with each other. That means, instead of going to a “C major” chord, you can often times get away with going to an “A minor” chord. Same with F major… instead of going there, you can go to a D minor. Even for G major, you can get away with substituting a turnaround progression starting on E minor. But we’ll cover this later.

For now, learn your primary chords in all 12 keys and these relationships and see just how flexible and versatile you’ll become.

I’m back with another “Ask Jermaine” question of the week — this time about piano chord fingering.

This question is from Danny in the UK:

“Jermaine, hope all is good & well. I finally made it to seventh chords!! (Pheww). When building a major/minor 7th in all 12 keys, what is the correct piano chord fingering?”

My answer:

Hey Danny,

Congratulations on making it to seventh chords. The thing about seventh chords is once you know your basics (major, minor, dominant, diminished, augmented), you can pretty much play any desired bigger chord on demand – ninths, elevenths, thirteenths… because those are merely comprised of stacked sevenths + triad chords (another lesson).

Proper Piano Chord Fingering

I have good news and bad news.

The bad news is when it comes to piano chord fingering, things aren’t exactly black and white. In fact, you’ll be hard pressed to find one common answer out there.

The good news is proper piano chord fingering not as hard as you think since seventh chords have 4 notes and if you’re going to play them in one hand, you only have 5 fingers to choose from. That naturally leaves few options.

Remember, each finger is labeled 1 through 5 with the thumb always being 1 and the pinky always being 5.

So on your left hand, it’s: 5 (pinky) – 4 (ring) – 3 (middle) – 2 (index) – 1 (thumb).

On your right hand, it’s: 1 (thumb) – 2 (index) – 3 (middle) – 4 (ring) – 5 (pinky).

(Here’s an article illustrating the piano chord fingering layout above.)

For my beginners, if you’re playing 3-fingered “triads,” you’ll most likely be using 5 – 3 – 1 on left and 1 – 3 – 5 on right for your piano chord fingering. The only exception is for chords that require a wider finger span. In those cases, you can do 5 – 2 -1 on left and 1 – 2 – 5 on right.

Also, fingers 2, 3, and 4 are best for black keys. Try to avoid the thumb or pinky on black keys if you can help it.

4-finger piano chord fingering

For 4-finger chords (aka tetrads), you’ll most likely be using 5 – 3 – 2 – 1 for left and 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 for right hand fingering.

But like I said before, this isn’t written in stone so if you need, for example, finger 3 for a melody note that is passing by, use 5 – 4 – 2 – 1 on left and 1 – 2 – 4 – 5 on right.

As the chords get bigger and more flexibility is required, you can use your own discretion.

Some piano chord fingering pointers

• Keep in mind where you’re going next or what the melody is doing. If you’re making one finger do extra work, it can slow you down.
• You’ll be better off choosing a chord fingering that allows for more mobility rather than sticking with the “textbook” in every situation. So instead of having to lift a finger from one chord immediately to another, if you’ve chosen the best piano chord fingering for your situation, you can simply swap in a “free” finger for speed.
• Strategically space out your fingering so you have room for things in between your chord tones.
• Remember to slow things down in the beginning. There’s no harm in going super slow. What you’re looking for is accuracy and precision. If you’ve worked out the proper piano chord fingering at a slow tempo, speeding it up will be eventually be a piece of cake.

Remember, everyone’s different and there is no one size fits all when it comes to piano chord fingering. From different hand/finger sizes to situations requiring a “stretch,” you’ll continually be adjusting. But use these piano chord fingering tips as a start.

Chords & Enhancements

>NOTE: To learn ALL the chord techniques and chord strategies to take your playing to the next level, go here:

http://www.hearandplay.com/products

Several months back, I tried out a new format where I took really good questions from students and not only answered them personally but sent the answers to our entire mailing list.

And you really seemed to enjoy that. But due to a busy production season (which I’ll tell you about very soon), I haven’t sent out any in a while.

Today, I’m back.

Not only with these helpful “Question & Answer” articles but with consistent blog updates as well. So stay tuned!

(If you have a question you’d like to see me answer in this format, visit http://www.hearandplay.com/askjermaine…)

—————-

*** Comment From Jamal Howard ***

Jermaine, I have been with you since 2004 and I give you the credit for getting me started. Now, I play for 2 churches and started a singing group a couple years ago that is really blessing our area.

My question is on easy ways to enhance my chords. Everyone tells me I sound good but I’m always hungry for more tips. Anything you can pass my way will be appreciated.

Keep up the great work my brother. You are an inspiration to many. Thank you.

—————-

>>> My comments and explanations to Jamal

Hey Jamal,

First off, thanks so much for your dedication! Wow, 2004! That’s a long time ago in internet years.

I’m glad to hear it paid off for you too. Playing for one church these days is enough but you’re playing for TWO. Keep it up!

Your question is, no doubt, a great one and I get asked this all the time.

There are many ways to approach enhancing and altering your chords.

Here’s a short list:

1) Inversions
2) Chord Additions
3) Chord Omissions
4) Chord Suspensions
5) Chord Arpeggios
6) Chord Extensions
7) Chord Reaches
8) Chord Dissonance
9) Chord Substitutions
10) Polychord voicings
11) Grace notes

Many of these chord concepts are covered in GospelKeys 202 and Urban Pro 600 in full detail, but I’ll cover them here and in my next e-mail.

CHORD INVERSIONS:

=============

You’d be surprised how far mastering inversions will take you.

In fact, many musicians don’t pay attention to inversions.

They learn their major, minor, diminished, and augmented chords (what I call the “Fantastic Four” in my Monthly Music Mentor series) and never look back.

And sure, these 4 chord types can take you a long way but what separates a GREAT musician from a good one is ones attention to details.

The melody will often times determine what inversion of a chord you play. I say “often times” because this isn’t the case all the time… but usually.

If you don’t know what an inversion is, here’s my simple definition.

“INVERSIONS are just different ways to play the same chord.”

Basically, every note gets its turn on the bottom. If you remember that, you’ll never forget how inversions work.

If I had 4 odd numbers:

1 3 5 7

And you had to rearrange these numbers in as many different ways as possible with each one getting its turn in the front, it would look like this:

1 3 5 7
3 5 7 1
5 7 1 3
7 1 3 5

Now, imagine these numbers are notes like:

C E G B
E G B C
G B C E
B C E G

There you have it! You’ve mastered the “inversions” game.

So when you’re playing a particular chord and you think it can sound better, the first thing to do is try different inversions.

After hitting a chord, you can even follow up with other inversions of the same chord up your piano.

Hands down, it’s the easiest, lowest hanging fruit for enhancing your sound.

ADDITIONS
============

The second thing you can do is add single tones to your chords.

When playing major and minor chords, the easiest thing you can do is add the “9th” tone to your chord.

“9″ sounds all fancy doesn’t it?

Don’t sweat it because it’s basically the same thing as the 2nd tone of your scale.

If you’re in the key of C major, here’s the scale:

C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Now, imagine we kept going and we never stopped counting:

C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

What tone is the 9th?

It’s “D” right?

“D” also happens to be the 2nd tone of the scale too.

Now technically, you can reserve “9″ for times when you’re really going to add the “high D” from the next octave and “2″ for the instances where you use the low “D.”

But to be honest, this is “playing by ear” and it really doesn’t matter how you look at it. As long as you arrive at “D” for this C major or C minor chord, you’re fine.

High D, low D… they both will enhance your chord and you can choose the one you like for the situation at hand.

So instead of boring C major and C minor chords like this:

C E G
C Eb G

You’ll play:

C D E G
C D Eb G

OR

C E G D
C Eb G D

But I prefer the first version where the notes are closer.

Another tone that works well in these situations is the “6th tone” (or “13th,” as described above).

I like adding this tone when I’m already playing a major 7th chord.

So if you’re playing a C major 7 chord:

C E G B

Adding the “6th” tone, “A” works well in most instances.

C E G A B

“Additions” don’t always have to be new notes. You can double up on existing notes.

Usually the “3rd” tone of the scale is a great note to double up on.

For example, in the last chord, you could double up on the “E.”

C E G A B

becomes:

C E G A B E

Because this is 6 notes, you simply play the C on your left hand and the “E G A B E” on your right.

C on left /// E G A B E

“Additions” are a great way to enhance your chords.

OMISSIONS
==========

Opposite of additions, sometimes less is more.

For example, the chord above:

C on left /// E G A B E

I’d probably take out the “G” which is the “5th” of the chord.

Usually, if there’s something to take out, it’s the “1″ or the “5″ of the chord.

Let me explain:

First, you need to know your numbers for the key you’re in.

In our case, C major:

C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

So when I say the “5″ or the “1″ or the “6″ or the “7,” I’m referring to the tones of the scale, as shown above.

I’m NOT talking about the order of the chord as in the “3rd” note that’s played. It all relates back to the scale. Just thought I’d clarify that.

The reason you can take out the 5th is because it’s present in both major, minor, and dominant chords. Taking it out doesn’t alter these chords whatsoever.

On the other hand, you don’t want to mess with the “3rd” or “7th” tones of a chord because they are critical. They determine what type of chord you’re playing usually.

But unless the chord is diminished or augmented (which, in those cases, the 5th is either lowered a half step or raised a half step), you can take out the 5th because it’s just there for support.

For power, some people prefer to play it on their left hand and leave it out of their right hand. Some people leave it alone.

Let your ear be the final judge. Sometimes I keep the 5, sometimes I omit it.

Another tip is to omit the “1″ of the chord.

Why? Because it’s usually covered in the left hand bass. If you’re playing a C major chord, you’re usually playing C on your left hand anyway so there’s no need to play it again on your right hand.

And most of the time, it sounds better to NOT play it on your right hand. Try it:

Compare:

C on left /// C E G B

versus:

C on left /// E G B

Doesn’t the second one sound better?

Plus, it lets you invert easier (tip #1 above).

It’s far easier to invert “E G B” (which is basically an “E minor” chord) than it is to invert “C E G B.”

Now compare:

C on left /// G B C E

versus:

C on left /// G B E

If the melody is “C”, then I’d keep C and question whether “C major 7″ is the right chord altogether.

Maybe the chord just calls for “E G C” instead of “E G B C.”

The closeness between “B” and “C” as the highest notes create tension and if that’s not what you’re looking for, perhaps the “B” should be gone.

So this is the thought process going on when it comes to omissions.

SUSPENSIONS
=============

This is when you hold on to a particular tone (usually a tone not originally in the chord) and it resolves down to the real tone.

You hear it a lot at the end of songs.

Say your song ends on a typical C major chord:

C E G

If you wanted to change this to a suspended chord, you’d get rid of the “3.” That’s E.

Instead, you’d replace it with the tone a half step higher — the “4.”

So, instead of:

C E G

It’s:

C F G

The “F” (which is the 4) creates a dissonance that must resolve. It’s begging to resolve down to “E” and eventually it will.

C F G

resolves to:

C E G

This is would we call a “suspended 4″ chord.

There are also “suspended 2″ chords.

Instead of the 4th tone replacing the 3rd tone, we use the “2nd” tone to replace the 3rd tone.

Notice in both cases, the “3rd” of the key is the target.

So now it’s:

C D G (C sus 2 chord)

This is similar to the “C major add 2″ chord we studied above.

The key difference is one has the “E” in it and the other doesn’t.

C major add 2 C D E G

C sus 2 C D G

Corny joke: They say God’s favorite chord is “G sus”

Assume sus4 if you don’t see a number after sus.

So if this is true, God’s favorite chord is what?

G C D (G sus chord)

Interesting Observation:

Inverting a “sus2 chord” gives us another type of chord I talk about in GospelKeys 202, the “Quartal chord.”

C D G (Csus2)

Now, take the “C” off the bottom and put it on top:

D G C

(“D G C” = quartal chord).

Unlike major, minor, diminished, and augmented chords that are built off third intervals, quartal chords are built entirely with fourth intervals.

What’s the interval between “D” and “G”… answer: a fourth! The interval between “G” and “C”? … answer: a fourth!

So turning your sus chords into quartal chords is another way to enhance your sound.

Compare:

C on left /// C E G

to

C on left /// D G C

What sounds better?

Here’s one final insight I’ll leave you with:

Inverting a sus4 will eventually give you a sus2.

Csus4 is:

C F G

Now put the C on top:

F G C (now you have Fsus2)

Now put the F on top:

G C F (a “quartal chord”).

All this stuff’s related! If you learn one, then take the time to explore how to get the others, you’ll cut your learning time in half!

Well, I think I’ve given you enough to think about for now.

I’ll be back soon to finish that list.

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Talk soon,

Jermaine Griggs
Hear and Play Music

http://www.hearandplay.com

Here’s a lesson I just recorded for you. It covers a few worship chords and progressions you can put to work for you right away! I hope you enjoy it. I had fun making it.

You can download this video to your computer by clicking here

Press the icon on the bottom-right of the video to enter FULL SCREEN mode

Continuing Education Resources

GospelKeys202.com

GospelKeys Urban Pro 600

Gospel Music Training Center

Talk soon,

Jermaine Griggs

Happy New Year!

Yup, it’s been that long since I’ve written in my blog… but for good reason…

You’ll probably remember I promised I’d go on vacation after the launch of my latest 12-disc “Musician Transformation” & Gospel Music Training Center resources in December 2009 (which sold out, btw).

But that’s not the only reason I’ve been gone…

On December 15, 2009 at 3:41 a.m. (just a lil over 3 hours after my wife’s birthday ended on the 14th), God blessed us with another little angel, Layla Ann Griggs… 8lbs, 11oz, 20 inches.

Here’s a pic of her and my wife:

If you remember the birth of my first daughter, Jadyn Olivia Griggs, on June 8, 2006, you’ll know they practically look like twins!

I never thought I’d be one of those types that forget the names of my kids… “Now take this bottle Jadyn… I mean LAYLA!!!” (And I’m only 26…!!!)

I’m also so proud of my beautiful wife Sarah because just some weeks after giving birth to Layla, she was back up and glamorous! Here’s a pic I snapped of her just before our “date night” to a nearby comedy show.

And since I’m revealing pics, I guess I’m next…

NOT!

You’ll have to wait to see my transformation! I’ll reveal myself in June (maybe on my birthday????)…

Let’s just say JP (from GospelKeys Urban Pro 600) and I have been working out every morning at 6am… yup 6am! (If you got a goal or dream, GO GET IT! And go STRONG! Will Smith says it best here)

With that said, I want to reintroduce you to over 2 hours of free video content and over 50 pages of written material I created early in 2009. I realize that a lot of people have joined the hear & play family since then and have never seen these free resources.

Others have been on board a while and still missed these.

And the rest clicked the links when I originally posted them but FAILED to do anything with the information. So here’s another opportunity!

(If you did make good with this information, congrats… you’re in the top 10% of action-takers! Take this time to review…)

This is a series. They all go together.

VIDEO LESSON #1 – “Finding the key to any song”

If you ask any ear-musician, this skill will be at the center (or maybe the “center” of the “center” like in hit movie, Slumdog Millionaire).

If you can’t determine what key a song is being performed in just by listening, you’ll have many problems down the road (at least when it comes to playing by EAR in situations where you need to “think on your feet.”)

This is the most “intuitive” of all the skills and knowledge you’ll attain. It’s not like reading sheet music where you look at the grand staff and determine what key the piece is in by the number of flats or sharps that appear at the beginning of the music.

YOU DON’T HAVE MUSIC IN FRONT OF YOU.

No reference.

Just your ear.

This video will make it plain…

Note: If you really like what I talked about, I have an 80-minute course that covers finding the key to any song. You can find it here.

VIDEO LESSON #2 – “The KEY to getting to the next level in your piano”

This next lesson reveals a very important STRATEGY you MUST have as an ear-musician.

Again, if you’re reading sheet music, this probably isn’t emphasized as much… but when it comes to playing by ear, “NUMBERS” rule.

And your ability to know your numbers “inside” and “out” will determine how far you get… and how fast you get there.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out the next lesson below. There is also a 28-pg report that goes along with it.

(You may also find my “core fundamentals” courses helpful)

RESOURCE: Click here to download the free 29-pg report that goes along with this video lesson.

VIDEO LESSON #3 – “The SECRET to playing ANY and EVERY chord you want in SECONDS”

This next lesson will take you even further…

It borrows a very familiar concept from the car industry (popularized by Henry Ford in the early 1900′s) and adapts it to music!

It’s the very next logical step in the process and you’ll get it laid out for you plainly in this video…

(there is a 14 page report included at the bottom of the video)

If this topic interests you, then you may like my “hear & play chords” series.

RESOURCE: Click here to download the free 14-pg report that goes along with this video lesson.

VIDEO LESSON #4 – “The MISSING PIECE OF THE PUZZLE to playing almost any song out there”

This last video could arguably be the MOST IMPORTANT part when it comes to learning real songs and understanding just how closely related songs are (yes… all songs follow the same general patterns and principles — this video will reveal all of this to you…)

There’s also a 12-pg report that goes along with it…

RESOURCE: Click here to download the free 12-pg report that goes along with this video lesson.

(If you’re into gospel music, GospelKeys 202 really breaks down the idea of “patterns.” 70 to 80% of songs have the same common movements in them. This course is revolutionary in that it breaks down all these patterns and covers the “how,” “what,” and “why.” Click here for more information)

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Wow, so there you have it! A good way to start off the year!

I look forward to your comments about our new addition and/or the videos above. I read each and every one of them.

(My last blog post got over 750 comments when I was giving away my FREE 12-disc “Musician Transformation” course … which will be back in a couple of months, don’t worry!)

Take care,

Jermaine Griggs
Founder