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…
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…
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.
One simple technique that is common out here is to take a chord, pull out the middle note, and simply…
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…
Yesterday, we discussed how to use diminished passing chords a half step lower to transport us where we want to go.
Today, we’re going to cover how to use passing chords a half step HIGHER than the target chord. The only difference is we’re not using a diminished 7 chord this time. We’re going to use an altered…
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 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…
Since I skipped a week of Ask Jermaine, I’m back with another one — this time, regarding major 2 chords. This question from Obinna Peter:
“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? I know recently u taught about sus2 & sus4 which I really understood very well. But what are these Eb major 2 and Eb2 chords?”
My answer…
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…
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…
A cadence is a chord progression that pretty much ends a song, verse, phrase, or section. Today, we’re going to cover the “Amen cadence”… one of my favorites!
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