Ear-Training

The Most Practical Way To Master All 12 Keys

by Jermaine Griggs · 3 comments

in Experienced players,Playing By Ear,Transposing Keys

I’m often asked the best way to learn all 12 keys and while I’ve advocated many methods in the past, the most practical way is to adapt my “3 x 12″ rule.

Simply put: Take 3 songs you know and learn them in all 12 keys.

It helps if they are songs that utilize a variety of different chords. That’s why picking 3 is important because between them, you should get a good mix of chords off every tone of the scale…

How To Transform Your Playing

by Jermaine Griggs · 6 comments

in Piano,Playing By Ear

Last year, I released a breakthrough system that took what I believe to be the entire “playing by ear” process and broke it into a step-by-step system.

It included 5 parts: Fundamental Fluency, Chordal Command, Pattern Paradise, Song Solidity, and Ear Efficiency.

We now make every new member of the Gospel Music Training Center complete the online Musician Transformation training (9+ hours of video training, over 300+ exam questions, etc).

In this post, I want to cover the first part of the system: Fundamentals Fluency.

Justin Bieber Never Say Never Piano Chords

by Jermaine Griggs · 6 comments

in Chords & Progressions,Piano,Playing By Ear

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…

My Advice To A Student About Learning Songs

by Jermaine Griggs · 5 comments

in Playing By Ear,Playing songs

After yesterday’s post, I received an awesome comment from Chris Johnson. I quickly replied and after re-reading our exchange, thought it appropriate to share with you.

Chris wrote:

Well you’ve done it again Jermaine. You know how close I am to my goals! I pretty much do all of this already but I still struggle at times and I always struggle with the bass.

I have all of these skills under my belt except for picking out those darn bass notes…

The Key To Learning New Songs… QUICKLY!

by Jermaine Griggs · 8 comments

in Piano,Playing By Ear,Playing songs,Scales,Theory

Let’s not kid ourselves.

The whole point of learning all these theories, principles, and shortcuts isn’t because we’re in love with this stuff (well, some of us are). But for most, learning this stuff is a means to an end.

And without a doubt, the ultimate “end” (at our website at least) is to hear a song and in a matter of minutes, be able to play it.

There’s a lot that goes into it, don’t get me wrong. But here, I want to give you a really concise blueprint…

“In His Own Words” – A Student’s Update

by Jermaine Griggs · 6 comments

in Playing By Ear

Enjoy this video of me reading an e-mail update from passionate member, Danny Simplay from the U.K…

8 Year Old Gospel Music Genius – Jayden Arnold [VIDEOS]

by Jermaine Griggs · 14 comments

in Playing By Ear

Today’s post is about a young musician I can’t stop marveling over. His name is Jayden Arnold and he reminds me so much of myself (except he’s several miles ahead of where I was).

I’ve had the opportunity to talk to Jayden’s mom and she says he is completely self-taught. Never had a lesson, never had a teacher. He just listens to things and is able to pick it out. This is a perfect example of giftedness at a young age.

If you observe his clips, he’s got…

11 Ways to Enhance Your Chords and Playing (Part 1)

by Jermaine Griggs · 36 comments

in Chords & Progressions,Contemporary Music,Playing By Ear

In this post, I’m answering a question from member Jamal Howard on how to enhance chords. I give a detailed list of 11 chord enhancements anyone can make right away. The first 4 are covered in this post. Look for the rest soon!