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)

————

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

Re-opening December 9, 2009 @ 6pm Pacific
Click here to grab your copy!

Instantly Download My Brand New FREE 44-pg Guide, "MUSICIAN TRANSFORMATION^" Right Now!

(UPDATE: Just added… 29-pg Follow-Up Guide, "THE MISSING CHAPTER." Download both today! FREE!)

"FINALLY EXPOSED! The Hidden, Underground System Advanced Gospel Musicians Have Been Hiding From You… That Will Instantly Propel Your Playing To The Next Level Today!"

INSIDE! Discover how you can use this chart to easily find and fix your most frustrating problems hindering you from getting to the next level in your gospel playing.

(Hint: You must have all 5 elements above to succeed. Missing just one element will lead to the problems listed on the right side of the chart.)

Get all 44 pages… Simply fill out the form above!

(Update: Get an additional 29 pg guide, "THE MISSING CHAPTER")!

I’m very interested in your comments. Please leave them below.

Enjoy the material!

Talk soon,

Jermaine Griggs

P.S. - Winners of contest (video announcement)

Big Surprise… Important Video

Get on Priority Notification “Early Bird” List

http://www.hearandplay.com/products

Wow, what can I say…

I think I’ve started something here…

The last few weeks, I’ve been trying out a new format by taking really good questions from students and not only answering them personally, but sending them to our entire mailing list.

This has resulted in a lot of love — and even MORE questions from dedicated students all around the world. I’ve received at least a good couple hundred questions that could easily keep me busy sending responses like this for years…

But here’s one that made the top of the list. I think you’ll really be helped by my reply to Tyler. It’s long but packed with details. About 5 lessons in one.

PRINT THIS OUT because it really is *that* important.

——————–

***Comment From Tyler N***

Hi Jermaine,

Dude, you are incredible. Your knowledge of theory is on another planet. Thanks for what you do man, for real.

I’m trying to learn all 12 keys and I happen to be a member of the Gospel Music Training Center where you talked about using the circle of fifths to learn every key.

I do know the circle of fifths but I don’t think I totally understand how to use it to learn every key. Do you mind shedding some light on this in the next Q&A teleclass?

Again, thanks man. Tell JP and all the staff they are doing an awesome job.

Tyler

——————–

>>> My Comments and explanations to Tyler (Lots of good info… read carefully)

Yo Tyler!

Thanks for the e-mail! Glad to hear you’re enjoying the material!

I believe you’re referring to our last Gospel Music Training Call that just past, where Jon and I talked about the circle of fifths and how it can help you to learn any song in all 12 keys…

I can definitely help you with that.

But before we delve in, let’s back up a bit and talk about the ‘circle of fifths’ concept itself.

The circle of fifths is a very powerful discovery in music because it pretty much describes HOW MUSIC WORKS in one simple chart.

If you want to see an example of the circle, here’s an example: http://www.musiccirclechart.com

You see, music moves in fifths and fourths. And if you really think about it, there’s a fine line between “fifths” and “fourths.” (that’s why you hear some people calling it the “circle of fifths” and other folks calling it the “circle of fourths.” Let me demystify this first.

Both names are correct. Here’s why:

If I ask you to go up a fourth interval, that essentially means to move up 5 half steps from whatever note you’re on. (There are many ways to think about it but this is the most straightforward…)

And for folks that don’t know what half steps are, remember this poem:

“Half steps are from key to key with no keys in between, Whole steps always skip a key with one key in between.”

So basically, if you’re going from one key directly up or down to the key directly next door, that’s a half step. Doesn’t matter if it’s a white key, a black key, a purple key, a broken key (some of you haven’t fixed your piano in years)… if it goes from one key right next door, it’s a half step. [C to C#], [E to F], [G to Ab], [Bb to B]… all of these pairs are half steps. [C to D], [E to F#], [Ab to Bb]… these are whole steps because they are skipping one key. Easy.

Back to fourths. So if I start on C and want to go up a fourth, I simply count 5 half steps up…

C to Db is 1 half step… Db to D is another… D to Eb is the 3rd half step, Eb to E is 4, and finally E to F. So “C” to “F” is a fourth.

Now, on the other hand, a fifth uses 7 half steps. So if you do the same thing starting at C — except, this time using 7 half steps — you’ll arrive at G.

So “C” to “G” is a fifth.

“C” UP to “F” is a fourth. “C” UP to “G” is a fifth.

Here’s the tricky part. Notice I used the word “UP” because if you count the same number of half steps down, you’ll get different answers.

If you count 5 half steps DOWN from C, you’ll get G. And if you count 7 half steps DOWN from the same C, you’ll get F.

In other words, C up to F is a fourth. C down to F is a fifth.

And in the same way, C up to G is a fifth but C down to G is a fourth.

Basically, they are ‘inverses’ of each other. Opposites. One does one thing going up and another going down. The other does the exact opposite.

Any time you take a fourth interval and “flip” it, you’ll get a fifth. If you do the same to a fifth, you’ll get a fourth.

Try it. Hold down C and the higher G together. That’s a fifth. C is the lowest note and there are 7 half steps between C and G. But if you take the C off the bottom and put it on the top (and now “G” on the bottom), now you’ve got yourself a fourth interval. Just that easy.

Oh and I should add… these are called “PERFECT 4ths” and “PERFECT 5ths.” Sometimes, for short, folks leave off the “perfect” part but if you want to be very specific, add that.

Why did I choose to tell you all this?

Because, there are two ways to look at the circle of fifths chart. Go to http://www.circlemusicchart.com and print it out…

If you thought of this circle as a clock, “C” would be at 12 o’ clock.

G is at 1 o’ clock. D is at 2 o’ clock.

Get it?

That means on the other side, F is at 11 o’ clock, Bb is at 10 o’ clock, Eb is at 9 o’ clock and so forth…

And like I said, there are 2 ways to look at this circle. You can look at it going clockwise from C to G to D to A… and so forth.

Or you can look at this chart going counter-clockwise, from C to F to Bb to Eb… and so forth.

Some people say when you go counter-clockwise from C to F to Bb to Eb… that you’re going in “fourths.” But, of course, now you know better. You’re going in fourths only if you’re looking at this as going UP from C to F. And UP from F to Bb… and UP from Bb to Eb.

But as you just learned, going from C down to F is a fifth too! That’s why some people still choose to look at this WHOLE circle as a relationship of fifths because if you go clockwise, C up to G is a fifth. And if you go counter-clockwise, C down to F is also a fifth.

Put another way, “G” is the fifth of C. And “C” is the fifth of “F” — and so on.

But either way, here’s the golden nugget.

Go counter-clockwise! This is the flow of music. This is how 80% of songs move.

What do I mean?

THAT’S WHAT I MEAN!

If you analyze the chord patterns of songs, you’ll find them moving like this:

Some kinda “C” chord to some kinda “F” chord to some kinda “Bb” chord to some kinda “Eb” chord, depending on the key you’re in.

If you’re in a key like “G” major, you’ll find the same counter-clockwise movement at work — just at the other end of the circle with chords moving from some kind of “A” chord to some kind of “D” chord to some kind of “G” chord to some kind of “C” chord (just to give an example).

I say “some kind of chord” because depending on your key, some chords will be major, some minor, some dominant, some diminished, etc… and we really don’t have time to talk about that right here. Easily another 5 pages if I go there.

So the circle really explains the flow of music.

Ever heard of a “2-5-1″ progression? Guess what? Highlight any 3 notes on the circle that are neighbors and there are the keynotes of your “2-5-1″ progression! BAM!

Don’t believe me? What’s a 2-5-1 progression in the key of C? Well, the 2 is “D”… the 5 is “G” and the 1 is “C.” Where do those notes just “happen” to appear on the circle of fifths chart?

D is at 2 o clock. G is at 1 o clock. C is at 12 o clock. Counter-clockwise! Neighbors too!

Like pulling back time (ever wish you could pull back time, counter-clockwise???) Lol, get out of the past!!!!!!!!!!!! Except in music, that is! Cuz moving against the clock, when it comes to the circle, is how you will find most of your songs arranged. Counter-clockwise…

EXERCISE: Take songs you already know and compare them to the circle of fifths. For example, if the song you know goes from C major to A minor to D minor to G major to C major, then compare where those notes C, A, D, G, C appear on the circle and the type of movement you notice.

So, here’s the entire circle but in a counter-clockwise arrangement:

C > F > Bb > Eb > Ab > Db > Gb > B > E > A > D > G (repeat)

WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO DO TO LEARN THIS, DO IT!

Memorize it, chunk it, tape it to your dashboard. If you can say this in one breath really fast, you won’t believe how helpful it can be to you.

Why? Because all songs move in this direction. You can literally highlight any 3 or 4 notes straight off this circle and find many chord progressions that use those same exact notes in the same exact order. You can find entire songs using this order of notes… and just repeating over and over. Wash, rinse, repeat.

And since chords and patterns move like this, it makes sense to learn and practice chords in this same order. When you learn chords in this order, you further reinforce the circle.

Plus, when it comes time to play real songs that move in fourths anyway, you’ve already done it so much in your own practicing so it’s not that hard to apply it when needed.

(Oh, by the way, I’ve been saying ‘circle of fifths’ AND ‘circle of fourths’ up until this point. But now, I’m going to choose to call this “fourths” since most people consider C to F a fourth, unless you tell them C “DOWN” to F. But from now on, to keep things consistent, I will mainly say FOURTHS to represent the counter-clockwise direction of the circle.)

I realize this could still be over some folks’ head so let me break it down. (My fingers are getting tired but I’ll keep going, as long as you’ll keep reading)…

You can either learn chords by fourths like I’m advocating, or you can learn them chromatically in half steps.

Let’s talk about the latter method first.

To learn chords chromatically means to master chords one half-step at a time. In other words, you learn a “C” major chord first, then you take every note up a half step to learn the “C#” or “Db” major chord. Then once you learn that chord, you take every note of your chord up another half step to learn the “D” major chord. And so on…

In real life, this looks like this:

CHORD = G + B + C + E (which is a C major 7 chord in 2nd inversion by the way).

Say I wanted to learn this chord chromatically. All I gotta do is take every finger up a half step and that will give me the SAME chord in the next key up.

A half step up from C is Db so by taking EVERY tone of the chord up a half step, I’m essentially learning that SAME chord in the key a half step up. Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck… it’s a duck.

So let’s do it…

G + B + C + E.

Move G up a half step to Ab.

Move B up a half step to C.

Move C up a half step up to Db.

Move E a half step up to F.

The new chord is Ab + C + Db + F. And since the old chord was a “major 7″ chord in 2nd inversion, that means THIS IS ALSO A MAJOR 7 CHORD IN 2ND INVERSION.

Nothing changes about the quality or quantity of the chord. If it’s major, the quality will be the same. If it’s a seventh, the quantity will also be the same. So, if the first chord was a C major 7, this new chord up a half step is simply a Db major 7. Got it?

So you could essentially learn every chord this way. It’s the easiest because it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to move every finger up one note. But it’s limiting because music doesn’t move chromatically like that. I mean it CAN, but it isn’t commonplace like fourths and fifths.

FOURTHS and FIFTHS are everywhere. They are the most common movement.

So remember the circle of fifths order I told you to memorize?

C > F > Bb > Eb > Ab > Db > Gb > B > E > A > D > G (repeat)

If you want to really get the “flow of music,” learn chords in fourths and also practice them in fourths.

Let’s take this same example:

G + B + C + E.

This is a C major 7 chord in 2nd inversion. If I were taking my own advice and learning this same chord in fourths, I would seek to learn an “F major 7″ chord next…

Why? Because it’s a fourth up from C when using the circle order above.

So it’s simple… let’s take each of these notes and determine what’s a fourth up from each one.

G + B + C + E.

This is easy because a fourth up is whatever note is “NEXT” in the circle. Just do this with EACH note.

A fourth up from “G” is “C” A fourth up from “B” is “E” A fourth up from “C” is “F” A fourth up from “E” is “A”

We’ve just learned the F major 7 chord by taking each note up a fourth.

So essentially, the same circle we use to play chord patterns is the same circle we use to learn CHORDS. That’s why I said to do whatever it takes to memorize the circle. These shortcuts are everywhere.

C + E + F + A is an F major 7 chord in 2nd inversion.

(for my beginners, yes, I know C is on the bottom but when you invert a chord, you basically change the order of notes.)

This same chord is F + A + C + E in the normal “root” inversion. If you take the “F” off the bottom and put it on the top, you get “A + C + E + F,” which is 1st inversion. If you then take the “A” off the bottom and put it on the top, you get “C + E + F + A,” which is 2nd inversion — the one we just learned.

So here’s your homework.

Take these chords below and learn them in fourths using the same steps I took above. You can also start all over and learn them chromatically too but the real “connection” comes in learning them in fourths.

C major = C + E + G

C major 7 = C + E + G + B

C minor = C + Eb + G

C minor 7 = C + Eb + G + Bb

EXTRA CREDIT: Invert the chords by taking the current note off the bottom and putting it on the top. Do this again to get the next inversion. If the chord has 4 notes, do this AGAIN to get the final inversion.

Post your answers below as a comment.

Again, you’re taking all 4 chords above and learning each one in all 12 keys USING the circle I talked about above. If you can’t do this, you need to print out this lesson and re-read it. This will result in you knowing 48 chords by the end of this exercise. If you’re serious, you’ll do it. If you get this one concept, you’ll skip at least 6-8 months worth of lessons… and that’s only if your teacher knows how important the circle is to playing BY EAR. Sight readers use this to figure out key signatures and ’sharps & flats’ but all that stuff is NOTHING compared to the real value of the circle. The real value of the circle involves patterns, song movement, and stuff like that, if you’re an “ear” player.

If you want to get a real good introduction to all this, my $17 course is a steal. If you’re a reader, you have everything here. I sure didn’t hold back. If I wanted to hold back, I would have stopped 4 pages ago. The $17 starter course just takes it further by giving you 2 hours of instruction in my own voice with live demonstrations and examples.

So if my written words are cool for you, then I can promise you my voice is easily 3 times better. And at $17, you have nothing to lose. Check it out at:

http://www.hearandplay.com/17dollarcourse

If you were a bit helped by the words I’ve written here, then this audio course will REALLY be helpful because you’ll hear me talking about all this stuff for 2 whole hours, reinforcing every little concept over and over. You’ll like it.

Go to:

http://www.hearandplay.com/17dollarcourse

(You can even get the downloadable digital version and start learning right away).

Talk soon,

Jermaine

P.S. - Got questions? Comment below and I’ll answer right away:

P.P.S - If your budget allows, my 300pg course is your next best bet. It has 20 chapters, tons of exercises, and covers everything, step by step:

http://www.hearandplay.com/core

http://www.hearandplay.com/products

In reading through some of my recent e-mails, I found a message from someone who REALLY gets it.

***Comment From A Reader Who GETS IT***

Jermaine, doc, where have you been all my life? Since I purchased your GospelKeys 202 and have been reading through your online blog lessons and resources, they have really opened my mind up to the whole world of “numbers.”

I was one of those folks who thought music was about letters. I thought chords used letters. UNTIL God led me to your website. And now everything I thought I knew about music has been challenged and I’ve gotten to the next level because now I know how to think in terms of numbers.

I don’t think about a C major 7 chord going to an F major 7 chord anymore (well I still do but it’s not the dominant thought like it used to be). Now I think about the 1st tone of the scale going to the 4th tone of the scale if I’m in the key of C or the 5th tone of the scale going to the 1st tone of the scale if I’m in the key of F major.

And when I do this, I find that I can take the same patterns to basically any major key because I’m not stuck thinking about C going to F liked I used to be. Now I’m thinking a totally different way and with the numbers I can just fill in the blank as the cliche goes and be free to play anywhere I want. It’s really changed the way I do “thangs” and I gotta give you the credit for it.

Keep it up man. I’ll see you at the top.

Terrell S.

>>> My Comments (and explanations):

Well Terrell, it looks like you TRULY get it.

You’ve stumbled on to one of the greatest secrets of “playing by ear.” It’s numbers.

When most people think about music, they think about “creative” stuff like notes and letters and sharp “(#)” signs and flat “(b)” signs. But music is highly mathematical too.

NUMBERS rule in music and when a musician truly “GETS” this, their playing explodes.

I remember one of my earlier students - Royzell - and how fast it took him to start learning real songs on his own. I mean this guy was up and playing in like 6 weeks. He was hungry for it, YES, but one thing I made sure he understood out the gate was the number system (i.e. - taking every major scale and learning each tone as numbers… “C” is 1, “D” is 2, “E” is 3… and so on).

Then I taught him how to play chords using the same numbers (i.e. - “combine tones ‘7′ + ‘3′ + ‘5′ to play a nice-sounding major 7 chord in ANY key”). No, that isn’t the “regular” default way to play a major 7 chord. We were killing two birds with one stone by learning nicer voicings of the chords using the numbers so that we could literally take the same voicing to all 12 keys in minutes.

Then we naturally did patterns and chord progressions next (i.e. - “6-2-5-1 chord pattern” … very common pattern). It’s the same numbers at work but this time entire chords are moving from one to the other using the numbers. Songs came easy after that.

Fast forward several years and let’s just say he’s passed me up! And I don’t mind. He realized just how IMPORTANT numbers were in the beginning and now there’s virtually nothing he can’t pick up in minutes (and take to a new key without practicing). He’s even played for celebrities and filled in at West Angeles, the mega church where the hit producers and musicians, Jason White and Michael Bereal, play. And to think, it all started with NUMBERS (I don’t want to discount him either because he had a lot of drive and passion and was serious about his craft).

>REMEMBER - You can do almost anything by understanding the number system. And most importantly, it’ll allow you to play in any key because you’re essentially not memorizing any of the specific chords of a song… you’re not really memorizing ANYTHING. You simply understand that a pattern, for example, is a chord off the 1st tone of the scale moving to a chord off the 3rd tone of the scale… then to the 6th tone, then 2nd tone, then 5th tone, then back home to the 1st tone again.

AND GET THIS — once you realize that about 1 in 3 songs have that same pattern occuring in some way, shape, or form, then it really gets easy to learn and play songs off the top of your head because they all use the same patterns. Numbers allow you to do all this… and “then some” as mom would say.

To learn other unique techniques and strategies you can use to take your playing to the next level, go here:

http://www.hearandplay.com/products

Talk soon,

Jermaine

All I’ll say here is that the new project has a lot to do with learning songs.

Songs! Songs! Songs!

You’ll also see a lot of this chart…

Yup! I know it’s intimidating but it’s a reality! All these little pieces exist when learning a new song.

Like I said in my last video, some people understand these inner workings more than others. Some “get it” naturally, although they probably don’t realize all the things their mind is working on to make learning a song in 5 minutes a reality! But here it is… right in front of you — everything I could possibly think of to learn a song (at least the way “ear musicians” do it.)

But the good news is, I help you navigate through it so that it doesn’t seem like that much to do. There are tons of shortcuts and if you’ve been following the blog, you know that I love to reveal them to ya! In everything that I do, I’ve always tried to find ways around the “system.” In student government and mock trial back in the days, I was the same way! Still am.

I hate the way professors and theorists make music so complicated. Do that for biology and chemistry! Music is expressive… it’s creative… it’s supposed to be fun! So stick with me, give this resource a try (when it’s ready), and you won’t be disappointed :-).

Today, I want to talk about one section of the chart I posted above.

It’s the R.T.I. section… or “Rapid Tonic Identification.”

(Now, don’t go “googling” this term because you’re not going to find much. This is my own original language to describe my own original techniques).

More specifically, I want to talk about “determining the key” by sharing this 2-hour teleclass I conducted a whopping 3 years ago!

You’ll hear me interacting LIVE with a group of students from all over the world. This was a very exclusive group that I conducted 7 teleseminars for back in 2005. This 2-hour lesson you’re about to see was the 5th class in the series.

I did this one in audio and video so you can pick your choice! (Don’t forget to use the scrollbars to see the outline down below. It’ll be much easier if you follow along with it).

Enjoy —

————————————————

Or maybe you do know what’s going on but you’re limited in how many songs you can learn on your own. You’ve reached this glass ceiling and it doesn’t seem like you can get passed it.

Regardless of where you are, we all want to get to the next level.

Here are some things you can master to take you there!

1) Pattern Recognition:

I talked about this briefly in the “5 tips to getting started” article and it is very important on all levels. All songs follow various patterns.

“2-5-1″ chord progressions, 6-2-5-1 turnarounds, opening progressions, and closing progressions are patterns that you eventually hear over and over in songs.

(Don’t worry if you don’t understand where the numbers come from, I’ll talk more about this later).

But basically, certain patterns are used to begin songs… other patterns are used to close songs. If you’re more on the beginner-intermediate side, then you probably struggle with determining patterns altogether. That is, being able to recognize them in songs.

If you’re past this point, now it’s a matter of what kind of patterns you’re playing.

I heard this interesting saying once that said “you’re the average of the 5 people you hang around the most.” Now I certainly don’t know if the actual specific number is spot on, but I do know that you’re the average of the people you hang around the most.

I’ve found in the musician community… if you hang around professional-sounding musicians, eventually you’ll catch on to their sound. Not only because you see the various chords, progressions, and “licks” and “tricks” they play, but because your ear gets used to hearing this enhanced way of playing.

See, most of the time… people can’t get to the next level because they don’t know personally what the next level sounds like. They don’t have people around them playing that way, so it’s hard to hear and pick out “next level” chords and progressions.

Trust me… there are tons of 2-5-1 progressions to end songs and you’re probably only playing a good dozen of them. There are hundreds of ways to end songs. Some on the 1-2-3/A-B-C side and others on the ultra-advanced/professional side.

Your ability to recognize and pick out these chords depends on how much you’re exposed to them. Pick up as many albums and study them… until you’re sick and tired of them. Pick up courses and learn bits and pieces from them. Become committed to a life time of learning.

2) Number System:

Thinking in terms of numbers is very powerful. It’s the universal language.

I can say play Cmajor11 but that only tells you one chord to play in a specific situation. But if I say, play the 1-chord of Ab, now we’re talking about a systematic way to understand music.

Because every key has a 1-chord… (or the first tone/chord of the scale). Every key has a 2-chord, and so forth.

When you hear people say “2-5-1″ progression, they are simply talking about a chord from the 2nd tone of the scale, “progressing” to a chord from the 5th tone of the scale, finally ending at a chord from the 1st tone of the scale.

So if you know your scales in a numerical way, you can play a “2-5-1″ and any other pattern for that matter, in all 12 keys —INSTANTLY!

3) Transposition:

“The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear” talks about transposition in chapter 20. It basically means moving a song (or notes, scales, chords) to a different key. If you’ve messed around with any type of keyboard, you know that they feature a “transpose” function, which does this automatically for you.

Believe it or not, the keyboard “transpose” button is probably the #1 enemy to growth for a musician. Nowadays, a musician masters one good key like C major, and without ever having to think about another major key (or learn the chords of a new key), they simply hit the transpose button either up or down and it outputs their song in the new key. No effort… automatically.

So you get a lot of musicians out there who are “pros” on a keyboard but when it comes time to improvise on an acoustic piano or B3 organ with no transpose button, they break down. Don’t be this way!

It’s very easy to master all 12 keys. In fact, the number system helps you to do it. By simply knowing every scale in its numerical form (i.e. - C major scale as “C=1, D=2, E=3, F=4, G=5, A=6, B=7″), you can easily transpose songs in your head. If you’re playing a 2-5-1 progression in the key of C (Dmin, G7, Cmaj7), the endings of those chords will ALWAYS remain the same in new major keys. That is, you’ll always be going from some minor chord to some 7th chord to some major 7th chord in this example. The only thing that would change above is the keynote in front of the quality. So if D, G, and C are the 2, 5, and 1 of C, respectively, then just simply find the 2,5,1 of another key… transfer over the chord qualities (”min,” “7,” and “maj7″) and there you have it!

In G major, a 2-5-1 is: Amin, D7, Gmaj7. It’s that simple.

4) Ear-Training:

Like any sport, hobby, or activity, you must “condition” or develop the inner or outer body part that allows you to excel in whatever you’re doing. For music, it’s the hands/fingers and ears. Of course, there’s some things in between but this is mainly where the next level lies. Just like any thing else, you can build your ear.

Training your ear to recognize both melodic and harmonic intervals is important.

Intervals you need to master include:

• Major/Minor Seconds
• Major/Minor Thirds
• Perfect Fourths
• Diminished / Augmented Fourths
• Perfect Fifths
• Diminished / Augmented Fifths
• Major/Minor Sixths
• Major/Minor Sevenths

All music features intervals like this… distances between notes basically. Intervals create scales. They also create chords and progressions. Using our software can help with this.

Well, that’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed this post.

Many of you have found this tip very helpful…

Go to a site like TowerRecords.com or open Itunes, where you’ll have access to hundreds of thousands of song samples (no purchase necessary).

Simply go to your favorite genre and start listening to the samples.

Just take your time and listen for that ONE common note that can almost be sang over any chord in the song. Try to fast-forward yourself to the end of the song and figure out what the keynote of that chord would be. Often times, the keynote (root note) of the first chord is the key of the song… but not always.

Also, you can review this post for more tips on finding the key.

Have fun with this one!

Enjoy!

———–

The first step of the process is to learn how to determine the melody. To be very honest, this concept is very easy to grasp and doesn’t require 300 pages to accomplish. Anyone with a decent ear can eventually find the melody to a song. However, in addition to the other techniques, principles, and concepts taught in our course, there are a few pointers to remember when determining the melody. The following lesson is taken right out of our 300-pg course (pgs 252-254): 

Again, this is just 3 pages on harmonizing melodies. If you are truly serious about taking your piano playing and music knowledge to the next level, I invite you to read more about my 300-pg course entitled, "The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear." Click here for more techniques, principles, concepts, tricks and tips on playing the piano by ear.

1. As you study intervals and build your ear skills, have someone play any first note and tell you what it is.

 

2. Then have them play a second note (start off easy and make sure its a note from the same major scale). If I were you, I’d start in the key of C major. That way, the person testing you doesn’t really have to be a musician. You could actually tape letters to the notes and have your son or daughter play you the first note (which is C), then just play random notes thereafter. Then, they can tell you if you’re guess is correct, almost correct, or flat-out wrong!

 

3. Make sure after the first initial note, they don’t tell you what note they are playing (never… unless you give up)!

 

4. Based on your understanding of intervals and the exercise we covered in last week’s newsletter, attempt to guess what note is being played. Then, if you get the note right, have them play another note from that note.

 

5. This will really get you to hear second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh intervals.

 

6. Personally, the easiest ones to guess are the fifth intervals. Just think of that tuba player in the orchestra warming up. Think of a long deep “C” going to a “G”. Think of C-G C-G C-G C-G back and forth. Doesn’t that sound like circus music or the intro music for a clown? You see… little things like this help you out!

 

7. I’d make a habit of doing exercises like this and constantly testing yourself.

1) Perfect Pitch

2) Relative Pitch

Now, before we get started discussing what relative pitch is, let me briefly cover perfect pitch.

Some think that you need perfect pitch to play by ear. This is not true.

Perfect pitch is the ability to hear exact tones without the use of a musical instrument or reference. So if someone had perfect pitch and heard a “C” tone, they’d be able to say “that’s a C” without using a piano. It is said that roughly 1 out of 10,000 people have this ability.

While this may seem like a dream come true, some people with perfect pitch have a hard time with relative pitch (which is more practical for learning by ear as you’ll soon learn).

Relative pitch does not rely on specific notes. It relies more on intervals and distances between notes.

Someone with good relative pitch would know that a melody like C to E to G is utilizing the notes of a major chord, but might not know which major chord (because unlike perfect pitch, the exact note is unknown until you sit in front of a piano and determine it).

With relative pitch, you may not know specifically what chords or tones are being played (like “C” or “E”) but you know what’s going on (e.g. - You know that a song is starting on a major chord and moving to the minor sixth keynote). In other words, you understand the “big picture.”

Often times, it is going to the piano and matching up tones that allows you to play a song (literally in seconds because you already know what’s going on — you just need a reference point — a major key.

If you can hear the changing of chords in your head and can quickly transfer this knowledge to the piano (after determining the major key), then you have developed good relative pitch.

I always say:

Most of “playing by ear” occurs in the mind. If you’ve gotten to the point where you can pinpoint 2-5-1 and 1-4 progressions in songs, then you’re relying on relative pitch. You’re doing well.

Don’t be confused into thinking that you have to know exactly what chords are being played before sitting down to the piano. That is not the case.

All you really need to know is “what’s going on.” Let me reiterate:

Let’s say you’ve been studying intervals and by now, you know that a “2-5-1″ progression is common at the end of a song. Now, you’re listening to a song and there you hear it, a “2-5-1,” plain and simple. You even know that it’s a min9 chord (because it sounds pretty jazzy) going to some kind of dominant chord (like a 13 chord) and then finally returning home to a nice major chord.

… You may not know specifically that it’s a Gbmin9 or an Fmin9 but you know it’s a minor9 and it occurs on the second tone of the scale. The ‘actual’ note will be determined once you actually figure out what major key the song is in. The major key usually brings everything together at the end.

So… the missing factor is the major key the song is being played in. So the same person would go to a piano, hit a few notes and soon determine that the major key is, let’s say, “C” major (visit my newsletter archives for more information on how to determine the key of a song).

That’s the last piece of the puzzle. So all you’d have to do is ask yourself a few questions (…which by now occur almost instantly):

1. What is the 2 of C major?

2. What is the 5 of C major?

3. What is the 1 of C major?

The answers to those questions would provide the keynotes for the chords you already know!

So the keynotes of a “2-5-1″ progression in C major would be: D to G to C.

Now apply the chords:

Dmin9 — G13 — Cmaj

There you have it! This gets easier and easier as you play “2-5-1″ progressions over and over. They become second nature just as any other progression will.

Ideally, if I called out, “play a 2-5-1,” your response should be, “in what key?” That’s what level you want to be at — where you know all your chords and progressions in all twelve keys and it literally takes seconds to play any chord progression if you know the key to play it in.

But let’s move on:

Now, I may have painted it to be much easier than it really is. It really is that easy once you “get” it, but please forgive me (for all the beginners out there). Let’s back up and actually cover the steps to getting to this point in your playing.

Ok, so what does it take to hear music in your head and to already know what’s going on before you get to the piano?

An understanding of how music works

This involves knowing all 12 major scales.

I’m tired of people thinking major scales are just things to practice to build speed and dexterity. Major scales are more than exercises.

Major scales make up music!

Major scales make up playing by ear, believe it or not (at least the effective way of playing by ear).

Anybody can get on the piano and pick out chords, note-by-note. It might take weeks but it can be done.

I’m not talking about that.

I’m talking about getting to a point where you hear a song and you know right away what’s going on in that song. You may not know specifically what the keynotes are, but you certainly know the “outline” of the song.

The time spent at the piano would be to determine the key signature, confirm the chords you’ve already picked out in your head, and work on details (like melody lines, very unique inversions of chords, and minor specificities).

Does that make sense?

Major scales tell you a lot:

They define intervals.

They determine what a major third is… or a minor sixth … or a perfect fifth.

Heck, they determine major keys!

The easiest scale to remember is the C major scale:

C D E F G A B C

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Simply put, a person with relative pitch focuses on the numbers and not the specific notes.

See, because the numbers can be used universally — they can be used with any key, not just “C” major.

So forget about the individual notes for a moment and just focus on the numbers.

With relative pitch, a musician will know when they hear a melody going from the 1 tone to the 3rd tone (in this case, a melody going from C to E).

A good way to build this is to relate different intervals of notes to famous songs.

For example, a 1-3 interval (or a major third interval) sounds like the beginning of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” In the key of C major, that would be C going to E (single notes played one at a time).

Try it? Sing or think of the first two notes of that song: “Have your…”

So, what you’d do is remember that melody as a 1-3 interval (or a major third interval). Having a reference song to recall an interval should help you. Take advantage of this technique!

By the way, intervals are covered in my 300-pg course on pages 50-55 if you’re really serious about studying this.

If you keep singing to “Have yourself,” you’d be singing the outline of a major chord: 1-3-5.

Another song that shares the same exact melody is “Kumbaya My Lord” (1 - 3 - 5)

So going through each interval of a scale and making mental references to melodies you can remember is a wonderful way to start building this listening skill:

Try to find references for these intervals:

1-1: This is called “unison“ (pg 52) because the notes sound the same. They may come from different sources (like two different people singing the same tone; or two different instruments). You’ve probably heard the word “unison” before. This is the easiest interval to remember. If you have an ear to match up notes that sound the same, then you shouldn’t have a problem with this interval!

In the key of C major, this would be: C-C

1-2: This is called the “major second” interval. In a major scale, this would be the distance between the first two notes of the scale (like C to D in the key of C major).

Relate the 1-2 interval to the first two notes in songs like:

-Frere Jacques

-Are You Sleeping

1:3: This is known as the “major third” interval. I’ve already given you examples of the 1-3 interval (Kumbaya My Lord, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,

Now, you try:

Play the following intervals and figure out melody references for them (things you can remember and associate with these intervals for future use):

1:4: __________________________________ (this is the interval between C:F in the key of C major). This is known as the perfect fourth interval.

1:5: __________________________________ (this is the interval between C:G in the key of C major). This is known as the perfect fifth interval.

1:6: I’ll give you some help with this one because it may be a littler harder than the perfect fourth and fifth. Have you ever heard the theme music for NBC? The notes are: C to F to A (all played separately but held down as the next note comes in). The C to A, in this case, is a major sixth interval.

1:7: This is known as a major seventh interval. It helps to form the major seventh chord, a jazzy and extended version (C+E+G+B) of the regular major triad (C+E+G).

So again…

The idea is to know the sounds that certain intervals create as they are played. Each interval has its own unique sound.

… and the same truth applies to chords and progressions.

Start to think of chords like this:

1-chord

2-chord

3-chord

4-chord

5-chord

6-chord

7-chord

8-chord (equal to 1-chord because the first and last note of a scale belong to the same keynote).

Note: The numbers in front of the chord are the same numbers from above. They correspond with notes from any given major scale. Notice that you have no reference point until you actually define a major key.

That’s exactly how relative pitch works. You want to understand relationships, intervals, and distances by themselves.

AND…

Even if YOU DO have a reference point, it makes the job much easier.

Often times, someone with relative pitch can “fake” like they have perfect pitch if they just have ONE reference point.

Think about it. If you told someone who had a good relative pitch what note you’re starting on, they could very well follow you by listening to the distances and intervals between each note, calling out each chord (or note) as it is being played.

Think of it this way.

If I told you to think of a number… any number between 1 and 10.

Don’t just read, think of a number! :) Write it down if you can.

a) Now add 3 to that number

b) Then add 2 to the number you have now

c) Ok, now subtract 1.

d) Lastly, subtract the number you started with (which I told you to think of).

The number you should have now is 4.

If you don’t have 4, it’s not my fault… you didn’t count right!

Now, this is an old mathematical trick that people have been doing for years. But it also sheds some light on how relative pitch works.

Notice that it didn’t really matter what number you started with — you could have started with 1 or 5 or 8. It doesn’t matter. You still ended up on 4.

If someone told you that they were going to play 5 notes or chords in a row and that they would tell you the first note, relative pitch would kick in and allow you to shout back every note or chord they’re playing just like adding and subtracting numbers.

And even if you didn’t have the starting note (as in the example above — I didn’t have your starting number), you can still follow along by adding and subtracting different intervals.

I understand this lesson may be a little “deeper” than others, but if you can get this concept, it may be the breakthrough you’ve been looking for.

So, how do you get to the point where you can recognize chord progressions:

A) Write down as many intervals as you can and play them over and over while listening to the distinct sound each interval makes:

In each key:

• Determine what a 1-chord sounds going to every other chord of the scale (1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 1-6, 1-7). Now, each tone is associated with a certain type of chord (like major, minor, diminished) but for now, try to learn and recognize the sound of all three combinations. An example is: 1maj to 2maj, 1maj to 2min, 1maj to 3maj. Mix and match as much as you can and learn how each interval sounds (not just what each chord sounds like). Then move on to the 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3 intervals. Then on to the 3’s, 4’s, 5’s and so on…

• You may know that a major chord is happy, a minor chord is sad, and a diminished chord is scary, but that’s only half of it. Relative pitch is the ability to identify the intervals between tones and chords. So, while knowing whether the chord is major, minor, or diminished is certainly important, the ability to determine the interval between each chord is more necessary if you want to learn songs by ear.

Looks like I’m running out of room in this newsletter. I’ll definitely continue on this topic depending on how much response and questions I get.

I hope you enjoyed this issue! I’ll see you next week for a new topic…

Thanks for reading!

Depending on the style of music you are trying to produce, step three will allow you to alter the harmonizing chords used in step two. To "alter" a chord simply means to modify it. There are several ways to alter a chord: You can raise or lower the 5th tone a half step or perhaps you can raise or lower the 7th, 9th, or 11th tones a half step (the list goes on and on…) However, it is important to make sure that the alteration chosen is in alignment with the mood of the song. For example, in gospel music, it is common to hear dominant and diminished alterations rather than just plain major triads.

The following lesson is taken right out of our 300-pg course (Chapter 16; pgs 229-231):

Here is a quick summarization of the four steps. This is actually page 257 of our 300-pg course:

Again, this is just a few pages on the harmonization process. For further training, I invite you to read more about my 300-pg course entitled, "The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear." Click here for more techniques, principles, concepts, tricks and tips on playing the piano by ear.

Step two is a continuation of the first step. Once you have determined the melody, you must NOW find the right chords to accompany your melody. For example, if your melody was C - D - E - F - G, you’d need chords to accompany "C", "D", "E", "F" and "G." Hearandplay.com teaches you each and every chord needed to harmonize all tones of a major scale. The following lesson is taken right out of our 300-pg course (Chapter 17; pgs 241-245):

Again, this is just a few pages on harmonizing melodies. If you’ve been helped by any of the free information on this page, you’ll definitely benefit from the content in our full 300-pg course. I invite you to read more about my 300-pg course entitled, "The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear." Click here for more techniques, principles, concepts, tricks and tips on playing the piano by ear.

Keep in mind that as you get better and better, you’ll be able to determine the key center of a song much quicker. When you get really good, you won’t even have to use the tests above because you’ll be 100% confident in your ear. But if you’re using the chart above, it’s pretty simple. If you’re pressing C and you’re pretty confident that C is the key center, then you’re probably correct! Good job! But as one last resort, test it against F (as shown in the chart above). C is the fifth of F. We just want to make sure that we’re not confusing C for the key center when perhaps F might be the correct one. If F doesn’t match, then return back to C, your final answer and key center. GOLDEN RULE: Your ear is always the final judge.

Also, as you get more advanced, it will only take you a few notes before you figure out the key center of a song.

THINGS YOU’LL OBSERVE:

As you get closer and closer to the actual key center of the song you’re listening to, it will feel like a roller coaster. As you play each note, you should hear the notes getting closer and closer to the actual key center. By the time you get within two or three notes of the key center, it should even be predictable at this point.

Let’s say a song that I’m listening to is in the key of G. That means, G is the key center. So, according to the rules above, I’ll start at C like usual. C will obviously sound wrong. Db will sound wrong. When I get to D, it may sound right but not totally (you’ll just have to see what I’m talking about as you sit down to your piano and try this process out because there will be no doubt that you’ve arrived at the key center if you’re listening correctly).

D sounds closer than the rest because it is the fifth tone of the actual key center. Look at the chart above and notice what D is connected to: ***G***. So as I advised above, if you land on a note that you’re not sure about, use the chart to play the other key, which in actuality may be the key center.

Now, let’s assume that you skipped by D and didn’t think twice about it being the key center (which is fine because it’s not the key center anyway). You get to Eb, it doesn’t sound right. E doesn’t sound right but you start feeling the roller coaster effect. In other words, you feel the keys getting closer and closer to the key center. You know it’s coming. If you can’t hear this, then you’re not listening closely enough. Just listen.

So again, E is not correct but it lets you know that the key center is coming. F is not correct but the key center feels closer and closer. F# sounds really really really close and you even go so far as to predict that it is the closest note to the key center you’re going to find — YOU’RE CORRECT because right after F# is G, the correct key center. I know the process above seemed pretty dramatized but this is literally how it is!

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP YOURSELF FIND THE KEY CENTER

When listening to a song, try humming what you think the last chord of the song would be (… the keynote of the chord that is, because you can’t hum more than one note at a time). Eighty to 90% of the time, the last chord of the song will be the major chord of the key center you’re looking for. For example, if the key center of a song is Ab, then most likely the song is going to end on some type of Ab chord (be it an Abmaj7, Abmaj9, Ab13, Ab add9, etc). In some instances, a song will end on another chord of the scale (like the “6″ or “3″) but that won’t be the majority of songs.

If you find it hard to hum what you’d consider to be the last chord of the song, try humming the first chord of the song. Most songs start on key center as well (majority of songs). Don’t be mislead though — there are a few songs that start on the 2, 3, 6, and other tones of the scale. But again, not every method is 100% foolproof. You’ll still have to let your ear be the final judge.

Lastly, just think of the note that sounds like it would fit no matter what chord or melody notes are played. Hum this note out loud (YES, hum with your mouth out loud). Imagine a loud soprano singing this note over the entire song — it should match very well.

Once you are humming what you believe to be the keynote or key center, start at C on your piano and follow the steps above until you arrive at the note that you are humming. All this requires is that your ear match up the note you are singing with ONE note on the piano. There should be a pretty perfect match.

Be careful of humming the right keynote in the beginning but then lowering the pitch of the note you are humming as you try to match it on the piano. Sometimes this will happen but just try to concentrate on humming the same note, consistently and you’ll be fine.

I hope you’ve enjoyed and I’ll see you next month! Don’t forget to check your e-mail on Tuesday if you’re interested in the finger rings!

Next month, we will study “bass line recognition” and how to learn songs by simply determining the bass (or left hand movements) first.

Chords to study for the next online classroom:

• Major triads; see pg chapter 5 of 300pg course
• Minor triads; see pg chapter 8 of 300pg course
• Major sixth chords; see pg chapter 13 of 300pg course
• Minor sixth chords; see pg chapter 13 of 300pg course
• Seventh (dominant) chords; see pg chapter 10 of 300pg course
• Minor seventh chords; see pg chapter 10 of 300pg course
• Major ninth chords; see pg chapter 14 of 300pg course

Well, I hope you enjoyed this newsletter! I’ll be back!

For example, a major chord is associated with the following moods:

-happy
-glad
-funny
-exciting
-day
-sunlight
-nursery rhymes

The minor chord is commonly associated with:

-sad
-horror
-sneaky
-night
-dark

The seventh/dominant chord is commonly associated with:

-blues
-gospel

Play a (C major) Chord: (C) (E) (G)

What things come to mind when you play this chord?

Now play a (C minor) Chord: (C) (Eb) (G)

What things now come to mind?

Play a (C7) Chord: (C) (E) (G) (Bb)

What things come to mind when you play a C7?

*******************

Listen to a few songs and record what type of chords you hear. Your chart should look like this:

——————
Major Chords
——————
iiiiii (heard a major chord six times)

——————
Minor Chords
——————
iiiiiiiii (heard a minor chord nine times)

——————
Seventh Chords
——————
ii (heard a seventh chord two times)

From this diagram, we can see that this song is mostly minor, which means that it will sound sad most of the time. But since we heard six major chords, it is surrounded by happiness. We also heard a dominant chord twice, so this song has a mixture of all three chords. In addition to chords, rhythm is a huge factor when dealing with different types of music. Even though a song has mostly minor chords, if it has a fast rhythm, sometimes the mood of the song is easily covered up.

When you practice more and more, you will be able to immediately recognize chords and progressions!

We also have an ear-training program which allows you to train your ear. It has over 500 ear-training questions, 20 chapter reviews, 150 exercises, sound examples and more! Visit:

http://www.pianoplayerplus.com

… for more information!

This program comes free with our 300-pg workbook so visit:

http://www.hearandplay.com/course

… to see how you can get your hands on the entire package!

Keep practicing!