Popularity: 92% [?]

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If you frequent forums or message boards and chat with other musicians, you’ll love this new tool I’ve built.

(Actually, I’ve had this tool for a while but today marks the release of the actual generator tool… that makes it easy for you to create chord graphics on the fly).

You’ll have to see it for yourself. It’s still in beta testing but check it out…

Click here to try it

Enjoy —

Popularity: 85% [?]

Before I teach you the secrets to instant harmonization of melodies, check out these 2-minute audio examples I created back in December 2003 before the release of my GospelKeys 101 course. These demonstrations will give you a good understanding of the 3 steps and what you’ll be trying to accomplish after reading this newsletter.

Harmonizing melodies is different than laying chords beneath a melody.

You may have heard of fake books and chord charts where you are given chords to play under various melodies. Jazz standards are usually notated this way.

For example, the chord chart may display a “Cmaj7″ over a particular bar with a melody line beneath it. To some extent, you have to know how to read sheet music (at least to read the melody line).

Harmonizing melodies, to me, is much easier. In fact, I honestly believe it can be mastered in a matter of weeks, if not days, or even hours. Once you know the system, you’ll never forget it and you’ll be able to apply these same techniques to dozens of songs! This is how hymns and popular music are played.

I’ll give you a lot more songs when I revisit this topic in future newsletters, but just to demonstrate my point, let’s take “Mary had a little lamb” since everyone knows this nursery rhyme (…little Jadyn loves this tune).

With this method, if you can sit at your piano and pick out the one-note melody, then you’re 30 seconds from playing it as a full-sounding song.

Because the chords that harmonize notes hardly ever change — only the notes themselves.

So if there are 8 notes in a major scale (really only 7 unique notes but the octave note makes 8) — and you know the “matching” chord for each one of those notes, then you have what it takes to play full-sounding chords in place of your one-note melodies.

Let me explain…

Say, after 10 minutes at the piano, you’ve managed to learn “Mary had a little lamb” (and believe me, it’s not that hard to pick out a melody — small children do it if you leave them at the piano long enough).

It’s not rocket science.

I believe everyone has the ear to sit down and pick out a melody (especially if you know your major scales because most melodies come directly from the scales). So if a major scale has eight notes and most melodies are formed with a combination of passing tones, upper and lower neighboring tones, and chord tones, then it shouldn’t take hours to learn melodies of popular songs.

Passing tones…? Upper neighboring tones…?

Lower neighboring tones? Chord tones? What?

You’re probably wondering what these are.

I discuss these things in detail in chapter 17 of my 300-pg course, but for now, I’ll explain them briefly:

Passing Tones

Melodies include tones that are not a part of the chord used for the harmony. These non-chord tones are called non-harmonic tones. When a melody passes from one chord tone to a different chord tone with a non-harmonic tone (a half or whole step) between, the non-harmonic tone is called a passing tone (pg 252, “The Secrets to Playing Piano by Ear”).

What does this mean?

Simply put, if you were playing the beginning of “Mary had a little lamb” (E - D - C - D - E - E - E) over a Cmaj chord, the ‘D’ notes in this sequence would be passing tones because they are not a part of the C major chord (C + E + G). Notice the ‘E’ and “C’ notes are a part of the C major chord so they are not called passing tones — they are called chord tones.

Neighboring Tones

When a melody passes from one chord tone back to the same chord tone with a non-harmonic tone (a half or whole step) between, the non-harmonic tone is called a neighboring tone.

What does this mean?

Basically, passing and neighboring tones function similarly but have one minor difference — the next note. If the melody is going to a different note and just “passing by” a non-harmonic note (again… simply a note that ISN’T a part of the chord being used with the melody), then it’s called a passing tone. As simple as that.

If the melody is moving from one chord tone to a next door neighbor tone, then immediately back to the original chord tone, the “in-between” tone is called a neighboring tone. If you don’t get this, it’s better illustrated with pictures. I strongly recommend my course if you think this is interesting and want to learn more.

Whether you call them upper or lowering neighboring tones depends on which way the melody is going.

It is an upper neighboring tone when it is above the chord tone and a lower neighboring tone when it is below the chord tone.

Let’s see how well you understand this:

________________________________________________________

Is this an example of a passing tone or neighboring tone?

Chord: C maj (C+E+G)

Melody: C D C

Answer: This is an example of a neighboring tone relationship because the “D” is not a part of the notes of the chord AND because the melody is going from the “D” back to the original “C” chord tone. Whenever the melody uses a note to return back to a previous chord tone, then a neighboring tone relationship exists.

The “D” is specifically an upper neighboring tone because it is higher than the original “C” chord tone.

_________________________________________________________

Is this an example of a passing tone or neighboring tone?

Chord: D min (D+F+A)

Melody: D E F

Answer: This is an example of a passing tone relationship because the E is not a part of the Dmin chord (so it’s non-harmonic) AND because the melody is moving forward to a different chord tone (”F”). For example, if the melody was D E D, then a neighboring tone relationship would have been the correct answer. However, since the “E” is used to move forward to “F”, another chord tone, this creates a passing tone relationship between the “E” and the other chord tones.

How does knowing this information help you to determine melodies?

For starters, it helps you to understand that melodies aren’t just randomly played notes that you have to figure out… they generally use notes that are right next to each other.

Let’s analyze “Mary had a little lamb” to see what I’m talking about:

E D C D E E E (Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb)

D D D (lit-tle lamb)

E G G (lit-tle lamb)

E D C D E E E E (Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb, her)

D D E D C (fleece was white as snow)

Now… ask yourself a few questions?

Are these notes randomly spread out or do you see patterns here?

Do you see a bunch of passing and neighboring tones like I do?

Are the notes generally right next to each other (and not more than one note a part when there is a jump like from the E to G in the third line)?

Let’s analyze another easy nursery rhyme / lullaby:

“Are you sleeping”

C D E C (Are you sleep-ing)

C D E C (Are you sleep-ing)

E F G (Bro-ther John)

E F G (Bro-ther John)

G A G F E C (Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)

G A G F E C (Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)

C G C (Ding dong ding)

C G C (Ding dong ding)

So how do I harmonize these melodies … already?!!!

This is where I want to introduce the “harmonization” chart. But first, here are some rules to keep in mind:

1. Every note in a major scale has its own harmonizing chord. Usually this chord features the note of the scale as its highest tone (will discuss more below).

2. Whenever a note is played, simply replace it with its harmonizing chord.

3. When all one-note melodies have been replaced with harmonizing chords, you have a full-sounding basic song.

Let’s take the C major scale (but keep in mind that every major scale has its own harmonizing chords). Try to take my patterns and learn them in the other 11 major keys and you’ll do yourself a great service!

 

When melody note is:	Simply play this chord:
C	E + G + C (played all at the same time)
D	F + A + D
E	G + C + E
F	A + C + F
G	C + E + G
A	C + F + A
B	D + G + B
C	E + G + C

Do you notice anything unique about the harmonizing chords?

If you noticed that the highest note of the chord always matches the melody note, then you are absolutely correct.

In essence, since you are replacing a melody note with a chord, in most cases, you’ll still want to preserve the melody (… you’ll want to hear the melody clearly) so by playing these particular chords, the highest note of each chord IS ALMOST ALWAYS THE MELODY.

(This may all seem strange because I don’t have lots of room to explain myself with pictures and illustrations. Of course, some people will grasp on right away).

If you’re serious about learning harmonization, visit: http://www.hearandplay.com/special?harmonycourse to check out my course.

So, all you have to do is take the melodies above and replace them with the appropriate chords. I’ll copy the melodies to “Mary had a little lamb” and “Are you sleeping” so that you can try it on your own below.

I’ll also post the answers below to make sure you fully understand this harmonization process.

Mary had a little lamb

I’ll do the first one for you.

E D C D E E E (Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb)

_____________________________________

G+C+E (Ma)

F+A+D (ry)

E+G+C (had)

F+A+D (a)

G+C+E (lit)

G+C+E (tle)

G+C+E (lamb)

Notice that the original melody note is still on top! That’s the whole point of using the harmonizing chart I’ve created for you above. The song still sounds like “Mary had a little lamb”, the melody is still obvious, but with the addition of full-sounding harmony!

Note: You might find it awkward to play a chord for every single melody note, especially if a particular melody note goes by very fast. It is not necessary to always harmonize every single note. Sometimes, you can play a harmonizing chord — then play the next “single note” of the melody right after it —- then follow up with the next harmonizing chord.

For example, you can play {G+C+E} for the first part of Mary [”Ma”] but only play the single note, “D,” for the second half of Mary [”ry”]. Then, of course, you can proceed to the {E+G+C} chord for the melody note that goes with “had.” The ultimate secret is to rely on your ear to find out what sounds right. If it sounds right, then it works!

 

Your turn…

 

 

D D D (lit-tle lamb)

_____________________________________

________ (lit)

________ (tle)

________ (lamb)

E G G (lit-tle lamb)

_____________________________________

________ (lit)

________ (tle)

________ (lamb)

E D C D E E E E (Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb, her)

______________________________________

________ (Ma)

________ (ry)

________ (had)

________ (a)

________ (lit)

________ (tle)

________ (lamb)

________ (her)

D D E D C (fleece was white as snow)

______________________________________

________ (fleece)

________ (was)

________ (white)

________ (as)

________ (snow)

If you’ve chosen the right harmonizing chords, then you should have a nice full-sounding arrangement of Mary had a little lamb above. If not, just try it again until it works.

Lastly, try taking “Are you sleeping” and do the same thing you did above. This time, I won’t provide you with a template. You’ll have to do it all on your own:

“Are you sleeping”

C D E C (Are you sleep-ing)

C D E C (Are you sleep-ing)

E F G (Bro-ther John)

E F G (Bro-ther John)

G A G F E C (Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)

G A G F E C (Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)

C G C (Ding dong ding)

C G C (Ding dong ding)

Answers to both songs:

 

 

 

“Mary had a little lamb”

E D C D E E E (Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb)

_____________________________________

G+C+E (Ma)

F+A+D (ry)

E+G+C (had)

F+A+D (a)

G+C+E (lit)

G+C+E (tle)

G+C+E (lamb)

D D D (lit-tle lamb)

_____________________________________

F+A+D (lit)

F+A+D (tle)

F+A+D (lamb)

E G G (lit-tle lamb)

_____________________________________

G+C+E (lit)

C+E+G (tle)

C+E+G (lamb)

E D C D E E E E (Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb, her)

_____________________________________

G+C+E (Ma)

F+A+D (ry)

E+G+C (had)

F+A+D (a)

G+C+E (lit)

G+C+E (tle)

G+C+E (lamb)

G+C+E (her)

D D E D C (fleece was white as snow)

______________________________________

F+A+D (fleece)

F+A+D (was)

G+C+E (white)

F+A+D (as)

E+G+C (snow)

“Are you sleeping”

C D E C (Are you sleep-ing)

______________________________________

E+G+C (Are)

F+A+D (you)

G+C+E (sleep)

E+G+C (ing)

C D E C (Are you sleep-ing)

______________________________________

E+G+C (Are)

F+A+D (you)

G+C+E (sleep)

E+G+C (ing)

E F G (Bro-ther John)

______________________________________

G+C+E (Bro)

A+C+F (ther)

C+E+G (John)

E F G (Bro-ther John)

______________________________________

G+C+E (Bro)

A+C+F (ther)

C+E+G (John)

G A G F E C (Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)

______________________________________

C+E+G (Morn)

C+F+A (ing)

C+E+G (bells)

A+C+F (are)

G+C+E (ring)

E+G+C (ing)

G A G F E C (Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)

______________________________________

C+E+G (Morn)

C+F+A (ing)

C+E+G (bells)

A+C+F (are)

G+C+E (ring)

E+G+C (ing)

C G C (Ding dong ding)

______________________________________

E+G+C (Ding)

B+D+G (dong) — use different harmonization type

E+G+C (ding)

C G C (Ding dong ding)

______________________________________

E+G+C (Ding)

B+D+G (dong) — use different harmonization type

E+G+C (ding)

 

Recap time…

You now have a formula:

A) Determine a melody to any song

B) Replace the melody notes with harmonizing chords making sure to keep the melody note as the highest tone of each chord (see chart above)

C) Add bass (or left hand) — We’ll cover this in another newsletter or you can just get my courses to explore this since I’m running out of space here.

There you have it. I hope you’ve benefited from this lesson. Let me know on my message board.

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If you’ve been following me for some time, you know that I love to teach students how to master systems and patterns.

This lesson is no different.

We’re going to explore various chords from my newest GospelKeys^TM 202 course (…don’t worry if you don’t have this course yet — I’ll post the chords I want to use below).

But first, let me recap what you need to know to understand this lesson.

I believe that “repetition is the mother of skill” and that if you repeatedly hear the same thing over and over, you’ll begin to act on it! So if you’ve heard me discuss the number system in the past, just think of this as a refresher.

I’ll use the key of Db major simply because that’s the major key I focus on in the GospelKeys^TM 202 course:

When I say “number system,” that is simply understanding a major scale like this:

Db major:

Db — Eb — F — Gb — Ab — Bb — C — Db

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

These are also known as “tones” or “scale degrees.”

Basically, the idea is to be able to recall, for example, the “7th scale degree” of Db major in a few seconds! Yes, you want to be that fast with all your major scales.

You don’t want to have to recite your entire scale just to know that the 7th tone of Db is “C.” You should know that without having to remember what comes before or after “C” in the scale. Still following me?

It’s a mind game.

At least if you want to be a fast-learner of songs! You see, like I’ve always said, “learning songs occurs in the mind” and then you just transfer what you’re already thinking to the piano.”

Now, I could go deep into “melodic” and “harmonic” intervals but I won’t cover that here. You can find that in my 300pg home study course or in my newsletter archives at http://www.pianoweekly.com.

Now, that you understand the basics of this numbering system and how to apply numbers to every major scale, we can move on…

Basically, the first disc (1 hour, 25 min) of the worship course covers dozens of chords to play on each tone of the major scale. Since the major scale we are learning in is Db major, the chords taught in this newsletter all center around these seven tones:

Db — Eb — F — Gb — Ab — Bb — C

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Why not 8 tones? Because the eighth tone is Db and those chords are basically the same as the 1st tone of the scale (also “Db”).

So the idea is to be able to take chords from tone #1 and play them with chords from tone #4.

…Or chords from tone (or set) #2 and play them with chords from set #5. Or chords from the 3-group and play them with chords from the 6-group.

Notice that I phrased each example a different way (…”tone,” “set,” “group”). They all mean the same thing in this lesson.

So obviously, in order to make this happen, you have to have knowledge of the chords in each group. That is what I’m going to help you with below.

Traditionally, each tone of the major scale is associated with a certain type of chord.

For example, the 1st tone of the scale is usually associated with the major seventh chord while the 6th tone, for example, is associated with the minor seventh chord.

That is not to say you’ll always play a Dbmaj7 chord and never play a Dbmin7 chord in the key of Db major. You have several options to choose from, depending on the mood and feel of the song.

 

Below, I’ll list potential chords for each tone of the scale just like I teach it in the GospelKeys^TM 202 course. After that, I’ll show you how to group these chords together to make full sounding progressions (or “chord changes”).

 

 

Format: (Chord *right hand* / Bass *left hand*)

 

 

1st tone of the scale: Db

Potential chords to play:

 

 

Dbmaj triad: Db + F + Ab / Db

 

Dbmaj7: C + F + Ab / Db

 

Dbmaj (add 9): Db + Eb + F + Ab / Db

 

Dbmaj9: C + Eb + F + Ab / Db * more info

 

 

2nd tone of the scale: Eb

Potential chords to play:

 

 

Ebmin triad: Eb + Gb + Bb / Eb

 

Ebmin7: Bb + Db + Gb / Eb

 

Ebmin9: Gb + Bb + Db + F / Eb

 

Eb9: G Bb Db F / Eb * more info

 

 

 

3rd tone of the scale: F

Potential chords to play:

 

 

Fmin triad: F + Ab + C / F

 

Fmin7: Eb + Ab + C / F

 

Fmin7 (b5): Ab + B + Eb / F

 

F7 (#9#5): A + Db + Eb + Ab / F * more info

 

F7 (b9#5): A + Db + Eb + Gb / F * more info

 

 

 

4th tone of the scale: Gb

Potential chords to play:

 

 

Gbmaj triad: Gb + Bb + Db / Gb

 

Gbmaj7: Gb + Bb + Db + F / Gb

 

Gbmaj7: Db + F + Gb + Bb / Gb

 

Gbmaj (add 9): Gb + Ab + Bb + Db / Gb

 

 

 

5th tone of the scale: Ab

Potential chords to play:

 

 

Abmaj triad: Ab + C + Eb / Ab

 

Ab7: Ab + C + Eb + Gb / Ab

 

Abmin9: Gb + Bb + B + Eb / Ab

 

Ab13: Gb + Bb + Db + F + Ab / Ab * more info

 

 

 

6th tone of the scale: Bb

Potential chords to play:

 

 

Bbmin triad: Bb + Db + F / Bb

 

Bbmin7: Db + F + Ab / Bb

 

Bbmin9: Ab + C + Db + F / Bb

 

Gb maj / Bb: Db + Gb + Bb / Bb * more info

 

 

 

7th tone of the scale: C

Potential chords to play:

 

 

Cmin7 (b5): Bb C Eb Gb / C

 

Cmin11: Eb + G + Bb + D + F / C

 

Ab maj / C: Eb + Ab + C / C * more info

 

 

 

 

Moving on…

 

 

Now, that you have just a sample of chords to play on each tone of the scale, we can move on to making chord progressions.

 

Note: If you want ALL the chords for each tone along with 4 more hours of instruction, check out my worship course.

 

 

 

Now, all you have to do is mix and match chords from each group. I’ll demonstrate to you the groups that work best together but feel free to use your practice time to explore this technique!

 

Did you know that by making different combinations among the chords above, that you have literally hundreds of possibilities?

 

Let me explain:

 

What if you took the the first chord from the “Db” group and played it before a chord from the “Ab” group. There’s a combination right there! (… and believe it or not, this progressions is heard in thousands of songs from every genre of music)!!!

 

 

Here are the groups that work best together.

 

===> Try mix and matching chords from group #1 with chords from group #4 and #5. Actually, any group works well with group #1 because of the “home” feeling you get from the 1st group. It’s generally the group of chords that begin and end songs so that’s why it works well with just about any other group. But like I said, the 4th and 5th groups will sound very good played after a chord from the first group.

 

===> Try mix and matching chords from group #2 with chords from group #5. You’ll get a very good connection with chords from these two groups.

 

===> Once you’ve mastered the 1-4, 1-5, and 2-5 group connections, try combining more than one pair. That means, play a chord from group #1 going to a chord from group number 4 — then right after that, play a chord from group #2 going to a chord from group number 5. See how many possibilities can be created? This is just how music works!

 

===> Try mix and matching chords from group #3 with chords from group #6. This creates a very smooth sounding progression.

 

===> Once you’ve mastered the 3-6 combination, try combining a 2-5 pair with a 3-6. For example, play a chord from group #2 to a chord from group #5. Then immediately after that, play a chord from group #3 to a chord from group #6. Then, do it backwards. Play a 3-6 pair immediately followed by a 2-5 pair. Now you’ve created a 3-6-2-5 progression!

===> And the list goes on…

I really wish I had enough time and space to keep going. For those of you who have GospelKeys^TM 202, just pop in disc #1 and you’ll get this entire lecture right on your television. Disc 2 focuses more on where we just left off. It actually demonstrates to you how to combine these chords and what types of sounds various chords make.

 

 

If you don’t have this course yet and you’re serious about learning these concepts, I highly recommend that you check it out at http://www.gospelkeys202.com. It is perfect for gospel musicians wanting to learn slower, worshipful music in the process described above!

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As you know, there is a formula for everything! Nothing is random — even when playing by ear…

 

From the most basic triad (or three-fingered chord) to the largest thirteenth chord, there are easy, systematic ways to remember ALL chords, regardless of size.

 

Let’s start basic and then I’ll show you how to remember larger chords.

 

If you have the 300pg course, page 50 displays a chart like this:

 

# of notes	Type of chord
Three	Triad
Four	Seventh
Five	Ninth
Six	Eleventh
Seven	Thirteenth

 

 

… If you’re just starting out, don’t be confused by these names and numbers.

 

Simply put, three-note chords (like a Cmaj or Fmin) are called “triads.”

 

As you add tones to the basic triad, you form “sevenths” and “ninths” — and all the others. We will get into this in a moment.

 

Key Rule: By knowing major scales, you can figure out any triad, seventh, ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth.

 

I always talk about major scales so I won’t waste time listing them here. You can find newsletters on them at my new archive site www.pianoweekly.com or in the 300pg course (chapter four).

 

But for now, I’ll show the C major scale:

 

C D E F G A B C

 

Basically, to form various chords, you just take notes from the C major scale. Keep in mind that each note of a scale is played individually, one after the other (don’t confuse scales and chords).

 

On the other hand, when you are playing chords, you are holding down multiple notes at the same time.

 

In order to apply these simple principles below, you’ll have to convert the major scale above to numbers. We’ve discussed techniques like this in prior weeks (www.pianoweekly.com) .

 

C = 1

D = 2

E = 3

F = 4

G = 5

A = 6

B = 7

 

So…

 

Once you know your major scales as numbers, you can apply these formulas to make any chord you want:

 

Major triads (Ch 5): 1 + 3  + 5

Minor triads (Ch 8): 1 + b3 + 5

Diminished triad (Ch 9): 1 + b3 + b5

Augmented triad: 1 + 3 + #5

 

Major seventh (Ch 10): 1 + 3 + 5 + 7

Minor seventh (Ch 10): 1 + b3 + 5 + b7

Dominant seventh (Ch 10): 1 + 3 + 5 + b7

Half Diminished seventh: 1 + b3 + b5 + b7

Diminished seventh (Ch 13): 1 + b3 + b5 + bb7  (or just think of it as “6″)

 

Major ninth (Ch 11): 1 + 3 + 5  + 7 + 9

Minor ninth (Ch 11): 1 + b3 + 5 + b7 + 9

Dominant ninth (Ch 11): 1 + 3 + 5 + b7 + 9

 

and so on… (eleventh chords, thirteenth chords, altered chords, major sixth, minor sixth…)

 

 

Now… let me help you to apply these formulas:

 

In the key of C major, let’s say you wanted to play a C maj chord (aka “C major triad”). Since the formula is 1+3+5, simply take the first, third, and fifth tone of the C major scale and play them together.

 

What’s the 1st tone of the C major scale?  Answer: C

What’s the 3rd tone of the C major scale? Answer: E

What’s the 5th tone of the C major scale? Answer: G

 

C major triad: C E G

 

It’s that simple.

 

If you’re just starting out, you may have run into a problem with the “b3″, “b5″, or “bb7″ and — that’s understandable (I’d be confused too if I were just starting out). Let me explain.

 

Whenever you see a “b” or “#”, that simply means to lower or raise the note a half step.

 

“b” means to lower the note a half step. So if you see b3, that means to take the third tone of the scale and lower it one-half step.

 

So if a minor chord is 1 + b3 + 5, in the key of C major, that is:

 

C Eb G

 

Why Eb?

 

Because we simply took the third tone of the scale and lowered it one-half step.

 

With that said, you should be able to figure out all the chords above:

 

Major triads (Ch 5): 1 + 3  + 5

Cmaj: C E G

 

Minor triads (Ch 8): 1 + b3 + 5

Cmin: C Eb G

 

Diminished triad (Ch 9): 1 + b3 + b5

Cdim: C Eb Gb

 

Augmented triad: 1 + 3 + #5

Caug: C E G#

 

Major seventh (Ch 10): 1 + 3 + 5 + 7

Cmaj7: C E G B

 

Minor seventh (Ch 10): 1 + b3 + 5 + b7

Cmin7: C Eb G Bb

 

Dominant seventh (Ch 10): 1 + 3 + 5 + b7

C7 (aka Cdom7): C E G Bb

 

Half Diminished seventh: 1 + b3 + b5 + b7

C half dim7: C Eb Gb Bb

 

Diminished seventh (Ch 13): 1 + b3 + b5 + bb7  (or just think of it as “6″)

Cdim7: C Eb Gb A

 

 

 

What about the more extended chords like ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths?

 

What if I told you that you could play any ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth chord by knowing just seventh chords?

 

You can.

 

Major Ninth Chords

 

The formula for a major ninth chord is:

1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9

 

The Cmaj9 chord, for example, is:

 

C E G B D

 

But a shortcut is to simply play an Emin7 over C.

 

C bass   *  E G B D (Emin7) on right hand = Cmaj9

 

So, how can we make this a “rule” to apply to all maj9 chords?

 

 

Simply put, take the iii min7 of any major key.

 

1) Start with the keynote of the major scale. So if you want to play a Cmaj9 chord, the keynote would be “C”. Play this on your left hand.

 

2) On your right hand, locate the third tone of the scale and play a minor seventh chord on that tone. So in the key of C, the third tone is E. Therefore, you’d play an Emin7 chord on C bass.

 

For your convenience, here’s a list of all twelve major ninth chords:

 

Cmaj9: C + Emin7 chord (C E G B D)

Fmaj9: F + Amin7 chord (F A C E G)

Bbmaj9: Bb + Dmin7 chord (Bb D F A C)

Ebmaj9: Eb + Gmin7 chord (Eb G Bb D F)

Abmaj9: Ab + Cmin7 chord (Ab C Eb G Bb)

Dbmaj9: Db + Fmin7 chord (Db F Ab C Eb)

Gbmaj9: Gb + Bbmin7 chord (Gb Bb Db F Ab)

Bmaj9: B + D#min7 (B D# F# A# C#)

Emaj9: E + G#min7 (E G# B D# F#)

Amaj9: A + C#min7 (A C# E G# B)

Dmaj9: D + F#min7 (D F# A C# E)

Gmaj9: G + Bmin7 (G B D F# A)

 

Let’s move on…

 

Minor Ninth Chords

 

Minor ninth chords have a similar formula. Instead of taking the 3rd tone of the scale and playing a minor 7th chord on it (like we did above), simply take the b3rd of the scale and play a major 7th chord on it.

 

So it’s sort of like the opposite of the maj9 chord.

 

Maj 9 vs Min 9

 

Maj 9: We took the 3rd tone of the scale and played its minor seventh chord.

Min 9: We will take the b3rd tone of the scale (or the relative major) and play its major seventh chord. Don’t worry about relative major/minor — this would take a few more concepts to explain. For now, just remember the b3 of any key!

 

1) Start with the keynote of the major scale (C for example).

 

2) On your right hand, locate the b3 tone of the scale. That involves finding the natural third tone (E) and lowering it one-half step to Eb. So, to recap, the b3 of C major is “Eb.”

 

3) Simply play Ebmaj7 over C bass and there’s a nice min9 chord!

 

Cmin9: C + Ebmaj7 chord (C Eb G Bb D)

 

You try the rest…

 

Cmaj9: C + Ebmaj7 chord (C Eb G Bb D)

Fmaj9: _______________________

Bbmaj9: _______________________

Ebmaj9: _______________________

Abmaj9: _______________________

Dbmaj9: _______________________

Gbmaj9: _______________________

Bmaj9: _______________________

Emaj9: _______________________

Amaj9: _______________________

Dmaj9: _______________________

Gmaj9: _______________________

 

 

Next week, I’ll teach you easy ways to play eleventh and thirteenth chords using similar formulas.

Popularity: 9% [?]

(Part two of a two week series on harmonizing melodies. Click here for last week’s lesson).

 

 

Last week’s lesson generated many questions so before providing answers to the exercises I issued in the last newsletter, I’ll first take some time to address some key thoughts:

 

 

Question #1 from student:

 

Hi Jermaine,   Your harmony scale seems to be just what I’m looking for. Do these chords always apply to these melody notes and how do you know when to use other chords that may fit better?

 

 

Answer:

 

The simple answer to to the first question is no. For the second question, it depends.

 

Here it goes…

 

 

 

The harmonization scale taught in the last lesson (and shown below) is just a template to use for most basic songs, but it is not written in stone.

 

There will be times, for example, in C major, when you play a “C” in your melody and it won’t be harmonized by the Cmaj (E+G+C) chord I discussed last week. In this case, the “C” melody note may be harmonized by an Fmaj (F+A+C) chord, which still puts “C” on top and is a better fit for the song.

 

Let me give you an example:

 

“Jesus Loves Me”

 

 

Yes, Je-sus Loves Me

G     E    G    A      C

 

Yes, Je-sus Loves Me

G     E   C     E      D

 

Yes, Je-sus Loves Me

G     E    G    A      C

 

For the bib-ble tells me so

A    A   G   C   E     D   C

 

 

Normally, this entire song, like many others, could be harmonized using the chart I introduced last week:

 

When melody note is:	Simply play this chord:
C	E + G + C (played all at the same time)
D	F + A + D
E	G + C + E
F	A + C + F
G	C + E + G
A	C + F + A
B	D + G + B
C	E + G + C

 

 

 

Simply put, all you have to do is take each note of your melody and replace it with the matching chord.

 

So…

 

According to the chart above, “Jesus Loves Me” would look like this:

 

Part One	Part Two	Part Three	Part Four
Yes C+E+G   Je G+C+E   sus C+E+G   Loves C+F+A   Me * E+G+C	Yes C+E+G   Je G+C+E   sus E+G+C   Loves G+C+E   Me * F+A+D	Yes C+E+G   Je G+C+E   sus C+E+G   Loves C+F+A   Me * E+G+C	For C+F+A   The C+F+A   Bi C+E+G   ble E+G+C   Tells G+C+E   Me F+A+D   So E+G+C

 

 

 

If you play this song with the triads listed above, mostly all the chords would sound good except for the ones I’ve noted with an asterisk *.

 

It’s not that they sound bad. It’s just that there is a better fit for these melody notes.

 

 

My golden rule is that your ear should always be the judge. So when you are harmonizing a melody and one chord just doesn’t sound right, ask yourself this question?

 

“Is there any other chord that might harmonize this note better?”

 

 

This is where you get into different types of harmonization scales. On pages 243-244 of the 300-pg course, I teach about three different harmonization scales with various functions:

 

 

1) Using only primary chords to harmonize a scale (i.e., “I, IV, and V chords only”)

 

2) Using a mixture of minor and major chords (like the chart you already learned above).

 

And…

 

3) Using substitute chords on certain tones of the major scale.

 

 

 

 

Using only primary chords to harmonize a scale

 

In any given major scale, the I, IV, and V make up the primary chords.

 

For example, the C major scale is:

 

C D E F G A B C

1 2 3  4  5 6  7 8

 

The primary chords of this key are Cmaj, Fmaj, and Gmaj.

 

 

Let’s see how well you understand this concept:

 

1) What are the primary chords of F major?

 

 

Answer: F major ( I ), Bb major ( IV ), and C major ( V )

 

 

2) What are the primary chords of B major?

 

 

Answer: B major ( I ), E major ( IV ), and F# major ( V )

 

So, if you had to harmonize the C major scale using only a Cmaj, Fmaj, and Gmaj chords, it would look something like this:

 

Harmonizing a scale with primary chords only
When melody note is:	Simply play this chord:
C	E + G + C (played all at the same time)
D	G + B + D
E	G + C + E
F	A + C + F
G	C + E + G
A	C + F + A
B	D + G + B
C	E + G + C

 

 

 

The only difference between this harmonization chart and the other one is that the “D” in this scale is harmonized by a “Gmaj” chord instead of a “Dmin” chord.

 

This is the “Gmaj” chord that should be used in “Jesus Loves Me.”

 

Try comparing the second part of “Jesus Loves Me” (one with the regular “Dmin” chord and one with the “Gmaj” chord used to harmonize the “D” note).

 

Old version	New Version
Yes C+E+G   Je G+C+E   sus E+G+C   Loves G+C+E   Me * F+A+D  (old)	Yes C+E+G   Je G+C+E   sus E+G+C   Loves G+C+E   Me * G+B+D (new)

 

Doesn’t the second version sound a lot better with the Gmaj than the Dmin? This is exactly what I’m talking about — using your ear to make the final decision.

 

 

 

Using substitute chords on certain tones of the major scale

 

In some cases, only certain chords of the harmonization scale need to be changed.

 

On page 244 in the course, I discuss how sometimes the IV chord can substitute for the I chord.

 

To better understand this, let’s look at our original harmonization scale:

 

 

When melody note is:	Simply play this chord:
C	E + G + C (played all at the same time)
D	F + A + D
E	G + C + E
F	A + C + F
G	C + E + G
A	C + F + A
B	D + G + B
C	E + G + C

 

 

Notice the first chord in this chart.

 

Usually, if you were playing a melody, any time you’d hit “C”, you’d replace your melody note with E+G+C.

 

However, in “Jesus Loves Me,” this chord didn’t sound correct when harmonizing the “C” notes with “E+G+C” in parts one and three.

 

 

After poking around at a few more chords, you might notice that an Fmaj chord sounds a lot better there. An Fmaj chord is played: F+A+C.

 

Understand that the highest note doesn’t change — it is still “C” like we want it to be.

 

Now, try changing the (E+G+C) chords in parts one and three to (F+A+C) to see the difference it makes:

 

Old version	New Version
Yes C+E+G   Je G+C+E   sus C+E+G   Loves C+F+A   Me * E+G+C (old)	Yes C+E+G   Je G+C+E   sus C+E+G   Loves C+F+A   Me * F+A+C (new)

 

 

I don’t know about you but the Fmaj beats out the Cmaj chord here.

 

 

 

 

So the lesson to be learned here is:

 

• If the chord you’re using to harmonize the second tone of a scale (in C major, that’s “D”) doesn’t sound right, try switching to a primary chord (or the V chord). In this case, we ended up replacing the Dmin chord with a Gmaj chord and it sounded much better.
• If the chord you’re using to harmonize the first tone of a scale (in Cmajor, that’s “C”) doesn’t fit as well as you think it should, try switching to the IV chord (with the same note on top). Remember, the highest note shouldn’t change since the I and IV chords share this same note in their chords.

 

 

Now, let’s see if you answered last week’s exercise correctly.

 

If you remember, the aim was to correctly harmonize “Mary had a little lamb” and “Are you sleeping” with the help of the harmonization chart.

 

Here are the answers:

 

 

“Mary had a little lamb”

 

 

 

E D C D E E E (Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb)

_____________________________________

 

G+C+E (Ma)

 

F+A+D (ry)

 

E+G+C (had)

 

F+A+D (a)

 

G+C+E (lit)

 

G+C+E (tle)

 

G+C+E (lamb)

 

 

 

D D D (lit-tle lamb)

_____________________________________

 

 F+A+D (lit)

 

 F+A+D (tle)

 

 F+A+D (lamb)

 

 

 

E G G (lit-tle lamb)

_____________________________________

 

 G+C+E (lit)

 

C+E+G (tle)

 

C+E+G (lamb)

 

 

 

E D C D E E E E (Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb, her)

_____________________________________

 

G+C+E (Ma)

 

F+A+D (ry)

 

E+G+C (had)

 

F+A+D (a)

 

G+C+E (lit)

 

G+C+E (tle)

 

G+C+E (lamb)

 

G+C+E (her)

 

 

 

D D E D C (fleece was white as snow)

______________________________________

 

F+A+D (fleece)

 

F+A+D (was)

 

G+C+E (white)

 

F+A+D (as)

 

E+G+C (snow)

 

 

 

 

“Are you sleeping”

 

 

C D E C (Are you sleep-ing)

______________________________________

 

E+G+C (Are)

 

F+A+D (you)

 

G+C+E (sleep)

 

E+G+C (ing)

 

 

 

C D E C (Are you sleep-ing)

______________________________________

 

E+G+C (Are)

 

F+A+D (you)

 

G+C+E (sleep)

 

E+G+C (ing)

 

 

 

E F G (Bro-ther John)

______________________________________

 

G+C+E (Bro)

 

A+C+F (ther)

 

C+E+G (John)

 

 

 

 

E F G (Bro-ther John)

______________________________________

 

G+C+E (Bro)

 

A+C+F (ther)

 

C+E+G (John)

 

 

 

 

G A G F E C (Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)

______________________________________

 

C+E+G (Morn)

 

C+F+A (ing)

 

C+E+G (bells)

 

A+C+F (are)

 

G+C+E (ring)

 

E+G+C (ing)

 

 

 

G A G F E C (Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)

______________________________________

 

C+E+G (Morn)

 

C+F+A (ing)

 

C+E+G (bells)

 

A+C+F (are)

 

G+C+E (ring)

 

E+G+C (ing)

 

 

 

 

C G C (Ding dong ding)

______________________________________

 

E+G+C (Ding)

 

B+D+G (dong) — use different harmonization type

 

E+G+C (ding)

 

 

C G C (Ding dong ding)

______________________________________

 

E+G+C (Ding)

 

B+D+G (dong) — use different harmonization type

 

E+G+C (ding)

 

 

 

 I hope you enjoyed part two of this series. I’ll see you next week for a new topic…

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Chords to study for future online classroom lessons:

• 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

Popularity: 12% [?]

(Part one of a two week series on harmonizing melodies)

 

 

 

Harmonizing melodies is different than laying chords beneath a melody.

 

You may have heard of fake books and chord charts where you are given chords to play under various melodies. Jazz standards are usually notated this way.

 

For example, the chord chart may display a “Cmaj7″ over a particular bar with a melody line beneath it. To some extent, you have to know how to read sheet music (at least to read the melody line).

 

 

 

Harmonizing melodies, to me, is much easier. This is how hymns and popular music are played.

 

I’ll give you some songs in the next newsletter, but just to demonstrate my point, let’s take “Mary had a little lamb” since everyone knows this nursery rhyme (and its a lot easier to make my point clear with a simple song like this)…

 

With this method, if you can sit at your piano and pick out the one-note melody, then you’re 30 seconds from playing it as a full-sounding song.

 

Because the chords that harmonize notes NEVER change — only the notes themselves.

 

So if there are 8 notes in a major scale (really only 7 unique notes but the octave note makes 8) — and you know the “matching” chord for each one of those notes, then you have what it takes to play full-sounding chords in place of your one-note melodies.

 

Let me explain…

 

 

 

Say, after 10 minutes at the piano, you’ve managed to learn “Mary had a little lamb” (and believe me, it’s not that hard to pick out a melody — small children do it if you leave them at the piano long enough).

 

It’s not rocket science.

 

I believe everyone has the ear to sit down and pick out a melody (especially if you know your major scales because most melodies come directly from the scales). So if a major scale has eight notes and most melodies are formed with a combination of passing tones, upper and lower neighboring tones, and chord tones, then it shouldn’t take hours to learn melodies of popular songs.

 

Passing tones…? Upper neighboring tones…?

Lower neighboring tones? Chord tones?

 

You’re probably wondering what these are.

 

I discuss these things in detail in chapter 17 of my 300-pg course, but for now, I’ll explain them briefly:

 

 

Passing Tones

 

Melodies include tones that are not a part of the chord used for the harmony. These non-chord tones are called non-harmonic tones. When a melody passes from one chord tone to a different chord tone with a non-harmonic tone (a half or whole step) between, the non-harmonic tone is called a passing tone (pg 252, “The Secrets to Playing Piano by Ear”).

 

 

What does this mean?

 

Simply put, if you were playing the beginning of “Mary had a little lamb” (E - D - C - D - E - E - E) over a Cmaj chord, the ‘D’ notes in this sequence would be passing tones because they are not a part of the C major chord (C + E + G). Notice the ‘E’ and “C’ notes are a part of the C major chord so they are not called passing tones — they are called chord tones.

 

 

 

 

Neighboring Tones

 

When a melody passes from one chord tone back to the same chord tone with a non-harmonic tone (a half or whole step) between, the non-harmonic tone is called a neighboring tone.

 

 

What does this mean?

 

Basically, passing and neighboring tones function similarly but have one minor difference — the next note. If the melody is going to a different note and just “passing by” a non-harmonic note (again… simply a note that ISN’T a part of the major chord being used with the melody), then it’s called a passing tone. As simple as that.

 

 

If the melody is moving from one chord tone to a next door neighbor tone, then immediately back to the original chord tone, the “in-between” tone is called a neighboring tone. If you don’t get this, it’s better illustrated with pictures. I strongly recommend my course if you think this is interesting and want to learn more.

 

Whether you call them upper or lowering neighboring tones depends on which way the melody is going.

 

It is an upper neighboring tone when it is above the chord tone and a lower neighboring tone when it is below the chord tone.

 

Let’s see how well you understand this:

 

________________________________________________________

 

Is this an example of a passing tone or neighboring tone?

 

Chord: C maj (C+E+G)

 

Melody: C D C

 

 

Answer: This is an example of a neighboring tone relationship because the “D” is not a part of the notes of the chord AND because the melody is going from the “D” back to the original “C” chord tone. Whenever the melody uses a note to return back to a previous chord tone, then a neighboring tone relationship exists.

 

The “D” is specifically an upper neighboring tone because it is higher than the original “C” chord tone.

 

_________________________________________________________

 

Is this an example of a passing tone or neighboring tone?

 

Chord: D min (D+F+A)

 

Melody: D E F

 

Answer: This is an example of a passing tone relationship because the E is not a part of the Dmin chord (so it’s non-harmonic) AND because the melody is moving forward to a different chord tone (”F”). For example, if the melody was D E D, then a neighboring tone relationship would have been the correct answer. However, since the “E” is used to move forward to “F”, another chord tone, this creates a passing tone relationship between the “E” and the other chord tones.

 

 

How does knowing this information help you to determine melodies?

 

For starters, it helps you to understand that melodies aren’t just randomly played notes that you have to figure out… they generally use notes that are right next to each other.

 

Let’s analyze “Mary had a little lamb” to see what I’m talking about:

 

E D C D E E E (Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb)

 

D D D (lit-tle lamb)

 

E G G (lit-tle lamb)

 

E D C D E E E E (Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb, her)

 

D D E D C (fleece was white as snow)

 

 

Now… ask yourself a few questions?

 

Are these notes randomly spread out or do you see patterns here?

 

Do you see a bunch of passing and neighboring tones like I do?

 

Are the notes generally right next to each other (and not more than one note a part when there is a jump like from the E to G in the third line)?

 

 

Let’s analyze another easy nursery rhyme / lullaby:

 

“Are you sleeping”

 

C D E C (Are you sleep-ing)

 

C D E C (Are you sleep-ing)

 

E F G (Bro-ther John)

 

E F G (Bro-ther John)

 

G A G F E C (Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)

 

G A G F E C (Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)

 

C G C (Ding dong ding)

 

C G C (Ding dong ding)

 

 

So how do I harmonize these melodies … already?!!!

 

I’ll cover more popular (and non-nursery rhyme) songs in the next newsletter but for now, I will introduce the “harmonization” chart. But first, here are some rules to keep in mind:

 

1. Every note in a major scale has its own harmonizing chord

 

2. Whenever a note is played, simply replace it with its harmonizing chord

 

3. When all one-note melodies have been replaced with harmonizing chords, you have a full-sounding basic song.

 

 

Let’s take the C major scale (but keep in mind that every major scale has its own harmonizing chords).

 

When melody note is:	Simply play this chord:
C	E + G + C (played all at the same time)
D	F + A + D
E	G + C + E
F	A + C + F
G	C + E + G
A	C + F + A
B	D + G + B
C	E + G + C

 

 

Do you notice anything unique about the harmonizing chords?

 

 

If you noticed that the highest note of the chord always matches the melody note, then you are absolutely correct.

 

In essence, since you are replacing a melody note with a chord, in most cases, you’ll still want to preserve the melody (… you’ll want to hear the melody clearly) so by playing these particular chords, the highest note of each chord IS ALWAYS THE MELODY.

 

(This may all seem strange because I don’t have lots of room to explain myself with pictures and illustrations. Of course, some people will grasp on right away.

 

If you’re serious about learning harmonization, visit: http://www.hearandplay.com/special?harmonycourse to check out my course.

 

 

So, all you have to do is take the melodies above and replace them with the appropriate chords. I’ll copy the melodies to “Mary had a little lamb” and “Are you sleeping” so that you can try it on your own below.

 

The answers will be in next week’s newsletter so make sure to have this completed so that we can move on from there.

 

Mary had a little lamb

 

I’ll do the first one for you.

 

E D C D E E E (Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb)

_____________________________________

 

G+C+E (Ma)

 

F+A+D (ry)

 

E+G+C (had)

 

F+A+D (a)

 

G+C+E (lit)

 

G+C+E (tle)

 

G+C+E (lamb)

 

Notice that the original melody note is still on top! That’s the whole point of using the harmonizing chart I’ve created for you above. The song still sounds like “Mary had a little lamb”, the melody is still obvious, but with the addition of full-sounding harmony!

 

 

 

D D D (lit-tle lamb)

_____________________________________

 

________ (lit)

 

________ (tle)

 

________ (lamb)

 

 

 

E G G (lit-tle lamb)

_____________________________________

 

________ (lit)

 

________ (tle)

 

________ (lamb)

 

 

 

E D C D E E E E (Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb, her)

______________________________________

 

________ (Ma)

 

________ (ry)

 

________ (had)

 

________ (a)

 

________ (lit)

 

________ (tle)

 

________ (lamb)

 

________ (her)

 

 

 

D D E D C (fleece was white as snow)

______________________________________

 

________ (fleece)

 

________ (was)

 

________ (white)

 

________ (as)

 

________ (snow)

 

 

If you’ve chosen the right harmonizing chords, then you should have a nice full-sounding arrangement of Mary had a little lamb above. If not, just try it again until it works.

 

 

Lastly, try taking “Are you sleeping” and do the same thing you did above. This time, I won’t provide you with a template. You’ll have to do it all on your own:

 

 

“Are you sleeping”

 

C D E C (Are you sleep-ing)

 

C D E C (Are you sleep-ing)

 

E F G (Bro-ther John)

 

E F G (Bro-ther John)

 

G A G F E C (Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)

 

G A G F E C (Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)

 

C G C (Ding dong ding)

 

C G C (Ding dong ding)

 

 

 

Look for the answers in my next newsletter.

 

 

Meanwhile…

 

You now have a formula:

 

A) Determine a melody to any song

 

B) Replace the melody notes with harmonizing chords making sure to keep the melody note as the highest tone of each chord (see chart above)

 

C) Add bass (or left hand)  — We’ll cover this in another newsletter

 

 

 

There you have it. I hope you’ve benefited from this lesson. Let me know on my message board.

 

Chords to study for future online classroom lessons:

• 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

Popularity: 12% [?]

In this online classroom, I’m going to share a few exercises that you can literally start implementing in your practice routines immediately!

 

Keep in mind that these exercises can also be used as slow progressions or warm-up pieces. They follow the classic circle of fifths pattern and will not only help you to memorize the pattern from which we get 5-1, 2-5-1, 6-2-5-1, and other progressions, but will also help you to realize the power of using inversions (how you play a chord).

 

I realize that you may have several questions. So here’s the link to our discussion board where you can post any questions in response to this newsletter. http://www.hearandplay.com/board

 

IMPORTANT: We choose to follow the circle of fifths pattern going counter clockwise. That is, C –> F –> Bb, etc. If you’re not already familiar with the circle of fifths pattern, don’t worry … you can still practice these exercises as I will literally s-p-e-l-l out each chord below.

 

(If you’ve never heard of the circle of fifths pattern, click here for a quick lesson on it).

 

 

Circle of Fifths

 

Simply put, the circle of fifths chart organizes major and minor scales according to how many sharps or flats each scale contains.

 

When you first began playing the piano, you may have thought that C and Db were more related to each other than perhaps C and F because of how close the two notes appear on the piano… but that is not true.

 

If you really think about it, how many notes does the C major scale have in common with the Db major scales? Well, let’s see:

 

C major scale

C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C

 

Db major scale

Db - Eb - F - Gb - Ab - Bb - C - Db

…hmmm, a whopping two notes in common!

Now notice the C major scale compared to the F major scale:

 

C major scale

C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C

 

F major scale

F - G - A - Bb - C - D - E - F

 

They have seven notes in common. The only note they differ by is the B / Bb.

 

Notice on the chart above where C major and F major appear. If you observed that they appear right next to each other, then you are on the right track!

 

In other words, as you move from key to key, there will only be a one-note difference.

 

So to make sure everyone understands this: C major and F major have the same notes except for one difference: F major has a Bb instead of B.

 

F major and Bb major have the same notes except for one difference: Bb major has an Eb instead of E. And that pattern continues all the way down the circle.

 

If you’ve never heard of the circle of fifths concept and this topic intrigues you, considering checking out my 300pg course where we go into detail on how to use this process to learn all 12 major scales.

 

Moving On…

If the major scales of C and F are similar, then isn’t it safe to assume that their major chords are similar?

In fact, to play from a C major to an F major triad (three-fingered chord), you don’t even have to change your hand position. Try it…

Major Triads

Play: C E G (Bass = C)

Then Play: C F A (Bass = F)

(notice the C’s don’t change).

 

Major Seventh Chords

The same applies to 4-fingered chords…

Play: C E G B (Bass = C)

Then Play: C E F A (Bass = F)

 

Major Ninth Chords

The same applies to 5-fingered chords…

Play: C E G B D (Bass = C)

Then Play: C E F G A (Bass = F)

If you really look closely, the Fmaj9 actually has a Cmaj triad inside of it (locate C, E, and G in the second chord above and you’ll notice exactly what I’m talking about). See… there are relationships all throughout this circle!

 

… So What Does This Mean?

Well, this simply means that you can go down the ENTIRE circle with these types of close relationships not having to change more than a few fingers from one note to the next.

If C to F produces this easy of a transition, then F to Bb … Bb to Eb … Eb to Ab, and so on (see circle below) will produce the same effect:

Here are three exercises you can practice everyday to better familiarize yourself with the circle of fifths pattern as this concept is very important when attempting to understand chord progressions like 2-5-1, 1-4 turnarounds, and others.

 

Exercises

 

1) Major Sevenths

Basically, here’s what you do with this exercise…

Start with Cmaj7:

C + E + G + B

… and instead of going to F A C E (which is an Fmaj7 in root position), you’re going to go to the closest inversion of the Fmaj7. Remember: An inversion is another way to play the same chord.

There are four ways to play an Fmaj7 (a.k.a. “inversions”):

F + A + C + E

A + C + E + F

C + E + F + A

E + F + A + C

 

Which inversion would work best coming from a Cmaj7 (C + E + G + B) ???

Of course the (C + E + F + A) because your lowest note is already on C!

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Do you follow me? If not, please post your question here right away.

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So, in actuality, we’re just picking the closest inversion of Fmaj and in this case, it happens to be (C + E + F + A).

 

A few tricks: Read Carefully!!!

When you’re playing a root inversion of a major seventh chord (root inversions always put the name of the chord on the bottom… so Cmaj7 played C E G B is in its root inversion because C is on the bottom) —- Simple move the top two notes DOWN one whole step and you’ll be on the next chord of the circle!

Let’s look at it:

Cmaj7

C E G B (Bass = C)

*** Move the G down one whole step to F

*** Move the B down one whole step to A

C E F A (Bass = F)

 

Now to get from the Fmaj7 to the next chord on the chart (Bbmaj7) simply LOWER THE BOTTOM TWO NOTES ONE-WHOLE STEP.

Let’s take a look:

C E F A (Bass = F)

*** Move C down one whole step to Bb

*** Move E down one whole step to D

 

Bbmaj7

Bb D F A (in its root position) Bass = Bb

…. and now, you simply follow the first step by lowering its highest two notes down to get to the next chord. Don’t worry if you don’t understand these steps yet. Just re-read this lesson and it’ll make sense soon!

If not, just skip down to the actual chart below and play EXACTLY what I’ve listed in each box. There’s no way you can go wrong. If you do, click here to post a question to my discussion board.

 

RECAP:

1) Lower highest two notes down one-whole step

2) Lower lowest two notes down one-whole step

3) Repeat process over and over (highest two, lowest two, highest two, lowest two).

 

*This will literally be your first exercise. I warn you: The first time, you’ll be doing a lot of thinking (high two, low two, high two, low two) but as you get better and better, you’ll build speed and you’ll know which chords come next on the circle.

Here’s the exercise, chord for chord:

Listen to Exercise 1 (played regularly)    

Listen to Exercise 1 (played rhythmically)

 

Bass	Maj7 Chord
C	C E G B
F	C E F A
Bb	Bb D F A
Eb	Bb D Eb G
Ab	Ab C Eb G
Db	Ab C Db F
Gb	Gb Bb Db F
B	F# A# B D#
E	E G# B D#
A	E G# A C#
D	D F# A C#
G	D F# G B
C	C E G B

Note: If you want to learn all of your major seventh chords (and all 4 inversions of each) along with tons of other chords, click here.

 

2) Major Sevenths (voiced differently)

Now that you understand the concept of using the circle of fifths to play chords, here are some more arrangements to practice:

Listen to Exercise 2    

 

Bass	Maj7 Chord
C	E B E
F	E A E
Bb	D A D
Eb	D G D
Ab	C G C
Db	C F C
Gb	Bb F Bb
B	A# Eb A#
E	G# D# G#
A	G# C# G#
D	F# C# F#
G	F# B F#
C	E B E

* If you play the chords above softly as you transition from one to the other, you’ll notice very nice progressions that you can use in songs, accompaniments, and for warm-up.

 

3) Minor Ninths

Lastly, we’ll use the same circle of fifths pattern to explore minor ninth chords. You will notice that the only finger you’ll have to move is your thumb as you change from one chord to the next:

Listen to Exercise 3

 

Bass	Min9 Chord
C	Bb D Eb G
F	A D Eb G
Bb	Ab C Db F
Eb	G C Db F
Ab	Gb Bb B Eb
Db	F Bb B Eb
Gb	E Ab A Db
B	D# G# A C#
E	D F# G B
A	C# F# G B
D	C E F A
G	B E F A
C	Bb D Eb G

 

What do I do next?

Now that I’ve given you just three ideas of what you can do with the circle of fifths, it is your turn to use this process to practice all chord types. Remember, there WILL ALWAYS be a connection between one note on the circle and the next so it is your job to find that connection! For example, C maj to F maj will connect somehow and you’ll never find yourself having to move all of your fingers — I PROMISE.

Explore these chord types and how they connect on the circle of fifths chart:

• 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 post! I’ll be back

Popularity: 16% [?]

I get tons of e-mails asking me how to spice up old chord progressions. So this month, I will introduce a couple of “spicy” progressions that you can play in the place of classic progressions like “2-5-1’s” or “6-2-5-1’s!”

I will start by giving you a basic way to play the progression. I will then show you how to “spice up” the same progression.

#1) Key of F major

This example is based on a “7-3-6″ progression. If you remember, last time, we covered “7-3-6-2-5-1″ progressions. A “7-3-6″ is simply an abbreviation of the larger progression.

For simplicity, I will post one of the progressions that you learned last month. Now… keep in mind, that this progression is pretty contemporary in and of itself. However, there are ways to take an “already-contemporary” progression and spice it up as you’ll see below.

NOTES IN PARENTHESIS ( ) DON’T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE PLAYED IF YOU CAN’T REACH THEM.

Common Example of 7-3-6 progression:

Left hand E + B + D (”7″)	Right hand G + B + D + F# + (A)
A + E + G (”3″)	Db + F + G + C
D + A + C (”6″)	C + E + F + A + C

Now… let’s spice it up a little bit!

Ok, to start:

For the “7″ chord above, let’s replace the left hand with a tritone: “G+Db.”

BUT INSTEAD OF PLAYING JUST A TRITONE ON THE LEFT, we will add an “F” to create this three-fingered triad:

G + Db + F

TIP: When spicing up your chords, sometimes the lowest note won’t correspond with the traditional way to play a progression. You’ll be playing things like “tritones,” various inversions of the left hand, altered chords, and more! So don’t worry about trying to decipher why a “G” is the lowest note instead of an “E” (like in the common example above). As you’ll notice, the same type of sound will be produced, but more jazzier. The end result is always more important — that is, you’ll still end up going to the “6″ chord, which is on “D.“

So, let’s continue:

On the left, we will play G+Db+F, which is like a G7 (b5), but very abbreviated.

On the right hand, we will simply play a Gbmaj triad (Db + Gb + Bb) in its second inversion. Let’s look at the whole chord now:

Left hand	Right hand
G + Db + F	Db + Gb + Bb

The next chord is pretty simple. Just take the left hand chord you’re playing and move the “F” to “E” so that you get this chord:

G + Db + E <<<<<<<<<<<< Left hand.

Now for the right hand, simply move the Gbmaj triad to an Fmaj triad. That means moving (Db+Gb+Bb) down to (C+F+A).

C + F + A <<<<<<<<<<<< Right hand.

The entire chord will look like this:

Left hand	Right hand
G + Db + E	C + F + A

Now, we will look at the last chord of this series.

Very very simple again.

Tip: With a lot of these “spicier” voicings, it’s not all about playing huge chords. In actuality, a lot of these “spicier” voicings are simply two small chords combined (aka “polychords”). Play around with smaller chords until you come up with sounds that you’ve never heard before. You’ll surprise yourself!

Left hand	Right hand
D + A + C	C + E + G

So as you can see, this last chord is simply a D7 on the left and a Cmaj triad on the right.

Now, let’s combine all three chords for our final “7-3-6″ progression:

Left hand	Right hand
G + Db + F	Db + Gb + Bb
G + Db + E	C + F + A
D + A + C	C + E + G

#2) Key of Ab major

The following progression can be used to replace a classic “6-2-5-1.” So that you understand how a “6-2-5-1″ might normally be played, I have listed one below for you:

A ” / ” slash means that the note to the right will be played on the bass (left hand).

“1″	“6″	“2″	“5″	“1″
Bb Eb Ab / Db	Ab C Db F / Bb	Gb Bb Db F / Eb	C F A / Ab	Bb Eb Ab / Db

Note: The “1″ chord has been added above just to give you a sense of what chord a “6″ would proceed.

Now replace the same chords above with these:

Left hand	Right hand
Eb + Ab	Db + F + Ab + Db
D + Ab	C + E + G + C
Eb + Bb + Db	G + B + Db + Gb
Ab + Eb + Gb	Gb + Bb + C + F

… So can you tell the difference?

What do I do next?

Start learning these progressions in all twelve keys! Just because I played them in F and Ab major doesn’t mean you have to be confined to those major keys. Use our 300-pg course to figure out how to transpose these chords into other keys.

Remember, chords have different functions. Try using the chords above in other keys. For example, though the second example I listed was posted in Ab as a “6-2-5-1″ progression, isn’t it true that an F to Bb to Eb to Ab is also a “3-6-2-5″ in the key of Db major? So in essence, what might be one progression in one key WILL BE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT PROGRESSION in another key! Try those same chords out and see if they work. You’ll be surprised at the results.

So once you learn the progressions in all keys, then start mixing and matching their roles. Use them as “2-5-1s” in some keys but as “1-4″ progressions in others! You’ll see the power of this technique as soon as you start using it!

Well, I hope you enjoyed June’s newsletter and I’ll be back in July! Take care!

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Let’s get right to work with this month’s online classroom.

In the past, I’ve given you one-fingered bass notes to play on your left hand. In this lesson, I will give you three-fingered left hand voicings so that you’ll get used to playing “bigger” chords.

These progressions will also be in the key of Db major:

NOTES IN PARENTHESIS ( ) DON’T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE PLAYED IF YOU CAN’T REACH THEM.

#1

Left hand C + G + Bb (”7″)	Right hand Eb + G + Bb + D + (F)
F + C + Eb (”3″)	A + Db + Eb + Ab
Bb + F + Ab (”6″)	Ab + C + Db + F + (Ab)
Eb + Bb + Db (”2″)	G + C + Db + F + (A)
Ab + Eb + Gb (”5″)	Gb + Bb + B + Eb
Db + Ab + B (”1″)	F + Bb + B + Eb

After the “1″ chord, it is common to go to a “4″ chord:

Left hand: Gb + Db + F / Right hand: F + Bb + Db

or…

Left hand: Gb + Db + F / Right hand: Bb + Eb + F Bb

 

#2

Left hand	Right hand
C + G + Bb (”7″)	Bb + Eb + Gb
F + C + Eb (”3″)	A + D + Gb
Bb + F + Ab (”6″)	Ab + C + Eb + G
Eb + Bb + Db (”2″)	Gb + Bb + Db + F
Ab + Eb + Gb (”5″)	C + F + A
Db + Ab + B (”1″)	Bb + Eb + Ab

 

Popularity: 7% [?]