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

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

Popularity: 9% [?]

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Popularity: 95% [?]

By now, you should know your major scales. If you don’t, there’s plenty of lessons on here to get you up to speed.

But that’s not what I want to talk about today.

I want to talk about an entirely different way to look at scales. A way that will help you to learn and understand chord progressions a lot faster! (Isn’t that what we all want? Chord progressions create SONGS!)

Don’t get me wrong… scales are great. I’m a great advocate of learning scales in the beginning.

I just don’t like when people get wrapped up into playing them just to “warm up” (and stuff like that). I think they are much more important than that.

They define the major keys you’ll play in. Understanding them is the key to playing smoothly in all 12 keys.

So I want to give you the “CIRCULAR” way to understand major scales. Yes, “circular!”

By now, you know that I’m infatuated by the circle of fifths. I think it’s a wonderful way to teach music. I think it cuts through all the baloney and if you really understand it, you can get really far… really quickly.

Take the C major scale for example:

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

Here’s how you would look at it circularly:

C major (circularly)

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

I bet you’ve never seen the C major scale like that before.

And the thing is…

All the notes that would normally be in the scale are represented. Nothing has changed in that regard. Just the order of notes. We’ve rearranged them into a different pattern.

A pattern you’ll run across time and time again in song after song (if you haven’t already).

And this, my friend, is the secret.

Think about songs you’ve played in the key of C major.

Did they move from keynote to keynote like this: C D E F G A B C?

Or did you see a lot of chords flowing like this: “D - G - C” or “C - F” or “G - C - F” or “A - D - G” or “E - A - D - G.”

And notice, I got those all from the circular scale above.

This is how music flows.

So to understand the pattern, “7 - 3 - 6 - 2 - 5 - 1 - 4″ is extremely important. In fact, there are entire songs that use this whole stretch of tones, all in a row.

For now, just ponder this. Try to learn this order of things in all 12 keys.

Hint: Soon you’ll find much overlap. In other words, the order you see here will NEVER change in another key. If the new key you’re learning has a “B” in it, for example, it will always be followed by an “E.”

That is the cool thing… you don’t have to learn all 12 keys from scratch… as long as you start getting the pattern.

This will be key to playing REAL chord progressions in ALL 12 keys… in REAL songs!

Until next time —

Popularity: 57% [?]

Here it is…

The famous circle!

Some people call it the “circle of fifths.”

Others call it the “circle of fourths.”

Who’s right… who’s wrong?

Everyone’s right! You can use “fourths,” “fifths,” “circle,” “cycle” — it’s all the same thing!

Why?

Hint: Inversions

Tell me, what’s a fourth up from C?

(The easiest way to answer this is to go four notes up in the C major scale.)

The answer is “F.”

Now, tell me, what’s a fifth down from C?

(The easiest way to answer this is to start at the first tone of the C major scale, “C,” and go down 5 scale notes).

The answer is “F.”

So F is both a fourth and a fifth away from C… it just depends on what direction you’re looking at.

If you take “F+C” (which is a fifth in that order, F is lowest note) and invert it to “C+F,” now you’ve got yourself a fourth. The same thing happens if you take a fourth “G+C” and invert it. “C+G” is a fifth when played in this order. So fourths and fifths are inverses of each other. It’s a fine line!

So if you think of the circle as “fifths,” then going clockwise (from C to G to D and so forth) is like going up 5 notes in the major scale to get to the next note on the circle. Likewise, going counter-clockwise (from C to F to Bb and so on) is like going down 5 notes in the major scale.

If you think of the circle as “fourths,” it’s the opposite. Going clockwise (from C to G to D) is like going down 4 notes in the major scale to get to the next note on the circle. And going counter-clockwise (from C to F to Bb) is like going up 4 notes in the major scale.

Or you can do like most people and look at the circle in a “hybrid” type of way… that is, combining the concepts.

That is to say, “going clockwise is fifths and going counter clockwise is fourths.”

Either way, it all works!

Here’s the important part to remember…

Understanding the circle in the counter clockwise direction will be way more beneficial when it comes to understanding how music flows. Music uses fourths and fifths more commonly than any other interval… yup I said it! Fourths and fifths dominate, hands down!

I say fourths and fifths because, again, “C to F” could be looked at as a fourth… or a fifth (depending on the what? —- yup, the direction you’re going in!)

For your reference, the same thing happens for:

• 3rds and 6ths (going down from C to A is a third but going up from C to A is a sixth).
• 2nds and 7ths (going down from C to B is a second but going up from C to B is a seventh).

These are all inverses of each other.

I hope this post clears the whole “circle” thing up for ya… and then some! :-)

Until next time —

Popularity: 32% [?]

In yesterday’s lesson, I talked about couples.

The premise was basically to look at chord progressions as small little “couples.”

(When I say “couple,” I’m specifically talking about a pair of chords… just two.)

When you think in terms of “couples,” you focus on two things:

1) What chord does this current one strongly pull to?

2) What chord pulls strongly to this current one?

This understanding is based on the circle of fifths.

Every chord has a chord that leads strongly to it (a fourth down) —or— a chord that it strongly leads to (a fourth up).

In other words, either something is coming at it or it’s going somewhere! I hope you get that…

If you look at the circle above, focus on going counter-clockwise — that is, from C to F to Bb and so on. If this were a clock, you’d focus on going the direction of “12 o clock” to “11 o clock” to “10 o clock” and so on.

This is the direction music commonly flows in! Understand this and you understand music!

So if you look at “C,” ask yourself two questions:

1) What does C pull strongly to?

and…

2) What pulls strongly to C?

That is the idea of “coupling.” It’s my “micro” way of understanding bigger chord progression. (I actually introduced this little concept several years ago in my GospelKeys 202 course. I just thought I’d revisit it.)

Now the answer to the above questions are found right on the circle…

If you’re going counter-clockwise, then the answer to the question, “what does C lead to” is simple… “F” because that’s the next key on the circle. In fact, if you compare the major scales of C and F, you’ll notice only a single note difference. That’s right, they share all the same notes except for one. So the first answer is “F.” That is the key most C chords will lead to.

To answer the second question, just look on the other side of “C.” That is the key that most likely leads to C. So the answer is G.

Just like C has a huge tendency to lead to F — G has a strong tendency to lead to C (and if you compare their major scales, they also share all but one note).

So here’s what I’ve done. I’ve created this little exercise below. It quizzes you on all the different keys and helps you to become quicker at answering these two “magic” questions. I’ve done the first one for you. Just put your cursor in each box and type in what you think the answer is. Once you’re done, scroll down and compare your answers with mine.

(It’s much easier to press the “tab” button in between questions. This will make your cursor automatically go to the next box).

Also, try using this stopwatch tool to see how long it takes you. Post your time in the comments area!

chronme

The "What leads to" Game
What leads to G?	What leads to Db?	What leads to C?
What leads to A?	What leads to A#?	What leads to C#?
What leads to D?	What leads to B?	What leads to E?
What leads to F?	What leads to F#?	What leads to Gb?
What leads to Ab?	What leads to Bb?	What leads to Eb?
What leads to D#?	What leads to G#?	What leads to B#?
What leads to Cb?	What leads to D?	What leads to E?
The "What it leads to" Game
What does D lead to?	What does A lead to?	What does C lead to?
What does Bb lead to?	What does Db lead to?	What does E lead to?
What does F# lead to?	What does Ab lead to?	What does Db lead to?
What does E lead to?	What does F lead to?	What does G lead to?
What does B lead to?	What does C# lead to?	What does G# lead to?
What does E# lead to?	What does Eb lead to?	What does C lead to?
What does E lead to?	What does F lead to?	What does G lead to?

————–

I will post the answers in the comment section.

Hope this exercise helps!

Time for some rest! I’ve only had 4 hours of sleep today due to our latest launch…

Until next time —

Popularity: 39% [?]

For the past couple of days, we’ve been talking about slow ballads. If you’re just now tuning in, I recommend you check out both Tuesday and Wednesday’s lesson.

Today, I’m going to show you how to take it even further! Right now, you know how to play a very popular ballad movement from the past two lessons — and the best part is that you’ve only used TWO chords!

So, how do we venture outside of these two chords? I’m glad you asked…

The key is understanding “circular” movements.

I always talk about this so I won’t go into detail but here’s the main idea…

Learn this circle going counter-clockwise and you’ll never have a problem adding interesting movements to your chord progression again!

Let’s start from where we left off yesterday with these chords:

[Set 1]
1-chord = C major (add 9) (C + D + E + G) *** Bass: C
5-chord = G major (add 9) (A + B + D + G) *** Bass: B

[Set 2]
1-chord = C major (add 9) (C + D + E + G) *** Bass: A
5-chord = G major (add 9) (A + B + D + G) *** Bass: G

[Set 3]
1-chord = C major (add 9) (C + D + E + G) *** Bass: F
5-chord = G major (add 9) (A + B + D + G) *** Bass: E

[Set 4]
1-chord = C major (add 9) (C + D + E + G) *** Bass: D
5-chord = G major (add 9) (A + B + D + G) *** Bass: G

Right now, we’re just moving in a stepwise motion downward.

But I want things to be more interesting so let’s add some circular movements to the mix. That is, I want to start taking advantage of the strong pulls certain chords have towards others. The circle of fifths above gives you all the strong pulls (I prefer going counter-clockwise because that’s how most music works). In other words, the pull between C and F is huge! Same with F and Bb — heck, combine them together (C >>> F >>> Bb) and you get one of the most popular chord progressions there is!

The good news is you have many options. I want to focus on one of them.

It’s what you call a “6-2-5-1 turnaround.”

Don’t let the numbers scare you! They come straight from the scale.

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

What is the 6th tone of C major?
Answer: A

What is the 2nd tone of C major?
Answer: D

What is the 5th tone of C major?
Answer: G

What is a the 1st tone of C major?
Answer: Duh, C!

So what is a “6-2-5-1″ chord progression?

Answer: A >>> D >>> G >>> C

Note: Of course, each of those tones will get a chord but I just wanted you to get the concept. Whenever you see numbers like “2-5-1″ or “6-2-5-1″ or “3-6-2-5-1″ or “1-4,” usually they’re just referring to chord progressions built on certain tones of the scale. Simple!

If you also take a good look at this “6-2-5-1 turnaround,” you’ll notice that it is “circular” in the sense that these notes are neighbors on the chart. Scroll above and look at the chart again. Where’s “A” — then “D” — then “G” — then “C?” Right next to each other!

So here’s what I want to do…

I want to replace some chords in my ballad so that I can use this 6-2-5-1 progression to take me to that chord on “F.”

Why F?

Because that is the chord most likely to come after C. After all, if you keep going on the circle, you’ll see A, then D, then G, then C — then F.

So this “6-2-5-1″ should lead us to our 4th tone (or F in this case) brilliantly!

Here it is:

“6″ chord = A minor 7 (G + C + E) *** Bass: A
“2″ chord = D9 (F# + C + E) *** Bass: D

“5″ chord = G minor 7 (F + Bb + D) *** Bass: G
“1″ chord = C9 (E + Bb + D) *** Bass: C

See what I see? Basically the “2″ chord is almost identical to the chord before it. You just lower your thumb and change your bass!

Same goes for the “1″ chord. It’s just like the “5″ chord except for the lowered thumb and new bass note!

This will take you perfectly to an F major chord:

“6″ chord = A minor 7 (G + C + E) *** Bass: A
“2″ chord = D9 (F# + C + E) *** Bass: D

“5″ chord = G minor 7 (F + Bb + D) *** Bass: G
“1″ chord = C9 (E + Bb + D) *** Bass: C

“4″ chord = F major (F + A + C) *** Bass: F

Some things you must keep in mind…

We aren’t deviating from the original chord progression. We’ve just added a few chords, that’s all. In fact, the “A,” “G,” and “F” chords still fall where they would normally be played in the original progression. We’ve just added some other little chords in between them.

One thing you have to do, however, is speed up the chords because now you have double the chords to play in the same amount of time. So you have to play them double the speed.

Once you get used to it, you’ll be fine!

Here’s the progression altogether:

C major (add 9) (C + D + E + G) *** Bass: C
G major (add 9) (A + B + D + G) *** Bass: B

A minor 7 (G + C + E) *** Bass: A
D9 (F# + C + E) *** Bass: D

G minor 7 (F + Bb + D) *** Bass: G
C9 (E + Bb + D) *** Bass: C

F major (F + A + C) *** Bass: F

G major (add 9) (A + B + D + G) *** Bass: E

C major (add 9) (C + D + E + G) *** Bass: D

G major (add 9) (A + B + D + G) *** Bass: G

(Yes, I know when you play a different bass note under a C or G major chord, it changes the total name of the chord. I’ve been using “C major” and “G major” for the last few posts to emphasize that all it takes is TWO chords to play a full ballad. So for now, we will refer to them as C major over whatever bass note we’re playing. Let’s keep it simple for now.)

*There’s some more changes I’d make to the original “C” and “G” chords but you’ll have to wait til’ tomorrow to get those! :-)

Until next time —

Popularity: 22% [?]

Ok, so you’ve probably heard terms like “2-5-1 chord progression,” “2-5-1 progression,” or just “2-5-1″ for short.

These are just ways to describe chords going from one to the other… simple!

Here’s a little poem I made up.

Notes create scales,
scales create chords,
chords create progressions,
progressions create songs.

I know, I know… it doesn’t rhyme but it explains music in 4 lines.

Basically, what it’s saying is the 12 unique tones on the piano create organized scales (there’s 12 of them, too, for every tone of the piano).

These scales define “major keys.” When you hear someone singing, they HAVE to be singing in one of these 12 keys.

If they are like some of the rejects on early American Idol episodes, they may be in two major keys, wavering from one to the other without knowing it (…that’s why they are rejects). At any given time, though, you can only be in one key… if the singer is legit.

Once you know scales, there are easy formulas to play chords. I’ve made tons of prior posts on chords.

While scales are tones played one after the other, chords are three or more tones sounded at the same time.

One leads to the next as chord progressions are basically a series of chords going from one to the other… basically what you hear when you’re listening to your favorite band. You’re hearing chords organized into progressions.

And that’s what this post talks about… the third line in my little poem:

Notes create scales,
scales create chords,
chords create progressions,
progressions create songs.

So where do the numbers come from?

Good question.

They actually come from scales.

Every scale can be thought of in terms of numbers.

Like this, a “C major” scale:

C D E F G A B C

If you want to be really good at understanding all 12 keys (so that you’re not one of those musicians who can only play in one key), then you’ll want to think of this same scale in terms of numbers:

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

Not only do these numbers let you create chords immediately (”scales create chords”), but they also allow you to play progressions pretty easily.

First, the chords.

If you want to play a major chord, here’s the formula:

1 + 3 + 5

Bam! Easy! You don’t have to know all that deep theory or even about intervals to create chords from scales. You just need to know the formula. Take any 1st tone, 3rd tone, and 5th tone — and play them together and there’s your major chord.

In C major, for example, the 1, 3, and 5 are “C,” “E,” and “G.” Just play them together and that’s a C major chord. (All I did was take the 1st, 3rd, and the 5th tones of the C major scale above and play them together… it’s that simple!)

The good news is that there are easy formulas like that for just about every type of chord, but that’s not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about progressions.

“2-5-1″

Basically, the “2″ is the second tone of the scale. The “5″ is the fifth tone of the scale. And the “1″ is ________________ (well, you know the rest).

But the only difference is, unlike the chords where you would take the 2, 5, and 1 — and play them together… this time, you’re actually forming separate chords on each one of those tones and leading from one to the other.

So some kind of chord built on the second tone of the scale “PROGRESSES” to some type of chord built on the 5th tone of the scale, which ends by progressing to some type of chord that’s built on the 1st tone of the scale.

That’s how progressions work.

Now, I could get deeper but I won’t. There’s plenty of lessons on the chords that go with every tone of the scale. But just know this… every tone has a “favorite” chord that usually goes with it.

The first tone is usually a major chord. It CAN be something different but usually it’s some kind of major chord (I say “some kind” because you can have a very basic major chord all the way up to a fancy “major 13″ chord).

The second tone of the scale is usually a minor chord. So that “2″ in the “2-5-1″ is usually minor.

The fifth tone of the scale is usually a major chord as well. Now, as we get more fancy, it can also be a dominant chord but let’s keep it simple.

So we have a major chord on the 1st tone, a minor chord on the 2nd tone, and a major chord on the 5th tone.

That means our 2-5-1 looks something like this:

2minor > 5major > 1major

You get that?

So now… because we’re dealing with numbers (the universal language), we can apply this chord progression to any key.

If we want to play this in C major, we just figure out the 2nd, 5th, and 1st tone of C major and we’re ready to fill in the gaps:

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

The 2nd tone is: ___________
The 5th tone is: ___________
The 1st tone is: ___________

Therefore, the 2-5-1 progression in C major is:

___minor > ___major > ___major

You should have:

Dminor > Gmajor > Cmajor

Putting it all together

Ok, so how can I get really good at playing in all 12 keys without even having to think about it? How can I just play that same 2-5-1 chord progression in any key I want? Whether C major, or F major or Ab major… how can I get to that level Jermaine?

Good questions…

The answer is…

MASTERING THE NUMBERS.

See, the chord part is easy. If you know the “2″ will always have a minor chord, the “5″ will always have a major chord, and the “1″ will always have a major chord, then all you have to know is all 12 major and minor chords and you’re good to go.

The hard part is knowing what the 2 of Ab major is without even having to think about it. Or the 5 of B major without blinking an eye. Or the 1 of C major (…now you have to be pretty slow not to know the “1″ because the “1″ is the first tone of the scale… in other words the title of the scale you’re playing… hehe). C major scale… the 1 is “C,” which is in the title.

So with that said, your biggest battles are going to be knowing the “2s” and “5s” of every key.

The best thing to do is to follow this circle of fifths pattern below, calling out the 2 of every key as you move clockwise (or counter-clockwise) around the circle.

I personally like to move counter-clockwise because that is the direction music moves in. In fact, moving counter-clockwise gives you a 2-5-1 chord progression. Check out this chart below:

Notice that C is at the top (12 o clock). And if you move to where 11 o clock would be, which is F, and then move again to Bb… and stop for a moment to think about it, you’ll notice that “C > F > Bb” is a “2-5-1″ in the key of Bb major.

So every 3 neighboring notes on the circle of fifths chart going counter-clockwise is a 2-5-1 in the last key of the group.

(If you study the circle of fifths, you’ll be blown away at how much there is to learn from this simple little circle.)

But that’s a lesson in and of itself.

Here’s the exercise I want you to do though:

1) First you’ll start off by trying to master your “2s” of every key.
2) Starting at C, call out the “2nd” tone of C as fast as you can.
3) You can either go clockwise or counter-clockwise. If you go my direction (counter-clockwise), then the next key will be F. Call out the 2nd tone of F as fast as you can.
4) Proceed to do this around the entire circle.
5) Use a stopwatch to figure out how long it took you to call out the “2s” of all 12 keys. If you don’t have one, check out my online stopwatch tool.

Then start all over and do the same thing for the “5s” of every key.

To be honest, you should be doing it for every tone of the scale. You should be doing it for 2 thru 7. Don’t worry about doing it for the 1st tone of the scale as you have to be pretty slow not to know that C is the first tone of the C major scale, lol.

So that’s how you get good at knowing what a “2-5-1″ is in the key of “B” without thinking about it. It comes down to knowing the numbers.

But you don’t have to be a math whiz! You just have to be committed to knowing your keys and doing these exercises will have you on your way!

If you’re really serious, check out my home study course. It covers this kind of stuff in depth.

Use the comment form below to talk back to me. If you reading this post via e-mail or rss reader, click on to the site to leave a comment below.

How long did it take you to call out your “2s” and “5s” in each key?

What do you find most challenging about mastering each key?

Do you like to go clockwise around the circle or counter-clockwise?

Hate numbers? lol

Like this lesson? Hate this lesson?

See ya next time!

Popularity: 16% [?]

Playing your major scales should be a part of your daily practice regimen.

However, practicing them in a “circle of fourths” or “circle of fifths” pattern is even better.

Let’s focus more on circle of fourths.

If you type “circle of fourths” or “circle of fifths” in google, you can actually find a host of other examples.

Notice that the keys go from: C >>> F >>> Bb >>> Eb and so forth.

If this were a clock, C would be at 12 o’ clock. F would be at 11 o’ clock. Bb would be at 10, and so forth.

This is the optimal way to play your scales. Start with C major. Play it all the way through (C D E F G A B C).

Then play your F major scale all the way through (F G A Bb C D E F). Then your Bb major scale (Bb C D Eb F G A Bb).

Why the circle?

Because music also happens to move in this same pattern (way beyond the scope of this article but I’ll touch on it a little bit). As you play chords and progressions later, you’ll find that any C chord going to any F chord going to any Bb chord will be a very popular progression and you’ll play it ALL THE TIME.

But here’s another reason to use the circle.

Because it lets you know how related the major keys are to each other.

If one just looked at a piano, they’d assume that C and Db, for example, were related because of how close they appear to each other on the piano. BUT THIS ISN’T TRUE.

The reality is that C and F are more related. This is why they are neighbors on the circle and not C and Db (or C#).

Let’s look at this.

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

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

Really take the time to analyze these notes. Notice anything?

Bingo! The only difference between the C major scale and the F major scale is ONE note. Notice that F major has all white notes just like C. The only difference is one black key and that’s Bb.

So here’s the golden rule.

***********
To get from one key on the circle to the next (going the counter-clockwise direction of C to F to Bb to Eb and so on), just take the 7th note of any scale, lower it a half step, and that gives you the ONLY difference between the current scale and the next one on the circle.

C major: C D E F G A B C

Count 7 notes… B is the 7th note.

Lower it one half step (remember half steps are from key to key with NO keys in between… whole steps always skip a key with ONE key in between). So in this case, we’d lower it from B to Bb.

This Bb represents the only difference between C and F major… and it’s true.

The only other thing we’d have to do is play these same exact notes (C D E F G A Bb C) but starting and ending on F instead of C (because this is the F major scale, not the C major scale anymore).

Make sense?

If you wanted to find out how to find the notes of the next major key on the circle after F major, you’d do the same thing.

Take the 7th note of F major, lower it one-half step to find the only change. Then start and end on the next key of your major scale.

VERY SIMPLE! Re-read this article until it clicks.

I hope this helps.

Popularity: 30% [?]

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!

Popularity: 18% [?]

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!

———————————————————————-

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

———————————————————————-

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

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