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circle of fourths

Ask Jermaine: “What One Thing Would You Learn First If Starting All Over?

by Jermaine Griggs · 4 comments

in Piano,Theory

This week’s question comes from Michelle S in Oregon: “Jermaine, I’m enjoying your material immensely. I have a fun question for you that I’m just curious of. If you had to start all over, looking back, what one thing would you learn first to make you excel the fastest?” My Answer…

FINALLY CRACKED! How (and why) to use the circle of fifths to learn every chord in ALL 12 keys…

by Jermaine Griggs · 27 comments

in Playing By Ear,Theory,Transposing Keys

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…

Let’s squash this once and for all… Is it really “circle of fifths” or “circle of fourths?”

by Jermaine Griggs · 16 comments

in Theory

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?

Here’s an exercise that’ll get you to remember “couples” tonight

by Jermaine Griggs · 22 comments

in Theory

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.)…

The secret to using circular chord progressions in ballads…

by Jermaine Griggs · 12 comments

in Playing songs

circle of fifths smallFor 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…

This will spice up your major chords… guaranteed!

by Jermaine Griggs · 10 comments

in Theory

quartersmall.jpgToday’s post is about something many people haven’t heard of. But it’s something that can really make your progressions sound nice.

The good news is that you already understand the basics of forming this type of chord — I’ll just point you in the right direction. I’m talking about the quartal chord…

Why the circle of fourths is so important when learning major scales

by Jermaine Griggs · 32 comments

in Scales

circle of fifths smallThe “circle of fourths,” aka “circle of fifths” is great for illustrating how music flows and how real songs are created. But few have used the circle to actually learn (or “re-learn”) their scales and unravel the relationships between the various major keys…

How to combine chords and couples to create endless possibilities

by Jermaine Griggs · 0 comments

in Chords & Progressions,Gospel music

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 GospelKeysTM 202 course (…don’t worry if you don’t have this course yet — I’ll post the chords I want [...]