Wow, the last 4 posts have been crazy!

On Thursday, I introduced you to the power chord’s little cousin, “tritone.”

Then on Friday, we talked about tritone substitutions with 2-5-1 chord progressions.

Just yesterday, we took it a step further and applied tritone substitutions to 6-2-5-1 chord progressions.

Today, I want to show you another way to use tritone substitutions.

Consider this simple 1-4 turnaround progression:

C major

C7 (1-chord) >>> F7 (4-chord) >>> C7 >>> F7

(Play this in rhythm. Just cycle from the 1 chord to the 4 chord).

For this progression, I prefer to play these voicings of the dominant chords:

C7
Bb + E + G on right /// C on left (instead of the regular “C + E + G + Bb”)

F7
Eb + A + C on right /// F on left (instead of the regular “F + A + C + Eb”)

Now, to spice this up, let’s figure out what a tritone up from C is. You should have mastered “tritone relationships” in prior lessons.

The good news is that if you’re moving in fourths, a tritone up from your current chord should always fall right next to the chord you’re progressing to. In other words, it will be a half step higher than the chord you’re moving to.

Let me explain…

A tritone up from C7 is Gb7. Gb7 is a half step higher than F7, the chord we’re ultimately trying to get to. It’s that simple.

So basically, similar to yesterday’s lesson, we just throw in this Gb7 chord (in the same voicing) to take us to our 4 chord. It adds much more flavor than just going directly there. See what I mean?

C7
Bb + E + G on right /// C on left

Gb7
Fb + Bb + Db on right /// Gb on left

*Note: “Fb” is basically “E.” Heck, you can call it “E” if you want. You won’t pass a music theory test though :)

F7
Eb + A + C on right /// F on left

So anytime you’re playing dominant chords and you’re progressing in fourths, you can always look for an opportunity to throw in a tritone “transition” chord.

Until next time —

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Now that you’re familiar with power chords (from yesterday’s post), I want to introduce you to the power chord’s cousin.

(If power chords are your batteries, per yesterday’s photo, then his cousin is your fuel… just a little play on words).

Let’s review the power chord really quickly.

A power chord is basically made up of a fifth interval. In any given key, just play the 1 and the 5 together and you’ve got yourself a power chord.

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

But most people don’t stop at playing just “C + G.” They double up on the C, playing it on top as well:

“C + G + C.”

So there’s a crash course on power chords.

Now, at the end of yesterday’s lesson, I gave you some more variations of this “1+5+1″ power chord.

Here they are:

• If playing a major seventh, ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth chord, you can actually play “1 + 5 + 7″ as a power chord on your left hand. Since the major 7 degree is found in these chords, it makes sense and sounds awesome!
• In C major, that’s “C + G + B”
• If playing a minor or dominant seventh, ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth chord, you can play “1 + 5 + b7″ as a power chord on your left hand. Unlike the first variation, the seventh is lowered a half step to be more conducive to dominant and minor seventh chords, which both have lowered seventh notes in them.
• In C major, that’s “C + G + Bb.”

So here’s where I want to introduce you to the power chord’s cousin…

Her name is “tritone.”

She’ll help you to play this “1 + 5 + b7″ chord a lot more flavorful!

Unlike the power chord which uses the 1 and the 5 to form a chord (some call it a “dyad” because it’s only 2 notes as opposed to 3), the tritone uses the 1 and b5. So it’s like a power chord with the fifth lowered.

Power chord (example):
C + G

Tritone (example):
C + Gb

This is also called a diminished fifth interval.

There’s another way to look at tritones. You can also look at them as the 3rd and b7 of any key.

(I can just imagine you connecting the dots now… hmmm, the “b7″)

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

Turn the 7 into a b7 (that’s B into Bb) and there’s your tritone:

E + Bb

So where do you use it?

Anytime you’re playing a dominant chord or some kind of altered chord that is based on the dominant chord.

Here’s why…

Check out the C dominant 7 chord:

C + E + G + Bb

Do you see what I see?

It has a tritone inside of it! The distance from “E” to “Bb” in the chord is the “3 + b7″ interval we’ve been talking about.

Therefore, instead of playing the power chord alteration from yesterday (1 + 5 + b7), you can play the “3 + b7″ instead.

Actually, you can switch off. Playing by ear is all about having OPTIONS. You can play the power chord first… then when the chord comes back around, you can play the tritone on your left hand the next time.

Here’s some other things you can do:

• 3 + b7
• 1 + 3 + b7 (the only difference in this one is that you’re playing the “3″ and not the “5″ like you did in the power chord variation).
• 3 + b7 + 3 (double up on the “3,” similar to the voicings taught in this lesson).

So now you’ve got the power chord, some power chord variations, and the tritone under your finger tips!

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Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about this so-called gospel musicians’ “secret.”

In fact, this “secret” is suppose to be the ONE thing that connects every “big name” gospel musician together.

They all know what it is. Heck, they’ve even learned how to manipulate it so much that it can literally evoke any kind of emotion when used properly.

And what it all boils down to is their ability to find unique ways to use this secret in musical situations at church that most gospel musicians can’t begin to fathom.

Sadly, the big-time musicians want to keep this gospel “secret” to themselves (and I’m sure you probably know why by now)…

Why? Because the secret I’m about to reveal to you (that no one else wants to share) combined with a few more techniques, produces the hottest sound to ever hit contemporary gospel music… PERIOD.

And to be quite honest, it hasn’t always been accepted by the church. Several hundred years ago, its sound would have been classified as the “devil’s music.”

Today, it is the most commonly used “secret” in contemporary worship music.

Warning: Most gospel musicians think they know how to use this secret but they’ve only employed a fraction of its true power.

But because I know you’re serious about your playing, I want to give you a sneak peak of this secret for *f*r*e*e*.

And if you’re really committed to your growth like I think you are, you will take this secret and apply it to every aspect of your playing. Your worship services depend on it.

(Just wait… when your church hears how you’ve manipulated this “secret” to transform your playing, they won’t believe it’s the same person on the keys).

I’ve shared this secret in depth with a few of my closest students and each and every one of them were blown away by these practical techniques. Not just because these techniques instantly expanded their playing but because they were so easy to incorporate, yet only the big-time musicians use them in such ways.

Listen, I don’t know how long these video clips will be up so if I were you, I’d hurry to watch all 8 of them now. You’ll also want to get on the notification list to be contacted when more information is available.

Hurry to ==> http://www.hearandplay.com/thesecret

If you want to find out what this “secret” is, rush to the link below:

http://www.hearandplay.com/thesecret

(You won’t be sorry).

P.S. - The secret is called the “_________.” If you think you know the true power of the ________, think again! True _________ mastery awaits you.

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