Popularity: 67% [?]

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If you’ve been following my last two videos, I’ve been talking about a big project I’m working on.

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

Songs! Songs! Songs!

You’ll also see a lot of this chart…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy —

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Popularity: 23% [?]

Ok, so maybe you took piano lessons when you were young and still remember some chords — or better yet, you sound really good right now because some friends or fellow musicians have showed you how to play some songs. Perhaps you play the songs by memory but have no idea what’s going on.

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

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

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

1) Pattern Recognition:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2) Number System:

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

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

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

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

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

3) Transposition:

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

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

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

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

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

4) Ear-Training:

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

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

Intervals you need to master include:

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

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

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

Popularity: 21% [?]

You guys are really going to enjoy this! It comes from a private training class I held in 2005. Students paid $39.95 per month to a be a part of this exclusive group. This was training #5 and has audio and video below.

Enjoy!

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Teleclass #5: “Pro Ear-Training: How to find the major key of any song!” Skill level: Intermediate Recordings:   Part 1: Approx 24 min Download part 1 as an mp3   Part 3: Approx 24 min Download part 3 as an mp3     Instructions: You can either listen to the audio online by pressing the "play" button or download the each part by right-clicking on the download links above (choose "save target as" to).     Part 2: Approx 24 min Download part 2 as an mp3   Part 4: Approx 24 min Download part 4 as an mp3   Part 5: Approx 24 min Download part 4 as an mp3     Surprise!!! An Unadvertised Bonus… Video Recordings (over 1.5 hours!!!!): Unedited overhead and front-view during "live" teleclass Streaming online video: Simply click a link below (parts 1-22) and the video will begin playing… 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 * Each clip is approximately 8:50 minutes (size 14.7 mb) ** Depending on your internet connection, each video clip may take a few minutes to load. Download videos to your computer Simply right click on each file and choose "save target as" 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 Introduction:    The goal of session #5 is to give you various techniques and “tricks” to find the key center (aka – ‘tonic’) of any major key.   Understanding scale degrees (pg 109-110)   Tonic (I): The keynote of a scale is called the TONIC. It is the lowest and highest tone of the scale. Since the tonic is the 1st degree, it is given the Roman numeral I. In C major, this is the note “C”. It’s the root… the key of a song.   Dominant (V) and Subdominant (IV): The tone a 5th above the tonic is called the dominant (in the key of C, this is the note “G”). Since it is the 5th scale degree, it is given the Roman numeral V.   The tone a 5th below the tonic is called the subdominant. Since the subdominant is the 5th scale degree, it is given the Roman numeral IV. In C major, F is the subdominant note or chord. The prefix “sub” means under or below.   This is why the circle of fifths really moves in fifths (both clockwise and counterclockwise). Example - G is a fifth up from C but F is a fifth down from C.   Mediant (III) and Submediant (VI): The 3rd degree above the tonic (actually, midway between the tonic and the dominant) is called the mediant (a Latin word meaning “in the middle”). Since the mediant is the 3rd scale degree, it is given the Roman numeral III. In C major, E is the mediant note or chord.   The tone a 3rd degree below the tonic (midway between the tonic and the subdominant) is the called the submediant. Since the Submediant is the 6th scale degree, it is given the Roman numeral VI. In C major, A is the Submediant note or chord.   Supertonic (II) and Leading Tone (VII):  The tone a 2nd degree above the tonic is called the supertonic. Since the supertonic is the 2nd scale degree, it is given the Roman numeral II. In C major, D is the supertonic note or chord. The prefix “super” means over or above.   The tone a 2nd degree below the tonic is called the leading tone – sometimes called the subtonic. The leading tone is often used since the note has a strong tendency to lead to the tonic, as it does in an ascending scale. Since the leading tone is the 7th scale degree, it is given the Roman numeral VII. In C major, B is the leading tone or chord.   What does this have to do with finding the key of a song?   The tonic establishes the key center (the major key) a song is being played in.                                                               i.      Most commonly begins a song (but not always)                                                             ii.      Most commonly ends a song (but not always — there’s always exceptions like a song ending on the Submediant major chord).   The challenge is to find the tonic of the song (the 1-chord)                                                               i.      Techniques to finding the tonic: 1.      There are twelve major keys on the piano 2.      Therefore, when one aims to find the major key of a song by ear, there are 12 possibilities (1/12 possibility that you’ll hit the right tonic note the first try). 3.      Relying on the genre of the music, this may help to narrow some of the possibilities a.      Example: Lots of contemporary gospel songs are played in flat keys (Db / Eb / Gb / Ab / Bb). You may go for these keys first. b.      Lots of blues is played in C / F / Bb / G c.       Lots of guitar-led songs are played in E / A / D / G d.      …so there are ways to hint at certain keys depending on the style and genre but there isn’t a SET RULE for this. 4.      “Middle C” technique: Start at middle C and move chromatically up the keyboard until you hear the tonic note of the song (the “root” sound). More on this later.   Analyzing a song to figure out the tonic chord.   There are seven chords associated with the major scale                                                                i.      1 Major (C major)                                                              ii.      2 Minor (D minor)                                                             iii.      3 Minor (E minor)                                                            iv.      4 Major (F major)                                                              v.      5 Dominant (G major or G7)                                                            vi.      6 Minor (A minor)                                                           vii.      7 diminished (B diminished)   EXAMPLE 1: “If I’ve been able to hear an E minor chord in a song, this should provide some hints to what major key I’m in.”                                                                i.      If I hear an E minor chord, and I know that usually the second, third, and sixth chords of a key are minor, I have to ask myself: 1.      “E minor is the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th of what keys?” ANSWERS: a.       E minor is the 2nd chord of the D major scale (so the tonic “COULD” be D) b.      E minor is the 3rd chord of the C major scale (so the tonic “COULD” be C) c.       E minor is the 6th chord of the G major scale (so the tonic “COULD” be G)   EXAMPLE 2: “If I hear a C major chord in a song, and I know that usually the first, fourth, and fifth chords are major” (and the fifth is really dominant when you add a fourth note), this should also provide some hints to what major key I’m in.                                                                i.      Ask these questions: 1.      “C major is the 1st, 4th, and 5th of what keys?” a.       C major is the 1st chord (or tonic) of the C major scale (so there is a strong possibility that the C major chord you hear is the TONIC and therefore the key of the song… especially if it is the starting chord or ending chord of a song). b.      “C major is the 4thchord of the G major scale (so the tonic “COULD” be G) c.       “C major is the 5th chord of the F major scale (so the tonic “COULD” be F)   Summary   Tonic Chord I chord of a particular key. Its keynote is also the key center. Example: A song ending on Dmaj. Keynote is D, therefore, the key of the song is D major. Minor Chords ii of one key, the iii of a second key, or the vi or a third key. Example: A ‘Dmin’ chord could be the ii chord in a C major chord progression, the iii chord in a Bb major chord progression, or the vi chord in an F major chord progression. Diminished Chord Vii chord of a particular key. Also known as the leading tone to the tonic. Example: A song with a ‘D dim’ chord leading to an Eb major chord is most likely to have Eb as the key center because the vii chord usually leads back to the I chord.     Relying totally on your ear (not much analysis… more listening). The “humming” technique                                                                i.      Hum the root of the song (aka – “the tonic, the keynote”)                                                                ii.      Find the note you’re humming on the piano 1.      Can start at C and work up 2.      Can pick a random note 3.      Can try to guess the note and work up or down from there                                                               iii.      Confirm that it is the root with my “minor chord” trick (read below first) 1.      Common problems with humming the keynote/root a.       The biggest problem is that you’ll be inclined to hum the “third” of the key or the “fifth” of the key as these are other tones of the tonic major chord. b.      So you’ll think E is the tonic, when really C is the tonic (E is the third of the C major scale). c.       Or you’ll think G is the tonic, when really C is the tonic (G is the fifth of the C major scale). The first, third, and fifth tones make up the tonic chord of a scale so this is understandable. 2.      How to confirm that you are “truly” playing the tonic with my “minor chord” trick. a.       If you think you have the tonic, think of it as the highest note in a minor chord. So, if I think G is the tonic, then I need to ask myself, “in what minor triad is G the highest note?” b.      In C minor (C Eb G), G is the highest note. So I’d then hit the other notes of that minor chord to make sure those notes don’t produce a BETTER sound than the G. Perhaps, one of those notes is the TRUE tonic but I don’t know it until I press them to confirm.                                                                                                                                        i.      For example, if I think G is the tonic, I’d hit Eb to see if it works better. Then I’d hit C to make sure it isn’t the true tonic as well. c.       What am I truly doing here?                                                                                                                                        i.      I’m making sure that I’m not really humming the “third” or “fifth” tone of the TRUE tonic. See, G happens to be the third of Eb (so if I was mistakenly humming G, immediately playing Eb would give me the true tonic). And also, G is the fifth of C so the same concept applies.                                                                                                                                      ii.      Using this “minor chord” trick will assure that you aren’t mistakenly humming the third or fifth when you SHOULD be humming the first tone — tonic — root. d.      Summary:                                                                                                                                        i.      How to test (again): 1.      If I’ve arrived at C, use the minor chord in which C is the highest note (in root position of course).   2.      That minor chord would be: F minor (F Ab C). C is highest note as I’ve mentioned above.   3.      Test the other notes (Ab and F) to make sure that one of them isn’t the true “root” or “tonic.” There can only be one true tonic.   4.      If they sound totally “off,” then perhaps your original key is the TRUE tonic. This just helps you to confirm.   5.      REMEMBER: Your ear is the final judge!

Popularity: 13% [?]

When it comes to effectively listening to music to learn new songs, there’s different ways to do it:

1) Perfect Pitch

2) Relative Pitch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I always say:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. What is the 2 of C major?

2. What is the 5 of C major?

3. What is the 1 of C major?

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

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

Now apply the chords:

Dmin9 — G13 — Cmaj

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

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

But let’s move on:

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

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

An understanding of how music works

This involves knowing all 12 major scales.

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

Major scales make up music!

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

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

I’m not talking about that.

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

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

Does that make sense?

Major scales tell you a lot:

They define intervals.

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

Heck, they determine major keys!

The easiest scale to remember is the C major scale:

C D E F G A B C

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Try to find references for these intervals:

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

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

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

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

-Frere Jacques

-Are You Sleeping

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

Now, you try:

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

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

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

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

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

So again…

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

… and the same truth applies to chords and progressions.

Start to think of chords like this:

1-chord

2-chord

3-chord

4-chord

5-chord

6-chord

7-chord

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

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

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

AND…

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

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

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

Think of it this way.

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

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

a) Now add 3 to that number

b) Then add 2 to the number you have now

c) Ok, now subtract 1.

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

The number you should have now is 4.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In each key:

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

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

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

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

Thanks for reading!

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It is important to be able to recognize chords in songs and progressions.

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

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

The minor chord is commonly associated with:

-sad
-horror
-sneaky
-night
-dark

The seventh/dominant chord is commonly associated with:

-blues
-gospel

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

What things come to mind when you play this chord?

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

What things now come to mind?

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

What things come to mind when you play a C7?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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… for more information!

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

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

Keep practicing!

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