I get tons of e-mails everyday and from experience, I find that one of the hardest things for musicians to do is play chords on both hands.

It takes a lot of getting used to, especially when you’re used to playing chords on the right and single bass notes (or power chords like the “1″ and “5″ notes) on the left.

Don’t get me wrong… this is fine if you’re a solo musician and have to hold down the chords and bass.

But as you get more experienced and start getting invited to play in bands, you’ll have to say goodbye to the left hand bass technique, or the bass player WILL HATE YOU. And your chords won’t sound as full as the musician using two hands to play them.

So as I was going through our youtube videos (we have almost 200 of them there, check it out), I came across a pretty good demonstration of a two-hand groove by our very own Jonathan Powell from the GospelKeys Urban Pro 600 course.

He goes over this chord progression in depth in the dvd but what I wanted to do was include the notes of the groove and explain a little more of what’s going on for those who don’t have the course.

Stick with me… you’ll get a lot out of this…

If you want to check out the video first, be my guest. If not, click on this video after reading what I have to say:

So here’s what’s going on…

Jon is in the key of Ab major and he’s playing a 2-6 groove. This is very common in urban and contemporary music. This happens to be a part of a contemporary gospel theme but the truth is that you’ll find this is in R&B, soul, and other genres.

(For my beginners, it’s called a “2-6″ groove because the bass is moving from Bb to F… which are the “2nd” and “6th” tones of the Ab scale, respectively. You won’t find Jon doing this because he’s not playing the bass. He has a bass player on the side so don’t get confused).

Ok, so the groove is starting on Bb and then moving to F. But it doesn’t stay that simple for long as you’ll find Jon introducing other changes to get you from Bb to F that I’ll cover in a minute (like using the 3 to get to 6… thus a “2-3-6″ progression or using the 7 to get to the 3 and the 3 to get to the 6… thus a “2-7-3-6″ progression). Don’t worry, I gotch you!

But let me cover what you don’t get to see in the video (because it’s actually already occurred and this clip starts in the middle).

Here’s what Jon is playing on Bb:

Left hand: Ab C Db F
Right hand: Ab C Eb (but he’s using his pointer finger to play Bb slightly early to create a “grace note sliding” effect).
Chord name: Bb minor 11

Here’s what he’s doing on F:

Left hand: Eb G Ab C
Right hand: Eb G Bb (using “F” to create the “grace note sliding” effect).
Chord name: F minor 11

So these are the two chords you hear in the beginning of their groove. This is the foundation.

What can you gather from this?

Any time you want to play a two hand voicing for a minor chord and make it sound real good, you can use this voicing. Notice that the Bb and F chords use the same exact type of voicing. So if you learn all of these, you’ll have your minor chords taken care of.

To learn em’ all, just move up your notes a half step and write that chord down. Move your bass up as well even though you’re not playing the bass. Whatever bass note you’re at will be the title (or keynote) of the chord. Do this to all keys until you get back to your starting point. Then practice playing them.

Now, let’s move further.

He introduces a chord on the “3″… or in this case “C.”

(Bass player would be playing C)

Left hand: E Ab Bb Eb
Right hand: Ab C Eb (using the same “grace note slide” effect with “Bb”)

You’d put this chord in between the Bb and F chord.

So altogether, it looks like this:

Left hand: Ab C Db F
Right hand: Ab C Eb (but he’s using his pointer finger to play Bb slightly early to create a “grace note sliding” effect).
Invisible Bass: Bb

Left hand: E Ab Bb Eb
Right hand: Ab C Eb (using the same “grace note slide” effect with “Bb)
Invisible Bass: C

Left hand: Eb G Ab C
Right hand: Eb G Bb (using “F” to create the “grace note sliding” effect).
Invisible Bass: F

This is called a “2-3-6″ progression because the root bass is going from Bb (which is the 2nd tone in the Ab scale) to C (the 3rd tone) to F (the 6th tone).

But it gets even better than that…

He wants to lead to the “3″ with a chord so he uses the “7″ chord in the scale. In this case, that’s a “G” bass.

Left hand: F B
Right hand: F Bb Db

But he does change the “3″ chord from before to this:

Left hand: E Bb
Right hand: Eb Ab C (using the same “grace note slide” effect with “Bb)

If you think about it, it’s pretty much the same chord that you used above on “C” but it’s just smaller. Instead of the big ‘E Ab Bb Eb’ chord on the left, it’s just ‘E Bb’ (which is a tritone… another lesson). And the right hand is still an Ab major chord, just in second inversion (Eb Ab C instead of Ab C Eb).

So altogether, this progression looks like this:

Left hand: Ab C Db F
Right hand: Ab C Eb (but he’s using his pointer finger to play Bb slightly early to create a “grace note sliding” effect).
Invisible Bass: Bb

Left hand: E Bb
Right hand: Eb Ab C (using the same “grace note slide” effect with “Bb)
Invisible Bass: G

Left hand: F B
Right hand: F Bb Db
Invisible Bass: C

Left hand: Eb G Ab C
Right hand: Eb G Bb (using “F” to create the “grace note sliding” effect).
Invisible Bass: F

At the end of the day, you have 3+ ways to play this same progression. You can keep it simple with just the “2″ and “6″ chord. You can add the big “3″ chord in between them. Or you can add the “7-3″ pair between the “2″ and “6.”

Of course Jon does other fancy things on the video that I can’t get into right now because of time but this lesson will get you started jammin’ with this groove!

I would really like to hear from you all on this one. Did you enjoy this progression? Are you having problems playing it? Are you getting that little “grace note sliding” trick? Let me know!

I can even get Jon on here to do another demonstration or something if you let me know what you want to learn! :)

Until next time!

P.S. - Here are some other video clips in the urban series…

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In this month’s online classroom, I’m going to share with you a few video clip lessons from the GospelKeys^TM X video course. I’ve selectively pulled out clips that I think you’ll benefit from, whether you consider the entire course or not.

Before I introduce the video clips, it is important that you understand some of the key chords and concepts used in urban worship:

1) Major Seventh Chords

2) Minor Seventh Chords

3) Minor Ninth Chords

and…

4) How to superimpose chords

Past newsletters deal in depth with many the concepts above, but I’ll briefly cover each one below. While the free video clips will keep you busy for a while, knowing these concepts (if you’re a beginner) will assure that you don’t get lost or fall behind like many others.

Major Seventh Chords

Major seventh chords are very easy to form (aka - “maj7, M7). If you know all twelve major scales, then you won’t have a problem knowing major seventh chords.

All 12 Major Scales

C major

 

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

D major

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

E major

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

F major

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

G major

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

A major

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

B major

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

C# / Db major

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

D# / Eb major

Eb - F - G - Ab - Bb - C - D - Eb

F# / Gb major

F# - G# - A# - B - C# - D# - F - F#

G# / Ab major

Ab - Bb - C - Db - Eb - F - G - Ab

A# / Bb major

Bb - C - D - Eb - F - G - A - Bb

 

You’ve probably heard me say this before…

It’s very important that you understand major scales in a numerical way. What do I mean?

Simply put: Don’t memorize scales like toddlers memorize their ABC’s.

It’s easy to “play” a scale, memorizing note after note, in relation to one another. Here’s something to think about… If you can’t start a major scale from the middle OR have to start from the beginning in order to play it correctly, you probably have the “toddler’s ABCs” issue.

In other words, you only know how to play the scale because your fingers have memorized what to play. While this is good for practicing and fingering, it does you know good when trying to understand how music works.

So how do I learn scales correctly?

By understanding that each tone represents a number in the major scale. The first note is the “first tone” or “first degree” of the scale. For example, here’s the C major scale:

C major: C D E F G A B C

Here’s how you should be thinking of this scale:

C major: C(1) D(2) E(3) F(4) G(5) A(6) B(7) C (the same as “1″)

If I were to ask you: “What is the 2nd tone of the C major scale,” you should be able to answer immediately: “D.”

The sixth tone of Ab? You should be able to answer F

The third tone of D? You should be able to answer F#

You shouldn’t have to “play the scale” in your mind or even use a real piano. Each tone of the scale should be associated with a number and that number should be easily recallable, whenever needed.

Does that make sense? This will really help you to understand all your chords and how chord progressions work.

Forming Major Seventh Chords:

To form a major seventh chord, simply take the first, third, fifth, and seventh tones of any major scale and play them all at the same time.

(I told you knowing the scales as numbers would be helpful … not only now but for a ‘number’ of things).

For example, the C major scale is:

C D E F G A B C

The 1+3+5+7 of this scale is:

C E G B = C major seventh chord

Here are all the other major seventh chords:

All 12 Major Seventh Scales

Cmaj7 = C + E + G + B

 

Dmaj7 = D + F# + A + C#

Emaj7= E + G# + B + D#

Fmaj7 = F + A + C + E

Gmaj7 = G + B + D + F#

Amaj7 = A + C# + E + G#

Bmaj7 = B + D# + F# + A#

Dbmaj7 = Db + F + Ab + C

Ebmaj7 = Eb + G + Bb + D

Gbmaj7 = Gb + Bb + Db + F

Abmaj7 = Ab + C + Eb + G

Bbmaj7 = Bb + D + F + A

Minor Seventh Chords

Once you know major scales as “numbers,” forming ANY chord (whether major or minor) is really simple.

To form any minor seventh chord, simply use this formula:

1 + b3 + 5 + b7

Note: The “b” symbol is used to indicate a note that is flatted or lowered a “half step.“

Let’s look at our C major scale again.

C major: C(1) D(2) E(3) F(4) G(5) A(6) B(7) C (the same as “1″)

Now, take the 1, 3, 5, and 7 tones: C + E + G + B

Since there needs to be a b3 and a b7 in a minor chord, take the “E” and “B” and flat them.

E becomes “Eb”

B becomes “Bb”

Cmin7 chord is: C + Eb + G + Bb

Tip: Another way to find a minor chord is to use the minor scale. When you use the minor scale, you simply use the “1-3-5-7″ formula because the notes are already flatted for you in the minor scale. I don’t want to confuse you or anything, so for now, stick with the method above.

For all twelve minor seventh chords, check out my free chord finder tool at:

http://www.hearandplay.com/pianochords

Minor Ninth Chords

I love talking about minor ninth chords because they require no more work than learning the major seventh chords. In fact, we can form all twelve minor ninth chords (which sound really good and contemporary) by simply knowing maj7 chords.

To use this technique, you’ll need to understand what relative major and relative minor means. These things are covered in my 300pg course on pages 82-83 and 193-214.

For every major key, there is a relative minor key that also shares the same key signature.

To find the relative minor key of C, for example, just locate the sixth note in its major scale. There is more theory behind why “A” (the 6th tone) would be the relative minor of C major and how its called the “Aeolian mode” (but we won’t cover all that right now).

Since “A” is the relative minor of C, then “C” is the relative major of A.

See? It works both ways. One key is the relative major and relative minor of another key. For example:

While “A” is the relative minor of C ———– C is the relative major of “A,” but at the same time, C is the relative ***minor*** of Eb (because “C” is the sixth note of the Eb major scale). Don’t get all caught up with this one. Here’s a chart to help you out below.

The relative minor will always be the sixth note of the relative major key. So, if you ever forget about the chart above, always remember the “sixth tone.”

Forming Minor Ninth Chords:

Here’s the easiest way:

1) Identify the minor chord you want to play (whether ‘Cmin9′ or ‘Bbmin9′, etc)

2) Play the keynote of the minor chord on your left hand (bass). So if you want to play a Bbmin9, then the keynote played on your left hand would be Bb. Another example… if you wanted to play a Cmin9, the keynote on your left hand would be C.

3) Lastly, on your right hand, play the relative major seventh chord. So if you’re trying to form a Cmin9 chord, you would have already determined your bass to be C (in step 2). Now, simply locate the relative major key of Cmin.

What is the relative major key of C minor?

By looking on the chart above, it shows Eb to be the relative major key of C minor.

So, by playing:

C on your left hand (AND) Ebmaj7 on your right hand, you form a Cmin9

Left: C * Right: Eb + G + Bb + D

This also gives you a broad idea about superimposing chords (stacking one chord on top of another).

Ok, so now that you have a crash course on the basic necessities, we can move on to the video clips.

Click to watch this video clip	Video Lesson #1 This clip teaches a nice two-handed run usually used to set up a “2-5-1″ progression. If you’ve never played something like this before, then you’re definitely going to benefit from adding this nice “church walk” to your toolbox. Duration: 0:32
Click to watch this video clip	Video Lesson #2 Watch as Mr. H demonstrates how to use the circle of fifths in contemporary worship settings. Coincidentally, I also used these chords in GospelKeys 202. The general flow is from “Bbmin9 — Eb9/6 — Abmin9 — Db9/6 — Gbmaj9/6 — Cm11 — F7 #9#5 — then repeat the cycle.” If you don’t know what any of that means, don’t worry. Mr. H shows you step-by-step, what to do. Duration: 1:22
Click to watch this video clip	Video Lesson #3 This short clip comes from the “Tricks in F#” segment of the course. Watch closely as he shows you a very easy-to-learn trick that you can start using right away. It deals with simply playing every other black key (two at a time, going down the keyboard). Listen to how it sounds… Duration: 0:25
Click to watch this video clip	Video Lesson #4 You’ll love this urban worship movement. It speaks for itself. It’s in the key of Ab, but if I were you, I’d learn it in all twelve keys. This is a wonderful chord progression to use as you transition from one song to another or towards the end of a particular worship song. Duration: 1:14

Click here for all 8 video lessons (over 10 minutes of content)!

Well… obviously I couldn’t fit all 10+ minutes worth of video clips in this e-mail. But please do yourself a favor and visit http://www.hearandplay.com/gkxclips.html to see all of them and more!

Chords to study for this online classroom:

• 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

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