Happy New Year!

Yup, it’s been that long since I’ve written in my blog… but for good reason…

You’ll probably remember I promised I’d go on vacation after the launch of my latest 12-disc “Musician Transformation” & Gospel Music Training Center resources in December 2009 (which sold out, btw).

But that’s not the only reason I’ve been gone…

On December 15, 2009 at 3:41 a.m. (just a lil over 3 hours after my wife’s birthday ended on the 14th), God blessed us with another little angel, Layla Ann Griggs… 8lbs, 11oz, 20 inches.

Here’s a pic of her and my wife:

If you remember the birth of my first daughter, Jadyn Olivia Griggs, on June 8, 2006, you’ll know they practically look like twins!

I never thought I’d be one of those types that forget the names of my kids… “Now take this bottle Jadyn… I mean LAYLA!!!” (And I’m only 26…!!!)

I’m also so proud of my beautiful wife Sarah because just some weeks after giving birth to Layla, she was back up and glamorous! Here’s a pic I snapped of her just before our “date night” to a nearby comedy show.

And since I’m revealing pics, I guess I’m next…

NOT!

You’ll have to wait to see my transformation! I’ll reveal myself in June (maybe on my birthday????)…

Let’s just say JP (from GospelKeys Urban Pro 600) and I have been working out every morning at 6am… yup 6am! (If you got a goal or dream, GO GET IT! And go STRONG! Will Smith says it best here)

With that said, I want to reintroduce you to over 2 hours of free video content and over 50 pages of written material I created early in 2009. I realize that a lot of people have joined the hear & play family since then and have never seen these free resources.

Others have been on board a while and still missed these.

And the rest clicked the links when I originally posted them but FAILED to do anything with the information. So here’s another opportunity!

(If you did make good with this information, congrats… you’re in the top 10% of action-takers! Take this time to review…)

This is a series. They all go together.

VIDEO LESSON #1 - “Finding the key to any song”

If you ask any ear-musician, this skill will be at the center (or maybe the “center” of the “center” like in hit movie, Slumdog Millionaire).

If you can’t determine what key a song is being performed in just by listening, you’ll have many problems down the road (at least when it comes to playing by EAR in situations where you need to “think on your feet.”)

This is the most “intuitive” of all the skills and knowledge you’ll attain. It’s not like reading sheet music where you look at the grand staff and determine what key the piece is in by the number of flats or sharps that appear at the beginning of the music.

YOU DON’T HAVE MUSIC IN FRONT OF YOU.

No reference.

Just your ear.

This video will make it plain…

Note: If you really like what I talked about, I have an 80-minute course that covers finding the key to any song. You can find it here.

VIDEO LESSON #2 - “The KEY to getting to the next level in your piano”

This next lesson reveals a very important STRATEGY you MUST have as an ear-musician.

Again, if you’re reading sheet music, this probably isn’t emphasized as much… but when it comes to playing by ear, “NUMBERS” rule.

And your ability to know your numbers “inside” and “out” will determine how far you get… and how fast you get there.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out the next lesson below. There is also a 28-pg report that goes along with it.

(You may also find my “core fundamentals” courses helpful)

RESOURCE: Click here to download the free 29-pg report that goes along with this video lesson.

VIDEO LESSON #3 - “The SECRET to playing ANY and EVERY chord you want in SECONDS”

This next lesson will take you even further…

It borrows a very familiar concept from the car industry (popularized by Henry Ford in the early 1900’s) and adapts it to music!

It’s the very next logical step in the process and you’ll get it laid out for you plainly in this video…

(there is a 14 page report included at the bottom of the video)

If this topic interests you, then you may like my “hear & play chords” series.

RESOURCE: Click here to download the free 14-pg report that goes along with this video lesson.

VIDEO LESSON #4 - “The MISSING PIECE OF THE PUZZLE to playing almost any song out there”

This last video could arguably be the MOST IMPORTANT part when it comes to learning real songs and understanding just how closely related songs are (yes… all songs follow the same general patterns and principles — this video will reveal all of this to you…)

There’s also a 12-pg report that goes along with it…

RESOURCE: Click here to download the free 12-pg report that goes along with this video lesson.

(If you’re into gospel music, GospelKeys 202 really breaks down the idea of “patterns.” 70 to 80% of songs have the same common movements in them. This course is revolutionary in that it breaks down all these patterns and covers the “how,” “what,” and “why.” Click here for more information)

————

Wow, so there you have it! A good way to start off the year!

I look forward to your comments about our new addition and/or the videos above. I read each and every one of them.

(My last blog post got over 750 comments when I was giving away my FREE 12-disc “Musician Transformation” course … which will be back in a couple of months, don’t worry!)

Take care,

Jermaine Griggs
Founder

Popularity: 23% [?]

Welcome back! It looks like you're a regular! Thanks for your support and keep coming! (Getting updates yet?)

>NOTE: To learn ALL the techniques and strategies that you’ll need to start learning songs on your own, sounding flavorful, and being comfortable playing anything you want, go here:

http://www.hearandplay.com/products

In reading through some of my recent e-mails, I found a message from someone who REALLY gets it.

***Comment From A Reader Who GETS IT***

Jermaine, doc, where have you been all my life? Since I purchased your GospelKeys 202 and have been reading through your online blog lessons and resources, they have really opened my mind up to the whole world of “numbers.”

I was one of those folks who thought music was about letters. I thought chords used letters. UNTIL God led me to your website. And now everything I thought I knew about music has been challenged and I’ve gotten to the next level because now I know how to think in terms of numbers.

I don’t think about a C major 7 chord going to an F major 7 chord anymore (well I still do but it’s not the dominant thought like it used to be). Now I think about the 1st tone of the scale going to the 4th tone of the scale if I’m in the key of C or the 5th tone of the scale going to the 1st tone of the scale if I’m in the key of F major.

And when I do this, I find that I can take the same patterns to basically any major key because I’m not stuck thinking about C going to F liked I used to be. Now I’m thinking a totally different way and with the numbers I can just fill in the blank as the cliche goes and be free to play anywhere I want. It’s really changed the way I do “thangs” and I gotta give you the credit for it.

Keep it up man. I’ll see you at the top.

Terrell S.

>>> My Comments (and explanations):

Well Terrell, it looks like you TRULY get it.

You’ve stumbled on to one of the greatest secrets of “playing by ear.” It’s numbers.

When most people think about music, they think about “creative” stuff like notes and letters and sharp “(#)” signs and flat “(b)” signs. But music is highly mathematical too.

NUMBERS rule in music and when a musician truly “GETS” this, their playing explodes.

I remember one of my earlier students - Royzell - and how fast it took him to start learning real songs on his own. I mean this guy was up and playing in like 6 weeks. He was hungry for it, YES, but one thing I made sure he understood out the gate was the number system (i.e. - taking every major scale and learning each tone as numbers… “C” is 1, “D” is 2, “E” is 3… and so on).

Then I taught him how to play chords using the same numbers (i.e. - “combine tones ‘7′ + ‘3′ + ‘5′ to play a nice-sounding major 7 chord in ANY key”). No, that isn’t the “regular” default way to play a major 7 chord. We were killing two birds with one stone by learning nicer voicings of the chords using the numbers so that we could literally take the same voicing to all 12 keys in minutes.

Then we naturally did patterns and chord progressions next (i.e. - “6-2-5-1 chord pattern” … very common pattern). It’s the same numbers at work but this time entire chords are moving from one to the other using the numbers. Songs came easy after that.

Fast forward several years and let’s just say he’s passed me up! And I don’t mind. He realized just how IMPORTANT numbers were in the beginning and now there’s virtually nothing he can’t pick up in minutes (and take to a new key without practicing). He’s even played for celebrities and filled in at West Angeles, the mega church where the hit producers and musicians, Jason White and Michael Bereal, play. And to think, it all started with NUMBERS (I don’t want to discount him either because he had a lot of drive and passion and was serious about his craft).

>REMEMBER - You can do almost anything by understanding the number system. And most importantly, it’ll allow you to play in any key because you’re essentially not memorizing any of the specific chords of a song… you’re not really memorizing ANYTHING. You simply understand that a pattern, for example, is a chord off the 1st tone of the scale moving to a chord off the 3rd tone of the scale… then to the 6th tone, then 2nd tone, then 5th tone, then back home to the 1st tone again.

AND GET THIS — once you realize that about 1 in 3 songs have that same pattern occuring in some way, shape, or form, then it really gets easy to learn and play songs off the top of your head because they all use the same patterns. Numbers allow you to do all this… and “then some” as mom would say.

To learn other unique techniques and strategies you can use to take your playing to the next level, go here:

http://www.hearandplay.com/products

Talk soon,

Jermaine

Popularity: 48% [?]