>NOTE: To learn ALL the techniques and strategies to take your playing to the next level, go here:

http://www.hearandplay.com/products

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 to be a member of the Gospel Music Training Center where you talked about using the circle of fifths to learn every key.

I do know the circle of fifths but I don’t think I totally understand how to use it to learn every key. Do you mind shedding some light on this in the next Q&A teleclass?

Again, thanks man. Tell JP and all the staff they are doing an awesome job.

Tyler

——————–

>>> My Comments and explanations to Tyler (Lots of good info… read carefully)

Yo Tyler!

Thanks for the e-mail! Glad to hear you’re enjoying the material!

I believe you’re referring to our last Gospel Music Training Call that just past, where Jon and I talked about the circle of fifths and how it can help you to learn any song in all 12 keys…

I can definitely help you with that.

But before we delve in, let’s back up a bit and talk about the ‘circle of fifths’ concept itself.

The circle of fifths is a very powerful discovery in music because it pretty much describes HOW MUSIC WORKS in one simple chart.

If you want to see an example of the circle, here’s an example: http://www.musiccirclechart.com

You see, music moves in fifths and fourths. And if you really think about it, there’s a fine line between “fifths” and “fourths.” (that’s why you hear some people calling it the “circle of fifths” and other folks calling it the “circle of fourths.” Let me demystify this first.

Both names are correct. Here’s why:

If I ask you to go up a fourth interval, that essentially means to move up 5 half steps from whatever note you’re on. (There are many ways to think about it but this is the most straightforward…)

And for folks that don’t know what half steps are, remember this poem:

“Half steps are from key to key with no keys in between, Whole steps always skip a key with one key in between.”

So basically, if you’re going from one key directly up or down to the key directly next door, that’s a half step. Doesn’t matter if it’s a white key, a black key, a purple key, a broken key (some of you haven’t fixed your piano in years)… if it goes from one key right next door, it’s a half step. [C to C#], [E to F], [G to Ab], [Bb to B]… all of these pairs are half steps. [C to D], [E to F#], [Ab to Bb]… these are whole steps because they are skipping one key. Easy.

Back to fourths. So if I start on C and want to go up a fourth, I simply count 5 half steps up…

C to Db is 1 half step… Db to D is another… D to Eb is the 3rd half step, Eb to E is 4, and finally E to F. So “C” to “F” is a fourth.

Now, on the other hand, a fifth uses 7 half steps. So if you do the same thing starting at C — except, this time using 7 half steps — you’ll arrive at G.

So “C” to “G” is a fifth.

“C” UP to “F” is a fourth. “C” UP to “G” is a fifth.

Here’s the tricky part. Notice I used the word “UP” because if you count the same number of half steps down, you’ll get different answers.

If you count 5 half steps DOWN from C, you’ll get G. And if you count 7 half steps DOWN from the same C, you’ll get F.

In other words, C up to F is a fourth. C down to F is a fifth.

And in the same way, C up to G is a fifth but C down to G is a fourth.

Basically, they are ‘inverses’ of each other. Opposites. One does one thing going up and another going down. The other does the exact opposite.

Any time you take a fourth interval and “flip” it, you’ll get a fifth. If you do the same to a fifth, you’ll get a fourth.

Try it. Hold down C and the higher G together. That’s a fifth. C is the lowest note and there are 7 half steps between C and G. But if you take the C off the bottom and put it on the top (and now “G” on the bottom), now you’ve got yourself a fourth interval. Just that easy.

Oh and I should add… these are called “PERFECT 4ths” and “PERFECT 5ths.” Sometimes, for short, folks leave off the “perfect” part but if you want to be very specific, add that.

Why did I choose to tell you all this?

Because, there are two ways to look at the circle of fifths chart. Go to http://www.circlemusicchart.com and print it out…

If you thought of this circle as a clock, “C” would be at 12 o’ clock.

G is at 1 o’ clock. D is at 2 o’ clock.

Get it?

That means on the other side, F is at 11 o’ clock, Bb is at 10 o’ clock, Eb is at 9 o’ clock and so forth…

And like I said, there are 2 ways to look at this circle. You can look at it going clockwise from C to G to D to A… and so forth.

Or you can look at this chart going counter-clockwise, from C to F to Bb to Eb… and so forth.

Some people say when you go counter-clockwise from C to F to Bb to Eb… that you’re going in “fourths.” But, of course, now you know better. You’re going in fourths only if you’re looking at this as going UP from C to F. And UP from F to Bb… and UP from Bb to Eb.

But as you just learned, going from C down to F is a fifth too! That’s why some people still choose to look at this WHOLE circle as a relationship of fifths because if you go clockwise, C up to G is a fifth. And if you go counter-clockwise, C down to F is also a fifth.

Put another way, “G” is the fifth of C. And “C” is the fifth of “F” — and so on.

But either way, here’s the golden nugget.

Go counter-clockwise! This is the flow of music. This is how 80% of songs move.

What do I mean?

THAT’S WHAT I MEAN!

If you analyze the chord patterns of songs, you’ll find them moving like this:

Some kinda “C” chord to some kinda “F” chord to some kinda “Bb” chord to some kinda “Eb” chord, depending on the key you’re in.

If you’re in a key like “G” major, you’ll find the same counter-clockwise movement at work — just at the other end of the circle with chords moving from some kind of “A” chord to some kind of “D” chord to some kind of “G” chord to some kind of “C” chord (just to give an example).

I say “some kind of chord” because depending on your key, some chords will be major, some minor, some dominant, some diminished, etc… and we really don’t have time to talk about that right here. Easily another 5 pages if I go there.

So the circle really explains the flow of music.

Ever heard of a “2-5-1″ progression? Guess what? Highlight any 3 notes on the circle that are neighbors and there are the keynotes of your “2-5-1″ progression! BAM!

Don’t believe me? What’s a 2-5-1 progression in the key of C? Well, the 2 is “D”… the 5 is “G” and the 1 is “C.” Where do those notes just “happen” to appear on the circle of fifths chart?

D is at 2 o clock. G is at 1 o clock. C is at 12 o clock. Counter-clockwise! Neighbors too!

Like pulling back time (ever wish you could pull back time, counter-clockwise???) Lol, get out of the past!!!!!!!!!!!! Except in music, that is! Cuz moving against the clock, when it comes to the circle, is how you will find most of your songs arranged. Counter-clockwise…

EXERCISE: Take songs you already know and compare them to the circle of fifths. For example, if the song you know goes from C major to A minor to D minor to G major to C major, then compare where those notes C, A, D, G, C appear on the circle and the type of movement you notice.

So, here’s the entire circle but in a counter-clockwise arrangement:

C > F > Bb > Eb > Ab > Db > Gb > B > E > A > D > G (repeat)

WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO DO TO LEARN THIS, DO IT!

Memorize it, chunk it, tape it to your dashboard. If you can say this in one breath really fast, you won’t believe how helpful it can be to you.

Why? Because all songs move in this direction. You can literally highlight any 3 or 4 notes straight off this circle and find many chord progressions that use those same exact notes in the same exact order. You can find entire songs using this order of notes… and just repeating over and over. Wash, rinse, repeat.

And since chords and patterns move like this, it makes sense to learn and practice chords in this same order. When you learn chords in this order, you further reinforce the circle.

Plus, when it comes time to play real songs that move in fourths anyway, you’ve already done it so much in your own practicing so it’s not that hard to apply it when needed.

(Oh, by the way, I’ve been saying ‘circle of fifths’ AND ‘circle of fourths’ up until this point. But now, I’m going to choose to call this “fourths” since most people consider C to F a fourth, unless you tell them C “DOWN” to F. But from now on, to keep things consistent, I will mainly say FOURTHS to represent the counter-clockwise direction of the circle.)

I realize this could still be over some folks’ head so let me break it down. (My fingers are getting tired but I’ll keep going, as long as you’ll keep reading)…

You can either learn chords by fourths like I’m advocating, or you can learn them chromatically in half steps.

Let’s talk about the latter method first.

To learn chords chromatically means to master chords one half-step at a time. In other words, you learn a “C” major chord first, then you take every note up a half step to learn the “C#” or “Db” major chord. Then once you learn that chord, you take every note of your chord up another half step to learn the “D” major chord. And so on…

In real life, this looks like this:

CHORD = G + B + C + E (which is a C major 7 chord in 2nd inversion by the way).

Say I wanted to learn this chord chromatically. All I gotta do is take every finger up a half step and that will give me the SAME chord in the next key up.

A half step up from C is Db so by taking EVERY tone of the chord up a half step, I’m essentially learning that SAME chord in the key a half step up. Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck… it’s a duck.

So let’s do it…

G + B + C + E.

Move G up a half step to Ab.

Move B up a half step to C.

Move C up a half step up to Db.

Move E a half step up to F.

The new chord is Ab + C + Db + F. And since the old chord was a “major 7″ chord in 2nd inversion, that means THIS IS ALSO A MAJOR 7 CHORD IN 2ND INVERSION.

Nothing changes about the quality or quantity of the chord. If it’s major, the quality will be the same. If it’s a seventh, the quantity will also be the same. So, if the first chord was a C major 7, this new chord up a half step is simply a Db major 7. Got it?

So you could essentially learn every chord this way. It’s the easiest because it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to move every finger up one note. But it’s limiting because music doesn’t move chromatically like that. I mean it CAN, but it isn’t commonplace like fourths and fifths.

FOURTHS and FIFTHS are everywhere. They are the most common movement.

So remember the circle of fifths order I told you to memorize?

C > F > Bb > Eb > Ab > Db > Gb > B > E > A > D > G (repeat)

If you want to really get the “flow of music,” learn chords in fourths and also practice them in fourths.

Let’s take this same example:

G + B + C + E.

This is a C major 7 chord in 2nd inversion. If I were taking my own advice and learning this same chord in fourths, I would seek to learn an “F major 7″ chord next…

Why? Because it’s a fourth up from C when using the circle order above.

So it’s simple… let’s take each of these notes and determine what’s a fourth up from each one.

G + B + C + E.

This is easy because a fourth up is whatever note is “NEXT” in the circle. Just do this with EACH note.

A fourth up from “G” is “C” A fourth up from “B” is “E” A fourth up from “C” is “F” A fourth up from “E” is “A”

We’ve just learned the F major 7 chord by taking each note up a fourth.

So essentially, the same circle we use to play chord patterns is the same circle we use to learn CHORDS. That’s why I said to do whatever it takes to memorize the circle. These shortcuts are everywhere.

C + E + F + A is an F major 7 chord in 2nd inversion.

(for my beginners, yes, I know C is on the bottom but when you invert a chord, you basically change the order of notes.)

This same chord is F + A + C + E in the normal “root” inversion. If you take the “F” off the bottom and put it on the top, you get “A + C + E + F,” which is 1st inversion. If you then take the “A” off the bottom and put it on the top, you get “C + E + F + A,” which is 2nd inversion — the one we just learned.

So here’s your homework.

Take these chords below and learn them in fourths using the same steps I took above. You can also start all over and learn them chromatically too but the real “connection” comes in learning them in fourths.

C major = C + E + G

C major 7 = C + E + G + B

C minor = C + Eb + G

C minor 7 = C + Eb + G + Bb

EXTRA CREDIT: Invert the chords by taking the current note off the bottom and putting it on the top. Do this again to get the next inversion. If the chord has 4 notes, do this AGAIN to get the final inversion.

Post your answers below as a comment.

Again, you’re taking all 4 chords above and learning each one in all 12 keys USING the circle I talked about above. If you can’t do this, you need to print out this lesson and re-read it. This will result in you knowing 48 chords by the end of this exercise. If you’re serious, you’ll do it. If you get this one concept, you’ll skip at least 6-8 months worth of lessons… and that’s only if your teacher knows how important the circle is to playing BY EAR. Sight readers use this to figure out key signatures and ’sharps & flats’ but all that stuff is NOTHING compared to the real value of the circle. The real value of the circle involves patterns, song movement, and stuff like that, if you’re an “ear” player.

If you want to get a real good introduction to all this, my $17 course is a steal. If you’re a reader, you have everything here. I sure didn’t hold back. If I wanted to hold back, I would have stopped 4 pages ago. The $17 starter course just takes it further by giving you 2 hours of instruction in my own voice with live demonstrations and examples.

So if my written words are cool for you, then I can promise you my voice is easily 3 times better. And at $17, you have nothing to lose. Check it out at:

http://www.hearandplay.com/17dollarcourse

If you were a bit helped by the words I’ve written here, then this audio course will REALLY be helpful because you’ll hear me talking about all this stuff for 2 whole hours, reinforcing every little concept over and over. You’ll like it.

Go to:

http://www.hearandplay.com/17dollarcourse

(You can even get the downloadable digital version and start learning right away).

Talk soon,

Jermaine

P.S. - Got questions? Comment below and I’ll answer right away:

P.P.S - If your budget allows, my 300pg course is your next best bet. It has 20 chapters, tons of exercises, and covers everything, step by step:

http://www.hearandplay.com/core

Popularity: 45% [?]

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 playing songs on your own - in all 12 keys - and sounding like you’ve been playing for years, go here:

http://www.hearandplay.com/products

After last week’s e-mail, I received a host of replies. Here’s one that I think will really help you (VERY IMPORTANT STRATEGIES).

***Comment From Kelly W.***

Hi Jermaine,

Thanks for sending such an informative e-mail. I feel like you give so much through your website, blog, and e-mails (maybe too much). Do you ever sleep?

Well, here’s another e-mail to add to your insomnia. :-)

You mentioned the number system and how it is key when it comes to playing music by ear. I totally get that now. But towards the end, you started talking about numbers and patterns but you quickly ended. Kinda left me hanging as I was hanging on your every word up until that point and didn’t want the e-mail to end.

Do you mind expounding on how the number system works with patterns?

A passionate fan, Kelly W.

>>> My Comments (and explanations):

Kelly, first off, thanks so much for your kind words. Yes, I DO sleep (but not nearly as much as I should). My wife says I should be getting in as much sleep as possible RIGHT NOW before our 2nd daughter is born in December. But I’m hard-headed. So enjoy these personal replies while they last :-)!

To recap, YES, the number system is absolutely pivitol in playing music by ear without sheet music. There’s just so much you can do with it. (And it’s so easy to grasp — you just take every major scale you know and NUMBER each of them from 1 to 7… BAMMM! There’s the number system).

But let’s talk about chord patterns for a second…

In playing by ear, you’ll notice that a lot of songs use the same chord patterns over and over again. One popular chord pattern is the 1-4-5 chord progression. (Let me stop — for my beginners, “chord patterns,” “chord progressions,” “chord changes,” “chord ___whatever___” pretty much all mean the same thing).

When I say “1-4-5″ in this sense, I’m literally talking about a chord built off the first tone of the scale “moving” (or progressing) to a chord off the fourth tone of the scale… and finally to a chord off the fifth tone of the scale. There are countless possibilities.

In the key of C (ahhhh, amazing how the number system stands on its own two feet… but now let’s move into a specific key)…

In the key of C, a 1-4-5 chord pattern would be some kind of chord on C moving to some kind of chord on F, and finally ending on some type of chord on G. Those notes - C, F, & G - are the 1st, 4th, and 5th degrees of the scale, respectively. In other words, the “root” or “bass” of the chord will determine the number that gets attached to it.

C major. Root (or bass) is C. And C is the first tone of the scale. Therefore, C major is on “the 1.”

Now the reason NUMBERS are important is that I can express tons of patterns like this without being in any particular key. That is why I made the statement above about “coming” into a specific key. See, numbers are like a universal language. I can sit here and chat with a fellow musician all day long and if he or she knows about numbers, our conversation could actually make sense just saying stuff like “1-4-5″ or “6-2-5-1″ or “2-5-1″ or “b5-7-3″ (b5 = “flatted 5″ and you get it by literally taking the 5th tone of the scale and flatting it a half step).

So that’s why I mentioned how important numbers are when it comes to chord patterns.

Here’s my advice to any musician who wants to get the most out of NUMBERS…

First, master your scales as numbers and be able to call out any number fast. Like if I asked you, “what is the 2nd tone of F,” you should answer within seconds, “G.” If I say “the 7th tone of B,” you should answer “A#” within seconds. I’ve created a free 28-pg report about this very strategy and you can download at: http://www.hearandplay.com/numbers (Enjoy!)

Second, once you’ve mastered numbers and they are second nature to you, start “THINKING” about them as you play songs. For example, if someone taught you these chords in the key of C:

C major > F major > G7 > G/F > E minor > A7 > D minor > G7 > C major

(Believe it or not, this is a very common string of chords). Oh yeah, since I hate for people to be lost, the “G7″ is the quick way to write “G dominant 7.” The “G/F” is what we call a slash chord. It means play a G major chord over F bass. Whenever you see a letter without “major” or “minor” or something like that, assume “major.” And if you see a slash, the note on the right of the slash is to be played on your left hand as the bass.

I get carried away, excuse me! :-)

So back to this chord pattern. Once you’ve mastered numbers, you need to be thinking “NUMBERS.” See, if you’re just playing this progression and thinking these are random chords, you’re cheating yourself. But if you think of this string of chords as numbers progressing from one to the other, then you’ll be opened up to a whole new world. Let me explain…

Because there are 12 distinct keys that you can possibly be playing a song in, most people don’t know they are playing the SAME exact thing in other keys. I mean, how can you? Everything feels different. The notes are different, the letters are different, the titles are different. The chords feel different to your hands. etc…

Numbers standardize everything. There can only be a single number per chord. So it doesn’t matter what key you’re in, if you’re thinking in terms of numbers, you have just brought that key into a neutral world.

Example:

F major: ———–

F major > Bb major > C7 > C/Bb > A minor > D7 > G minor > C7 > F major

Did you realize right off the bat that this was the same exact pattern I displayed above in C? Most WOULDN’T because the notes are different. It throws most people off so they continue playing these two separate chord progressions in different keys NOT KNOWING they are playing the same thing!

Let’s analyze:

C major ———–

C major > F major > G7 > G/F > E minor > A7 > D minor > G7 > C major

1 > 4 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 6 > 2 > 5 > 1

(I just took the keynotes of each chord and figured out their “numbers.”)

For example, in the C major chord, C is the keynote (the title). It is the first tone of C major (duhh!). F major is the next chord. It’s the 4th tone of C major. G7 is the next chord. It’s the 5th tone of C major. (You just keep doing this until you’ve analyzed each chord). At the end, you have this chord pattern in numbers:

1 > 4 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 6 > 2 > 5 > 1

Now, if you do the same thing to the “F major” chord progression I posted above, you’ll get these numbers:

F major: ———–

F major > Bb major > C7 > C/Bb > A minor > D7 > G minor > C7 > F major

1 > 4 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 6 > 2 > 5 > 1

Lightbulb yet?

It’s the SAME pattern but you probably didn’t know that if you don’t already think in terms of numbers. Most musicians would have treated these progressions as two separate “things” because they look different.

But at the core, when you strip all the letters away, they are the same. Hmmm, “MESSAGE!” Everyone comes in different shapes, colors, and sizes. But when you strip all that away, we are all the same! :-)

The third thing to do is to just get fast at being able to figure this out WHILE you’re playing. That’s all. After you do it so much, you’ll just ‘think’ that way. It’s a paradigm shift from the standard way of playing. You’ll be there soon.

So, we’re full circle. Back to numbers and their importance.

You may be thinking, “Jermaine! How do I ‘think’ in terms of numbers?”

Well, it’s not something you overdo. It’s just something you’re “aware” of. As you’re playing, you force yourself to think: “Ok, I’m on the ____ tone of the scale.” That’s it! It’s simple! Over time, it will become second nature.

Then, you’ll see just how EVERYTHING YOU PLAY (or 80% of it) boils down to the same exact patterns. You can’t see it now because you’re thinking in terms of letters. “Letters” are sort of the enemy of playing in all 12 keys. Just two hard to memorize all the letters. But if you get good at memorizing the universal numbers for all the patterns and chords you play, you won’t go wrong.

To learn other unique techniques and strategies you can use to master the number system and take your playing to the next level, go to the link below. I recommend either my 300-pg course or my Starter 702 audio course (or BOTH). The Starter 702 course is cheap… a steal… $17 bucks and covers much of what I’ve talked about here… but with my VOICE and piano explaining everything. If you’re serious, check it out:

http://www.hearandplay.com/products

(It’s in the CORE ESSENTIALS section).

Talk soon,

Jermaine

P.S. - This old video I did several months ago will really help you with numbers as well…

Popularity: 46% [?]

Our last radio show was awesome! We took several callers, gave away tons of prizes, and delved into some more music theory concepts!

One of our callers had a question about a particular altered chord and I spent some time unraveling it with her. In this post, I just want to take some time to review what I told her on the air. I think this will be extremely helpful for people in the same situation.

Her question had to do with playing a C diminished 7 chord over F bass. She wanted to know what type of chord it was.

So we broke it down…

F on bass
C diminished 7 on right hand: C Eb Gb A

Note: I’m using “A” on purpose. If you were taking a music theory exam, you’d make that “B double flat” (Bbb). But let’s just keep it informal so I can make my point easier. That disclaimer is just for my theory heads. Most people can careless (just being honest).

Here’s something to help you out…

Whenever you don’t know the name of a chord, try starting with the 3rd and 7th tones of the keynote. In this case, the keynote is “F,” our bass.

(This is when knowing all your scales as numbers is important. If you can know the 3rd and 7th of virtually any key without having to think much about it, then finding the names of chords will be super easy for you. So work on that in the meantime).

Notice there is an “A” and “Eb” in the chord. Immediately when I see that, I think “F dominant 7 chord.” I don’t even think about it. Unless there’s something crazy going on with the other tones we haven’t analyzed yet, this chord has a very high probability of being some kind of dominant seventh chord… but we’re not done yet!

So that’s the kind of the thought process I go through. I find and hold on to the best match until it is dethroned. Make sense?

Notice the “C” in this chord. What is its relation to the keynote?

The “C” is simply the perfect fifth. From past lessons, you know that the fifth isn’t really as helpful as the other tones because you’ll find it equally in major, minor, and dominant chords. So it can’t really be the deciding factor when trying to differentiate among those chords.

In this case, the “C” doesn’t change our answer. It just further confirms we’re on the right track by adding another note to our F dominant 7 chord, which is “F + A + C + Eb.”

Back to the chord that was posed on the show…

F on bass
C diminished 7: C Eb Gb A

There’s just one more tone left… the “Gb.” And that’s what makes this chord more than an “F dominant 7″ chord.

So what we do from here is figure out what tone of the scale Gb is based on.

First off, there’s no Gb in the F major scale so we know it’s not a tone directly out of the major key of F. Something is either going to be sharped, flatted, augmented, or diminished — we just haven’t figured out what it is quite yet.

“G” is the 2nd or 9th tone in the F major scale.

Yes, I know that may sound confusing but here’s where the numbers come from.

If you play an F major scale only using one octave and number each tone as you play it, “G” will undoubtedly be the 2nd tone of the scale. This is the norm. You probably already know this.

However, if you extend the scale another octave (basically keep going), “G” will be the 9th tone in the next octave. You don’t stop counting… you basically keep going.

1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > 5 > 6 > 7 > 8 > 9 > 10 > 11… and so on.

So that’s where 9s, 11s, and 13s come from.

But here’s the thing…

Just think of:

• 9 as 2
• 11 as 4
• 13 as 6

It will be so much easier.

Now, there does come a time when you use 2, 4, or 6 and this is usually when you’re playing simple triads with added notes. Like if I play an F major chord (F+A+C) and just add the “G” in between the “F” and “A,” I could simply say “add 2″ (F + G + A + C).

However, when you start getting into dominant seventh chords and your chords start reaching across octaves, that’s when the higher numbers come in. For example, some will say if you add “G” in the next octave and still maintain that regular F major triad (F + A + C + G), then you can reference it as “add 9.” Chord naming is very ambiguous like that but as long as you’re in the right neighborhood, people will know what you mean!

So, indeed, “G” is the 9. But “Gb” is what’s in the chord so we have to say “flat 9″ (a.k.a. - “b9″).

In other words, this is an F dominant 7 chord with a lowered 9.

Big picture thinking

Now how can you easily play this chord in every key?

Here’s what I like to do.

I try to find some commonality that I can turn into a “rule” that works any time.

Also, “rules” (in the way that I’m defining them) don’t use specific notes or else they wouldn’t be rules. They use universal numbers so that they can be applied to any situation.

There’s several ways to approach coming up with your own internal rule for this chord.

Let’s try a few…

1) I can think of this chord as the keynote plus a diminished 7 chord played on the 5th tone of the keynote’s scale. Yes, I know it sounds complex but it really isn’t. Basically, I’m telling myself that whenever I want to play a dominant chord with a flat 9, all I have to know is the diminished seventh chord a fifth up from my bass note and I’m good to go!

If I want to play an Ab 7 (b9) chord, all I do is put Ab in my bass and go up to the 5th tone (Eb) and play its diminished seventh chord (F on bass + Eb diminished 7).

If I want to play a D7 (b9) chord, I do the same thing. Play D on my bass, go up to the 5th tone of D and play its diminished seventh chord (D on bass + A diminished 7).

If I want to play a C7 (b9) chord, my rule works there too (because my rule works in EVERY situation). I just play a G diminished seventh chord over C bass and “BAM,” there it is!

But this isn’t the only rule. If thinking of the “fifth” on the spot works for you, then go for it! But maybe I can get closer…

2) There’s something unique about diminished 7 chords. Take that C diminished 7 chord (C + Eb + Gb + A) and play it with Eb on the bottom. It still sounds like a diminished 7 chord right? That’s because it is a diminished 7 chord… Eb diminished 7 (Eb + Gb + A + C). Do the same thing with Gb… play the same exact notes starting on Gb — Gb + A + C + Eb. So basically, once you know 1 diminished chord, you know the other 3 in the group because they all share the same notes. So if that’s the case, maybe I don’t have to play the C diminished 7 because I have three other choices that will pretty much give me the same sound (…now if you want your melody to be on top, you’ll have to pick the chord that does that). With that said though, I’m going to use Gb diminished 7 (Gb + A + C + Eb). Keep in mind that the ONLY difference in this chord and the C diminished 7 is the order of notes. That’s all.

Now that I’ve figured this out, I can change my rule a little bit. I can simply think of this chord as the diminished 7th chord RIGHT ON TOP of my bass. Get it?

My bass is F right? Now, I’ve figured out that my C diminished 7 chord can actually be Gb diminished 7 if I want it to. And Gb is just one half step higher than F right? So that means instead of having to think of this chord as the keynote plus the 5th tone’s diminished chord, I can ease my mind a little bit by simply thinking of this chord as the keynote plus the diminished 7 chord a half step up!

Bam!

So let’s compare:

Rule #1
Keynote plus 5-diminished7 chord
F + C diminished 7
F + (C + Eb + Gb + A)

or

Rule #2
Keynote plus diminished 7 chord half step up
F + Gb diminished 7
F + (Gb + A + C + Eb)

Up to you!

But that’s the idea.

It’s not always about having to do a lot of thinking. For me, at least, it’s about finding universal rules I can apply on the spot. Heck, your rules are your rules… even if they don’t make sense to others! :)

So try taking some of your favorite chords and come up with some numerical rule that you can apply to easily take these chords to any key you want on the spot (assuming you know the underlying chords you’ll be using — if your rule includes playing a big 9th chord with smaller major chords, then you had better know all your major chords or even the rule won’t do you any good).

Well, this post was a little long but I hope it helps!

All the best —

Popularity: 12% [?]

So this isn’t going to be easy but if you’re committed, you can learn to play in ALL 12 keys… not just one.

I’ll lay out 2 ways to do it. One way, I learned about 16 years ago and still use at times.

The other way is more involved, but will help your understanding of music a lot better.

So the shortcut vs the long road (that’s worth the trip).

The shortcut

Ok, so you have four chords that you picked up online and you want to learn them in the other 11 keys.

The first way is pretty simple.

Just take out a notebook and reserve a few pages for each major key. Better yet, get a folder, 12 tabs, and label them according to the major keys.

Now, take the chord progression you just learned in one key, let’s say “C major,” and get to work with these steps below…

(Oops, before I present the steps, let’s lay out our basic chord progression)…

Chord progression:
C major - G major - A minor - F major (repeat)

(Again, this is in the key of “C major”).

Reference:
C major = C+E+G
G major = G+B+D
A minor = A+C+E
F major = F+A+C

1) First, we’re going to move this chord progression up a half step. Remember that half steps are from key to key with no keys in between. So a half step up from C is Db.

2) Literally, you just move EVERY finger you have held down up a note. It’s that simple. And because you’re moving everything equally, the chord names stay the same.

So the “C major” chord becomes “Db major”
The “G major chord” becomes “Ab major”
The “A minor chord” becomes “Bb minor”
The “F major chord” becomes “Gb major”

(Now, I chose to go to the key of Db rather than C#. Had I said “C#”, these chords would be C# major to G# major to A# minor to F# major… which looks just like the C major progression but with sharps. But Db major is much more common than C# so I went with Db.)

So again, C+E+G (C major) becomes Db+F+Ab (Db major)
G+B+D (G major) becomes Ab+C+Eb (Ab major)
A+C+E (A minor) becomes Bb+Db+F (Bb minor)
F+A+C (F major) becomes Gb+Bb+Db (Gb major)

3) Basically, you take this approach all the way up the piano. But don’t forget to write these chords down in your notebook under the appropriate major key. If you’ve separated the major keys by tabs, even better so you can flip back very quickly when you need it.

4) The key is to not only write them down (because it’s true, if you write something, you’ll remember it a lot more than just reading it)… but you also want to play it in the new key about 10 times. If you think writing helps you to remember, “doing” takes memorization to a whole new level.

For some, all it will take is writing and playing it a few times and you’ll remember the chords forever. Others may have to refer back to the notebook a few times to warm up the memory.

(For my more experienced players, obviously you’ll replace these simple major and minor chords with more intricate ones but the process and rules for memorization will apply to you as well.)

At the end of the day, you’ll end up with 12 pages of chords, all written out in their respective keys.

5) Go in this order and use the “flat names” for the black keys (trust me, it will be much easier. Later on, you’ll use the sharp names of the black keys when playing in minor keys):

C
Db
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C

The more involved way

The other way is to really understand “what’s going on,” as Marvin Gaye would say.

Let’s look at this C major chord progression again.

Chord progression:
C major - G major - A minor - F major (repeat)

Now what’s really going on here?

Using numbers can really allow us to see what’s going on without confining us to one particular key. It’s the universal language.

1) Convert the major key into numbers. Take the scale and put a number under each tone.

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

2) Figure out which numbers go with the chords you’re using in the progression

C major - G major - A minor - F major

C major = 1
G major = 5
A minor = 6
F major = 4

See where I got the numbers?

Straight from the scale. C is the first tone of the scale, G is the 5th tone of the scale, A is the 6th tone of the scale, and F is the 4th tone of the scale.

3) Write your progression out using numbers instead of letters. Letters help you to play in ONE key. Numbers help you to play in ALL keys.

1major - 5major - 6minor - 4major

All I did was replace the letters, not the chord type. The chords stay the same.

4) So now, before this can work like magic, you need to make sure that you know all your major and minor chords. You can learn them by following the lessons on this page.

5) Lastly, you just go to your new major key and apply the formula: 1major - 5major - 6minor - 4major. Of course, this requires that you also know your scales as numbers. But by doing it this way, you’re actually understanding how music works rather than just moving everything up a half step (which can work too, obviously).

6) Feel free to follow the circle of fifths pattern going counter-clockwise while learning your progressions in new keys. In other words, you learn your new keys in this order: C major, then F major, then Bb major, then Eb major (rather than in half steps like we did in the first method). See the circle of fifths chart for details.

Why? Because you’ll notice that by learning the chords in C major first, then moving to F major — you’ll actually play majority of the same chords because major keys that are neighbors on the circle are closely related and share majority of the same notes (in fact, the difference in the C major scale and the F major scale is actually just ONE note so it’s not surprising that playing the chord progression in F major almost feels the same as playing it in C major).

Let’s see…

C major:

C major - G major - A minor - F major

F major:

F major - C major - D minor - Bb major

(We actually already know 2 of the chords from our previous key. And truth be told, “D minor” is also in the key of C so had our chord progression been a little more intricate, we might’ve had that chord in common too)

Summary

So there you have it… two ways to learn your favorite chords and songs in all 12 keys.

Now, I only demonstrated this with 4 chords. Your songs will certainly have more chords. That’s why it’s important to take it step by step, chord by chord, and make sure to write and rehearse what you’re writing on the piano so you can ingrain it in your memory and you’ll be just fine! :)

Until next time,
Jermaine

Popularity: 15% [?]

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% [?]

CONVERSATION #1 —

(CHAT STARTED AT 10:29 am)

Roger: Hello there

ME: Hello, how are you today?

Roger: I’m fine. Thank you

ME: By the way, this is Jermaine. I’m on this live chat this morning to speak with some of my students. If you have any questions, I will be glad to assist you. May I ask your name?

Roger: (we didn’t know his name at the time) Ok, this is great. I initially just wanted to see if this live chat thingy worked before I ordered. I had no idea I would be chatting with you. Oh yes, my name is Rooger

Roger: Roger*

ME: Well, as you can see, we’re live (but not in color). hehe. Do you have any questions about the course? or about playing gospel / jazz music in general?

Roger: Actually, I’ve been playing for about 3 years. But I really need to improve my ability to play songs in every key. Do you have something for this?

ME: Sure … my course actually covers transposition. However, I can show you a few techniques right now…

ME: Say you know how to play a dominant chord. For example, the C7 chord (which is pronounced “C Seventh”) consists of 4 notes: C - E - G - Bb. My rule is… “if you know ONE chord, then you know them ALL.” Do you know why Roger?

Roger: Uhhh … well I’ve only been playing for 3 years and I really haven’t gotten into all the theory. But why?

ME: I see. Well, I’m not trying to pressure you. Don’t worry if you don’t know the answers. That’s why you have come to my website right?

Roger: sure…

ME: Well, here’s the technique (and its very easy). If you want to play ANY chord (and I mean any chord) and you know ONE chord of its same type, then simply follow these steps:

ME: First, you must know one of the chords. In our example, lets say we know how to form a C7 (C - E - G - Bb). To form an Ab7 (A flat Seventh), we must first count how many half steps separate C and Ab. You can either count these half steps by going up the piano or down (whichever way the notes are closest together). Are you still with me?

Roger: Ok, so you’re saying to count how many half steps Ab is from C? I’m not catching you when you say “half” steps.

ME: My fault Roger. I should have explained half steps. A HALF STEP simply means the difference between two keys which are RIGHT NEXT to each other. In other words, B and C are 1 half step apart because there aren’t any notes in between them. However, C and D are 2 half steps apart because C# is in between the two notes. Got me?

Roger: Ok, I see. So E and F would be 1 half step apart. But F and G would be two half steps?

ME: Yes, that is correct. Also, another word for saying two half steps is to say 1 whole step. That’s because two half steps equal one whole step. But its easier in this case to count half steps because I don’t expect you to remember 1.5 whole steps (and all those decimals) when you can simply remember 3 half steps (my course is all about giving you theory in an easy format).

ME: So how many half steps are in between Ab and C?

Roger: Let’s see. Is the answer 5?

ME: Ok… Roger. I think you might have miscounted. There’s actually two answers depending on which way you chose to count. You could have either started at C and counted down That is, from C to B is 1 half step, from B to Bb is another half step. Or … you could have started at C and counted up. That is, from C to C#, from C# to D and so on. Which way did you count Roger?

Roger: I went backwards because it was much easier. Let me try again

ME: Ok, no problem

Roger: Ok, is 4 correct?

ME: There you go! Because, from C to B is 1, from C to Bb is 2, from C to A is 3 and from C to Ab is 4.

ME: … and here’s the trick. Just simply subtract the number that you get from 12 and it will give you the opposite end. That is, if you subtract 4 from 12, you’ll get 8. This means that if you count up (instead of down), you’ll notice that Ab is 8 half steps up from C. These two numbers should always equal 12. Make sense?

Roger: Sure it does. I understand that because I teach math (despite my last error … lol.)

ME: Ok, we’re almost done. Now that you know that Ab is 4 half steps down from C, simply move all of your fingers 4 half steps down. That is, if you have your fingers on C - E - G - Bb, just simply slide each finger down 4 notes.

ME: C would now become Ab (obviously). E would become C, G would become Eb and Bb would become Gb. Tell me if I’m moving to fast…

Roger: I see, so all of my fingers move down the same amount of notes right?

ME: That’s correct. You MUST make sure that all of them move the same amount of notes for the Ab7 chord to sound correct.

ME: This technique can be used to learn all chords … and I mean all chords! Here is a distance chart (relative to C) so that you don’t have to do all the counting that you did just now…

C to B (1 half step down; 11 half steps up)
C to Bb (2 half step down; 10 half steps up)
C to A (3 half step down; 9 half steps up)
C to Ab (4 half step down; 8 half steps up)
C to G (5 half step down; 7 half steps up)
C to Gb (6 half step down; 6 half steps up)
C to F (7 half step down; 5 half steps up)
C to E (8 half step down; 4 half steps up)
C to Eb (9 half step down; 3 half steps up)
C to D (10 half step down; 2 half steps up)
C to Db (11 half step down; 1 half steps up)
C to C (12 half step down; 12 half steps up)

Roger: Wow … today was my lucky day!

ME: Just happy to help. Did you print this out because I know that I can be long-winded at times (hehe)

Roger: Oh, I haven’t but I will. I guess I got a huge preview of what your course discusses huh?

ME: Yes, I guess you can say that. But Roger, it is 300-pages so you have a ways to go. But if you comprehended this (and we only used words), you’ll definitely understand some of the concepts in the book as you’ll have pictures, diagrams, charts, notations and more to guide you.

Roger: Wonderful

ME: And there’s also a BONUS CD. It’s very simple. Nothing too big and technical but its very helpful. It has three programs. One of them is “SOUND LIBRARY V1.0″ which gives you access to over 330 sound examples from the course. The next program is “PIANO PLAYER PLUS V1.0″ which allows you to train your ear with over 150 exercises, 500 questions, 20 chapter reviews and a lot more! The third program on the CD is CHORD POWER V1.0 which teaches you 10 additional gospel / jazz chord progressions step by step (with diagrams and sound examples).

Roger: Wow… I’m going to order right away. How do I order?

ME: There are a few ways to order. If you wish to place your order online (this is the fastest way), simply visit: http://www.hearandplay.com/ordernow.html

ME: If you wish to send a check or money order, I have an easy form that you can print out and include with your payment. You can print this form at: http://www.hearandplay.com/offline.html

ME: Or if you prefer, you can call us at 1-877-856-4187 and mention offer 69B

Roger: I’d just like to say that this chat thing is wonderful. To think, I just wanted to see if it worked (and wasn’t a gimmick) and I got to speak with the author himself. I’ll make sure to tell all of my buddies.

ME: I’m glad I was able to assist you. You might not get me next time you come on here but whoever it is, they can assist you with any questions that you may have.

Roger: Thanks a multitude!

ME: No problem Roger. Have a nice day and good luck with your piano playing!

(CHAT ENDED AT 10:42 am)

* If you are interested in checking out our 300-pg course, you can follow the same steps Roger did. Just visit:

http://www.hearandplay.com/ordernow.html and it’ll be easy from there!

*** The second conversation will be sent to your e-mail box separately. We must do this in order to keep the size of the e-mail minimal ***

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

As always, I couldn’t get as “in-depth” into the material with ROGER as I wanted to as I was limited by space and time with the live chat system. However, I was able to convey one of my favorite techniques to him. Listen … this technique can be used for just about anything. When I say anything, I mean (1) learning ALL chords in every key, (2) transposing a song into another, (3) modulating into into the next key, and more. If you are like Roger and would really like to improve your piano playing and ear-skills, I really encourage you to read about my 300-pg course & bonus CD —-

http://www.hearandplay.com/course

With 20 chapters and over 300 pages, the home piano course provides several resources, techniques, tips, principles, and theories to playing the piano by ear. Along with hundreds of chords and scales, you’ll also learn how to turn them into gospel, jazz and blues chord progressions and better yet, how to use them to play ABSOLUTELY any song you want … IN VIRTUALLY MINUTES! Again, don’t miss this opportunity. I’ve even added an additional bonus if you purchase the course this week — You can read more about the course at: http://www.hearandplay.com/course

Popularity: 5% [?]

If you haven’t recognized already, the concept I’ve been discussing is called “transposition.” You’ve probably heard it said another way … like “transposing” or “take it up!”

If you have the 300pg course, you can find detailed information on transposing songs in chapter 20 (pgs 295-298). If you don’t have the course yet, just keep reading as I’ll define key terms below.

Transposing a song is basically moving it from one key to another. For example, if you’re playing a song in the key of C major, to transpose it simply means to take it from C major and play the same exact song, but in terms of a new major key.

Anything can be transposed … not just songs. You can transpose chords, melodies, scales, and more!

Let’s get right to work…

Ok, let’s say you know a basic song (for the purposes of this lesson, let’s play “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers). This song will be easy for anyone to catch on to (whether beginner or advanced). Plus, most people know this classic!

Here’s a sample recording of the chorus part that I’ll use:

http://www.hearandplay.com/leanonme.html

If you’re good at finding the key center of a song (see January 2005 newsletter), you already know that the recording above is played in the key of C major. If you’re not good at finding key centers of songs, refer to my 300pg course and the bonus CD-rom which comes along with it. Piano Player Plus v1.0 helps you to train your ear with various sound exercises and tests, all done on the computer.

But back to “Lean on Me”…

Here’s the main chorus:

Major key of C major

Left /// Right hand

C /// E + G + C

C /// E + G + C

D /// F + A + D

E /// G + C + E

F /// A + C + F

F /// A + C + F

E /// G + C + E

D /// F + A + D

C /// E + G + C

Notice how these are just basic triads. As famous as this song is, the chorus is nothing more than basic triads walking up the first four notes of the C major scale and right back down.

Try playing it now.

The left hand uses single notes while the right hand simply plays various three-fingered chords.

… so now that you know a few chords, let’s examine how to transpose this chorus to other major keys.

Transposing:

I’ll cover two methods.

1 ) The first one uses half steps and whole steps.

In music, the distance between any two notes right next to each other is called a “half step.” So the relationship between C and Db, for example, is a half step. The relationship between E and F is also a half step.

A “whole step” is the distance between two notes that are separated by a key. So the distance between C and D is a whole step (because Db is in between them). Just remember this poem and you’ll be alright:

Half steps are from key to key with no keys in between,

Whole steps always skip a key with one key in between.

So with that said, let’s take “Lean on Me” and figure out how to move it into another key.

Major key of C major

Left /// Right hand

C /// E + G + C

C /// E + G + C

D /// F + A + D

E /// G + C + E

F /// A + C + F

F /// A + C + F

E /// G + C + E

D /// F + A + D

C /// E + G + C

Since we’re already in the key of C major, we’ll need to figure out what key we want to move the current song to.

Let’s try D major first.

There’s just two things you have to do to move this song from C major to D major:

1. Ask yourself, how many half steps OR whole steps is D major (the new key) from C major (the old key)

RECAP: Find out the distance between the new key and the old (in either half steps or whole steps, whichever one you prefer).

2. Move each chord up or down that many steps (whatever the answer to question #1 is).

This is best explained by demonstrating exactly what I mean:

Ok, our current major key is C major.

In step one, we need to know how many whole or half steps are in between C major and the new key we want to transpose to (D major in this case).

So……

The distance between C major and D major is 1 whole step.

(that is, C to Db is 1 half step, Db to D is another half step. 2 half steps = 1 whole step).

Now all we need to do is move every one of our chords up 1 whole step:

“Lean on Me” in C major	“Lean on Me” in D major
Left /// Right hand C /// E + G + C C /// E + G + C D /// F + A + D E /// G + C + E F /// A + C + F F /// A + C + F E /// G + C + E D /// F + A + D C /// E + G + C	Left /// Right hand D /// F# + A + D D /// F# + A + D E /// G + B + E F# /// A + D + F# G /// B + D + G G /// B + D + G F# /// A + D + F# E /// G + B + E D /// F# + A + D

Notice the differences between the old key and the new key.

For the first chord, C is the bass in C major but in the new key, D is the bass (or left hand).

D is one whole step higher than C so that makes perfect sense. For every note, this should be the case.

C /// E + G + C

D /// F# + A + D

D is 1 whole step higher than C

F# (the first note in the right hand) is one whole step higher than E

A is one whole step higher than the G from the old chord

D is one whole step higher than C from the old chord.

While this method can surely allow you to transpose all the songs you know into new keys, it is very time-consuming.

2. The second method involves relating the chords and notes of one key to the other. Let me explain:

The first method we used looked at everything independently. That means no matter what you play, whether a chord, scale, 5-fingered chord, or 2-fingered chord, you move everything up 1 whole step (or how many ever steps it takes you to reach the “new” key).

This second method looks at the grand scheme of things. That means, we analyze “WHAT” chords or scales are being played and we just apply those same type of chords to the new key.

In order to master this step, YES, you need to know your scales and chords. I mean, to be an excellent musician, you should know these things anyway, right?

Let’s take a look at our example once again:

Left /// Right hand

C /// E + G + C

C /// E + G + C

D /// F + A + D

E /// G + C + E

F /// A + C + F

F /// A + C + F

E /// G + C + E

D /// F + A + D

C /// E + G + C

In this method, you’d analyze the chords to see “what’s going on” basically.

Here’s what I see:

1) The first chord is a C major because C is on the left-hand bass and E + G + C is played in the right hand. Any time the notes C, E, and G are played together, that means you’re probably playing a C major chord or something related to it.

2) The second chord above is also a C major. It’s identical to the first chord.

3) The third chord above is a D minor because D is being played on the left-hand bass while F + A + D is being played on the right hand.

4) The fourth chord is a C major chord with an E bass. Notice that it has the same combination of notes as the first and second chord above ( C E G). It’s simply played in a different order this time (we call that “inversions“)

5) The fifth chord is an F major chord because F is the bass and A + C + F is played on the right hand. While you’re probably used to seeing F A C as an F major chord, A+C+F is just another way to play it (another inversion).

Lastly, the next four chords are just the same chords played in reverse order.

So with this method, you just look at the BIGGER picture.

You say to yourself:

“Hmmm Self”

“The left hand bass is basically the first four notes of the major scale of whatever key I’m in” AND…

“The chords are basically: 1st chord major, 2nd chord minor, 1st chord major with “3″ bass, and 4th chord major … and do the same thing going down.”

With this type of method, you should be able to go to any major key given that you know the major scale of the new key.

Let’s look at the C major scale (the key in which this song is played in):

C D E F G A B C

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

So we used the 1 major chord (C major)

Then we used the 2 minor chord (D is the 2nd tone of the scale and we used it’s minor chord)

Then we used the 1 major chord again (C major) but this time with the 3 bass. What is the 3rd tone of the C major scale? E is the answer so basically we used E as the bass but the same 1 major chord (just played in a different inversion).

Lastly, we used the 4 major chord (which is F major).

With this same pattern in mind, just change the major key:

D major:

D E F# G A B C# D

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

What’s the 1 major chord of D major?

_______________

Answer: D major chord

What’s the 2 minor chord of D major?

_______________

Answer: E minor chord

What’s the 1 major chord of D major with the 3 bass?

_______________

Answer: D major with F# bass (D major played with F# on top as well: A + D + F#)

What’s the 4 major chord of D major?

_______________

Answer: G major chord

And… once again, you should end up with “Lean on Me” now in the new major key of D:

“Lean on Me” in C major	“Lean on Me” in D major
Left /// Right hand C /// E + G + C C /// E + G + C D /// F + A + D E /// G + C + E F /// A + C + F F /// A + C + F E /// G + C + E D /// F + A + D C /// E + G + C	Left /// Right hand D /// F# + A + D D /// F# + A + D E /// G + B + E F# /// A + D + F# G /// B + D + G G /// B + D + G F# /// A + D + F# E /// G + B + E D /// F# + A + D

Now one last time…

Try transposing the song from C major to F major:

F major:

F G A Bb C D E F

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

What’s the 1 major chord of F major?

_______________

Answer: F major chord

What’s the 2 minor chord of F major?

_______________

Answer: G minor chord

What’s the 1 major chord of F major with the 3 bass?

_______________

Answer: F major with A bass (F major played with A on top as well: C + F + A)

What’s the 4 major chord of F major?

_______________

Answer: Bb major chord

“Lean on Me” in C major	“Lean on Me” in F major
Left /// Right hand C /// E + G + C C /// E + G + C D /// F + A + D E /// G + C + E F /// A + C + F F /// A + C + F E /// G + C + E D /// F + A + D C /// E + G + C	Left /// Right hand F /// A + C + F F /// A + C + F G /// Bb + D + G A /// C + F + A Bb /// D + F + Bb Bb /// D + F + Bb A /// C + F + A G /// Bb + D + G F /// A + C + F

See how simple that is?

If you’re really serious about learning all your major scales, chords (like major chords, minor chords, dominant chords, diminished chords, seventh chords, ninth chords, eleventh chords, and more), then I strongly recommend that you check out my 300pg course “The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear.

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

Well, I hope you enjoyed this newsletter and I’ll be back soon! Practice hard until then!

---

This concludes this online classroom lesson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you were intrigued by the online classroom lesson above,

then you would definitely benefit from my course!

 

 

*** “The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear” 300-pg Course ***

 

With 20 chapters and over 300 pages, the home piano course provides several resources, techniques, tips, principles, and theories to playing the piano by ear. Along with hundreds of chords and scales, you’ll also learn how to turn them into gospel, jazz and blues chord progressions and better yet, how to use them to play ABSOLUTELY any song you want … IN VIRTUALLY MINUTES! Again, don’t miss this opportunity. I’ve even added an additional bonus if you purchase the course this week — You can read more about the course at:

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To “transpose” a song, melody, chord, or progression is to play the same exact sequence of notes and intervals in another key.

In other words, if I were to play a chord progression like “C major — F major — G major” in the key of C major, by transposing it, I can play the same exact chord progression in 11 other keys.

Does that make sense to you?

There are two steps to “transposing”:

Step 1) Find out how many half steps separate the (a) key that you are currently playing the song in and the (b) key that you want to transpose the song to.

For example, if I was playing a song in the key of C major and wanted to move the song to the key of D, I’d first have to find out how many half steps are in between “C” and “D”

So by simply counting from C to C#, from C# to D, I come up with 2 half steps. So … 2 half steps (or 1 whole step) separate C major and D major.

Step 2) Since, I’ve figured out that “D major” is 2 half steps higher than “C major,” I must move every single chord up 2 half steps.

Are you still with me?

In other words, if I were playing a:

1a) C major chord
1b) D major chord
1c) E major chord

… I’d have to move each of those chords up two half steps to create this chord progression:

2a) D major
2b) E major
2c) F# major

3a) Notice, the D major is no longer C major (it is moved up 2 half steps)

3b) The E major replaces the previous D major (because “E” is two half steps higher than “D”).

3c)… and lastly, the F# major chord replaces the previous “E major” chord because F# is 2 half steps from E (remember, E to F is 1 half step and F to F# is another half step so that equals a total of 2 half steps).

This process is known as “transposition.” I’ve done one example for you … try it with one of the songs you already know! Try to transpose it to the next key (that is, 1 half step up). Let me know how you are doing.

I’d love to hear from you - call 1-877-856-4187 to speak with a piano specialist if you need help!

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