>NOTE: To learn ALL the techniques and strategies to
playing chords and patterns in songs, go here:
http://www.hearandplay.com/products
After last week’s e-mail, I received the most replies ever.
Here’s another one I think will really help you (VERY IMPORTANT
STRATEGIES BELOW).It’s from a gentleman named Mark.
***Comment From Mark H.***
Hi Jermaine,
Last week’s e-mail was totally awesome! This number system
stuff is quite new to me but you’ve totally made it plain. You
certainly have a knack for breaking stuff down and I want to
thank you for taking the time to do this.
On one of your blog posts, you talked about primary and
secondary chords. You also talked about how each tone of the
scale has its own chord that is usually played.
I’m having a hard time remember all these chords and where they
go. Let’s not even talk about all 12 keys because I can’t
remember even one key. Please help!
Mark H Dallas, TX
>>> My Comments and explanations back to Mark (read closely as
you can get a lot out of what I had to say to him):
Hey Mark,
Appreciate your positive feedback!
I have a really easy way for you to remember all the primary
and secondary chords and it won’t take that long to master it.
All it takes is for you to know your major chords. Like I
teach musicians all the time, you can play both minor scales and
minor chords by understanding major chords and their
relationships to minor chords.
Don’t worry, I’ll explain…
Since you mentioned primary and secondary chords, let me
touch on those for a minute.
Every major key has what we call primary and secondary
chords. The primary chords of any given key are the 1st, 4th,
and 5th chords. These numbers come from the scale. In the key of
C, C is the 1st tone of the scale, D is the 2nd tone of the
scale, E is the 3rd tone, and so forth.
So the 1st, 4th, and 5th chords of the key of C major are C,
F, and G (in that order). They are always major chords. These
chords will occur in music the most. The 1st chord of the scale
is the key that you’re in so it’s always going to feel like
“home.” This chord will begin and end your songs. When a
non-musical audience hears the 1-chord, they know to clap
because the song feels at rest… at home… at peace. It’s the
end and they don’t have to be musically-inclined to know that.
The 4th chord of the scale, the next primary chord, is like
being away from home but at a close relative’s house. It’s ‘home
away from home.’ There is a very strong connection between the
1st tone (real home) and the 4th tone (home away from home).
That’s why countless songs go from “the 1 to the 4.” It’s one of
the MOST POPULAR movements in music, hands down.
So, if the 1 is ‘being at home’ and the 4 is being ‘away from
home,’ then the 5 is ‘coming back home.’ The 5 has a strong
connection and tendency to lead back home to the 1st chord. When
you tell your kids to get in the car because we have to go home,
that’s the 5 coming home to the 1 in music.
So now that you have a good understanding of the primary
chords (1, 4, 5), the secondary chords are EVERYTHING ELSE…
That literally leaves the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th tones of
the scale. And the good news is three of those are simple minor
chords that can be played by understanding the three primary
major chords we just covered.
Let’s go to the key of C major:
C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
You already know that C major, F major, and G major are
primary chords.
But what you probably don’t know is that the three minor
secondary chords are relatives to the primary chords. They are
like sisters and brothers, if you will.
(Now this is like 5 chapters of a music theory book covered
in one e-mail but let’s go for it.)
Every major key has what you call a relative minor. In other
words, every major key has a minor key that “pairs” with it.
This minor key has the same notes in its scale as the major
key… it has the same sharps and flats as well.
You can pretty much call them brother-sister scales. One
being major and one being minor. They share EVERYTHING.
For C major, that relative minor is ‘A minor.’
Now before we delve a little deeper into this, let’s look at
the C major and A minor scales:
C major
C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A minor
A B C D E F G A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Do they use different notes or the same notes?
Answer: same notes
Do they both have the same number of flats and sharps?
Answer: Yes, because C has no flats/sharps and A minor has
no flats/sharps.
They are relatives, that’s why! They are closely related. They
share the same house, sort of!
Every major scale has one of these. In fact, you can create the
“A minor” scale just by understanding the C major scale.
Here’s what you do:
(I started to make bullet points but this is too simple so I’ll
just say it)…
Just go to the 6th tone of your major scale. That’s it. Just
play your major scale starting on the 6th tone until you get
back to that same 6th tone.
C major
C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Ok, this is the C major scale. I’m just going up an extra
octave with this example (that’s why you see double the notes).
What tone is the 6th tone?
Answer: A
So what do you do?
Answer: Play this same scale without changing ANY notes from A
to A. Like this: A B C D E F G A
What does that give you?
Answer: The “A minor scale”
Bam! You’re done! Now you know how to play the “A minor” scale.
And the best part is that you don’t have to remember any new
scales. You can “piggy back” off what you already know.
That’s why it’s important to know the number system because
shorctus like this are EVERYWHERE. This is what I cover in my
Starter 702 course. If I were you, I’d pick it up. It’s only $17
bucks.
http://www.hearandplay.com/playbyear.html
So now let’s go back to this whole ‘primary and secondary chord’
stuff.
Basically, just how you learned the “A minor” scale from
knowing your C major scale, you can do the same with CHORDS.
You just take a C major chord (C+E+G) and put “A” on your bass
and you’ve got yourself an “A minor 7″ chord. How cool is that?
Just how you piggy-backed on the C scale to play the “A” minor
scale, you do the same to play the A minor 7 chord. Crazy huh?
You can do this with any major chord.
F major chord = F+A+C
6th tone of F major = D
Playing D on your left hand as the bass and F+A+C on your right
hand creates a D minor 7 chord.
G major chord = G+B+D
6th tone of G major = E (if you were in the key of G, this
would be the 6th tone — gotta know your scales and numbers
like we talked about in my last e-mail).
Playing E on your left hand as the bass and G+B+D on your right
hand creates an E minor 7 chord.
It’s simple. So if you know all 12 major chords, now you should
easily know all 12 minor chords by doing this easy exercise.
The magic number in this case is “6.”
Note: There are magic numbers for other stuff too. But for minor
relationships, it’s 6. See my course below for details.
So if C major, F major, and G major are the primary chords of
the key of C, then you can apply this same idea to learn your
minor secondary chords.
1st, 4th, and 5th = primary chords
2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th = secondary chords
And as you now know, the primary chords help you to play the
secondary chords.
2nd tone = D… but all you gotta do is play an F major chord
over D to play a D minor 7 chord. Easy!
3rd tone = E… but all you gotta do is play a G major chord
over E to play an E minor 7 chord. Even easier!
6th tone = A… but all you gotta do is play a C major chord
over A to play an A minor 7 chord. Bam!
So in other words…
The 1st and 6th tones pair up.
The 2nd and 4th tones pair up.
The 3rd and 5th tones pair up.
That takes care of EVERY tone of the scale pretty much. The
only one left is the 7th tone of the scale. That won’t be a
major or minor chord… it’s a diminished or half-diminished
chord depending on whether you’re going to use 3 or 4 notes to
play it. But unfortunately, I’ve spent way too much time on this
and won’t have enough time to cover it.
However, check out this very affordable course to get the low
down on all this…
To learn other unique techniques and strategies you can use
to master chords 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/playbyear.html
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.
Talk soon,
Jermaine
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Related posts:
- Who else wants to know the secret behind primary and secondary chords?
- Do you use secondary dominant chords?
- The secret to playing minor chords quickly
- Here’s an awesome explanation of primary chords
- Here’s an awesome explanation of primary chords
- The secret to inspiring your own flavorful altered chords!
- The “What Key Am I In” Game 7
October 20th, 2009 (comment#1)
I’m new to the blog so excuse me if this question has been answered before.
what DVD or learning materials would you recommend to someone who knows his scales, basic chords but doesnt know how to play through a lead sheet/sheet music without using the root of every chord.How can I sound like (understand) and use voicings
that an experienced player would use?
Thanks
October 21st, 2009 (comment#2)
Jermaine,
I want to start these lessons.
How do I send you the money. I am in Uganda and I don’t have a visa card.
Advise.
Thanks.
October 21st, 2009 (comment#3)
Good info on! This really helped me out a lot!
Only one “minor” observation though - not really a “major” deal (lol) but:
when you wrote about the relative minor notes for the C major scale you wrote it as follows:
“For C major, that relative minor is ‘A minor.’
Now before we delve a little deeper into this, let’s look at
the C major and A minor scales:
C major
C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A minor
A B C D E F G A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Do they use different notes or the same notes?
Answer: notes”
The “minor” observation I “noted” was that your answer above should read “same notes” rather than just simply “notes”
Your informative break down is awesome and therefore easy to grasp and comprehend, so the answer should be obvious to any reader even with “minor” typing error. Like I said, NOT a “Major” deal (smile)
Thanks for your unselfish willingness to share and help aspiring musicians, such as myself, achieve excellence in order that we might play skillfully unto the Lord.
You are a blessing, an encouragement and mentor to many I am sure.
Keep it going Dude!
Sincerely,
Craig
October 21st, 2009 (comment#4)
ahhh, looks like when I was correcting this, I messed it up! I specifically remember putting “same” but then I added same notes but I must have deleted “same.” urhhhghh.
But hopefully people get it :-)
@james - visit http://www.hearandplay.com/orderbymail
October 21st, 2009 (comment#5)
You are just GREAT at explaning. I think I have finally got what you’re talking about. Boy this is very interesting. Thank God that you’re so willing to share. I am going to order some of your material. THANKS@@@@
October 21st, 2009 (comment#6)
i appreciate the free course offered last week. i just did not know what i was doing and lost it before i could complete it. thanks for all you do!
October 21st, 2009 (comment#7)
Greetings Rev. Jermaine,
Thank you for being so faithful to your students. The more I read your blogs, the more I realize either what I forgot or missed in my years of classical training. I believe I can say that I was more of a robotic student. I did what I was told and what I read on the paper. I did all this with very little understanding.
Your explanation of primary chords and secondary chords where explained in a different, most refreshing light! I remember memorizing this quite a few years ago. I knew what it was but no idea how to use it. Like the beautiful hymn says, “I once was blind, but now I see.” Amazing! Using the left hand as a base with an “A,” to form an A minor chord from a C major chord, was never explained to me lke this before! How simple is that!
Question: Do most people that play by ear do it this way, or do they play the A minor or A minor 7th with only the hand? I believe I have seen Jonathan play that way. His fingers seem so flexible.
Miriam Tierno
Amazing
October 21st, 2009 (comment#8)
Hi again Rev. Jermaine,
Ha! In my last sentence I meant to say, do most people that play by ear, play the base note of the minor chord when they are turning the major to their relative minor chord?
Another question that leads from this…..Can you consider this a poly chord? I know that you are not playing & distributing two separate and different chords on each hand, but both hands are playing two chords. In other words: by including the A note, you have a C major 7th Chord and an A minor Chord.
Miriam Tierno
October 22nd, 2009 (comment#9)
Dear Jermaine….
First of all,
Your lessons really enlightened me and I am really glad to joined this site. I’m just a beginner in playing piano but I’d like to know how those R&B pianists arrange arpeggios like in lonely by Akon and can’t find the words by Karina.
And if i could, i would like to know the exact notes they played in those two songs. Do you have any tricks to play arpeggios nicely?
I’m waiting for your reply ,enthusiastically..
Thz a lot.
October 22nd, 2009 (comment#10)
Dear Rev.Jermaine Greggs
I have bought all of the DVDs that you offer I really enjoyed Gospel Keys202 with your wife, Sarah sings, she has a beautiful voice. I love me some Jason White, Jamal Hartwell is really wild with those tritones. Most helpful was going back and starting from the beginning with your Play by Ear course,it answered all my questions and gave me a better understanding of major,minor, dim. cords and the circle of fourths and fifths.When I became a Gold member and the Valt opened I was like a child loose in the candy store.
Thank You and Staff especially instructor, JP.
October 22nd, 2009 (comment#11)
I have to say that this lesson on primary and secondary chords as well as the refreshing way of explaining how to create a major 7th chord from a major chord is the presentation I’ve seen. You take the “mystery” out of learning chords. Thank you for the detailed explanations and examples. You make learning music a joy and not a chore.
October 24th, 2009 (comment#12)
Dear Jermaine,
I have been playing piano for several years with printed music, but without the notes in front of me I’m lost. My question is, how does knowing chord structure help in knowing which corresponding chords to use with the melody when playing by ear?? If there is a simple explanation would love hearing the answer!!! Betty
October 24th, 2009 (comment#13)
Jermaine, you are just the best! That is why I cannot give you up. I love the new explanation (the association of the scale degrees) on how to form the minor 7th chord. May God continue to bless abundantly, you and your family, and the staff at Hear and Play Music. MS
October 27th, 2009 (comment#14)
HELP,
I do not remember my password and have been trying to access a new one through my account but I keep getting a message saying “no correspondence user information” i am a gold member what must I do?
October 27th, 2009 (comment#15)
Call Jermaine!!!
October 28th, 2009 (comment#16)
thank you very much for a good basic lesson
November 8th, 2009 (comment#17)
I’ve bêen leaning keyboard 4 de pass two yrs now, but their is no improvment. Pls i need ur help thanks.
November 10th, 2009 (comment#18)
i have been struggling with piano for 2years now and still dont understand what note comes next or chord i understand passing chords but are there just some chords that sound good together or what i have your book and a few dvds but i dont understand what is the next chord in a progression with out the passing notes the progressions sounds not to good please help me i have spent 1000’s of dollars on piano books dvd lessons and you name it i understand 7 9 11 13 major minor inversions a little rhythem grace notes if i can only no what chord comes next after each other in a song im in a hurry for god an refuse to give up
February 7th, 2010 (comment#19)
pls i need more technical exercises to get my fingers more flexible and fast, are there any?
February 9th, 2010 (comment#20)
Dear Jermaine,
Your explanation on the primary and secondary chords is awesome hidden formula to many musicians, thank for revealing it to us.
The 1st and 6th tones pair up.
The 2nd and 4th tones pair up.
The 3rd and 5th tones pair up.
From your own explanation above which I quote, for easy remembrance on my own I say :
The 6th and 1st tones pair up.
The 2nd and 4th tones pair up.
The 3rd and 5th tones pair up.
This way I don’t forget to quickly catch an A minor 7th.
God bless you.
Joseph Shonga.
March 8th, 2010 (comment#21)
Hi, u guys are prety good d cords make alot of sence. Keep d good woork