 "The
Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear"
300pg Course - Learn the secrets to playing literally any song
on the piano with a few simple, "easy-to-understand" techniques and
principles! Join Jermaine Griggs in learning tons of music theory,
concepts, and tricks that will help you to learn piano by ear! Thousands
of musicians have already taken advantage of this excellent program ...
why not you?
"The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear" is full of easy-to-understand tricks, tips, techniques and secrets to playing piano by ear! For this month only, I've also been able to throw in a few bonus items (3 additional piano software programs). Click here to learn the secrets to playing absolutely any song on the piano in virtually minutes! You won't regret it! |
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Online Classroom: "How to correctly identify intervals! Part 1" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Note: You might want to print this lesson out for easier reading... I've seen this subject taught by many people. Sometimes, it gets confusing for the starter. Sometimes, it makes perfect sense. As always, it is my goal to break down this concept so clearly that EVERYONE will be able to understand it with minimal questions. First, let's define the term "interval." What is an interval in music? It's simple. A music interval is the relationship between two notes (...basically, the distance between notes). There are two main types of intervals. Melodic intervals (also known as "linear intervals") and harmonic intervals (also known as "vertical intervals"). A melodic interval is the distance between two notes played separately, one after the other. If I play a C, then an E, then an F, these would be melodic intervals because I'm playing each note separately, one after the other. If melodic intervals describe the relationship between two notes played successively, then harmonic interval must describe the relationship between two notes played simultaneously, or at the same time. So, to recap: Melodic = the distance between notes played separately Harmonic = the distance between notes played at the same time The rules I'm going to show you apply BOTH to melodic and harmonic intervals. I just thought it'd be beneficial to cover the "basics" before teaching you the rules of the game. Moving on... You already know that the musical alphabet borrows from the first seven letters of the English alphabet - A, B, C, D, E, F, G Regardless of the type (melodic or harmonic), there are two ways to name intervals: generic and specific. We will cover generic now and specific next month. When you think in terms of generic intervals, you are not concerned with sharps and flats. In fact, when counting generic intervals, you totally ignore sharps and flats and simply use the alphabet (the note names). REMEMBER: The correct name of an interval depends on the names given by its two notes. This will be important later, as you'll learn. It's simple. Starting with any letter of the alphabet (which will be considered the "lower" note of the interval), simply count up each letter until you reach the "higher" note. Now, you'll need to include the first letter in your count as well as the last letter. Also keep in mind that after "G", you start back over with "A" as you'd normally see on a regular piano. So, if I wanted to figure out the interval between A and C, I'd simply count the letters of the alphabet from A to C, including both the starting letter and the ending letter in my count. A is 1 B is 2 C is 3 This means that the interval from "A" to "C" is a third. (Now, if you already understand a little bit about intervals, don't be confused. I haven't specified whether it is a major third or a minor third. When talking generic intervals, we are not concerned with major, minor, perfect, augmented, or any of that right now. We are simply concerned with what type of interval it is. This is the key to CORRECTLY identifying intervals). Now, since it takes 3 alphabet letters to make up this A-C interval, it would be incorrect to label this a second... or to label this a fourth. Believe it or not, many people do this EVERY DAY! Real-life examples may not be as simple as the demonstration above (from A to C) but if you've ever called F# to Bb a major third or even the beginning of a major chord, you've incorrectly labeled intervals and chords before! Don't worry, I'm the first to admit I have! Now, let's go with my example above (F# to Bb). First of all, because we're currently dealing with the GENERIC interval, we'd totally drop any sharps or flats. We don't need them. If we can't determine the UNDERLYING interval, how can we correctly label the specific interval (which you'll learn later). So, let's count the alphabet letters: F is 1 G is 2 A is 3 B is 4. So from F# to Bb is certainly a fourth. Later on, we'll determine specifically what kind of fourth it is. If you're familiar with major chords, you know that FOURTHS don't make up major chords. A major chord is built on a major third interval and a perfect fifth interval. In other words, from C to E is a major third and from C to G is a perfect fifth. Get rid of the duplicate C and you have: C + E + G. This is the c major chord, of course. Basically, what I'm saying is that it would be impossible to form a major chord with F# and Bb because as we've just determined, this interval is a FOURTH. Just based on generic intervals, how then can we correct this problem? How can we make F# to Gb a major third, which can then be correctly used in forming the famous "major chord?" It's simple. Just change one of the notes. Either conform the bottom note to the top note or the top note to the bottom. Right now, there can't be any KIND of F and any KIND of B together or you'll always get a fourth. So, let's transform F#-Bb into a third interval. OPTION #1: Keep the F# and change Bb to A#. Now we have F# and A#. This creates the same exact sound we're looking for in the major chord and is now labeled correctly. But let's count it to make sure this is a generic third interval. Remember, in counting generic intervals, it is not necessary to worry about sharps and flats. You are ONLY dealing with alphabet letters. F is 1 G is 2 A is 3 So F# to A# is now confirmed as a third interval. Later on, we'll determine whether this is a major third, a minor third, or otherwise. This is what we call specific intervals. Right now, we're still in the generic! OPTION #2: Keep the Bb and change the F#. Now we have Gb instead of F# (remember, Gb and F# both make the same sound so nothing is changed about what you hear). They are enharmonic. Uh ohh... new term. Enharmonic just simply means two notes that are equivalent of each other but have different names. C# and Db are enharmonic. To make it even simpler... you'd say "four" and "for" and even "fore" the same way, right? But you spell them differently. They are NOT the same. If you use one for the other, even though they sound the same, you may steer a conversation in a whole different direction. What if I wrote a note to someone saying, "I'll need you for today." That means, I will be needing your assistance today. What if I wrote to the same person, "I'll need you four today," that means something totally different. The person will say, "what four... I don't have three other people to help, just myself." The point is: In music, these things are important. If you use a Gb when you're suppose to say F#, then you could be calling a chord or interval something that it's not. Back to work: If you change F# to Gb and keep the Bb, you have: Gb and Bb Let's confirm that this is, in fact, a third interval: Drop the flats and sharps. Not needed. G is 1 A is 2 B is 3 It confirms. So F# > A# is a third and Gb > Bb is a third. Do you see where I'm going with this? All this stuff is vital. Let's do one more and I'll give you a chart that'll summarize all generic intervals. What is the name of the interval that describes E to D? ___________________________ Answer: Let's count. E is 1 F is 2 G is 3 A is 4 B is 5 C is 6 D is 7 E to D is a seventh. What specific kind of seventh? We'll find out later. But for now, just know that understanding GENERIC INTERVALS is the key to correctly identifying specific intervals. Since the generic name of an interval is not concerned with flats and sharps, you can pretty much say: From some kind of E to some kind of D is a seventh interval. It could be D to E. It could be Db to E. It could be D to Eb It could be Db to Eb. These are all sevenths, generically. Later on, we'll learn how to actually count the number of half steps in between the interval. This will tell us SPECIFICALLY what kind of interval (like major seventh, minor seventh, augmented seventh, etc). Here's a chart that'll make your understanding of this a whole lot easier:
|
Number of letters counted |
Generic interval name |
| 1 | unison |
| 2 | second |
| 3 | third |
| 4 | fourth |
| 5 | fifth |
| 6 | sixth |
| 7 | seventh |
| 8 | octave (eighth) |
Explore these chord types to prepare for future newsletters:
- 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! Take care!
This concludes your 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: http://www.homepianocourse.com
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Yours Truly, Jermaine Griggs www.HearandPlay.com www.GospelKeys.com
Further References"The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear" 300-pg Course [5] Chords & Progressions: pgs 65-78, 105-130, 147-165, 182-227.Do you know what a “2-5-1” or "3-6-2-5-1" progression is? Or perhaps the famous 12-bar blues chord progression? In this piano course, you will not only learn how to play gospel, blues, and jazz progressions, but how to recognize them in songs. In addition, you will learn the simple techniques to playing these progressions, hymns, and songs in all 12 major keys! ... Enjoy learning:
|
The famous "2-5-1" Chord Progression: pgs 114-120, 153-156, 208,
235-236.|
"The
Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear"
300pg Course - Learn the secrets to playing literally any song
on the piano with a few simple, "easy-to-understand" techniques and
principles! Join Jermaine Griggs in learning tons of music theory,
concepts, and tricks that will help you to learn piano by ear! Thousands
of musicians have already taken advantage of this excellent program ...
why not you?
"The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear" is full of easy-to-understand tricks, tips, techniques and secrets to playing piano by ear! For this month only, I've also been able to throw in a few bonus items (3 additional piano software programs). Click here to learn the secrets to playing absolutely any song on the piano in virtually minutes! You won't regret it! |