HearandPlay.com June 2006 Newsletter
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"I'm going to introduce you to
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Contents:
I. Welcome
II. Announcements
III. Online Classroom:
"How to instantly
figure out chords to simple melodies"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Musician,
Welcome to my June 2006
newsletter. I'm so excited to be writing this issue NOT because it's
the first issue of the upcoming summer season (...I'd normally be excited about the summer
coming in).
...But this summer, I have
something extra special to be excited
about. It's the birth of my first child. Her name is Jadyn Olivia Griggs, born
June 8, 2006 at 8:08 pm.
Get
this. She was 9 pounds, 6 ounces! She has long hair like her mom, nice fingers
like her daddy, and is already being prepared to play her favorite nursery
rhymes by ear (before the age of 3 or 4)!!!
And to celebrate her
birth, I thought it'd be fun in this issue
to teach musicians how to
harmonize (or put
chords behind) famous nursery rhymes. It's very cool to be able to think of a
nursery rhyme or put on a cd from one of those Baby EinsteinTM
collections and be able to play it for your son or daughter... right on the
spot!
The
good news is that the method of playing nursery rhymes by ear (without sheet
music) is very easy. In fact, my newly re-produced
GospelKeys 101 90-minute dvd course specializes in teaching you how to harmonize
melodies. In the past, you may have thought that GospelKeys 101 was just for
gospel music.
In actuality, GospelKeys
101 teaches a three-step process that can really be applied to not only
hymns and congregational songs, but nursery rhymes, folk songs, and even
complex tunes with noticeable melodies. In fact, the same chords I use in the
GospelKeys 101 90-minute dvd to harmonize "Jesus Loves Me" are the same chords I can use
to harmonize "Are you sleeping" or "Mary had a little lamb."
So...
In this issue, to
celebrate the birth of my newborn daughter, let's take some nursery rhymes and (1)
determine the melody
of each and (2) harmonize them with full-sounding chords. The third (3) step
is to add our left-hand bass accompaniment. You can find this covered in
either the GK101 dvd or my 300-pg home study course.
All this can be mastered
in a matter days, if not hours! Start today!
I hope you enjoy this issue!
"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! |
GospelKeys 101 Learning System
GospelKeys
101
will teach you everything you need to know to get
started playing basic hymns and congregational songs
by ear. If you're a beginner and would like your
very own gospel piano teacher on dvd, this
course is definitely for you! This dvd course moves
at a very comfortable pace and leaves no questions
unanswered.
You will be shown, step-by-step, how to
harmonize every single tone of the major scale
--- AND
since songs are based on
melodies (and melodies are based on major
scales), you'll be able to harmonize MOST
songs immediately after learning these concepts.
In 90 minutes,
you'll learn a variety of chords, inversions,
melodies, and will be playing over a half-dozen
songs by the end!
Note: This course may not be suitable for "ultra"
advanced players. This is a basic "101"
course on harmonization and creation of simple hymns
and congregational songs (and even nursery rhymes
and lullabies).
Click
here to learn more
or call 1-877-856-4187 |
|
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Newsletter Archive -
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
Online
Classroom:
"How
to instantly figure out chords to simple melodies"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: You might want to
print this lesson out for easier reading...
Before I teach you the
secrets to instant harmonization of melodies, check out these 2-minute audio
examples I created back in December 2003 before the release of my GospelKeys
101 course. These demonstrations will give you a good understanding
of the 3 steps and what you'll be trying to accomplish after reading this
newsletter.
Harmonizing melodies is
different than laying chords beneath a melody.
You may have heard of fake
books and chord charts where you are given chords to play under various
melodies. Jazz standards are usually notated this way.
For example, the chord
chart may display a "Cmaj7" over a particular bar with a melody line beneath
it. To some extent, you have to know how to read sheet music (at least to read
the melody line).
Harmonizing melodies, to
me, is much easier. In fact, I honestly believe it can be mastered in a matter
of weeks, if not days, or even hours.
Once you know the system, you'll never forget it and you'll be
able to apply these same techniques to dozens of songs! This is how
hymns and popular music are
played.
I'll give you a lot more
songs when I revisit this topic in future newsletters, but just to demonstrate
my point, let's take "Mary had a little lamb" since everyone knows this
nursery rhyme (...little Jadyn loves this tune).
With this method, if you
can sit at your piano and pick out the one-note melody, then you're 30 seconds
from playing it as a full-sounding
song.
Because the chords that
harmonize notes hardly ever change --- only the notes themselves.
So if there are 8 notes in
a major scale (really only 7 unique notes but the octave note makes 8) --- and
you know the "matching" chord
for each one of those notes, then you have what it takes to play full-sounding
chords in place of your one-note melodies.
Let me explain...
Say, after 10 minutes at
the piano, you've managed to learn "Mary had a little lamb" (and believe me,
it's not that hard to pick out a melody --- small children do it if you leave
them at the piano long enough).
It's not rocket science.
I believe everyone has the
ear to sit down and pick out a melody (especially if you know your
major scales because most
melodies come directly from the scales). So if a major scale has eight notes
and most melodies are formed with a combination of passing tones, upper and
lower neighboring tones, and chord tones, then it shouldn't take hours to
learn melodies of popular songs.
Passing tones...? Upper
neighboring tones...?
Lower neighboring tones?
Chord tones? What?
You're probably wondering
what these are.
I discuss these things in
detail in chapter 17 of my
300-pg course, but for now, I'll explain them briefly:
Passing Tones
Melodies include tones
that are not a part of the chord used for the harmony. These non-chord tones
are called non-harmonic tones. When a melody passes from one chord tone to a
different chord tone with a non-harmonic tone (a half or whole step) between,
the non-harmonic tone is called a passing tone (pg
252, "The Secrets to Playing Piano by Ear").
What does this mean?
Simply put, if you were
playing the beginning of "Mary had a little lamb" (E - D - C - D - E - E - E)
over a Cmaj chord, the 'D' notes in this sequence would be passing tones
because they are not a part of the C major chord (C + E + G). Notice the 'E'
and "C' notes are a part of the C major chord so they are not called passing
tones --- they are called chord
tones.
Neighboring Tones
When a melody passes from
one chord tone back to the same chord
tone with a non-harmonic tone
(a half or whole step) between, the non-harmonic tone is called a neighboring
tone.
What does this mean?
Basically, passing and
neighboring tones function similarly but have one minor difference --- the
next note. If the melody is going to a different note and just "passing by" a
non-harmonic note (again... simply a note that ISN'T a part of the chord being
used with the melody), then it's called a passing tone. As simple as that.
If the melody is moving
from one chord tone to a next door neighbor tone, then immediately back to the
original chord tone, the "in-between" tone is called a neighboring tone. If
you don't get this, it's better illustrated with pictures. I strongly
recommend my course if you
think this is interesting and want to learn more.
Whether you call them
upper or lowering neighboring tones depends on which way the melody is going.
It is an upper neighboring
tone when it is above the chord tone and a lower neighboring tone when it is
below the chord tone.
Let's see how well you
understand this:
________________________________________________________
Is this
an example of a passing tone or neighboring tone?
Chord: C maj (C+E+G)
Melody: C D C
Answer: This is an example
of a neighboring tone relationship because the "D" is not a part of the notes
of the chord AND because the melody is going from the "D" back
to the original "C" chord tone. Whenever the melody uses a note to return back
to a previous chord tone, then a neighboring tone relationship exists.
The "D" is specifically an
upper neighboring tone because it is higher than the original "C" chord tone.
_________________________________________________________
Is this an example of a
passing tone or neighboring tone?
Chord: D min (D+F+A)
Melody: D E F
Answer: This is an example
of a passing tone relationship because the E is not a part of the Dmin chord
(so it's non-harmonic) AND because the melody is moving forward
to a different chord tone ("F"). For example, if the melody was D E D, then a
neighboring tone relationship would have been the correct answer. However,
since the "E" is used to move forward to "F", another chord tone, this creates
a passing tone relationship between the "E" and the other chord tones.
How does knowing this information help you to
determine melodies?
For starters, it
helps you to understand that melodies aren't just randomly played notes that
you have to figure out... they generally use notes that are right next to each
other.
Let's analyze "Mary had a little lamb" to see what
I'm talking about:
E D C D E E E
(Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb)
D D D (lit-tle
lamb)
E G G (lit-tle
lamb)
E D C D E E E E
(Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb, her)
D D E D C (fleece
was white as snow)
Now... ask yourself a few questions?
Are these notes
randomly spread out or do you see patterns here?
Do you see a
bunch of passing and neighboring tones like I do?
Are the notes
generally right next to each other (and not more than one note a part when
there is a jump like from the E to G in the third line)?
Let's analyze
another easy nursery rhyme / lullaby:
"Are you
sleeping"
C D E C (Are you
sleep-ing)
C D E C (Are you
sleep-ing)
E F G (Bro-ther
John)
E F G (Bro-ther
John)
G A G F E C
(Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)
G A G F E C
(Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)
C G C (Ding dong
ding)
C G C (Ding dong
ding)
So how do I harmonize these melodies ...
already?!!!
This is where I
want to introduce the
"harmonization" chart. But first, here are some rules to keep in mind:
1. Every note in
a major scale has its own harmonizing chord. Usually this chord features the
note of the scale as its highest tone (will discuss more below).
2. Whenever a
note is played, simply replace it with its harmonizing chord.
3. When all
one-note melodies have been replaced with harmonizing chords, you have a
full-sounding basic song.
Let's take the C
major scale (but keep in mind that every major scale has its own harmonizing
chords). Try to take my patterns and learn them in the other 11 major keys and
you'll do yourself a great service!
When melody note is: |
Simply play this chord: |
C |
E + G + C (played all
at the same time) |
D |
F + A + D |
E |
G + C + E |
F |
A + C + F |
G |
C + E + G |
A |
C + F + A |
B |
D + G + B |
C |
E + G + C |
Do you notice
anything unique about the harmonizing chords?
If you noticed
that the highest note of the chord always matches the melody note, then you
are absolutely correct.
In essence, since
you are replacing a melody note with a chord, in most cases, you'll still want
to preserve the melody (... you'll want to hear the melody clearly) so by
playing these particular chords, the highest note of each chord IS
ALMOST ALWAYS THE MELODY.
(This may all
seem strange because I don't have lots of room to explain myself with pictures
and illustrations. Of course, some people will grasp on right away).
If you're serious
about learning harmonization, visit:
https://www.hearandplay.com/special?harmonycourse to check out my course.
So, all you have
to do is take the melodies above and replace them with the appropriate chords.
I'll copy the melodies to "Mary had a little lamb" and "Are you sleeping" so
that you can try it on your own below.
I'll also post the answers
below to make sure you fully understand this harmonization process.
Mary had a little lamb
I'll do the first one for you.
E D C D E E E
(Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb)
_____________________________________
G+C+E (Ma)
F+A+D (ry)
E+G+C (had)
F+A+D (a)
G+C+E (lit)
G+C+E (tle)
G+C+E (lamb)
Notice that the original
melody note is still on top! That's the whole point of using the harmonizing
chart I've created for you above. The song still sounds like "Mary had a
little lamb", the melody is still obvious, but with the addition of
full-sounding harmony!
Note: You might find it
awkward to play a chord for every single melody note, especially if a
particular melody note goes by very fast. It is not necessary to always
harmonize every single note. Sometimes, you can play a harmonizing chord ---
then play the next "single note" of the melody right after it ---- then follow
up with the next harmonizing chord.
For example, you can play
{G+C+E} for the first part of Mary ["Ma"] but only play the single
note, "D," for the second half of Mary ["ry"]. Then, of course, you can
proceed to the {E+G+C} chord for the melody note that goes with "had." The
ultimate secret is to rely
on your ear to find out what sounds right.
If it sounds right, then it works!
Your
turn...
D D D (lit-tle
lamb)
_____________________________________
________ (lit)
________ (tle)
________ (lamb)
E G G (lit-tle
lamb)
_____________________________________
________ (lit)
________ (tle)
________ (lamb)
E D C D E E E E
(Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb, her)
______________________________________
________ (Ma)
________ (ry)
________ (had)
________ (a)
________ (lit)
________ (tle)
________ (lamb)
________ (her)
D D E D C (fleece
was white as snow)
______________________________________
________ (fleece)
________ (was)
________ (white)
________ (as)
________ (snow)
If you've chosen the right
harmonizing chords, then you should have a nice full-sounding arrangement of
Mary had a little lamb above. If not, just try it again until it works.
Lastly, try taking "Are
you sleeping" and do the same thing you did above. This time, I won't provide
you with a template. You'll have to do it all on your own:
"Are you
sleeping"
C D E C (Are you
sleep-ing)
C D E C (Are you
sleep-ing)
E F G (Bro-ther
John)
E F G (Bro-ther
John)
G A G F E C
(Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)
G A G F E C
(Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)
C G C (Ding dong
ding)
C G C (Ding dong
ding)
Answers to both songs:
"Mary
had a little lamb"
E D C D E E E (Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb)
_____________________________________
G+C+E (Ma)
F+A+D (ry)
E+G+C (had)
F+A+D (a)
G+C+E (lit)
G+C+E (tle)
G+C+E (lamb)
D D D (lit-tle lamb)
_____________________________________
F+A+D (lit)
F+A+D
(tle)
F+A+D
(lamb)
E G G (lit-tle lamb)
_____________________________________
G+C+E
(lit)
C+E+G (tle)
C+E+G (lamb)
E D C D E E E E (Ma-ry had a lit-tle lamb, her)
_____________________________________
G+C+E (Ma)
F+A+D (ry)
E+G+C (had)
F+A+D (a)
G+C+E (lit)
G+C+E (tle)
G+C+E (lamb)
G+C+E (her)
D D E D C (fleece was white as snow)
______________________________________
F+A+D
(fleece)
F+A+D
(was)
G+C+E
(white)
F+A+D (as)
E+G+C
(snow)
"Are you
sleeping"
C D E C (Are you sleep-ing)
______________________________________
E+G+C (Are)
F+A+D (you)
G+C+E (sleep)
E+G+C (ing)
C D E C (Are you sleep-ing)
______________________________________
E+G+C (Are)
F+A+D (you)
G+C+E (sleep)
E+G+C (ing)
E F G (Bro-ther John)
______________________________________
G+C+E (Bro)
A+C+F (ther)
C+E+G (John)
E F G (Bro-ther John)
______________________________________
G+C+E (Bro)
A+C+F (ther)
C+E+G (John)
G A G F E C (Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)
______________________________________
C+E+G (Morn)
C+F+A (ing)
C+E+G (bells)
A+C+F (are)
G+C+E (ring)
E+G+C (ing)
G A G F E C (Morn-ing bells are ring-ing)
______________________________________
C+E+G (Morn)
C+F+A (ing)
C+E+G (bells)
A+C+F (are)
G+C+E (ring)
E+G+C (ing)
C G C (Ding dong ding)
______________________________________
E+G+C (Ding)
B+D+G (dong) ---
use different harmonization type
E+G+C (ding)
C G C (Ding dong ding)
______________________________________
E+G+C (Ding)
B+D+G (dong) ---
use different harmonization type
E+G+C (ding)
Recap time...
You now have a formula:
A) Determine a melody to
any song
B) Replace the melody
notes with harmonizing chords making sure to keep the melody note as the
highest tone of each chord (see chart above)
C)
Add bass (or left hand) ---
We'll cover this in another newsletter or you can just get my courses to
explore this since I'm running out of space here.
There you have it. I hope
you've benefited from this lesson. Let me know on my message board.
Explore these chord types to prepare for future
newsletters:
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!
Enjoy this edition? Visit
our message board and let us know!
https://www.hearandplay.com/board
Please Let a friend know
about HearandPlay.com! PLEASE FORWARD
THIS
NEWSLETTER TO YOUR ENTIRE E-MAIL ADDRESS BOOK.
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.
I - IV - I - V - I Chord Progressions: pgs 66-70.
I - IV - V - IV - I Chord Progressions: pgs 77-78.
Techniques behind the famous "5-->1" progression: pgs 68-72.
I --> IV, I --> V Chord Progressions: pgs 74-75.
"Circle of Fifths" Chord Exercises: pg 78.
Major and Minor Chord Progressions: pgs 105-130.
"6 - 2 - 5 - 1" Chord Progressions: pgs 121-122, 157-159.
"3 - 6 - 2 - 5 - 1" Chord Progressions: pgs 122-123, 160-162.
"7 - 3 - 6 - 2 - 5 - 1" Chord Progressions: pgs 124-125, 190-191.
Gospel Chord Progressions ... ranging from "up-tempo praise"
chord Progressions to "worship-oriented" chord progressions: pgs
65-78, 105-130, 147-165, 182-227.
Various Blues Progressions ... 12-bar, seventh chords, diminished
chords ... and others: pgs 163-165, 192.
Jazz Chord Progressions ... using dominant ninth, eleventh and
thirteenth chords: pgs 193-240
Study the different types of Root Progressions --- closing,
opening, circular and other types of progressions: pgs 121-122.
Study how chord tones and scale degrees relate to each other [which
chord progressions are most likely to be compatible]: pgs 122-130.
Learn various "turn-around" progressions [used in gospel music]:
pg 213-214.
If you don't have the
300-pg Course,
click here to read
more about it.
|
"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! |
Newsletter Archive -
Click here or visit
https://www.hearandplay.com/newsletters.html
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