HearandPlay.com Weekly Newsletter --- Sept 8, 2005
http://www.Hearandplay.com * http://www.pianoweekly.com
Serving 190,000+ Musicians Worldwide!
 
For more information on resources we provide,
call toll free 1-877-856-4187.
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents:
I. Welcome
II. Online Classroom:
       "Easy Ways to Remember Large Chords!"
        http://www.pianoweekly.com
             
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
Dear Member,
 
Welcome to this week's newsletter on easy ways to remember extended chords like major ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, and others! While I'll start the lesson this week, I'll continue the series throughout newsletters to come.
 
...A lot has happened since I last wrote you. In fact, I was so devastated after hearing about the effects of Hurricane Katrina, that I couldn't stay focused enough to release a newsletter last week so I apologize for that.
 
Before I discuss ways to remember large chords below, I just want to take this time to encourage you to join us in donating to the charity of your choice. I've listed websites below for your convenience:
 
American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org
Federal Emergency Management Agency: http://www.fema.gov
Charity Navigator: http://www.charitynavigator.com
America's Second Harvest: http://www.secondharvest.org
Salvation Army: http://katrina.salvationarmy.org
Unicef: http://www.unicef.org
 
Learning piano is great... it's a leisure activity --- but some people haven't had the basic necessities to live from day to day so if you have the comfort to even think about practicing the piano right now, you are indeed blessed. I am blessed. Please remember those that are in need.
 
 
2004/05 Newsletter Archive Available at https://www.hearandplay.com/newsletters
 
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Online Classroom:
 
 "Easy Ways to Remember Large Chords!"
 
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Note: You might want to print this lesson out for easier
reading...
 
Ok... let's get started!
 
As you know, there is a formula for everything! Nothing is random --- even when playing by ear...
 
From the most basic triad (or three-fingered chord) to the largest thirteenth chord, there are easy, systematic ways to remember ALL chords, regardless of size.
 
Let's start basic and then I'll show you how to remember larger chords.
 
If you have the 300pg course, page 50 displays a chart like this:
 
# of notes Type of chord
Three Triad
Four Seventh
Five Ninth
Six Eleventh
Seven Thirteenth
 
 
... If you're just starting out, don't be confused by these names and numbers.
 
Simply put, three-note chords (like a Cmaj or Fmin) are called "triads."
 
As you add tones to the basic triad, you form "sevenths" and "ninths" --- and all the others. We will get into this in a moment.
 
Key Rule: By knowing major scales, you can figure out any triad, seventh, ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth.
 
I always talk about major scales so I won't waste time listing them here. You can find newsletters on them at my new archive site www.pianoweekly.com or in the 300pg course (chapter four).
 
But for now, I'll show the C major scale:
 
C D E F G A B C
 
Basically, to form various chords, you just take notes from the C major scale. Keep in mind that each note of a scale is played individually, one after the other (don't confuse scales and chords).
 
On the other hand, when you are playing chords, you are holding down multiple notes at the same time.
 
In order to apply these simple principles below, you'll have to convert the major scale above to numbers. We've discussed techniques like this in prior weeks (www.pianoweekly.com) .
 
C = 1
D = 2
E = 3
F = 4
G = 5
A = 6
B = 7
 
So...
 
Once you know your major scales as numbers, you can apply these formulas to make any chord you want:
 
Major triads (Ch 5): 1 + 3  + 5
Minor triads (Ch 8): 1 + b3 + 5
Diminished triad (Ch 9): 1 + b3 + b5
Augmented triad: 1 + 3 + #5
 
Major seventh (Ch 10): 1 + 3 + 5 + 7
Minor seventh (Ch 10): 1 + b3 + 5 + b7
Dominant seventh (Ch 10): 1 + 3 + 5 + b7
Half Diminished seventh: 1 + b3 + b5 + b7
Diminished seventh (Ch 13): 1 + b3 + b5 + bb7  (or just think of it as "6")
 
Major ninth (Ch 11): 1 + 3 + 5  + 7 + 9
Minor ninth (Ch 11): 1 + b3 + 5 + b7 + 9
Dominant ninth (Ch 11): 1 + 3 + 5 + b7 + 9
 
and so on... (eleventh chords, thirteenth chords, altered chords, major sixth, minor sixth...)
 
 
Now... let me help you to apply these formulas:
 
In the key of C major, let's say you wanted to play a C maj chord (aka "C major triad"). Since the formula is 1+3+5, simply take the first, third, and fifth tone of the C major scale and play them together.
 
What's the 1st tone of the C major scale?  Answer: C
What's the 3rd tone of the C major scale? Answer: E
What's the 5th tone of the C major scale? Answer: G
 
C major triad: C E G
 
It's that simple.
 
If you're just starting out, you may have run into a problem with the "b3", "b5", or "bb7" and --- that's understandable (I'd be confused too if I were just starting out). Let me explain.
 
Whenever you see a "b" or "#", that simply means to lower or raise the note a half step.
 
"b" means to lower the note a half step. So if you see b3, that means to take the third tone of the scale and lower it one-half step.
 
So if a minor chord is 1 + b3 + 5, in the key of C major, that is:
 
C Eb G
 
Why Eb?
 
Because we simply took the third tone of the scale and lowered it one-half step.
 
With that said, you should be able to figure out all the chords above:
 
Major triads (Ch 5): 1 + 3  + 5
Cmaj: C E G
 
Minor triads (Ch 8): 1 + b3 + 5
Cmin: C Eb G
 
Diminished triad (Ch 9): 1 + b3 + b5
Cdim: C Eb Gb
 
Augmented triad: 1 + 3 + #5
Caug: C E G#
 
Major seventh (Ch 10): 1 + 3 + 5 + 7
Cmaj7: C E G B
 
Minor seventh (Ch 10): 1 + b3 + 5 + b7
Cmin7: C Eb G Bb
 
Dominant seventh (Ch 10): 1 + 3 + 5 + b7
C7 (aka Cdom7): C E G Bb
 
Half Diminished seventh: 1 + b3 + b5 + b7
C half dim7: C Eb Gb Bb
 
Diminished seventh (Ch 13): 1 + b3 + b5 + bb7  (or just think of it as "6")
Cdim7: C Eb Gb A
 
 
 
What about the more extended chords like ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths?
 
What if I told you that you could play any ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth chord by knowing just seventh chords?
 
You can.
 
Major Ninth Chords
 
The formula for a major ninth chord is:
1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9
 
The Cmaj9 chord, for example, is:
 
C E G B D
 
But a shortcut is to simply play an Emin7 over C.
 
C bass   *  E G B D (Emin7) on right hand = Cmaj9
 
So, how can we make this a "rule" to apply to all maj9 chords?
 
 
Simply put, take the iii min7 of any major key.
 
1) Start with the keynote of the major scale. So if you want to play a Cmaj9 chord, the keynote would be "C". Play this on your left hand.
 
2) On your right hand, locate the third tone of the scale and play a minor seventh chord on that tone. So in the key of C, the third tone is E. Therefore, you'd play an Emin7 chord on C bass.
 
For your convenience, here's a list of all twelve major ninth chords:
 
Cmaj9: C + Emin7 chord (C E G B D)
Fmaj9: F + Amin7 chord (F A C E G)
Bbmaj9: Bb + Dmin7 chord (Bb D F A C)
Ebmaj9: Eb + Gmin7 chord (Eb G Bb D F)
Abmaj9: Ab + Cmin7 chord (Ab C Eb G Bb)
Dbmaj9: Db + Fmin7 chord (Db F Ab C Eb)
Gbmaj9: Gb + Bbmin7 chord (Gb Bb Db F Ab)
Bmaj9: B + D#min7 (B D# F# A# C#)
Emaj9: E + G#min7 (E G# B D# F#)
Amaj9: A + C#min7 (A C# E G# B)
Dmaj9: D + F#min7 (D F# A C# E)
Gmaj9: G + Bmin7 (G B D F# A)
 
Let's move on...
 
Minor Ninth Chords
 
Minor ninth chords have a similar formula. Instead of taking the 3rd tone of the scale and playing a minor 7th chord on it (like we did above), simply take the b3rd of the scale and play a major 7th chord on it.
 
So it's sort of like the opposite of the maj9 chord.
 
Maj 9 vs Min 9
 
Maj 9: We took the 3rd tone of the scale and played its minor seventh chord.
Min 9: We will take the b3rd tone of the scale (or the relative major) and play its major seventh chord. Don't worry about relative major/minor --- this would take a few more concepts to explain. For now, just remember the b3 of any key!
 
1) Start with the keynote of the major scale (C for example).
 
2) On your right hand, locate the b3 tone of the scale. That involves finding the natural third tone (E) and lowering it one-half step to Eb. So, to recap, the b3 of C major is "Eb."
 
3) Simply play Ebmaj7 over C bass and there's a nice min9 chord!
 
Cmin9: C + Ebmaj7 chord (C Eb G Bb D)
 
You try the rest...
 
Cmaj9: C + Ebmaj7 chord (C Eb G Bb D)
Fmaj9: _______________________
Bbmaj9: _______________________
Ebmaj9: _______________________
Abmaj9: _______________________
Dbmaj9: _______________________
Gbmaj9: _______________________
Bmaj9: _______________________
Emaj9: _______________________
Amaj9: _______________________
Dmaj9: _______________________
Gmaj9: _______________________
 
 
Next week, I'll teach you easy ways to play eleventh and thirteenth chords using similar formulas.
 
 
Thanks for reading again and I'll see you next week!

Chords to study for future online classroom lessons:

This concludes this week's 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
 
 
Newsletter Archive - Click here or visit https://www.hearandplay.com/newsletters.html
"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!

GospelKeys101.com - The GospelKeysTM 101 Series video course will teach you everything you need to know to get started playing basic hymns and congregational songs. I will show you, 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. Click here to visit www.GospelKeys101.com ...

Click image above for short video clip. (low / medium quality for fast loading)
Click image above for short video clip. (low / medium quality for fast loading)
 GospelKeys300.com - The GospelKeysTM 300 Series video course will teach you everything you need to know to play just about any praise song you can think of! I won't spend time showing you EACH AND EVERY praise song. Rather, I will spend time showing you the five rules that'll allow you to MASTER hundreds of songs by ear. Yes ... I will cover several songs in the video but these are meant to show you EXACTLY how to play all the other songs that follow these same patterns. Click here to visit www.GospelKeys300.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.
Newsletter Archive - Click here or visit https://www.hearandplay.com/newsletters.html