• Do you know the formula?

    If I ask you what 3 multiplied by 3 is, you’d probably have the answer really quickly — 9.

    If I ask you what 3291 x 176 is, chances are you probably won’t be able to answer as fast as the previous question. But you would be able to get out a sheet of paper and go through the steps necessary to solve this problem. That’s because you know the formula.

    And when you know the formula to something, it doesn’t matter…

    Read the full article →

    A Quick & Easy Way To Add West Coast Flavor To Your Playing

    Over the years, we’ve brought you many west coast gospel musicians – Jonathan Powell, Jason White, Kevin Nickelson, Mike Bereal, to name a few – and without a doubt, they all share a commonality in their playing.

    Don’t get me wrong… they each have their own distinct way of doing things but there is, undoubtedly, this west coast “feel” underlying their playing.

    One simple technique that is common out here is to take a chord, pull out the middle note, and simply…

    Read the full article →

    5 Ways To Improve Your Left Hand

    If you’re like most musicians, you probably struggle with your left hand.

    Unless left-handed, chances are you have a disproportionately stronger, more coordinated right hand. And if you learned to play piano with single bass notes on the left hand and full chords on the right (as many of us do), you kinda get stuck in your ways.

    So when it comes to playing two-hand chord voicings, utilizing the left hand just as much or MORE than the right hand — what can you do to improve it? Here are five things to get you started:

    Read the full article →

    My Favorite Chord Inversion Revealed

    When it comes to chord voicings and inversions, you have many options to explore. And as your chords gets bigger, the possibilities only expand!

    Remember my simple definition of an inversion: It’s simply a different way to order the notes in a chord. More specifically, every note gets its turn on the…

    Read the full article →

    The Key To Playing Altered Passing Chords

    chords101picsmall.jpgYesterday, we discussed how to use diminished passing chords a half step lower to transport us where we want to go.

    Today, we’re going to cover how to use passing chords a half step HIGHER than the target chord. The only difference is we’re not using a diminished 7 chord this time. We’re going to use an altered…

    Read the full article →

    Passing Chords – Use These Chords Almost Anywhere

    passing chords imageToday, I want to cover passing chords. It’s a topic I get asked about often… but it’s a simple concept once you understand it.

    Passing chords help you get to and from main chords in your progression. They may or may not be in the key you’re in. They are like connecting devices, making your music more interesting…

    Read the full article →

    When One Door Closes, Another One’s Destined To Open

    When I was young, my mom was told I’d probably never walk properly.

    I was severely bowlegged. I don’t know if it was full blown Blount’s disease (as that tends to get worse with time whereas bowleggedness tends to straighten out as children develop), but it was bad.

    I wore braces. I even had surgery where they break your…

    Read the full article →