• Here Are Some Of The Chords You Can Apply In CCM Songs

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    There are chords you can apply in CCM songs and they’ll make you sound like your favorite artiste.

    These chords sound really simple unlike some of the chords we’ve come across while learning gospel music. But you really need to learn how to play them if you want your playing to have the CCM sound.

    Attention: CCM is an abbreviation of Contemporary Christian Music.

    Let’s get the part started!

    “Here Are Some Of The Chords You Can Apply In CCM Songs…”

    There are so many ways to approach harmony in Contemporary Christian Music and just this blog cannot do justice to all of it. So, we’ll get started with the use of suspended chords and we’ll continue in another lesson in the not-too-distant future.

    The 1-chord

    On the right hand, we’ll be playing the C su2 chord:

    …over the following notes on the left hand:

    C-G:

    E-C:

    G-E:

    It doesn’t matter what you’re playing on the left hand (whether it’s C-G, E-C, or G-E), the overall harmony would be the 1-chord.

    So, the three harmonies you can play as the 1-chord would be:

    Harmony #1:

    Harmony #2:

    Harmony #3:

    ..and depending on the song and situation,m you can use any of them.

    The 2-chord

    The 2-chord is played as D-A (on the left hand):

    …and on the right hand, you can play any of the following:

    C sus2 chord:

    C sus4 chord:

    …and altogether we have two harmonies for the 2-chord:

    Harmony #1:

    Harmony #2:

    …and it’s up for you to decided the particular 2-chord to play per time.

    The 3-chord

    For the 3-chord, we’re playing E-B (on the left hand):

    …and we are playing the A7sus4 chord on the right hand:

    …and altogether, that’s the 3-chord:

    Some people prefer to play the Csus2 chord:

    …over E on the bass:

    But playing the Csus2 chord over E on the bass:

    …produces something similar to one of the 1-chord harmony we covered earlier:

    The 4-chord

    There are two right hand chords to play as the harmony of the 4-chord and they are:

    C sus2 chord:

    C sus4 chord:

    …and this is similar to what we played on the 2-chord. But on the left hand, we’re either playing F-C:

    …or we’re playing A-F:

    Altogether, mixing and matching those chords would give us the following harmonies:

    Harmony #1:

    Harmony #2:

    Harmony #3:

    Harmony #4:

    …and depending on your taste and what the music requires, you’ll find these chords useful.

    The 5-chord

    The 5-chord puts G-D on the left hand:

    …and then the following chords on the right hand:

    The Csus2 chord:

    The Csus4 chord:

    …and altogether, we have the following harmonies:

    Harmony #1:

    Harmony #2:

    But both chords sound suspended.

    Now, when you don’t need the suspended sound, you have to play B on the bass with the A7sus4 chord on the right hand:

    …and that’s the harmony #3 for the 5-chord.

    The 6-chord

    The 6-chord is very simple to approach.

    All you have to do is to plunk down A-E on the left hand:

    …and play the regular Csus2 chord on the right hand:

    …and you’ll have the 6-chord harmony:

    If you go ahead and play the Csus4 chord:

    …over A on the bass:

    …you’ll have a nice-sounding harmony of the 4-chord — not the 6-chord!

    Final Words

    Using the chords we’ve covered in this lesson, I’m pretty sure that you can have the CCM sound and I want to encourage you to practice these chords in every single key on the keyboard.

    Thank you for your time and see you in the next lesson!

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    Onyemachi "Onye" Chuku is a Nigerian musicologist, pianist, and author. Inspired by his role model (Jermaine Griggs) who has become his mentor, what he started off as teaching musicians in his Aba-Nigeria neighborhood in April 2005 eventually morphed into an international career that has helped hundreds of thousands of musicians all around the world. Onye lives in Dubai and is currently the Head of Education at HearandPlay Music Group and the music consultant of the Gospel Music Training Center, all in California, USA.




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