>NOTE: To learn ALL the techniques and strategies that you’ll need to start playing songs on your own – in all 12 keys – and sounding like you’ve been playing for years, go here:
https://www.hearandplay.com/products
After last week’s e-mail, I received a host of replies. Here’s one that I think will really help you (VERY IMPORTANT STRATEGIES).
***Comment From Kelly W.***
Hi Jermaine,
Thanks for sending such an informative e-mail. I feel like you give so much through your website, blog, and e-mails (maybe too much). Do you ever sleep?
Well, here’s another e-mail to add to your insomnia. :-)
You mentioned the number system and how it is key when it comes to playing music by ear. I totally get that now. But towards the end, you started talking about numbers and patterns but you quickly ended. Kinda left me hanging as I was hanging on your every word up until that point and didn’t want the e-mail to end.
Do you mind expounding on how the number system works with patterns?
A passionate fan, Kelly W.
>>> My Comments (and explanations):
Kelly, first off, thanks so much for your kind words. Yes, I DO sleep (but not nearly as much as I should). My wife says I should be getting in as much sleep as possible RIGHT NOW before our 2nd daughter is born in December. But I’m hard-headed. So enjoy these personal replies while they last :-)!
To recap, YES, the number system is absolutely pivitol in playing music by ear without sheet music. There’s just so much you can do with it. (And it’s so easy to grasp — you just take every major scale you know and NUMBER each of them from 1 to 7… BAMMM! There’s the number system).
But let’s talk about chord patterns for a second…
In playing by ear, you’ll notice that a lot of songs use the same chord patterns over and over again. One popular chord pattern is the 1-4-5 chord progression. (Let me stop — for my beginners, “chord patterns,” “chord progressions,” “chord changes,” “chord ___whatever___” pretty much all mean the same thing).
When I say “1-4-5” in this sense, I’m literally talking about a chord built off the first tone of the scale “moving” (or progressing) to a chord off the fourth tone of the scale… and finally to a chord off the fifth tone of the scale. There are countless possibilities.
In the key of C (ahhhh, amazing how the number system stands on its own two feet… but now let’s move into a specific key)…
In the key of C, a 1-4-5 chord pattern would be some kind of chord on C moving to some kind of chord on F, and finally ending on some type of chord on G. Those notes – C, F, & G – are the 1st, 4th, and 5th degrees of the scale, respectively. In other words, the “root” or “bass” of the chord will determine the number that gets attached to it.
C major. Root (or bass) is C. And C is the first tone of the scale. Therefore, C major is on “the 1.”
Now the reason NUMBERS are important is that I can express tons of patterns like this without being in any particular key. That is why I made the statement above about “coming” into a specific key. See, numbers are like a universal language. I can sit here and chat with a fellow musician all day long and if he or she knows about numbers, our conversation could actually make sense just saying stuff like “1-4-5” or “6-2-5-1” or “2-5-1” or “b5-7-3” (b5 = “flatted 5” and you get it by literally taking the 5th tone of the scale and flatting it a half step).
So that’s why I mentioned how important numbers are when it comes to chord patterns.
Here’s my advice to any musician who wants to get the most out of NUMBERS…
First, master your scales as numbers and be able to call out any number fast. Like if I asked you, “what is the 2nd tone of F,” you should answer within seconds, “G.” If I say “the 7th tone of B,” you should answer “A#” within seconds. I’ve created a free 28-pg report about this very strategy and you can download at: https://www.hearandplay.com/numbers (Enjoy!)
Second, once you’ve mastered numbers and they are second nature to you, start “THINKING” about them as you play songs. For example, if someone taught you these chords in the key of C:
C major > F major > G7 > G/F > E minor > A7 > D minor > G7 > C major
(Believe it or not, this is a very common string of chords). Oh yeah, since I hate for people to be lost, the “G7” is the quick way to write “G dominant 7.” The “G/F” is what we call a slash chord. It means play a G major chord over F bass. Whenever you see a letter without “major” or “minor” or something like that, assume “major.” And if you see a slash, the note on the right of the slash is to be played on your left hand as the bass.
I get carried away, excuse me! :-)
So back to this chord pattern. Once you’ve mastered numbers, you need to be thinking “NUMBERS.” See, if you’re just playing this progression and thinking these are random chords, you’re cheating yourself. But if you think of this string of chords as numbers progressing from one to the other, then you’ll be opened up to a whole new world. Let me explain…
Because there are 12 distinct keys that you can possibly be playing a song in, most people don’t know they are playing the SAME exact thing in other keys. I mean, how can you? Everything feels different. The notes are different, the letters are different, the titles are different. The chords feel different to your hands. etc…
Numbers standardize everything. There can only be a single number per chord. So it doesn’t matter what key you’re in, if you’re thinking in terms of numbers, you have just brought that key into a neutral world.
Example:
F major: ———–
F major > Bb major > C7 > C/Bb > A minor > D7 > G minor > C7 > F major
Did you realize right off the bat that this was the same exact pattern I displayed above in C? Most WOULDN’T because the notes are different. It throws most people off so they continue playing these two separate chord progressions in different keys NOT KNOWING they are playing the same thing!
Let’s analyze:
C major ———–
C major > F major > G7 > G/F > E minor > A7 > D minor > G7 > C major
1 > 4 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 6 > 2 > 5 > 1
(I just took the keynotes of each chord and figured out their “numbers.”)
For example, in the C major chord, C is the keynote (the title). It is the first tone of C major (duhh!). F major is the next chord. It’s the 4th tone of C major. G7 is the next chord. It’s the 5th tone of C major. (You just keep doing this until you’ve analyzed each chord). At the end, you have this chord pattern in numbers:
1 > 4 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 6 > 2 > 5 > 1
Now, if you do the same thing to the “F major” chord progression I posted above, you’ll get these numbers:
F major: ———–
F major > Bb major > C7 > C/Bb > A minor > D7 > G minor > C7 > F major
1 > 4 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 6 > 2 > 5 > 1
Lightbulb yet?
It’s the SAME pattern but you probably didn’t know that if you don’t already think in terms of numbers. Most musicians would have treated these progressions as two separate “things” because they look different.
But at the core, when you strip all the letters away, they are the same. Hmmm, “MESSAGE!” Everyone comes in different shapes, colors, and sizes. But when you strip all that away, we are all the same! :-)
The third thing to do is to just get fast at being able to figure this out WHILE you’re playing. That’s all. After you do it so much, you’ll just ‘think’ that way. It’s a paradigm shift from the standard way of playing. You’ll be there soon.
So, we’re full circle. Back to numbers and their importance.
You may be thinking, “Jermaine! How do I ‘think’ in terms of numbers?”
Well, it’s not something you overdo. It’s just something you’re “aware” of. As you’re playing, you force yourself to think: “Ok, I’m on the ____ tone of the scale.” That’s it! It’s simple! Over time, it will become second nature.
Then, you’ll see just how EVERYTHING YOU PLAY (or 80% of it) boils down to the same exact patterns. You can’t see it now because you’re thinking in terms of letters. “Letters” are sort of the enemy of playing in all 12 keys. Just two hard to memorize all the letters. But if you get good at memorizing the universal numbers for all the patterns and chords you play, you won’t go wrong.
To learn other unique techniques and strategies you can use to master the number system and take your playing to the next level, go to the link below. I recommend either my 300-pg course or my Starter 702 audio course (or BOTH). The Starter 702 course is cheap… a steal… $17 bucks and covers much of what I’ve talked about here… but with my VOICE and piano explaining everything. If you’re serious, check it out:
https://www.hearandplay.com/products
(It’s in the CORE ESSENTIALS section).
Talk soon,
Jermaine
P.S. – This old video I did several months ago will really help you with numbers as well…
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