• 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…

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    The secret to inspiring your own flavorful altered chords!

    pianomansmall.jpgI promised yesterday to show you something else you could do with the 3-chord in “Amazing Grace.” As you learned on Thursday, substituting major for minor can sound much better at times. It doesn’t work all the time but it’s usually worth a try. If it sounds worse, you just revert back to using minor… it’s that simple!

    The reason it works is because it’s sort of operating like a 5-chord temporarily…

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    Fancy chords you can outright steal!

    Here is a series of about 15 chords. Keep in mind that there isn’t a specific way to play them. What I recommend is to: 1) Learn and become familiar with each chord 2) Develop a style & rhythm and / or … 3) Try to find ways to include some of the chords into […]

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    Another altered chord progression you can try

    Here’s another combination of “altered” chords: “Cmin11 — F7 (#9#5) — Bbmin9” In the key of “Db major” Here’s how to play it: 1) Bass = C Right hand = Eb + G + Bb + D + F 2) Bass = F Right hand = A + Db + Eb + Ab 3) Bass […]

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    Chord progression with various altered chords

    Here is a chord progression which utilizes a series of “altered” chords: In the key of “Db major“: “Fmin7 (b5) — Bb7 (b9) — Ebmin7 (b5)” 1) Bass = F Right hand = Ab + B + Eb 2) Bass = Bb Right hand = Ab + B + D 3) Bass = Eb Right […]

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