In my last post, I introduced the 5-part “Musician Transformation” system:
Fundamentals Fluency, Chordal Command, Pattern Proficiency, Song Solidity, Ear Efficiency.
We started with the first step, Fundamentals Fluency, which consists of scales, number system, finger exercises, intervals, and rhythm.
Now, we’ll turn to chords!
In Chordal Command, we focus on 5 key areas: Triads, Extended Chords, Inversions, Primary vs Secondary, Voicings.
Triads
As it sounds, triads are 3-note chords.
They are the simplest chords to play.
While some argue over whether a chord starts at 2 or 3 notes (it really doesn’t matter), most consider the triad the smallest chord.
There are 4 main triads:
- Major
- Minor
- Diminished
- Augmented
Examples:
C major
C minor
C diminished
C augmented
I call these the “Fantastic Four” because with these four simple chords, you can play just about any other chord available!
Extended Chords
This is the next phase and as I alluded to above, the “fantastic four” chords help to create extended chords.
For example, to create a major 9 chord, all you really have to do is “stack” two major chords together.
If you know your numbers (as discussed in Fundamentals Fluency), you’ll know the 1st and 5th tones of C major.
Simply play major chords on each of those tones. Since C is the 1st tone of the scale and G is the 5th, that means C major + G major.
Playing C + E + G (C major) and G + B + D (G major) creates a C major 9:
Major 9, minor 9, dominant 9, major 11, minor 11, dominant 11, major 13, minor 13, dominant 13, and many more can be played simply by stacking triads on top of each other.
This entire system is covered in our Musician Transformation program, which is available to all new members of our Gospel Music Training Center.
Inversions
Next is mastering inversions because you can totally transform a chord by simply ordering the notes differently.
The number of notes in the chord generally determine how many inversions are available for the chord.
I like to think of it as every note getting its turn on the bottom.
So if you take this C major 9 chord in root position:
Here are the different inversions for it…
First inversion:
Second inversion:
Third inversion:
Fourth inversion:
Primary vs. Secondary Chords
Not all chords are created equal.
As you start building your chordal vocabulary, it’s important to note which chords are going to occur most often.
In any given key, the 1st, 4th, and 5th tones of the scale are what we call “primary chords.”
These are the most important chords of the key.
All other chords (2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th) are “secondary chords.”
For more information on primary chords, click here.
Voicings
Inversions dealt with the order of notes in a chord (i.e. – “Every note getting its turn on the bottom”).
Voicings not only deal with the order of notes but which notes you choose to double up on, omit, skip, etc.
For example, you could take a typical C major chord:
…Put it in first inversion (E on bottom):
…But voice it this way (pay attention to the “E” on both top and bottom):
Or you could do this:
Or you could do this:
Or you could do this:
Or you could do this:
While there are limited number of inversions (based on how many notes in chord), there are usually many more options available when it comes to how you can voice chords. The quick examples above are proof.
Hope you enjoyed this lesson. Until next time!
JG
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