speed read piano

HOW TO SPEED READ PIANO CHORD SYBMOLS

HOW TO SPEED READ PIANO CHORD SYMBOLS

Index of Chapters

INTRODUCTION

About the System Page 1 About “Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method”

CHAPTER 1

Chord Basics 2 The note names on the piano How chords are named The intervals you’ll need to know

CHAPTER 2

Fourths Page 51 How to Find Fourths How to Use Fourths to Find Major Chords

CHAPTER 3

Major 7th Chords Page 65 How to use the starting position to find Major 7th chords using smooth voice leading. How to move from Major 7th chord to Major 7th chord

CHAPTER 4

Minor 7th Chords Page 78 How to use the starting position to find Minor 7th chords How to move from Minor 7th chord to minor 7th chord using smooth voice leading.

CHAPTER 5

Dominant 7th Chords Page 84 How to use the starting position to find Dominant 7th Chords.

Moving from Dominant 7th to Dominant 7th

Moving from Minor 7th to Dominant 7th (The “two – five” pattern)

CHAPTER 6

Diminished 7th Chords Page 96 Using the starting position to find diminished 7th chords How Dominant and Diminished chords relate More tricks to find Diminished chords

CHAPTER 7

Major and Minor Chords Page 103 Using the starting position to find major and minor chords “Greensleeves” ”Be Still My Soul”

CHAPTER 8

The Extra Stuff Page 116 An introduction to 9ths and 13ths Slash Chords

CHAPTER 9

Using the System Page 132 “The Water is Wide” “They Didn’t Believe Me

”

Introduction I N T R O D U C T I O N

Introduction part 1: Breaking chords down to their essential elements

When people first start to learn to play piano chords, they probably learn a few of them either out of a chord encyclopedia or out of a general book on how to play piano. The problem with the way chords are taught in these books is that they demonstrate the chords in a way they are easy to understand, rather than in a way in which they’ll sound the best. So, you’ll learn a chord usually all in one octave starting around middle C.

C Major – as you might see it in a chord encyclopedia

Middle C R

You’ll notice that we have of the Root. The problem is, you’ll hardUsually, only part of the chand the right hand. In this book, we’ll learn hoare easy to find and play. Athat sounds great – another Let’s look again at the chornecessary – so let’s drop it most essential elements andbasics of the system. Latergrandfather the circus clowtrying to juggle six balls, a s5th. That will give us this:

1

four notes here, the Root, t

ly ever see a C chord in muord is used, and usually it’s

w to structure your chords lso, we’ll learn how to mov thing a chord encyclopedi

d diagram of the C chord. for now. We want to simp leave out the extra stuff w

, you’ll be very glad that wen always used to say, “learncimitar, and a flaming torch

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R
3 5
he 3rd, the 5th and the octave

sic used in this fashion. divided up between the left

so that they sound great and e between chords in a way

a can’t teach you.

First of all, the 5th is not lify the chords and learn the hile we are learning the kept it simple. As my to juggle three balls before .” So for now leave out the

1

N A T E ’ S T H R E E F I N G E R P I A N O M E T H O D

C Major – leaving out the unnecessary fifth

R Now another thing we’re gcan double. While doublinsounding thing to do whenunnecessary – so again, let’higher Root.

C Major – leaving o

Now we are down to the es Now we’re going to do onethe Root down the octave.

C Major – Root drop

Play in left hand

R When you listen to music oand there are chords playedand there is usually a bass lwhen we play on the pianodown into the bass range, wbass.

2

oing to learn in the book isg the Root of the chord is p you want your chord to sos leave out the unnecessary

ut the unnecessarily dou

R

sential elements in a C cho

more thing to the chord, w

ped down the octave

n the radio, there is usually on such instruments as a p

ine. We want to imitate the. By dropping the Root dohere it might be played on

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R

what notes in a chord you erfectly fine and nice

und fuller, it is also elements. So take off the

bling of the Root

rd: the Root and the 3rd.

hich is we’re going to drop

3

3

3

a melody line (usually sung) iano, keyboard or guitar, se three distinct voices wn an octave, we move it a string bass or an electric


Introduction part 2: Chord Quality

When you learn piano chords, it’s better to understand how they are constructed than to memorize them one by one. This is because there are patterns in the way chords are constructed that will allow you remember them more easily. For example, many chords are one note away from being other chords. The chord:

C Major 7th

3 has only one note differen

Do you see how only the What if next time you waencyclopedia, you said to Knowing how chords arechord encyclopedias. Knowing how chords aremore creatively and imprchord more smoothly to choose depending on the

R

t from

C Dominant 7th

3
R
middle note is diff

nted to figure out a yourself, “Oh, I’ll

constructed will k

constructed also wovising. Specificallthe next, and you’l melody note.

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7

7

erent?

chord, ijust take

eep you f

ill help yy, you’ll kl know w

nstead of looking in a chord the middle note down a key”?

rom having to always refer to

ou when you get into playing now how to move from one

hich notes in a chord to


As yoare o Learnthem The f

Chart 1: Seven Flavors of C chords

Dominant7th

Major 7th

Minor

Major Diminished 7th

Minor 7th

Diminished

u can see from the notes written underneath the staff, most of these chords nly a note or two different from the rest of the chords.

ing the differences between these seven different qualities and how to find quickly is the major focus of this book.

irst chord above in chart 1 would look like this on the keyboard.

C Major 7th

E
C
In this book, the notes played in the right hand are written in notation AND written below the staff, for those who don’t read music

Play

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B

ed in righ

t hand


Seventh Chords All Seventh chords are made up of these three chord elements: The Root, the 3rd and the 7th. In fact, Seventh chords are so named because they contain the 7th. As you’ll remember from above, to make a simple C chord, all you needed was

the Root and the 3rd.

To Make a C major 7th chord, you would need

the Root, the 3rd

and the 7th.

The first four chords below are 7th chords.

The Root of the chord is in the name of the chord. The Root of all these chords is the note C.

The next row is the 7th of these chords

The top row is the 3rd of these chords

Both the 3rd of a Seventh chord and the 7th of a Seventh chord can either be Major or Minor. See in chart 1 how some of the notes have the note “E” and some have the note “Eb”? “E” is the Major 3rd above C. “Eb” is the minor 3rd of above C. Depending on the pattern of 3rds and 7ths in the chord, it will be one of these qualities of 7th chords.

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Here are the four seventh chords above put on a piano diagram for you. Play through them and notice how the Major and Minor 3rds and 7ths sound.

C Major Seventh

3

R

Major 7th and Major 3rd

C Minor Seventh

7
R
Minor 7th and Minor 3rd

C Dominant Seventh

3

Minor 7th but Major 3rd – creates Major vs. Minor clash!

C Diminished Seventh
R
R

Diminished 7clash as in Doand 7th down

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th

m a

7

7

7

and Minoinant, bu

half-step)

3

3

r 3rd (same t with both 3rd


Non-Seventh Chords The last three chords below are non-seventh chords.

The top row is the 3rd of these chords

The next row is the 5th

of these chords The non-seventh chords that you’ll learn in this book are commonly called triads, because they traditionally use three notes, the Root, the 3rd and the fifth. But you don’t need the fifth, you could simply play the Root and 3rd.

C Major

3 5
R
C Minor Major 3rd

5
R
Minor 3rd C Diminished
R
Flat Fifth

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3

3
5


Introduction part 3: Chord Quality determined by 3rd and 7th of chord

Look at the chart below. You’ll see the same seven qualities of C chords we saw previously in chart 1, except that now the interval from the Root of the chord is written underneath the staff instead of the note name.

If a chord has a minor 3rd, it will have a mellower, sadder sound.

If a chord has a major 3rd, it will have a brighter more energetic sound.

Minor chord (m)

Diminished chord (dim) Minor 7th chord (m7)

Diminished 7th chord (dim7)

Major chord (no symbol) Major 7th chord (M7) Dominant chord (7)

Root with Minor 3rd (C and Eb)

Ro
R
ot with Major 3rd (C and E)

These three chord qualities will contain at 3
R
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3
These four chord qualities will contain at least the Root and the Minor 3rd.
least the Root and the Major 3rd


Using Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method, you’ll find the starting position for a chord, and then you’ll learn how to move the fingers in order to reach the final chord. This is going to save a lot of time during the learning process.

Starting position

Do you see which notes mactual chord? That’s right, Learning the chords usingqualities of chords with th For example, how

relates to

R

Actual Cho

oved between the St the top two notes both m

this starting positione same root are relate

C Major 7t

C Minor 7t

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R

rd

3
R
arting position above and the oved to the left.

will help you to see how different d.

h

3

h
R
R

7

7

7

3

4


Do you notice how in the C Minor 7th chord the 7th and the 3rd are down one key from where they are in the C Major 7th chord? Here the 7th and 3rd are Major:

C Major 7th

3 And here the 7th and 3rd are Minor:

C Minor 7th

This relationship will be tknow this logic, you’ll kn For example, if you need top two notes down a hal The top two keys of

1

R

R

rue for all Majorow how to find c

to find F Minor f-step each.

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7

7ho

7t

7

th and Mrds yo

h from F

3

inu

Since the quality of a chord is determined by the 3rd and 7th of the chord,all we need to make a great sounding chord is the root, the seventh andthe third. There are many more notes you can add, but at first you’ll want to keep it simple

If the chord is a non-7th chord, all you’ll is the Root and the 3rd

or 7th chords. Once you haven’t memorized!

Major 7th, you’ll just lower the


F Minor 7th

are each down one key from the top two keys of

F Major 7th

. Ok, well, how do we find the 7th and 3rd? From the reference point, from this starting position. The starting position will put us close to the 3rd and 7th, but leave open whether they are major and minor. For example, the starting position for all C Chords will look like this:

Starting position for C chords

C, C and F

or

the Root, Root and 4th from the note C.

Here’s the starting position written with the note names


F Well learn rules on how tstarting position.

1

C

o arrive at the differen

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C

R

R

R
R
t qu

7

al

7

ities of

3

ch

3

4

ords from the


For example. To find C Major 7th, you would know to move the top two notes down a half-step from the starting position.


If you want to get into th

The Major 3rd is d and the

The Major 7th is d But instead of thinking offind them as a unit! Onc

1

R

C Major 7t

e nitty-gritty theory of

own a half-step from

own a half-step from

these pitches individe you know how to fin

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R

h
R 7
it,

the 4t

the R

ually, d the

3

h

oot

the sta

4

Top 2 notes down ½ step for Major 7th chords:

.

system will allow you to rting position, and you


start to learn the rules on how to find certain qualities, you’ll find you can read chord symbols very quickly. In fact, I taught one student who had played piano for years but didn’t know how to read chord symbols. She learned the system and played very well with it after only 20 minutes! Now many of you it will take weeks to master because you don’t have the foundation in theory that she had. But if you’ll take the time to understand the logic, the system will fall into place for you very quickly!

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The Essentials of Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method Here’s a quick sketch of the system. If this doesn’t make sense yet, don’t worry, I’ll work through this in more detail in the upcoming chapters. 1. m7 chords. If the chord is a Minor seventh chord, move the top two notes down two keys (two half-steps) each from the starting position.

C Minor 7th

2. M7 chords. If the down one key (one half-s

3. 7 chords. If the chdown one key and the mi

4. dim7 chords. If tdown two keys and the m

1

R

chord is a Major seventh chord, move the top two notes teps) each from the starting position.

C Major 7th

ord is a dominant seventh chord, move the top note ddle note down two.

C Dominant 7th
R
he chord is a diminished seventh, move the top note iddle note down three.

C Diminished 7th
R
R

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7

7

7

7

3

3

3

3


The Essentials of Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method for Non-Seventh Chords

1. m chords. If the chord is a Minor chord, move the top note down two keys (two half-steps) from the starting position; then move the middle note down a 4th (I’ll teach you fourths soon!)

C Minor

2. M chords. If the ch(one half-step) from the s

3. dim chords. If thetwo keys (two half-steps)down a 4th, and then movfifth!)

1

R

ord is a Major chord, move the top note down one key tarting position; then move the middle note down a 4th.

C Major
R
chord is a Diminished chord, move the top note down from the starting position; the move the middle note e the middle note down a half-step (so that it’s the flat

C Diminished
R
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3

3

3

5

5

5


A Note on Fingering: Depending on the melody note, you may use different fingering. Generally for now, play the root in the left and all the other notes in the right. This is how you would play if you’re doing chord stabs in the right hand and a walking bass in the left.

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A more advanced discussion of mixing the melody and the chords The following discussion maybe too difficult for those who are very new to reading music, so if you find this too much to grasp, skip it for now and go on to chapter 1.

The first thing we’re going to learn is how to find chords from the symbols written in popular fake books. Look at the example below. You’ll see a written melody with chord symbols written above certain notes. You will hit the chords on those notes.

As you become more sophisticated in your playing, you may hit them around those notes. There are many ways to do this, and we will get into those in later chapters.

To understand the sort of thinking involved in playing the above example, I want to walk you through it. You obviously, don’t know how to find the elements of the chords yet, so just pretend you do, for a minute so that you can understand where I’m taking you in the book, before you set out on the journey!

On the word “am” from “I am a melody”, you’ll see you have the note E in the melody and a CM7 chord written above. Using Nate’s three finger piano method, you’ll learn to find a CM7 chord quickly.

So assuming you already know this, you’ll see that you’ll need to play:

C in the left hand (the Root)

B and E in the right hand

E in the melody (which always goes on top)

Now since E is both the top note of your chord, and the melody note (which should generally go on top), you see you have some overlap. This means, you’ll only be playing 3 notes, instead of the four notes you would play if the melody note were different from the notes in the chord.

So it would look like this on the keyboard:

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C Major 7th

R 3

The R stands for Ro

The 7 stands for the

The 3 stands for the

OK, so now let’s look at thyou’ll see we have Am7 with

So again assuming you alread

A in th

G and

C in th

Now, again you’ll see the redundant, so again, you’ll on

A Minor 7th

R

As in the last emelody and thchord are the s

18

ot, which will be played in the left hand.

Both the melody and the top note of the chord

7th of the chord, and it will be middle note (for now)

3rd of the chord, and it will be the top note (for now)

e next part of this selection. On the “dy” of “melody”, C (an octave above middle C) in the melody.

y know the method, you’ll see that you need:

e left hand (the Root)

C in the right hand

e melody (which always goes on top)

the top note of your chord and the melody note are ly play three notes.

3

xample, the e top note of the ame.

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7

7


OK, let’s look at the next part. Using Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method, you’ll see that you need:

D in the left hand (the Root)

C and F in the right hand

E in the melody (which always goes on top)

Now we have a problem. It’s much easier when the melody and the top of the chord are the same note. So we need to put E on top, so take the F (the top note of the chord) down the octave and you’ll have a decent solution:

This is how Dm7 usually looks:

D Minor 7th

7 3

Now if you add the melody notoctave, so as not to conflict with

Dm7 with the melody n

19 of

R

e on top, and take the top note of the chord down an the melody note, you’ll get this:

ote E added

7 M 3
R
M StaNote

166

nds for Melo

dy


Now later on in this book, we’ll learn that the note E is the 9th of the D chord, so you could call the above chord Dm9 instead of “Dm7 with the melody note E added”.

Many times in fake books such as the “Ultimate Jazz Fakebook C Edition”, you’ll see a 9th chord written, but it is the melody note as well, so you don’t need to figure out the 9th. The 9th of the chord is always optional anyway, so while you’re learning to read chords, you can just leave it out at first (Unless, of course, it’s also the melody note!).

OK, now to the next part of the selection. Using Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method, you’ll find that you need to play:

G in the left hand (the Root)

F and B in the right hand

D in the melody (which always goes on top)

Now if you play your G7 chord so that all three notes fall below middle C, you can just add the D melody note on top, like this:

G Dominant 7th with added melody note D

M

OK, now to ourmelody. Using NC chord is the R

R

final part of this selectioate’s Three Finger Pian

oot and the 3rd.

C in the left hand (

E in the right hand

C in the melody (w

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7

n. You seeo Method,

the Root)

hich always

3

you hayou see

goes on

You can play the top three notes in the right hand

ve a C chord, with C in the that all you need to make a

top)


Now, you can always add the fifth to a chord to make it richer, and in this case, since you only have two distinct notes in your chord, I think it’s a good idea, so add the fifth as well.

C

R

C with added 5th

C with added 5th an

21

R

d C in the melody

R 3

I took the 3rd down the octaso that the melody is on top

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3

3
5
5
M
ve,

Chapter

1 B A C K G R O U N D I N F O Y O U ’ L L N E E D T O K N O W

The Essentials of Piano Chords All about Chords and Intervals

efore we get into the system, you’ll need to know some basics of music theory. If you’ve already studied music, you can glance over this chapter and then move right on to chapter 2. If you’ve never studied music before, you might need to spend a little more time on this chapter.

B

Chords A chord is a group of notes played at the same time that sound good together. For example, go to your piano and play the note C in your left hand. (It’s the note that’s just to the left of the two black keys.)
C
Now in your right hand, play the nblack keys).

These two notes played together matwo notes.

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E

ote E. (It’s the note just to the right of the two

ke a chord! Chords can have lots of notes or just

B A C K G R O U N D I N F O Y O U ’ L L N E E D T O K N O W

For example, we could add another C to the chord, just below the E, and the chord would still sound about the same.
C
Certain notes tend to changFlat to the notes C and E, w

B Flat is the right-most of thlooks like a cursive letter b.

b

So when you add the notechord.

In sheet music, you might se

23

C

e the flavor of a chord. For example, if we add the note B e’ll get a very different sort of sound.

e three black keys. It is written with the flat symbol, which
C
B Flat

e it like

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E

E

Play the top two notes in the right hand for now. Fingering doesn’t matter just yet.

B

to the notes C and E, you get what’s called a C7

this:


What you see here are two chord symbols, the symbol for the chord C7 (“pronounced C Seven”) and the symbol for the chord F. Underneath you see five notes. This is the melody.

So what we’ll want to do is play the chord along with the melody note written below it. Often, the melody note will be part of the chord – as we see here. The note E, which is the first note of the melody, is also the top note of the C7 chord you’ve learned.

So you would play those three notes, the C in the left hand, the Bb and E in the right.

Then you would play the three melody notes that follow, the D, C and E. You can either hold down the chord while you play those other notes, or let go of it, depending on the style and your skill at the keyboard.

You would then play the next chord along with its melody note. (We’ll learn the F chord in a minute.)

That’s the essence of how to use chords. Now let’s learn how Chord Symbols constructed.

HOW CHORDS SYMBOLS ARE BUILT:

ROOT QUALITY EXTRA STUFF

F#m7b5

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Root Usually the bottom note of a chord, the Root is the fundamental note of the chord to which the other notes relate.

R

Root Note Related notes

Quality The next part any chord symbol is the Quality of the chord. This changes depending on the related notes. For example a C chord has the note E in it, while a Cm chord (pronounced “C minor”) has the note Eb in it.

Here’s a C chord.
C
Here’s a Cm chord.

b

C

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E

E

7
3


The quality usually depends on two related notes: the third and the seventh.

For example the note E is the third of the note C. The note Eb is the minor third of the note C.

Minor 3rdMajor 3rd

When you play the Root and the third together, you get a chord. If you play C and E together you get a C Major chord (Often just called a C chord – the Major quality is assumed). If you play C and Eb together you get a C Minor chord.

The other most important note for determining the quality of a chord is the seventh. The seventh of the note C is the note B. The minor seventh of the note C is the note Bb.

(The note B is just to the right of the three black keys.)

C
B
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When you play the Root, the 3rd and the 7th, you get what’s called a seventh chord.

E
C
This is a blanket term for all the diff

There are four qualities of seventh c

the Major 7th chord

the Minor 7th chord

the Dominant 7th chord

The Diminished 7th chord

The chord above using C, B and using C, Bb and E is a Dominant 7t

27 of 16

B

erent types of seventh chords.

hords you will see:

Confusingly the Dominant 7th chord is often the “default” seventh chord, so if someone said to you, “play a C Seven chord,” they would actually mean a dominant chord. Most people don’t use the proper term, dominant, because it’s a long word. To distinguish the dominant from the other chords, these improper folks will describe the other seventh chords by their whole name. “Play C seven, and then play C minor seven”. You would understand this to mean “Play C dominant, and then play C minor seventh”.

To save yourself from confusion, remember that All “seven” chords are “seventh” chords, but not all “seventh” chords are seven chords.

In other words, the dominant chord (which is often called “seven”) is a type of seventh chord, but not all seventh chords are dominant.

E, is a Major 7th Chord. The chord on page two h Chord.

6


C Major 7th uses the notes B and E in the right hand. C Dominant 7th uses the notes Bb and E in the right hand.

C Minor 7th uses the notes Bb and Eb in the right hand. C Diminished 7th uses the notes A and Eb in the right hand.

(The note A is the right-most of the two white keys between the three black keys.)

b

A
C
Extra Stuff The “extra stuff” is the third thinalterations to the chord or for a(pronounced “C Seven, flat five”) on.

28 of 16

E

g

i

you’ll see tacked on after the quality. This is for dded-on notes. For example, the symbol C7b5 s just a C Dominant chord with the flat fifth added

6


The flat fifth of any C chord is the note G Flat. It’s the left most of the three black keys.

bG

Here’s a C7b5 chord. Compare it to the C7 chord we talked about earlier. Do you see how it’s the same chord, just with one added note? That’s the essence of the “extra-stuff” part of chord symbols.

Bb b

G

C E
Try p
Now the extra stuff adds some comextra stuff for now. If you see C7b5first, and then, whenever you’re read

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laying

plexit, just py, you

these
two notes in the right hand, while the C and Bb are played in the left
y to what we’re doing, so we’ll leave off the lay C7. OK? This will make things easier at

can it back in.


Learning the Sharp and Flat Note Names The black keys on the keyboard don’t have their own names. They borrow their names from the keys to the left and right.

For example, look below at the notes A and B. B is the note just to the right of the three black keys. A is the right-most of the two white keys between the three black keys. They have one note in between them, which can be named either B flat or A sharp.

In this first diagram you see the sharp names for the black keys. These names come from the note just to the left. So C sharp is one key “higher” than C. “Higher” on the key board means to the right on the keyboard.

D F

A A# G C#

E

C

In this second diagram you see the flat names for the black keys. These names come from the note just to the right. So D Flat is one key “lower’ than the note D. “Lower” on the keyboard means to the left.

Eb Gb Ab Db Bb

A E
C
“Lower p

#

itches” “Hig

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B

B

#

D

D

F

F

#

G

G

her pitches”


Often, you’ll see sharps as the music goes up in pitch (as you move from left to right on the keyboard).

Often, you’ll see flats as the music goes down in pitch (as you move from right to left on the keyboard).

Usually a chord is spelled with either all sharps or all flats, not both. So an Eb minor chord would only use flats. You would spell it Eb and Gb, not Eb and F#. Even if F# is much more common way to spell that piano key.

An E flat minor chord is spelled with all flats.

b b

You could also call this a D sharp minor notes with sharps.

A D sharp minor chord is spelled with all

#

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G
E
chord. But then you need to spell all of the

sharps.

#F
D


The Intervals You’ll Need to Know The method this book will teach you requires you to know a few intervals. Intervals are the distances between notes.

First of all, you’ll need to know half-steps. Half-steps are the smallest interval. Basically from any one key to the next key is a half-step – regardless or whether that key is a white or black key.

Here are some examples of half-steps.

C to C# is half-step.

D to D# is a half-step.

E to F is a half-step.

D# to E is a half-step.

D F

A A# G C#

E
C
This is what half-st

So it doesn’t mattdistance is a half-st

#

eps look like.

er whether the key is white or black,ep.

32 of 166

B
#
D
F #
G

as long as it’s adjacent, the


The next interval you’ll need to know is a whole-step. A whole-step is basically two half-steps. Whole-steps have one key in between them.

For example

C to D is a whole-step (C# is in between)

D to E is a whole-step (D# is in between)

E to F# is a whole-step (F is in between)

F# to G# is a whole-step (G is in between)

D F

A A# G C#

E

H

C

Examples of whowhite key, or a blacbecause there is nokeys. The same is

ere are some of t

Eb to F

E to F#

Bb to C

B to C#

#

le-steps. Notice most whole steps eitk key to a black key. They’re a little tric black key in between. So, these on

true between B and C, although you can

he trickier whole-steps that use both wh

33 of 166

B
#
D
F #
G

her go from a white key to a ky around the notes E and F es use both white and black ’t see it on this diagram.

ite and black keys.


The last interval you’ll need to know for the system, and the most important one, is the fourth.

Fourths have four keys in between.

Eb Gb Ab Db Bb

A E S

C
o for example,
C to F is a

D to G is a

F to Bb is

Easy Two E Between White KeTo find a fourth be

To find a fourth, F.

To find a fourth, G.

Just watch out foExceptions.

fourth (Db, D, Eb and E are in betwee

fourth (Eb, E, F and Gb are in betwee

a fourth (Gb, G, Ab, and A are in betw

asy Tricks for Finding F

ys tween white keys, just skip two white

fourth above C, skip two white keys (

fourth above D, skip two white keys (

r the one exception! F to B is not

34 of 166

B
D F G
n)

n)

een)

ourths

keys. So for example:

C and D) and you’ll find the

D and F) and you’ll find the

a fourth. See below under


Between Black Keys To find a fourth between black keys, just skip one black key. So for example:

To find a fourth above Db, skip one black key (Eb) and you’ll find the fourth, Gb.

To find a fourth above Eb, skip one black key (Gb) and you’ll find the fourth, Ab

Just watch out for the one exception! Gb to Bb is not a fourth. See below under Exceptions.

Exceptions There are two exceptions to our trick for finding fourths. Here they are.

Exception 1 If you use the trick for white keys starting on F, it doesn’t work. This is the one exception to the white key rule.

F to B is not a fourth! The “skip two white keys” rule will mislead you here. You just have to memorize this exception.

The fourth above F is Bb.

Bb

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B
F
F


Exception 2 If you use the trick for black keys starting on F# (or Gb – same note just spelled differently) it doesn’t work. This is the one exception to the black key rule.

F# to A# (or Gb to Bb) is not a fourth! The “skip one black key” rule will mislead you here. You just have to memorize this one exception.

F# A#

The fourth is F# to B!

F#

Here’s a list of fourths. For homework, see if you can find

C to F

C# to F#

D to G

Eb to Ab

E to A

F to Bb – (exception to the white key rule)

F# to Bb – (exception to the black key rule)

G to C

G# to C#

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B

them all on the piano:


Ab to Db

A to D

Bb to Eb

B to E

The Essential Elements of a Chord So far we’ve talked about the Root, the 3rd and the 7th. The Root is the foundation of the chord around which the other notes relate. The 3rd and 7th are the notes that determine the quality of the chord.

There is one more element of the chord that you will see much more in other chord books, but I try to minimize, and that’s the fifth. The fifth is not an essential element of the chord. You will often see it in other chord books because they teach you the chords in terms of triads. Triads are chords that use the Root, 3rd and 5th (all three notes are third away from one another, hence the name triad).

The fifth helps strengthen a chord and make it more powerful, but it can also cause problems as far as voice leading, and until you are more advanced, I would recommend leaving it out. Eventually, when your ear is stronger, you’ll sense when you should add a little fifth, or when you should leave it out.

On the following pages, we’ll review the essential elements of a chord and how to find them.

37 of 166


The Third The third is the next most essential note in a chord after the root. In fact, you can make a chord with simply the root and 3rd. Remember the 3rd for C Major? Thanks right, E.

R

Root Note

Major Thirds andThirds can either be higher more to the right on the keyb

Root Note

And if they’re lower in pitch

Root Note

38

The third

Minor Thirds or lower in pitch. If they are higher in pitch, they will be oard.

R

Major 3rd is further to the right on the keyboard

, they’ll be more to the left on the keyboard.

3

R

Minor 3rd

left on th

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3

3

is further to the e keyboard


Finding the Minor or Major 3rd of a chord In this book we’ll be learning to find the 3rds of your chord by first finding the 4th and then counting down either a half-step or whole-step.

This is why we needed to learn how to find fourths!

The minor 3rd will be down a whole-step from the 4th

3

4R

Root Note

The major 3rd will be down

Root Note

39

The 4th

Minor 3rd is down a whole-step from the 4th

a half-step from the 4th

4R

Major 3step fro

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rd im

3

s do the

The 4th

wn a half- 4th


Practice finding the Major 3rd

First, find C on the key keyboard with your left hand.
C
Then pair it with another C higher on the keyboard (further to the right).

C

Now find the note up a fourJust skip two white notes tomake sure it’s a fourth, you four. (So, Db, D, Eb and E

Now to find the major 3rd, jthe Major 3rd, the note E. If

40

C

th from the higher C. Remember the rule for white notes? find it. (So skip D and E, and you’ll land on F). To test to can count the number of keys in between, and it should be – that’s four!)

C
C
ust take the top note down a half-step. And there we have you play all three notes, you’ll get a C Major chord.

C
C
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E

F


Practice finding the Minor 3rd

C

C

Now find the note up a four

Now to find the minor 3rd, ja whole step we skip one no

If you play all three notes, yo

41

C

th from the higher C, which is F.

C
C
ust take the top note down a whole-step. Remember, with te (in this case the note E), so the minor 3rd is the note Eb.

u’ll have a C minor chord.

b

C
C
of 16

E

6

F


The Fifth The fifth is an extra note that is added for flavor. Unlike the 3rd, it’s not necessary to make most chords.

5R

Root Note

Finding the fifth The fifth can be found dowto find fourths!.

42

The fifth The third

n a 4th from the Root. Another good reason to know how

5R

The fifth – down athe Root

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R

4th fro

Rootoctav

3

3

m

Note (up the e)


Triads Triads are chords that use only the Root, 3rd and 5th.

5R

7th Chords 7th chords use the Root, 3rd a

Finding the 7th

The 7th of a chord is a lot lik4th, you’ll find it from the Ro

43

nd 5th, and add one additional note, the 7th.

5R

e the 3rd of a chord, except, instead of finding it from the ot.

5R

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7

7

3

3

3

Down ½ step from 4th

Down ½ step from Root


The minor 7th will be down a whole-step from the Root

R

Root Note

The major 7th will be down

Root Note

44

Minor 7th is dstep from the

a half-step from the Root

7R

Major 7th is dostep from the

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R

own a whole- Root

R

7

wn Ro

Root (up the octave)
Root (up theoctave)
a half-ot


Practice finding the Major 7th

C

C

Now to find the major 7th, aRemember, a half-step is the

If you play these two notes,

45

C

ll you need to do is go down a half-step from the higher C. next (adjacent) note.
C B
by the way, it’s not a chord, because a chord needs a third.

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Practice finding the Minor 7th

C

C

Now to find the major 7th, aC. Remember, with a wholthe minor 7th of C.

b

46

C

ll you need to do is go down a whole-step from the higher e step you skip one note (in this case the note B). B flat is

C

B

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Finding the 7th and 3rd in pairs One of the best tricks you’ll learn in this book is to think of the 7th and 3rd in pairs when finding them. This will eliminate many steps and allow you to visualize them more easily on the keyboard.

R

Root Note

The Starting PosThe starting position is a vlearning tool while learning ta metachord – a reference point to

Since the 3rd is found fromRoot, you will want to start w

47

Both notes down a ½ step from “starting position”

ition isual guide to help you find any chord; it is a valuable o read chords. A fancy way to describe would be that it’s the other chords you’ll learn.

the fourth, and the 5th and seventh are found from the ith The Root and the 4th.

R

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7
3
4


So our starting position will look like this. It’s going to be the Root note, twice (in octaves) and then the note a fourth above the higher root.

The Starting Position

How we’ll use the Starting PositioOnce you have found the starting position for a chord, major or minor 7ths depending on the quality of the chgreat length in later chapters.

But let’s look at an example quickly.

If you take the top two notes down a half-step each you’lMajor 7th, the top two notes would be B and E.

Major 7th chord

Maj 7

If you take the top two notes down a whole-step each yoC minor 7th, the top two notes would be Bb and Eb.

Minor 7th chord

7

Min 7th a

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R
R
n. you’ll move down to find the ord. This will be discussed in

l get a Major 7th chord. For C

R

th and the Maj 3rd

u’ll get a Minor 7th chord. For

3

R

7

nd the

3

Min 3

4

rd


From the starting position you’ll find different qualities of chords As you can see, once you have found the starting position for a chord, it’s simply a matter of knowing the right moves to find the quality of chord you want.

If you are looking for an F minor 7th chord, you would first, find the starting position for F:

Starting Position for F Chords

4 R

You would then take the top two notedown means to the left on the keyboarchord.

F Minor 7th

So you can see the system breaks down i

First, learning to find the starting

Then, learning the moves from twhole-steps) to finding the final

While learning the system takes some thothe long run, because you’ll know the thememorized the chords by rote, thereforearound a melody with accompaniment yo

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R

s down a whole-step each.d). This would give you a

7

R

nto two major parts:

position for the all 12 keys.

he starting position (in termchord

ught, it will save you from hory in a visual way, rather th you’ll be much more flexibu come up with.

(Remember, n F minor 7th

s of ha

avingan hav

le to im

3

lf-st

to tingpro

eps and

hink in vise


An Overview of Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method

Steps 1-2: Finding the Starting Position At first, you will want to find the Root of the chord in octaves, then the fourth above the higher root. This will be the starting position.

For example, for all C chords, you will find C, C and F. Then depending on whether it’s Major 7th, Minor 7th or many other qualities of chords, we’ll move the top two notes to find the chord.

The Starting Position for All C Chords

R 4

Step 3: Finding the QuDepending on the quality oftwo notes to the left in certa

The 7 C (You

j

M – Major Chord{

m – Minor Chord

dim – Diminished

M7 – Major 7th Ch

m7 – Minor 7th Ch

7 – Dominant 7th C

dim7 – Diminished

50

ality from the Startin the chord (M, m, 7, M7, m7in patterns.

ommon Qualities odon’t need to know all of this riust take a quick look at it for no

R, Major 3rd }

{R, Minor 3rd }

Chord {R, Minor 3rd, Flat 5t

ord{R, Major 7th and Major

ord {R, Minor 7th and Mino

hord {R, Minor 7th and Ma

7th Chord {R, Diminished

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R

g Position, dim7), you

f Chordght now, w)

h}

3rd }

r 3rd}

jor 3rd}

7th and Mino

will move the top

s

r 3rd}

3 6Chapter

2 F O U R T H S A N D H O W T O F I N D T H E M

Fourths

The interval you’ll use most in the system is the 4th.

Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method uses the interval of the fourth a lot – so we’re going to take this chapter to get to know this very important interval.

Look at the diagram below. Each of these notes is a fourth away from the next.

F C G D A E

Can you them. Dowritten on

This is go

Now to shthis chart,

figure out the pattern between them? Try counting the white keys between you see how there are two white keys between of these keys with a letter it?

ing to be our rule for finding fourths between white keys.

ow you a little of how the system works. I want you to play the first note on the note E.

E

51 of 1
66
Rule: To find fourths between white keys, go up three white keys, or down threewhite keys.


Now play both E and A.

A E

Now I wa

Now playleft is calldon’t theycourse in this:

Now let’skeyboard.

Now find(skip two

nt you to play the black key just to the left of A. This note is called G sharp.

E

both E and G#. Since the note A is a fourth above E, the note just to the ed the major 3rd. So G# is the major 3rd of E. They sound nice together, ? A major chord can be made simply from a note and its major 3rd. Of music, the third will probably be an octave higher than the root note – like

E

go back and find E again, only this time, let’s find the note E higher on the

E

the note a fourth down frwhite keys).

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G

om E. R

#

#G

emember it’s the third white key down


You should get this note:

Now play them together:

Now add back in your note G#:

E

Play the bottom note here in the left hand.

So the note E is the root of the chordThe note B is the fifth.

It maybe a little confusing at first, but

Rule: The 5th of a cho

6 32 4E

53 of 166

E

E

. The note G# is the major 3rd, and the note B?

the 5th of a chord is down a fourth from the root!

rd is down a fourth from the root.
E
B

B

B

B

#G
7


Now this principle will work for all of these chords. Say you want to form a D chord, look at the fourths chart again.

F C G D A E

The fifth

The third

So this is a

Of course

D

will be the n

will be dow

D chord.

, the root w

ote a fourth to the left (A).

n a half-step from the note a fourth to the right (F#)

G D A

D

A

Very easy to find when you know fourths!

ill usually be played down an octave or two.

A

54 of 1

66

#F

#F


How about a G chord? Again, look at the fourths chart.

F C G D A E

Now take

Now findblack key,

And therein the left

the notes a

the note d because th

you go, thhand)

fourth up a

own a halfere isn’t a bl

e G chord.

55 of 1

nd a fourth down.

C G D

-step from the highest note. This time it won’t be a ack key to the left of the top note.

G D

Now try it with the middle note down an octave (and

D

66

G

B

B


Fourths between the black keys on the Piano Below you see another chart of notes a fourth apart, only this time, between black keys. Do you see how there is one black key between each key with a name label on it? This is our rule for black keys.

The same process I was showing yokeys as well. For example, let’s say Ab, the note a fourth to the left on the keyboard – this will be your star

Now take the right-most key down

So this is an Ab Major chord. You octave or two and play it in the left

56 of 16

E

u for finding major chords works with the black we want to find the chord Ab Major. Simply take the keyboard and the note a fourth to the right on ting position for figuring out the chord.
E
a half-step and you’ll have a major chord.
E
could also tahand.

6

A

A

A

ke the midd

D

D

C

le note (the

G
B b b b b
r

b

b
b b
oot) down an

b
b
Rule: To find fourths between black keys go down two black keys, or up twoblack keys (skip one black key).


The First Exception to the Fourths Rule. There are two exceptions to the fourths rule. First, remember the rule for white keys, well, this doesn’t work between the notes F and B. These two notes, even though they have two white keys between them, are NOT a fourth! This exception you simply have to memorize. The fourth above F is Bb.

B F

A Fourth Above F is Bb. A

A

57 of 166

NOT A FOURTH

Fourth Below Bb is F.

F

n “Excep

B
b
tional” Fourth


The Second Exception to the Fourths Rule. The interval between F# and A#, while it skips one black key is NOT a fourth. But F# to B is!

NOFO

A Fourth Above F# is B. A Fou

An “Excep

58 of 166

A

T A URTH

rth Below B is F#.

B

ti

F#
#
F#

onal” Fourth


Practice Finding Chords Around the Exceptional Fourths To find an F chord, you’ll need a fourth above, Bb, and a fourth below, C.

C

F

Then take the top note down a half-step, so Bb will go to A.

C F

This is an F chord. The note C is the fifth, the note A is the major 3rd.

How about an Bb chord? You can use the rule for black keys to find the note above (Eb), but the fourth below is one of the exceptions, so you just have to know that a fourth below Bb is F.

F

OK, now take the top note down a half-step and you’ll have a B

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E

A

b chord.
D F
B

B

B

b

b
b
b


OK, now let’s look at chords that are built using the fourth between F# and B. The first such a chord is the chord F# major. Here’s F# and the notes a fourth down and a fourth up from F#.

# C # F

B

OK, now bring the top note down a half-step. This is an F# Major chord.

#

How about a B chord? The fourth down from B is F# and the fourth above B is E.

E

B

Now take the top note down a half-step and you’ll have a B chord

B

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.

F
#C
#A

#F

F#

D#


Now practice finding fourths on the keyboard, from this notation. In this first example, you see two measures of music. In the first measure are the notes A and E played simultaneously. In the second measure, you will take the A down a half-step to G# (to the black key just to the left of A). Above these two notes, you’ll see the chord symbol for the chord E, which is simply the letter E.

Here’s another example. The D, the fourth above it (G) – and then the note a half-step down from G, F#. F# is the major 3rd of a D chord.

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Fourths Study One

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Fourths Study Two

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Fourths Study Three

If you feel you know your fourths and would like to test yourself, visit the online quiz:

http://www.patternpiano.com/fourths/

64 of 166

http://www.patternpiano.com/fourths/


Using Fourths to Find C Chords

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Using Fourths to Find F Chords

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Using Fourths to Find G Chords

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Using Fourths to Find Bb Chords

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Using Fourths to Find D Chords

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Using Fourths to Find Eb Chords

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Using Fourths to Find A Chords

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Using Fourths to Find Ab Chords

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Using Fourths to Find E Chords

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Using Fourths to Find Db Chords

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Using Fourths to Find B Chords

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Using Fourths to Find Gb Chords

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Chapter

3 M A J O R 7 T H C H O R D S A N D H O W T O F I N D T H E M

Chapter 3: Major 7th Chords and How to Find Them

OK, Now let’s get into using the system!

Demonstration: Finding CM7 and Cm7 from the Starting Position for all C Chords

Starting Position for C Chords

R 4

From the Starting Position (R, R and 4th), you will move the top two notes down a half-step each to find a Major 7th Chord.

C Major 7th

R 3

77

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R

7
Down a half-step fromStarting Position

M A J O R 7 T H C H O R D S A N D H O W T O F I N D T H E M

From the Starting Position (R, R and 4th), you will move the top two notes down a whole-step each to find a Minor 7th Chord.

C Minor 7th

R

Note: a whole step is the sam

78

e as two half-step

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7
3
s. Down a whole-step from

Starting Position

NOTE: People sometimes are confused that you move the top two notes a half-step for a Major 7th and a whole step for a Minor 7th. They wonder, why do you move “more” for minor than major? The starting position is higher in pitch, and therefore more to the right on the keyboard than any of the final chords. That’s why you move further to the left for a Minor 7th chord than a Major 7th chord, because the Root and 4th (in the starting position) are the highest position in the chord, you will be moving down (to the left) to find the 7th and and 3rd of each chord. ----------------------------- When you talk about “high” and “low” on the keyboard, “high” is more to the right, “low” is more to the left.


Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method: Finding the Starting Position

Step 1 Find the Root of the Chord in Octaves. If it’s a C Major 7th Chord, you would find two Cs:

R

Play the left

If the chord were F# Major

79

Root in the left hand and the right Root in

7th Chord, you would find tw

of 166

R

the right hand.

o F#s:

R
R


Step 2 Now find the root in your right hand and find the note a 4th above (to the right). If you’re finding a C Major 7th Chord, the 4th above the Root (C) would be F.

R 4

If you’re finding a F# Major

80

7th Chord, the 4th above Roo

R

4

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R

t (F#) would be B.

R


Finding the Quality from the Starting Position What you have so far is what we’ll call the starting position. The starting position is the Root of the chord in octaves with the fourth above the higher root (the one in your right hand). The Third step is to move the top two notes to left. You will do it one of six different ways. The first way is when you want to find a Major 7th Chord.

Step 3 for Major Seventh Chords, Move the top two notes (the higher Root and 4th) down a half-step (one key to the left). For C Major 7th (CM7):


C Major 7th

R 4

For F Major 7th (FM7):

Starting Position fo

F Major 7th

81

R

r F Chords

R

of 166

R

3

4 R
R
7

3

7


OK, while you don’t have to read music to understand this book, it will help if you have a sense of it.

Here are steps one through 3 for both CM7 and FM7. If you read music, this will be a review of the last few pages. If you don’t read music, use this opportunity to try to start understanding music some.

Here is the same thing, but with the notes written out for those of you who don’t read music well yet.

The bottom note (the Root) will be played in the left hand, and are written here in the bottom staff. Most of the time, I won’t write out the bass for you, since the bass note is given in the chord name.

Top two notes are written on the top staff, and are played in the right hand

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Practicing moving from CM7 to FM7 These two chords are quite common, and I want you to familiarize yourself with them right away, because I will be using various C and F chords to demonstrate much of the theory in this book. Yes, there are many other chords, but it will be easier to understand the concepts if we just concentrate on these two roots for now.

In the first measure above, you’ll see the two chords you learned on the previous page written out in notation. The numbers underneath indicate what chord degree the notes represent. In other words, in the first chord, CM7, the 3 represents that the top note of that chord is the 3rd. The 7 represents that the middle note of that chord is the 7th.

Where is the bottom note? Well, to save space in the book, I’ve written only the treble clef. The bottom note will always be written in the chord name. So for the first chord, the bottom note (played in the left hand) is C! For the next chord, it’s F! That’s easy isn’t it. This is also good practice, because fake books don’t give you the bass either!

Here, I’ve given you the same selection, but with the n(very handy if you don’t read music). Notice that in thCM7 chord (E) becomes the 7th o f the FM7 (E, as wephenomenon that will become very clear to you as webecause these two chords are related by the circle of f

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Common tone

ote names written underneath e second measure the 3rd o f the ll, of course). This is a go through the book. That’s ifths. I know, it sounds


mysterious and powerful doesn’t it? Like Stonehenge or the Knights of the Round Table. But the circle of fifths is quite easy. All it means is that the roots of the two chords are related by a 4th.

C to F is a 4th

Chords that are related by the circle of fifths are used all the time in every style of music from Bach to Rap. Because they are used so often, it is good to learn patterns of chords moving around the circle of fifths with smooth voice leading.

Smooth Voice leading means that the notes in one chord move to the notes in the next chord in the smoothest way possible. As you can see below, in the second measure, the B moves down a whole-step to the A, which is much smoother than what happens in the first measure, where the B jumps up almost a whole octave to the A.

g

Voiceswould would down aup a 4t

As youlearn, alearn h

Both notes jump a 4th: not smooth

are the notes in a chord. If the top note of eastay on the same note in the second measure (wjump up a 4th in the first measure (not very smo whole step in the second measure (a smaller, s

h (the same as the top note) in the first measure

can see, playing chords with smooth voice leadnd we will discuss it in the second half of this bow to find the notes in chords before you learn

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Top note stays the same, bottom note moves down a whole step: much smoother!

Poor voice Leadin
Smooth voice Leading
ch chord above is a voice, in hich is quite smooth) and it oth). The middle voice drops moother interval), and it jumps (not very smooth).

ing is a very desirable skill to ook – but first, you’ll have to how to move smoothly between


them. In this book, we will learn two ways to play chords – in the first one, we’ll put the 3rd on top and the 7th in the middle.

As soon as you start to grow confident playing them in this first voicing, we will learn the second voicing, in which the order of the notes are reversed: the 7th will be on top and the 3rd in the middle. This is the voicing of FM7 you see in the second measure up above. By switching the order of the 7th and 3rd of the second chord when you switch between two chords related by the circle of fifths – you will create very smooth, pleasing chord changes.

Since these patterns are used so often, it is usually preferable to memorize these “changes” or groups of two chords, and how to move between them smoothly, rather than learning the chords individually. So, for those who can start memorizing these patterns right away before learning all the chords, I would recommend it. When you read, If you can look at two chords and know what to do instead of one, it will allow you to read faster as well as smoother.

Moving from CM7 to FM7 with Smooth Voice Leading

C Major 7th

3

R

F Major 7th

7

R

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7

3


Things to remember when moving around the circle of fifths between two chords:

The root will go up a fourth

the top note stays the same

the middle note drops either a whole step or a half-step (depending on the qualities of the chord – If moving from a Major 7th to a Major 7th, as demonstrated above, the middle note will go down a whole step).

Moving from DM7 to GM7 with Smooth Voice Leading OK, so let’s look at this same smooth voice leading pattern with two other common chords. This is the exact same pattern as with CM7 to FM7, but everything has been taken up a whole step.

D Major 7th

7 3

R

As with

G Major 7th (voicing two)

7

R 3

an exercise, out finding i

try to transpose this pattern up another t later in the book.

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whole step
(EM7 to AM7)


Practice Finding Major 7th Chords Use Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method.

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Moving from Major 7th Chord to Major 7th Chord

SAME NOTE DOWN WHOLE STEP

Note: every 2nd chord is avoicing 2 chord, written as“v2” in parentheses. To findthe second chord in eachmeasure, just

a) take the middle note of the1st chord in each measure downa whole step (for example, B toA in the first measure) and

b) change the Root of the 1st

chord to the Root of the second(for example, C to F in thefirst measure). (Remember, Ihaven’t written the Root ofeach chord out in notation,because it’s in the name of thechord!

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Chapter

4 M I N O R 7 T H C H O R D S A N D H O W T O F I N D T H E M

Chapter 4: Minor 7th Chords and How to Find Them

Step 3 for Minor Seventh Chords, Move the top two notes (the higher Root and 4th) down a whole-step (two keys to the left). For C Minor 7th (Cm7):


R 4

C Minor 7th

90

R

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R
7 3
OK, we’ve learned Major 7 chords, now let’s learn Minor 7 chords. The only difference is that instead of taking the top two notes (the ntoes in the right hand) down a half-step as you did for Major 7 chords, you’ll be taking them down a whole-step for Minor 7 chords.

th

th

th

th


For F Minor 7th (Fm7):


F Minor 7th

4 R

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R

7

R
3


Learning the differences between Major 7th chords and Minor 7th chords. The only difference between Minor 7th chords and Major 7th chords is that the 7th and 3rd o f the chord (the notes played in the right hand) are a half-step lower for Minor 7th chords than for major 7th chords.

The right hand in these two measures

is down exactly a ½ step from the right hand in these two measures

So, if I were to tell you that B flat Major 7th is the notes “Bb, A and D”, you should be able to figure out that B flat Minor 7th is the notes “Bb, Ab and Db”.

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Practice Finding Minor 7th Chords Use Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method. The right hand (the top two notes) is down a half-step from its Major 7th Chord equivalent.

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Moving from Minor 7 Chord to Minor 7 Chordth th

As with the Major 7th chords, when moving between two minor 7th chords using smooth voice leading, the top note will remain the same, and the middle note will move down a whole step. The Root note, in the left hand, is in the name of the chord, and therefore, I don’t write it out. (For example, the first chord, is C in the left hand with Bb and Eb in the right hand)

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Chapter

5 D O M I N A N T 7 T H C H O R D S A N D H O W T O F I N D T H E M

Chapter 5: Dominant7th Chords and How to Find Them

Step 3 for Dominant Seventh Chords, Move the middle note down a whole step and move the top note down a half-step. For C Dominant 7th (C7):


R 4

C Dominant 7th

96

R

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R
7
3


For F Dominant 7th (F7):


4 R

F Dominant 7th

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R

7

R

3


Understanding Dominant 7ths The dominant 7th is a hybrid of the Major and Minor 7th qualities. The third (the top note in voicing 1) is major, while the 7th (the middle note in voicing 1) is minor. This creates an intense sound harmonically that wants to resolve. Dominants are used in music to create a strong harmonic desire to resolve to the next chord around the circle of fifths (the chord with its root up a 4th).

Dominant 7ths have a Major 3rd and a Minor 7th.

It uses the minor 7th, as do Minor 7th chords.

And it uses the major 3rd, as do Major 7th chords.

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Practice Finding Dominant 7th Chords Use Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method. Move the top note down a half-step from the starting position and move the middle note down a whole-step from the starting position.

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Smooth Voice Leading with Dominants Using smooth voice leading between dominant 7ths is more difficult than for Major or Minor 7th chords. This is because the top two notes both move down a half-step.

Why you move the top two fingers for dominant 7ths

a) The top note is moving from a major 3rd to a minor 7th. If it stayed on the same note, it would be the major 7th of F (like when we practiced moving from CM7 to FM7).

b) The middle note is moving from a minor 7th to a major 3rd. If we moved it down a whole step, it would be the minor 3rd of F (like when we practiced moving Cm7 to Fm7)

Minor 7th becomes Major 3rd

Major 3rd becomes Minor 7th

Yikes! That’s a lot of info! If you feel like this is all too much to remember, rest assured you don’t need to know the info on this page very thoroughly. What you need to remember is a) how to find a dominant 7th chord using Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method and b) that you move the top two fingers down a half-step to move around the circle of fifths with dominant 7th chords.

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Moving from Dominant 7 Chord to Dominant 7 Chord

th th

Remember, after you find the first of each pair of dominants, you can just move the top two notes down a half-step each AND change the Root to the next Root and you will have arrived at the next chord.

Down half-step each

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Moving from Minor 7th Chord to Dominant 7th Chord

Remember when moving from a Minor 7th to a Minor 7th, you had to take the middle note down a whole-step, right? Well, if you take it down a half-step, you’ll get a Dominant 7th chord for the second chord. These are one of the most common patterns found in music.

Middle note goes down a half-step!

Middle note down a half-step

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Chapter

6 D I M I N I S H E D 7 T H C H O R D S A N D H O W T O F I N D T H E M

Chapter 6: Diminished 7th Chords and How to Find Them

Step 3 for Diminished Seventh Chords, Move the middle note down 3 half-steps and move the top note down a whole-step. (I’ll show you two easier ways to find diminished chords in the following pages, but I also want you to understand them this way.)

For C Diminished 7th (Cdim7):


R 4

C Diminished 7th

104

R

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R

6

3

68


For F Diminished 7th (Fdim7):


4 R

F Diminished 7th

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R

6R

3


How Dominant 7ths and Diminished 7ths relate Diminished 7ths relate to Dominant 7ths the way Minor 7ths relate to Major 7ths, that is the top two notes (the notes in the right hand) are down a half-step each in Diminished from where they would be in Dominant.

7

How MinDiminished 7th

7th) is down a h

An easier way to find diminished chords:

It is probably easier to think of diminished chords as minor chords with the middle note down an extra half-step, rather than to think, “OK, middle note down three half-steps and top note down two”.

(Both notes down a half-step from CM7)

or 7ths and Diminished 7 chords are the same as Minor 7th chordsalf-step further in diminished.

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(Both notes down a half-step from C7)

M7 is to m7 . . .
7 is to dim as . . .
ths relate , except the middle note (the

(middle note down three half-steps from Root)

(middle note down two half-steps from Root)


Another easy way to find diminished Chords The diminished 7th is down three half-steps from the Root

the Minor 3rd is up three half-steps from the Root

So just think, “up three and down three” from the Root in octaves and you’ll have a diminished 7th chord.

For C Diminished 7th (Cdim7):

Root in Octaves

C Diminished 7th

R

For F Diminished 7th (Fdim7

Root in Octaves

F Diminished 7th

107

R

):

R

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R

R
R
6

3

6

3

“up three and down three”

“up three and down three”


Practice Finding Diminished 7th Chords Use the “up three, down three” method discussed on the previous page. Just go up three half-steps from the octave root to find the 3rd (the top note) and down three half-steps from the octave root to find the 7th (the middle note).

Up 3 half-steps Down 3 half-steps

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N A T E ’ S T H R E E F I N G E R P I A N O M E T H O D N A T E ’ S T H R E E F I N G E R P I A N O M E T H O D

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Where you’ll see Diminished 7th chords Diminished chords often appear in music when the bass of the chord moves in half-steps. In the following example, which we’ll talk about in more detail later, the bass (the roots of the chords) move entirely in half-steps.

Play through the above passage, and take note how the diminished chords help the passage “slide” around smoothly.

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Chapter

7 M A J O R C H O R D S

Chapter 7: Major and Minor Chords

Step 3 for Major and Minor Chords: Major and Minor chords are just like Major 7th chords and Minor 7th chords, except that you don’t need the seventh, so you can take everything you’ve learned about Major 7ths and Minor 7ths and just leave out the 7th. The way to do this is to only move the top note down instead of both the top note and the middle note.


RR

C Major 7th

C Minor 7th

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R

R

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R

R

3

3

4


Practice Finding Major Chords Use Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method.

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N A T E ’ S T H R E E F I N G E R P I A N O M E T H O D N A T E ’ S T H R E E F I N G E R P I A N O M E T H O D

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Practice Finding Minor Chords Use Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method.

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Be Still My Soul

Here’s a fakebook version of the first two phrases of this popular hymn.

Using what you’ve learned so from Nate’s three finger piano method, you should come up with this chord realization:

Now using smooth voice leading, you can play the C7 chord in voicing two for a smoother sound. (Just take the Bb up the octave).

Now let’s add the melody in along with our chords. Since the melody follows the chords for the most part, you hold the middle note and the bass, while the top note of the chord is left out, except where it’s in the melody.

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Since we’ll have four notes here, you can play the Bb in either the left or right hand. The left hand’s probably more comfortable, but beginners may find it easier to play everything in the right hand except the bass.

C Dominant 7th with G in the melody (like measure 3 above)

R

I would recomnotes in the lefwill be easier tochords if you pharder to fit lo

117

mend playing some of the middle t hand, as soon as you are ready. It visualize the melody and the lay them all in the right, but it’s ts of notes into one hand.

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3

7
M


Greensleeves

Here’s a fakebook version of “Greensleeves”. Try to figure it out by yourself first, then study the realization on the following page.

.

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Greensleeves

Here’s a realization of Greensleeves. There’s a discussion of this arrangement on the next page.

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Discussion of Note Choice for Greensleeves

When the melody is the 5th of a chord, you can play the 3rd and 5th instead of the Root and 3rd.

The Root and 3rd, just as the method suggests.

Since the melody is the 7th of the chord, just take the 3rd down the octave (this makes it a Voicing 2 chord).

Since3rd, Ioctav

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Since the melody is the 3rd and the 5th, you can manage a complete triad by only playing the Root in the left hand as accompaniment here!

Since we’ve been playing very few notes per chord, you can get away with just the Root and 7th here. If you added the 3rd, it would make another voice appear out of nowhere, which can be distracting.

the melody note is below the ’ve moved the 3rd down the e.

You don’t have to play the full chord right when it says to! Here I’ve added the seventh two beats later, so that it creates movement in the harmony.


Taking the 3rd down the octave

The voicing you’ve learned so far in the book has the 3rd on top and the 7th in the middle, with the left hand playing the Root. This is voicing 1

C 7 (Voicing 1)

R

But what if the melody note

C 7 (Voicing 1)

You don’t want the melody octave. (Voicing 2 means th

C 7 (Voicing 2) with

121

The top two notes should be played in the right hand, at least at first.

is C?

to dip underneath your chord, so you take the 3rd down the e 3rd is underneath the 7th)

melody note C

R 3

You can play either the tonotes in the right hand in

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3

7

7

M

M

p two or the top three this situation.


Switching voicings depending on the melody

So if you see four measures like this:

You would want to voice each measure differently.

Measure 1

Nate’s Three Finger Piano Method would lead you to the Root and the 3rd (C and E). Since the melody is underneath the 3rd, you’d want to take the 3rd down the octave, like this:

C

Measure 2

Here you can just play C the

C

12

R

way the method suggests since the 3rd is in the melody.

R

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R

3
M
M


Measure 3

You can either just add the melody note on top, or you can leave out the doubled root, which I recommend.

Recommended:

C

M

Also fine:

C

Measure 4

Measure 4 is the same as me

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R

R M
R
asure 1, only the right hand

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will be u

3

3

p the oc

tave.

Chapter

8 E X P A N D I N G Y O U R K N O W L E D G E

Chapter 8: Other Basics for Chord Reading

Slash Chords In fake books, you will see a chord symbol, then a forward slash, then another note name. That other note name is an alternate bass note. If a note other than the Root is in the bass (the bottom-most note in the left hand), this is how it’s notated.

Cm7/Bb

R

Cm7/G

7

You can keep the Root in whennote is given, but I recommend for now. It’s less notes to thinkhelps keep your arrangement at

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an alteyou lea about3 voice

3
3
7

5

I’ve brought the 7th down the octave and the Root up the octave (so that the voices are basically in the same place)

rnate bass ve it out

, and s.


Slash Chord Exercise Practice reading the following chords. When you see a slash chord, substitute the alternate bass note (the note after the slash) for the root.

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Slash Chord Exercise as it would look in a Fakebook

OK, I’ve taken out all the helpful info and left just what you might see in a fake book.

If you have trouble, just turn back to the previous page and study the examples.

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Moving the Root to the Right Hand If the slash chord uses either the 3rd or the 7th as the alternate bass, you will usually want to remove that note from the right hand, so that it isn’t doubled. Since you’re chord will only be two notes at that point, you can add the Root back in, but this time in the right hand.

Gm7

Gm7/F

7

Gm7

Gm7/Bb

R

R

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R
R
3

3

3

3

7

7

7


Example – “Don’t Double the Third” In the following example, when the chord symbol calls for the 3rd in the bass, I just remove it from the right hand. Soon, we’ll add the fifth into the right hand, so that we’ll still have three voices.

Adding the Fifth to the Right Hand You can also fill out Slash chords that use either the 7th and 3rd as the alternate bass note by adding the 5th of the chord. The fifth is unnecessary to the harmony most of the time. But it can fill things out when you don’t want to double the 3rd or the 7th.

Finding the Fifth The fifth of a chord is the note down a fourth from the Root of that chord. It can be added to any of the chords we have learned so far without changing the quality of the chord. I would generally recommend leaving out the fifth if you already have three voices. There will be times where you’ll want to add the fifth in order to maintain three voices.

C

3

128

R

Go down a 4th

Root to find thchord!

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R

from the 5th o

5

e f a


CM7

3 7

The fifth can be added below

CM7

If you see something like, with

If you see something like this, add it below – although in this

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R

the 7th, or above the 3rd (in the higher octave).

3 7 5
R
the fifth in the melody, the fifth sho

where the 3rd and Root are in the me case, you don’t even need it.

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5

uld go o

lody, yo

n top.

u would


Notice how in the following example, when there is a slash chord that puts the third in the bass, I add the fifth into the right hand (since we’re moved the third to the left hand), in order to maintain three voices.

The example:

A nice realization:

Here it’s essential to have four voices. The melody is neither the 3rd or 7th or the Root, so you must add all of these three essential elements to the melody note to make a complete seventh chord.

Since the previous chord uses four notes, I decided to add the fifth to this chord. Sometimes, it will sound bad if the number of voices changes abruptly. This is why I’ve added the fifth of the C chord (G).

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Avoiding Collisions Often in slash chords it will sound smoother to add the 5th rather than the Root into the right hand, so that the Root and 7th don’t bang into one another.

In the following voicing of Gm7/Bb, the 7th and Root are only a 2nd apart, which causes a strong sound that can be distracting. Sometimes, of course, this abruptly strong sound is exciting to the ear.

Gm7/Bb

Most of the time, though, you’ll want the harmto take the Root out of the right hand and addspread out.

Gm7/Bb

If you want to get really fancy, you can add thewant to play the 3rd and 7th in the left hand (so fingers too far).

Gm7/Bb

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R
Major 2nd interval can be exciting or jarring, depending on the context
ony to not stick out. This is a good time the fifth instead, so that the harmony is

Down 4th from Root

Root on top as well. In this case you’ll that you don’t have to stretch your

R

3

3

3

7

7

7

5

5


Extra Stuff I would like to briefly discuss what I called at the beginning of the book the “extra stuff”. This and much more will be discussed in Volume II.

9ths The 9th is up a whole step from the Root. Also, a 9th chord is a dominant chord by default. So if you see C9, it would basically be a C7 chord with the 9th added.

C7

3

C9

9 3

Or if you want to spread out t

C9 (Voicing 2)

By the way, if you want to subthat’s fine!

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R

R

he voices, you could take the 3rd down the octave.

9
R
stitute C7 for any 9th chord while you

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3

7

7

7

starting out --


6ths and 13ths The 13th is basically the 6th of a chord, but it is over a dominant chord. This creates a nice clash between the minor 7th and the major sixth, which would be a half-step apart if they were in the same octave. Generally though, they are never played in the same octave.

C7

3

C6

You will generally want to addit sounds like an inversion of tscope of this book, so just truschords!)

C13

The thirteenth chord combineGenerally, the sixth will be on hand.

133

R

3
R
the Root or the he relative minort me and add the

s the qualities of top. You can pla

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R
fifth to a sixth chord, because otherwise (the theory behind this is beyond the fifth or the Root when you play sixth
3
R
the 7th chord and thy the bottom two n

7

7

5

6

e sixth chorotes in the l

6

d. eft


Finding the Sixth The sixth is down three half-steps from the Root.

C6

The sixth is also a fourth abovwhen I play a 13th chord – sincup a fourth from the top note!

C13

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R

Down 3 half-steps

e the major 3rd, which is how I like to think about them e it’s basically a voicing 1 Dominant chord with the 6th

3
R
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3

7

6

Up a fourth

6


How would you realize this example?

Here’s one solution:

In measure 1, I added the 3rd.

In measure 2, I added the 9th and the 7th. I could have also added the 3rd, but since I was just playing it with the previous chord, I can leave it out without it being sorely missed. This is something that comes with practice and listening. It’s much easier to play without the third and sounds more open and clear. Usually, though, leaving out the third is a bad idea. Unless it’s implied in the harmony or is in the chord just before or after, you generally need the third of a chord.

In measure 3, I added the third down the octave, since the Root is in the melody. I then added the sixth (D).

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Practice 1 The real practice will be from sheet music and fakebooks. I’ve written in all the answers for you, so that you can familiarize yourself with the method.

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Practice 2

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Practice 3

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Practice 4

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Chapter

9 P U T T I N G T H E S Y S T E M I N T O P R A C T I C E

Chapter 9: Putting the System into Practice

Now let’s try to put the system into practice. Here’s a fake book style version of a folk tune.

On the following pages you’ll find an analysis of how to realize this song.

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Amazing Grace

Suggested realization Remember that the left hand plays the note name of the chord, or the “slash chord” alternate bass note.

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The chord tones for the suggested realization:

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Example – They Didn’t Believe Me This tune uses the pattern of a minor 7th moving to a dominant 7th around the circle of fifths. This is often called a “two – five” pattern.

Herbert Reynolds Jerome Kern

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Example – Working Through changes in a Fake Book So let’s work through “They Didn’t Believe Me”.

You can see that the first chord is Am7.

Using the system, you would find these three notes:

With A as the root, and G and C in the right hand.

Often, the chords don’t “fit” in the right octave to play comfortably in the right hand.

If you were to add the chord just as it’s written above, with the G down a 4th from middle C, and the C on middle C; you’d have quite a stretch up to the melody note, A.

So, take the G up the octave, to where it rests just a whole-step below the melody note. Then the right hand is much less stretched.

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So you can see that I’ve inverted the Am7 and D7 chords from where they were in the previous exercise.

From the system, you’ll get the Root, 7th and 3rd.

But to fit a chord under the melody comfortably, or to make it sound better, you might switch the order up.

The same thing goes for the D7 chord. So the patterns you learned for minor 7th chords moving to dominant 7th chords (or any of the patterns you’ve learned so far) can be flipped in the right hand.

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Another trick in your toolbox to make the chords easier to play is to put one of the notes into the left hand.

For example in measure 11, you can start with A and D in the right hand, but then the melody jumps down to F#. Since you want the melody on top, you’ll either have to drop the harmony out (easiest solution) or bring it down the octave, as I’ve shown here. But that makes the stretch in the right hand awkward, unless you play it in the left hand.

I would put the A moving to G (on the words “beyond compare”) in the left hand with the Root note.

Also, in measures 15 – 16, you can see that I’ve put the chords down low while the melody note holds through. You also might want to put the middle voice (the A to G#) in the left hand. Or you could (more easily) just stop playing the melody note and play everything but the root in the right hand.

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S P E E D D R I L L S

3 6

Speed Drills

Practicing Realizing Chords from Chord Symbols

In this chapter, you will begin to memorize the most common chords. For each example, you will first study the chords, and get the pattern in your fingers. You’ll then look at the same example written out “fake book” style and realize it looking at just the fake book chart.

Chapter

10

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Suggestions for additional practice. 1. Run out and purchase “The Ultimate Jazz Fakebook” C Edition (C Edition

means for guitar and piano, don’t buy the horn version!). In it you will find hundreds of standard songs. By using the method put forward in this book and mixing in the melody you will learn immeasurably valuable “vocabulary” for how music masters put it together. Oh, and find recordings of the songs to study.

2. Buy “How to Speed Read Piano Chord Symbols – Part II” which continues on where this book leaves off.

3. Start trying to play along with recordings of your favorite music. Even if you can only figure out one note from the recording, and you play that note along with the recording when you hear it, you’ll be training your musical mind to play with style.

Contact the Author You can set up lessons with me over the phone if you would like. Lessons are $40/hr. We can cover whatever material you like. Thanks again for reading my book!

Nathan Andersen 23-12 24th Ave, Apt 2 Astoria, NY 11102

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speed read piano

Documents

piano chords

major chords chapter

minor chords page

way chords

diminished chords chapter

chord chapter

breaking chords

chords lso