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 Nates Three Finger Piano Method

CHAPTER 1

Chord Basics Page 22 The note names on the piano How chords are named The intervals youll 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 Didnt 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 theyll sound the best. So, youll 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

Youll notice that we have of the Root. The problem is, youll hardUsually, only part of the chand the right hand. In this book, well learn hoare easy to find and play. Athat sounds great another Lets look again at the chornecessary so lets 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 R 3 5

four notes here, the Root, t

ly ever see a C chord in muord is used, and usually its

w to structure your chords lso, well 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

, youll be very glad that wen always used to say, learncimitar, and a flaming torch

of 166R

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 cant 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

RR 3

ow another thing were going to arn in the book is what notes in a chord you can double. While doubling the Root of the chord is perfectly fine and nice sounding thing to do when you want your chord to sound fuller, it is also unnecessary so again, lets leave out the unnecessary elements. So take off the higher Root.

C Major leaving out the unnecessarily doubling of the Root

R 3

Now we are down to the essential elements in a C chord: the Root and the 3rd. Now were going to do one more thing to the chord, which is were going to drop the Root down the octave.

C Major Root dropped down the octave

Play in left hand

R 3

When you listen to music o the ra io, there is usually melody line (usually sung) and there are chords playedand there is usually a bass lwhen we play on the pianodown into the bass range, wbass.

2 n

on such instruments as a p ano, keyboard or guitar,

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

of 166 aiNdlese 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, its 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

R 7 3 has only one note different from

C Dominant 7th

7R 3

Do you see how only the middle note is different? What if next time you wanted to figure out a chord, instead of looking in a chord encyclopedia, you said to yourself, Oh, Ill just take the middle note down a key? Knowing how chords are onstructed will k p you f m having to always refer to chord encyclopedias. Knowing how chords aremore creatively and imprchord more smoothly to choose depending on the c constructed also wovising. Specificallthe next, and youl melody note.

3 of 166eeill help yy, youll kl know wroou when you get into playing now how to move from one

hich notes in a chord to


Chart 1: Seven Flavors of C chords

Dominant7thMajor 7th

Minor

Major Diminished 7th Minor 7th

Diminished

In this book, the notes played in the right hand are written in notation AND written below the staff, for those who dont read music

As you can see from the notes written underneath the staff, most of these chords are only a note or two different from the rest of the chords. Learning the differences between these seven different qualities and how to find them quickly is the major focus of this book. The first chord above in chart 1 would look like this on the keyboard.

C Major 7th

C B E

Played in right hand

4 of 166


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 youll 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.

5 of 166


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 7

Major 7th and Major 3rd

C Minor Seventh

7

Minor 7th and Minor 3rd

C Dominant Seventh

7 3

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

C Diminished Seventh

3 7

RRRRDiminished 7clash as in Doand 7th down

6 of 166th

m a and Minoinant, bu

half-step)3r 3rd (same t with both 3rd


Non-Seventh Chords The last three chords below are non eventh chords

The top row is the 3rd of these chords

The next row is the 5th

of these chords The non-seventh chords because they traditionallydont need the fifth, you c that youll learn in this book use three notes, the Root, tould simply play the Root a

C Major

R

5

C Minor

5 R

C Diminished

5 R

Flat Fifth

7 of 166. -s are commonly called triads, he 3rd and the fifth. But you nd 3rd.

3

Major 3rd3

Minor 3rd

3


Introduction part 3: Chord Quality determined by3rd and 7th of ch rd

Look at the chart below. Youll 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 minorwill have a mellower, sound.

Minor chord (m

Diminished chord (Minor 7th chord (m

Diminished 7th chord

Roo

Ro

These four chord qualities will contain at least the Root and the Minor 3rd. 3rd, it sadder

If a chohave a sound.

) dim) 7)

(dim7)

MaM

t with Minor 3rd (C

ot with Major 3rd (C

R

R

8 of 166rb

j

D

a

ao

d has a major 3rd, it will righter more energetic

or chord (no symbol) ajor 7th chord (M7) ominant chord (7)

nd Eb)

nd E)

3

These three chord qualities will contain at least the Root and the Major 3rd

3


Using Nates Three Finger Piano Method, youll find the starting position for a chord, and then youll learn how to move the fingers in order to reach the final chord. This is going to sa e a lot of time during the learning process.

Starting position

R R 4

Actual C ord

R 7 3 Do you see which notes moved between the Starting position above and the actual chord? Thats right, the top two notes both moved to the left. Learning the chords using this starting position will help you to see how different qualities of chords with the same root are related. For example, how

C Major th

R 7 3 relates to

C Minor 7t

7R

9 of 166v 7hh

3


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

R 7 3 And her

R

Since the quality o chord is determined by the 3rd and 7th of the chord, all we need to makthe third. There arwant to keep it sim

If the chord is a no

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

1f a

e a great sounding c ord is the oot, the seventh and e many more notes u can ad but at first youll ple

n-7th chord, all youll is the Root and the 3rd

e for all Major 7 and Minor 7th chords. Once you ru

ow how to find c

to find F Minor f-step each.

0 of 166hyoho

7tth

rds yo

h from F rd,u

e the 7th and 3rd are Minor:

C Minor 7th

7 3 havent memorized!

Major 7th, youll just lower the


F Minor 7th

7 3 R

are each down one key fr the top two keys o

. Ok, well, how do we findstarting position. The starting position willthey are major and minor For example, the starting

Sta

C, C and F

or

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

Heres the starting positio

Sta

Well learn rules on how tstarting position.

1om

F Major 7t

R

he 7th and 3rd? From

put us close to the 3rd.

position for all C Cho

rting position fo

R

n written with the no

rting position fo

C

o arrive a he differen

1 of 166f

h

7 3

the refe nce point, from this

and 7th, but leave open whether

rds will look like this:

r C chords

R 4

te names

r C chords

C F

t qualities of chords from the t t t re


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

Starting position for C chords

R R 4

Top 2 notes down step for Major 7th chords:

C Major 7th

R 7 3 If you want to get into the nitty-gritty theory of it, The Major 3rd is d wn a half-step from he 4th

and the The Major 7th is d

But instead of thinking offind them as a unit! Onc

1oown a half-step from

these pitches individe you know how to fin

2 of 166 t the R

ually, d theoot

the sta.

system will allow you to rting position, and you


start to learn the rules on how to find certain qualities, youll find you can read chord symbols very quickly. In fact, I taught one student who had played piano for years but didnt 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 dont have the foundation in theory that she had. But if youll take the time to understand the logic, the system will fall into place for you very quickly!

13 of 166


The Essentials of Nates Thre Finger Piano Method Heres a quick sketch of the system. If this doesnt make sen yet, dont worry, Ill 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

7 3 R

2. M7 chords. If the chord is a Major seventh chord, move the top two notes down one key (one half-steps) each from the starting position.

C Major 7th

R 7 3 3. 7 chords. If the chord is a dominant seventh chord, move the top note down one key and the middle note down two.

C Dominant 7th

7

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

1 3 R

he chord is a dimiddle note down

C Diminis

R

4 of 166ein thh

7ished sree. ed 7t

ev

h

3seenth, move the top note


The Essentials of Nates Three Finger Piano Method for Non-Seventh Chor s

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 (Ill teach you fourths soon!)

C Minor

3 R 5

2. M chords. If the ch rd is a Maj r chord, move he top note down one key (one half-step) from the starting position; then move the middle note down a 4th.

C Major

R 3 5 3. dim chords. If thetwo keys (two half-steps)down a 4th, and then movfifth!)

1od chord is a Diminished ch d, move the top note down from the starting position he move the middle note e the middle note down a

C Diminished

5R

5 of 166or; t

h

3 toalf-step (so that its the flat


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 youre doing chord stabs in the right hand and a walking bass in the left.

16 of 166


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 were going to learn is how to find chords from the symbols written in popular fake books. Look at the example below. Youll 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, dont know how to find the elements of the chords yet, so just pretend you do, for a minute so that you can understand where Im taking you in the book, before you set out on the journey!

On the word am from I am a melody, youll see you have the note E in the melody and a CM7 chord written above. Using Nates three finger piano method, youll learn to find a CM7 chord quickly.

So assuming you already know this, youll see that youll 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, youll 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:

17 of 166


C Major 7th

7R 3

The R stands for Root, which will be played in the left hand.

Both the melody and the top note of the chord

The 7 stands for the 7th of the chord, and it will be middle note (for now) The 3 stands for the 3rd of the chord, and it will be the top note (for now)

OK, so now lets look at the next part of this selection. On the dy of melody, youll see we have Am7 with C (an octave above middle C) in the melody.

So again assuming you already know the method, youll see that you need:

A in the left hand (the Root) G and C in the right hand C in the melody (which always goes on top)

Now, again youll see the the top note of your chord and the melody note are redundant, so again, youll only play three notes.

A Minor 7th

R

As in the last emelody and thchord are the s

187

xample, the e top note of the ame.

of 1663


OK, lets look at the next part. Using ates Three Finger Piano Method, youll 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. Its 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 youll have a decent solution:

This is how Dm7 usually looks:

D Minor 7th

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 t the melody note, youll

ote E added

R 3

M StaNote

1667

op note of t get this:

7 M

nds for MeloN3

he chord down an

dy


Now later on in this book, well 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, youll see a 9th chord written, but it is the melody note as well, so you dont need to figure out the 9th. The 9th of the chord is always optional anyway, so while youre learning to read chords, you can just leave it out at first (Unless, of course, its also the melody note!).

OK, now to the next part of the selection. Using Nates Three Finger Piano Method, youll find that you need to play:

G in the left hand (the Root) F and B in the righ hand

Now if you playadd the D melod

G Domin

OK, now to ourmelody. Using NC chord is the R D in the melody (w

your G7 chord so that ay note on top, like this:

ant 7th with added m

R

final part of this selectioates Three Finger Pian

oot and the 3rd.

C in the left hand ( E in the right hand C in the melody (w

20 of 166t hich always

ll three not

elody not

7

You can planotes in th

n. You seeo Method,

the Root)

hich always

goes o

es fall be

e D

3

y the tope right

you hayou see

goes onn top)

low middle C, you can just

M

three 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 its a good idea, so add the fifth as well.

C

3 R

C with added 5th

3 R 5

C with added 5th and C in the melody

M R 3 5

21I took the 3rd down the octaso that the melody is on top

of 166ve,

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

he Essentials f Piano hords TC

All about Chords and Intervals

efore we get into the systemIf youve already studied mmove right on to chapter 2need to spend a little more t

B

Chords A chord is a group of notes playeexample, go to your piano and playjust 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.

22 of 166o, youll need to know some basics of music theory. usic, you can glance over this chapter and then

. If youve never studied music before, you might ime on this chapter.

d at the same time that sound good together. For the note C in your left hand. (Its the note thats )

E

ote E. (Its 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 EC

Play the to two notes in the right hand for now. Fingering doesnt matter just yet.

Certain notes tend to change the flavor of a chord. For example, if we add the note B Flat to the notes C and E, well get a very different sort of sound.

B Flat is the right-most of the three black keys. It is written with the flat symbol, which looks like a cursive letter b.

B

C E

o when you add the note Flat the notes C and E, you get whats called a C7

S

chord.

In sheet music, you might se

23 B

e it like

of 166topbthis:


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 well 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 youve 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. (Well learn the F chord in a minute.)

Thats the essence of how to use chords. Now lets learn how Chord Symbols constructed.

HOW CHORDS SYMBOLS ARE BUILT:

ROOT QUALITY EXTRA STUFF

F#m7b5

24 of 166


Root sually the bottom note of a chord, the Root is the fundamental note of the chord to hich the other notes relate.

7 3R Uw

Root Note

Quality The next part any chord symbol is on the related notes. For example (pronounced C minor) has the no

Heres a C chord.

C

Heres a Cm chord.

E

C

25 of 166Related notes

the Quality of the chord. This changes depending a C chord has the note E in it, while a Cm chord te Eb in it.

Eb


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 3rdM r 3rd

When you play the Roottogether you get a C Maassumed). If you play C

The other most importaThe seventh of the note Bb.

(The note B is just to the

Cajo

and the third together, you get a chord. If you play C and E jor chord (Often just called a C chord the Major quality is and Eb together you get a C Minor chord.

nt note for determining the quality of a chord is the seventh. C is the note B. The minor seventh of the note C is the note

right of the three black keys.)

B

26 of 166


When you play the Root, the 3rd and the 7th, you get whats called a seventh chord.

C EB

T

T

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 dont use the proper term, dominant, because its 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.

he chord above using , B and is a Major 7th Chord. The chord on page two

T

using C, Bb and E is a Dominant 7t

27 of 16E, Chis is a blanket term for all the different types of seventh chords.

here are four qualities of seventh chords you will see:

the Major 7th chord the Minor 7th chord the Dominant 7th chord The Diminished 7th chord 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 th

C A

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

28 of 16e

g

i

two white keys between the three black keys.)

Eb

youll 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. Its the left most of the three black keys.

bG

Heres a C7b5 chord. Compare it to the C7 chord we talked about earlier. Do you see how its the same chord, just with one added note? Thats the essence of the extra-stuff part of chord symbols.

BbCTry ptwo rightthe Cplay

Now the extra stuff adds some comextra stuff for now. If you see C7b5first, and then, whenever youre read

29 of 166Elaying hese notes the hand, while

and

ed in t

plexit, just py, you

tinBb are he left

y to what were doing, so well leave off the lay C7. OK? This will make things easier at

can it back in. bG


Learning the Sharp and Flat Note Names The black keys on the keyboard dont 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#

B A A# G# C#

F GC D E

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 G A Db Bb

C D

Lower pA GF E

itches Hig

30 of 166 b b B

her pitches


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

Often oull see flats as the music goes down in pitch (as you move from right to left on the eyboard).

Usuall a chord is spelled with either all s rps or all flats, not both. So an Eb minor chord ould only use flats. You would sp it Eb and Gb, not Eb and F#. Even if F# is muc more common way to spell that p o key.

An E flat minor chord is spelled with all fl

b E

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

A D sharp minor chord is spelled with all

D#

31 of 166haelliany wh, y kats.

bG

chord. But then you need to spell all of the

sharps.

#F


The Intervals Youll 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, youll 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. DC#

C D

This is what half-st

So it doesnt mattdistance is a half-st

# F#

A A#G#

F GE

eps look like.

er whether the key is white or black,ep.

32 of 166 B

as long as its adjacent, the


The next interval youll 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#

B A A# G# C#

F GC D E

Examples of whole-steps. Notice most whole steps either go from a white key to a white key, or a black key to a black key. Theyre a little tricky around the notes E and F

cause th re is no black key in betw en. So, these on use both white and black ys. The ame is e betwe B and , althou h you can see it on this diagram.

Hbekeere are some of t

Eb to F E to F# Bb to C B to C# truhe trickier whole-steps that use both wh

33 of 166estge s ene C

ite and black keys.


The last interval youll 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 F GC B D E So for example,

C to F is a fourth (Db, D, Eb and E are in between) D to G is a fourth (Eb, E, F and Gb are in between) F to Bb is a fourth (Gb, G, Ab, and A are in between)

Easy Two Easy Tricks for Finding Fourths Between White Keys To find a fourth between white keys, just skip two white keys. So for example:

T find a urth abo e C, sk two w te keys ( and D) and youll find the fo rth, F. To find a fourth, G.

Just watch out foExceptions.

fofourth above D, skip two white keys (

r the one exception! F to B is not

34 of 166C hiouv ipD and F) and youll 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 youll find the fourth, Gb.

To find a fourth abo Eb, skip one black key (Gb) and youll 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 whi keys starting on F, it do nt work. This is the one exception to the white key ru

F to B is not a fourth! The skip two white keys rule wihave to memorize this exception.

F

The fourth above F is Bb.

Bb

F

35 of 166estele.vell mislead you here. You just

B


Exception 2 If you use the trick for black keys starting on F# (or Gb same note just spelled differently) it doesnt 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#

Heres 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#

36 of 166B 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 weve 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 thats 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, youll sense when you should add a little fifth, or when you should leave it out.

On the following pages, well 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.

3R

Root Note The third

Major Thirds and Minor Thirds Thirds can either be higher or lower in pitch. If they are higher in pitch, they will be more to the right on the keyboard.

3R

Major 3rd is further to the

right on the keyboard Root Note

And if theyre lower in pitch heyll be more to the left on the ke oard.

Root Note

38, t R

Minor 3rdleft on th

of 166yb

3

is further to the e keyboard


Finding the Minor or Major 3rd of a chord In this book well 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 The 4th

Root Note Minor 3rd is down a whole-

step from the 4th

The major 3rd will be down a half-step from the 4th

3 4R

The 4th

Root Note

39Major 3 is down a half-step fro the 4th

of 166rd

m


Practice finding the Major 3rd

irst, find C on the key keyb ard wit your left hand.

C

Then pair it with another C higher on the keyboard (further to the right).

C C

ow find the note up a four from the higher C. Remember the rule for white notes? st skip two white notes to ind it. (So skip D and E, and youll land on F). To test to ake sure its a fourth, you n count the number of keys in between, and it should be

four. (So, Db, D, Eb and E thats four!)

C C F

ow to find the major 3rd, just take the top note down a half-step. And there we have e Major 3rd, the note E. If you play all three notes, youll get a C Major chord. NthC

40th fcaNJum o

FC

of 166hE


Practice finding the Minor 3rd

irst, find C on the key keyb ard with your left hand.

C

hen pair it with another C igher on th keyboard (further to the right).

C C

ow find the note up a four from the higher C, which is F.

C C F

Now to find the minor 3rd, just take the top note down a whole-step. Remember, with a whole step we skip one note (in this case the note E), so the minor 3rd is the note Eb.

you play all three notes, youll have a C minor chord. IfC

41thNhToFC

of 16bE

6e


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

5 3R

Root Note The fifth The third

Finding the fifth The fifth can be found down a 4th from the Root. Another good reason to know how to find fourths!.

5 3RR

The fifth down a 4th from the Root

42

of 166Rootoctav Note (up the e)


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

5 3R

7th Chords 7th chords use the Root, 3rd and 5th, and add one additional note, the 7th.

5 37R

Finding the 7thThe 7th of a chord is a lot like the 3rd of a chord, except, instead of finding it from the 4th, youll find it from the Root.

435R

Down Root

of 1667

step from 3

Down step from 4th


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

7

RR Root (up the

octave)

Root Note Minor 7th is down a whole-

step from the Root

The major 7th will be down a half-step from the Root

7R

Root (up the

octave)

Root Note Major 7th is down a half-

step from the Root

44

of 166R


Practice finding the Major 7th

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 C

ow to find the major 7th, a you need to do is go down a half-step from the higher C. Remember, a half-step is the next (adjacent) note.

C B If you play these two notes,

45ll

N by the way, its not a chord, because a chord needs a third.

of 166


Practice finding the Minor 7th

First, find C on the key keyboard with your left hand.

C

hen pair it with anoth r C higher on the keyboard (further to the right).

C C

Now to find the major 7th, all you need to do is go down a whole-step from the higher . Remember, with a whol step you skip one note (in this case the note B). B flat is e minor 7th of C.

Bb

C 46e Cth

T e

of 166


Finding the 7th and 3rd in pairs One of the best tricks youll 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.

7 3R

Root Note Both notes down a step from

starting position

The Starting Position The starting position is a visual guide to help you find any chord; it is a valuable learning tool while learning to read chords. A fancy way to describe would be that its a metachord a reference point to the other chords youll learn.

Since the 3rd is found from the fourth, and the 5th and seventh are found from the Root, you will want to start with The Root and the 4th.

474R

of 166


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

The Starting Position

R 4R

How well use the Starting Position. Once you have found the starting position for a chord, youll move down to find the major or minor 7ths depending on the quality of the chord. This will be discussed in great length in later chapters

But lets look at an example quickly.

If you take the top two notes down a half-step each youll get a Major 7th chord. For C Major 7th, the top two notes would be B and E.

Major 7th chord

R 37

Maj 7th and the Maj 3rd

If you take the top two notes down a whole-step each youll get a Minor 7th chord. For C minor 7th, the top two notes would be Bb and Eb.

Minor 7th chord

7

R Min 7th a

48 of 166. 3

nd the Min 3

rd


From the starting position youll find different qualities of chords As you can see, once you have found the starting position for a chord, its 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 notes down a whole-step ach. (Rem mber, down means to the left on the keyboard). This would give you an F minor 7th chord.

F Minor 7th

7 3 R

So you can see the system breaks down i

First, learning to find the starting Then, learning the moves from t

whole-steps) to finding the final

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

49 of 166nto 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 youll be much more flexibu come up with.

Re

s of ha

avingan hav

le to imelf-st

to tingproeps and

hink in vise


An Overview of Nates 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 its Major 7th, Minor 7th or many other qualities of chords, well move the top two notes to find the chord.

The Starting Position for All C Chords

RR 4

Step 3: Finding the Quality from the Starting Position Depending on the quality of the chord (M, m, 7, M7, m7, dim7), you will move the top two notes to the left in certain patterns.

The 7 Common Qualities of Chords (You ont need to know all of this ri t now,

j st take a quick look at it for no )

M Major Chord{ m Minor Chord dim Diminished M7 Major 7th Ch m7 Minor 7th Ch 7 Dominant 7th C dim7 Diminished

50duR, 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

of 166ghwh}

3rd }

r 3rd}

jor 3rd}

7th and Minor 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

T

Nates Three Finger Piano Method uses the interval of the fourth a lot so were 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.

Can you them. Dowritten on

This is go

Rule: Twhite ke

Now to shthis chart,

E

figure out t you see h it?

ing to be ou

o find fouys.

ow you a l the note E

E A

he pattern bow there ar

r rule for fin

rths betwee

ittle of how .

51 of 1D

etween theme two white

ding fourths

n white keys

the system w

66G

? Try cou keys betwee

between w

, go up three

orks. I wanC

nting the wn of these

hite keys.

white keys

t you to playhe interval youll use most in the system is the 4th. F

hite keys between keys with a letter

, or down three

the first note on


Now play both E and A.

A E

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

E

#G

Now play both E and G#. Since the note A is ourth above E, the note just to the left is called the major 3rd. So G# is the majo rd of E. They sound nice together, dont they? A major chord can be made sim from a note and its major 3rd. Of course in music, the third will probably be an octave higher than the root note like this:

E

#G

Now lets go back find E again, only this time, lets find the note E higher on the keyboard.

E

Now find(skip two the note a fourth down frwhite keys).

52 of 166anom E. R

ar

pld f 3y emember its the third white key down


You shou g th n te:

B

Now play them together:

E B

Now add ack in your no G#:

E B E

Play the bottom note here in the left hand.

So the note E is the root f the chord The note G# is the major 3rd, and the note B? The note B is the fifth.

It maybe a little confusing at first, but

Rule: The 5th of a cho

6 7 3 2 B 4 E

53 of 166. bldthe 5th of

rd is dow

E

a chord is down a fourth from the root!

n a fourth from the root. ote #Get is o


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 will be the note a fourth to the left (A).

The third will be down a half-step from the note a fourth to the right (F#)

G D A

D

#F

A

So this is a D chord. Very easy to find when you know fourths!

Of course, the root will usually be played down an octave or two.

F

D

A

54 of 1#

66


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

F C G D A E

Now take the notes a fourth up and a fourth down.

C G D

Now find the note down a half-step from the highest note. This time it wont be a black key, because there isnt a black key to the left of the top note.

BG D

And there you go, the G chord. Now try it with the middle note down an octave (and in the left hand)

BG D

55 of 1

66


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 ith a name label on it? This is our rule for black keys.

B b

G b

D b

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

The same process I was showing you for finding major chords works with the black keys as well. For example, lets say we want to find the chord Ab Major. Simply take Ab, the note a fourth to the left on the keyboard and the note a fourth to the right on the keyboard this will be your starting position for figuring out the chord.

Now take the right-most key down a half-step and youll have a major chord.

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

56 of 16EE

could also tahand.

6AA

ke the middC

le note (the wb bro boot) down an b bA b

E b

D b


The First Exception to the Fourths Rule. There are two exceptions to the fourths rule. First, remember the rule for white keys, well, this doesnt 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

NOT A FOURTH

A Fourth Above F is Bb. A Fourth Below Bb is F.

F

b B

A

57 of 166n Excep

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!

A F ##

NOT A FOURTH

A Fourth Above F# is B. A Fourth Below B is F#.

F #

B

An xcep onal Fourth

58 of 166tE i


Practice Finding Chords Around the Exceptional Fourths To find an F chord, youll need a fourth ab ve, Bb, and a four below, C.

C

F

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

A C F

This is an F chord. The note C is the fifth, the note A is the ma

How about an Bb chord? Yo can use th rule f r black keys(Eb), but the fourth below is ne of the xceptio s, so you jufourth below Bb is F.

b B

F

OK, now take the top note do n a half-s p and youll have a B

D

F

59 of 166jor 3rd.

to find the note above st have to know that a onthE b

b chord. wu oteeeoob BB b


OK, now lets look at chords that are built using the fourth between F# and B. The first such a chord is the chord F# major. Heres 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-ste . This is an F# Ma r chord.

# A # C # F

How about a B chord? The fourth down fr B is F# and the fo

# F

B

Now take the top note down a lf-step and oull h e a B chord

DF #

B

60 of 166urth above B is E.

E

. ah yoa vmp jo #


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, youll see the chord symbol for the chord E, which is simply the letter E.

Heres 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.

61 of 166


Fourths Study One

62 of 166


Fourths Study Two

63 of 166


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


Using Fourths to Find C Chords

65 of 166


Using Fourths to Find F Chords

66 of 166


Using Fourths to Find G Chords

67 of 166


Using Fourths to Find Bb Chords

68 of 166


Using Fourths to Find D Chords

69 of 166


Using Fourths to Find Eb Chords

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Using Fourths to Find A Chords

71 of 166


Using Fourths to Find Ab Chords

72 of 166


Using Fourths to Find E Chords

73 of 166


Using Fourths to Find Db Chords

74 of 166


Using Fourths to Find B Chords

75 of 166


Using Fourths to Find Gb Chords

76 of 166

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: MajoHow to Find Th

OK, Now lets get into using the sy

Demonstration: Starting Position

Starting Position fo

From the Starting Position half-step each to find a Ma

C Major 7th

77r 7th Chords and em

stem!

Finding CM7 and Cm7 from the for all C Chords

C Chords rR

(R, R and 4th), you will mojor 7th Chord.

7R

DownSt

of 166R

ve the top t

3

a half-steparting Positi4

wo notes down a

from on

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

N

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. Thats why you move further to the left for a Minor 7th chord than a Major 7th cho 4th (in the starting position) are the highest position in ving down (to the left) to find the 7th and and 3rd of ea ----------------------------- When you talk about hi and low on the keyboard, high is more to the right, low is more to the

78gh

left.

of 166rd, because the Root and the chord, you will be moch chord. 7 3 R

ote: a whole step is the same as two half-steps. Down a whole-step from

Starting Position

NOTE: People sometimes are confused that you move the top two notes a half-


Nates Three Finger Piano Method: Finding the Starting Position

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

RR

Play the left Root in the left hand and the right Root in the right hand.

If the chord were F# Major 7th Chord, you would find two F#s:

79

of 166R R


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

RR 4

If youre finding a F# Major 7th Chord, the 4th above Root (F#) would be B.

R

4

R

80

of 166


Finding the Quality from the Starting PositionWhat you have so far is what well call t e starting position. T e starting sition 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):

Starting Position for C Chords

C Major 7th

RR 4

3 7R

For F Major 7th (FM7):


F Major 7th

81r F Chords

R

R

of 1667 hR

3h po

4


OK, while you dont 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 dont 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 dont 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 wont 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

82 of 166


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 easier to understand the concepts if we just concentrate on the r now.

In the first measure above, youll see the two chords ywritten out in notation. The numbers underneath indnotes represent. In other words, in the first chord, CMnote of that chord is the 3rd. The 7 represents that the7th.

Where is the bottom note? Well, to save space in thtreble clef. The bottom note will always be written in chord, the bottom note (played in the left hand) is C! easy isnt it. This is also good practice, because fake beither!

Here, Ive given you the same selection, but with the n(very handy if you dont 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

83 of 166, but it will be se two roots foou learned on the previous page icate what chord degree the 7, the 3 represents that the top

middle note of that chord is the

e book, Ive written only the the chord name. So for the first For the next chord, its F! Thats ooks dont give you the bass

Common tone

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


mysterious and powerful doesnt 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 y the circle of fifths are us ry style of music Because they are used so of rn patterns of chords circle of fifths with smooth

Smootnext chmeasuhappen

Voiceswould would down aup a 4t

As youlearn, alearn h that are related bfrom Bach to Rap. moving around theh Voice leading means that the notes in one chord in the smoothest way possible. As you can

re, the B moves down a whole-step to the A, we, where the B jumps up al

Poor voice Leading

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

84 of 166

ed all the time in eveten, it is good to lea voice leading. ord move to the notes in the see below, in the second

hich is much smoother than what the A. s in the first measur most a whole octave to Smooth voice Leading

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

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, youll have to how to move smoothly between


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

As soon as y u start to grow confident playing t m in this first v icing, we will learn the second v icing, in which the order of the no s are reversed: he 7th will be on top and the 3rd in he middle. This is the voicing of 7 you see in t 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

an learning the chords individually. So, for those w o can start emorizing these th

patterns righread, If you cyou to read f

Moving f

C Maj

R

F Maj

oo tt away before learning all the chords, I wan look at two chords and know what t

aster as well as smoother.

rom CM7 to FM7 with Smoo

or 7th

or 7th

R 3

85 of 166h

ould recomo do instead

th Voice

7o the mheteFMmend it. When you of one, it will allow

Leading

3

7


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 Lea ing OK, so lets look at this same smooth voice leading pattern with two ot er 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

As with

G Major 7

R

an exercise, out finding i7

th (voicing two)

R 3

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

86 of 166whole step dh3

7

(EM7 to AM7)


Practice Finding Major 7th Chords Use Nates Three Finger Piano Method.

87 of 166


88 of 166


Note: every 2nd chord is a voicing 2 chord, written as v2 in parentheses. To find the second chord in each measure, just

a) take the middle note of the 1st chord in each measure down a whole step (for example, B to A 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 the first measure). (Remember, I havent written the Root of each chord out in notation, because its in the name of the chord!

Moving from Major 7th Chord to Major 7th Chord

SAME NOTE DOWN WHOLE STEP

89 of 166

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

OK, weve learned Major 7 chords, now lets learn Minor 7 chords. The only difference is that instead of taking the top two notes (the

th

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


RR 4

C Minor 7th

907

R

of 166hos 3 ntoes in the right hand) down a half-step as you did for Major 7 chords, youll be taking them down a whole-step for Minor 7 chords.

th

th


For F Minor 7th (Fm7):


F Minor 7th

4 RR

7 3 R

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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 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 Nates 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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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 dont write it out. (For example, the first chord, is C in the left hand with Bb and Eb in the right hand)

Moving from Minor 7 Chord to Minor 7 Chordth th

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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):


RR 4

C Dominant 7th

967

R

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For F Dominant 7th (F7):


4 RR

F Dominant 7th

73R

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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 Nates 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! Thats a lot of info! If you feel like this is all too much to remember, rest assured you dont 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 Nates 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, youll 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 not down 3 half-steps and move the top note down a whole-step. (Ill show you two easi ways to find diminished chords in the following pages, but I also want you to understand them this way.)

For C Diminished 7th (Cdim :


C Diminished 7th

1047)r C Chords

R

6R

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3 e er4

68


For F Diminished 7th (Fdim7):


4 RR

F Diminished 7th

3

6R

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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 w e in

M7 s . . 7

(Both notes down a half-step from CM7) (Both notes down a half-step from C7)

How Minor 7ths and Diminished 7ths relate Diminished 7th chords are the same as Minor 7th chords, except the middle note (the 7th) is down a half-step further in diminished.

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.

(middle nthree half-steps froRoot)

(middle note down two half-steps from Root)

106 of 166 ote down Dominant.

. 7 is to dimhere they would b

is to m7 . . . am


Another easy way to fin diminishe 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 youll have a diminished 7th chord.

For C Diminished 7th (Cdim7):

Root in Octaves

C Diminished 7th

RRup three and down three

3

6R

For F Diminished 7th (Fdim7 :

Root in Octaves

F Diminished 7th

107)Rup three and down thr

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of 166ee

6d dR

3


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 youll 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 well 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 dont need the seventh, so you can take everything youve 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.

Starting Position fo C Chords

C Major 7th

C Minor 7th

111rR

R

R

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R

3

R3

4


Practice Finding Major Chords Use Nates 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 Nates Three Finger Piano Method.

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Be Still My Soul

Heres a fakebook version of the first two phrases of this popular hymn.

Using what youve learned so from Nates 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 lets 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 its in the melody.

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Since well have four notes here, you can play the Bb in either the left or right hand. The left hands 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)

7R M 3

I would recommend playing some of the middle notes in the lef hand, as soon as you are ready. It will be easier to visualize the melody and the chords if you pharder to fit lo

117t

lay them all in the righ but its ts of notes into one han .

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Greensleeves Heres 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 Heres a realization of Greensleeves. Theres a discussion of this arrangement on the next page.

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scussion 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.

just as sts.

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

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

Since weve 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.

You dont haright when itadded the sevthat it createsharmony. Since3rd, Ioctav

ve to play the full chord says to! Here Ive enth two beats later, so movement in the

120 of 166 hand as accompaniment here! Di

The Root and 3rd,the method sugge

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


Taking the 3rd down the octave The voicing youve 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 3

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

But what if the melody note is C?

C 7 (Voicing 1)

M

You dont want the melody to dip underneath your chord, so you take the 3rd down the octave. (Voicing 2 means the 3rd is underneath the 7th)

C 7 (Voicing 2) with melody note C

121M R 3

You can play either the tonotes in the right hand in

of 16677

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

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

C

Measure 2

Here you can just play C the

C

12R 3

way the method suggests si

R

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nce the 3

R

rd is in the melody.

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

R 3 M

Also fine:

C

R R 3 M

Measure 4

Measure 4 is the same as me

123asure 1, only the right hand

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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 R

Slash Chords In fake books, you will ward slash, then another note name. That other note name is an alternate bass note. If a ote other than the Root is in the bass (the bottom-most note in the left hand), this is w its notated.

Cm7/Bb

7

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

Cm7/G

7 5

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

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an alteyou lea about3 voiceeading

see a chord symbol, then a for3

3

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, Ive 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 Ri h Hand If the slash chord uses ither the 3rd or t 7 as the alternate bass, you will usually want to remove that no from the right hand, so that it isnt doubled. Since youre chord will only be two n tes at that point, you can add the Root back in, but this time in the right hand.

Gm7

Gm7/F

7 R

7

R

Gm7

Gm7/Bb

7R

73

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Example Dont 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, well add the fifth into the right hand, so that well still have three voices.

Adding the Fifth toYou can also fill out Slash chonote by adding the 5th of the chthe time. But it can fill things

Finding the Fifth The fifth of a chord is the noteadded to any of the chords wechord. I would generally recomvoices. There will be times whthree voices.

C

128 the Right Hand rds that use either the 7th andord. The fifth is unnecessar

out when you dont want to

down a fourth from the Ro have learned so far without

mend leaving out the fifth iere youll want to add the fif

R 5

Go down a 4th

Root to find thchord!

of 166 3rd as thy to thedouble t

ot of thchanginf you alth in ord

R

from the 5th o

e alternate bass harmony most of he 3rd or the 7th.

at chord. It can be g the quality of the ready have three er to maintain

3

e f a


CM7

5 R 3 7

The fifth can be added below the 7th, or above the 3rd (in the higher octave).

CM7

3 7

5

If you see something like, with the fifth in the melody, the fifth should go on top.

If you see something like this, here the 3rd and Root a e in the me dy, you would add it below although in this ase, you dont en ne it.

129 w cR

of 166lored ev


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 were moved the third to the left hand), in order to maintain three voices.

The example:

A nice realization:

Here its 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 Ive added the fifth of the C chord (G).

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Avoiding Collis ons Often in slash chords it ill sound smoother to add the 5th rather than the Root into the right hand, so that the Root and 7th dont 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

3 R

Major 2nd interval can be exciting or jarring, depending on the context

Most of the time, though, youll want the harmony to not stick out. This is a good time to take the Root out of the right hand and add the fifth instead, so that the harmony is spread out.

Gm7/Bb

3 5

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

3 7

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Root on top as well. In thisthat you dont have to stretc

5 from Rootiw77 case youll h your

R


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 Ro t. Also, a 9th hord is a ominant chord by defa

speed read piano

Documents

piano chords

major chords chapter

minor chords page

way chords

diminished chords chapter

chord chapter

breaking chords

chords lso