INTRODUCTION TO CHORDS

INTRODUCTION TO CHORDS Indicates Files in Piano Marvel Repertoire Introduction to Chords Print out this file and use it at your keyboard to study/ Prepared by Christine Brown Please give me your feedback on this course at grace4notes@yahoo.com June 2012 1

Lessons 1) Music Basics (key names and rhythms)... page 3 2) Sharps & Flats... page 4 3) Major Pentascales... page 4 4) Major & Minor Chords... page 6 5) Chord Inversions... page 14 6) Other Kinds of Chords... page 19 2

If you are unfamiliar with the names of the keys of the keyboard, please read and work through this section. We use the first 7 letters of the alphabet to name the keys: A B C D E F & G. As you look at your keyboard you will see that the black keys are arranged in groups of 2s and 3s. The three white keys that touch each group of 2 black keys are C D & E. C D E C D E The white keys that touch the 3 black keys are F G A & B. F G A B F G A B Many keyboards start with a C on the bottom (left) of the keyboard, while 88-key acoustic pianos start with an A on the bottom. Practice playing and naming all the white keys of the piano. Name the lowest key on your keyboard, the highest. Play these notes starting at the lowest A and going up to the top of the keyboard. A B C D E F G A Play a key with the Right Hand (RH) or Left Hand (LH) and identify it. Now watch the Method 1A Video and play Method 1A and Technique 1A in Piano Marvel. These Files use Middle C and the next C lower to teach you to play long and short notes (called rhythm. ) In Piano Marvel you can always click on a note to see where it is on your keyboard. If you play the notes in the right place and at the right time you will see the notes green when you finish a File. Playing the wrong keys or too early or late will give you red notes. Piano Marvel is great for preparing you to play by chord with other musicians because it gives you immediate feedback about the accuracy of your notes and rhythm! 3

Lesson 2 Sharps & Flats We have used the black keys to learn the names of the white keys. Now let s use the white keys to learn the names of the black keys. Play a C, and then play the black key just to the right. This is called C sharp (C#). Whenever we are referring to a black key that is higher (to the right) of a white key we call it a sharp. C# D# F# G# A# C# D# C D E F G A B C D E Play and name these keys. Start on the lower C and go up (to the right). When we are talking about the black key that is just to the left of a white key (lower), then we call it a flat. Db Eb Gb Ab Bb Db Eb C D E F G A B C D E Play and name these keys. Start on the higher E and go down (to the left). Play a black note and say both its flat and sharp names. So a C# is a half step from a C, and a Bb is a half step from a B. Half steps are from key to key with NO keys in between, Whole steps always skip a key with ONE key in between. Another way to think about it a Whole step is 2 half steps. The foundation of chords is keys and scales, so let s use what we have learned to make scales. Lesson 3 Pentascales A major scale (the source of major chords) starts on its root the name of the scale and goes up for 7 notes until you reach the same note one octave higher. Later we will learn to play the whole scale, but for now we will learn Pentascales the first 5 notes of a major scale. 4

The C pentascale uses only white keys C D E F G. We can use the C pentascale to learn the pattern for playing any major pentascale. Use your RH to learn the pentascale, and then have your RH teach your LH. From C to D is a whole step (skipping C#/Db), and from D to E is a whole step (skipping D#/Eb), but from E to F is only a half step! From F to G, another whole step. When we write pentascales, we want to use each letter of the music alphabet. That s why the middle note of the D pentascales is F#, and not Gb. Play and say the names and numbers of the C pentascale. The half step is between 3 & 4. If we play 1, 3 & 5 of a major pentascale we have a major chord. Fill out this chart and practice playing these pentascales. 1 (w) 2 (w) 3 (h) 4 (w) 5 C pentascale = C D pentascale = D F# E pentascale = E F pentascale = F G pentascale = G A pentascale = A Did you notice that 3 of the pentascales you wrote out have all white keys in their major chord. Which ones? The other 3 have a sharp in the middle. Which are they? Files 1 & 2 in Introduction to Chords are playing the major pentascales of C D E F G & A, counting up by whole steps or half steps. Practice slowly, at a medium speed, and faster. In the accompaniment-style music I will be showing you, we play one note (usually the name of the chord) in the LH, and 3-note chords in the RH. 5

Lesson 4 Major & Minor Chords Another way of creating chords is by counting half steps. A major 3rd is 4 half steps above a note. A minor 3rd is smaller, only 3 half steps above a note. A major chord has a major 3rd on the bottom and a minor 3rd on the top. (4 + 3) A minor chord has a minor 3 rd on the bottom and a major 3 rd on the top. (3 + 4) Files 3 & 4 are also known as Stepping Up and Stepping Down and Skipping Up & Down. The RH plays the Pentascale and the Major Chord while the LH plays only the root and 5 th of the chord, Using your scale sheet and your keyboard, write & play these major chords: C major C E G D major E major F major G major A major I wrote a little song, Choices, that we will learn as our first chord song. File 5 in Introduction to Chords is this song in the Key of C. Play the 4 chords of C, F, G, and D as written above and play the name of the chord with the LH starting with the LH C below Middle C. File 6 is Choices in the Key of D. Choices on pages 7 & 8 is written as a lead sheet with the melody written out if you would like to sing it, and the chords to play. In contemporary music, the keyboard usually does not play the melody, but lets the other instruments or the voices carry it. Keep your RH in the same position and move it up or down as needed. Later I will show you another way to play chord progressions the order of the chords that makes up a song, using inversions, but for now just play them all in root position with the name of the chord on the bottom played with your thumb. As you will see in the Piano Marvel files, the LH plays the name of the chord. If there is no chord name for a new measure, it stays the same from the previous measure. 6

Introduction to Chords File 5. 7

Introduction to Chords File 6. 8

How to Transpose a Song Original Key New Key C C CHORD D D CHORD F CHORD G CHORD D CHORD G CHORD CHORD CHORD Original Key New Key 9

To make a minor chord, just lower the middle note of a major chord one half-step. The major pentascales that had a white key in the middle will now have a black key, and the ones that had a black key in the middle will now have a white key. A minor chord has a minor 3rd on the bottom and a major 3rd on the top. (3 + 4) Let s change these major chords to minor chords! C C _ E G Cm C _ Eb G_ D Dm E Em F Fm G Gm A Am CHALLENGE! Db Db * C#m Eb Ebm F# F#m Ab * G#m Bb Bbm B Bm This is all the major & minor chords there are! You can refer to this sheet if you see a new chord in a song you want to play. Files 7 & 8 in Introduction to Chords are playing major and minor chords. 10

How will you see chords written on chord charts? Chords with just a capital letter are major (C D G), and chords that have a capital letter and a little m (Cm Dm Em ) are minor. Chords that have a number in them (C7, Cm7, or C2 ) can still be played like a plain major or minor chord. We will learn to play those other chords later, because they add extra spice, but it will work to play just major and minor chords to start with. Here are some chord progressions used in popular worship songs: Revelation Song D2 Am C2 G (Key of D) Shout to the Lord A E F#m E D (Key of A) I Lift My Hands B E G#m F# (Key of B) Our God G#m E B F# (Key of B) Your Great Name Eb Bb Fsus F Gm Eb Bb F (Key of F) The Internet is a great place to find songs and chord charts for the songs you would like to learn. If the chords as listed here do not sound right with a song from YouTube, it may be in a different key. Use the chart on page 9 to transpose the chords. Use the keyboards on the next page to write out the root position chords for a song you want to play. 11

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In Introduction to Chords File 9, notice how the one minor chord adds interest to the chord progression. It is very common for the chords of a worship song to change on a consistent rhythmic basis, even if the melody of the song is very syncopated. Since the chord changes just once a measure, we can add rhythmic interest in any number of ways. Try playing quarter notes with either RH or LH, or both. Or try playing the rhythm that you hear from the drummer. If you are not using Piano Marvel, add a rhythm from your keyboard for more rhythmic ideas. Files 10 & 11 use the same root position RH chords, but add some interest with the LH with quarter note rhythm and walking bass notes. Once you have mastered the song in Piano Marvel, you have a good grasp of the notes and rhythm, so exercise your own creativity and play along. You will keep your high score, and can ignore the red notes. Try these variations: Play the RH chords as quarter notes instead of whole notes. Play the notes of the chord one or two at a time instead of all three together, as rocking chords. Try playing some 8 th notes in the RH. Do you have any questions? This might be a good time to email them to me at grace4notes@yahoo.com. Thanks! 13

Lesson 5 Chord Inversions In this lesson, we will study the inversions of our chords. The three-toned chords that we have been practicing are called - "Triads." (Think of triangle, or tricycle three!) Principle: The # of notes played equals the # of ways the chord can be played. Since a triad is three-toned, it can be played three different ways (positions): the "root position", the "first inversion", or the "second inversion." If the Root (chord name) is the lowest tone of the chord, the chord is said to be played in "root position." If the Third (3) of the chord is the lowest tone played, it is said to be in its "first inversion." If the Fifth (5) of the chord is the lowest tone played, it is said to be in its "second inversion." For example, the inversions of a (C major) chord are: Root Position: (C) - (E) - (G) usually played with RH 1 3 5 First Inversion: (E) - (G) - (C) usually played with RH 12 5 Second Inversion: (G) - (C) - (E) ) usually played with RH 1 3 5 Playing chord progressions with inversions will make our music much more interesting and smooth! Sometimes you play the chord in any position with the RH, but the 3 rd of the chord (or 5 th ) in the LH instead of the root of the chord. You will see that on chord charts written as C/E. The note written after the slash is the note that the LH plays. How would you play a C/G chord? 14

Using your scale sheet and your keyboard, write & play these major chords, but in first inversion this time! The chords in the first column are the most commonly used chords. With the exception of the Bb chord, they are built on white notes. Let s learn those first, and then later learn the inversions for the other chords. C major E G C Db major D major Eb major E major F# major F major Ab major G major B major A major Bb major Now let s play those same chords, but in 2 nd inversion. Circle the chord member that will be on the bottom now. Hint: (The C chord will now have the G on the bottom and the E moves to the top, so the chord will be G C E.) So you would circle the G in the C chord above, and then play the 2 nd inversion of that chord. Try that for the rest of the chords above! It may help you to play the root position chord in your left hand and keep it there as you play the inversions with your right hand. We can now recognize that the chord is the same, no matter which of its notes is on the bottom! Look back at page 10, and play the minor chords in root position, and 1 st and 2 nd inversions. 15

Using Inversions to Play Smooth Chord Progressions Instead of moving the whole hand to play different chords, we can keep common notes the same and move the others to the closest chord position. For example, the chord progression C F G C could be played (with RH fingerings) G 5 A 5 G 5 G 5 E 3 F 3 D 2 E 3 C 1 C 1 B 1 C 1 Chord: C F G C Here are the chords on a keyboard. You might find it helpful to map out your chord progressions on blank keyboards. 1 3 5 1 3 5 C E G C F A 1 2 5 1 3 5 B D G C E G Where would be the closest place to play the 3 notes of the D chord on the bridge of the Choices? (The bridge is a different part of the song.) File 12 is Choices in C using inversions. File 13 is Choices in D using inversions. Write the chords here. 16

D chord A chord G chord E chord 17

Now write D Am C G starting with a 2 nd inversion chord, keeping common notes the same and moving to the closest chord position. F# A D D chord A Am chord C E C chord G G chord File 14 uses D Am C G in these positions. 18

Lesson 5 Other Kinds of Chords Music is much more interesting if we know how to play other chords. In this lesson we will learn about: other kinds of chords. Suspend Chord (Asus) A popular chord in worship songs is the Suspend chord. To make this chord, raise the 3d of a major chord one half-step. Play it with your 4 th finger just like the 4 th note of a RH Pentascale. C = C E G Csus = C F G This chord usually resolves back to its major chord. It can be a useful chord progression for background music during ministry.. C Csus C Csus C (play each chord for at least 1 measure) Spell and play these major and suspend chords. Resolve to major. D A E F G Dsus Asus Esus Fsus Gsus Add 2 chord (C2) Instead of playing the 3 rd of the major chord play the note a whole step lower. (RH plays the chord with the 2 nd finger) C2 = C D G D2 = D A2 = A E2 = E F2 = F G2 = G File 15 uses the same chords but starts with first inversion and uses sus and Add 2 chords. Write on the next page what you hear! It also uses RH eighth notes between the chords. The music is written out on page 22. 19

F# D chord Am chord C chord G chord D G Gsus chord G2 chord 20

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7 th Chord (G7) To a major chord, add another minor 3rd (3 half steps) above the 5th of the chord. Let s change our major chords to seventh chords! C major C E G C 7th C E G Bb D major D 7th E major E 7th F major F 7th G major G 7th A major A 7th Bb major Bb 7th Remember our rule about the number of possible chord positions? How many positions can a seventh chord (which has 4 notes) have? For a C7 chord they would be: root 1st inv 2nd inv 3rd inv C E G Bb / E G Bb C / G Bb - C E / Bb C - E - G Minor 7 th Chord (Cm7) To a minor chord, add a minor 3 rd above the 5 th of the chord. So the Cm7 chord would be C Eb G Bb. 22

Please fill in this chart to spell the chords you ve learned! Choose the type of chords you want to write in the last 2 columns. ROOT MAJOR CHORD MINOR CHORD C C# Db D D# Eb E F F# Gb G G# Ab A A# Bb B Db C# Gb F# Ab G# Play them and listen to how they differ in sound! Remember to email me at grace4notes@yahoo.com. Thanks! 23