Foundation Class Manual

WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center
Foundation classes
Musician Transformation Training
A Study Manual
A Study Manual
Harold Hanson Udokwere

FUNDAMENTAL FACTORY
PAGES: 21
FUNDAMENTALS FLUENCY
NOTES & SCALES
NUMBER SYSTEM
FINGER EXERCISES
INTERVALS
Musician Transformation Training
“FUNDAMENTALS FLUENCY”
This training will ensure that you get the most out of the “Fundamental Factory”
program, which covers Fundamental Fluency techniques. It goes without saying that if
you don’t have the basics mastered, you can’t excel to the highest levels without major
struggles. Focusing on the fundamentals speeds up your understanding of complex
concepts in the future, among many things.
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©2013. WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved 2

This is a Piano/Keyboard with the NOTES written on each key.
Let me break it down for you. There are ONLY 12 notes in existence and they repeat themselves
over and over again in what we call ‘Octaves.’ An Octave refers to the number 8 (Oct.). It is
derived from the Latin word Octava which means eight. The eighth tone or octave of a series
will be the same with the first tone of that series. An octave is calculated in both directions -
ascending and descending. Octaves to the right are higher in pitch and octaves to the left are
lower in pitch.
What is a pitch?
This is simply the degree of how high or low a note or other sound is. It is the level of highness
or lowness of a music sound. Right now, we covered note names where you can tell the
difference between two notes, but when you hear them, you use the pitch levels to identify that
difference. You may not be able to readily give that pitch a name, but your ears can identify the
intensity or degree of it.
Musical Notes are identified by letters of the alphabet. The letters in music are A, B, C, D, E, F,
and G. There is NO ‘H’. After ‘G’ it simply starts over at ‘A’ again (see above). How can you
have more than one ‘A’? The TONE of the note sounds the same, but the ‘pitch’ is higher or
lower. There are many ‘A’s’ on the piano and many of the other letters as well. The lowest ‘A’
will sound extremely low like a Bass and will not be very distinguishable. The highest ‘A’ will
sound very high pitched like a flute or piccolo. So it’s 8 notes from ‘A’ to ‘A’ and ‘C’ to ‘C’ and
so on. Thus, it’s called an ‘Octave’.
OK, back to my original point. Did you realize what I said? There are ONLY 12 notes in
existence! This makes music a lot easier than you thought right? EVERY SONG YOU’VE
EVER HEARD WAS MADE UP OF A COMBINATION OF THESE 12 NOTES. No matter
how complicated of a Mozart song it is, there are only 12 notes to choose from:
A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G# and then back to ‘A’
The Black Keys are in sets of 2 and 3. I call them ‘Chopsticks’ and ‘Forks’. The note ‘C’ is at the
beginning (the left) of the ‘chopsticks’, while at the beginning of the ‘forks’ is the note ‘F’. The
chopsticks and forks repeat themselves over and over again and the note at the beginning of them
will always be the same. In front of every pair of chopsticks will be ‘C’ ALWAYS. Or you can
see it like this, ‘C’ is the first letter in Chopsticks, and ‘F’ is the first letter in the word Forks.
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This will help you memorize which notes are which, without writing the notes on each key!
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These note names are used to interpret certain PITCH.
A note therefore is a musical sound of definite pitch, or a symbol representing this sound.
You will then ask, what do the ‘#’ signs mean?
This will now introduce you to what we know as Pitch Modifiers. This is just how we can
modify the pitch level of notes by the introduction of certain symbols.
Pitch modifiers are 5 in number:
Sharps –
Flats – 
Naturals –
Double sharps –
Double flats – 
The # sign stands for “Sharp”.

So if you see ‘A#’ that means ‘A’ Sharp. C# = C sharp and so on.
The Sharps (#’s) can be the black or white keys.
The very next key to the RIGHT of any given key is the ‘Sharp’ of that note, and to the
LEFT, a ‘Flat’ of that note.
Let’s look at the keyboard once again:
C# D# F# G# A# Db Eb Gb Ab Bb
C D E F G A B C D E F G A B
Notice that the black notes seem to bear two names? These black notes are dependent tones both
in name and sound. They derive their names from the white/major notes. When you name them
in relation to the white note on their left, it becomes a sharp [#]. When you name them in relation
to the notes on their right, they become a flat [b].
Remember I said that the very next key to any given key is a “Sharp” or “Flat”? It doesn’t
necessarily have to be a black key. Take for example keys B and C natural. C natural will also be
called B#, and B natural will also be called Cb, following the rules I just laid out.
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Let us try another scenario. Take G natural, which is between F# and Ab. With relation to F#, it
will also be called F## [F double sharp] because it sharpens F#.
Are you getting it?
And with relation to Ab, it will be called Abb [A double flat], because it flattens Ab as well. So in
a crazy sense, the white notes have three names each, while the black have two names.
Someone will ask then, when is it necessary to use the double sharps/flats in note naming, and
how is it easily identified? That’s easy.
You see, in the concept of the double sharps/flats and the single sharps/flats, there is an easy way
for students to identify when they are used.
Single sharps and flats are used when the reference point/note is a white key, and double sharps
and flats are used when the reference point/note is a black key. That means, when you are
naming a note with respect to the white key directly to the right or left of your destination, it’s
either a single sharp or flat of that key. On the other hand, when it’s with reference from the
black note on its right or left, then a double sharp or flat is used.
If you skip a half step and go directly from let’s say, ‘A’ to ‘B’, it is called a Whole Step.
Remember those exceptions now! The difference from ‘B’ to ‘C’ is NOT a whole step.
Remember, from ‘B’ to ‘C’ is a half-step because they are right next to each other. So from ‘B’
to ‘C#’ would be a WHOLE-STEP. The same goes for ‘E’ to ‘F’ (half step). From ‘E’ to ‘F#’
would be the WHOLE STEP. The reason why people make this mistake is because from every
other white key to the next white key is a WHOLE STEP.
That covered, I want to introduce you to the naming systems we use to denote the sounds in
music. We identify these sounds by letter names, sol-fa names, and interval names. Using letter
names is what we just covered recently, using the first 7 letters of the alphabet. Sol-fa naming is
the use of sound syllables to represent notes: Do Re Mi Fa Sol La and Ti. And lastly, Interval
naming is the use of Roman numerals to name notes.
Just like we have with the note/letter name identifiers, the very next key to the RIGHT of any
given key is the ‘Sharp’ of that note, and to the LEFT is the ‘Flat’ of it, we can also apply the
rule to the sound syllable identifiers. When the natural note syllables are raised [sharp], a
variation is also created by adding “i” to the first consonant of that syllable:
Do (taking only the first consonant, D) becomes Di, Re becomes Ri, Fa becomes Fi, Sol
becomes Si, and La becomes Li.
When the natural syllables are lowered, a variation is also created by adding “aw” to the first
consonant of that syllable. For example: Re becomes Raw, Mi becomes Maw, Sol becomes
Saw, La becomes Law, and Ti becomes Taw.
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What to work on:
SCALES
Why Won’t He Wear White When Hot – W.W.H.W.W.W.H. [W = Whole Step H = Half Step]
Repetition is the mother of skill. Playing them over and over is the key to ultimately memorizing
them. You’ll start by writing them on paper and playing them from the paper. But over time,
you’ll just naturally memorize them. There’s no way you can play scales dozens and hundreds of
times and NOT MEMORIZE THEM. Either the problem is:
1) You’re not playing them enough – Playing them once or twice here or there (when you want
to) is not going to cut it. You have to put in dozens and hundreds of repetitions. REPETITION IS
THE MOTHER OF SKILL.
2) You’re not focusing – It’s like writing down a phone number. You can write it down and you
can “WRITE” it down. You can just record what someone tells you in a way that you’re not
focused on remember it or you can actually analyze what they tell you and find ways to
remember the number.
If you are struggling with remembering your scales, then you can do one of the following:
Acronyms – like “why won’t he wear white when hot”
White notes vs. black notes – “like always play the 3-grouped black keys together in this major
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key”
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Feeling – some scales “feel” differently than others.
# of sharps / flats – Every scale will use every alphabet letter. By nature, you CANNOT skip a
musical letter. Each scale will always have an A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The only difference is
whether it’s A flat (Ab) or A sharp (A#), and so forth.
And you need to concentrate on each scale just like you’d do to memorize a phone number or
combination lock password.
“EXTRAS”
Things you should do WHILE you’re learning your scales are:
-Number each one from 1 to 7

-Know the common fingerings (for help with coordination and speed later on)
-Practice the scales in the pattern of the “circle of fifths” (going counter-clockwise as if a clock
was ticking backwards).
NUMBER SYSTEM
I wish I could make this “deep,” but all this entails is numbering each tone of the scale. So if
your “C major” scale is C D E F G A B C, you’d just write down:
C=1
D=2
E=3
F=4
G=5
A=6
B=7
There is also a thing like extended numbering. Yes. This is where the number system extends to
the 13th. You would ask why I suppose.
This extension occurs when we make an octave also of the relative minor note on the scale (6th
degree), and continue the numbering. So, we would have:
C = 8, D = 9, E = 10, F = 11, G = 12, A = 13
Looking at this numbering pattern, you would easily see that 8 = 1, 9 = 2, 10 = 3, 11 = 4, 12 = 5,

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and 13 = 6. So, playing the 13th will be the same as playing the 6th, logically.
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How to read the fingering charts
Example 1: If you wanted to play an F Major Scale with your right hand, you would start with
your ‘1’ finger and end with your ‘4’ finger. Also, note that your thumb crosses under at the 5th
tone of this scale.
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Example 2: If you wanted to play a B Major Scale with your left hand, you would start with your
‘4’ finger and end with your ‘1’ finger. In this scale, your ring finger crosses over at the 5th tone.
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Without going into depth about the circle of fifths (because future “elements” in the program
cover this in detail), I’ll just suggest to LEARN EVERYTHING in this order:
C F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb B E A D G
This doesn’t just apply to scales but chords, patterns, progressions... even songs.
Why? That is because music flows in “fourths.” As you start playing songs, if you’re cognizant
of “intervals”, (and particularly perfect fourth intervals) you’ll notice that 70 to 80% of the time,
there is “circular” movement among the chords. Just make sure you’re going in the “counter-
clockwise” direction. That is, the opposite of how a real clock would tick. Go from C to F to Bb
to Eb, and so on.
The other way is important too, don’t get me wrong. Going from C to G (a “fifth”) is common.
But going from C to F is more common. And if you reverse things and go from G to C, that’s
very common as well.
KEY POINTS SUMMARY:

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1) If you haven’t memorized your scales, it’s either because you haven’t given it enough
repetitions or you’re not focusing (truly engaged in learning them in a way that STICKS).
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2) If you’re struggling to remember scales, you can make up acronyms, remember the feeling
each scale gives you (or a group of scales), go by number of sharps or flats; go by black keys vs.
white keys.
3) Other things to work on WHILE playing scales: number system, fingering, and the circle of
fifths order.
4) The circle of fifths rules in music. Use the circle to learn all your scales, chords, patterns, and
songs, because that’s the direction music flows in and practicing with it will only further your
understanding and memorization of it.
Advanced Number System Techniques:
If you’re using the circle of fifths, you’ll be used to flowing from C major to F major (whether
you’re practicing scales or playing fancy chords later on, you’ll go in THIS ORDER). One thing
to keep in mind is the relationship between C and F. The reason they’re neighbors on the chart is
because they have a strong connection... a strong sense of commonality. And if you look at their
scales, it only differs by ONE NOTE. The 7th tone of C (which is “B”) is the only difference
between C major and F major. In F major, we play a B flat (Bb) instead of B. That’s the only
difference.
And because C major and F major share 6 of 7 notes, that makes them more related than, let’s
say, C major and Gb major (which only shares 1 note... “F”). I know you’re thinking they share 2
notes but while Cb sounds like “B” they are NOT THE SAME, just like Harold and Arnold
aren’t the same. So since Gb major only has 2 white notes and one of them is called Cb, that only
leaves F... the only commonality between C and Gb.
So it’s no surprise C and Gb are opposites on the circle... separated by 6 degrees! Ever heard of
the “6 degrees of separation” concept? Interesting huh?
Since C major and F major have a lot of the same notes (6 out of 7), here is a conversion chart
that may be handy.
GOLDEN RULE: When you’re in one key and you want to learn the next “neighboring” key on
the circle of fifths, understand how the numbers change up and you’ll be good to go!
The 1st tone of the ORIGINAL key becomes... The 5th tone of the next key on the circle of fifths
The 2nd tone of the ORIGINAL key becomes... The 6th tone of the next key on the circle of fifths
The 3rd tone of the ORIGINAL key becomes... The 7th tone of the next key on the circle of fifths
The 4th tone of the ORIGINAL key becomes... The 1st tone of the next key on the circle of fifths
The 5th tone of the ORIGINAL key becomes... The 2nd tone of the next key on the circle of fifths
The 6th tone of the ORIGINAL key becomes... The 3rd tone of the next key on the circle of fifths
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The 7th tone of the ORIGINAL key doesn’t exist in the However, if you lower it a half step, it will be the 4th
next key... tone of the next key on the circle of fifths
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How you can remember this: Just add 4 or subtract 3. That’s it! You can actually add 4 up until
you get to the 4th tone of the original key (because 4+4 = 8 and we don’t want to do that). So
once you get to the 4th tone start subtracting 3 and get the equivalent numbers in the next key.
As long as you keep the answer between 1 and 7, that’s what will dictate whether you add or
subtract.
This is just another way to get the “NUMBERS” down in your bones. Understanding the number
equivalents between keys will help you to transpose songs and go in and out of different keys a
lot easier.
Minor Scales
One of my favorite sayings is: If You Know Your Major, You Know Your Minor
Why? You can play any minor scale by simply playing ANY major scale starting and ending on
the 6th tone of that major scale.
So if you know your numbers, you’ll be good at determining the 6th tone of any scale very
quickly. Then, you simply play that SAME major scale (do NOT change a thing about the
scale... play the same notes) starting and ending on that 6th tone.
See how we did that? The picture above shows a C major scale repeated two octaves (which
means, it repeats itself again with higher sounding notes). I repeated the scale so that I can show
you this simple strategy to learn the “relative” minor scale that goes along with C major.
You see, every major scale has a minor scale that’s related to it. You can call it a “sister” or
“brother”, or a “cousin” scale, it doesn’t matter. They are related.
They share the SAME NOTES.

They share the SAME NUMBER OF SHARPS & FLATS.
They share the SAME KEY SIGNATURE.
They share the SAME CHORDS.
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The only difference they have is their origin; where each of them begins from.
For C major, that “relative” minor is A. How did we get “A?” Easy! It’s the 6th tone. 6 is your
magic number when it comes to minor keys. Just remember “6.”
So just play C D E F G A B C but from “A” to “A” --- thus, giving you: A B C D E F G A
So now, you’ve added another fundamental... and it took all of 3 minutes!
In the same spirit as earlier, you’ll also want to practice your minor scales in the same “CIRCLE
OF FIFTHS” pattern.
And go in the same order. The only difference is instead of starting with “C major,” you’ll start
with “A minor” since A is the relative minor of C.
If you look at the same circle of fifths, you will see the RELATIVE MINORS illustrated in the
most inner circle of the chart. Notice “C” is on the outskirts but if you look towards the inner
area, you’ll see its relative counterpart, “A minor.”
Relative Minor
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This is the order you’ll play your minor scales. And remember, minor scales are simply major
scales starting and ending on the 6th tone. So rather than getting all worked up about playing “A
minor,” just try to think of C major being played from “A” to “A.” It’s so much easier.
So now we know our Major scales and Minor scales by their simple formula. For the context of
this course, I’d like to also introduce you to two scales, Diminished and Augmented. We would
be dealing on their chords in this course, so it’s only fair that I introduce the scales from where
these chords come from.
The augmented scale is a hexatonic scale–that is, it only has six tones. It is also, like the
diminished and whole tone scales, a symmetrical scale. This means that the interval relationships
between scale degrees are repeated to create a symmetrical pattern.
The diminished scale is an eight-note scale that is built by picking a tonic note, and then
alternating whole steps and half steps from that starting note. The diminished scale is constructed
intervallically with alternating whole and half steps.
The scale formulas for these scales are:
Major Scale: W W H W W W H
Minor Scale: W H W W H W W
Diminished Scale: W H W H W H W H
Augmented Scale: Wh H Wh H Wh H
[Where ‘Wh’ stands for a whole and a half
step]
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Rhythm & Hanon Exercises
For developing rhythm, coordination, independence, and many other things, I recommend
practicing every scale with a metronome. You can use those installed on your regular keyboards
if you can’t find one in a music store to buy. This will keep you on time. You’ll need to use self-
judgment to make sure you’re keeping that time and paying attention to the metronome. Timing
will improve as you play more and more with the metronome.
Intervals and the Number System
Because you’ve invested time in learning the number system, intervals will be a piece of cake.
From the 1st tone of the scale to the 1st tone of the scale (itself) is called UNISON.
From the 1st tone of the scale to the 2nd tone of the scale is called a MAJOR 2ND.
From the 1st tone of the scale to the 3rd tone of the scale is called a MAJOR 3RD.
From the 1st tone of the scale to the 4th tone of the scale is called a PERFECT 4TH.
From the 1st tone of the scale to the 6th tone of the scale is called a MAJOR 6TH.
From the 1st tone of the scale to the 8th tone of the scale is called a PERFECT OCTAVE.
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Notice that some intervals get a “PERFECT” and some get a “MAJOR.” This has to do with how
consonant the intervals are. This gets into a discussion of frequency of vibrations and ratios
between notes (like “3:2” or “4:3”) and there is no need to go that far. Just memorize the 1st, 4th,
5th, and 8th tones as PERFECT and the rest as MAJOR.
With the number system, it was all about single notes --- “knowing the 6th tone of C.” With
intervals, it’s about knowing the distance between two notes --- “the distance between C and A
(or the 6th tone of the scale).” Since you know the numbers, this is easy. Just slap a “major”
before the “6” and you have yourself a “major 6th.”
Now if you raise or lower any of these intervals, you’ll get minor, diminished, and augmented
intervals.
Perfect intervals will never use the terms “major” or “minor.” Again, the reasons go beyond the
context of what we’re studying. They can be diminished (lowered a half step) or augmented
(raised a half step). So taking the distance between C and its 5th tone would normally be a
perfect fifth. If you raise that 5th tone, you’ll get an Augmented 5th (G#). If you lower that 5th
tone, you’ll get a Diminished 5th (Gb).
The same happens with major intervals. If you lower it, you’ll get a minor interval. However, if
you raise it, you can use the word “augmented.” If you raise the 2nd tone of C, which is D, to D#,
that would be an augmented 2nd. If you lower it to Db, that would be a minor second.
If you simply learn these intervals in every key (using the technique above), you’ll have every
interval off every tone memorized.
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KEY POINTS SUMMARY:
1) Keys that are neighbors on the circle of fifths chart share most of the same notes (6 out of 7),
thus they are more related than any other tones.
2) The “6th” of one key, for example, will be the “3rd” in the next neighboring key on the circle
of fifths. This is important when it comes to playing chords because you’ll know that the same
minor chord you play in the key of C major on the 6th tone can be played on the 3rd tone of F
major.
3) To play a minor scale, just go to the 6th tone of any major scale and play the SAME major
scale starting and ending on it (in C major, you’d play the same EXACT notes of the C major
scale, starting and ending on A, which is the 6th tone).
4) Playing with a metronome is essential to building good rhythm and timing. It will improve
over time.
5) Hanon exercises are great for coordination, independence, dexterity, agility, speed, and more.
6) Intervals in music mean “distance.” Understanding the distances between two notes is very
important. It will allow you to easily transpose songs to new keys, among many things.
Understanding intervals will also allow you to form tons of advanced chords (including “altered”
chords).
7) The distance between the 1st tone of the scale and the 1st (itself), 4th, 5th, and 8th tones (itself
but higher up) get the name “PERFECT.” Everything else (2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th) get the name
“MAJOR.”
8) By raising or lowering notes, you can change PERFECT INTERVALS into DIMINISHED or
AUGMENTED intervals and you can turn major intervals into MINOR (and AUGMENTED,
although rare since it will most likely clash with a more popular interval ---- Augmented 6th =
the same sound as a minor 7th so most people will use minor 7th).
9) KNOWING THE FUNDAMENTALS WILL SHORTCUT THE AMOUNT OF TIME IT

TAKES TO SUCCEED. COMMIT TO IT AND I’LL SEE YOU AT THE TOP!
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How much time to spend on the Fundamentals:
In my book “Gospel Piano Book One”, I gave this 1-hour chart as one potential way to break up
your practice sessions. You’ll use this more after you’re done with the ENTIRE “Musician
Transformation” program.
In the beginning, since you’re focusing on fundamentals, you’ll need to dedicate most of your
time to the “F.F.” part of the formula (fundamentals fluency). As you progress forward, you’ll
slowly add in the next components (“Chord Command,” “Pattern Proficiency,” etc.).
So don’t be confused... this chart WILL help you --- but only after you have covered all
elements. If you aren’t fluid in understanding all 12 major scales, 12 minor scales, number
system, and intervals, then that’s what you need to worry about FOR NOW.
That’s not to say you can’t fiddle around on the piano. If you’re in the Training Center, sure, you
can learn a song to get your feet wet.
JUST REMEMBER THAT THE TRUE GOAL IS TO BE ABLE TO KNOW ENOUGH

ABOUT THE SONG LEARNING PROCESS THAT YOU CAN DO IT ON YOUR OWN ONE
DAY.
So it’s like the popular analogy – “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man how to
fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.”
Learning how to fish takes longer, of course. So while you’re learning, you also need some “fast
food” to get you motivated, enthused, and balanced (because if you’re only doing book work and
not playing, you’ll lose interest --- TRUST ME). So eat fish now but go through this program to
learn HOW TO FISH. The end result will amaze you. 20
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KEY POINTS SUMMARY
1) The suggested time table above is mainly for use when you have covered all 5 elements at
least once. Before then, give the most focus to Fundamentals Fluency, splitting your allotted time
among each newly added element as you go. (So when it’s time to add Chord Command, then
you split practice into Fundamentals & Chords...and so forth).
2) The true goal is to understand the entire song learning process from the “playing by ear”
perspective. Until then, it is perfectly fine to LEARN SONGS because motivation and
enthusiasm is half of the battle.
SELF ASSESSMENT:
Rate yourself (on a scale of 1-5 according to how true each statement is):
1) I can call out any number of any scale (like “the 6th of D major”) instantaneously:
1 = not true 2 = under average 3 = average 4 = good / “o.k.” 5 = very much so!
1 2 3 4 5
2) I can play any major scale at an impressive speed without thinking about it:
1 2 3 4 5
3) I can play any natural minor scale in a second’s notice:

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1 2 3 4 5
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4) My rhythm is pretty good:
1 2 3 4 5
5) I can call out any interval within seconds (example: “major third”):
1 2 3 4 5
ANALYSIS (GAME PLAN):
If your score is 22-25: You’re certainly ready for the next stage. The “fundamentals” is probably
not your problem.
If your score is 19-21: You’re almost there. You’re hanging around the “slightly over average”
and “good” level but remember: “GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF GREAT” so give it a little bit
more time and focus, and you’ll be ready to take it to the next level.
If your score is 15-18: Work on your fundamentals for a good 3 weeks and once it’s in “your
blood,” you most likely won’t have to look back because “when you know it, you know it.”
Natural practice will help you to reinforce it.
If you’re below 15: Start from scratch. There should be no rush any time soon to move on to the
‘Chord County’ lectures until you can play every major scale, every minor scale, call out every
number of the scale quickly, have decent rhythm and timing, and know your intervals.
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PAGES: 30
CHORD COUNTY
CHORD COMMAND
QUALITY VS QUANTITY
TRIADS AND EXTENDED CHORDS
CHORD CLASSIFICATION AND TRANSPOSITION
INVERSIONS AND VOICINGS

“CHORD COMMAND”
This training will cover key insights and techniques you must understand in order to get
the most out of the “Chord County” program, which covers Chord Command concepts.
Chords rule in contemporary music and having a deep understanding of how to build and
manipulate them is the key to excelling to higher heights.
From the most basic chords to complex voicings, this resource will equip you with the
formulas and shortcuts to master them all! Enjoy!
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INTRODUCTION
Here, we’ll be starting with triads and what I call the “FANTASTIC FOUR.” Then we’ll move
on to shortcuts that will help you master extended chords (the heart of contemporary playing).
After that, we’ll discuss inversions (the key to multiplying your chord vocabulary), primary vs
secondary chords, and we’ll end on ‘voicings’ and the difference between “voicings” and
“inversions.” But first, let’s turn to some common problems musicians encounter when it comes
to chord mastery.
Common Problems
1. Lack of chord knowledge beyond triads: Musicians who fall into this category simply have
never reached outside of the basic triads (major, minor, diminished, augmented) and are stuck
playing the same chords they’ve always played. There is a mental block that almost prohibits
them from learning and retaining new chords. Extra effort must be made to embrace new chords,
no matter how difficult and unusual they are at first. Knowing the chord formulas and shortcuts
that will turn any basic triad into an extended chord is the secret.
2. Lack of fundamentals and music theory: Some musicians have actually learned all the chords
they know by listening. They’ve had no exposure to ideas like scales, intervals, the number
system, etc. This lack of knowledge is stopping them from getting to the next level because they
have no idea what the next level looks like. They are stuck in an “unconscious incompetence”
stage.
3. Lack of advanced strategies to play complex voicings: These musicians may very well know
their triads, even seventh chords... heck, even ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords. But they
only know them in “textbook,” “generic” ways. They haven’t been exposed to the poly-chord
concept and the stacking of smaller chords to form bigger, more flavorful chords. They don’t
have the luxury of shedding with “top 1%” musicians who, themselves, have excelled by
borrowing “secret” voicings from others and adding their own twist.
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With that said, if you’re in any or all of these scenarios, pay close attention to what follows as
you’re understanding of chords will never be the same.
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Triads
These are 3-toned chords. Triad is associated with the number three [3]. There are 4 main types
of triads. These are what I call the “FANTASTIC FOUR” because by understanding them, you
can play nearly every other chord out there! Understand these four basic chords and how to apply
them in the right places and you’ll shave years off your learning curve. These chords are the:
Major chord
Minor chord
Augmented chord
Diminished chord
You can also say “major triad,” “minor triad,” “augmented triad,” “diminished triad.” It all
means the same thing (at least now, but later on you’ll learn about sevenths, ninths, elevenths,
and thirteenth chords... or what we call “extended chords”).
QUALITY VS QUANTITY
Chords are made up of qualities and quantities. When you hear someone say a “major triad
chord,” the “major” part is the quality. The “triad” part is the quantity.
QUALITY + QUANTITY = CHORD
Other qualities you’ll study: Other quantities you’ll study:

Minor Sevenths (4-toned)
Diminished Ninths (5-toned)
Augmented Elevenths (6-toned)
Thirteenths (7-toned)
All the chords you’ll ever want to know are basically created by mixing and matching these
qualities and quantities (of course there are many more qualities like “dominant,” “minor-major,”
“half-diminished,” and various altered chords. For now, let’s stick with these though).
MAJOR TRIAD
MINOR SEVENTH
DIMINISHED NINTH
AUGMENTED ELEVENTH
DOMINANT THIRTEENTH
QUALITY QUANTITY
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Here are the four basic chords in the key of C major:
C Major [1 + 3 + 5]
C minor [1 + 3b + 5]
C Diminished [1 + 3b + 5b]
C Augmented [1 + 3 + 5#]
Note: Numbers are important. “b” means to flat the tone by a half step. “#” means to raise the
tone by a half step. “b3” simply means “the 3rd tone lowered a half step.”
Why are these chords important? Because with these four simple chords, you can form
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approximately 80-90% (my own estimation) of all the other chords you’ll ever play!
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What you need to do?
1) Learn them in all 12 keys using the “transposition” technique below.
2) Use the flash cards I’ve created for you to memorize them in all 12 keys (see below).
3) Practice them daily along with the formulas you’ll learn to morph them into bigger, extended
chords.
TRANSPOSITION (transposing)
Time and time again, I hear musicians asking if I’ll transpose my examples into other keys.
While this is convenient, you can do this for yourself! No need to rely or wait for someone to do
it for you.
It is easy to perform. There are two methods. I’ll cover the first one here and the second one in
the future (since we’ll be talking about the “circle of fifths” in the PATTERN PROFICIENCY
part of this program).
1) Chromatic approach
2) Circular approach
Chromatic Approach
In the chromatic approach, you’re simply taking a chord you know and moving every note up a
half step. Remember, half steps are from key to key with NO keys in between as opposed to
whole steps, which always skip a key with one key in between.
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So, let’s say you want to take the FANTASTIC FOUR chords from C major and move them up a
half step to D flat major (Db) --- all you have to do is move every finger in your chord up the
same distance... in this case, a half step:
C major
(1 + 3 + 5)
The “C” in your chord becomes “Db” (which is a half step higher). The “E” in your chord
becomes “F” (a half step higher). And lastly, the “G” in your chord becomes “Ab” (a half step
higher). The end result is a Db major chord.
Notice the QUALITY doesn’t change. Whenever you take a chord and move every note up the
same amount of distance, the chord quality DOES NOT CHANGE. You haven’t changed
anything about the chord but the starting point. In this case, we’re still playing the same type of
major chord... but on Db instead of C. Makes sense?
Db major
(1 + 3 + 5)
If you want to change this chord from a Db major to a D major chord (a half step higher), just do
the same thing. Move every note up the same distance --- a half step.
What if you want to move a chord from C major to E major (skipping several notes)? What do
you do? The concept is the same but you just have to think slightly more since you’re not just
moving every finger up a half step like in the past example.
STEP #1: Determine the distance between the “NEW” key and your “CURRENT KEY.”
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If you want to transpose a chord... any chord... from C to E, first you need to find out how many
half steps are in between C and E.
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C to Db is 1 half step.
Db to D is another half step (2).
D to Eb is another half step (3).
Eb to E is the last half step (4).
All combined, “E is 4 half steps up from C.” So if your number is 4 half steps, then that’s how
many notes you’re going to move EVERY finger of your current chord up by. Simple!
STEP #2: Just move every note in your chord up (or down) the correct number of half steps, as
determined by step #1.
So the same C major chord can be changed into E major by simply moving every note in the
chord up 4 half steps.
Chord 1st note 2nd note 3rd note Number of half steps
C major C E G
b
D F Ab
Db major 1
(up 1 half step) (up 1 half step) (up 1 half step)
D F# A
D major 2
(up another half step) (up another half step) (up another half step)
Eb G Bb
Eb major 3
E G# B
E major 4
HOMEWORK: Always remember the “law of 12.” Whenever you learn a new chord
(regardless of how basic or even how advanced it is), transpose it to all 12 keys. On the next
page is a chart you can print out to use to transpose any chord to all 12 keys. Print out as many as
you want.
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CHORD TRANSPOSITION CHART
(Here’s an example of how I’d use it)

Note: The first chord is always the starting chord.
Number
Chord 1st note 2nd note 3rd note 4th note 5th note 6th note 7th note of half
steps
Cmin9 C Eb G Bb D
#
C#min9 C E G# B D# 1
Dmin9 D F A C E 2
D#min9 D# F# A# C# E# 3
Emin9 E G B D F# 4
Fmin9 F Ab C Eb G 5
F#min9 F# A C# E G# 6
Gmin9 G Bb D F A 7
G#min9 G# B D# F# A# 8
Amin9 A C E G B 9
Bbmin9 Bb Db F Ab C 10
Bmin9 B D F# A C# 11
Now, you can create your own set by making tables in this format, and writing the chords down.
Number
Chord 1st note 2nd note 3rd note 4th note 5th note 6th note 7th note of half
steps
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Seventh Chords
There are several ways to form seventh chords:

Number system (example: 1+3+5+7)
Intervallic system (example: major third + minor third + major third)
Poly-chord based system (my favorite because of the flexibility it gives you)
We will cover the last method here.
“Poly-chords” combine multiple smaller chords together to form bigger chords. Most extended
chords are poly-chords as you’ll find that many smaller chords make up these larger ones.
POLY = more than one. “More than one” + chords = POLY + chords = THE SECRET.
With seventh chords, you don’t quite get the “poly-chord” thing going on (because seventh
chords aren’t that big compared to ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths) but we can use the same
approach to go about forming them.
Here’s the secret with seventh chords... YOU CAN USE THE “FANTASTIC FOUR” TRIADS
TO FORM THEM
Let me prove it to you... Here’s a C major 7 chord:
C major 7
(1 + 3 + 5 + 7)
I’ve put the numbers “1 + 3 + 5 + 7” because it’s always important to know what degrees of the
major scale form the chord. And in this case, if you combine the 1st tone of the scale, the 3rd
tone of the scale, the 5th tone of the scale, and the 7th tone of the scale together --- you’ll get a
major 7th chord.
CDEFGABC
But there’s another way to look at this chord.

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You can look at it as “E minor over C bass” Or “C + [E minor Triad].”

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In other words, you can go to the third tone of any scale and play its minor chord along with the
first tone of that scale, and together you’ll have a major 7 chord.
C major 7
(1 + 3-minor triad)
What if I said you can learn all the big chords by just knowing the basic FANTASTIC FOUR
triads and apply them in this way? Major, minor, diminished, augmented.
Why think about chords this way? There are many reasons. (...and I’m not trying to discourage
you to take the number or intervallic approach... not at all... I teach those approaches as well).
When you think about an “E minor triad” over C, it sort of separates the hands, whereas before
everything was ONE solid chord (C+E+G+B). It’s harder to invert (or rearrange) one solid
chord, especially when you have to think about 4 notes instead of 3. That’s what I’ll talk about
next...
INVERSIONS
The most basic way to define inversions is a “different way to play a chord.”
RULE = The number of notes in the chord determines how many different ways (inversions) you
can play it.
Triads have 3 notes. You can play them 3 different ways.
Let’s say you’re thinking about the C major 7 chord in the typical way everyone does:
C+E+G+B
C major
(1 + 3 + 5)
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When the 1st tone/degree of the scale (or root) is on the bottom, we call this “ROOT
POSITION.”
When the 3rd tone/degree of the scale is on the bottom, we call this “FIRST INVERSION.”
When the 5th tone/degree of the scale is on the bottom, we call this “SECOND INVERSION.”
Triads are a lot easier to think about than seventh chords. That’s why I prefer to think about a C
major 7 chord as “E minor over C bass” (bass = left hand)
Since seventh chords have 4 notes, you can play them 4 different ways:
ROOT POSITION
FIRST INVERSION
SECOND INVERSION
THIRD INVERSION
C major 7
(1 + 3 + 5 + 7)
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As you can see, things get a little more complicated.
Here’s the problem with inverting chords like this (besides the fact that it’s harder to invert 4
notes than it is 3). In contemporary music, you won’t find musicians repeating the “keynote” of
the chord in their right hands. In other words, assuming you’re playing by yourself without a
bass player, you’re already going to have “C” in your left-hand bass note. It is often times
redundant to put the “C” in your right hand (as illustrated by the inversions above).
Not only is it redundant, it doesn’t sound as good as leaving it out of your right hand.
When you take “C” out your right hand, what you’re left with is:
C major 7
(1-bass + 3-minor triad)
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Looks like an E minor triad over C to me! And trust me, this sounds much better than taking the
WHOLE C major 7 chord and inverting it. Just try playing each of the chords and compare them
yourself.
When to use different inversions?

This will depend on the melody of your song. If the melody is “G” and the song calls for a C
major 7 chord, you’ll put the inversion that keeps “G” on top so that you’re not sacrificing your
melody. In this case, you’ll play C in your bass and “B+E+G” (E minor) on your right. Notice
the inversion is “B+E+G.”
Now this is the formula: You can use this method to play any major 7 chord.
STEP 1: Press any keynote

The “keynote” is basically the title of your chord... the note name of the chord you want to form.
In all our past examples, the keynote has been “C”.
STEP 2: Go to the third tone of that keynote’s scale

So once you’ve pressed down a keynote, you’ll immediately think of its major scale. If you’ve
pressed down “F,” now it’s time to think of the F major scale: F G A Bb C D E F. Lastly, just go
to the third tone of that scale: “A.”
STEP 3: Play a minor chord off the third tone

In the previous example, the keynote is F. The third tone of the F major scale is A. By playing an
A minor chord over F bass, I’ve just formed an F major 7 chord. I can now invert the simple 3-
fingered “A minor” chord as much as I want to form different sounding inversions of this chord.
Simple!
With this formula, you can now play this chord (and others once I introduce you to their
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formulas) in all 12 keys!

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TIP: With seventh chords, you’ll be using the “3rd” tone of the scale a lot! This is the magic
number when it comes to using this technique. You can play 8 other seventh chords just by
playing one of the FANTASTIC FOUR triads off the third tone of the scale. Once you get good
at this, the sky’s the limit!
You can play major 7ths, minor 7ths, dominant 7ths, diminished 7ths, augmented 7ths,
augmented major 7ths, half diminished 7ths, and minor-major 7ths by using a similar technique.
That’s what we’re going to cover next.
SEVENTH CHORD FORMULAS
Chord Formula
Major 7th 1 + (3-minor chord)
Minor 7th 1 + (3b -major chord)
Augmented 7th 1 + (3-major chord 5b)
Diminished 7th 1 + (3b -diminished chord)
Dominant 7th 1 + (3-diminished chord)
Minor-Major 7th 1 + (3b -augmented chord)
Augmented Major 7th 1 + (3-major chord)
Half diminished 7th 1 + (3b-minor chord)
NOTE!
1) When I say “1,” I’m talking about the keynote, the bass, the root (all different ways to say
the same thing).
2) “3b” means flatted 3. That means to take the 3rd tone of the scale and lower it a half-step.
In the key of C, the third degree of the scale is E. If I wanted to find the 3b, I’d simply
take E and flat it a half step to Eb. Very simple. All minor chords start on the 3b since they
utilize the “minor 3rd” intervals.
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Ninth Chords
There are 3 main types of ninth chords you’ll see a lot (not including altered chords, etc):
Major ninths
Minor ninths
Dominant ninths
There are three ways to look at these chords.
METHOD #1: Just add the “9!!!” (Easiest)
Did you know you can basically take any of the major, minor, and dominant 7th chords you
learned and simply add the 9th degree?
Look at this diagram above. Essentially, you want to be good at knowing the 9th, 11th, and 13th
degree of any scale.
Just think of the 9th tone as the 2nd tone (but higher of course... in the next octave)
Think of the 11th tone as the 4th tone.
Think of the 13th tone as the 6th tone.
9=2
11 = 4
13 = 6
In the key of C major, the 9 is D (which, as you know now, can also be looked at as the “2”...just
higher up in the next octave).
C major 9
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METHOD #2 – Upgrade the formula!
Remember the ‘Seventh’ Chord formula? What if I said you can play ninth chords by just
making the right-hand chord one level bigger? In other words, instead of playing 3-fingered
triads on the right hand, play seventh chords.
Recall, to play seventh chords, we made these little formulas where we held the bass note on our
left hand and we played simple 3-toned triads on our right hand. Well, to “bump” up this formula
up to a ninth chord, we just upgrade our right hand. That’s all.
So this chart:
Chord Formula
Major 7th 1 + (3-minor chord)
Minor 7th 1 + (3b -major chord)
Dominant 7th 1 + (3-diminished chord)
Becomes this chart:
Chord Formula
Major 9th 1 + (3-minor 7 chord)
Minor 9th 1 + (3b -major 7 chord)
Dominant 9th 1 + (3–half diminished 7 chord)

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So instead of just playing a minor triad on your right hand, you’ll play a minor 7th on your right
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hand and that automatically makes your chord a Major 9th!

For dominant 9th chords, it’s a little different but the concept is pretty much the same. Change the
regular diminished triad to a half-diminished 7 chord and you’ve got yourself a dominant ninth
chord.
METHOD #3 – Break it up even more!
The third concept is my favorite. Simply put, it involves combining two smaller chords to make a
bigger chord. We covered this earlier when we introduced the “poly-chord” concept.
C Major 9
Notice the two smaller chords that make up this one big chord.
C Major + G Major = C Major 9
Therefore, 1 Major + 5 Major = Major 9
The minor 9 Chord is similar:
C minor + G minor = C minor 9
Therefore, 1 minor + 5 minor = minor 9

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And lastly, the dominant 9 chord which is like a mixture of the previous formulas:
C Major + G minor = C dominant 9
Therefore, 1 Major + 5 minor = Dominant 9
The good news is, with eleventh and thirteenth chords, you follow the same system.
Eleventh Chords
The more complex your chords get, you’ll notice multiple ways to “look” at them. Here are a
couple ways to look at the C major 11 chord, keeping in mind there are even more!
C Major 11
C Major + G Dominant 7 = C Major 11
Thus, 1 Major + 5 Dominant 7 = Major 11
Or
C Major + B Diminished = C Major 11

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Thus, 1 Major + 7 Diminished = Major 11

Now, you can figure out the next formula for the other Chord combinations.
C minor 11
C Dominant 11
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Thirteenth Chords
Similar to ninths and elevenths, there are several ways to form thirteenth chords from the poly-
chord perspective.
C Major 13
C Major 7 + D minor = C Major 13
Thus, 1 Major 7 + 9 minor = Major 13
Or
C Major + B half diminished 7 = C Major 13
Thus, 1 Major + 7 half diminished 7 = Major 13
Or
C bass + E minor + D minor = C Major 13
Thus, 1-bass + 3 minor + 9 minor = Major 13

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C minor 13
C minor 7 + D minor = C minor 13
Thus, 1 minor 7 + 9 minor = minor 13
Or
C minor + Bb Major 7 = C minor 13
Thus, 1 minor + 7b Major 7 = minor 13
Or
C bass + Eb Major + D minor = C minor 13
Thus, 1-bass + 3b Major + 9 minor = minor 13
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C Dominant 13
C dominant 7 + D minor = C dominant 13
Thus, 1 dominant 7 + 9 minor = Dominant 13
Or
C Major + Bb Major 7 = C dominant 13
Thus, 1 Major + 7b Major 7 = Dominant 13
Or
C bass + E diminished + D minor = C dominant 13
Thus, 1-bass + 3 diminished + 9 minor = Dominant 13
Why go through the hassle of breaking up chords?
Because if you don’t think of these huge chords as smaller ones, you’ll have a hard time
inverting them and coming up with different voicings. For example, when you think of a chord
as a “diminished triad + minor triad,” now you automatically have tons of ways to voice this
chord. You can invert the diminished triad while choosing to keep the minor triad the same.
You can invert the upper minor triad while choosing to keep the lower diminished triad the same.
You can invert both... or any combination thereof.
This is when your chord arsenal just explodes! You have tons of chords in your toolbox and it’s
not built of memorization... it’s built of a system. Yes! You memorize the formulas but as you’re
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playing, you’re picking different inversions and voicings of each smaller chord off the top of
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your head, thus giving you unlimited potential and creative exploration.

Chord Voicings
When I say ‘voicings’ what I mean is various improvisations or techniques of sounding your
chords. With voicings, you can take up a simple chord like your Major 7th and make it sound
different. You are literally adding, or subtracting from the chord to give it unique sounds. That’s
what I call voicing. It’s just a way of voicing out your chords differently.
Now there’s a major difference between voicing a chord and inverting a chord. Inversion just
means reshuffling your chord without changing any note in the chord [I already dealt with this
subject matter]. Voicing on the other hand, has to do with playing a particular chord differently
[voicing the chord differently] by adding or subtracting from it.
Just like in inversions, the more notes you have in your chord, the more options of voicings you
would be open to.
The underlying rule for voicings is basically to eliminate the 1st tone of the chord. Doing this
will allow for more open voicings.
Seventh Chord Voicing

Let us look at the C Major 7th Chord again.
Basically, I will show you how to spice up seventh chords by changing the way you voice them.
A voicing is simply a representation of a chord.

How the notes in a chord are spaced
What notes are being played twice
Where the root of the chord is placed
What feeling a particular order gives you
These things are all important when it comes to understanding voicings.
Some musicians need a lot of help in this area. Just because you’re playing the same notes as the
next musician, it doesn’t mean you’ll make that chord sound the same way the next musician
does.
I know musicians who can take the same old major chords we’ve been playing for years and
make them sound like something we think we’ve never played before. And when you find out
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what they’re doing, you’re often times blown away because it’s so simple. The key is how you
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voice your chords and where you place them.

So in this lesson, all I would do is take regular seventh chords and alter the order and number of
notes I play.
Step 1: I would start with the regular root inversions.
C major 7: C + E + G + B
Step 2: I will now take out the 5th interval. The 5th interval in this chord is “G” (”G” is the 5th tone
in the C major scale).
C major 7: C + E + B
Step 3: I choose to only play the root on my left hand bass.
C major 7: C on left hand /// E + B on right hand
Step 4: I choose to double up on the “third” (doubling up means playing octaves). The third
interval in this chord is “E” (“E” is the 3rd tone in the C major scale).
C major 7: C on left hand /// E + B + E on right hand
Step 5: Once I establish my voicing (which is basically “3 + 7 + 3 over the root bass”), I will use
this same voicing all the way up the piano.
You already know the seventh chords that correspond to the major scale. The trick is this: Just
46
slide over your fingers one note and that will give you the voicing for the next chord in the scale.
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C major 7 = C + E + G + B = new voicing (C /// E + B + E)
D minor 7 = D + F + A + C = new voicing (D /// F + C + F)
E minor 7 = E + G + B + D = new voicing (E /// G + D + G)
F major 7 = F + A + C + E = new voicing (F /// A + E + A)
G dominant 7 = G + B + D + F = new voicing (G /// B + F + B)
A minor 7 = A + C + E + G = new voicing (A /// C + G + C)
B half-diminished 7 = B + D + F + A = new voicing (B /// D + A + D)
Note: What you see in the first group of notes is what the chord normally looks like in root
position. Then you see our voicing in parentheses.
You may be thinking… “Wow! That seems too easy. I just move my fingers over and I can learn
all these new voicings!” Well, that’s because these voicings all have the 3rd and 7th in them and
quite frankly, that’s all you need in order to play a chord (along with the root, of course). The 5th
doesn’t really tell you much about the chord because major, minor, and dominant chords all have
perfect 5 intervals. What really matters in a chord is what the 3rd and 7th are doing.
th
(Even when you’re trying to figure out what kind of chord you’re playing, the third and fifth
should be able to tell you. Any extra notes may hint at it being an extended or altered chord but
the 3rd and 7th will tell you what kind of underlying chord you’re playing, in most cases).
So, try making your own voicings.
Maybe you won’t use “3 + 7 + 3” like I did. Maybe yours is the reverse: “7 + 3 + 7.” That sounds
pretty good, too! And you can even take it all the way up the scale too because it has the 3rd and
7th and that’s all you need in order to form the seventh chords of a major scale.
Now, let’s look at the Minor 7th Chord Voicing.
C minor 7th chord
Eb Bb
C G
Step 1: Just like before, I would start with the regular root inversions.
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Step 2: I will now take out the 5th interval, just like with the Major 7th chord. The 5th interval in
this chord is “G” (”G” is the 5th tone in the C minor scale).
Step 3 & 4: I choose to only play the root on my left hand bass. I then choose to double up on
the “third”. The third interval in this chord is “Eb” (“Eb” is the 3rd tone in the C minor scale).
Step 5: Once I establish my voicing (which is basically “3 + 7 + 3 over the root bass”), I will use
this same voicing all the way up the piano.
[Remember, the C minor scale is just like the Eb Major scale starting from C, using the relative
minor rule]
As you can see, the rule of voicing applies to either Chord Qualities.
Don’t get confused when I call E the third in C Major, and Eb the third in the C minor scale. If it
is based on the Major scale, Eb would be the flat third, but I am counting notes based on the scale
we are using at the time.
If I really want to get the power up in my left hand to make the whole chord rich, I would use the
1 + 7 on my right hand, while holding the left chord intact. This is usually how I would play it,
both on the Major and Minor Chord voicing.
There’s not much to talk about the Diminished or the Augmented, since they are basically chords
that don’t expand much. There are altered voicings for them though, but that is beyond the scope
of this course.
The dominant 7th Chord could use the same kind of voicing, but that will give you a tri-tone on
your right hand [which is also beyond the scope of this course], so I would not deal vastly upon it
here.
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Ninth Chord Voicing
Let’s look at the C Major 9th Chord again.
Just like in the rule I stated for the 7th chord, the general idea is to take out the 1st tone of the
chord in your voicing.
Step 1: Just like before, I would start with the regular root inversions.
Step 2: Unlike in the 7th Chord voicing, I would take out the 1st tone from both hands, leaving
me with the 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 tones.
Step 3: Now, what I will do is to play E minor [3 minor] on my left hand, and an E minor 7 [3
minor 7] on my right hand.
Though I am not playing the 1st tone in my chord, I’m just leaving it in green here on the
diagram to represent what key I am in, so you don’t get confused.
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You can switch the arrangements to suit your taste if you want to, like playing an E minor 7 on
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your left hand, and an E minor on your right hand. It depends on you wholly.

Step 4: I would then work these chords up the scale to get familiar with them. That’s it!
In the case that I don’t want to play full triad chords on my left hand, I could still use the system
I showed you in the Seventh Chord Voicing section. This will leave me with:
So, I have C + B [1 + 7] on my left hand and E + G + B + D [3 + 5 + 7 + 9] on my right hand.
Looking at the C Minor 9th Chord voicing, the principles remain the same as with the C Major 9th
Chord voicing.
It’s that easy. If you want to chord up both hands, you play the Eb major on left hand, then the Eb
major 7 on right hand.
There are other voicing patterns I like to explore when it comes to Ninth Chord Voicings, but I
would just talk about one here.
In this technique, I would take out both the 1st and 3rd tones on my left hand, and play the 5th
Major [5th minor if it is a minor ninth chord voicing]. It’s also a nice sounding voicing, but the
voicing on the minor 9th chord would make the chord become a tri-tone substitution. And like I
said earlier, that is beyond the scope of this course.
Eleventh Chord Voicing
Okay! Let’s look again at the C Major 11 chord.

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I won’t bother going into the voicings of this chord because you won’t find that many uses of it,
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EVER. There is just too much tension with the notes. What you would find more in use though
are the minor and the dominant chord voicings.
So, let’s look at the C Minor 11th Chord.
Step 1: Just like before, I would get rid of the 1st tone on my right hand and shift it to my left
hand.
Step 2: I would take out the 1st tone from both hands, and play the 3 Major 7 Chord on my left
hand [remember that we are counting with respect to the minor scale], and the 5 Minor 7 on my
right hand [or my 7 Major chord].
NOTE: The blue chord shows the 7th Major Chord, which is a Bb Major chord.
Step 3: Based on greatest feelings, I could stick to the Bb Major on my right hand, while I hold
down the Eb Major 7th chord on my left. But for this step, I would revert back to holding my
‘power chord’ of C + Bb [1 + 7] on my left hand, while I hold down the Eb Major 7 or G Minor
7th chord on my right hand.
Okay, that’s about it for this course. Of course, there are more voicing capabilities, but it is not in
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the scope of this course. The same principle would apply to the C Dominant 11th Chord. I want
you to use your intuition to figure it out.
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Thirteenth Chord Voicing
The principle of the 13th chord voicing is similar to that of the 11th voicing, both in the Minor and
Dominant Chords. The basic Major 13th Chord, like in the Major 11th Chord, is not really used
because of the tension in the notes, so voicing it would not be my aim. You probably would
never use a Major 13th chord in your play, ever.
Basically, I would just list out the voicing for both the Minor 13th, and then the Dominant 13th.
C Minor 13th voicing
Or
C Dominant 13th voicing
Or
The trick about this is just to play the Major 7th Chord of the key a whole step back from your
root e.g. C – Bb Major 7th.
Bb is a whole step behind C.
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Common Altered Chords
Now we go into Altered Chords. These chords are different from the other chords we learnt
earlier. They are different because they are usually used as passing chords [chords used to fill in
gaps when making progressive movements]; transportation to take you to some of those other
chords like the major 9ths or the minor 11ths, and not as base chords. They are very valuable
when it comes to filling in the gaps making the music sound a little spicier.
The most common altered chord we will talk about here is the Aug 7 #9 [Dominant 7 (#5) #9] and
the Aug 7 b9 [Dominant 7 (#5) b9]. You are going to come across these chords most of the time in
your music, because they are the ones you would find most useful. So in the key of C, it would
look like this for both:
C Aug 7 #9
C Aug 7 b9
This should be easy to pick up if you understood your numbers well enough. You just play your
regular augmented triad, add the dominant 7, and then sharpen or flatten the 9th tone. Easy!
These chords can be used to go to the minor, or to the major, as passing chords. The melody in
both chords is different, and you use them dependent on how you want to voice your melody.
Now, though they can be used to go the same kind of chords, some placements are unique. For
example, the Aug 7 b9 goes very well coming from a walk-down from the 2 tone to the 5 tone.
The other [Aug 7 #9] goes better between the 3 tone and the 6 tone, and also the 6 to the 2.
We’d cover that in the next element of the Transformation process, Pattern Proficiency.
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PATTERN PARADISE
PAGES: 19
PATTERN PROFICIENCY
DIATONIC CHORDS
CIRCLE OF FIFTHS / CIRCULAR MOVEMENTS
STEPWISE MOTION PATTERNS
ADVANCED PROGRESSIONS
“PATTERN PROFICIENCY”
This training will break down key principles and techniques essential to getting the most
out of the “Pattern Paradise” program, which covers Pattern Proficiency concepts. While
notes create scales... scales create chords... and chords create patterns --- it is patterns that
create the music you hear every day. Mastery of patterns is the most important skill you
can attain as an ear-musician who plays without sheet music. Understand patterns and
you’ve unlocked the door to music. And that’s precisely what we’ll cover in this training!
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INTRODUCTION
Here, we’ll be starting with the importance of understanding patterns. Then, we’ll move on to
diatonic chords, scale degrees, circle of fifths, the 3-4 principle, common progressions, and
more. But first, let’s talk about common problems musicians face when it comes to pattern
proficiency.
Common Problems
1. Not knowing patterns even exist or how music works: A lot of “ear” musicians fall into this
category. They are in an unconscious incompetence state (i.e. - “don’t know what they don’t
know”). They approach everything randomly. They don’t see the connection between one song
and another or one major key and another. Every single chord they pick out is picked out one by
one with no acknowledgement or understanding of chords that precede or follow the current one.
These musicians stand to gain the most out of understanding patterns.
2. Not understanding pattern relativity and how to think outside of the performed key: Because
there are 12 different major keys (or “universes”), we tend to construct mental blocks that hinder
us from seeing how two different songs contain the same patterns (because one song may be in
the key of “C major” while the other song may be in “F major”). To the naked ear, the songs
sound different because they are based in different keys or “universes.” But to the musician who
understands patterns and the universal and numerical way of looking at music (e.g. “The 1-chord
going to the 4-chord”)... they are not fooled.
The songs sound the same, relatively. And to be able to recognize this is the end goal --- to be
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able to hear two totally different tunes in two totally different keys with perhaps even two totally
different rhythms... and still know that the same exact patterns are at work nevertheless.
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3. Not understanding the flexible nature of patterns and how they allow for greater level of
creativity: When you play by ear, you don’t have to play the same thing the same way every
time. In fact, advanced ear players understand their limits and how far they can take a chord
progression. Just because the chord progression uses a 1-chord and a 4-chord doesn’t mean you
have to stick to that each and every time. Having a deep understanding of patterns lets you know
you can slip a “5-1” progression in between the 1 and 4-chords creating a bigger progression or
pattern: 1 - (5-1) – 4. Truth be told, you can take it even further than that! This is something
we’ll cover in detail in this section.
Whether you’re stuck in a “don’t know what you don’t know” stage... or confused on how to
relate patterns to each other in different keys... or trapped in a box and not able to use your
creative juices to come up with different routes and outlets, this section will help you!
Why Understand Patterns?
1) It’s easier to learn songs using patterns versus chord-by-chord
If you train your ear to hear 2, 3, 4, or 5 chords at a time, you won’t have to spend time
approaching each chord individually. And because most songs follow predictable, organized
patterns, you’ll find that you won’t even have to learn anything new over time. Soon, the same
patterns will be appearing over and over again in song after song.
2) You’ll be able to play in all 12 keys a lot faster
If you’re looking at a string of chords as “6-2-5-1” in the key of C major rather than an “A
minor” going to a “D minor” ... going to a “G major”... going to a “C major,” you’ll be at more
of an advantage. By doing the latter, you’re trapping yourself in the key of C major. By grouping
these chords together, numbering them (according to the scale), and looking at them as one long
chain, you’ve just freed yourself up to take this chord to any key instantly (assuming you know
your “numbers” in all 12 keys and the equivalent chords ---- remember LAW OF 12!)
3) You can compose your own music
If you understand the patterns that govern most songs, what’s stopping you from putting them to
work for you in your own original music? Nothing! Simply do what every other modern
composer does and borrow from the same pool of patterns everyone else uses.
No need to reinvent the wheel once you literally understand the “WHEEL” (i.e. – the “circle of
fifths”). Don’t worry! We’ll talk about it later on in this section.
IMPORTANCE OF BASS
When you’re listening to a song on the radio or on your favorite album, what you should be
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listening for is what the bass player is doing... the lowest note... the root note. (All of these
names are different ways to say the same thing).
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You’re basically listening for the keynote of the chord at this point, not necessarily the chord
itself.
I know this can be difficult with so much going on in the song. There may be multiple
keyboards, organ, horns, strings, percussion, etc. I totally understand. But everything is working
on top of the bass. It’s not important right now what else is going on. Just follow the bass!
If you have to get some really good earphones with “bass boost,” get them! If you’re a little
technical and know how to adjust your EQ to make the bass louder, do it.
Finding the bass will lead to understanding what patterns are at work.
For example, if I hear the bass in a song going from C to E to A to D to G to C, and I’ve
determined the song is in the key of C major, I’d immediately convert these “letters” into
“numbers”: 1 – 3 – 6 – 2 – 5 – 1. The numbers represent the universal pattern... not the letters.
Numbers allow you to think of patterns irrespective of any given major key. Letters confine
you to one particular key like “C major.”
And I’d probably sing the bass notes out as well as I play them. Instead of singing “C - E - A - D
- G - C,” I’d sing “1 - 3 - 6 - 2 - 5 - 1” as I hit those notes. (It is a good idea to make this a habit
every time you learn a new pattern.)
Over time, this will get the sound of this pattern in my head so that when it occurs again, I might
actually know all the tones without having to pick each one out. And as I get really good, I will
even predict where the bass is going even while the song is still on the “3rd tone” of the scale,
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for example.
(In other words, if I just hear the 1st tone of the scale going to the 3rd tone... I’m already
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preparing my mind for the 6th tone next... and if the song goes to the “6th tone,” because I’ve

heard this movement before, I’m already preparing for the “2nd tone” next...
...Now, it may not always happen this way but more likely than not, it will. And by doing this
with song after song, you’ll build up a repertoire of patterns that you’re able to recognize by ear
and play on demand without having to learn anything new).
HOW TO DETERMINE CHORDS TO GO ALONG WITH THE BASS:
This question naturally arises next. “So once I figure out the bass is using this pattern, ‘1 - 3 - 6 -
2 - 5 - 1,’ what’s next Harold?”
Great question! This is where we turn to what we call “Diatonic Chords.”
DIATONIC CHORDS
What would you say if I told you every tone of the scale naturally creates a chord that is most
likely to be played whenever your bass lands on that tone? In other words, if you’ve picked out a
string of bass notes and one of them is the “2nd tone” of the scale, what if there was a chord you
could automatically try first and it would work 80% of the time?
Well, this is no fairy tale. That’s how music works. On every tone of the scale, there is a chord
that naturally occurs.
When we say “diatonic,” it’s just a fancy way to say “related or created or belong to the major
(or minor) scale.” In our case, we’ll stick with major scales for now.
In other words, the chords we’ll put on every tone of the scale are derived from the NOTES OF
THE SCALE.
You won’t find notes outside of the scale used in these diatonic chords. (That’s not to say you
won’t play chords with notes outside of the scale. As you start borrowing chords from other keys
and using substitutions, you certainly will).
But whenever you see the term “diatonic,” we’re talking about tones and chords from the major
scale you’re in.
So how do you find the diatonic chords of any key?
We just make triads off each tone of the scale. And if you remember how triads work, they are
just thirds stacked on top of each other.
Major chords = major third + minor third

Minor chords = minor third + major third
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Diminished chords = minor third + minor third

Augmented chords = major third + major third
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We call chords made up of thirds Tertian chords.
Majority of chords are tertian... or constructed by using thirds. Even the big chords...sevenths,
ninths, elevenths, thirteenths are all third intervals stacked on top of each other.
TAKING EVERY OTHER NOTE OF THE SCALE WILL GIVE YOU THIRD INTERVALS
Two rules to remember:
1) Any “THIRD” interval will always have 3 alphabet letters represented. Notice the distance
between “C” and “E” encompass or represent 3 alphabet letters: C, D, and E. While the “D” isn’t
played, it is still “inside” the interval. This is my quick way of explaining what “generic”
intervals are. Just count up alphabet letters and you always know what generic interval you’re
playing. In this case, taking every other note of the scale will create thirds.
2) To understand what type of third (whether major third or minor third) requires counting half
steps. We already know we’re working with a third because “C” to “E” represents 3 alphabet
letters as we discussed above. But we still don’t know if it’s a major third or a minor third until
we count the exact distance in half steps from “C” to “E.” If a third interval has 4 half steps, it’s
a major third. If it has 3 half steps, it’s a minor third.
So, what do we get when we form a 3-note triad off every tone of the scale?
Answer: The diatonic triads
1st tone – Major chord: In the key of C, a “C major” chord is naturally created off the 1st tone of
the scale.
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2nd tone – Minor chord: In the key of C, a “D minor” chord is naturally created off the 2nd tone
of the scale.
3rd tone – Minor chord: In the key of C, an “E minor” chord is naturally created off the 3rd tone
of the scale.
4th tone – Major chord: In the key of C, an “F major” chord is naturally created off the 4th tone
of the scale.
5th tone – Major chord: In the key of C, a “G major” chord is naturally created off the 5th tone
of the scale.
6th tone – Minor chord: In the key of C, an “A minor” chord is naturally created off the 6th tone
of the scale. 60
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7th tone – Diminished chord: In the key of C, a “B diminished” chord is naturally created off the
7th tone of the scale.
Once you picked out your bass notes in any given key, these are the chords you’ll want to be
thinking about first. Why? That’s because they naturally occur in the major key. They sound like
they belong. In fact, we’ve been conditioned for years to hear diatonic chords. They are the
chords that most likely occur on each tone of the scale.
If we’re in the key of C and we hear the bass going to “D” or “A,” chances are the chords on the
right hand are going to be “D minor” and “A minor,” respectively... especially if the song sounds
“typical” (or predictable).
The more predictable the song sounds, the higher the probability of diatonic chords being used.
That’s good news for you! Just pull out the right chord for the right tone of the scale and you’re
much of the way there!
Now don’t get me wrong here. You won’t always play a minor chord on the 6th tone of the scale.
Sometimes you may play a major chord there... or a dominant 7 chord, or an altered chord.
The minor chord will work there MOST of the time... but not ALL OF THE TIME.
That’s why your ear has to be good at hearing diatonic patterns apart from anything else. And
any time a song sounds like it’s doing something “different,” that should signal a warning that
says “try other chords.”
And from that point, you’ll just go down the list trying other chords like major, dominant,
diminished, or whatever else you’ve accumulated from your studies. The good news is once your
ear gets enough practice, much of this will be automatic!
Diatonic Seventh Chords
Of course, you can’t use triads to play all your songs. Things will sound pretty basic. So you can
also apply the same concept to seventh chords.
What will result if you actually skip every other note just like you did before... but this time, add
a 4th note?
Answer: You’ll get the diatonic seventh chords.
Note: 5 of the 7 triads we’ve already figured out will be the same when it comes to playing
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seventh chords. In other words, if you were playing a minor triad off the 2nd tone of the scale,
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now you’ll simply be playing a minor 7th off the 2nd tone of the scale. The same thing happens

with the 3rd tone of the scale. We simply “upgrade” the chord. The same thing happens with the
6th tone of the scale. In fact, every tone of the scale simply gets upgraded in the same
way...EXCEPT FOR THE 5TH and 7TH TONES. And you’ll clearly see why below:
1st tone of any scale:

Major 7th chord
In C major = C major 7
2nd tone of any scale:

Minor 7th chord
In C major = D minor 7
3rd tone of any scale:

Minor 7th chord
In C major = E minor 7
4th tone of any scale:

Major 7th chord
In C major = F Major 7

Dominant 7th chord
In C major = G 7

Minor 7th chord
In C major = A minor 7

Half diminished 7th chord
In C major = B half-dim 7
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Let’s turn our attention to the 5th and 7th tones of the scale.
When these diatonic chords were just 3-fingered triads, the 5th was a major chord and the 7th was
a diminished chord.
However, when we added a “4th” note on top, these are the only tones that change qualities. In
other words, the 5th tone of the scale is no longer major... it’s a dominant 7th. Likewise, the 7th
tone of the scale is no longer diminished; it’s slightly different... what we call a half-diminished
7th chord. None of these chords should be new as we covered them in the Chord Command
section. But just remember to note this small nuance when switching between diatonic triads and
seventh chords.
So, don’t be confused if someone says the 5th tone is commonly major or dominant. This is
essentially what they’re talking about.
This is what basically births the other voicings or chords you’d use when you are playing. They
won’t always be your answer but you’ll get pretty close (80% in my estimation). So get good at
picking out bass notes and immediately trying your diatonic chords right after. Then, let your ear
be the final judge of whether that’s the right chord to play on that particular bass note. And if it is
not, keep it moving! Try the opposite chord (if you’re on the 6th chord and you know it’s most
likely to be minor... but minor doesn’t sound right, try major…then try dominant... or any of the
popular altered substitutions you learned in chord county).
PRIMARY CHORDS AND SECONDARY CHORDS
In any given key, all tones and chords are not created equal. Either they’re primary chords or
secondary chords. Primary chords occur more often than secondary chords. In fact, most songs
can be played JUST WITH PRIMARY CHORDS (caution: they’ll sound pretty basic like most
nursery rhymes but the point is it can be done).
In any key, the 1st, 4th, and 5th tones are primary. All other tones (2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th) are
secondary.
The reason the 1st, 4th, and 5th are primary has to do with consonance and stability (they carry
less tension than the other tones... they sound very good progressing from one to the other...and
the other tones are most likely functioning in a way that leads to one of these primary chords
with the “1” being the chief at the top of the hierarchy).
1
4 Primary Chords
5
2
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3 Secondary Chords
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7
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CIRCLE OF FIFTHS
This is the real secret to playing patterns by ear...

It’s called the “CIRCLE OF FIFTHS” and if you use it, you’ll notice most of the songs you play
follow it.
This chart is probably one of the most important things you’ll ever learn when it comes to
playing and recognizing patterns.
This chart basically organizes keys in 4ths and 5ths.
For example, you’ll see C at the very top. If you look to the right, you’ll see G, which is a 5th up
from C. (You can also simply look at this as G being the 5th of C major).
And it keeps going... D is the 5th of G major... A is the 5th of D... and so forth.
The REAL magic happens, however, when you go the OTHER DIRECTION. That is, from C to
F to Bb to Eb and so on (like I illustrated above with the arrow).
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THIS IS THE REAL FLOW OF MUSIC.

And I guarantee you, if you compare some of the songs you know, you’ll find a lot of movement
in accordance with this circle of fifths chart.
For example, a “2-5-1” is a common progression to end a song. You’ll find it at the end of
almost EVERY song you play. (It’s that popular). In the key of C major, a “2-5-1” progression
will use these bass notes: D - G - C.
Well... circle any three notes that are neighbors on this circle and there’s your 2-5-1!
Circle the keys of C, F, and Bb on the circle (remember... we’re going COUNTER-
CLOCKWISE... the opposite direction of how a clock would tick). C, F, and Bb make up the
keynotes of a “2-5-1” in the key of Bb major.
Circle any other three neighboring notes, and you get the same result.
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Those three notes make up a “2-5-1” chord pattern in the key of Db major. I mean, isn’t “Eb” the
2nd tone of the Db major scale? Isn’t “Ab” the 5th tone? Isn’t “Db” the 1st tone?
The circle of fifths simply does the work FOR YOU.
And this ties right into the previous section where we studied what chords work on each tone of
the scale because once you figure out the keynotes for your “2-5-1,” just apply the right chords.
For example, if the Eb minor chord doesn’t sound right, I would probably try an Eb dominant 7
chord next as this would produce a more “bluesy” sound and sometimes you’ll find that
occurring on the 2nd tone of the scale.
At the end of the day, your ear is the final judge.
Remember this pattern we studied earlier? C - E - A - D - G – C? It is circular in nature. Most of

it follows the circle of fifths pattern.
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What if I told you most songs move in this same way? I can’t tell you if it’s exactly 80% of
songs but I’ll estimate that majority of songs move in this SAME way --- circularly --- especially
if they sound predictable and like you’ve heard them before.
In fact, I think it’s more valuable to rearrange the notes of a major scale in fourths since songs
are most likely to move in that direction.
So instead of thinking of the key of C major as: From C to D... D to E... E to F (basically the
normal way of playing it: C D E F G A B C)
Here’s another way to look at the major scale --- BUT THIS TIME, in the actual way most songs
flow:
B–E–A–D–G–C–F
7–3–6–2–5–1–4
I know this is way different than you’re used to thinking about the scale... but basically, it’s the
EXACT NOTES (nothing left out) but simply played in the same order as the circle of fifths:
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When you learn every major scale this way (which isn’t hard because they all overlap), you’re
already training your brain to think in this new musical direction.
And since I estimate majority of songs move “CIRCULARLY” (in the same direction shown
above), you are tapped into something that few musicians know or understand.
This flow never changes... C always leads to F...it does not matter what key you’re in. F always
has a tendency to lead to Bb, no matter what key you are in.
FOURTHS are powerful. They keep their bonds in every key. Yes, they change roles. A “2-5-1”
in one key is a “3-6-2” in another; and a “7-3-6” in another... but the flow is the same. And as
you practice these patterns more and more, it will CLICK for you. And when it does, you better
watch out! You’ll be a force to be reckoned with!
STEPWISE MOTION
Whereas circular progression moves in accordance with the circular of fifths, stepwise motion
simply moves up and down the major scale, step-for-step (which ends up being either whole
steps or half steps). 69
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Eventually, your job is to tackle those too...IN EVERY KEY.
Focus on descensions. Like 1-7, 7-6, 6-5, 5-4, 4-3, 3-2, 2-1.
Then you would focus on ascensions. Like 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6, 6-7, 7-1
Focus then on combinations. Like ballads: 1-7-6-5-4-3-2-5-1 (Believe it or not, just this string
of bass notes work for “Jesus is the Answer,” “No Weapon,” “Jesus is Love,” and many more.
HINT: Use diatonic chords on these tones and you’ll be able to play all these songs).
Mixing Stepwise Motions and Circular Patterns
Let us say you have picked out your bass-line to a song in the key of C, and your bass is
C–B–A
That means it starts on some type of chord on C... then moves to some type of chord on B... then
finally to some type of chord on A. That’s clearly stepwise motion. C moving right next door to
B... and B moving right next door to the next tone of the scale, A.
Knowing what you know about circular movements and how great they sound, you can decide to
insert chords between this progression we have just laid out here, and it would sound even better.
So, why don’t we add “E” between the “B” and “A”?
Why? That’s because if you look at your circular pattern, “E” is actually between “B” and “A”.
At the moment, the song is going from B to A, which is fine. It’s just moving down the C major
scale, which happens a lot too (i.e. “stepwise motion”). If we want to make this progression more
appealing, we would insert some kind of “E” chord after the “B” chord, and that will give us a
stronger connection to the “A” chord.
C–B–E–A
That is exactly the way “Thank you Lord”, “As the Deer” work.
For now, we are still talking about bass notes here, not chords. But, if we do want to talk about
the chords to go with the notes, we would ask ourselves, “what kind of chords would go with this
progression, or what chords would likely occur with these notes of the scale?”
And based on previous training, you’d know that these chords could work:
C Major – B half diminished 7 – E minor 7 – A minor 7

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I’m just using the chords that occur naturally on these tones of the scale
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If I wanted to change things up a little bit, I’d probably change the “E minor 7” chord to a
dominant-sounding chord. When you use dominant “bluesy” sounding chords, they always
STRENGTHEN the connection between whatever chord comes next in the circular pattern.
When you substitute dominant chords for minor chords (that would normally occur on the 2nd,
3rd, or 6th tones), we call them SECONDARY DOMINANTS.
C Major – B half diminished 7 – E 7 – A minor 7
It takes the ear to actually hear that the “E7” works better than the “E minor 7.” And if both can
work, simply use one the first time around and use the other option when you repeat the song.
Playing by ear is all about having options.
3-4 PRINCIPLE
At the end of the day, this principle is just as the circle of fifths.
RULE: If you’re on a particular tone of the major scale and you want to know what tone will
commonly come after your current one, either go UP 3 scale tones or DOWN 4 scale tones.
That’s why I call it 3-4 principle.
CAUTION: Don’t count the tone you’re on... just the “movement.” So if you’re in the key of C
major and you want to know what tone C is most likely to progress to (or which tone it has the
strongest connection to), just count UP 3 scale tones.
C >> D (+1) >> E (+2) >> F (+3)

F is the answer.
Likewise, you can get the same answer going DOWN 4. It’s up to you which way you want to
go.
F (-4) << G (-3) << A (-2) << B (-1) << C
You can also use math. If you’re on the 1st tone of the scale, just add 3.
1+3=4
In plain English, the 1 is most likely to move to the “4.”

If you’re on the 6th tone of the scale, you can add 3 or subtract 4.
(My rule: When doing it this way, I typically don’t want my answer to go above 7, since there
are 7 unique tones in the scale. So that’s when I’ll subtract 4. Either way, you’ll get the same
result... as 6+3 = 9...which is the same as the 2nd tone of the scale... 6-4 = 2).
Again, if you understand and memorize the circle of fifths, you don’t even have to think about
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the 3-4 principles. But, on the other hand, there are some cool insights that may result from
looking at patterns from this perspective.
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CONCLUSION
When a collection of chords sound really good and are almost predictable even before you hear
them (there are many songs like this), chances are it’s moving in a circular fashion. When it
sounds like something you’ve heard before... when the pattern is just very familiar to you... then
it’s probably circular.
You can probably pick out the bass notes by literally taking out a few chunks of the circle.
Now, of course, the circle doesn’t ALWAYS work. Notes skip around. Passing chords are
injected between “main” movements. But it’s usually at work under the hood and at least if you
take the time to understand it, the “ear” part of playing will come a lot easier.
In Martial Combat, you can do a lot of damage with brute strength, but the greatest fighters are
strategic.
The same thing is true when playing by ear. You can kill yourself trying to pick out every little
thing, note for note, bass for bass, chord for chord... but you’ll become exhausted and
discouraged.
Pattern Proficiency is all about focusing on and building your pattern recognition skills.
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PAGES: 20
SONG STATION
SONG SOLIDITY
FINDING THE KEY TO SONGS
DETERMINE MELODY AND BASS PATTERNS
DETERMINE THE RIGHT CHORDS
DETERMINE NUANCES
“SONG SOLIDITY”
This training will cover key techniques and insights that will ensure you get the most out
of the “Song Station” program, which covers Song Solidity concepts. Every strategy
you’ve learned so far leads to “song mastery” and by learning the principles herein,
you’ll speed up the process it takes to pick up any song. From melody and bass
determination to passing chords and key signature identification, this resource will equip
you with the knowledge to grasp it all!
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INTRODUCTION
In this section, we’ll start by discussing techniques and strategies that will help you find the key
of any song quickly. Then we’ll turn to melody and bass pattern determination. We’ll review
diatonic chords (which should be your first option after finding the bass), and end by covering
passing chords and other nuances you’ll find in songs.
Common Problems
1. Not knowing how to find the key of a song: You can know all your scales, the number
system, basic and advanced chords, and even patterns... but if you can’t find the key of a song
quickly, none of that will matter when it comes to playing by ear. Finding the key is like the
battery in your car. You can have the best engine, the best anti-lock braking system, hundreds of
horsepower, and every amenity under the sun... but if your car won’t start, all that stuff is
useless.
Finding the key to a song gives you a reference point to apply all the stuff you’ve learned to...and
that’s what we’ll turn to first in this section.
2. Not understanding the importance of melodies and how they work with chords: Without
melodies, many songs would sound almost identical because chords and patterns are recycled
over and over in many tunes. Melodies (and rhythm, among other things) help to differentiate
songs. I could play the same 4 chords repeatedly and by switching the melody, I could turn those
same 4 chords into dozens of songs. That’s how important melodies are. But more importantly is
their ability to point you to the right chords because a harmonizing chord will NEVER clash with
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the melody. In other words, the melody note will usually be in the chord used to harmonize that
melody (and knowing this narrows down the chords you’re going to try). By working on this
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skill, you’ll cut your song learning curve in half.

3. Not focusing on what the bass player is doing FIRST: Many musicians try to immediately go
for what they hear the piano player doing. This is not a bad idea...it’s just not the FIRST thing
you do. As an ear player, you want to secure in your mind the “big picture” pattern first. And the
only way to know the patterns at work is to listen to what the bass player is doing because they
are carrying the root notes of each chord. Once you figure out what they are doing, then you can
start applying chords and relying on the melody to get the right inversions and voicings of the
chords.
After completing the Musician Transformation process with these foundation classes, these will
be problems of the past. Let’s get to work!
FINDING THE KEY TO ANY SONG
As I said earlier, developing the skill of finding the key to songs is absolutely ESSENTIAL.
Everything starts here when it comes to putting all your skills to use.
There are two ways to doing this:
1) Intuitively
2) Analytically
Finding the key of a song intuitively
Keep in mind, this method is very intuitive and sensorial but I’ll try my best to describe it here
on paper.
At any given time, there is one note you can press down while listening to a song and it will feel
like “home.”
It will sound like a common tone you can hold down during the entire song. In fact, even though
the song is progressing from chord to chord, pattern to pattern, this ONE tone will never clash
with any of the chords, regardless of what’s going on in the song.
If you had to close your eyes and imagine the very last chord of the song... the chord that propels
the audience to their feet, clapping and cheering (because they know it’s the last ending chord),
that’s most likely the key of the song. The common “home base” tone we’re looking for.
If you’re not good at finding the key of a song, the good news is you can work on it DAILY
while driving in your car --- no piano needed.
Actually, I’ve always recommended humming the key with your own voice before jumping on
the piano to figure out what key it is.
This brings me to two terms I would discuss in the next section which are Perfect Pitch and
Relative Pitch.
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Perfect Pitch has to do with you hearing notes of a song absolutely [when a chord is being
played, you can tell the exact key and chord instantly]. 1 out of 10,000 people I rationalize have
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this ability [like one of my instructors at GMTC, James Wrubel].

Relative Pitch on the other hand has to do with Hearing notes or chords relationally to
movements you are familiar with.
A NOTE ABOUT PERFECT PITCH: You don’t need perfect pitch in order to do this. In fact,
only 1 in 10,000 people have perfect pitch. (That’s the ability to hear a tone and just know what
it is without any musical reference like a piano or relative note). I REPEAT... you do not need
this skill. When you’re humming, who cares what note it is? That’s not important at the moment.
What’s important is that you’re humming the TRUE KEY and that you have it stuck in your
head. Then, when you get to the piano, you can easily hit a few notes until you’ve determined
that key you’re humming. Essentially, you’re matching what’s in your mind (or what you’re
humming) to one of the 12 unique notes on the piano. That’s how 99% of musicians do it.
A FEW TIPS:
The key of the song is essentially the first tone of the scale, the tonic. That’s what we’re
looking for. We’re looking for a scale to place this song in so we can work our magic with the
number system, chords, and patterns, etc. Without a reference point (the “key”), we’re lost.
Songs usually begin on the 1-chord, and since the 1-chord IS THE KEY WE’RE IN, we then
can try to figure out the first chord of the song and that may lead us to the key. (Note: Don’t
confuse the term “1-chord” with the first chord of the song. Those AREN’T THE SAME
THING. When I say “1-chord,” I’m talking about the first chord of any given scale. Now,
usually the 1-chord is also the first chord of the song but not always. Some songs start with a
pickup on the “5-chord,” which leads to the 1-chord. But as a general rule, the 1-chord will
usually begin the song).
Usually songs end on the 1-chord (a.k.a. – the “tonic”). But just like the tip above, this isn’t
always the case. Some songs may end on a major chord off the 6th tone (very pretty way to end a
song). Some songs may end on the 4-chord. But as a general rule, most will end with a feeling of
peace... rest... tension-free...“home”. And that’s what the 1-chord provides.
If you can try to hum any of these chords (the first chord of the song, the last chord of the
song, or any chord that feels like “home,”), then you have a good chance of finding the “TRUE”
key.
All songs “wrap” around to the beginning (usually after the end of a verse or chorus). If you
can hum the first chord that’s played when the song returns to the beginning, that’s probably the
key as well.
As you can see, there’s many ways to do this. You can rely totally on “feeling” and just go for it
or you can strategically pinpoint certain chords and moments in a song (beginning, ending,
“wraparounds”, after verses) that are notorious for being the 1-chord, or the key you’re in.
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I talked about five (5) ways to which you can achieve this skill of figuring out the key to ANY
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song you listen to [with or without the piano], in a previous book I wrote, “Gospel Piano 2”. I

would browse through them here, but expatiate on one of them.
 IDENTIFYING THE KEYNOTE [TONIC]

You have to learn to identify the keynote / do / root / tonic. Understanding scale degrees and how
they can help determine the keys to songs is what we will be dealing with. Most times, you hear
a song and mistaken the melody for the root. Not all songs begin on the root note. Remember,
the root note can be sung throughout the song [as long as the song maintains the same key] and it
will fit in. Some songs don’t even end on the root note/chord. Most times, the root note is
accompanied with an altered chord making it difficult to hear, but you just listen for the deepest
tone [on the base line, but this is not always exact as some tones could be altered]. Hum that
sound, and if you are with your piano, find it in less than 5 seconds. Just don’t be offensive by
hitting one note after the other. Use your ears to distinguish the sounds.
 LOOKING AT THE PROGRESSION

Know the tonic arrangements. What chords are used for what tonics [using the diatonic
movements]?
Basically, there are 3 minors, 3 majors, and one diminished chord associated with every key
following the major scale. The 1st, 4th and 5th notes of the scale will usually carry a major chord
[the 5th will carry a dominant if bigger]. The 2nd, 3rd, and 6th will usually carry a minor chord.
The 7th will carry a diminished chord [or half diminished]. When you hear a chord e.g. an E
minor chord, [I don’t know how you heard it but you did], you ask yourself “in what key is E
minor the 2nd, 3rd or 6th note?” This will narrow your options down to three keys. The same takes
place if you hear a major chord, let’s say Ab major. In what key is Ab the 1st, 4th, or 5th tone?
Next you listen for the way they progress. If the E minor chord goes to the A minor, and then to
the D minor, then to the G dominant / major, or back to the E minor; say the movement is in that
sequence, identify what tonal movement they are e.g. ‘mi’ – ‘la’ – ‘re’… You would easily get
the key of the song as C major, because it is only in C major that you would have that
arrangement.
So placing the diatonic movements, it is easy to determine the key of the song using this method.
You may still need the piano for this method.
It is important to know what a tone/key is in every single key, e.g. what is the placement of D on
every other key?
 MINOR CHORD TRICK

In this method, you use the note that places the sound the highest, i.e. using the melody of the
song [5th]. For example, if you are humming G, test to see which minor chord puts G on top/as
the 5th note. Then try any of the keys in the minor chord. The thing is you could be humming the
3rd, which will make it Eb, or the 5th apart, which will mean C as the tonic, or even G as the tonic.
So while the song is playing, get a key and then test with a minor chord that puts that key the
highest, and test all of the keys to find the tonic. Your ear will always be the last judge.
 MEMORIZING A KEY
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This method is quite effective if mastered. The scope is to master the sound of a particular key
[usually middle C], and when you hear a song, test-run the tonic of that key with your
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memorized key. This is useful if you have no piano, don’t want to be hitting different notes on
the piano, or if the song is on the way and you just walked up to the piano. It could be frustrating
to a Singer or an audience when the Musician is searching audibly for the key of the song while
it is being sung. This is one method I would encourage everyone to master. It could be the key of
a song you have played before, or one you love.
When you have the original key of that song stored up in your head, use that to test against the
tonic of the new song you are listening to. This method requires a lot of practice, and is not as
easy as the others, because the different sounds you have been hearing throughout that day may
have impaired your key-memory.
 SCALAR TRICK
This one I like also. The rule is simple:
ALL KEYS ARE REPRESENTED ON OTHER KEYS!
What do I mean? Let’s say you hear a song and your first guess is C, but that’s not the key.
Rather than start running a chromatic on your piano trying to figure out the exact key, get the
tonic sound of the song like in the first method, then run a scale in your head from where you are
to where the tonic is.
Just as C is the 1st tone in the key of C, it is the 7th in the key of C#, the 5th in the key of F, the 4th
in the key of G, the 5b in the key of F#…and so on. Every key is represented on every tone of the
scale 12 times. So, your note from the original tonic could be ‘do’, ‘ti’, ‘sol’, ‘fa’, ‘fe’…and so
on. Like I said, your ear is the final judge when playing by ear.
THE “MINOR CHORD” TRICK

How to confirm you’ve got the right key, when in doubt.
In the beginning, if a musician is wrong about the key, I find there are usually 1 of 2 keys they
are usually humming erroneously. If they are humming anything else other than these two
commonly mistaken tones (which are still WRONG but not “AS” wrong), they are probably tone
deaf.
I find people are usually humming the 3rd of the key... or the 5th of the key. This makes perfect
sense when you think about the 1-chord
Let’s say the REAL key was C major.
And as we learned above, there are certain chords that can point us in the right direction, namely
the first or last chord of the song... or any moment where the song seems to wrap back around to
the beginning.
Since the song is in C major, that chord would be some type of “C major” chord. Easy so far,
right? But here is the problem.
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Instead of humming the keynote “C,” some first-timers skew towards “E” (the 3rd tone of C
major) or “G” (the 5th tone of C major).
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The funny thing is if you are not careful, these notes can fool you. They may feel like they work
since they are in the C major chord. In fact, if you’re used to singing in a choir, you probably
sing these notes, depending on whether you’re a soprano, alto, or tenor.
The key is to find the “REAL” tonic... the real key center.
So, to make sure you have the absolute correct tone, we employ this “MINOR CHORD” trick to
test these notes.
STEP #1: If you think you’ve pinpointed the right key of the song, figure out what minor chord
has this note on top (in root position).
EXAMPLE: I think G is my key. What minor chord has G on top? Answer: C minor (C + Eb +
G).
Note: The minor chord should always be in root position. That means, if you’re playing a C
minor chord, C will always be the lowest note.
STEP #2: After you’ve determined the minor chord that puts the note you’re testing on top,
you’re pretty much done. The other two notes in this minor chord are the tones you should test
your tone against. If your note is truly the RIGHT TONE, the other two notes in this minor
chord should sound like garbage! If any of the other two notes sound better or more harmonious
with the song than the note you’ve picked, jump ship! That means the minor chord trick has
determined you didn’t have the right key all along.
Better yet, it has given you the right key.
EXAMPLE: I think F is my key. I’ve hummed it and tapped it repeatedly as I listen to the song
and it seems to work. It seems to be that “common” tone you always talk about Harold. So now,
I need to determine which minor chord has F on top. The answer is Bb minor (Bb + Db + F).
Now, I will proceed to press down “Db” to hear if it sounds like the key of my song.
Next, I will press down “Bb” to hear if it sounds like the key of my song. If I have, in fact,
chosen the right key, “Db” and “Bb” should sound horrible and way off. If any of them sounds
better, they are probably the TRUE KEY.
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TIP: Both minor and major triads have the same notes on top so if you’re a little slow at figuring
out minor, try figuring out the major first. Bb major and Bb minor both put F on top. C major and
C minor both put G on top. So if you’re better at figuring out the major chord that puts your note
on top, do that. HOWEVER, when it comes time to test against the other two notes, you need to
use the notes from the MINOR chord (not the major chord you may have used to help you out a
little bit). THIS IS A MINOR CHORD TRICK. I hope that makes sense.
WHY DOES THE MINOR CHORD TRICK WORK?
Quite simple! Essentially what it does is make sure you’re not accidentally choosing the 3rd or
the 5th of the true key.
Let’s say the true key was C and because I lack experience, I am accidentally humming E. At
least I’m in the ball park since E is the 3rd tone of C... but this is not good enough. There is only
ONE TRUE KEY and if you get it wrong, you’ve messed up everything that follows. (And as
you do this more, you’ll know you’ve got the right key... you’ll just feel it intuitively. But in the
beginning, rely on my tips and tricks).
So, let’s go back to the example. The minor chord trick will eventually correct me, if I’ve
accidentally chosen “E” (because I don’t know any better).
#1 – So I ask myself, “what minor chord puts E on top?” If I’m a little slow with my minor
chords, I could also ask myself “what major chord puts E on top” since the highest notes are the
same for both major and minor chords. The answer is “A minor” (even though I may have used
“A major” to help me find the highest note, I must use the notes of “A minor” to test with or this
trick won’t work).
#2 – Since the “A minor” chord is A + C + E, and I’ve already chosen “E” as my original key, I
need to test my answer against “C” and “A.”
Now think about it... “E” is the 3rd tone of C right?
And because the “3rd” is one of the most mistaken tones, basically the minor chord trick is
pointing me to C, which could be the TRUE key (and according to this example, IT IS!)
“E” is also the 5th of A. Had I mistakenly hummed the 5th of the true key (which is common as
they share many characteristics), this minor chord trick would have unveiled “A” as the true key.
What if I’m humming the correct key all along?
No problem. The minor chord trick will confirm that you’re right.
So, let’s get back to my example above. Let’s say I was humming “C” all along and it was
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indeed the correct key.

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By finding the minor chord that puts C on top, it would lead me to F minor.
The notes of F minor are: F + Ab + C.
Hitting Ab when a song is really in C major will sound horrible. Ab will fail the test. Hitting F
won’t sound as bad as Ab but it will still not work and it should be obvious to your ears. F fails
too.
By testing Ab and F, you’re at least making sure you haven’t fallen victim to the most common
mistakes. If neither Ab nor F works, your answer has passed the test.
And even before you apply the minor chord trick, if you held “C” down and it sounded good
throughout the entire song – if you hummed it and it never clashed, and if you had unshakeable
confidence that it was the key, you were already destined to be right.
Finding the key of a song analytically
Since you now understand diatonic chords (from Pattern Paradise), you know that certain chords
are most likely to occur on certain tones of the scale.
1st tone – Major chord: In the key of C, a “C major” chord is naturally created off the 1st tone of
the scale.
2nd tone – Minor chord: In the key of C, a “D minor” chord is naturally created off the 2nd tone of
the scale.
3rd tone – Minor chord: In the key of C, an “E minor” chord is naturally created off the 3rd tone
of the scale.
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4th tone – Major chord: In the key of C, an “F major” chord is naturally created off the 4th tone of
the scale.
5th tone – Major chord: In the key of C, a “G major” chord is naturally created off the 5th tone of
the scale.
6th tone – Minor chord: In the key of C, an “A minor” chord is naturally created off the 6th tone
of the scale.
7th tone – Diminished chord: In the key of C, a “B diminished” chord is naturally created off the
7th tone of the scale.
So if you were at your piano and you happened to pick out an “A minor” and “D minor” chord in
a song, there’s a high probability this song is in the key of C major.
Here is why.
If we plotted out every major key and the chords that are naturally created in each of those keys,
you won’t find many other keys with “A minor” and “D minor” chords in them. The only key
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would be F Major.
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So from the analytical point of view, you have narrowed your choices down to C major and F
major.
Obviously, there will be many other chords in the song and if you keep going, you may run into
a G major or a G dominant 7 chord.
Since G is the 2nd tone of F major and will usually be minor, this gives us even more proof that
we’re in the key of C (but it doesn’t seal the deal as the 2nd tone is known to use a major or
dominant chord at times to provide more fuel to the 5th tone of the scale).
But let’s say a C major chord comes next and it “feels” like a chord of rest... it feels stable. If you
could end your song on that chord and the audience would know it was the end of your song, it’s
probably the 1-chord. If this is the case, C major is the key.
If C major sounds really unstable and like it needs to resolve somewhere, it’s probably the 5-
chord of F major. If that’s the case, it should resolve to F major and that’s where you’ll get the
same “home” and tension-free feeling I described above.
Here are some tips to keep in mind:
1) If you’ve managed to pick out a single major chord in a song, using the analytic approach,
there are three major keys the song is most likely in (including the key note of the major chord
you picked out).
Example: If you’ve picked out a Bb major chord, there are 3 major keys this Bb major chord
could have come from.
#1 – Bb major – You could have hit the jackpot and picked out the 1-chord, which is the
key you are in.
#2 – F major – The Bb major chord you’ve picked out could be the 4-chord in the key of F
major.
#3 – Eb major – The Bb major chord you’ve picked out could be the 5-chord in the key of
Eb major.
Note: This is not a game of “black” and “white.” Major chords do appear on tones or degrees
other than the 1, 4, and 5. Since playing by ear is a game of trial and error, you’ll try these keys
first. If they don’t work, you’ll move on.
2) The same rule above applies to minor chords. If you’ve managed to pick out a single minor
chord in a song, there are three keys that minor chord could belong to. For example, “C minor”
could belong to Bb major as the 2-chord...Ab major as the 3-chord...or Eb major as the 6-chord.
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3) The more chords you’re able to pick out, the better you’ll be. If you happen to pick out two
different minor chords in a song, now you’ve really increased your chances of landing the right
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major key because there will only be TWO keys with both of those minor chords in them.
4) And if you can pick out 3 minor chords, you’ve just narrowed it down to ONE KEY. No keys
have the same exact minor chords in them. For example, there’s only one key with “D minor,”
“E minor,” and “A minor” chords. It’s C major. Try to find another key with this same
combination. You won’t.
DETERMINING THE MELODY & HARMONY TO A SONG
Often times, the melody can provide a roadmap for what chords to play.
The melody will never clash with the chord. In fact, usually the melody of the song is kept up
top. (In some circumstances, it doesn’t matter... but most of the time, the melody is preserved as
the highest note of the chord).
So just by knowing the HIGHEST NOTE, this will rule out many chords.
For example, if I’m in the key of C major and I figure out the melody of a song starts on “E”
(which is the 3rd tone of the scale), there are only so many chords that immediately come to
mind:
Because I know a “C major” chord is most likely to start this song (because most songs start on
the 1st degree of the scale), I’m automatically going to assume that this melody note “E” is
simply the “E” from my standard “C major” chord.
In other words, if the C major chord is “C + E + G,” I’m just going to invert (rearrange) this
chord so that “E” is on top --- “G + C + E”. If it works, I’m good to go.
If it doesn’t work, I’ll say to myself: “What other commonly occurring chords in this key have
“E” in them?
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E minor (E + G + B: the chord which naturally occurs on the 3rd tone of the scale anyway... see
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CHORDAL COMMAND section). I can rearrange this chord to put “E” on top (G+B+E).

F major 7 (F + A + C + E): This chord already has “E” on top so if my other chords don’t work, I
can certainly try this one.
D minor 9 (D + F + A + C + E): If you paid attention to the CHORDAL COMMAND section,

you’ll remember that all bigger chords are composed of smaller chords. So if a major chord
usually works, there is a corresponding minor chord that will probably work too, because they
pretty much share the same notes except for the bass. In this case, this D minor 9 chord is
basically the previous F major 7 chord with “D” in the bass.
But you get the point. The melody can provide clues for the chords (harmony).
Playing melody-intensive songs
When it comes to playing traditional hymns, they are very melody-intensive. Everything is based
on the melody. In fact, almost every melody note gets a chord underneath it.
Most of these songs were written to be sung. That’s why they are arranged this way. Sopranos
sing one note. Altos sing another. And tenors sing the bottom.
As musicians, we’re basically just playing what the singers would normally sing when we play
hymns.
On the other end, when it comes to contemporary songs where we don’t play a chord with every
melody note (and there’s more of a sense of chord progressions and movements at work), the
game is totally different.
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But first, let’s talk about this idea of “harmonizing melodies” – how to determine and put chords
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under your melodies.

How to harmonize melodies:
Let’s say you’re able to pick out a few melody

notes to a song.
The diagram on the right tells you what chords

are most likely to harmonize those melody
notes (while keeping the melody notes on top).
NOTE: These are different from the

diatonic chords. These are harmonizing
chords.
These chords allow you to provide harmony to

a melody. In fact, if you’re a choir director,
you could use this information to give different
parts to your choir members.
This diagram illustrates the entire C major

scale being harmonized. Pay close attention to
the highest note.
The melody note “C” is harmonized by a C

major chord in first inversion (E + G + C).
Notice this inversion keeps “C”, the melody,
on top. That is key!
The melody note “D” is harmonized by a D

minor chord in first inversion (F + A + D).
The melody note “E” is harmonized by a C

major chord too, but this time in second
inversion (G + C + E).
The melody note “F” is harmonized by an F

major chord in first inversion (A + C + F).
The melody note “G” is harmonized by another

C major chord in root position (C + E + G).
The melody note “A” is harmonized by F

major, but this time in second inversion
(C + F + A).
And lastly, the melody note “B” is harmonized

by G major in second inversion (D + G + B).
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Determining bass of the song
With the last technique, you were looking at the highest note and drawing potential options from
it. With this technique, you’re clueing in on the bass instead (the lowest note).
If I’ve already heard the pattern before, and have played it like a million times, my brain
immediately tells me “NOTHING NEW HERE.”
At that point, I’ll figure out the key and proceed to play the pattern. Believe it or not, this
happens a lot.
You would think just because a song is new that perhaps the songwriter or composer came up
with something creative. IT IS RARELY THE CASE. And some genres are worse than others.
Gospel, R&B, and pop music do this a lot. I mean, all genres do but I find R&B singers all sing
pretty much the same patterns. I’m always surprised why listeners don’t get tired of hearing
different lyrics over the same chord patterns... over and over.
So, most of the time, the patterns are ones I’ve heard and played before. In those cases, I don’t
even have to figure out the bass. Something clicks in my mind and I already know what’s going
on.
WARNING: You won’t start out this way. The next element (E.E. – “Ear Efficiency”) will help
out.
But really, it’s just a matter of taking the time to stop and listen. When you DO learn something,
stop and listen to how it really sounds. Think in your head about other songs that sound like this.
Try to sing other melodies over the same chords and see if it works.
Just take the time to think about the chords as COLLECTIONS and not as separate chords.
For example, since we’ve discussed 2-5-1 progressions in past modules and how they commonly
end songs, it would do you well to take the same 2-5-1 progression (like a “D minor 7” going to
a “G7” to a “C major 7”) and simply sing as many song endings while playing these same
chords.
Examples:
“Happy Birthday to you (ending)” [play same 2-5-1 in rhythm]
“Was blind, but now I see” [play same 2-5-1]
“Do not pass me by” (Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior) [play same 2-5-1]
“Help me know you are near” (Draw me close to you) [play same 2-5-1]
Do you get the point?

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So when I hear the same types of endings over and over, it’s not that my ear is better than
yours... it’s just that I’m now conscious of the fact that these are the same chord patterns at work
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regardless of the style of the song... regardless of the genre... regardless of the rhythm or tempo.
But if you can’t hear the patterns in your head yet, you can always try to pick out each bass note,
one by one. This will work in the beginning.
Tips on picking out bass notes
1) Try to establish the key of the song or chord pattern first. Use the strategies we’ve already
covered to pinpoint the key. Once you do that, you’ll have a major scale to work within. Of
course, you want to think in terms of numbers with the tones of the scale.
2) As you’re picking out bass notes, don’t go at it randomly. Think about the tones of the scale
you’ve determined. Think about circular movement and how the “1” usually moves to the “4”...
and how the “2” usually moves to the “5”... and how the “3” usually moves to the 6, and so on
(...it’s a huge circle!)
1–4 4–7 7–3 3–6 6–2 2–5 5–1
3) Don’t be discouraged. If you have to rewind the tape, do it. There are many tools nowadays
that will slow down music. In fact, if you open any “mp3” file in Apple Quicktime (free), you
can go to audio/video (A/V) controls and there is a setting for playback speed. You can actually
slow it down to less than 25% of the original speed.
Connecting bass notes to patterns
Once you have a collection of bass notes picked out, you’ll probably see a pattern at work.
Maybe it’s a circular pattern (i.e. – “notes moving in the circle of fourths/fifths direction”), as
discussed above.
Maybe the bass pattern is moving up the major scale, one degree at a time (stepwise motion).
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If you didn’t take my advice and find the key of the song FIRST, the bass notes you’ve picked
out should hint at what key you’re in.
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For example, if you pick out these notes:
F - A - D - C - F – Bb
(Keep in mind these are separate bass notes you’ve picked out from listening to a record).
Already, in my mind, I’m leaning towards this song being in F major just because it is the first
chord used (and every tone is in the F major scale).
But it could also be in Bb (after all, the last note is Bb and all the notes are in the Bb major scale,
too).
This isn’t always the case though so you can’t always rely on JUST this method. (It’s impossible
to avoid using your “ear”).
But, you can ask yourself these questions to confirm your answer:
1) Are the notes I picked out from the F major scale?
2) Are there any notes that aren’t in the F major scale? And if they aren’t, are they important
chord tones or “rest points” in the song.
Passing chords and other nuances
If they are just “passed” over really fast, then this pattern can still be in F major. Songs usually
have passing tones, which help to move us from one chord to another.
And these passing tones aren’t always from the SAME major key. Often times, these passing
tones are half steps above or below the next bass note, which is usually IN THE SCALE.
So if I’m in the key of F and notice the bass pattern: F > A > Eb > D... well the “F,” “A,” and
“D” are surely tones of the F major scale... but where did the Eb come from? It’s not in the scale.
ANSWER: It’s a passing chord to make our pattern more interesting. Since Eb is so close to D, it
provides a nice push to D. Therefore, Eb shouldn’t be seen as an important chord tone...
especially if it is only used for a split second... the main chord tones are still from the key of F
and that’s what matters.
I think a lot of people get confused when they are picking out bass notes because they find notes
from all over the place (and that’s perfectly fine).
If songs only used the 7 notes from the same scale, THINGS WOULD BE BORING. You have
to borrow from other keys and add passing and neighboring tones and chords to spice things up.
As musicians, though, we don’t get confused.
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For example, we still see this as a “2-5-1” in the key of C:

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D minor 7 > G7 > Db major 7 > C major 7

Of course, D is the 2nd tone of the scale, G is the 5th tone of the scale and C is the 1st tone of the
scale (thus “2-5-1” pattern) but where does the Db in between come from? It’s not in the C major
scale!
You’re right! But it’s used as a passing chord to bring us one half-step down to C major 7. So
instead of going from G7 directly home to C major 7, we stop at the gas station on the way to get
some more “FUEL.” That Db major 7 chord just provides creative fuel, even though we could
have surely gotten home on the tank of gas we had.
So when you’re picking out bass notes and relating them to patterns, you’re looking at the BIG
PICTURE... not necessarily every little note that pops up.
THE BIG PICTURE IS THE MAIN PATTERN AT WORK.
3) Let’s go back to our example in F major for this last question I’d ask myself. I’d ask: “If I
press down any F on my piano while listening to this song, does it fit? Does it sound like it would
be the key?”
As we discussed earlier, when you find the key of a song (using your ear), there’s just this level
of confidence when you hit the right KEY versus a close match or the wrong key.
The “real” key can usually be sounded over just about any chord or verse or section of the song
and it’ll work. Again, it’s more about the “big picture.”
Applying chords to bass notes
80% of the time, the diatonic chords you’ve learned in past modules will work. That is, if your
bass note moves from the 1st tone of the scale to the 6th tone, and from the 6th tone to the 4th
tone... most likely, you be playing a major chord on the 1st tone, a minor chord on the 6th tone,
and a major chord on the 4th tone.
You’ll need to use your ear to figure out what kind of major or minor chords are at work. It could
be anything from a major triad to a major 7th or major 9th --- a minor triad to a minor 7th, minor
9th, or minor 11th. If you aren’t totally obsessed with finding the exact voicing and you’re sure
it’s a major chord, feel free to pull out your favorite voicing and most of the time, it will sound
just fine. As long as you got the right quality (major vs. minor vs. augmented vs. diminished),
you’ll be fine.
There are times when diatonic chords are substituted for other chords. Maybe instead of playing
a minor chord on the 6th tone, the composer decides to put a major chord there or perhaps a
dominant chord. Maybe even an altered chord (like a dominant 7 #9 #5, one of my favorites).
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That’s fine! You’ll just have to use your ear to know that:
1) This isn’t a diatonic chord here so I need to get to work figuring out what it really is
2) This is probably a (choose quality): major | minor | dominant | diminished | augmented |

altered chord.
It’s perfectly fine to go down the list until you’ve determined the right chord.
Another tip:
USE THE MELODY!
The bass got you to the promise land. Now the melody can help you further filter out what chord
might be needed.
If you’ve determined your melody is D, try to think of all the different chords that might go with
this bass note that have D in them (and better yet, “D” on top).
Build your repertoire
Your growth should be exponential in that the more you learn songs and play patterns, you
should be adding them to your collection and able to recognize them when they occur again.
That’s why the number system is so important.
Because as you learn songs in all 12 keys, without the number system, things can get very fuzzy
and you may not realize you already know the pattern in one key that you’re trying to learn in
another.
That’s the limitation of thinking in terms of “letters.” Letters confine you to one key. The
number system is only in one key --- the universal key.
Regardless of whether you’re playing in Bb major or D major, by thinking in terms of numbers as

you’re playing songs, you’ve just taken these keys from their respective “worlds” and put them
into a universal galaxy where they can be related and compared to one another. Too few
musicians think this way and it ends up with them not knowing and harnessing the musical
power they really have.
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CONCLUSION
Remember:
Notes create scales.

Scales create chords.
Chords create progressions.
Progressions create songs.
This is the roadmap for an ear musician.
You’ve gotten your scales and numbers down in Fundamental Fluency.

You’ve gotten your chords down in Chord Command.
You’ve gotten your progressions and patterns covered in Pattern Proficiency.
And in Song Solidity, you’ve learned everything from finding the key, using the melody to find
chords, using the bass to determine patterns, and even how passing tones work.
Needless to say, you have what it takes to start mastering the song learning process.
Now, your job is to bring the ear up to speed to hear the things you’ve learned on the theoretical
side. Playing by ear, to me, is where knowledge and ear-training collide. If you can get those to
meet in the middle, you’ve got it made!
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PAGES: 16
EAR ELEVATOR
EAR EFFICIENY
PATTERN RECOGNITION
CIRCULAR PATTERN SUBSTITUTIONS
CHORD VARIATIONS / ENHANCEMENTS
EXPERIMENTATION
“Ear Efficiency”
This training will provide essential concepts and insights that will ensure you get the
most out of the “Ear Elevator” program, which covers Ear Efficiency strategies. From
ear-training, chord quality and pattern recognition to substitutions, passing chords, and
cadences, this resource will provide the “icing on the cake,” equipping you with the
information and knowledge to put everything together!
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INTRODUCTION
In this section, we’ll start by discussing various ear-training strategies and tips that’ll shortcut
your learning curve. Then we’ll turn to chord variations, pattern recognition, and tone roles
(which will ultimately give you “FREEDOM” by knowing the rules so you don’t always have to
play songs the same way). Lastly, we’ll cover circular substitutions, cadences, and
experimentation.
Common Problems
1. Trying to hear “letters” instead of “numbers”: I often hear from musicians who are frustrated
trying to pick out songs in their mind before sitting down at the piano (which is a good idea, by
the way). The problem is how they’re doing it --- by listening for letters. That’s very difficult and
statistics say only 1 in 10,000 people have perfect pitch (which is the ability to hear tones and
know exactly what they are without any musical reference or instrument). So if you’re sitting in
your car wondering whether the song is going from a chord based on “C” to a chord on “G,” the
odds are already stacked against you. Rather, you should aim to clearly hear a “1-chord” going to
a “5-chord.” This is called “relative” pitch and is much more useful for ear-musicians. Of course,
when you get to the piano, you’ll eventually employ our “key finding” strategies from the Song
Solidity section to figure out what key you’re in, WITH A MUSICAL REFERENCE (your
piano).
Once you know the key, your numbers will convert into letters (e.g. – If you determine the key is
C major, your 1-chord now becomes C major and your 5-chord becomes G major). But you don’t
start this way when you’re listening to music in the car. “First comes numbers, and then comes
letters.” Don’t forget that!
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2. Not understanding how substitutions work and what chords can be interchanged: A lot of
musicians can play songs but they have no idea how to divert from the norm to come up with
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their own variations, substitutions, and alternative progressions. Having an understanding of

ALL the chords that can be played on each tone of the scale (and even on non-scale tones) is
essential to liberating yourself from predictable playing. Understanding how passing chords
function and how you can stretch a two-chord progression into half a dozen chords will provide
loads of variety and interest to your playing.
3. Not giving enough attention to systematic ear-training: I have an immediate antidote for this
one --- the ear training software called ‘PITCH’. It will test you on both melodic intervals (notes
played one after the other) and harmonic intervals (notes played simultaneously), from the
smallest distances to huge, extended ones. Being able to hear and recognize chord qualities,
distances and intervals, common and not-so-common progressions is critical. I’ve always said
playing by ear is 50% knowledge and 50% ear-training. Having software to test you and keep up
with your progress really aids in the process. [You can meet me for a trial installer package]
After completing the Musician Transformation process in these Foundation Classes, these will be
problems of the past!
Let’s get to work!
Ear Training
There is danger in skewing too much to either side, forsaking the other. Those who have “good
ears” and can pick up virtually anything but lack “knowledge” (i.e. – fundamentals fluency)
eventually get stuck and can’t get passed a certain point.
Those who have ALL knowledge but no “in the trenches” experience using their ear to pick stuff
up --- well, they can’t play very well and at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about (unless
you want to be a professor of music theory or something).
Ear-training is all about getting good at hearing distances.
In music, you’re estimating distance by “HEARING” it. For example, once you know how major
thirds sound, you’re good to go forever with that interval. You can start listening for major thirds
in songs and you’ll know when you hear them. Likewise, with the number relationships (like the
“1” going to the “4” or the “1” going to the “6”).
I’ve found it’s usually an epiphany with each interval rather than a gradual process. In other
words, something internally just “CLICKS” and you’re able to clearly hear major thirds or minor
thirds or perfect fifths or the “1” going to the “4,” etc.,
What takes time is getting to all the intervals. This is what the PITCH software will do for you.
It’ll help you systematically get through all the intervals.
A quick note about intervals:

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There are melodic and harmonic intervals.

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Melodic intervals
With melodic intervals, you’re hearing separate notes played one after the other --- melodies.
“Melodic” = melodies.
That’s on the high end. On the low end, melodic intervals can also be looked at as bass notes
going from one to the other. And if you’ve already gone through Song Solidity, you know how
important the bass is when it comes to learning songs. We’ll use the bass 80% of the time to
learn songs.
Getting good at hearing separate notes played one after the other, is very important. This
provides the road map for your songs.
There are 2 ways I think you can think about hearing melodic intervals:
1) Intervallic approach
With the intervallic approach, you’re literally hearing INTERVALS in your head (i.e. – “major
third,” “major second,” “perfect fifth,” etc.).
So when you’re listening to a song, you might have a thought process like this:
“Ok, so we’re on the root. The song has just begun. Oh wow! The bass has just gone up a major
third. I hear it clear as day. Wait! It has quickly gone down a major second (or whole step).
Wow! That was quick... now it has gone up a perfect fourth.”
I know this sounds funny but this is the conversation I’m really having in my head. I may not be
as cognizant about it at this point (because of unconscious competence having kicked in many
years ago), but the thought process is internally there nonetheless.
In a real key like C major, this would be:
“Ok, so we’re on the root (C). The song has just begun. Oh wow! The bass has just gone up a
major third (E). I hear it clear as day. Wait! It has quickly gone down a major second (or whole
step) (D). Wow! That was quick... now it has gone up a perfect fourth (G).”
Of course, after doing a few PITCH exercises, you too will be able to clearly hear “thirds” and
“seconds” and “fourths.” You just have to keep at it until it “clicks.”
(REPTITION IS THE MOTHER OF SKILL).
With all that said, I prefer to think using the number approach.
Don’t get me wrong, there are circumstances where using the intervallic approach is absolutely
necessary (particularly when trying to pinpoint something the melody is doing). But when it
comes to picking out bass notes and pattern recognition, thinking in terms of the number system
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rules.
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2) Number approach
Here’s my thought process under the number approach:
“Ok, so we’re on the 1. The song has just begun. Oh wow! The bass has just gone up to the 3. I
hear it clear as day. Wait! It has quickly gone down to the 2. Wow! That was quick... now it has
gone up to the 5.”
It is important to note the same movements are going on from my first example. I’m simply
thinking in terms of what tone of the scale I’m on rather than the distance I’ve moved.
The intervallic approach is more concerned with the distance taken --- “The song has just gone
up a major third.” The number approach is more concerned with destinations --- “The song has
just gone to the 3rd tone of the key.”
I’m using the latter approach more often. I’m thinking NUMBERS.
Notice the “letters” are the same when I bring them in:
“Ok, so we’re on the 1 (C). The song has just begun. Oh wow! The bass has just gone up to the 3
(E). I hear it clear as day. Wait! It has quickly gone down to the 2 (D). Wow! That was quick...
now it has gone up to the 5 (G).”
Here are illustrations to make it plainer (combination of intervallic and number approach):
“Ok, so we’re on the 1 (C). The song has just begun.”
“Oh wow, the bass has just gone up a major third to the 3 (E). I hear it clear as day.”
“Wait, it has quickly gone down a major second (or whole step) to the 2 (D).”
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“Wow, that was quick... now it has gone up a perfect fourth to the 5 (G).”
Tips on hearing the “Numbers”
This won’t come overnight but there are strategies you can use to speed things up.
1) Being aware of the numbers as you’re playing songs and progressions you already know.
I find a lot of musicians aren’t even thinking of numbers as they play. While eventually this
strategy becomes automatic (to the point where you don’t have to make a conscious effort to
think about numbers), in the beginning, it’s important to know what tone of the scale you’re on
as you’re playing chords:
Soon, the brain starts linking up the numbers to certain sounds. You’ll clearly hear when
you’re on the 6th tone of the scale, for example.
You’ll be more aware of the chord progressions at work. Instead of playing random chords,
you’ll know specifically whether you’re playing a “2-5-1” or a “1-4” turnaround. This will help
you in relating songs and progressions to other keys. And more importantly, your brain will start
linking up these progressions and one day you’ll wake up and just know that you’re listening to a
“6-2-5-1” progression. It will be magical.
2) Try singing the numbers.

Pick any key [The key of C major], and just sing the bass notes of a 1-6-2-5-1 while calling out
the numbers ---- “1~~~~~,” “6~~~~,” “2~~~~~,” “5~~~~,” “1~~~~.”
Then pick another key and do the same thing. You’ll be training yourself to sing relatively. What
does that mean?
It means, you can sing a pattern in any key without really having to know the notes you’re
singing. In fact, you don’t even have to know the key you’re singing it in. Just pick a new
starting note and make sure you’re singing whatever would be the 1, 6, 2, and 5 tones of that
starting note. If you want to later go to your piano and match your voice to the piano, you can do
so to find the key you were in.
The PITCH Ear-Training software has a section dedicated all to singing. You can connect your
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computer microphone and sing along!

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Here’s another exercise: Say you’re going to sing the bass notes of a “1-6-2-5-1” progression,
you can start off by playing the first two notes on your piano (the “1” and the “6”) as you sing
the numbers aloud. Then, you can stop playing and rely just on your voice to finish the
progression. Once you’ve mastered one key, go to another random key.
“If you can hear it, you can play it.” “If you can sing it, you can hear it.”
Intervals
Note: There’s a fine line between the “intervallic” and “number” approach. Going up a major
third from the 1st tone of the scale is the same thing as going to the “3.” You can still study
intervals but relate them to numbers as you’re playing real songs.
Intervals and the Number System:
From the 1st tone of the scale to the 1st tone of the scale (itself) is called UNISON.
From the 1st tone of the scale to the 2nd tone of the scale is called a MAJOR 2ND.
From the 1st tone of the scale to the 3rd tone of the scale is called a MAJOR 3RD.
From the 1st tone of the scale to the 8th tone of the scale is called a PERFECT OCTAVE.
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DIATONIC CHORD SUBSTITUTIONS
Here are the typical diatonic chords in C major:
1st tone of any scale:

Major 7th chord
In C major = C major 7
2nd tone of any scale:

Minor 7th chord
In C major = D minor 7
3rd tone of any scale:

Minor 7th chord
In C major = E minor 7

Major 7th chord
In C major = F Major 7

Dominant 7th chord
In C major = G 7

Minor 7th chord
In C major = A minor 7

Half diminished 7th chord
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In C major = B half-dim 7
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Here are common substitutions:
1-chord: While the 1-chord is usually major, there are times when it’s dominant (dom7, dom9,
dom13). This usually happens when the 1-chord is progressing to the 4-chord. Why?
Well, let’s go to the key of C major and analyze what’s going on. In the key of C, the 1- chord is
C major. The 4 chord is F major.
However, if you temporarily go to the key of F, what is C major in the key of F? It’s the 5-chord.
We know the 5-chord is used to bring us back home to the 1-chord in most instances. So in the
key of F major, C dominant 7 is usually the chord that’s going to bring us back home to F.
So all we’ve done is borrow “roles” from the key of F and brought them to the key of C. So
whenever you see a dominant chord on the 1, look for the 4 soon after. It’s probably a common
case of “role reversal.”
There are other times when the 1-chord is minor (but usually this is a huge indication the song is
in a minor key). If a minor chord on the 4 follows it, then that really solidifies the stance of this
song being in minor. If it’s a one-time deal, the composer could have incorporated some tricky
stuff to provide variety in the song.
2-chord / 3-chord / 6-chord: Diatonically, these degrees produce minor chords but there are
times you’ll find major and dominant chords on them. If you’re on the 2, 3, or 6 and things just
don’t sound right, switch up the minor chords to major chords. If that doesn’t get it close, switch
the major chord to dominant.
Note: Major and dominant chords share the same root chord: C major (C E G) and C dominant
(C E G Bb). Both share the notes “C + E + G.” So when your ear tells you a minor chord doesn’t
work and you try a major chord (and it sounds close but not close enough), then the dominant
chord should seal the deal. Oh, and by the way, it can be a dominant7, dominant9, dominant 11,
or dominant 13.
Along the lines of the dominant substitution, you’ll find yourself playing diminished 7th chords
on the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th degrees. But you’re not playing the diminished chord on the same tone...
you’ll be playing the diminished chord a half step higher. Let me explain:
The 2nd tone of C is D right? But instead of playing a D diminished 7 (D + F + Ab + Cb), you’re
going to play the diminished 7 chord a half step higher (Eb diminished 7) but your bass is going
to stay on D (the 2nd tone). So essentially you get D on your left hand and Eb diminished 7 on
your right (Eb + Gb + A + C). What this ends up giving you is a dominant 7 chord with a flatted
9.
D + F# + A + C + Eb (Note: I changed Gb to F# to be more consistent with the notes of the D

dominant chord).
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E would normally be the “9” right? But playing a diminished chord a half step over D gives us
Eb, which is the b9 (flat 9). THIS CHORD HAPPENS A LOT OFF THE 2, 3, and 6.
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MEMORIZE IT!
The rule one more time: Just play the diminished 7 chord a half step higher than your bass.
Bam! You’re done! Do this on the 2, 3, and 6 when appropriate. It provides a very strong
connection to the tone a fourth away (i.e. – “circular movement”).
Since we’re talking about altered chords, another popular one to play on the 2, 3, and 6th tones of
the scale is the Dominant 7 #9#5 chord.
The last chord gave us a Dominant 7 b9. This next chord will be almost the opposite... #9 #5.
It’s simple though. Just take a regular dominant 7 chord like C7:
Now, as the chord instructs, sharp (raise) the 5th degree. And you’ll need to add the 9th degree
since it’s not already in the chord. Once you add it, you then raise it too!
Simply take the concept to the other tones (particularly the 2, 3, and 6... even the 7) and you’re
good to go. This chord acts in the same way as the last altered chord. It provides great
transportation up a fourth... just cooler!
4-chord: The 4 chord is pretty similar to the 1-chord. If it’s not major (which it will be most of
the time), then it’s a dominant (dom7, dom9, dom11, dom13). It may also be minor if the major
or dominant chord doesn’t sound right.
5-chord: This chord is usually going to be major (if a 3-toned chord) or dominant... dom7,
dom9, dom11. If anything is to be substituted on this tone, it’s usually going to be a suspended
chord. You get suspended chords by taking major chords and simply putting the 4th degree in the
place of the 3rd degree. Usually a C major chord is C E G with the “E” being the third degree of
the chord (and 3rd tone of the C major scale). By simply swapping out “E” and putting “F” (the
4th tone of the scale) in its place, you’ve just created a sus4 chord.
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The same concept applies when you swap the 3rd out and put the 2nd (“C+D+G” instead of
“C+E+G”). We call that a sus2 chord.
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You don’t have to keep it major either. You can play dominant chords this way too --- C F G Bb
would be a C7 sus4 chord. The same applies to dom9 chords, dom11 chords, etc.
Sometimes, you’ll play a minor chord on the 5. This is in conjunction with the concept we talked
about with the 1-chord.
7-chord: Diatonically, this is either diminished (if a 3-toned chord) or half-diminished 7. Keep in
mind that a half-diminished 7 chord is nothing more than a minor 7 b5. It’s just another way to
say it. So essentially this is just an altered minor chord which means you can substitute many of
the things we talked about for the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th degrees.
Most notably is the extended minor chord. Many people will play a minor 9 or minor 11 on the
7th degree. It sounds really cool. So instead of C half dim 7 (C + Eb + Gb + Bb), you’d play C
minor 11 (C + Eb + G + Bb + D + F). Nice!!!
NON-DIATONIC SUBSTITUTIONS AND ADDITIONS
b
2 – This is commonly used as a passing chord to take you to the 2. Sometimes you’ll find it
bring you home to the 1 chromatically.
b
3 – This is commonly used as a passing chord to take you to the 3. You’ll also find it going in
the other direction bringing you down to the 2 as well.
b
5 – This is one of my favorites. This either takes you up to the 5 or down to the 4 (but I find
when it takes you down, the 4 is usually a minor chord. The 3 usually comes right after; like a
chromatic dissension).
b
6 – Like the other non-diatonic tones, it usually takes you to the 6. This doesn’t happen as often
but you can use it to chromatically come down to the 5. You’ll hear this type of chromatic
movement in blues music.
b
7 – This tone can actually substitute for the 2 or 5-chord and provide an alternate ending to a
song. You may hear people going to the b7 as a major chord followed by the 5 chord to end a
song. It’s very common.
Note: “b” means flat. “b2,” “b3,” “b5,” “b6,” “b7” simply mean “flat second,” “flat third,” “flat
fifth,” “flat sixth,” and “flat seventh,” respectively.
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PRIMARY CHORD ROLES (in plain language)

1-chord: At home; feeling of rest; tension-free; consonant
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4-chord: Away from home; at a neighbor’s house

5-chord: On the way home
Pattern recognition
Remember, playing by ear is 50% knowledge and 50% ear-training, give or take (in my
estimation). That’s why it is crucial to have knowledge of the PATTERN PYRAMID. It
basically gives you a hierarchical structure to use when learning songs.
What this means to you?
When it comes to learning patterns,

you are most likely going to be moving
in fourths from tone to tone... then fifths
...and then seconds... then thirds.
So if you want to focus your time on

which intervals to learn first, it would
be a good idea to progress in this order.
REFERENCE
PERFECT FOURTHS: To create a perfect fourth, just count up 5 or down 7 half steps. From C
to F is a fourth.
PERFECT FIFTHS: To create a perfect fifth, just count up 7 or down 5 half steps. From C to G
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is a fifth
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MAJOR THIRDS / MINOR THIRDS: To create a major third, just count up or down 4 half
steps. To create a minor third, count up or down 3 half steps.
MAJOR SECONDS / MINOR SECONDS: To create a major second, count up or down 2 half
steps. To create a minor second just count up or down 1 half step.
Hands down, the most common movement will be in FOURTHS, so if you have limited time,
focus on fourths for now.
Here are the most popular fourth movements. Don’t let the numbers fool you. Remember that
earlier exercise on how to relate the numbers to intervals? You may be going from the 2nd tone of
the scale to the 5th tone of the scale but when you analyze what that movement really is (its
distance), you find out it’s a FOURTH.
Of course there are more but these are the main ones:
• 1-4 (and 4-1)
• 5-1 (and 1-5)
• 5-1-4
• 2-5-1
• 6-2-5-1
• 6-2-5
• 3-6-2
• 3-6-2-5-1
• 7-3-6
• 7-3-6-2-5-1
Since numbers come first, then letters, let’s bring these patterns into the key of C major.
Here are the bass notes (keynotes) of these patterns:

• 1-4: C > F
• 5-1: G > C
• 5-1-4: G > C > F
• 2-5-1: D > G > C
• 6-2-5-1: A > D > G > C
• 6-2-5: A > D > G
• 3-6-2: E > A > D
• 3-6-2-5-1: E > A > D > G > C
• 7-3-6: B > E > A
• 7-3-6-2-5-1: B > E > A > D > G > C
(Taking it a step further, you can apply the diatonic chords you’ve learned in past sections to
these bass notes and you’d have yourself some pretty nice chord progressions).
105
Here’s an example:
• 1-4: C major > F major
• 5-1: G major > C major
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• 5-1-4: G major > C major > F major
• 2-5-1: D minor > G major > C major
• 6-2-5-1: A minor > D minor > G major > C major
• 6-2-5: A minor > D minor> G major
• 3-6-2: E minor > A minor > D minor
• 3-6-2-5-1: E minor > A minor > D minor > G major > C major
• 7-3-6: B diminished > E minor > A minor
• 7-3-6-2-5-1: B diminished > E minor > A minor > D minor > G major > C major
Here’s the big secret with fourth intervals:
If you just memorize the circle of fifths from previous sections...
C > F > Bb > Eb > Ab > Db > Gb > B > E > A > D > G > C (repeat)
THIS FLOW WILL ALWAYS BE THE SAME NO MATTER WHAT KEY YOU’RE IN.
FOCUS ON THIS CIRCLE IN YOUR EAR-TRAINING EFFORTS AND YOU’LL NEVER

BE THE SAME!
Circular Substitutions & experimentation
Here are two questions the circle of fifths helps you answer:
1) “Where I am right now... what leads to this tone?”
2) “Where I am right now... what comes next... where does it commonly lead to?”
106
Knowing the answers to these questions right on the spot can always provide you with a potential
alternative route to take (if it’s not the one being used already... that is, if the pattern isn’t already
Page
circular).
For example, a very popular pattern is: 1-6-2-5-1.
That is, a 1-chord going to a 6-chord, then to a 2-chord, then to a 5- chord... and finally back
home to the 1-chord again.
It’s a classic “turnaround” progression.
Already I see an opportunity to add something. If this were in the key of C major, the keynotes
would be:
C-A-D-G-C
If I turn to my best musical friend, the “circle,” you will find every tone is neighbors except for
the “C” and “A.”
This is what I call a “circular gap.” Now, it doesn’t always work this way but this is just how I
approach it.
I ask, what usually leads to “A?” The answer is “E.” So I can slip “E” in my progression:
C>E>A>D>G>C
...thus making this a “1 – (3) – 6 – 2 – 5 – 1” pattern.
Note: When you “slip” chords in like this, TIMING is very important. Don’t try to add the “3”
chord to an already tight situation, if the song is already too fast, and the chords already feel
rushed.
TIMING IS IMPORTANT.
107
Page
Boy! I know you should be very ‘BAD’ on the piano now! You have learned so many new
things. And guess what? You can go ANYWHERE you want to go on the piano... as long as
you’re back on time!”
Never compromise your knowledge of new chords/licks for your timing. NEVER!
The substitutions and enhancements are endless. Much of it is simply about listening...mixed
with “trial” and “error” (when you’re practicing so you don’t have to make the blunders in
public).
Experiment! Have Fun! Grow!
CADENCES: A progression of at least two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of
music.
We have different types of cadences in music, which I would list out a bit here.
Authentic: 5 to 1 progression (most common).
Half (or open): A progression that ends on the 5-chord (sounds incomplete; definitely can’t end
the song).
Deceptive: A progression that ends with a 5 chord going to on any chord except for the 1.
Plagal: 4 to 1 progression (like “Amen” at the end of songs). This is sometimes called the ‘Amen
Cadence’.
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EXERCISE 1
1) You hear a song in the key of C major going from the “2” to the “5” to the “1” to the “4”.
What seventh chords are you going to consider first?
2-chord: ______________________________________________________________
5-chord: ______________________________________________________________
1-chord: ______________________________________________________________
4-chord: ______________________________________________________________
2) You hear a song in the key of F major going from the “7” to the “3” to the “6”. What seventh
chords are you going to consider first?
7-chord: ______________________________________________________________
3-chord: ______________________________________________________________
6-chord: ______________________________________________________________
3) You hear four chords: F major > A minor > Bb major > C7. What key is this song probably in
based on the chords that appear in this progression?
A) What major keys have “F major?” ________________________________________
B) What major keys have “A minor?” _________________________________________
C) What major keys have “Bb major?” ________________________________________
D) What major keys have “C dominant 7?” ____________________________________
EXERCISE 2: Predicting what chord or bass movement might occur next

Based on what you know about the circle of fifths and how common this movement is, predict
the “missing” notes of the progressions below:
1) C > F > ________

2) A > D > G > ________
3) Bb > Eb > ________
4) Ab > Db > Gb > ________
5) D > G > C > ________
6) F > Bb > Eb > Ab > Db > ________
109
7) E > A > D > ________

8) B > ________ > A > ________
9) G > ________ > F > ________ > Eb > Ab > ________
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10) Eb > Ab > ________

EXERCISE 3:
Answer the following questions concerning the multiple roles “circular progressions” play in
various keys.
1) A “2-5-1” in C major will be what type of progression in F major?
______________________________________
2) A “1-4” in Ab major will be what type of progression in Db major?
______________________________________
3) A “6-2-5-1” in A major will be what type of progression in D major?
______________________________________
4) A “7-3-6” in F major will be what type of progression in G major?
______________________________________
EXERCISE 4:
Answer the following questions:
1) In the key of C, if the bass was going from C to G and you wanted to add a chord in between,
what would be your best choice (remember the circle of fifths)?
____________________________________
2) In the key of F, if the bass was going from F to E to D, what could you insert between the “E”
and “D” to make the progression more interesting?
____________________________________
3) In the key of Bb, if the bass was going from Bb to G, what could you insert between these two
chords to make the progression more interesting?
____________________________________
110
Page
EXERCISE 5:
Answer the following questions concerning the “minor chord” trick.
#1 – You believe a song is in F major. What minor chord are you going to use to test against
your answer?
___________________________________________________________________
#2 – You believe a song is in A major. What minor chord are you going to use to test against
your answer?
___________________________________________________________________
#3 – You believe a song is in G# major. What minor chord are you going to use to test against
your answer?
___________________________________________________________________
EXERCISE 6:
Try to figure out the keys of the following songs on youtube (tip: It’s best to first hum the
“common,” “home base,” tone that comes to you... then attempt to find that tone on your piano.
If in doubt, apply the SCALAR or MINOR CHORD tricks to it).
#1 – Praise You Forever: https://youtu.be/2cgFUJD91cA

I think the key is: __________________________________________________
#2 – Amazing Grace: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJg5Op5W7yw

I think the key is: __________________________________________________
#3 – I’m Amazed: https://youtu.be/QlN4Sm9I9dA

I think the key is: __________________________________________________
EXERCISE 7:
What major key am I in?
Chord 1 Chord 2 Chord 3 What Key Am I In?
Bb minor F minor C minor
D major C major A minor
C major F major G major

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B minor D major E major
F minor C minor Eb major

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ANSWERS
Answers for exercise 1:
#1 – D minor 7 > G7 > C major 7 > F major 7
#2 – E half diminished 7 > A minor 7 > D minor 7
b
#3A – F major, C major, B major
#3B – C major, G major, F major
b b
#3C – B major, F major, E major
#3D – F major
Answers for exercise 2:

b
1) C > F > B
2) A > D > G > C
b b b
3) B > E > A
b b b
4) A > D > G > B
5) D > G > C > F
b b b b b
6) F > B > E > A > D > G
7) E > A > D > G
8) B > E > A > D
b b b b
9) G > C > F > B > E > A > D
b b b
10) E > A > D
Answers to exercise 3:
1) D – G - C (2-5-1) in C major would be a 6-2-5 in F major
b b b b
2) A - D (1-4) in A major would be a 5-1 in D major
#
3) F - B – E – A (6-2-5-1) in A major would be a 3-6-2-5 in D major
4) E – A – D (7-3-6) in F major would be a 6-2-5 in G major
Answers to ex4:
1) Some type of chord on D... like D minor or possibly substitute D major or D7
2) Some type of chord on A... like A minor or possibly substitute A major or A7 or an altered chord.
3) Some type of chord on D... like D minor or possibly substitute D major or D7
Answers to ex5:
b b b
#1 – B minor (B + D + F)
#2 – D minor (D + F + A)
# # #
#3 – C minor (C + E + G )
Answers to ex6:
#1 – C major
#2 – C major
#3 – G major
Answers to ex 7:
b
#1 – A major
112
#2 – G major
#3 – C major
#4 – A major
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b b
#5 – E or A major
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WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center

Harold Hanson Udokwere

NOTES & SCALES

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A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G# and then back to ‘A’

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You will then ask, what do the ‘#’ signs mean?

The # sign stands for “Sharp”.

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Acronyms – like “why won’t he wear white when hot”

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Things you should do WHILE you’re learning your scales are:

-Number each one from 1 to 7

C = 8, D = 9, E = 10, F = 11, G = 12, A = 13

Looking at this numbering pattern, you would easily see that 8 = 1, 9 = 2, 10 = 3, 11 = 4, 12 = 5,

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KEY POINTS SUMMARY:

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Advanced Number System Techniques:

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They share the SAME NOTES.

So now, you’ve added another fundamental... and it took all of 3 minutes!

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The scale formulas for these scales are:

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Intervals and the Number System

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9) KNOWING THE FUNDAMENTALS WILL SHORTCUT THE AMOUNT OF TIME IT

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JUST REMEMBER THAT THE TRUE GOAL IS TO BE ABLE TO KNOW ENOUGH

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3) I can play any natural minor scale in a second’s notice:

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ANALYSIS (GAME PLAN):

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TRIADS AND EXTENDED CHORDS

CHORD CLASSIFICATION AND TRANSPOSITION

INVERSIONS AND VOICINGS

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QUALITY + QUANTITY = CHORD

Other qualities you’ll study: Other quantities you’ll study:

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1) Learn them in all 12 keys using the “transposition” technique below.

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(Here’s an example of how I’d use it)

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There are several ways to form seventh chords: