Piano Diana Blog: Minor chord

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How To Play Bridge Over Troubled Water

Bridge Over Troubled Water: Paul Simon l Piano Diana

Major and Minor Chords

We've learned how to construct the major Interval and how to construct the perfect Interval.

Major Third: Distance between the root and (3) degree.
Perfect Fifth Interval: Distance between the root and 5th.

The Major Chord

The major chord is created by combining the major third and perfect intervals.
For example, in C major, a major third interval is from C to E. A perfect interval is from C to G.

Combining these two intervals looks like the following:

C to E and C to G.
Since the root is used in both intervals and can only be played once, the C major chord is:

C + E + G.

The Minor Chord

The minor chord is created just like the major chord. the only difference is that it utilizes a "minor third" interval instead of a "major third" interval (the perfect fifth remains the same).

The minor third is a major third interval squeezed in by a half step. For example, in C major, the major third interval is from C to E.

The minor third simply lowers the E a half step to E flat. a minor third is C to E flat.

Major Third = C - E
Minor Third = C - Eb
Perfect Fifth = C - G

Combining a Minor third and a Perfect fifth creates a minor chord: C + Eb + G

Take the 1-3-5 of the major scale and play them together. Take the 1-3-5 of the minor scale and play them all together. Try learning the major and minor chords in all 12 keys. Just use the same exact pattern.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Words and Music by Paul Simon

Key: C

Time: 4/4

Moderato, not too fast, like a spiritual

C F C

When you're weary, feeling small

F C F C F C F
When tears are in your eyes, I'll dry them all (all)

C G G C
I'm on your side, oh, when times get rough

C7 F D7/F# G
And friends just can't be found

C F F#dim CsusA/G A7sus
Like a bridge over troubled water

F E7 Am
I will lay me down

C F F#dim CsusA/G
Like a bridge over troubled water

F G C
I will lay me down

F/C C F/C C F/C

When you're down and out

F C
When you're on the street

F C F
When evening falls so hard

C F C F
I will comfort you (ooh)

C G G C
I'll take your part, oh when darkness comes

C7 F D7/F# G
And pain is all around

C F F#dim CsusA/G A7sus
Like a bridge over troubled water
F E7 Am

I will lay me down

C F F#dim Am
Like a bridge over troubled water

F Am/E E Am D7
I will lay me down

C/G F Am F Fm C

F C F C F/C

C F

Sail on silver girl
C

Sail on by

F C F
Your time has come to shine

C F C F
All your dreams are on their way

C G
See how they shine

C
Oh, if you need a friend

C7 F D/F# G
I'm sailing right behind

C F F#dim C/G Am
Like a bridge over troubled water

F Am E Am
I will ease your mind

C C9 F D C/G Am
Like a bridge over troubled water

F E7 Am D9 C/G
I will ease your mind

Here's an advanced chord chart to the song, Bridge Over Troubled Water

Play Piano By Ear Course Book: Piano Diana

If you would like to look into the formation of chords with a music theory resource in your hands, then look into 300pg Piano By Ear Home Study Course

All the best,

"Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life." -- Art Blakey

How To Form Basic Chords

I have a few piano students who are now playing songs from Fake Books, like Hal Leonard Scott The Piano Guy's Favorite Piano Fake Book Volume 2 . The kids know how to read notes and now they're applying their chord knowledge and playing popular songs with both hands. Here's some information I think you'll find very useful that every musician should know.

How To Form Basic Chords

Basic Chords and the Rules For Working Them Out

Although chord finders are valuable tools on the Internet, what do we do when we’re sitting at the piano and don’t have access to the computer, trying to figure out chords?

Here’s a breakdown on forming many chords you’ll use in your piano playing.

Major

Minor

Dominant 7th

Sus4

Sus2 and add9

Diminished

Major Sevenths

Major Chords

Starting from the root note, count up FIVE semi-tones (5 half steps). Always use the root note when counting. This will bring you to the second note in the chord. From and including this note, count up FOUR semi-tones (4 half steps). This will bring us to the final note in the chord.

Example: C Major - C is the root note in this chord. Count up 5 semi-tones from the C: C=1, C#= 2, D=3, Eb=4, E=5. Then, count up 4 semi-tones from the second note in the chord: E=1, F=2, F#=3, G=4. Play the C, E and G together and you have a C Major chord. By using this 'FIVE then FOUR' rule, you can work out any major chord.

Minor (m) Chords

For minor chords, simply reverse the rule for working out major chords. Instead of counting 5 then 4, count 4 then 5.

Example: C Minor - C is the root note in this chord. Count up 4 semi-tones from the C: C=1, C#=2, D=3, Eb=4. Then, count up 5 semi-tones from the second note in the chord: Eb=1, E=2, F=3, F#=4, G=5. Play the C, Eb and G together and you have a C Minor chord. By using this FOUR then FIVE' rule, you can work out any minor chord.

Dominant 7th (7) Chords

With 7th chords, you add an extra note onto the chord. This extra note is always the note two semi-tones (1 whole step) below the root note. However, you don't play this note at the bottom of the chord - you simply move it to the top of the chord.

Example: C7 – Form a C major chord... C, E, and G. The root note of this chord is C. Two semi-tones (1 whole step) below the root note is Bb. Add this Bb to the top of the chord and we have a C7 chord- C, E, G and Bb. The same rule applies for working out minor 7th chords.

Sus4 Chords

Example: Csus4

Play C major - C, E, G

Move the middle note of the chord UP one semi-tone (1 half-step). In this example,

Move E up one semi-tone. This brings us to F. Play the C, F and G together and

we have a Csus4 chord.

Sus2 and add9 Chords

Sus2 Chords - Example: Csus

Play C major - C, E, G.

Move the middle note of the chord DOWN two semi-tones (1 whole step). In this example, move the E down two semi-tones. This brings us to D.

Play the C, D and G together and we have a Csus2 chord.

Add9 Chords - These chords are nearly identical to sus2 chords. The only difference is, is that you play the middle note as well. So, Cadd9 is made up of, C, D, E and G

Diminished (dim) Chords

Example: Cdim

Play C major - C, E and G.

Move the TOP TWO NOTES of the chord DOWN one semi-tone (1 half-step) - In this example, move the E and G down one semi-tone... this brings us to Eb and F#.

Play the C, Eb and F# together and we have a Cdim chord.

Major Seventh (M7) Chords

These chords are used a lot in Jazz music.

With major 7th chords, you add an extra note onto the chord. This extra note is always the note ONE semi-tone (1 half-step) below the root note. However, you don't play this note at the bottom of the chord - you simply move it to the top of the chord.

Example: CM7 – Form a C major chord... C, E, and G. The root note of this chord is C. One semi-tone (1 half-step) below the root note is B. Add this B to the top of the chord and we have a CM7 chord... C, E, G and B.

Now you have some music theory to apply to your piano playing. You now know how to form chords you’ll be using in your music.

I would like to recommend two resources that I personally own in my library that I refer to often:

Chords 101 & 102

300pg Piano By Ear Home Study Course

photo credit: F A C E via photopin (license)

All the best,

"Jazz washes away the dust of every day life." -- Art Blakey

Chords Are Shortcuts to Understanding Music

A Chart of 7th Chords

Here are eight types of 7th chords in all keys. These include the major 7th; the major 7th with a raised 5th (+5); the dominant 7th; the dominant 7th with a flatted 5th (-5); the minor 7th; the minor/major 7th; the half-diminished 7th; and the diminished 7th, sometimes rented for easier reading.

Although a few seldom-found chords are included, the chart omits chords that are either very rare or unusually awkward in notation. I'll post more chords for you in Part Two.

C maj7 = CEGB
C maj7 (+5) = CEG#B
C7 = CEGBb
C7 (-5) = CEGbBb
Cm7 = CEbGBb
Cm maj7 = CEbGB
C half-dim7 = CEbGbBb
C dim7 = CEbGbBbb

C# maj7 = C#E#G#B#
C# maj7 (+5) = C#E#GxB#
C#7 = C#E#G#B
C#7 (-5) = C#E#GB
C#m7 = C#EG#B
C#m maj7 = C#EG#B#
C# half-dim7 = C#EGB
C# dim7 = C#EGBb

D bmaj7 = DbFAbC
Db maj7 (+5) = DbFAC
Db7 = DbFAbCb
Db7 (-5) = DbFAbbCb
Dbm7 = DbFbAbCb
Dbm maj7 = DbFbAbC
Db half-dim7 = DbFbAbbCb
Db dim7 = DbFbAbbCbb

D maj7 = DF#AC#
D maj7 (+5) = DF#A#C#
D7 = DF#AC
D7 (-5) = DF#AbC
Dm7 = DFAC
Dm maj7 = DFAC#
D half-dim7 = DFAbC
D dim7 = DFAbCb

Eb maj7 = EbG#BD#
Eb maj7 (+5) = EbGBD
Eb7 = EbGBbDb
Eb7 (-5) = EbGBbbDb
Ebm7 = EbGbBbDb
Ebm maj7 = EbGbBbD
E half-dim7 = EbGbBbbDb
E dim7 = EbGbBbbDbb

E maj7 = EG#BD#
E maj7 (+5) = EG#B#D#
E7 = EG#BD
E7 (-5) = EG#BbD
Em7 = EGBD
Em maj7 = EGBD#
E half-dim7 = EGBbD
E dim7 = EGBbDb

F maj 7 = FACE
F maj7 (=5) = FAC#E
F7 = FACEb
F7 (-5) = FACbEb
Fm7 = FAbCEb
Fm maj7 = FAbCE
F half-dim7 = FAbCbEb
F dim7 = FAbCbEbb

Piano Chords and Importance

Practice and remember them (memorize inversions)
The 3 most important chords in any song (I, IV, V)
Chords are shortcut to understanding music

You use them to harmonize the melody. Chords are shortcuts to understanding music. They are called chord progressions which help you to play beautiful music.

Basic Guidelines

Major, Minor, (used the most) Augmented and Diminished (Used as transitional, used sparingly).

Major Chord = 4+3 (4 1/2 steps and 3 1/2 steps) or semi-tones.

12 major chords give a cheerful, a bright sound. Know root positions and inversion breakdowns, arrange, re-order the notes... more later.

You may want to pick up these CDs for your music learning, Chords 101 and 102

"Jazz washes away the dust of every day life." -- Art Blakey

Piano By Ear Chart

I've posted about inversions many times... You know, a rearranging of the notes that make up a chord. With any note that involves 3 notes, the arrangement looks like this for a C chord.

CEG       EGC    GCE     CEG
1-3-5      3-5-1    5-3-1    1-3-5

I thought I'd share a chart with you that lists the Key (combination of chords used in a song), the name of sharps and flats (raising and lowering note 1/2 step), scale and chords (3 notes played together). I think it's important to know this information, especially if you want to be free of reading sheet music all the time! Look it over and let me know what you think.

KEY      NAME of #'s                 SCALE                                  CHORDS

C              0                                       C D E F G A B C                    C, F, G

G             F#                                       G A B C D E F# G                 G, C, D

D            F#, C#                                 D E F# G a B C# D                  D, G, A

A            C#, F#, G#                           A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A    A, D, E

E           F#, G#, C#, D#       E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, E       E, A, B

B          C#, D#, F#, G#, A#              B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, B      B, E, F

KEY    NAME of b's                          SCALE                                      CHORDS

F           Bb F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F F, Bb, C
Bb        Bb, Eb                                   Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb             Bb, Eb, F

Eb        Eb, Ab, Bb                            Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb            Eb, Ab, Bb

Ab       Ab, Bb, Db, Eb                     Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab          Ab, Db, Eb

Db       Db, Eb, Gb, Ab, Bb               Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, Db       Db, Gb, Ab

Gb       Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb         Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, Gb     Gb, Cb, Eb

If you're interested in learning about chords, the type of chord and how to form it, here's the chart.

How To Make a Chord

CHORD TYPE                                FORM                                         SCALE DEGREES

Major Chord                                    1-3-5                                              1-3-5
Minor Chord                                     Flat the 3rd                                    1-3b-5
7th Chord                                          Flat the 7th                                    1-3-5-7b
Major 7th Chord                               Add the 7th                                    1-3-5-7
Augmented Chord (+)                    Sharp the 5th                                  1-3-5#
Diminished Chord                            Flat the 3rd 7 5th                            1-3b-5b
Diminished 7th Chord                      Flat the 3rd, 5th. bb the 7th            1-3b-5b-7bb
2nd Chord                                         Add the 2nd                                    1-2-3-5
6th Chord                                          Add the 6th                                     1-3-5-6
9th Chord                                          Add the 9th to the 7th chord           1-3-5-7b-9
Suspended Chord                              Drop the 3rd and add the 4th          1-4-5

Hope this helps! If you're looking for more information on chord theory, you may be interested in an audio series from Hear and Play called, Chord 101 & 102

"Jazz washes away the dust of every day life." -- Art Blakey

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You Can Accompany Yourself

C minor chord (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Big Wilson wrote an article about how to accompany yourself. I wanted to share it with you in its entirety. I thought it was pretty upfront and straight forward about knowing chords and then putting them together in chord progressions. That way, you can find your way around songs. So, who is Big Wilson? Watch the video and he plays a quick lick at the very end .

You Can Accompany Yourself

"If you are a singer, either professional or amateur, I assume that you know the major scale... Do Re Mi Fa Sol, One Two Three Four Five, or No Nee Nay Nee Nah. I assume that you can find middle C on the piano. Given these two assumptions, you can accompany yourself while you sing.

My daddy used to play piano for silent movies. He started at the Binghamton Opera House. He taught me a few chords, and called them "changes." The first chord he taught me was B Flat Major. The first "change" was an E Flat Major, and the second change was an F Seventh. Using these three chords, he ripped into a ragtime version of "Nearer My God To Thee." It was great, and I was hooked.

I spent lots of time at the piano learning and finding new changes, until I could play well enough to put myself through college. I then went into radio and television, often calling on the piano for background to commercials. In those days record artists would visit DJs, and I would get them to sing live. I've had the pleasure of accompanying Steve Lawrence, and Edyie Gorme, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Ella Fitzgerald and others on my radio and TV shows. It was a thrill for me.

Many singers have said to me, "I wish I could play like that, and accompany myself." Therefore, I have devised the most simplistic method of learning to read guitar chord symbols, found on most sheet music. So, if you have the sheet music to the songs you want to sing, you can quickly learn to accompany yourself on the keyboard. You will not be a great piano player. but you will be a fine accompanist.

Let's start with a look at chords. All chords are based on triads. They are either Major, Minor, Diminished or Augmented.

All major triads contain the one, three and five.
All minor triads contain the one, flat three and five.
All diminished triads contain the one, flat three and flat five.
All augmented triads contain the one, three and sharp five.
Unless otherwise indicated, all chords are built on the major triad.
The symbol for a minor chord is a small m. Example: Cm.
The symbol for a diminished chord is a small circle. Example: Co. (Yes, it's a very teeny circle)
The symbol for an augmented chord is a +. Example: C+.

C = 1 3 5

Cm = 1 b3 5

C dim = 1 b3 b5

C+ = 1 3 #5

If you can read simple treble-clef melody notes,
you can play your favorite popular songs using
"Play Piano With Fake Book" system.

Master the following:
*Can't Help Falling In Love
*Smoke Gets In Your Eye
*Never on Sunday
*Edelweiss
*Chariots of Fire and more
Using "Play Piano With Fake Book"

Also, you may be interested in:

Mastering Piano Accompaniment
Step-By-Step Guidance How To Accompany Somebody On The Piano
30 Days Money Back Guarantee
www.HowToAccompany.com

All the best,

"Jazz washes away the dust of every day life." -- Art Blakey

Instant Transposer: Major and Minor Chords

Do you know your major and minor chords in every key?
I have been playing with my new software, Instant Transposer.

Looking at the chart, the first keyboard shows the Major Chords in root position, while the second keyboard shows the minor chords in root position.

Keep in mind that you can change and invert a chord 3 ways. Now you can see the major/minor chords in all 12 keys.

Absolute
C

Absolute
Db

Absolute
D

Absolute
Eb

Absolute
E

Absolute
F

Absolute
Gb

Absolute
G

Absolute
Ab

Absolute
A

Absolute
Bb

Absolute
B

If you are new to the piano and consider yourself a beginner, you might want to look at this music resource, Gospel Keys 101
With the holidays fast approaching, you will learn how to harmonize the melody in your right hand while playing chords with your left.

Best,

"Jazz washes away the dust of every day life." -- Art Blakey