Using theory to make page turns easier

We all have those awkward moments when accompanying a group or soloist where a page turn goes horribly wrong. I don’t know about you but I always take a moment before starting a song to bend all lower right page corners, but things still happen. Pages stick together, fall off the piano or any number of other things.

Handling page turns is part of being a performer. It is actually an important thing though no one really ever thinks too much about it.

One of the things that accompanists should get in the habit of is memorizing the first chord or two on the page after every page turn. That is an easy thing to do and will keep you out of all kinds of trouble. It normally does not matter HOW you play that chord; you just have to play the RIGHT chord.

Of course, there are always the times where you either forget the chord coming up on the next page or are sight-reading and have never seen it. That is where a knowledge of functional harmony comes in. It helps you predict what the next chord is going to be.

Today on Facebook, my daily quiz asks this question: if you see a Emin7 chord in the key of C, what is the next chord most likely to be?

The most likely answer is Amin or Amin7. Chords like to move around the circle of fifths (down by fifths) so it is normal to move from the iii chord to the vi chord. The second most likely choice is Fmaj or FMaj7. Another less likely but possible answer is A7. There are other possibilities as well, but it is a safe bet that you will see one of these three choices at least 80% of the time.

If I got to that spot in the music where I was stuck on a Emin7 and the page turn went wrong, I would go to Amin7. Not only is that the most likely option but it will also cover me if the chord is actually F. The vi and IV are considered functionally equivalent and share a lot of notes. If the chord I was supposed to play was F and I played Amin7, it would just sound like a rootless voicing and the vocalists singing root (probably basses) would fill in the gap.

In the case that the next chord is A7, I likely have a problem and I would have to correct quickly. In theory, I could possibly get away with playing the minor 3rd (technically #9 in this case) in that chord while the choir sang a major 3rd but it would almost certainly throw them for a loop. It would not be great but would be easy to fix quickly.

This example was just to demonstrate why functional harmony is a great thing for church musicians to understand. It helps in this scenario but is very useful in sight-reading, transposing, playing by ear, and any number of other skills.

Probably the best thing about it is it is finite and learnable. It really does not get too complicated.