Let’s take a song and walk through all of the chords in it. I chose “Just As I Am” for this exercise because it is a very typical hymn from a harmony perspective. It contains I, IV, and V major chords and has a few 7th chords, a 9th, and a few inversions. Here is […]
Tag Archives: theory
Remember that slash chords are chords written like this: Amin7/D. When you see one, it means to play the first letter as a chord with the second letter as the bottom note in the bass. Slash chords are often used to simplify things for the instrumentalist and they do make things simpler. If you do […]
Most classically trained musicians tend to think in terms of triads. They look for the three main notes of a chord (1, 3, and 5). However, the more advanced your chords get, the more likely it is that either the 3 or 5 (or both) will be missing from your chords. Here is an example: […]
In my opinion, understanding music theory is critical if you plan to learn to improvise. If you are already improvising by ear, you can be successful for a long time without ever knowing anything about theory. However, in the long run, you will help yourself by learning the theory behind your music. Over the next […]
Which should you use?
I sort of manage Tim Parton‘s website, and he sent me some arrangements he is going to sell. I was intrigued by one of them and have posted a short excerpt. This is his introduction to “In My Heart There Rings a Melody.” Somebody take a shot at naming these chords. Then we will talk […]
Here is a little strategy that I use constantly.
I got a question this week about sight reading that made me think.