Basics

Hi!
You are welcome. This blog will be very useful for intermediate and advanced
keyboard players as I will be revealing some information in keyboard playing that I
have learnt over the years as a Gospel Keyboardist. As I update the blog I will add
lessons on Jazz, Neo Soul, Blues and some other cool stuffs.

First let me give you some definitions and explanations.

Music:
Sounds, usually produced by instruments or voices, that are arranged or played in
order to create an effect.
It is also the art of arranging or making sounds, usually those of musical instruments
or voices, so as to create an effect.

Blues:
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created primarily
within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at
the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and
chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads.

Blues embraces a variety of styles, including downhome or country blues, boogie-
woogie, classic blues, jump blues, and Chicago (urban) blues. Blues directly or
indirectly influenced the vast majority of popular music during the 20th century,
including jazz, rock, rhythm and blues (R&B), and gospel.

Jazz:
Jazz, type of music first developed by African Americans around the first decade of
the 20th century. It has an identifiable history and distinct stylistic evolution. Jazz
grew up alongside the blues and popular music, and all these genres overlap in
many ways.

Neo soul:
Neo soul is a term coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during
the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and
contemporary R&B. Heavily based in soul music, neo soul is distinguished by a less
conventional sound than its contemporary R&B counterpart, with incorporated
elements ranging from jazz, funk, and hip hop to pop, fusion, and African music.

Funk:
Funk is an American music genre that originated in the late 1960s when African
American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic,
danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings
a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground. Funk songs
are often based on an extended vamp on a single chord, distinguishing it from R&B
and soul songs centered around chord progressions.

Passing Tone:
Generally, a passing tone is considered to be a scale tone between two chord tones.
However, it could also be a semitone between two scale tones that are a wholetone
apart. And, in a strict classical sense, passing tones are meant to be on weak beats.
Whatever the definitions, passing tones are an excellent means of connecting tones.

Gospel Music:
A highly emotional evangelical vocal music that originated among African American
Christians in the southern United States and was a strong influence in the
development of soul music.

It's a genre of popular American hymnody that emerged about 1870. At first a
predominantly white style, it became prominent in the urban religious revivals led
by the evangelist Dwight Moody with the musician Ira Sankey. Its roots were in
Sunday school hymns, camp meeting spirituals, and the melodies and harmonies of
popular music; the bass voice often echoes the other parts.

An early example is "I Love to Tell the Story" (1869) by William Fischer. The texts,
notably those of the poet Fanny Crosby, often deal with salvation and conversion.
Black gospel music, which became distinctive by 1930, is especially associated with
Pentecostal churches. It developed out of the combination of the earlier hymns,
black performance styles, and elements from black spirituals.

Singing, which may merge into ecstatic dance, is usually accompanied by piano or
organ, often with handclapping, tambourines, and electric guitars. Texts such as
Precious Lord (1932) by Thomas Dorsey stress themes of consolation.

Noted singers include Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Mahalia Jackson. Although the
black and white varieties of gospel music have remained distinctive, repertoire has
been shared, and they have freely influenced each other stylistically.

Gospel Music Subgenres

Uuban Contemporary:
Like other forms of music the creation, performance, significance, and even the
definition of urban contemporary gospel varies according to culture and social
context. It is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from aesthetic
pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, or as an entertainment product for the
marketplace. However, a common theme as with most Christian music is praise,
worship or thanks to God.

Contemporary Christian:
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically
focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith. Today, the term is typically
used to refer to the Nashville, Tennessee based pop, rock, and worship Christian
music industry, currently represented by artists such as: Avalon, Barlow Girl, Israel
Houghton, CeCe Winans, Jeremy Camp, Yolanda Adams, Casting Crowns, Steven
Curtis Chapman, David Crowder Band, Amy Grant, Natalie Grant, Jars of Clay,
MercyMe, Newsboys, Michael W. Smith, Rebecca St. James, Third Day, tobyMac, and
a host of others.

Southern Gospel:
Like other forms of music the creation, performance, significance, and even the definition
of Southern Gospel varies according to culture and social context. It is composed and
performed for many purposes, ranging from aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial
purposes, or as an entertainment product for the marketplace.

Shout Music:
Shout Music is a type of gospel music characterized by very fast tempo, chromatic
basslines, snare hits and hand claps on the 2nd and 4th beat of each measure and
screaming organ lines over one major chord (though modulations are common).
Often gospel artists will break into Shout Music at the end of a song or as a finale.
Shout Music is used as a bed for vocal riffing and calling out of catch phrases, or
"shouting.

Chord Voicing:
This is when you take a normal chord and rearrange the notes of the chord to give a
desired effect depending on the style of music being played.
Styles in Chord Voiving are

Open Movement or Open Chord Voicings

Closed Movement or Scrunched Movement

Open Movement:
This method of chord voicings means you're playing the notes of a chord over span
of more keys.
For example lets voice E min 9th chord.
Normally, you would play E min 9 like this - [E G B D F#]

Now the chord voicing of E min 9: LH - [E G] RH - [B D F#]

Now practice chord voicings of minor ninth chords on all the keys. You can easily do
that by just moving up or down chromatically the E min 9th chord above.

Scrunched Movement:
This is when you take the notes of a normal chord and scrunch them together. That
is you play the notes in such a way that they are very close to eachother.

For example lets voice A minor 9th. It's C major 7th chord with A as the bass line.

Normally, you would play it like this: LH - [A E A] RH - [C E G B].
Now, I will give you a remixed version of that chord in both the open and closed
movements.


Open Movement:
LH - [A E B] - RH [C G B D] - leave no octave in-between LH and RH
Closed Movement: Below is an example
LH - [A E] - RH - [G B C D]
Some chords given here might be difficult to play at first but you just need to
practice them in order to be able to play them fluently.

"The Hidden Secret in Gospel Keyboard"

1. Tritone
2. Ditone

Tritone:
The tritone is a musical interval that spans three whole tones. The tritone,
sometimes known as the "Diabolus in Musica", refers to either the augmented fourth
or the diminished fifth, which in 12-tone equal temperament are enharmonic
equivalents. It is often used as the main interval of dissonance in Western harmony,
and is important in the study of musical harmony. "Any tendency for a tonality to
emerge may be avoided by introducing a note three whole tones distant from the

key note of that tonality."

In music, a tritone substitution is the chord substitution of a chord with its root
being a tritone away from the original. It is the use in a chord progression of a V7
(dominant seventh chord) (major/minor seventh chord) that is three whole steps (a
tritone: 6 semitones) away from the original V7. Tritone substitutions are used in
improvisation and are commonly used to create tension during a solo.
Breaking it down Futher
The tritone is basically what the name implies. It's a two note tone with two tones
in-between. e.g [C F#].
You would almost always play the tritone with your left hand and then couple it
with a major chord on your right hand.

When playing the tritone on the keyboard it's structured in such a way that when
you play a note, the tritone is the same on the left side as it is on the right. This
implies that in substituting a tritone for a chord you can have more than 1 tritones
to use.

For example the tritone for chord 1 on C major is -
LH - [Bb E] RH - [A C# E A] or

LH - [A# E] RH - [A D F# A] or

LH - [E Bb] RH - [Eb G Bb] or

LH - [E A#] RH - [E G C] or [Eb Ab C] - passing tone

Before I proceed, lets do an exercise.
Practise playing the tritone using all the instances I have shown, moving up and then
down chromatically until you have mastered playing it very well.

Let me give you the tritones again in their different flavours

LH - [F B] RH - [E A C#]
LH - [F B] RH - [F Ab C#]
LH - [F B] RH - [E Ab B E]
How To Use Tritones:
The tritone can add a lot of flavour to your playing if you know how to use it. It can
be employed in many styles of music such as Neo Soul, Funk, Jazz and ultimately,
Gospel. Below are the various ways in which you can use the tritone:

* Passing Tone
* Root of the Chord
* Chord Substitutions

Passing Tone:

Without saying much let me just explain this using the Circle of Fifths as an example.
Firstly, I will give you the Circle of fifths in the basic form and then I will give you the
version with the tritones.
This exercise is in key C

LH - [A E] RH - [G B C E]
LH - [Ab E] RH - [F# B C E]
LH - [G D] RH - [F A Bb D]
LH - [F# D] RH - [F# A Bb D]
LH - [F C] RH - [E G A C]
LH - [B Eb] RH - [A D F]
LH - [Ab D F] RH - [Ab C D G]

Now for the tritone version with some chord substitutions

LH - [G B C E] RH - [G B D]
LH - [C F#] RH - [B E Ab B] - tritone
LH - [G D] RH - [F A Bb D]
LH - [Bb E] RH - [A D F#] - tritone
LH - [F A C E] RH - [C E G]
LH - [A Eb] RH - [Ab C# F] - tritone
LH - [Ab D] RH - [G C E G] - tritone
-->
Now let's take a look at the little brother of the tritone

Ditone
The ditone is a 2-note tone with a tone inbetween. For example [C E]. You would
almost always play the ditone with your left hand and couple it with a suspended
chord on your right hand. Let me show you and exapmple

LH - [C E] RH - [Bb Eb Ab]

Now practice playing the ditone on all keys using the example I just gave you. Just go
up and down chromatically.

There are 3 basic ways of using the ditone.

As Passing Tone
Root of the chord
Chord Substitutions

You would use it as a passing tone when you play the example I gave above. Let me
now show you how to use it as root of the chord. In the example below, I show you
the ditone used as the 1 chord on the key of C.

LH - [C E] RH - [A D G]

Now I will show you an example in which I use the ditone as the root of the chord,
passing tone and a substitution the the key of C.

LH - [C E] RH - [A D G] .............-count 1, 2 >>root
LH - [E Ab] RH - [D G C], LH - [F# Bb] RH - [E A D], LH - [Ab C] RH - [F# B E] -count
1 2 >>passing tone.
LH - [A E B] RH - [C G B D]

LH - [C# F] RH - [B E A]
LH - [D A] RH - [C E F A]
LH - [Ab D F] RH - [Ab C D G]
LH - [A E] RH - [G B C E]

Free Keyboard Chords

Welcome!
If you have been used to playing the simple basic chords and you need a little better
than simple chords or advanced chords, you are at the right place.
But first, some tips:

In order to be a good gospel keyboardist, you need to listen to music a lot.

You should try to score gospel songs. Try to play the keyboard part of your
favorite songs. In order to be able to play the keyboard part correctly, it's
also important to get the bass lines correctly. So apart from getting the
correct chords make sure to get the correct bass line as well.
When playing keyboard you should always try to play chords with your left
hand in order to leave your hand free to play solos and or grace notes.
When playing the keyboard, you should strike the keys in such a way that
makes your playing sound really good. The way to do this is this(not all the
time)- When playing chords, do not strike the keys at once. Try to roll your
fingers like you are playing an arpeggio.
Accent and Toning:
Accent: When you strike notes or chords harder during playing Toning: You
do this by playing your notes or chords softly. The combination of these is
called Accent and Toning. You'll notice it in Jazz, Gospel and so on. It adds a
lot of flavour to your playing.

I'll be listing the chords in categories based on the conventional chord numbers.
They are all in the key of C. Also, I'm assuming that you will be playing the left
hand part close to the right hand. But if you want to produce sounds with a deeper
bass move the left hand one or two octaves down and repeat the first note of the left
hand chord. For example LH - [C G] becomes LH - [C G C].

You can also invert the chords to suite the melody of the music.

Some of the chords here might sound strange to you or you might not really know
how to use them. You don't have to worry because once you have started
memorizing them you will also start recognizing them in songs and applying them
to your playing would be an easy task afterwards.

Note: The chords designated as 1# 2# 4# 5# 6# are the sharp of the chord
numbers. So a sharp 1 (1#) is also a flat 2 (2b). E.g, on key C, 1# is C sharp and
5# is A flat

Chord
Number

Left
Hand

Right Hand

Chord
Number

Left
Hand

Right Hand

Chord 1

C G/C G
A

C D E G

Chord 5

G D

F G A C

C G

A D E G

G D

F A C E

C G

B D E G

G D

F A C Eb

C G

Bb D E G

G D G

B Eb G

C F# A

C Eb F# A

G D

F Ab B E/F Ab
C E

C G C

E G Bb

G D

F A Bb D

C F#

E F# Bb C

G D

D F Ab B

C G

Bb C# E G

G D

Bb C# E G

C G

Bb D F A/Bb D
E A

G D F

Ab C D F

C G C

E F# Bb C

G D

F A B D

D A/D A
F A C E
E

G D

D F G C

D Ab

D F Ab C

G D

D F G B

D A

C F A C

G D G

A B D E

D A

C Eb F# A

A E

G B C E

D A

E F# Ab C

A E

F# A C E

D A

E F# A C

A E

G C E G

D A

D E F# A

A E

G B D G

D B

D F Ab B

A E

G Bb C#E

D Bb

E F# Bb C

A Eb

A C Eb F#

D A

E F# A B

A F

G A C F

E B

D G C

A E

G A C# F

E B/E B
D G B D
E

A E

G Bb C# F

E B

D F Ab B

A E

Bb D E G

E B E

Ab C D G

B F

A B D F

E G

Bb D E G

B E

B D E A

Chord 2

Chord 3

Chord 6

Chord 7

Chord 4

E Ab

D E Ab C

B Ab

Ab B D F

E B E

G C D G

B E B

Eb G A D

E B

D F# Ab B

C#

C# E A

E B

F# A D

C#

G Bb C# E

E Bb

C# E G Bb

Eb

C Eb F# A

E A

A B D E

Eb

G Bb C Eb

F C

F G A C

F#

Eb F# A C

F C E

F A C E

F#

E F# Bb D

F C F

G A C D

F#

E F# A C

F C E

G A C E

Ab

Ab C D F

F C

D F Ab C

Ab

Ab B D F

F B

Eb G A B

Ab

Ab B D E

F B

D F Ab B

Bb

Bb D E G

F A

C Eb F# A

Bb

Bb C# E G

F B

F Ab B E/F Ab
C E

Bb

Ab C D F

F C

C E A

Bb

Ab C D G

F C

G Ab C Eb

F C

E G A C

F B

D G B D

F A

C Eb F A

Chord 1#
Chord 2#
Chord 4#

Chord 5#

Chord 6#

More Chords
This is one page that made me really exited while I was writing it.

I have very useful chords here that I'm sure you would like to use as replacement for
ome of your regular chords. I ripped these chords off a couple of great gospel
Keyboardists(like Jamal Hartwell and Kevin K.C. Conley and Kenny Hollins) who
also happen to be my mentors.

I have chords here from my other pages but some of them I varied a little. Some of
the chords are my own variations of Ditone and Tritone chords.
The chords here are in the key of E flat.

PT = Passing Tone.
* = They are related
Chord
Number

Left Hand

Chord 1

Eb G Bb or Eb
C F Bb
F G Bb

Chord 2

Right Hand

Ex.

Chord
Number

Left
Hand

Right Hand

Chord 4

Eb G
Bb

A G Bb

Eb Bb C

Eb F G Bb

Ab Bb
C

Eb G Bb

G C#

G Bb E#

Ab C Eb

G Bb Eb or
G Bb C Eb

Eb Bb

E G C Eb

Ab Eb
G

Bb Eb G

Eb Bb C#

G C E G

Bb D

Ab C D G

Eb Bb F

G C D G

Eb Bb*

D G* (PT)

Eb Bb F

G C F

Ab C Eb
Ab C Eb
G

Eb G**

C F Bb**

D Ab

C# F Ab
(PT)

C# F Ab C

E G C Eb

Ab D

G B D G

Eb G Ab C

Eb G Bb

Bb F

F Ab B D

F Ab Bb C

Eb G Bb

E B

D F# Ab C#

Chord 5

Ab C D
B D G Bb
G
B

Bb F

Ab D F# Bb

Chord 3

Bb D
Eb G

F Bb D or
Bb D F

E Bb

Eb Ab C Eb
or E G C

C Eb F
G

Bb D F

Eb Ab C#

C G D

Eb Bb D F

F C*

Eb Ab* (PT)

C G

Bb D F Bb

Ab C Eb G

Ab C Eb Bb

C E

Bb Eb Ab

G D

F Bb Eb

C C^

Eb Ab Bb
(PT)

F A Bb D

C F A or F A C G

C **

Bb Eb Ab**
(PT)

G D A

Bb F A C

D F#

C F Ab

G Eb

F Bb Eb

C F#

B E Ab

F G B

F Bb Eb

F# C

F Bb D F

Eb G Bb

C F G Bb

D Ab

B D E Bb

B F Ab

B Eb F Bb

D D^

F Bb (PT)

F B

E A C#

D F#**

B E A**
(PT)

G D F

Bb Eb F Bb

D A***

F C G, F C
F*** (PT)

B F Ab

B Eb G Bb

B F

Ab C# F Ab

G D *

F Bb * (PT)

G B***

F Ab C#, F Ab
D*** (PT)

F C Eb

Ab C Eb G

F C F-G
(thumb F &
G)

Ab C Eb G

Eb A

D G B

F C#

Chord 6

Chord 7

Please go to the progressions page for more explanations to the chords above
I hope you like them and I also hope you get better at playing Gospel Keyboard with
them.

Progressions
Thank you for coming here. I hope you learn new skills as you make use of the
resources here.
Please make use of the progressions here and give your playing an upgrade.

The progressions here are in the key of Ab

Progression 1
2-5-1 Progression
Bb F C / C# Ab C Eb
Eb Bb / C# F# B Eb
C F Ab D

Another One
Bb F / Ab C C# F
A E / G B C# F#
Ab C Eb / F Bb Eb

Another One
Bb F / C C# F Ab
C# G / C E G
Ab Eb F / C Eb F Bb

Another One
This one is a Jazzy one
Bb F C / C# Ab C Eb
Eb Bb C# / E G C Eb
Ab Eb Bb / C E G C

Another One
This one is an irregular one and it sounds funny. You would normally use it as a
final 2-5-1
Bb F Ab / C# F Ab C
Eb Bb C/ C# F G C
C F# / Bb D F# Bb

This one is a vamp and it can really add a lot of color to your playing if you add some
runs to it.
5 - 1 - 4 - 7flat

Eb Bb Eb / F# C# F Ab
Eb Eb F# / A C F Ab
Ab C Eb F / Eb Ab C

E Bb C# / Eb Ab C Eb (back to the top)

Another Flavor
F# Bb C# F / Ab C# F Ab or Bb C# F Ab
F# Bb C F / C F A C
C# F Ab C / Eb Ab C
E Bb / Eb Ab C (and back to top)

The Circle of Fifths (F - Bb - Eb - Ab - C# - G - C)
Eb G Ab C / Eb G Bb
Ab D / G C E G
Eb Bb F / F# C# F Ab
F# C / F Bb D F
C# Ab Eb / F Bb C Eb
F B / F Bb C#
E Bb C# / E Ab C Eb (back to top)

Here is a 4 - 3 - 6 progression
C# F Ab / C Eb Ab
C E / Bb Eb Ab
Eb G Ab C / Bb Eb G (LH and RH are on the same octave)

Progressions to explain some chords on the More Chords page
Example A
This one is a 5- 4 - 1 progression
Eb Bb / C# F F# Bb
Ab Eb F# / C F A C
C# F / Bb Eb Ab

Example B
This is a 1 - 2 - 3 progression that you can play before you play a 4 chord
Ab Eb / G C
Bb F / Ab C#
C G / Bb Eb
C Eb F / Ab C Eb, C Eb E / Ab Bb Eb

Here is another variant
Ab / C F G C
Bb / C# Ab Bb C#
C / Eb Bb C Eb, C# Ab / Eb Ab C

Tips
Improve on playing chords with your left hand and melody with your right
hand
It is generally not that difficult to pick out the melody for a song.

If you can find the melody to a tune, then how do you find the chords to accompany
that melody?
In the mean time, here's a quick summary of how to harmonize melodies:
1. Find out what key the melody is in.
2. Learn the I, IV and V7 chords of that key. In the key of C these would be C, F
and G7.
3. Press the 1 chord and play the first notes of the melody.
4. When the melody and the chord no longer seem to fit together, switch to one
of the other two chords. This usually happens at the beginning of a new
measure.
5. Repeat until you reach the end of the song. Usually the song will end on the I
chord.

This is a very basic way to get started but it actually works.

Practice Tips
Here are some practice tips that I believe helps.
It helps to have short and long range goals.
What is your long range goal?
Where do you want to end up in terms of your music?

Your long range goal will be accomplished by accomplishing several short term
goals.
So we need to always have short term goals that we are reaching for.
Try this:
Take a few minutes and honestly evaluate where you are in your playing.
Take a little time to identify your strengths and weaknesses.
Now the question is what can I do to improve upon my weaknesses?
You need to attack your weakness and use a fair amount of your practice time just
on whatever the weakness is.
Over the years I've learned that you have to practice smart. Practice in a way that
will really benefit you and cause the needed growth that you desire.
Write it down, get a practice log and keep track of your practicing and goals.

Let me give you an example:

Oluwajoba Practice Schedule

Date: February 12, 2011
Available Time (60 minutes)

(Short Term Goal)

Area of desired improvement: Become more flexible with my left hand


**********************************************************************
10 minutes = Scales and finger exercises

15 minutes = Sight Reading

20 minutes = Left Hand Exercises (place of desired growth)

15 minutes = Learn new song
**********************************************************************

This is just an example of how to set up a practice schedule. Of course you know
how much time you have and what you want to practice on.
If you consistently practice like this you will see results. This is an organized way to
make sure you are practicing in an effective manner.
You will see gradual and steady growth. This is the best kind of growth.

Playing All Keys

Technically speaking there is no such thing as a HARD key to play in. There are just
keys that we are not comfortable with or keys we don't spend much time playing in.
Technically anything that you can do in on key you should be able to do in ANY key.
Now you do run into issues of fingering and things like that when changing keys, but
you should be able to do it.
I believe there are 3 main reasons for not being able to play in every key which are.
1. Believing that some keys are harder than others and avoiding them at
all cost.
2. Not practicing in the most beneficial way.
3. Not understanding that music is actually mathematical.

Let's first deal with number 1.
As I mentioned earlier there is no such thing as a hard key. There are just keys that
you are not comfortable with or you just don't play in.
The way to deal with this is to make the mental adjustment that "I can play in any
key if I work on it."

If you have been using it STOP USING IT! And I am referring to TRANSPOSE.

Transpose is an extremely crippling feature that most mid to pro level keyboardists
have nowadays. If you are using it try to wean yourself off of it.
If you constantly avoid certain keys then how are you going to learn to play in it?

Now let's deal with the 2nd reason.
If you are learning a new lick or run or something like that you should practice it in
all 12 keys. When you practice on certain things you should work on them in all 12
keys.

One way to do this is to practice things by the circle of 4th.
I like to practice like this. The circle of fourths is simply moving from key to key in
fourths.
For example the C major scale is C D E F G A B C
The first note is C, so you start with C. The fourth note of the scale is F, so therefore
the next note after C will be F.

Now the F major scale is F G A B b C D E F and the fourth note of this major scale is
Bb.
So therefore the first 3 notes would be C,F, and Bb and so one in the same manner
until you play all 12 keys.
So the complete circle of Fourths starting with C is

C F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb B E A D G

So, if you practice things like this you won't skip any keys and you will be practicing
in each key equally. So you will be equally strong in each key.
It's also challenging to practice with a metronome or something that keeps tempo
for you while you are practicing things in the circle of fourths.

Lastly, music is mathematical. If you don't know it then you should learn the number
system.
For example the C major scale again is C D E F G A B C

C =1 D=2 E=3 F=4 G=5 A=6 B=7

And it is like this for all 12 major scales. You are note thinking of notes per say but
you are thinking of numbers when you play.
Instead of thinking the song starts with C major then goes to F major and ends on A
minor, You think of it like the song starts on the 1 chord then it goes to the 4 chord
and then to the 6 chord.

Now thinking of it in terms of numbers will eliminate the issue of not being able to
play it in all 12 keys, because you are thinking of numbers and not note names.

If you know your basic chords and your scales in all 12 keys then you can play using
the number system.

Strengthen Your Left Hand

Most keyboardists are right handed, so this means that the right hand is naturally
stronger and they are more comfortable using the right hand than the left.
Also, many musicians have trouble playing with their left hands. Technically
speaking, your left hand should be able to play anything that your right hand can.

This is a simple exercise that will help strengthen the left hand.

Take a song that you know well. Play with your left hand what you would normally
play with your right hand. Don't use your right hand at all. Try to make it sound like
you are playing with your right hand even though you are really playing it with your
left hand.

Try to play chords, licks, runs, progressions, and songs only using the left hand. It is
challenging if you have never done something like this before.

Doing this will really strengthen the left hand and train it to be more independent.
You want the left hand to be able to play nice chords freely so that you can play
melodies and solos with your right hand.

This exercise also gives you more control and comfort with your left hand when you
are playing chords with both hands together.
Ideally when you practice, you want to practice so that both hands get equal
attention. This will prevent you from having one strong hand and one weak hand.
For example if you practice on scales, practice with both hands. If you learn a run or
lick, try to play it with both hands. Strive to be able to do anything you do with
either hand.

Grow Musically
1. Find a mentor. What I mean is someone who you look up to and admire
musically. Someone who is more skillful and experienced than you. It helps to
have a person that is an example of what you want to do and what level you
want to do it on. Listen to them, study them, if you can ask them questions,
do so.
2. Put yourself in the HOT SEAT! What I mean is try to consistently play with
musicians that are more skillful than you are. This will really make improve
musically if you go away from the experience and learn from your mistakes if
any and then really practice on what you are not strong in.
3. Expose yourself to new and fresh things. I like to explain it like this. Say for
example you want to be a News Anchor Person. In order to do this you need

to have a really good speaking voice, be a fluent reader, and have great
communication skills.
So in order to grow in these skills the person needs to do a lot of reading
from many different sources. (Novels, Magazines, Short Stories, Etc.) The
person needs to practice reading out loud and talking with a good speaking
voice. Likewise with growing as a musician. You have to expose yourself to
new things and work on them.

The point is, in order to grow as a musician it really makes a huge difference to
expose yourself to new and fresh things. It is like reading books on subjects that you
are not familiar with. Once you get through reading the books you will be more
knowledgeable in that subject.
Likewise with music you will learn new things, new approaches, new concepts, and
techniques.
If you don't consistently do this you can easily get in a rut and stop growing
musically.

You have to stretch yourself with new things. It is so much to learn in music we all
can be learning for the rest of our lives. However, the more you learn the better you
will be.


I hope that you improve more on your playing skills with these few tips of mine.
Thank You and God bless You.

Tritones
You are welcome to the tritones dedicated page.
Note: All examples given here are in the key of C
There are several ways in which you can use the tritone to "phaten" up your playing viz:

Passing Tone
Root of the Chord
Chord Substitutions

Passsing Tone
In order to be able to use tritones for your passing tones you must have mastered your tritones very well.
One very good way to slot in a tritone as a passing tone is to play half steps up or down, chromatically to
the designated chord.
For example, in playing a 6 - 2 - 4 - 5 - 1 progression you could use this
LH - [A E] RH - [G B C E] - 6
LH - [C# G] RH - [C F A] , LH - [C F#] RH - [B E Ab] - (Passing Tone - Tritone) - 2
LH - [C E A] RH - [C E G] - 4
LH - [F A B E] RH - [Ab B E G] - 5
LH - [C E] RH - [A D G] - 1 (Ditone)

Notice that in the chord 2 progression I moved a half step down with the tritone.
Let me now explain the tritone.
The first tritone is the tritone substitution for either chord 6 or chord 3 flat and the second tritone
substitution is the chord for either chord 2 or 6 flat. In the above example, it is substituted for chord 2. That
is to let you know that in substituting a tritone for a chord 2 you would usually use that example.
Let me give you another example that involves chord 2.
LH - [D A] RH - [G A C E], LH - [C F#] RH - [B E Ab] (Tritone)
Another very good way to slot in tritones as passing tones is to play them keeping the melody in mind.
Now let me show you a good way to progress to chord 4 by using the tritone to play a simple melody. The
melody is F M R D >>>> Chord 4
LH - [A Eb] RH - [Ab C# F] - 7
LH - [Ab D] RH - [G C E] - 3
LH - [Ab D] RH - [F Bb D] - 5
LH - [E Bb] RH - [E G C] - 1 >>>> [Chord 4]
For the above example, the bass line is - B E G C >>>> F

The example is also a little bit different to the other examples. You must have noticed that the left hand part
of the 2nd and 3rd chords are the same. This is where I tell you that you can play a single tritone with your
left hand while you move your major chords up or down chromatically. There is a particular one that you
would hear regularly in gospel music. It is a passing tone to chord 6. Here it is:
LH - [Ab D] RH - [G C E G]
LH - [Ab D0 RH - [F Bb D F], *[G C E]

LH - [G B C E] RH - [G B D]
Another passing tone to chord 6:
LH - [G C#] RH - [F# B Eb] - 3
LH - [Ab D] RH - [G C E] - 3
LH - [G B C E] RH - [D G B D] - 6
The 3rd chord above might seem difficult to play at first but with time you'll master it and you'll be able to
use it efficiently.

Root of the Chord

You can use a tritone as the root of a chord(i.e a chord 1, 2, 3, etc) in a couple of ways. This is a good way
in which I use it. In this instance you can begin a song with this tritone. Here it is:
LH - [E Bb] RH - [E G C]
Let me now give you other tritones that you can use for a chord 1. In the example I'll be showing you now,
you would use the chord 1 tritones as a turn around, for example or you can play it when playing passing
tones. Here are the chords:
LH - [Bb E] RH - [A C# E]
LH - [C E Bb] RH - [E A C# E]
LH - [E Bb] RH - [Eb Ab C]
Nice chord 1s there...
Now I'll give you tritones as roots to other chords
Chord 2 >>>> LH - [C F#] RH - [B E Ab]
Chord 5 >>>> LH - [F B] RH - [E Ab B E]
Chord 6 >>>> LH - [C# G] RH - [C F A C] OR [C# E A]
Chord 7 >>>> LH - [A Eb] RH - [Ab C# F] OR [A C F]

Chord Substitutions
If you have seen all the pages of this blog then you have already seen several tritone substitutions but I will
give you a list of them with their various chord numbers.
They are in the key of C
Chord No. Left Hand Right Hand
Chord 1

E Bb

EGC

Bb E

A C# E A

E Bb

Eb Ab C

Chord 2

F# C

E Ab B E

Chord 3

D Ab

C# F# Bb, D F Bb

Ab D

G C E or (*F Bb D F)

Chord 4

Eb A

D G B D or (*C F A C

Chord 5

FB

E Ab B E or (*Bb Eb G)

Chord 6

C# G

C F A C or C# E A

Chord 7

A Eb

Ab C# F or A C F

Common Tritone Progressions

Progression 1 on the key of C
DAE/FACE-2
Eb A / D G B D^ - 4 or 7
EBE/GBDG-3
AE/GCEG-6

Progression 2 on the key of C

GD-FACE-5
F B - E Ab B E - 5
CGD/EBE-1