Songs of Peace with Three Primary Chords

Words: Edward H. Bickersteth, Jr
Music: "Pax Tecum," George Thomas Caldbeck



Peace, Perfect Peace
C       G7      C        F    G7            C
Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin?
C7  F     D7 C  G  C   F    C     G7   D   
The blood of Jesus whispers peace within.


Peace, perfect peace, by thronging duties pressed?
To do the will of Jesus, this is rest.

Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging round?
On Jesus' bosom naught but calm is found.

Peace, perfect peace, with loved ones far away?
In Jesus' keeping we are safe, and they.

Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown?
Jesus we know, and He is on the throne.

Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours?
Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers.

It is enough: earth's struggles soon shall cease,
And Jesus call us to heaven's perfect peace.

Words and music: Carey Landry



Peace I Leave
C       Dm          F         G
Peace I leave with you, my friends:
           Em        Dm     F
Shalom my peace, in all you do.
C       Dm          F         G
Peace I leave with you, my friends,
          Am              Dm      F       C
I give to you, so you can give to others, too.

C              Dm      F       C
To share God's love is why I came,
                 Em    Dm     F
To show God's kindness to the world
C         Dm          F      C
Go now my friends and do the same,
         Em   Dm-G
Until I come again...

Take my hand and be at peace,
The spirit of our love I send;
And with this love you will be free,
Until I come again...

With this love you all will know,
That loneliness is at an end,
Rejoice my people though I go
For I will come again...

Red Foley- Peace in the Valley

G                                      G7
Well  I'm so tired and so weary
       C              G
But I must go alone 

Till the lord comes and calls
D
Calls me away, Oh yeah
      G                          G7
Well the mornings so bright
             C             G
And the lamp is a light
                          D                              G
And the night, night is as black as the sea
G                          C                               G
And there will be peace in the valley for me someday 
                                                        D
There will be peace in the valley for me, Oh lord I pray
G                                  G7              C
There"ll be no sadness, no sorrow, no trouble I see
G                                       D             G
There will be peace in the valley for me
G                               G7
Well the bear will be gentle
            C                      G
And the wolves will be tame
                                             D
And the lion shall lay down, with the lamb, Oh yeah
G                                  G7
And the beast from the wild 
           C             G
Will be led by a child
                             D                                           G
And I'll be saved, saved from this creature, that I am

Chorus:


Peace Like a River

   G
I've got peace like a river,
 G7   C  G
I've got peace like a river,
         Em7  A7     D   A7  D
I've got peace like a river in my soul.
(repeat)

D7   G
I've got love like an ocean,
G7   C
I've got love like an ocean,
         A7    D7    G  C   G
I've got love like an ocean in my soul.
(repeat)

I've got joy like a fountain,
I've got joy like a fountain,
I've got joy like a fountain in my soul.
(repeat)

So, I've written two music articles for you regarding chord study...




How do you go about harmonizing a melody? 


It helps to know that in any key there are three chords that are

especially important. Those are the chords built on the first, fourth,

and fifth notes of the scale.

Another way to say it is that Primary and Major Triads are the most

important triads of a key built on the 1st, 4th and 5th scale degrees of

the major scale. They are called the Primary Triads or Primary Chords of

the key and are identified by the Roman Numerals I, IV, and V.

These three triads contain every tone in the major scale. For example, the

C Major Scale is: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. Out of these 8 notes (ex-cluding the

perfect octave; C), 3 of them are Primary or Major Triads. In the scale of

C Major the roots of the three primary chords are I, IV, and V, which are C

(CEG), F (FAC) and G (GBD). As you will learn later, the other notes of the

scale are associated with other types of chords, like minor and diminished.



The Primary chords are Major chords because they consist of the root, a major

3rd, and a perfect 5th.

So, here is a formula to remember:



Major Third + Perfect Fifth = Major Chord

Why are major scales important in understanding primary Chords? If we had

not known the C Major scale, how would we have known that E is the major

third and G is the perfect 5th of C major?

Well there are two ways of forming a major triad:

First select the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of a major scale. This is the

easiest way if you know your major scales. In the Key of F Major, F is the

1st note, A is the 3rd note and C is the 5th note. F, A, C make up the F Major

chord. The same rule applies to all 12 keys.

Secondly,another way of forming a major chord (triad) is to add the interval

of a minor 3rd on top of a major third. If you know that a minor 3rd equals 3    half steps and a major third equals 4 half steps (or 2 whole steps), you are

on your way to applying music theory.For example, from C to Eb (minor third) is 3half steps. C to C# = 1 half step. C to D = 2 half steps and C to Eb = 3 half

steps. So to make a major chord, just put a minor 3rd on top of a major third.

Here is the secret:



Let us say you want to build a G Major chord. Start at G (the root) and

add a major third (4 half steps), G + B then add a minor third (3 half steps)

on top of that (from B), G+B+D. From G to B is a major triad and from B to D

is a minor third. This makes a G Major Chord.

Songs that start with major chords are Mary Had a Little Lamb, Are You Sleeping?,and Go tell It on The Mountain. In major keys the chords built on I and IV are

major chords. The chord on V can be either major or a dominant seventh. So, the

three primary chords in C major: C major (CEG), F major (FAC) and G7 (GBDF).

Those three chords will be enough for the harmonization of many simple tunes.

In many others they serve as the backbone of the harmony. It is not possible

to lay down hard and fast rules for harmonizing a melody. Many times your ear

must be your guide. But ordinarily the main notes of the tune are present in

the chords that accompany them. What I do is play the chords in my left hand

and put chord tones in my right hand, underneath the melody.

Because the I, IV, and V7 chords are so important, it is very worthwhile to

become familiar with their positions on the keyboard. If you practice this

exercise in all major keys you will be taking an important first step in

developing the ability to harmonize melodies at the keyboard.

If you read chord charts, you would harmonize the melody like this:

C/ EGC

F/ FAC

G/DFGB

C/EGC

C/GCE

F/ACF

G/DFGB

C/GCE

C/CEG

F/CFA

G/BDFG

C/CEG






Constructing Simple Chords




A chord is a group of notes played or sung simultaneously. In popular music the chords are usually represented by symbols that appear over the vocal line like C,Am, Dm, and G7. The letters refer to the chord "roots", the notes on which the 

chords will be constructed. The C Chord is formed from three of the keys in the Cposition: C E G. The bottom note names the chord in the left hand as well as the right hand. When you play all three notes of the chord at the same time it is 

called a solid or block chord. A broken chord or arpeggiated chord is where the 

notes are played one at a time.



Now the three notes in the chord are root, 3rd, and 5th. 

Measure the intervals from the bottom note to the middle note (3rd), then from

the bottom note to the topnote (5th).

So above those roots the chords are built up in "thirds." A third is an interval that spans three letter names. For example, the interval C-E is a third because  it includes the letter names C, D, and E. There are two kinds of thirds: major

and minor. They can be defined in terms of the "half-step"-the distance between

two adjacent notes on the piano. The major third consists of four half steps and the minor third consists of three. C-E is a major third, since it includes the

half steps C-C#, C#-D, D-D#, and D#-E. The minor third D-F consists of the half

steps D-D#, D#-E, and E-F.

When a chord symbol consists only of a letter name, a "major" chord is indicted. The major chord is made up of a major third and, above that, a minor third; so

the C Chord includes the intervals C-E (major third, four half steps)and E-G

(minor third, three half steps). The abbreviation "min", after a chord, root or

simply a lower case "m", stands for a "minor" chord. Here the lower interval is a minor third, and the upper is a major third, so an A minor chord includes the intervals A-C (minor third) and C-E(major third).

The numeral "7" after a chord root stands for a "dominant seventh" chord. This is a four-note structure, consisting of a major third, a minor third, and then another minor third. The G7 chord is made up of the intervals G-B (major third), B-D (minor third) and D-F (minor third).

Try building major and minor thirds on all twelve tones of the chromatic scale. Then go on to construct major, minor and dominant seventh chords on each tone.

Soon you will become so familiar with these intervals and you will be able to

pick them out right away. Eventually the chords themselves will become second

nature to you.
An additional music resource to add to your library may include the Hear and Play300pg Home Study Course. It's a great music theory book you'll refer to often in learning how to construct chords.


Wishing you all the best in your chord studies. These 3 primary chords played in any key is a good start for putting together progressions that make familiar

songs for you to play for your enjoyment.




P.S. My apologies on the text format. Something has gone kooky in blogger!

I'll look into it... 

Blessings,

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King