LadyDpiano

How Great Is Our God: Chris Tomlin

I just got back from a wonderful vacation to San Francisco. The journey was fantastic, just to look out over our beautiful California coastline. Along the way, I stopped to visit Morro Bay. Immediately many worship songs came to my mind... here is one to share with you. Are you familiar with How Great Is Our God by Chris Tomlin?

* How Great is our God (Basic Chords)
Key of Db
arr. by sjonathan02

Ab How
Db / Ab Db F great is our God
Ab / Ab C Eb say with me how
Bb / Ab Db F great is our God
Ab / Ab C Eb all will see how
Gb / Gb Bb Db great, how
Ab / Ab C Eb great, is our
Db / Ab Db F God

The chords are basically the same for the next part:

You’re the name above all Names
You are worthy of all praise
And, my heart will say how great
Is our God

If you learn the chord progression, then you can play it in any key.

Gospel Guitar 101

The song is so simple yet what stays with me over and over is that the song is perfect in describing what I saw on my trip... God is great and I live in a beautiful place.

* Chord Chart in Key of C

CHORUS:
C G/B
How great is our God, sing with me,
Am7 G/B
How great is our God, all will see
F2 G C Csus C
How great, how great is our God.

VERSE 1:
C Am7
The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty,
F2
Let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice.
C Am7
He wraps Himself in light, and darkness tries to hide
F2
And trembles at His voice, trembles at His voice.

VERSE 2:
C Am7
Age to age He stands, and time is in His hands,
F2
Beginning and the end, beginning at the end.
C Am7
The Godhead, three in one: Father, Spirit, Son,
F2
The Lion and the Lamb, the Lion and the Lamb.

BRIDGE:
C G/B
Name above all names,
Am7 G/B
Worthy of all praise,
F2
My heart will sing
G C Csus C
How great is our God.

* How Great is Our God: Key of F

* Tony Jones (Mr IDissectMusic) dissects the beautiful tune How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin on the piano. He adds a lot of flavor to it and puts some true LIFE into it! Be Blessed!

Gospel Guitar 101

Intro:
F C/E Dm7 C Bb C F

Verse 1:
F Dm7
The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Bb C
Let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice
F Dm7
He wraps Himself in light, and darkness tries to hide
Bb C
And trembles at His voice, trembles at His voice

Chorus:
F C/E
How great is our God, sing with me
Dm7 C
How great is our God, and all will see
Bb C F
How great, how great is our God

Verse 2 (same chord progression as verse 1):
Age to age He stands, and time is in His hands
Beginning and the End, Beginning and the End
The Godhead three in one, Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb, the Lion and the Lamb

CHORUS

Bridge (with backup chorus):
F C/E Dm7 C
Name above all names, worthy of all praise
Bb C F
My heart will sing, how great is our God!

CHORUS "x" times, end with little/no music

* Chord Chart in G:

VERSE:1
G Em
The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
C
Let all the earth rejoice
D
All the earth rejoice

G Em
He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide
C
And trembles at His voice
D
Trembles at His voice

CHORUS:

G
How great is our God, sing with me
Em
How great is our God, and all will see
C D
How great, how great is our God

VERSE:2

Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end

The Godhead Three in One
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb

BRIDGE:

G
Name above all names
Em7
Worthy of all praise
C
My heart will sing
D
How great is our God

Gospel Guitar 101

It is good to be back home. Keep playing your music and thanks again for stopping by!
~ LadyD

Learn the Circle of Fifths- Patterns

The Circle of Fifths, is a concept used by jazz musicians to practice playing ii, V, I chord patterns in all keys. It’s called the circle of fifths because you will come full circle back to where you started. The root moves down in fifths and up in fourths, or up in fourths and down in fifths around a circle. In the right hand you play the 3rd and 7th (or 6th) of the chord. The left hand plays the root or 1 chord tone. It’s best to play the left hand root an octave below the right hand 3, 7th voicing.. Also you can play the root(1) and the seventh(7th) in the left hand for a more fuller sound. The third and seventh determine the chord type. Whether it is major, minor, or dominate. This method allows the jazz musician to play a melody on top of the 3, and 7 or 7, and 3, in the right hand. Check out Jazz Open Voicings for Keyboards by Dick Grove for more information.

I get so many requests on the Circle of Fifths and I can understand why because it is like a musician's bible. Once you begin to see the importance of the circle, you'll be free to play and not locked in to sheet music. The circle is a very good way to learn your chords and scales... so here goes. Total reading time on this blog post 10 mins.

* CIRCLE OF 5THS

C7 introduces F
F7 introduces Bb
Bb introduces Eb
Eb introduces Ab
Ab introduces Db
Db aka C# introduces F#
F# introduces B
B introduces E
E introduces A
A introduces D
D introduces G
and G introduces C making a circle back to C

* In this lesson you learn how to play open position chords around the circle of fifths while improvising melody in the right hand.

http://www.quiescencemusic.com

* The circle of 5ths tells you how many sharps or flats are in each key. Moving clockwise (right), the notes move in 5ths. Moving counter-clockwise (left), the notes move in 4ths. I can't show you a circle, but I can put it in a form that illustrates this, u can try to draw it if you want to:

C = 0 sharps or flats (12 o'clock)
G = 1 sharp; F# (1 o'clock)
D = 2 sharps; F#, C# (2 o'clock)
A = 3 sharps; F#, C#, G# (3 o'clock)
E = 4 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D# (4 o'clock)
B/Cb = 5 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D#, A# (5 o'clock) / 7 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb
F#/Gb = 6 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E# / 6 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb (6 o'clock)
Db/C# = 5 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb (7 o'clock) / 7 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#
Ab = 4 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab, Db (8 o'clock)
Eb = 3 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab (9 o'clock)
Bb = 2 flats; Bb, Eb (10 o'clock)
F = 1 flat; Bb (11 o'clock)

The keys C# and Cb aren't usually present in the circle (i just added them there), but there is a reason why. Notice that the circle starts with C, having no sharps or flats. Now, the key of C# has everything being sharped, and the Cb has everything being flatted. So, what you can do is make a separate circle for the sharps, and a separate circle for the flats, and it could go on forever. I'll show you a little of each:

Sharps Circle

C = 0 sharps (12 o'clock)
G = 1 sharp; F# (1 o'clock)
D = 2 sharps; F#, C# (2 o'clock)
A = 3 sharps; F#, C#, G# (3 o'clock)
E = 4 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D# (4 o'clock)
B = 5 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D#, A# (5 o'clock)
F#= 6 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#

C# = 7 sharps / all sharps; F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B# (12 o'clock)
G = 1 double sharp; F## (1 o'clock)
D = 2 double sharps; F##, C## (2 o'clock)
A = 3 double sharps; F##, C##, G## (3 o'clock)
etc.

Flats Circle

C = 0 flats (12 o'clock)
F = 1 flat; Bb (11 o'clock)
Bb = 2 flats; Bb, Eb (10 o'clock)
Eb = 3 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab (9 o'clock)
Ab = 4 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab, Db (8 o'clock)
Db = 5 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb (7 o'clock)
Gb = 6 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb (6 o'clock)

C = 7 flats / all flats; (12 o'clock)
F = 1 double flat; Bbb (11 o'clock)
Bb = 2 double flats; Bbb, Ebb (10 o'clock)
Eb = 3 double flats; Bbb, Ebb, Abb (9 o'clock)
The circle of 5ths tells you how many sharps or flats are in each key. Moving clockwise (right), the notes move in 5ths. Moving counter-clockwise (left), the notes move in 4ths. I can't show you a circle, but I can put it in a form that illustrates this, u can try to draw it if you want to:

C = 0 sharps or flats (12 o'clock)
G = 1 sharp; F# (1 o'clock)
D = 2 sharps; F#, C# (2 o'clock)
A = 3 sharps; F#, C#, G# (3 o'clock)
E = 4 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D# (4 o'clock)
B/Cb = 5 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D#, A# (5 o'clock) / 7 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb
F#/Gb = 6 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E# / 6 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb (6 o'clock)
Db/C# = 5 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb (7 o'clock) / 7 sharps; F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#
Ab = 4 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab, Db (8 o'clock)
Eb = 3 flats; Bb, Eb, Ab (9 o'clock)
Bb = 2 flats; Bb, Eb (10 o'clock)
F = 1 flat; Bb (11 o'clock)

* musictheoryguy:
Once you have a circle of fifths you can use it to calculate how many sharps or flats are in a key signature. Watch this video to help you use your circle of fifths for the major keys.

The circle of 5ths is used to show how many sharps or flats are in each key. It is like a clock. You start at the top with C that has no sharps or flats. Then you move clockwise (to the right) to G, which has 1 sharp, then to D, which has 2 sharps, then to A, which has 3 sharps, then to E, which has 4 sharps, then to B, which has 5 shaprs, then to F#, which has 6 sharps, then to C#, which has 7 sharps. From there, you switch to flats with Cb, which has 7 flats, then to Gb, which has 6 flats, then to Db which has 5 flats, then to Ab, which has 4 flats, then to Eb, which has 3 flats, then to Bb, which has 2 flats, then to F, which has 1 flat, then you are back at C. Here is an illustration:

C = 0 sharps or flats
G = 1 sharp (F#)
D = 2 sharps (F#, C#)
A = 3 sharps (F#, C#, G#)
E = 4 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#)
B = 5 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#)
F# = 6 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#)
C# = 7 shaprs (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#)
(switch)
Cb = 7 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb)
Gb = 6 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb)
Db = 5 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb)
Ab = 4 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db)
Eb = 3 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab)
Bb = 2 flats (Bb, Eb)
F = 1 flat (Bb)
C = 0 sharps or flats

* The circle of 4ths is where your progressions come from. In other words, it has solely to do with bass/LH notes. To me, that is the only significance of it. Just take the circle of 5ths and read it backwards.

See what I mean by keys and note? Circle of 5ths is for keys and circle of 4ths is for notes.

To get chords, you use the bass notes to come up with chords. How? Well, you can start by taking a bass note and writing down all the possible chords that could go with that note, that are associated to the key you are in. I will be back later to better explain how to figure out chords and stuff.

Key: Signature LH=Root(1) RH= 3rd, 7th Pattern Chord

1: C: D F, C 2 Dmi7
G F, B 5 G7
C E, B 1 Cmaj7

2: F; b G Bb, F 2 Gmi7
C Bb, E 5 C7
F A, E 1 Fmaj7

3: Bb bb C, Eb, Bb 2 Cmi7
F, Eb, A 5 F7
Bb D A 1 Bbmaj7

4: Eb bbb F Ab, Eb 2 Fmi7
Bb Ab, D 5 Bb7
Eb G D 1 Ebmaj7

5: Ab bbbb Bb Db, Ab 2 Bbmi7
Eb Db G 5 Eb7
Ab C G 1 Abmaj7

6: Db bbbbb Eb Gb Db 2 Ebmi7
Ab Gb C 5 Ab7
Db F C 1 Dbmaj7

7. Gb bbbbbb Ab B Gb 2 Abmi7
Db B F 5 Db7
Gb Bb F 1 Gbmaj7

8. F# ###### G# B F# 2 G#mi7
C# B F 5 C#7
F# A# F 1 F#maj7

9. B ##### C# E B 2 C#mi7
F# E A# 5 F#7
B D# A# 1 Bmaj7

10. E #### F# A E 2 F#mi7
B A D# 5 B7
E G# D# 1 Emaj7

11. A ### B D A 2 Bmi7
E D G# 5 E7
A C# G# 1 Amaj7

12. D ## E G D 2 Emi7
A G C# 5 A7
D F# C# 1 Dmaj7

13. G # A C G 2 Ami7
D C F# 5 D7
G B F# 1 Gmaj7

14. C D F C 2 Dmi7
G F B 5 G7
C E B 1 Cmaj7

I'll be on vacation for awhile. I won't be gone long. Enjoy your summer and keep practicing! I'd love to hear from you. Stop by and let me know how things are going with your piano playing!

All the best,
~ LadyD

How To Use Grace Notes

Image via Wikipedia

Are you familiar with grace notes, or crushed notes? Do you use them in your piano playing? Nothing gets your sound more soulful quicker than throwing in some grace notes. Grace notes are notes that a played very briefly and often very softly before the "main" note is played.

Grace notes sound good because they introduce an element of notes that do not fall into the scale you are using. It brings a bit more emotion to your sound -- sometimes playfulness, sometimes sadness.

Like everything else in music, it's not a matter of throwing in any old chromatic note. Let me give you three principles for using grace notes that I learned:

1) Blues Grace Notes - if you are working in the major scale (or in the minor scale as well, I suppose, though I haven't worked that out yet) identify your major scale, then identify the minor blues scale of that same key. Like this:

C major scale: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C
C minor blues: C, Eb, F, Gb, G, Bb, C

Now, you don't have to pay in the minor blues scale per se (indeed, many major scale songs won't "allow" it), but you want to "borrow" notes from this second scale strategically.

You can apply this in your right hand soloing. Next time you're doing a run up the major scale, introduce some of the blues minor scale notes, very briefly, as grace notes.

Example. Instead of playing:

F, G, A, B

play

F, G, A, (Bb), B [Bb is your grace note]

You can also apply it to your chords. Instead of just playing

G - B - D [G major]

play

G - (Bb slide into) B - D

Practice doing it very lightly and subtly for a nice soul feel. But why does this work, besides the fact that you are borrowing from the blues scale? Well...

2) Minors into Majors - The basic idea is that just about any major chord can be made to sound soulful by sliding from its minor to its major in a split second. Works on piano, works even better on guitar.

Some examples:

C major = C, (Eb into) E, G
F major = F, (Ab into) A, C
G major = G, (Bb into) B, D

3) Tension and Release - Tension and Release is a major concept in writing lead parts. It is the process of building up a bit of tension via dissonance and then release that tension by creating consonance. In other words...

in the chord of C major (C-E-G) in your left hand with an F in your right hand
would be considered a dissonance, because although F falls into the C major scale, it is not part of the chord. However, slide that F up to G and now that G is consonant. Congratulations -- you've just created a tension and release.

Now, we can use this as another principle for grace noting. Instead of going straight into your intended note, touch on a dissonant, yet diatonic, note on the first beat then glide into your intended note. That should create a lovely bit of sweet emotion.

Some more applications of grace notes:

a) use it to create lovely 7th chords. Can't decide whether you want to use a bluesy dominant seventh or a jazzy major seventh? Use both! Crush the dominant into the major like this:

C-E-G-(Bb into) B

furthermore this relatively "open" voicing sounds pretty sophisticated, even "Burt Bacharach-ish."

b) create phat bass lines in a piano roll.

http://www.flipside.singingcrane.com/FL/index.php?topic=1725.0

c) relearn your major scales with blues grace notes thrown in to enhance your soloing.

* Related Posts:

http://ladydpiano.blogspot.com/2008_09_01_archive.html

* Urban Pro600

Beef up your playing drastically by adding these small
little grace notes, slides, and fill-ins to your chord
transitions. Jon utilizes this trick at least 80% of the
time and he spills the beans on exactly what to do to "own"
it.

http://ladydpiano.blogspot.com/2007/09/west-coast-urban-feel.html

http://www.hearandplay.com/441295/gkurban.html

Clip from GospelKeys Urban... How To Use Grace Notes