The Basics | Walking Bass Lines | IIm7-V7-Imaj7 | Circle of 5ths | Simple Blues

The Basics

Are you one of those people who have put down a book on how to learn jazz/gospel in disgust because of how difficult it was to deal with the countless chord inversions, voicing, symbols, and pages of stuff that you were expected to understand before you went to the bathroom again? It doesn't have to be that difficult, and it shouldn't be that difficult. In this lesson we'll explore:

1. Chord Symbols
2. The Almighty 2-5-1
3. 2-5-1 Exercise
4. Learning a Song

Now you may ask, "Why do I need to learn all of this stuff, I just want to play Gospel music!".  A musician with a good foundation is very versatile in his playing.  Having a good knowledge of theory can definitely cut your learning curve tremendously because many concepts in music like progressions are broken down into patterns that you can recognize in different keys.

Chord Symbols

It's important that we are eye to eye on chord symbols. Everyone has their favorite chord symbol style, and I'm no different. Here is a little graphic that will show you the main symbols we'll be using for now. When you play them, play the chord letter in your left hand as a bass note.

Now, those of you with some previous study in jazz or classical harmony will say, "But, those chords have extra notes in them!" And you know what? You would be right. But here's the thing:

What matters is how the chord sounds. Professional pianists see chords as if they are shimmering mirages, always changing, always dynamic. Sometimes a C7 might literally be a C7, and sometimes it might be a C7 with a 13, and sometimes it might be something altogether different. The choice of what to play at any given time depends on how experienced the player is, what is going on in the music, how the player feels that night, and any number of other reasons. It all boils down to, "Does this sound good, or does this sound BAD?"

When trying out the chords above, keep in mind that you shouldn't play the root (the letter of the chord symbol) in your right hand because you are either playing it in your left hand already, or if you are in a group the bass player is taking care of that duty.

Most of what we work on here should be done in all 12 keys. That will mean practice on your part as you figure out how to play everything in 12 keys. Yes, that's right, you won't become a real player without heavy practice. Does an hour a day sound like too much? If you want to learn, be prepared to put in twice that.

The Almighty 2-5-1

One of the most basic of all chord progressions is the 2-5-1. Take a look at the following graphic.

Play the roots in your left hand, and the chords in your right until the sound you are hearing seems natural. This progression is used in 99% of all tunes that gospel musicians play, in some way or the other. Here are a few more examples in different keys. You should play them, learn them, and then learn them in all the keys.

The first one is in the key of C, the second in F, the third in D, and the last example in Bb. I can not stress how important these basic 2-5-1 progressions are. Please learn them in all keys.

2-5-1 Exercise

Here is an exercise to help you learn to play the 2-5-1 chords. It is written with the scale in the right hand and the chords in the left, but it is a very good idea to try it both ways. Once you learn is as written below, try playing the scale in your left hand and playing the chords up higher in the right hand. Once again, do it in all 12 keys.

So you are on your way to mastering these wonderful new ideas and wonder what practical application it all has, right? Well, right now you should think about learning how to play a song while we are going through these lessons. You can apply the things you pick up from these lessons in a song that you choose to learn.

• I Love You Lord
• What a Might God We Serve
• This Little Light of Mine
• Victory Is Mine
• Amazing Grace

As far as learning a new song goes, there are a couple of important steps involved, and none of them involve sheet music:

1. Learn the melody
2. Learn the bass
3. Learn to play the melody and bass together
4. Memorize