Chord Tricks 301

[B3Wannabe]

Here are some little chord tricks for you:


Trick#1:

While playing a chord in your left hand, play the next 1-3 highest notes from the circle of 4ths.

Example:

LH\RH

1. C\Bb2
2. Eb\Bb2
3. G2\Bb2


Trick#2:

While playing a chord in the right hand, do the reverse of trick #1.

Example:

1. G2\C
2. G2\Eb
3. G2\F


Trick#3:

While playing a chord in the right hand, play 1-3 notes from the circle of 4ths starting a tri-tone interval below the right-hand chord.


Example:

1. Ab2\D
2. Ab2\G
3. Ab2\Bb



Trick#4:

While playing a chord in the right hand, play the same chord a half-step higher in the left hand.

Example:

1. Gb\F
2. B2\Bb2
3. Am\Abm



Trick#5:

Same as trick#4, but a half-step lower.

Example:

1. Gb\G
2. B2\C2
3. Am\Bbm




Play with these tricks, and see where you can fit them in while you're playing. Note that some of these chords are a little too wide for organ, if you play low, so you may have to drop a note or two on the bottom. Again, play with them and see what sounds good to you. Experiment with different bass notes.



Hope this helps....

[oversabby]

Hello!
Thanks for this wonderful lesson.
Pls i would like to know how useful this information would be when i am to use them in life play.
In other words;how do oi apply them when playing.
Thanks very much in advance:
God bless!

[B3Wannabe]

Man!

You went and pulled this out of the closet! This post is almost 3 years old! LOL

[oversabby]

I´m sorry about that.
Pls can you explain.
how to use those stuff when i play on the keyboard for example.
I guess alot of people will be bless from this especially me.
Thanks!!!

[T-Block]

Yeah B3, you need to explain this a little more, even I am a little lost.

While playing a chord in your left hand, play the next 1-3 highest notes from the circle of 4ths.

What the heck does that mean?  Am I supposed to play 1 note or 2 notes in my RH?

[oversabby]

pls i was confuse about this.
Hence i´m asking for explanation.
thanks!

[musallio]

5 years down the line, I bring the topic back again..Some1's got to explain this

[Fenix]

Dude, i know Jesus gave us the power to raise the dead, but this is a bit much man!

[chevonee]

Dude, i know Jesus gave us the power to raise the dead, but this is a bit much man!

INDEED!!! 

[T-Block]

5 years down the line, I bring the topic back again..Some1's got to explain this

5 years later and I still don't get it.  The explanation he gives for each trick isn't consistent throughout said trick.  Where is B3 when u need him. 

[B3Wannabe]

I felt summoned today.


These are simple: they are stacked chords.

I'll answer the two questions (from oversabby and T-Block) in order.

1. If the bass is moving slow enough, you can change your single-note bass line to a chord. I usually change it to one of the three 7th chords. (maj7,min7,dim7) You can also change it to a 6th or one of the basic chords. (maj,min,dim,aug) Play the same chord that you would normally play in your right hand below it. You have to experiment with the sound to get the chord that fits best. Sometimes, even one that doesn't exactly fit in that context, can be used if it leads to another that does.

2. Exactly. As the trick states, if you're playing a C chord, you can play C-F-Bb, in your right hand. This forms a dom11 chord, and can be used in a lot of places where a normal dom7 chord would fit.

In the song, "What He's done for me" by James Hall, Melvin Crispell plays a Eb chord over a Db bass, just after the choir sings "Ooooo". I change it to Ebmaj over a Db7 chord, playing Db-F-Bb, when I play it on piano, then moving the whole thing a whole step down.


...Thanks for the resurrection. I'll be back soon. I'm still in Korea. Hope I answered all your questions. If not, I'm on Yahoo most of the time.

[musallio]

I felt summoned today.


These are simple: they are stacked chords.

I'll answer the two questions (from oversabby and T-Block) in order.

1. If the bass is moving slow enough, you can change your single-note bass line to a chord. I usually change it to one of the three 7th chords. (maj7,min7,dim7) You can also change it to a 6th or one of the basic chords. (maj,min,dim,aug) Play the same chord that you would normally play in your right hand below it. You have to experiment with the sound to get the chord that fits best. Sometimes, even one that doesn't exactly fit in that context, can be used if it leads to another that does.

2. Exactly. As the trick states, if you're playing a C chord, you can play C-F-Bb, in your right hand. This forms a dom11 chord, and can be used in a lot of places where a normal dom7 chord would fit.

In the song, "What He's done for me" by James Hall, Melvin Crispell plays a Eb chord over a Db bass, just after the choir sings "Ooooo". I change it to Ebmaj over a Db7 chord, playing Db-F-Bb, when I play it on piano, then moving the whole thing a whole step down.


...Thanks for the resurrection. I'll be back soon. I'm still in Korea. Hope I answered all your questions. If not, I'm on Yahoo most of the time.

Thanks man..the summons did the trick

I hope you are taking pics for us in Korea man

[jjjoe]

I got a question do I play the chords with both hands. I am trying to better understand the trick.

[cas10a]

I got a question do I play the chords with both hands. I am trying to better understand the trick.

I still don't quite get the original post (looking at just the chord sym.), but from what B3 just explained, he is basically saying you can enlarge the chord in RH with a LH chord instead of playing the single note in bass...so yes, you would play chords in both hands.

In the first example para (2.)
LH/RH
C-F-Bb/C-E-G (dom11)

2nd example below that...
Db-F-Bb/Eb-G-Bb

[T-Block]

I still don't fully understand it.  Maybe B3 needs to break down each trick on at a time for me cuz it still doesn't make complete sense.

How about this, I'll illustrate each trick according to what u have B3 and u tell me if I'm on the right track or not:

Trick#1:

While playing a chord in your left hand, play the next 1-3 highest notes from the circle of 4ths.

Example:

LH\RH

1. C\Bb2
2. Eb\Bb2
3. G2\Bb2

If I'm reading this correctly, the original LH chord is C-Eb-G (C minor chord).  So, in the RH u play the next 3 notes in the circle of 4ths after C, which are F-Bb-Eb.  If so, then that's not a B2 in the RH, it's a Bsus4.  Also, u break the chord up and play the same RH chord from above with each note.  So, chorded out it looks like this:

C / F-Bb-Eb
Eb / F-Bb-Eb
G / F-Bb-Eb

I'm still confused about why the G2 is there since it doesn't fit with the other 2 chords.  Is that right?

Trick#2:

While playing a chord in the right hand, do the reverse of trick #1.

Example:

1. G2\C
2. G2\Eb
3. G2\F

Now, u got the C minor chord broken up in the RH, and the LH is playing the next 3 notes in reverse of the circle of 4ths after C.  So, u are really going by the circle of 5ths now.  Those notes are G-D-A.  Chorded out, it looks like this:

G-D-A / C
G-D-A / Eb
G-D-A / G

I'm thinking that F up there was a typo.  This kinda makes sense to me cuz the pattern is the same for each of those notes.  Is that right?

Trick#3:

While playing a chord in the right hand, play 1-3 notes from the circle of 4ths starting a tri-tone interval below the right-hand chord.


Example:

1. Ab2\D
2. Ab2\G
3. Ab2\Bb

Now, u got a G minor chord in your RH.  So, the next 3 notes in the circle of 4ths are D-A-E.  But, u take that LH chord down by a tri-tone interval, which makes it Ab-Db-Gb.  That LH chord would be a Dbsus4 not an Ab2.  Chorded out u got:

Ab-Db-Gb / D
Ab-Db-Gb / G
Ab-Db-Gb / Bb

Is that right?

Trick#4:

While playing a chord in the right hand, play the same chord a half-step higher in the left hand.

Example:

1. Gb\F
2. B2\Bb2
3. Am\Abm

O.K., I'm kinda lost here cuz it doesn't follow the pattern of the other tricks.  So, I'm gonna assume in the first example u got an F major chord in the RH with a Gb major chord, which is a 1/2 step higher, in the LH:

Gb-Bb-Db / F-A-C

Then, for the other 2 u got:

B-C#-F# / Bb-C-F
A-C-E / Ab-Cb-Eb

Is that right?

Trick#5:

Same as trick#4, but a half-step lower.

Example:

1. Gb\G
2. B2\C2
3. Am\Bbm

O.K., same concept as trick 4, except the LH chord is a 1/2 step lower.  So, chorded out u got:

Gb-Bb-Db / G-B-D
B-C#-F# / C-E-G
A-C-E / B-D-F#

Is that right?

[B3Wannabe]

I still don't quite get the original post (looking at just the chord sym.), but from what B3 just explained, he is basically saying you can enlarge the chord in RH with a LH chord instead of playing the single note in bass...so yes, you would play chords in both hands.

In the first example para (2.)
LH/RH
C-F-Bb/C-E-G (dom11)

2nd example below that...
Db-F-Bb/Eb-G-Bb

You got it. Although, that C-F-Bb would be in your right hand, in my last post, not the left.

The examples just show the possibilities you can get from just stacking or extending simple chords.

I still don't fully understand it.  Maybe B3 needs to break down each trick on at a time for me cuz it still doesn't make complete sense.

How about this, I'll illustrate each trick according to what u have B3 and u tell me if I'm on the right track or not:

If I'm reading this correctly, the original LH chord is C-Eb-G (C minor chord).  So, in the RH u play the next 3 notes in the circle of 4ths after C, which are F-Bb-Eb.  If so, then that's not a B2 in the RH, it's a Bsus4.  Also, u break the chord up and play the same RH chord from above with each note.  So, chorded out it looks like this:

C / F-Bb-Eb
Eb / F-Bb-Eb
G / F-Bb-Eb

I'm still confused about why the G2 is there since it doesn't fit with the other 2 chords.  Is that right?

Now, u got the C minor chord broken up in the RH, and the LH is playing the next 3 notes in reverse of the circle of 4ths after C.  So, u are really going by the circle of 5ths now.  Those notes are G-D-A.  Chorded out, it looks like this:

G-D-A / C
G-D-A / Eb
G-D-A / G

I'm thinking that F up there was a typo.  This kinda makes sense to me cuz the pattern is the same for each of those notes.  Is that right?

Now, u got a G minor chord in your RH.  So, the next 3 notes in the circle of 4ths are D-A-E.  But, u take that LH chord down by a tri-tone interval, which makes it Ab-Db-Gb.  That LH chord would be a Dbsus4 not an Ab2.  Chorded out u got:

Ab-Db-Gb / D
Ab-Db-Gb / G
Ab-Db-Gb / Bb

Is that right?

O.K., I'm kinda lost here cuz it doesn't follow the pattern of the other tricks.  So, I'm gonna assume in the first example u got an F major chord in the RH with a Gb major chord, which is a 1/2 step higher, in the LH:

Gb-Bb-Db / F-A-C

Then, for the other 2 u got:

B-C#-F# / Bb-C-F
A-C-E / Ab-Cb-Eb

Is that right?

O.K., same concept as trick 4, except the LH chord is a 1/2 step lower.  So, chorded out u got:

Gb-Bb-Db / G-B-D
B-C#-F# / C-E-G
A-C-E / B-D-F#

Is that right?

Here are the corrections for each question:


1. The right hand is built off the G, not the C.
C-E-G / C-F-Bb
Bb-Eb-G / C-F-Bb
A-D-G / C-F-Bb

The chords are inverted. I think that'll fix all your other errors, but I'll show you just in case.

2. Now, you're building off the C--backwards.
A-D-G / C-E-G
G-A-D / G-Bb-Eb (I don't have my keyboard in front of me, so I don't remember if this is the correct one. It may have been a typo, but this is the only spelling that makes sense.)
A-D-G / C-F-A

3. Almost the same as the last. Reversing from a tritone interval down. Again, the chords may be inverted.
Bb-Eb-Ab / D-F#-A
Bb-Eb-Ab / D-G-B
Bb-Eb-Ab / D-F-Bb

4 and 5. Usually, whenever I write a 2-chord, it's inverted, with the root at the top.


Sometimes, I'll switch the inversion, if it sounds muddy, just to spread the notes out. In general, I'll take one chord and then stack another some type of interval above it. When I originally wrote this post, I had just gone through experimenting with taking normal major chord in my left hand and playing the same type chord every semitone going up, until getting to C again; then I inverted the chord, and tried it again. After that, then I tried different chords, and/or using only part of the chord. It took some time, but I was able to learn a lot of different sounds that way. I was surprised by how simple chords, when you stack them, could make complex sounds.

I feel that once a person understands this, they should have no problem finding the exact chords to a song. The only hurdle the person may have is the actual execution, which can be solved by practice. Chord-wise, this was my holy grail. The next one is scales, for which I've posted a few of my modal findings. I still feel that I've only scratched the surface of that, though.

Hope I smoothed this out properly now. I'll lurk around for the weekend, just to check.