“You said if there are four different notes…then it is a 7 chord.” (She’s referring to analyzing chords from the hymnal.)
She goes on to say, “…however, on your example of “It is Well” (page four of the handout)…on the word “like”, there are four different notes and I don’t think it’s a C7 chord. It looks more like a G¹¹ chord or something…but you say to play a C chord for that whole measure.” Click on image for enlarged view.
Excellent question!
So…here’s the answer…
When coming across this situation where the chord can’t be placed in consecutive thirds…you are more than likely dealing with “passing tones”. The passing tones are found in the right hand part for this particular example.
Passing tones are secondary notes you have to pass through to move from one note to the next. Passing tones are not meant to be factored in… to the underlying chordal structure of a measure.
So…look at the word “like” in the picture above. The right hand notes are “D & F”
Now…step back and look at the overall note ingredients within that measure. The majority of the notes favor what chord? Yes! The C chord. That’s why I played within a C chord frame for that measure as you’ll see in the next picture below. (I should have made the left hand note “E” a half note.)
Passing tones to music are like joints to the human body. Our joints support movement as the passing tones do to music. Passing tones are like the accessories/dress-up to the overall melody of a song.
I received the following email from one of my readers today concerning my free arrangement of “Whispering Hope”.
“I am also a church pianist and I am writing to thank you for making your beautiful arrangement of Whispering Hope available free of charge on your website. I played it for yesterday’s “Hymn of the Week” feature on our church YouTube channel. By request I’ve been featuring a different hymn every week since the pandemic lock down began, and providing some background into the writing of each hymn. “
I found the story behind this song very intriguing!
Diatonic Chord Substitution....one of the easiest to learn!
Enjoy this short; concise easy-to-learn chord substitution lesson! Materials include: Seven page PDF (downloadable) handout; Seven page answer key, companion video chock full of visuals and explanations!
*Special note: Buyer receives a private video link via email... within two days after purchase. *Jenifer will email the video link to the buyer's email address used at time of purchase. On sale now through May 25, 2020
The first mini lesson on Diatonic Chord Substitution is almost complete!
I had SO much fun creating this short mini lesson that involves seven pages in addition to answer key pages and at least a 17 minute video companion chock full of visuals!
I hope to publish the entire project by this Friday. Watch short commercial below with few bloopers!
