Just want to apologize to my readers for getting the major & minor chord descriptions backwards.  At least I was consistent!  🙂

No….seriously, I just shouldn’t have been working on it so late at night.  To ease your minds….I do know the following:

4 half steps = Major 3rd

3 half steps = minor 3rd

Thanks to a reader that brought the mistake to my attention 🙂  I do appreciate that.  Now everyone can read the correct information in the following lesson:

I just want everyone squared away and ready for the grand finale lesson in this series of “How to Add Chord Substitutions”

*Please keep us in your prayers as my husband will be having surgery this month as well as myself, plus a grandson being born…all within one week of each other.

My posting may be less frequent during my recovery time but am trying to build up a few articles that will post automatically during my recovery time.

I thoroughly enjoy writing music and sharing ideas with you all!  God has truly blessed me with some wonderful readers!

Answers to Lesson Three’s Assignment on Major and minor 3rds:

D flat to F  (Major 3rd)

C to E flat   (minor 3rd)

G# to B       (minor 3rd)

B to D#       (Major 3rd)

Now that you’ve learned Major and minor 3rds…you’re ready to apply this knowledge to the scale-based triads of any Major scale.

For ease of application, I’ll use the scale-based triads of the C Major scale listed below.

Notice that the triads either have an upper case or lower case roman numeral. Upper case indicates Major chord and lower case means minor chord. All Major scales have the same chord numbers.

For example, in G Major (which has one sharp)…the I chord would still be a Major chord and the ii chord would be minor, etc.

Now for applying your knowledge of major and minor 3rds…

1.  A Major chord consists of a Major 3rd plus a minor 3rd. For example: the 1st chord in the C scale (I) is a C chord (CEG).  From C to E is 4 half steps and from E to G is 3 half steps.

Remember: a minor 3rd consists of 3 half steps and a Major 3rd consists of 4 half steps.

So…from C to E is a Major 3rd and E to G is a minor 3rd.  A Major 3rd plus a minor 3rd = a Major chord!

2.  The minor chord ingredients are  just the opposite of a Major chord….a minor 3rd plus a Major 3rd = a minor chord!

  (See Lesson Three for more details)

With the knowledge learned in lessons one through four….you will be able to learn some VERY EASY chord substitutions! Can’t wait for the next lesson! The fun will begin 🙂  Review lessons one through four so you’ll be ready!  See links below for each lesson:

You’ve probably seen a comment on my site somewhere along the way that read something like this… “Sorry I can’t create an arrangement of (whatever hymn title) because it’s still under copyright law.”

How to know if a hymn is still under copyright?  Open a hymnal to any hymn and look at the bottom of the page. You will be looking for the symbol © or the word “copyright” with a year.

Copyrighted hymns fall into two categories:  Hymns written before 1978 and Hymns written after 1978.  I’ll cover the first category of copyrighted hymns in this article.

A. Copyrighted hymns written before January 1, 1978

To make a long story short…Copyrighted hymns published before 1978 are “automatically protected from the moment of its creation for the author’s life plus an additional 70 years after the author’s death.”

http://www.copyright.gov/

So…what’s so important about knowing this information?  Misuse of someone’s copyrighted song without their permission (such as: making photocopies, creating a recording of the song for profit or non-profit use)  is a form of stealing and therefore a federal offense.

Disclaimer:  The information shared in this article is not intended as legal advice; but rather to enlighten the reader.

Click here for more information

How do I know if a hymn is copyrighted?  Can I make a CD of copyrighted music IF I’m giving it away for free?

How can I tell if a hymn is public domain?  Or…what does “public domain” mean?

Surely a hymn written over 90 years ago is not copyrighted!

I’ll be sharing several articles on this topic of Copyrighted Hymns.   Did you know that a copyrighted song written before January 1, 1978 can have a total lifespan of 95 years under copyright protection?

A very detailed topic to cover!  I will try to deliver the information as clear as possible in short segments.

Disclaimer:  The information covered in this article is not intended as legal advice.

Just so you know…I’m feverishly working on a huge project that I want to finish as SOON as possible!

Here’s what I’m working on…

1. Finishing up “God Can” SAB choir arrangement

2. Congregational Hymnal for Church Pianists (HUGE project!)

I’m very excited about both of these projects but it takes turning off the world around me and staying in my gopher hole until I complete them!

I’m working on the  “God Can” choir arrangement by Lynndale Hardeman.

For those of you who don’t know…I accidentally deleted my last year’s worth of music from my computer. Yes, it made me sick but just thankful I had hard copies of the most important pieces.  But, it means putting everything in my music program again note by note.  Needless to say, that’s why my progress is s-l-o-w-e-r.

I hope to have “God Can” ready by the end of August.  This particular arrangement is for SAB choir or small ensemble.  I’m excited about this particular piece since it has a very strong revival emphasis…which is what we need!

Look forward to publishing it (hopefully) soon!

For those who haven’t heard the arrangement, see video below:

Reviewing Lesson Two

Here are the essential tools I’ve covered so far as prerequisites to adding chord substitutions:

Understanding the major scale (C scale was our example for ease of application) There are 8 notes in a scale.

The scale-based triads (3 note chord)

Term: Interval (distance between two notes)

Answers to  lesson two’s intervals:

*D to F  (3rd)

*C to G  (5th)

*B to G (6th)

*G to C  (4th)

Lesson Three: Half and Whole Steps

What if I play a D to the next F#…is that still a 3rd interval?  Yes it is!  So…what’s the difference between a D to F and a D to F#?  Well, a D to F is a minor 3rd and a D to F# sharp is a Major 3rd.  How do I know that? I learned about half and whole steps; used to create minor and major 3rds.

(The following lesson must be understood before you can identify minor and major 3rds.)

A half step is from one note to the very next (closest) note. For example: a C to C# is one half step.  Or….E to F is a half step…no key between the moves.

A whole step is from one note to the next neighbor note…such as C to D or F# to G#.  (A whole step has one key between its two notes)

C to D has a black key between them. F# to G# has a white key between them and B flat to C has a white key between them.

Very important lesson to remember!

Several Reasons why:

Because scales are made up of half and whole step patterns

What if someone says….”transpose up a half step”…must understand!

Major and minor chords are determined by number of 1/2 steps! (next lesson)

Understanding of sharp and flat notes (they move by 1/2 steps)

Now for the application of half and whole steps…

A minor 3rd = 3 half steps

A Major 3rd = 4 half steps

Assignment:

Identify the 3rds below the example as either minor or Major

Example: F to A = Major 3rd

(the numbers indicate the half step moves)

Hint: 1st half step counts after first note

D flat to F

C to E flat

G# to B

B to D#

Special Note!

Learning these theory lessons WILL help you know how to add chord substitutions.  Just hang in there and take good notes 😉

Chord substitutions add SO much color to gospel songs! Gospel songs contain infrequent chord changes.  Songs like:  Revive Us Again (mentioned in lesson one), Wonderful Words of Life, Work for the Night is Coming, to name a few.

In lesson one, you learned the numbering system for the scale and its scale-based triads (3-note chords).

Now…forget scales for a moment: you’re ready to learn another easy concept also dealing with numbers…the term: INTERVAL

The word: INTERVAL means the distance between two notes. To count the distance between two notes…you start counting from the first note to the second note you land on.  For example, F to the very next G.   F counts one, G counts two. So…from F to G is a 2nd interval.  How about from F to the very next A….F counts one, G two…and A three…a 3rd interval.

So, pack this lesson away in your mind for future application!  Why? It will be necessary when we place chords in consecutive 3rds to determine what root chord we’re dealing with so we’ll know what chord substitution will work. Make sense?  If not, that’s why it’s important to save these preparatory lessons in order to know how to add chord substitutions to gospel songs.

In the meantime, try to answer the following by guessing the correct interval for:

D to F

C to G

B to G

G to C

*Answers will be provided in the next lesson 🙂

Also, here’s a free online interval worksheet to do for extra reinforcement:  INTERVAL WORKSHEET (Opus Music Worksheets)

*Tip: On this free worksheet…Unison (U) is mentioned in the directions.  Unison just refers to two identical notes (just as we refer to a choir singing unison…all on the same note)

Please feel free to ask questions! Extra interval visual below!

I found this neat picture at: Visual Dictionary

I absolutely love adding chord substitutions to hymns! Chord substitutions add extra color and variety to gospel songs which normally contain infrequent chord changes.

Would you like to learn how to revitalize hymns like “Revive Us Again”?  This particular hymn uses the same chord for at least four measures in a row!

Listen to the following audio of “Revive Us Again” with chord substitutions.

You need to have the Audio Player Plugin installed to use this shortcode

So…what does the pianist need to know in order to add chord substitutions?

Let’s take one step at a time!

What Every Pianist Should Know BEFORE Adding Chord Substitutions:

1.  A major scale is made up of 8 notes.  For example, the C Major scale is made up of the following eight notes:  CDEFGABC

2.  So,  each note of the scale is numbered one through eight.  For example, C is one, D is two, etc.  Now…create a three note chord (triad) on each note of the scale.  Play CEG together.  We call this the one chord because it’s built on the first note of the C scale. Now play DFA together.  Yes, you’re playing the two chord in the key of C.  Finish playing the rest of the C scale based triads until you reach the following C.

Here is a picture of what you should have played so far:  C scale and then the C scale chords (triads).  *Notice, the chords are numbered with the Roman numeral system.  The upper case roman numeral indicates major chord, the lower case roman numeral indicates minor chord.  For you theory buffs, I left out the diminished symbol for the vii chord….will explain that later.

You have learned the first foundational tool needed for adding chord substitutions.  Application: Play the above scale and chords in the keys of G and F Major for ample reinforcement.  * I chose easier scales for a reason….let’s keep life simple for now 😉

Hope this lesson has been clear thus far.  Please feel free to ask any questions!

Just be patient with yourself and learn this basic step towards colorful playing!  I’ll explain more in the next post.

Received a request from a church pianist  just yesterday for this piano solo arrangement of He Hideth My Soul.

This free piano arrangement can be used as a short offertory or prelude special.

I will provide this song in two different keys 🙂