Piano Cheats

This song by Chris Tomlin is a good example to illustrate our Chord Mixing trick (See “Chord Mixing (part 1)” and “Chord Mixing (part 2)” posts).

The whole song can be simplified to the following chord pattern:

I –> VIm –> IV –> V

That is, Chord I followed by Chord VIm, followed by Chord IV, and then by Chord V.

In the C key, that means:

C –> Am –> F –> G

To make the progression above interesting, however, let’s play the 4 chords by mixing them with their corresponding chord pairs that we have learned in the “Chord Mixing” posts.

That means, we will play (I hope you already know what chords to mix them with in your head straightaway, as that familiarity will help you A LOT!) the following:

C (+G) –> Am (+G) –> F (+C) –> G (+F)

Here is the illustration on video…

If that chord mixing skill does not come automatically to you, then you will have to learn it the hard way, by following your music score or chord chart strictly, which will probably read something like this…

C2 C C2 C G/A Am G/A Am F2 F F2 F F/G G F/G G

Doesn’t that look very complicated? But really, let me say it again, you only need to know the 3 basic chords!

Tags: cheat, chris tomlin, how great is our god, mixing, piano, play, priase, shortcut, superposition, worship

If you remember “the 3 minor chords”, and how we play them by substituting them with the 3 basic chords, and simply combining each of these 3 basic chords with a different bass note, then the summary is as below:

Chord VI m = Chord I (right hand) + Bass 6 (left hand), i.e., the “la” note

Chord II m = Chord IV (right hand) + Bass 2 (left hand)

Chord III m = Chord V (right hand) + Bass 3 (left hand)

To recap the chord mixing from part 1, see the summary below:

Chord I + Chord V

Chord IV + Chord I

Chord V + Chord IV

Now, since the 3 minor chords are made up of the 3 basic chords, we can actually mix them with the same chords as above too. I.e.,

Chord VI m + Chord V

i.e., Chord VIm can be mixed with Chord V. Afterall, to start with, we actually play Chord I on the right hand with a different bass note (the 6^th note, i.e., “la”) to implement Chord VIm. In the key of C, that means the Am chord can be mixed with a G chord.

Similarly,

Chord II m + Chord I

i.e., Chord IIm can be mixed with Chord I. Afterall, to start with, we actually play Chord IV on the right hand with a different bass note (the 2^nd note, i.e., “re”) to implement Chord IIm. In the key of C, that means a Dm chord can be mixed with a C chord.

However, here is the exception. We can’t exactly mix Chord IIIm with Chord IV. You can try. I have tried it, but I don’t like the resulting sound. That means, in the key of C, I usually do NOT mix Em with an F chord.

I will show an example of chord mixing as soon as I can with the song “How Great Is Our God” by Chris Tomlin using a video.

Tags: cheat, chord, chris tomlin, how great is our god, illustration, mixing, piano, praise, shortcut, superposition, worship

This is about playing 2 different chords alternately while playing the same bass note(s). And the technique comes in very handy quite often.

In general, this is how I mix chords…

When the chord you are supposed to play is Chord I, you may mix Chord V to it, i.e.,

Chord I ( + Chord V )

Similarly, you may mix Chord I to Chord IV, i.e.,

Chord IV ( + Chord I )

And to Chord V, you may mix Chord IV, i.e.,

Chord V ( + Chord IV )

Let’s use the C key as an example again. It’s always easier to use the C key.

If you are supposed to play C (Chord I of C key), then try playing two chords instead, i.e., first play C (Chord I), and followed by G (Chord V), while the bass continues to stay on C. In terms of sequence, you may also do it the other way round, that is, to play G first, and followed by C. (That depends on the melody that is supposed to go with the chords. Use you own discretion.)

Similarly, if you are supposed to play F (Chord IV of C key), then try playing F (Chord IV) and C (Chord I) alternately instead.

As for G (Chord V), try playing the two chords: G (Chord V) and F (Chord IV) alternately instead.

Here is an illustration on video…

In fact, if you haven’t noticed, what we are doing to Chord I by mixing it with Chord V is essentially producing a Chord I2 (i.e., Sus2 of Chord I) sound.

That’s what we have done to Chord IV as well. That is, by mixing Chord IV with Chord I, we have produced Chord IV2.

Well, they are indeed the Sus2 chords that we have learned in my “Improvising Sus2” post. The point, however, that I would like to make here is, whenever you see a Chord I and Chord IV on your music score or chord chart, try to have it in your mind that you can always mix those chords with their corresponding “pairs” above. You will be surprised how much enhancement you can make to the music by doing so (appropriately, of course).

As for Chord V, by mixing it with Chord IV does NOT give you a Chord V2. So, this is slightly different. However, the same point needs to be made, i.e., whenever you see a Chord V on your music score or chord chart (especially if the chord following it is Chord I), do remember that you can mix that Chord V with a Chord IV. You will like the sound!

Tags: cheat, chord, illustration, mixing, piano, shortcut, superposition

Sus2 are usually used only on Chord I and Chord IV, so there is no need to learn Sus2 for other chords in a scale.

So if you play in the C scale, all the sus2 chords you need to know are only C2 and F2.

And this is how you can play C2 and F2 with the 3 basic chords, without having to learn C2 and F2 from scratch.

For C2, play C as your bass note with the left hand, accompanied by a G chord with your right hand. That resulting sound is very much like C2. (This combination is also referred to as G/C, read “G on C”)

Figure 1: C2

For F2, play F as your bass note with the left hand, accompanied by a C chord with your right hand. That resulting sound is very much like F2. (This combination is also referred to as C/F, read “C on F”)

Figure 2: F2

In general, in any key, you can do the same thing. That is, to implement Chord I2 (i.e., sus2 of Chord I), simply play note 1 (the “doe” note) as your bass and accompany it with Chord V on your right hand.

And to implement Chord IV2 (i.e., sus2 of chord IV), simply play note 4 (the “fa” note) as your bass and accompany it with Chord I on your right hand.

See? Most songs can be played using the 3 basic chords!

Tags: C/F, C2, cheat, chord, F2, G/C, improvise, piano, Sus2, suspension

I have talked about Sus4 and how to improvise it with the 3 basic chords earlier. Sus2 is another form of suspension that can also be improvised with the 3 basic chords.

Let’s take a C chord (C Major chord) as example. A C-Sus2 chord is usually written as C2.

For a C chord, we play the 1, 3 and 5 notes (i.e., C, E, G notes) simultaneously.

For a C4 chord, we play the 1, 4 and 5 notes (i.e., C, F and G notes) simultaneously.

For a C2 chord, we play the 1, 2 and 5 notes (i.e., C, D and G notes) simultaneously.

The Sus2 chords are use very often in place of the Chord I and Chord IV. That means, in the C scale, instead of playing C (Chord I), I often play C2 instead simply because it gives a more modern sound. The same goes for the
F chord in the C scale. That is, instead of playing an F (Chord IV), I often replace it with an F2.

Figure 1: C2

Figure 2: F2

I shall talk about the improvisation of Sus2 using the 3 basic chords on my next post.

Tags: C2, cheat, chords, F2, improvise, piano, Sus2, suspension