Speed Read Piano

HOW TO SPEED READ PIANO CHORD SYBMOLS
HOW TO SPEED READ PIANO CHORD SYMBOLS

Index of Chapters

I N T RODU CT I ON
About t he Syst em Page 1
About Nates Three Finger Piano Method

CH A PT ER 1
Chord Basi cs Page 22
The note names on the piano
How chords are named
The intervals youll need to know
CH A PT ER 2
Fourt hs Page 51
How to Find Fourths
How to Use Fourths to Find Major Chords
CH A PT ER 3
Maj or 7
t h
Chords Page 65
How to use the starting position to find Major
7
th
chords using smooth voice leading.
How to move from Major 7
th
chord to Major 7
th

chord
CH A PT ER 4
Mi nor 7
t h
Chords Page 78
How to use the starting position to find Minor
7
th
chords
How to move from Minor 7
th
chord to minor 7
th

chord using smooth voice leading.
CH A PT ER 5
Domi nant 7
t h
Chords Page 84
How to use the starting position to find
Dominant 7
th
Chords.
Moving from Dominant 7
th
to Dominant 7
th
Moving from Minor 7
th
to Dominant 7
th
(The
two five pattern)
CH A PT ER 6
Di mi ni shed 7
t h
Chords Page 96
Using the starting position to find diminished
7
th
chords
How Dominant and Diminished chords relate
More tricks to find Diminished chords

CH A PT ER 7
Maj or and Mi nor Chords Page 103
Using the starting position to find major and
minor chords
Greensleeves
Be Still My Soul

CH A PT ER 8
The Ext ra St uff Page 116
An introduction to 9ths and 13ths
Slash Chords

CH A PT ER 9
Usi ng t he Syst em Page 132
The Water is Wide
They Didnt Believe Me

Introduction
I N T R O D U C T I O N

Introduction part 1: Breaking
chords down to their essential
elements
When people first start to learn to play piano chords, they probably learn a few of
them either out of a chord encyclopedia or out of a general book on how to play
piano. The problem with the way chords are taught in these books is that they
demonstrate the chords in a way they are easy to understand, rather than in a way
in which theyll sound the best. So, youll learn a chord usually all in one octave
starting around middle C.

C Major as you might see it in a chord encyclopedia
Middle C
R R 3 5

Youll notice that we have four notes here, the Root, the 3
rd
, the 5
th
and the octave
of the Root.

The problem is, youll hardly ever see a C chord in music used in this fashion.
Usually, only part of the chord is used, and usually its divided up between the left
and the right hand.

In this book, well learn how to structure your chords so that they sound great and
are easy to find and play. Also, well learn how to move between chords in a way
that sounds great another thing a chord encyclopedia cant teach you.

Lets look again at the chord diagram of the C chord. First of all, the 5
th
is not
necessary so lets drop it for now. We want to simplify the chords and learn the
most essential elements and leave out the extra stuff while we are learning the
basics of the system. Later, youll be very glad that we kept it simple. As my
grandfather the circus clown always used to say, learn to juggle three balls before
trying to juggle six balls, a scimitar, and a flaming torch. So for now leave out the
5
th
. That will give us this:

1
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N A T E S T H R E E F I N G E R P I A N O M E T H O D

C Major leaving out t he unnecessary fift h
R R 3

Now another thing were going to learn in the book is what notes in a chord you
can double. While doubling the Root of the chord is perfectly fine and nice
sounding thing to do when you want your chord to sound fuller, it is also
unnecessary so again, lets leave out the unnecessary elements. So take off the
higher Root.

C Major leaving out t he unnecessarily doubling of t he Root
R 3

Now we are down to the essential elements in a C chord: the Root and the 3
rd
.

Now were going to do one more thing to the chord, which is were going to drop
the Root down the octave.

C Major Root dropped down t he oct ave
Play in left hand
R 3

When you listen to music on the radio, there is usually a melody line (usually sung)
and there are chords played on such instruments as a piano, keyboard or guitar,
and there is usually a bass line. We want to imitate these three distinct voices
when we play on the piano. By dropping the Root down an octave, we move it
down into the bass range, where it might be played on a string bass or an electric
bass.

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Introduction part 2: Chord Quality
When you learn piano chords, its better to understand how they are constructed
than to memorize them one by one. This is because there are patterns in the way
chords are constructed that will allow you remember them more easily.

For example, many chords are one note away from being other chords. The
chord:

C Maj or 7t h

R 7
3

has only one note different from

C Domi nant 7t h

7
R
3

Do you see how only the middle note is different?

What if next time you wanted to figure out a chord, instead of looking in a chord
encyclopedia, you said to yourself, Oh, Ill just take the middle note down a key?

Knowing how chords are constructed will keep you from having to always refer to
chord encyclopedias.

Knowing how chords are constructed also will help you when you get into playing
more creatively and improvising. Specifically, youll know how to move from one
chord more smoothly to the next, and youll know which notes in a chord to
choose depending on the melody note.

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Chart 1: Seven Flavors of C chords

Dominant7
th
Major 7
th

Minor
Major

Diminished 7th
Minor 7
th

Diminished

In this book, the notes
played in the right hand
are written in notation
AND written below the
staff, for those who dont
read music

As you can see from the notes written underneath the staff, most of these chords
are only a note or two different from the rest of the chords.

Learning the differences between these seven different qualities and how to find
them quickly is the major focus of this book.

The first chord above in chart 1 would look like this on the keyboard.

C Maj or 7t h

C B
E

Played in right hand

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Sevent h Chords

All Seventh chords are made up of these three chord elements: The Root, the 3
rd

and the 7
th
. In fact, Seventh chords are so named because they contain the 7
th
. As
youll remember from above,

to make a simple C chord, all you needed was
the Root
and
the 3
rd
.

To Make a C major 7
th
chord, you would need
the Root,
the 3
rd

and
the 7
th
.

The first four chords below are 7
th
chords.

The Root of the chord
is in the name of the
chord. The Root of
all these chords is the
note C.

The next row is the 7
th

of these chords
The top row is the 3
rd

of these chords

Both the 3
rd
of a Seventh chord and the 7
th
of a Seventh chord can either be Major
or Minor. See in chart 1 how some of the notes have the note E and some have
the note Eb? E is the Major 3
rd
above C. Eb is the minor 3
rd
of above C.

Depending on the pattern of 3rds and 7ths in the chord, it will be one of these
qualities of 7
th
chords.

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Here are the four seventh chords above put on a piano diagram for you. Play
through them and notice how the Major and Minor 3rds and 7ths sound.

C Maj or Sevent h

R
3 7

Major 7
th
and Major 3rd

C Mi nor Sevent h

7
3
R

Minor 7
th
and Minor 3rd

C Domi nant Sevent h

7
R
3

Minor 7
th
but Major 3
rd
creates
Major vs. Minor clash!
C Di mi ni shed Sevent h

3
7
R

Diminished 7
th
and Minor 3
rd
(same
clash as in Dominant, but with both 3
rd

and 7
th
down a half-step)

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Non-Sevent h Chords

The last three chords below are non-seventh chords.

The top row is the 3
rd

of these chords

The next row is the 5
th

of these chords

The non-seventh chords that youll learn in this book are commonly called triads,
because they traditionally use three notes, the Root, the 3
rd
and the fifth. But you
dont need the fifth, you could simply play the Root and 3
rd
.

C Maj or

R
3

5
C Mi nor

Major 3rd
3
Minor 3
rd
5 R

C Di mi ni shed

5
3
R
Flat Fifth

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Introduction part 3: Chord Quality
determined by 3
rd
and 7
th
of chord

Look at the chart below. Youll see the same seven

qualities of C chords we saw
previously in chart 1, except that now the interval from the Root of the chord is
written underneath the staff instead of the note name.

If a chord has a minor 3
rd
, it
will have a mellower, sadder
sound.

If a chord has a major 3
rd
, it will
have a brighter more energetic
sound.

Minor chord (m)
Diminished chord (dim)
Minor 7
th
chord (m7)
Diminished 7
th
chord (dim7)
Major chord (no symbol)
Major 7
th
chord (M7)
Dominant chord (7)

Root wi t h Mi nor 3
rd
(C and Eb)

Root wi t h Maj or 3
rd
(C and E)

R
3
These four chord
qualities will contain at
least the Root and the
Minor 3
rd
.
These three chord
qualities will contain at
least the Root and the
Major 3rd
R
3

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Using Nates Three Finger Piano Method, youll find the starting position for a
chord, and then youll learn how to move the fingers in order to reach the final
chord. This is going to save a lot of time during the learning process.

St art i ng posi t i on

R R 4

Act ual Chord

R 7
3

Do you see which notes moved between the Starting position above and the
actual chord? Thats right, the top two notes both moved to the left.

Learning the chords using this starting position will help you to see how different
qualities of chords with the same root are related.

For example, how

C Maj or 7t h

R 7
3

relates to

C Mi nor 7t h

7
3
R

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Do you notice how in the C Minor 7
th
chord the 7
th
and the 3
rd
are down one key
from where they are in the C Major 7
th
chord?

Here the 7
th
and 3
rd
are Major:

C Maj or 7t h

R 7
3

And here the 7
th
and 3
rd
are Minor:

C Mi nor 7t h

7
3
R

Since t he qualit y of a chord is det ermined by t he 3
rd
and 7
th
of t he chord,
all we need t o make a great sounding chord is t he root , t he sevent h and
t he t hird. There are many more not es you can add, but at first youll
want t o keep it simple

If t he chord is a non-7
th
chord, all youll is t he Root and t he 3
rd

This relationship will be true for all Major 7
th
and Minor 7
th
chords. Once you
know this logic, youll know how to find chords you havent memorized!

For example, if you need to find F Minor 7
th
from F Major 7
th
, youll just lower the
top two notes down a half-step each.

The top two keys of

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F Mi nor 7t h

7
3
R

are each down one key from the top two keys of
F Maj or 7t h

R 7
3

.
Ok, well, how do we find the 7
th
and 3
rd
? From the reference point, from this
starting position.

The starting position will put us close to the 3
rd
and 7
th
, but leave open whether
they are major and minor.

For example, the starting position for all C Chords will look like this:

St art i ng posi t i on f or C chords

C, C and F

or

the Root,
Root and 4
th

from the note
C.
R R 4
Heres the starting position written with the note names


C C F

Well learn rules on how to arrive at the different qualities of chords from the
starting position.

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For example. To find C Major 7
th
, you would know to move the top two notes down
a half-step from the starting position.


R R 4

Top 2 not es down st ep
f or Maj or 7
t h
chords:

C Maj or 7t h

R 7 3

If you want to get into the nitty-gritty theory of it,

The Major 3
rd
is down a half-step from the 4
th

and the

The Major 7
th
is down a half-step from the Root.

But instead of thinking of these pitches individually, the system will allow you to
find them as a unit! Once you know how to find the starting position, and you

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start to learn the rules on how to find certain qualities, youll find you can read
chord symbols very quickly. In fact, I taught one student who had played piano
for years but didnt know how to read chord symbols. She learned the system and
played very well with it after only 20 minutes! Now many of you it will take weeks
to master because you dont have the foundation in theory that she had. But if
youll take the time to understand the logic, the system will fall into place for you
very quickly!

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The Essentials of Nates Three Finger Piano Method
Heres a quick sketch of the system. If this doesnt make sense yet, dont worry, Ill work through
this in more detail in the upcoming chapters.

1. m7 chords. If the chord is a Minor seventh chord, move the top two notes
down two keys (two half-steps) each from the starting position.
C Mi nor 7t h

7
3
R

2. M7 chords. If the chord is a Major seventh chord, move the top two notes
down one key (one half-steps) each from the starting position.

C Maj or 7t h

R 7 3

3. 7 chords. If the chord is a dominant seventh chord, move the top note
down one key and the middle note down two.
C Domi nant 7t h

7
3 R

4. di m7 chords. If the chord is a diminished seventh, move the top note
down two keys and the middle note down three.
C Di mi ni shed 7t h

3
7 R

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The Essentials of Nates Three Finger Piano Method for
Non-Seventh Chords

1. m chords. If the chord is a Minor chord, move the top note down two keys
(two half-steps) from the starting position; then move the middle note down a 4
th

(Ill teach you fourths soon!)
C Mi nor

3
R 5

2. M chords. If the chord is a Major chord, move the top note down one key
(one half-step) from the starting position; then move the middle note down a 4
th
.

C Maj or

R 3 5

3. di m chords. If the chord is a Diminished chord, move the top note down
two keys (two half-steps) from the starting position; the move the middle note
down a 4
th
, and then move the middle note down a half-step (so that its the flat
fifth!)

C Di mi ni shed

5
3
R

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A Not e on Fi ngeri ng:

Depending on the melody note, you may use different fingering. Generally for
now, play the root in the left and all the other notes in the right. This is how you
would play if youre doing chord stabs in the right hand and a walking bass in the
left.

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A more advanced discussion of mixing t he melody
and t he chords
The following discussion maybe too difficult for those who are very new to reading
music, so if you find this too much to grasp, skip it for now and go on to chapter 1.
The first thing were going to learn is how to find chords from the symbols written in
popular fake books. Look at the example below. Youll see a written melody with
chord symbols written above certain notes. You will hit the chords on those notes.

As you become more sophisticated in your playing, you may hit them around those
notes. There are many ways to do this, and we will get into those in later chapters.
To understand the sort of thinking involved in playing the above example, I want to
walk you through it. You obviously, dont know how to find the elements of the
chords yet, so just pretend you do, for a minute so that you can understand where Im
taking you in the book, before you set out on the journey!
On the word am from I am a melody, youll see you have the note E in the
melody and a CM7 chord written above. Using Nates three finger piano method,
youll learn to find a CM7 chord quickly.
So assuming you already know this, youll see that youll need to play:
C in the left hand (the Root)
B and E in the right hand
E in the melody (which always goes on top)

Now since E is both the top note of your chord, and the melody note (which should
generally go on top), you see you have some overlap. This means, youll only be
playing 3 notes, instead of the four notes you would play if the melody note were
different from the notes in the chord.
So it would look like this on the keyboard:

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C Major 7
t h
7 R 3

The R stands for Root, which will be played in the left hand.
Both the melody and the top
note of the chord
The 7 stands for the 7
th
of the chord, and it will be middle note (for now)
The 3 stands for the 3
rd
of the chord, and it will be the top note (for now)
OK, so now lets look at the next part of this selection. On the dy of melody,
youll see we have Am7 with C (an octave above middle C) in the melody.
So again assuming you already know the method, youll see that you need:

A in the left hand (the Root)
G and C in the right hand
C in the melody (which always goes on top)

Now, again youll see the the top note of your chord and the melody note are
redundant, so again, youll only play three notes.
A Minor 7
t h
R 3 7

As in the last example, the
melody and the top note of the
chord are the same.

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OK, lets look at the next part. Using Nates Three Finger Piano Method, youll see
that you need:

D in the left hand (the Root)
C and F in the right hand
E in the melody (which always goes on top)
Now we have a problem. Its much easier when the melody and the top of the chord
are the same note. So we need to put E on top, so take the F (the top note of the
chord) down the octave and youll have a decent solution:
This is how Dm7 usually looks:
D Minor 7
t h

7 R 3

Now if you add the melody note on top, and take the top note of the chord down an
octave, so as not to conflict with the melody note, youll get this:

Dm7 wit h t he melody not e E added
7 M R 3

M Stands for Melody
Note

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Now later on in this book, well learn that the note E is the 9
th
of the D chord, so you
could call the above chord Dm9 instead of Dm7 with the melody note E added.
Many times in fake books such as the Ultimate Jazz Fakebook C Edition, youll see a
9
th
chord written, but it is the melody note as well, so you dont need to figure out the
9
th
. The 9
th
of the chord is always optional anyway, so while youre learning to read
chords, you can just leave it out at first (Unless, of course, its also the melody note!).
OK, now to the next part of the selection. Using Nates Three Finger Piano Method,
youll find that you need to play:

G in the left hand (the Root)
F and B in the right hand
D in the melody (which always goes on top)

Now if you play your G7 chord so that all three notes fall below middle C, you can just
add the D melody note on top, like this:

G Dominant 7
t h
wit h added melody not e D
7 3 R M

You c an pl ay t he t op t hr ee
not es i n t he r i ght hand
OK, now to our final part of this selection. You see you have a C chord, with C in the
melody. Using Nates Three Finger Piano Method, you see that all you need to make a
C chord is the Root and the 3
rd
.
C in the left hand (the Root)
E in the right hand
C in the melody (which always goes on top)

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Now, you can always add the fifth to a chord to make it richer, and in this case, since
you only have two distinct notes in your chord, I think its a good idea, so add the fifth
as well.
C
3 R

C wit h added 5t h
3 R 5

C wit h added 5
t h
and C in t he melody
M
R 3 5

I took the 3
rd
down the octave,
so that the melody is on top

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Chapter
1
B A C K G R O U N D I N F O Y O U L L N E E D T O K N O W

The Essent ials of Piano
Chords
All about Chords and Intervals
efore we get into the system, youll need to know some basics of music theory.
If youve already studied music, you can glance over this chapter and then
move right on to chapter 2. If youve never studied music before, you might
need to spend a little more time on this chapter.
B

Chords
A chord is a group of notes played at the same time that sound good together. For
example, go to your piano and play the note C in your left hand. (Its the note thats
just to the left of the two black keys.)

C
E

Now in your right hand, play the note E. (Its the note just to the right of the two
black keys).
These two notes played together make a chord! Chords can have lots of notes or just
two notes.

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For example, we could add another C to the chord, just below the E, and the chord
would still sound about the same.

C
E C

Pl ay t he t op t wo
not es i n t he ri ght
hand f or now.
Fi ngeri ng doesnt
mat t er j ust yet .

Certain notes tend to change the flavor of a chord. For example, if we add the note B
Flat to the notes C and E, well get a very different sort of sound.
B Flat is the right-most of the three black keys. It is written with the flat symbol, which
looks like a cursive letter b.

B
b
C
E

So when you add the note B Flat to the notes C and E, you get whats called a C7
chord.
In sheet music, you might see it like this:

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What you see here are two chord symbols, the symbol for the chord C7 (pronounced
C Seven) and the symbol for the chord F. Underneath you see five notes. This is the
melody.
So what well want to do is play the chord along with the melody note written below it.
Often, the melody note will be part of the chord as we see here. The note E, which
is the first note of the melody, is also the top note of the C7 chord youve learned.
So you would play those three notes, the C in the left hand, the Bb and E in the right.
Then you would play the three melody notes that follow, the D, C and E. You can
either hold down the chord while you play those other notes, or let go of it, depending
on the style and your skill at the keyboard.
You would then play the next chord along with its melody note. (Well learn the F
chord in a minute.)

Thats the essence of how to use chords. Now lets learn how Chord Symbols
constructed.
HOW CHORDS SYMBOLS ARE BUILT:

ROOT QUALI TY EXTRA STUFF

F#m7b5

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Root
Usually the bottom note of a chord, the Root is the fundamental note of the chord to
which the other notes relate.

7 3 R

Root Not e

Rel at ed not es

Qualit y
The next part any chord symbol is the Quality of the chord. This changes depending
on the related notes. For example a C chord has the note E in it, while a Cm chord
(pronounced C minor) has the note Eb in it.
Heres a C chord.

C
E

Heres a Cm chord.

E
b
C

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The quality usually depends on two related notes: the third and the seventh.
For example the note E is the third of the note C. The note Eb is the minor third of
the note C.

Minor 3rd Major 3rd

When you play the Root and the third together, you get a chord. If you play C and E
together you get a C Major chord (Often just called a C chord the Major quality is
assumed). If you play C and Eb together you get a C Minor chord.

The other most important note for determining the quality of a chord is the seventh.
The seventh of the note C is the note B. The minor seventh of the note C is the note
Bb.

(The note B is just to the right of the three black keys.)

C
B

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When you play the Root, the 3
rd
and the 7
th
, you get whats called a seventh chord.

C
E B

This is a blanket term for all the different types of seventh chords.
There are four qualities of seventh chords you will see:
the Major 7
th
chord
the Minor 7
th
chord
the Dominant 7
th
chord
The Diminished 7
th
chord

Confusingly the Dominant 7
th
chord is often the default seventh chord, so if
someone said to you, play a C Seven chord, they would actually mean a dominant
chord. Most people dont use the proper term, dominant, because its a long word.
To distinguish the dominant from the other chords, these improper folks will
describe the other seventh chords by their whole name. Play C seven, and then
play C minor seven. You would understand this to mean Play C dominant, and
then play C minor seventh.
To save yourself from confusion, remember that All seven chords are seventh
chords, but not all seventh chords are seven chords.
In other words, the dominant chord (which is often called seven) is a type of
seventh chord, but not all seventh chords are dominant.
The chord above using C, B and E, is a Major 7
th
Chord. The chord on page two
using C, Bb and E is a Dominant 7
th
Chord.

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C Major 7
th
uses the notes B and E in the right hand. C Dominant 7
th
uses the notes
Bb and E in the right hand.

C Minor 7
th
uses the notes Bb and Eb in the right hand. C Diminished 7
th
uses the
notes A and Eb in the right hand.

(The note A is the right-most of the two white keys between the three black keys.)

E
b
C
A

Ext ra St uff
The extra stuff is the third thing youll see tacked on after the quality. This is for
alterations to the chord or for added-on notes. For example, the symbol C7b5
(pronounced C Seven, flat five) is just a C Dominant chord with the flat fifth added
on.

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The flat fifth of any C chord is the note G Flat. Its the left most of the three black
keys.

b
G

Heres a C7b5 chord. Compare it to the C7 chord we talked about earlier. Do you see
how its the same chord, just with one added note? Thats the essence of the extra-
stuff part of chord symbols.

B
b
b
G
C
E
Try pl ayi ng t hese
t wo not es i n t he
ri ght hand, whi l e
t he C and Bb are
pl ayed i n t he l ef t

Now the extra stuff adds some complexity to what were doing, so well leave off the
extra stuff for now. If you see C7b5, just play C7. OK? This will make things easier at
first, and then, whenever youre ready, you can it back in.

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Learning t he Sharp and Flat Not e Names
The black keys on the keyboard dont have their own names. They borrow their
names from the keys to the left and right.
For example, look below at the notes A and B. B is the note just to the right of the
three black keys. A is the right-most of the two white keys between the three black keys.
They have one note in between them, which can be named either B flat or A sharp.
In this first diagram you see the sharp names for the black keys. These names come
from the note just to the left. So C sharp is one key higher than C. Higher on the
key board means to the right on the keyboard.

D# F#
B
A
A# G# C#
F
G C D E

In this second diagram you see the flat names for the black keys. These names come
from the note just to the right. So D Flat is one key lower than the note D. Lower
on the keyboard means to the left.

Eb Gb Ab Db Bb
C
A
G
F
E D B

Lower pitches
Higher pitches

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Often, youll see sharps as the music goes up in pitch (as you move from left to right
on the keyboard).

Often, youll see flats as the music goes down in pitch (as you move from right to left
on the keyboard).

Usually a chord is spelled with either all sharps or all flats, not both. So an Eb minor
chord would only use flats. You would spell it Eb and Gb, not Eb and F#. Even if F#
is much more common way to spell that piano key.
An E flat minor chord is spelled with all flats.

b
E
b
G
You could also call this a D sharp minor chord. But then you need to spell all of the
notes with sharps.
A D sharp minor chord is spelled with all sharps.

D
# #
F

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The Int ervals Youll Need t o Know
The method this book will teach you requires you to know a few intervals. Intervals
are the distances between notes.
First of all, youll need to know half-steps. Half-steps are the smallest interval.
Basically from any one key to the next key is a half-step regardless or whether that
key is a white or black key.
Here are some examples of half-steps.
C to C# is half-step.
D to D# is a half-step.
E to F is a half-step.
D# to E is a half-step.

D# F#
B
A
A# G# C#
F
G C D E

This is what half-steps look like.

So it doesnt matter whether the key is white or black, as long as its adjacent, the
distance is a half-step.

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The next interval youll need to know is a whole-step. A whole-step is basically two
half-steps. Whole-steps have one key in between them.
For example
C to D is a whole-step (C# is in between)
D to E is a whole-step (D# is in between)
E to F# is a whole-step (F is in between)
F# to G# is a whole-step (G is in between)

D# F#
B
A
A# G# C#
F
G C D E

Examples of whole-steps. Notice most whole steps either go from a white key to a
white key, or a black key to a black key. Theyre a little tricky around the notes E and F
because there is no black key in between. So, these ones use both white and black
keys. The same is true between B and C, although you cant see it on this diagram.

Here are some of the trickier whole-steps that use both white and black keys.
Eb to F
E to F#
Bb to C
B to C#

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The last interval youll need to know for the system, and the most important one, is the
fourth.
Fourths have four keys in between.

Eb Gb Ab Db Bb
A F
G C B D E
So for example,
C to F is a fourth (Db, D, Eb and E are in between)
D to G is a fourth (Eb, E, F and Gb are in between)
F to Bb is a fourth (Gb, G, Ab, and A are in between)
Easy Two Easy Tricks for Finding Fourt hs

Bet ween Whi t e Keys
To find a fourth between white keys, just skip two white keys. So for example:
To find a fourth above C, skip two white keys (C and D) and youll find the
fourth, F.
To find a fourth above D, skip two white keys (D and F) and youll find the
fourth, G.
Just watch out for the one exception! F to B is not a fourth. See below under
Exceptions.

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Bet ween Bl ack Keys
To find a fourth between black keys, just skip one black key. So for example:
To find a fourth above Db, skip one black key (Eb) and youll find the fourth,
Gb.
To find a fourth above Eb, skip one black key (Gb) and youll find the fourth,
Ab
Just watch out for the one exception! Gb to Bb is not a fourth. See below under
Exceptions.
Except ions
There are two exceptions to our trick for finding fourths. Here they are.
Except i on 1
If you use the trick for white keys starting on F, it doesnt work. This is the one
exception to the white key rule.
F to B is not a fourth! The skip two white keys rule will mislead you here. You just
have to memorize this exception.

B
F

The fourth above F is Bb.

Bb
F

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Except i on 2
If you use the trick for black keys starting on F# (or Gb same note just spelled
differently) it doesnt work. This is the one exception to the black key rule.
F# to A# (or Gb to Bb) is not a fourth! The skip one black key rule will mislead
you here. You just have to memorize this one exception.

F# A#
The fourth is F# to B!

F#
B

Heres a list of fourths. For homework, see if you can find them all on the piano:
C to F
C# to F#
D to G
Eb to Ab
E to A
F to Bb (exception to the white key rule)
F# to Bb (exception to the black key rule)
G to C
G# to C#

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Ab to Db
A to D
Bb to Eb
B to E

The Essent ial Element s of a Chord
So far weve talked about the Root, the 3
rd
and the 7
th
. The Root is the foundation of
the chord around which the other notes relate. The 3
rd
and 7
th
are the notes that
determine the quality of the chord.
There is one more element of the chord that you will see much more in other chord
books, but I try to minimize, and thats the fifth. The fifth is not an essential element
of the chord. You will often see it in other chord books because they teach you the
chords in terms of triads. Triads are chords that use the Root, 3
rd
and 5
th
(all three
notes are third away from one another, hence the name triad).
The fifth helps strengthen a chord and make it more powerful, but it can also cause
problems as far as voice leading, and until you are more advanced, I would
recommend leaving it out. Eventually, when your ear is stronger, youll sense when
you should add a little fifth, or when you should leave it out.
On the following pages, well review the essential elements of a chord and how to find
them.

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The Third
The third is the next most essential note in a chord after the root. In fact, you can
make a chord with simply the root and 3
rd
. Remember the 3
rd
for C Major? Thanks
right, E.

3 R

Root Not e

The t hi rd

Major Thirds and Minor Thirds
Thirds can either be higher or lower in pitch. If they are higher in pitch, they will be
more to the right on the keyboard.

3 R

Maj or 3
rd
i s furt her t o t he
ri ght on t he keyboard
Root Not e

And if theyre lower in pitch, theyll be more to the left on the keyboard.

3
R

Root Not e
Mi nor 3
rd
i s furt her t o t he
l ef t on t he keyboard

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Finding t he Minor or Major 3
rd
of a chord
In this book well be learning to find the 3rds of your chord by first finding the 4
th
and
then counting down either a half-step or whole-step.
This is why we needed to learn how to find fourths!
The minor 3
rd
will be down a whole-step from the 4th

3
4
R

The 4t h

Root Not e
Mi nor 3
rd
i s down a whol e-
st ep f rom t he 4t h

The major 3
rd
will be down a half-step from the 4th

3
4
R

The 4t h

Root Not e
Maj or 3
rd
i s down a hal f -
st ep f rom t he 4t h

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Practice finding the Major 3rd

First, find C on the key keyboard with your left hand.

C

Then pair it with another C higher on the keyboard (further to the right).

C
C

Now find the note up a fourth from the higher C. Remember the rule for white notes?
Just skip two white notes to find it. (So skip D and E, and youll land on F). To test to
make sure its a fourth, you can count the number of keys in between, and it should be
four. (So, Db, D, Eb and E thats four!)

C
C F
Now to find the major 3
rd
, just take the top note down a half-step. And there we have
the Major 3
rd
, the note E. If you play all three notes, youll get a C Major chord.

C
C E

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Practice finding the Minor 3rd


C


C
C

Now find the note up a fourth from the higher C, which is F.

C
C F
Now to find the minor 3
rd
, just take the top note down a whole-step. Remember, with
a whole step we skip one note (in this case the note E), so the minor 3
rd
is the note Eb.
If you play all three notes, youll have a C minor chord.

b
E
C
C

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The Fift h
The fifth is an extra note that is added for flavor. Unlike the 3
rd
, its not necessary to
make most chords.

5
3 R

Root Not e
The f i f t h
The t hi rd

Finding t he fift h
The fifth can be found down a 4
th
from the Root. Another good reason to know how
to find fourths!.

5
3 R R

The f i f t h down a 4
t h
f rom
t he Root

Root Not e (up t he
oct ave)

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Triads
Triads are chords that use only the Root, 3
rd
and 5
th
.

5 3 R

7
th
Chords
7
th
chords use the Root, 3
rd
and 5
th
, and add one additional note, the 7
th
.

5 3 7 R

Finding t he 7
th
The 7
th
of a chord is a lot like the 3
rd
of a chord, except, instead of finding it from the
4
th
, youll find it from the Root.

5 3 7 R

Down st ep f rom 4
t h

Down st ep f rom
Root

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The minor 7
th
will be down a whole-step from the Root

7
R
R

Root (up t he
oct ave)

Root Not e
Mi nor 7
t h
i s down a whol e-
st ep f rom t he Root

The major 7
th
will be down a half-step from the Root

7
R
R

Root (up t he
oct ave)

Root Not e
Maj or 7
t h
i s down a hal f -
st ep f rom t he Root

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Practice finding the Major 7th


C


C
C

th
, all you need to do is go down a half-step from the higher C.
Remember, a half-step is the next (adjacent) note.

C
B

If you play these two notes, by the way, its not a chord, because a chord needs a third.

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Practice finding the Minor 7th


C


C
C
th
, all you need to do is go down a whole-step from the higher
C. Remember, with a whole step you skip one note (in this case the note B). B flat is
the minor 7
th
of C.

B
b
C

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Finding t he 7
th
and 3
rd
in pairs
One of the best tricks youll learn in this book is to think of the 7
th
and 3
rd
in pairs
when finding them. This will eliminate many steps and allow you to visualize them
more easily on the keyboard.

7 3 R

Root Not e

Bot h not es down a st ep f rom
st art i ng posi t i on

The St art ing Posit ion
The starting position is a visual guide to help you find any chord; it is a valuable
learning tool while learning to read chords. A fancy way to describe would be that its
a metachord a reference point to the other chords youll learn.
Since the 3
rd
is found from the fourth, and the 5
th
and seventh are found from the
Root, you will want to start with The Root and the 4
th
.

4
R

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So our starting position will look like this. Its going to be the Root note, twice (in
octaves) and then the note a fourth above the higher root.

The St art i ng Posi t i on

R 4
R
How well use t he St art ing Posit ion.
Once you have found the starting position for a chord, youll move down to find the
major or minor 7ths depending on the quality of the chord. This will be discussed in
great length in later chapters.
But lets look at an example quickly.
If you take the top two notes down a half-step each youll get a Major 7
th
chord. For C
Major 7
th
, the top two notes would be B and E.

Maj or 7
t h
chord

R 3
7

Maj 7
t h
and t he Maj 3
rd
If you take the top two notes down a whole-step each youll get a Minor 7
th
chord. For
C minor 7
th
, the top two notes would be Bb and Eb.

Mi nor 7
t h
chord

7 3
R

Mi n 7
t h
and t he Mi n 3
rd

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From t he st art ing posit ion youll find different
qualit ies of chords
As you can see, once you have found the starting position for a chord, its simply a
matter of knowing the right moves to find the quality of chord you want.
If you are looking for an F minor 7th chord, you would first, find the starting position
for F:
St art ing Posit ion for F Chords
4
R R

You would then take the top two notes down a whole-step each. (Remember,
down means to the left on the keyboard). This would give you an F minor 7
th

chord.

F Minor 7
t h
7
3
R

So you can see the system breaks down into two major parts:
First, learning to find the starting position for the all 12 keys.
Then, learning the moves from the starting position (in terms of half-steps and
whole-steps) to finding the final chord
While learning the system takes some thought, it will save you from having to think in
the long run, because youll know the theory in a visual way, rather than having
memorized the chords by rote, therefore youll be much more flexible to improvise
around a melody with accompaniment you come up with.

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An Overview of Nat es Three Finger Piano Met hod
Steps 1-2: Finding the Starting Position
At first, you will want to find the Root of the chord in octaves, then the fourth above
the higher root. This will be the starting position.
For example, for all C chords, you will find C, C and F. Then depending on whether
its Major 7
th
, Minor 7
th
or many other qualities of chords, well move the top two notes
to find the chord.

The St art i ng Posi t i on f or Al l C Chords

R R 4

Step 3: Finding the Quality from the Starting Position
Depending on the quality of the chord (M, m, 7, M7, m7, dim7), you will move the top
two notes to the left in certain patterns.
The 7 Common Qualities of Chords
(You dont need to know all of this right now,
just take a quick look at it for now)
M Major Chord{R, Major 3
rd
}
m Minor Chord {R, Minor 3
rd
}
dim Diminished Chord {R, Minor 3
rd
, Flat 5
th
}
M7 Major 7
th
Chord{R, Major 7
th
and Major 3
rd
}
m7 Minor 7
th
Chord {R, Minor 7
th
and Minor 3
rd
}
7 Dominant 7
th
Chord {R, Minor 7
th
and Major 3
rd
}
dim7 Diminished 7
th
Chord {R, Diminished 7
th
and Minor 3
rd
}

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3 6
Chapter
2
F O U R T H S A N D H O W T O F I N D T H E M

Fourths
The interval youll use most in the system is the 4th.
Nates Three Finger Piano Method uses the interval of the fourth a lot so were going
to take this chapter to get to know this very important interval.
Look at the diagram below. Each of these notes is a fourth away from the next.

F C G
D A E

Can you figure out the pattern between them? Try counting the white keys between
them. Do you see how there are two white keys between of these keys with a letter
written on it?
This is going to be our rule for finding fourths between white keys.

Rule: To find fourths between white keys, go up three white keys, or down three
white keys.
Now to show you a little of how the system works. I want you to play the first note on
this chart, the note E.

E

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Now play both E and A.

A E

Now I want you to play the black key just to the left of A. This note is called G sharp.

E
#
G

Now play both E and G#. Since the note A is a fourth above E, the note just to the
left is called the major 3
rd
. So G# is the major 3
rd
of E. They sound nice together,
dont they? A major chord can be made simply from a note and its major 3
rd
. Of
course in music, the third will probably be an octave higher than the root note like
this:

E
#
G

Now lets go back and find E again, only this time, lets find the note E higher on the
keyboard.

E

Now find the note a fourth down from E. Remember its the third white key down
(skip two white keys).

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You should get this note:

B

Now play them together:

E B

Now add back in your note G#:

E B
E
#
G

Play the
bottom note
here in the
left hand.
So the note E is the root of the chord. The note G# is the major 3
rd
, and the note B?
The note B is the fifth.
It maybe a little confusing at first, but the 5
th
of a chord is down a fourth from the root!

Rule: The 5
th
of a chord is down a fourth from the root.

6 7 E
3 2
B 4
E

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Now this principle will work for all of these chords. Say you want to form a D chord,
look at the fourths chart again.

F C G
D A E

The fifth will be the note a fourth to the left (A).
The third will be down a half-step from the note a fourth to the right (F#)

G
D A

D
#
F
A

So this is a D chord. Very easy to find when you know fourths!
Of course, the root will usually be played down an octave or two.

#
F
D A

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How about a G chord? Again, look at the fourths chart.

F C G
D A E

Now take the notes a fourth up and a fourth down.

C G
D

Now find the note down a half-step from the highest note. This time it wont be a
black key, because there isnt a black key to the left of the top note.

B G
D

And there you go, the G chord. Now try it with the middle note down an octave (and
in the left hand)

B G
D

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Fourt hs bet ween t he black keys on t he Piano
Below you see another chart of notes a fourth apart, only this time, between black keys.
Do you see how there is one black key between each key with a name label on it? This
is our rule for black keys.

B

b
A

b
E

b
G

b
D

b

Rule: To find fourths between black keys go down two black keys, or up two
black keys (skip one black key).
The same process I was showing you for finding major chords works with the black
keys as well. For example, lets say we want to find the chord Ab Major. Simply take
Ab, the note a fourth to the left on the keyboard and the note a fourth to the right on
the keyboard this will be your starting position for figuring out the chord.

A

b
E

b
D

b

Now take the right-most key down a half-step and youll have a major chord.

C
A

b
E

b

So this is an Ab Major chord. You could also take the middle note (the root) down an
octave or two and play it in the left hand.

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The First Except ion t o t he Fourt hs Rule.
There are two exceptions to the fourths rule. First, remember the rule for white keys,
well, this doesnt work between the notes F and B. These two notes, even though they
have two white keys between them, are NOT a fourth! This exception you simply
have to memorize. The fourth above F is Bb.

B F

NOT A
FOURTH

A Fourt h Above F is Bb. A Fourt h Below Bb is F.

F
b
B

An Exceptional Fourth

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The Second Except ion t o t he Fourt hs Rule.
The interval between F# and A#, while it skips one black key is NOT a fourth. But
F# to B is!

A
F
#
#

NOT A
FOURTH

A Fourt h Above F# is B. A Fourt h Below B is F#.

F
#
B

An Exceptional Fourth

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Pract ice Finding Chords Around t he Except ional
Fourt hs
To find an F chord, youll need a fourth above, Bb, and a fourth below, C.

C
B

b
F

Then take the top note down a half-step, so Bb will go to A.

A
C
F

This is an F chord. The note C is the fifth, the note A is the major 3
rd
.
How about an Bb chord? You can use the rule for black keys to find the note above
(Eb), but the fourth below is one of the exceptions, so you just have to know that a
fourth below Bb is F.

b
B E

b
F
OK, now take the top note down a half-step and youll have a Bb chord.

D
b
B
F

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OK, now lets look at chords that are built using the fourth between F# and B. The
first such a chord is the chord F# major. Heres F# and the notes a fourth down and
a fourth up from F#.
#
C
#
F
B

OK, now bring the top note down a half-step. This is an F# Major chord.
#
A
#
C
#
F

How about a B chord? The fourth down from B is F# and the fourth above B is E.

E
#
F
B

Now take the top note down a half-step and youll have a B chord.

D
#
F
#
B

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Now practice finding fourths on the keyboard, from this notation. In this first
example, you see two measures of music. In the first measure are the notes A and E
played simultaneously. In the second measure, you will take the A down a half-step to
G# (to the black key just to the left of A). Above these two notes, youll see the chord
symbol for the chord E, which is simply the letter E.

Heres another example. The D, the fourth above it (G) and then the note a half-
step down from G, F#. F# is the major 3
rd
of a D chord.

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Four t hs St udy One

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Four t hs St udy Tw o

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Four t hs St udy Thr ee

If you feel you know your fourths and would like to test yourself, visit the online quiz:
http://www.patternpiano.com/fourths/

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Usi ng Four t hs t o Fi nd C Chor ds

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Usi ng Four t hs t o Fi nd F Chor ds

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Usi ng Four t hs t o Fi nd G Chor ds

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Usi ng Four t hs t o Fi nd Bb Chor ds

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Usi ng Four t hs t o Fi nd D Chor ds

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Usi ng Four t hs t o Fi nd Eb
Chor ds

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Usi ng Four t hs t o Fi nd A Chor ds

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Usi ng Four t hs t o Fi nd Ab Chor ds

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Usi ng Four t hs t o Fi nd E Chor ds

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Usi ng Four t hs t o Fi nd Db Chor ds

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Usi ng Four t hs t o Fi nd B Chor ds

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Usi ng Four t hs t o Fi nd Gb Chor ds

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Chapter
3
M A J O R 7
T H
C H O R D S A N D H O W T O F I N D T H E M

Chapter 3: Major 7
th
Chords and
How to Find Them
OK, Now lets get into using the system!
Demonst rat ion: Finding CM7 and Cm7 from t he
St art ing Posit ion for all C Chords
St art ing Posit ion for C Chords
R R 4

From the Starting Position (R, R and 4
th
), you will move the top two notes down a
half-step each to find a Major 7
th
Chord.

C Major 7
t h

7 R 3

Dow n a hal f -st ep f r om
St ar t i ng Posi t i on

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M A J O R 7
T H

From the Starting Position (R, R and 4
th
), you will move the top two notes down a
whole-step each to find a Minor 7
th
Chord.

C Minor 7
t h

7
3
R

Note: a whole step is the same as two half-steps.
Dow n a w hol e-st ep f r om
St ar t i ng Posi t i on

NOTE: People sometimes are confused that you move the top two notes a half-
step for a Major 7
th
and a whole step for a Minor 7
th
.
They wonder, why do you move more for minor than major?

The starting position is higher in pitch, and therefore more to the right on the
keyboard than any of the final chords. Thats why you move further to the left
for a Minor 7
th
chord than a Major 7
th
chord, because the Root and 4
th
(in the
starting position) are the highest position in the chord, you will be moving down
(to the left) to find the 7
th
and and 3
rd
of each chord.

-----------------------------
When you talk about high and low on the keyboard, high is more to the
right, low is more to the left.

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M A J O R 7
T H

Nat es Three Finger Piano Met hod: Finding t he
St art ing Posit ion
St ep 1
Fi nd t he Root of t he Chord i n Oct aves. If its a C Major 7
th
Chord, you would find
two Cs:

R R

Play the left Root in the left hand and the right Root in the right hand.

If the chord were F# Major 7
th
Chord, you would find two F#s:

R
R

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M A J O R 7
T H

St ep 2
Now find the root in your right hand and f i nd t he not e a 4t h above (to the right). If
youre finding a C Major 7
th
Chord, the 4
th
above the Root (C) would be F.

R R 4

If youre finding a F# Major 7
th
Chord, the 4
th
above Root (F#) would be B.

R
4
R

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M A J O R 7
T H

Finding t he Qualit y from t he St art ing Posit ion
What you have so far is what well call the st art i ng posi t i on. The starting position is
the Root of the chord in octaves with the fourth above the higher root (the one in your
right hand). The Third step is to move the top two notes to left. You will do it one of
six different ways. The first way is when you want to find a Major 7
th
Chord.
St ep 3 f or Maj or Sevent h Chords, Move the top two notes (the higher Root and 4
th
)
down a half-step (one key to the left). For C Major 7
th
(CM7):

C Major 7
t h

R R 4
3
7 R

For F Major 7
th
(FM7):

F Major 7
t h

4
R R
7 R 3

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M A J O R 7
T H

OK, while you dont have to read music to understand this book, it will help if you
have a sense of it.
Here are steps one through 3 for both CM7 and FM7. If you read music, this will be a
review of the last few pages. If you dont read music, use this opportunity to try to
start understanding music some.

Here is the same thing, but with the notes written out for those of you who dont read
music well yet.
The bottom
note (the
Root) will be
played in the
left hand, and are written here in
the bottom staff. Most of the
time, I wont write out the bass
for you, since the bass note is
given in the chord name.
Top two notes
are written on
the top staff,
and are played
in the right
hand

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M A J O R 7
T H

Pract icing moving from CM7 t o FM7
These two chords are quite common, and I want you to familiarize yourself with them
right away, because I will be using various C and F chords to demonstrate much of the
theory in this book. Yes, there are many other chords, but it will be easier to
understand the concepts if we just concentrate on these two roots for now.

In the first measure above, youll see the two chords you learned on the previous page
written out in notation. The numbers underneath indicate what chord degree the
notes represent. In other words, in the first chord, CM7, the 3 represents that the top
note of that chord is the 3
rd
. The 7 represents that the middle note of that chord is the
7
th
.
Where is the bottom note? Well, to save space in the book, Ive written only the
treble clef. The bottom note will always be written in the chord name. So for the first
chord, the bottom note (played in the left hand) is C! For the next chord, its F! Thats
easy isnt it. This is also good practice, because fake books dont give you the bass
either!

Common tone
Here, Ive given you the same selection, but with the note names written underneath
(very handy if you dont read music). Notice that in the second measure the 3
rd
o f the
CM7 chord (E) becomes the 7
th
o f the FM7 (E, as well, of course). This is a
phenomenon that will become very clear to you as we go through the book. Thats
because these two chords are related by the circle of fifths. I know, it sounds

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mysterious and powerful doesnt it? Like Stonehenge or the Knights of the Round
Table. But the circle of fifths is quite easy. All it means is that the roots of the two
chords are related by a 4
th
.

C to F is a 4
th
Chords t hat are rel at ed by t he ci rcl e of f i f t hs are used all the time in every style of
music from Bach to Rap. Because they are used so often, it is good to learn patterns of
chords moving around the circle of fifths with smooth voice leading.
Smoot h Voi ce l eadi ng means that the notes in one chord move to the notes in the
next chord in the smoothest way possible. As you can see below, in the second
measure, the B moves down a whole-step to the A, which is much smoother than what
happens in the first measure, where the B jumps up almost a whole octave to the A.

Poor voi ce Leadi ng Smoot h voi ce Leadi ng

Top note stays the
same, bottom note
moves down a
whole step: much
smoother!
Both notes jump a
4
th
: not smooth
Voices are the notes in a chord. If the top note of each chord above is a voice, in
would stay on the same note in the second measure (which is quite smooth) and it
would jump up a 4
th
in the first measure (not very smooth). The middle voice drops
down a whole step in the second measure (a smaller, smoother interval), and it jumps
up a 4
th
(the same as the top note) in the first measure (not very smooth).
As you can see, playing chords with smooth voice leading is a very desirable skill to
learn, and we will discuss it in the second half of this book but first, youll have to
learn how to find the notes in chords before you learn how to move smoothly between

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them. In this book, we will learn two ways to play chords in the first one, well put
the 3
rd
on top and the 7
th
in the middle.
As soon as you start to grow confident playing them in this first voicing, we will learn
the second voicing, in which the order of the notes are reversed: the 7
th
will be on top
and the 3
rd
in the middle. This is the voicing of FM7 you see in the second measure up
above. By switching the order of the 7
th
and 3
rd
of the second chord when you switch
between two chords related by the circle of fifths you will create very smooth,
pleasing chord changes.

Since these patterns are used so often, it is usually preferable to memorize these
changes or groups of two chords, and how to move between them smoothly, rather
than learning the chords individually. So, for those who can start memorizing these
patterns right away before learning all the chords, I would recommend it. When you
read, If you can look at two chords and know what to do instead of one, it will allow
you to read faster as well as smoother.

Moving from CM7 to FM7 with Smooth Voice Leading

C Major 7
t h

7 R 3

F Major 7
t h

7 R 3

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Things to remember when moving around the circle of fifths between two chords:
The root will go up a fourth
the top note stays the same
the middle note drops either a whole step or a half-step (depending on the
qualities of the chord If moving from a Major 7
th
to a Major 7
th
, as
demonstrated above, the middle note will go down a whole step).

Moving from DM7 to GM7 with Smooth Voice Leading
OK, so lets look at this same smooth voice leading pattern with two other common
chords. This is the exact same pattern as with CM7 to FM7, but everything has been
taken up a whole step.
D Major 7
t h

7
3

G Major 7
t h
(voicing t wo)
R
7
R 3

As an exercise, try to transpose this pattern up another whole step (EM7 to AM7)
without finding it later in the book.

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Practice Finding Major 7th Chords
Use Nates Three Finger Piano Method.

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Note: every 2
nd
chord is a
voicing 2 chord, written as
v2 in parentheses. To find
the second chord in each
measure, just
a) take the middle note of the
1
st
chord in each measure down
a whole step (for example, B to
A in the first measure) and
b) change the Root of the 1
st

chord to the Root of the second
(for example, C to F in the
first measure). (Remember, I
havent written the Root of
each chord out in notation,
because its in the name of the
chord!
Moving from Major 7th Chord to Major 7th Chord

SAME NOTE

DOWN WHOLE
STEP
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Chapter
4
M I N O R 7
T H

Chapter 4: Minor 7
th
Chords and
How to Find Them
OK, weve learned
Major 7 chords, now
lets learn Minor 7
chords. The only
difference is that
instead of taking the
top two notes (the
ntoes in the right hand)
down a half-step as
you did for Major 7
chords, youll be taking
them down a whole-
step for Minor 7
chords.
th
th
th
th
St ep 3 f or Mi nor Sevent h Chords, Move the top two notes (the higher Root and 4
th
)
down a whole-step (two keys to the left). For C Minor 7
th
(Cm7):
R R 4

C Minor 7
t h
7
3
R

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For F Minor 7
th
(Fm7):

F Minor 7
t h
4
R R
7
3
R

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Learning t he differences bet ween Major 7
th
chords
and Minor 7
th
chords.
The only difference between Minor 7
th
chords and Major 7
th
chords is that the 7
th
and
3
rd
o f the chord (the notes played in the right hand) are a half-step lower for Minor 7
th

chords than for major 7
th
chords.
The r i ght hand i n t hese t w o measur es

i s dow n ex ac t l y a st ep f r om t he
r i ght hand i n t hese t w o measur es

So, if I were to tell you that B flat Major 7
th
is the notes Bb, A and D, you should be
able to figure out that B flat Minor 7
th
is the notes Bb, Ab and Db.

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Pract ice Finding Minor 7t h Chords
Use Nates Three Finger Piano Method. The right hand (the top two notes) is down a
half-step from its Major 7
th
Chord equivalent.

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As with the Major 7
th

chords, when moving between
two minor 7
th
chords using
smooth voice leading,
the top note will remain the
same, and the middle note
will move down a whole step.
The Root note, in the left
hand, is in the name of the
chord, and therefore, I dont
write it out. (For example,
the first chord, is C in the
left hand with Bb and Eb
in the right hand)
Moving from Minor 7 Chord t o Minor 7 Chord
th th

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Chapter
5
D O M I N A N T 7
T H

Chapter 5: Dominant7
th
Chords
and How to Find Them
St ep 3 f or Domi nant Sevent h Chords, Move the middle note down a whole step and
move the top note down a half-step. For C Dominant 7
th
(C7):
R R 4

C Dominant 7
t h
7
3 R

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For F Dominant 7
th
(F7):
4
R R

F Dominant 7
t h
7
3 R

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Underst anding Dominant 7t hs
The dominant 7
th
is a hybrid of the Major and Minor 7
th
qualities. The third (the top
note in voicing 1) is major, while the 7
th
(the middle note in voicing 1) is minor. This
creates an intense sound harmonically that wants to resolve. Dominants are used in
music to create a strong harmonic desire to resolve to the next chord around the circle
of fifths (the chord with its root up a 4
th
).

Domi nant 7t hs have a Maj or 3
r d
and a Mi nor 7
t h
.

I t uses t he mi nor 7
t h
, as do Mi nor 7
t h
c hor ds.

And i t uses t he maj or 3
r d
, as do Maj or 7
t h
c hor ds.

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Pract ice Finding Dominant 7t h Chords
Use Nates Three Finger Piano Method. Move the top note down a half-step from
the starting position and move the middle note down a whole-step from the starting
position.

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Smoot h Voice Leading wit h Dominant s
Using smooth voice leading between dominant 7ths is more difficult than for Major
or Minor 7
th
chords. This is because the top two notes both move down a half-step.

Why you move the top two fingers for dominant 7ths
a) The top note is moving from a major 3
rd
to a minor 7th. If it stayed on the
same note, it would be the major 7
th
of F (like when we practiced moving
from CM7 to FM7).
b) The middle note is moving from a minor 7
th
to a major 3
rd
. If we moved it
down a whole step, it would be the minor 3
rd
of F (like when we practiced
moving Cm7 to Fm7)

Minor 7
th
becomes Major 3
rd
Major 3
rd
becomes Minor 7
th
Yi kes! That s a l ot of i nf o!

If you feel like this is all too much to remember, rest assured you dont need to know
the info on this page very thoroughly. What you need to remember is a) how to find a
dominant 7
th
chord using Nates Three Finger Piano Method and b) that you move
the top two fingers down a half-step to move around the circle of fifths with
dominant 7
th
chords.

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Moving from Dominant 7 Chord t o Dominant 7
Chord
th th

Remember, after you find the first of each pair of dominants, you can just move the
top two notes down a half-step each AND change the Root to the next Root and you
will have arrived at the next chord.
Down half-step each
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Moving from Minor 7
th
Chord t o Dominant 7
th
Chord

Remember when moving from a Minor 7
th
to a Minor 7
th
, you had to take the middle
note down a whole-step, right? Well, if you take it down a half-step, youll get a
Dominant 7
th
chord for the second chord. These are one of the most common
patterns found in music.

Middle note
goes down
a half-step!

Middle note down a
half-step
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Chapter
6
D I M I N I S H E D 7
T H

Chapter 6: Diminished 7
th
Chords
and How to Find Them
St ep 3 f or Di mi ni shed Sevent h Chords, Move the middle note down 3 half-steps and
move the top note down a whole-step. (Ill show you two easier ways to find
diminished chords in the following pages, but I also want you to understand them this
way.)
For C Diminished 7
th
(Cdim7):
R R 4

C Diminished 7
t h
3
6
R

68
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For F Diminished 7
th
(Fdim7):
4
R R

F Diminished 7
t h
3
6 R

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How Dominant 7t hs and Diminished 7t hs relat e
Diminished 7ths relate to Dominant 7ths the way Minor 7ths relate to Major 7ths, that
is the top two notes (the notes in the right hand) are down a half-step each in
Diminished from where they would be in Dominant.

M7 is to m7 . . . as . . . 7 is to dim7

(Both notes down a
half-step from CM7)
(Both notes down a
half-step from C7)

How Minor 7t hs and Diminished 7t hs relat e
Diminished 7
th
chords are the same as Minor 7
th
chords, except the middle note (the
7
th
) is down a half-step further in diminished.

An easier way to find
diminished chords:
It is probably easier to think
of diminished chords as
minor chords with the middle
note down an extra half-step,
rather than to think, OK,
middle note down three half-
steps and top note down
two.

(middle note down
three half-steps from
Root)
(middle note down
two half-steps from
Root)

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Anot her easy way t o find diminished Chords
The diminished 7
th
is down three half-steps from the Root
the Minor 3
rd
is up three half-steps from the Root
So just think, up three and down three from the Root in octaves and youll have a
diminished 7
th
chord.
For C Diminished 7
th
(Cdim7):
Root in Oct aves

C Diminished 7
t h
R R
up three and down three
3
6
R

For F Diminished 7
th
(Fdim7):
Root in Oct aves

F Diminished 7
t h
R R
up three and down three
3
6 R

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Pract ice Finding Diminished 7
th
Chords
Use the up three, down three method discussed on the previous page. Just go up
three half-steps from the octave root to find the 3
rd
(the top note) and down three half-
steps from the octave root to find the 7
th
(the middle note).

Up 3 half-steps

Down 3 half-steps

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Where youll see Diminished 7
th
chords
Diminished chords often appear in music when the bass of the chord moves in half-
steps. In the following example, which well talk about in more detail later, the bass
(the roots of the chords) move entirely in half-steps.

Play through the above passage, and take note how the diminished chords help the
passage slide around smoothly.

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Chapter
7
M A J O R C H O R D S

Chapter 7: Major and Minor
Chords
St ep 3 f or Maj or and Mi nor Chords: Major and Minor chords are just like Major 7
th

chords and Minor 7
th
chords, except that you dont need the seventh, so you can take
everything youve learned about Major 7ths and Minor 7ths and just leave out the 7th.
The way to do this is to only move the top note down instead of both the top note
and the middle note.
R R 4

C Major 7
t h
R 3 R

C Minor 7
t h
3
R R

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Pract ice Finding Major Chords

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Pract ice Finding Minor Chords

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Be St ill My Soul

Heres a fakebook version of the first two phrases of this popular hymn.

Using what youve learned so from Nates three finger piano method, you should
come up with this chord realization:

Now using smooth voice leading, you can play the C7 chord in voicing two for a
smoother sound. (Just take the Bb up the octave).

Now lets add the melody in along with our chords. Since the melody follows the
chords for the most part, you hold the middle note and the bass, while the top note of
the chord is left out, except where its in the melody.

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Since well have four notes here, you can play the
Bb in either the left or right hand. The left hands
probably more comfortable, but beginners may
find it easier to play everything in the right hand
except the bass.

C Dominant 7
t h
wit h G in t he melody (like measure 3 above)
7
R M 3

I would recommend playing some of the middle
notes in the left hand, as soon as you are ready. It
will be easier to visualize the melody and the
chords if you play them all in the right, but its
harder to fit lots of notes into one hand.

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Greensleeves
Heres a fakebook version of Greensleeves. Try to figure it out by yourself first,
then study the realization on the following page.
.

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Greensleeves
Heres a realization of Greensleeves. Theres a discussion of this arrangement on the
next page.

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Discussion of Not e Choice for Greensleeves
When the melody is the 5
th

of a chord, you can play
the 3
rd
and 5
th
instead of
the Root and 3
rd
.

The Root and 3
rd
, just as
the method suggests.
Since the melody is the 3
rd
and the
5
th
, you can manage a complete triad
by only playing the Root in the left
hand as accompaniment here!
Since the melody is the 7
th
of the
chord, just take the 3
rd
down the
octave (this makes it a Voicing 2
chord).

Since weve been playing very few notes per chord, you can
get away with just the Root and 7
th
here. If you added the
3
rd
, it would make another voice appear out of nowhere,
which can be distracting.
Since the melody note is below the
3
rd
, Ive moved the 3
rd
down the
octave.

You dont have to play the full chord
right when it says to! Here Ive
added the seventh two beats later, so
that it creates movement in the
harmony.

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Taking t he 3
rd
down t he oct ave
The voicing youve learned so far in the book has the 3
rd
on top and the 7
th
in the
middle, with the left hand playing the Root. This is voicing 1
C 7 (Voicing 1)
7
R 3

The top two notes should be played in the right
hand, at least at first.

But what if the melody note is C?
C 7 (Voicing 1)
M

You dont want the melody to dip underneath your chord, so you take the 3
rd
down the
octave. (Voicing 2 means the 3
rd
is underneath the 7
th
)
C 7 (Voicing 2) wit h melody not e C
7
M
R 3

You can play either the top two or the top three
notes in the right hand in this situation.

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Swit ching voicings depending on t he melody
So if you see four measures like this:

You would want to voice each measure differently.
Measure 1
Nates Three Finger Piano Method would lead you to the Root and the 3
rd
(C and E).
Since the melody is underneath the 3
rd
, youd want to take the 3
rd
down the octave, like
this:
C
R 3 M

Measure 2
Here you can just play C the way the method suggests since the 3
rd
is in the melody.

C
R M R

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Measure 3
You can either just add the melody note on top, or you can leave out the doubled root,
which I recommend.
Recommended:
C
R 3 M

Also fine:

C
R R 3 M

Measure 4
Measure 4 is the same as measure 1, only the right hand will be up the octave.

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Chapter
8
E X P A N D I N G Y O U R K N O W L E D G E

Chapt er 8: Ot her Basics
for Chord Reading
Slash Chords
In fake books, you will see a chord symbol, then a forward slash, then another note
name. That other note name is an alternate bass note. If a note other than the Root is
in the bass (the bottom-most note in the left hand), this is how its notated.
Cm7/Bb

3
7
Ive brought the 7
th
down the
octave and the Root up the
octave (so that the voices are
basically in the same place)

R

Cm7/G

7 3

5

You can keep the Root in when an alternate bass
note is given, but I recommend you leave it out
for now. Its less notes to think about, and
helps keep your arrangement at 3 voices.
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Slash Chord Exercise
Practice reading the following chords. When you see a slash chord, substitute the
alternate bass note (the note after the slash) for the root.

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Slash Chord Exercise as it would look in a
Fakebook

OK, Ive taken out all the helpful info and left just what you might see in a fake book.
If you have trouble, just turn back to the previous page and study the examples.

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Moving t he Root t o t he Right Hand
If the slash chord uses either the 3
rd
or the 7
th
as the alternate bass, you will usually
want to remove that note from the right hand, so that it isnt doubled. Since youre
chord will only be two notes at that point, you can add the Root back in, but this time
in the right hand.

Gm7

3

Gm7/F
7
R
7

3

R

Gm7

Gm7/Bb
7
3
R
7
R
3

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Example Dont Double t he Third
In the following example, when the chord symbol calls for the 3
rd
in the bass, I just
remove it from the right hand. Soon, well add the fifth into the right hand, so that
well still have three voices.

Adding t he Fift h t o t he Right Hand
You can also fill out Slash chords that use either the 7
th
and 3
rd
as the alternate bass
note by adding the 5
th
of the chord. The fifth is unnecessary to the harmony most of
the time. But it can fill things out when you dont want to double the 3
rd
or the 7
th
.
Finding the Fifth
The fifth of a chord is the note down a fourth from the Root of that chord. It can be
added to any of the chords we have learned so far without changing the quality of the
chord. I would generally recommend leaving out the fifth if you already have three
voices. There will be times where youll want to add the fifth in order to maintain
three voices.
C

R 3 R 5

Go down a 4
th
from the
Root to find the 5
th
of a
chord!

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CM7

5 R 3 7

The fifth can be added below the 7
th
, or above the 3
rd
(in the higher octave).

CM7
3 7

5 R

If you see something like, with the fifth in the melody, the fifth should go on top.

If you see something like this, where the 3
rd
and Root are in the melody, you would
add it below although in this case, you dont even need it.

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Notice how in the following example, when there is a slash chord that puts the third in
the bass, I add the fifth into the right hand (since were moved the third to the left
hand), in order to maintain three voices.
The example:

A nice realization:
Here its essential to have four voices. The
melody is neither the 3
rd
or 7
th
or the Root, so
you must add all of these three essential
elements to the melody note to make a complete
seventh chord.

Since the previous chord uses four notes, I
decided to add the fifth to this chord.
Sometimes, it will sound bad if the number of
voices changes abruptly. This is why Ive added
the fifth of the C chord (G).
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Avoiding Collisions
Often in slash chords it will sound smoother to add the 5
th
rather than the Root into
the right hand, so that the Root and 7
th
dont bang into one another.
In the following voicing of Gm7/Bb, the 7
th
and Root are only a 2
nd
apart, which
causes a strong sound that can be distracting. Sometimes, of course, this abruptly
strong sound is exciting to the ear.
Gm7/Bb

3
7
R
Major 2
nd
interval can be exciting or
jarring, depending on the context

Most of the time, though, youll want the harmony to not stick out. This is a good time
to take the Root out of the right hand and add the fifth instead, so that the harmony is
spread out.
Gm7/Bb

3
7
5

Down 4
th
from Root
If you want to get really fancy, you can add the Root on top as well. In this case youll
want to play the 3
rd
and 7
th
in the left hand (so that you dont have to stretch your
fingers too far).
Gm7/Bb

3

5 R 7

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Ext ra St uff
I would like to briefly discuss what I called at the beginning of the book the extra
stuff. This and much more will be discussed in Volume II.
9t hs
The 9
th
is up a whole step from the Root. Also, a 9
th
chord is a dominant chord by
default. So if you see C9, it would basically be a C7 chord with the 9
th
added.

C7

7
3
R

C9

7
9 3
R

Or if you want to spread out the voices, you could take the 3
rd
down the octave.
C9 (Voicing 2)

7
9
3 R

By the way, if you want to substitute C7 for any 9
th
chord while you starting out --
thats fine!

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6t hs and 13t hs
The 13
th
is basically the 6th of a chord, but it is over a dominant chord. This creates a
nice clash between the minor 7
th
and the major sixth, which would be a half-step apart
if they were in the same octave. Generally though, they are never played in the same
octave.
C7

7
3
R

C6

3 6
R

R 5
You will generally want to add the Root or the fifth to a sixth chord, because otherwise
it sounds like an inversion of the relative minor (the theory behind this is beyond the
scope of this book, so just trust me and add the fifth or the Root when you play sixth
chords!)
C13

7
3
R 6

The thirteenth chord combines the qualities of the 7
th
chord and the sixth chord.
Generally, the sixth will be on top. You can play the bottom two notes in the left
hand.

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Finding t he Sixt h
The sixth is down three half-steps from the Root.

C6

3
R 6

Down 3 half-steps
The sixth is also a fourth above the major 3
rd
, which is how I like to think about them
when I play a 13
th
chord since its basically a voicing 1 Dominant chord with the 6
th

up a fourth from the top note!
C13

7
3
R 6

Up a fourth

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How would you realize this example?

Heres one solution:

In measure 1, I added the 3
rd
.
In measure 2, I added the 9
th
and the 7
th
. I could have also added the 3
rd
, but since I
was just playing it with the previous chord, I can leave it out without it being sorely
missed. This is something that comes with practice and listening. Its much easier to
play without the third and sounds more open and clear. Usually, though, leaving out
the third is a bad idea. Unless its implied in the harmony or is in the chord just before
or after, you generally need the third of a chord.
In measure 3, I added the third down the octave, since the Root is in the melody. I
then added the sixth (D).

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Pract ice 1
The real practice will be from sheet music and fakebooks. Ive written in all the
answers for you, so that you can familiarize yourself with the method.

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Pract ice 2

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Pract ice 3

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Pract ice 4

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Chapter
9
P U T T I N G T H E S Y S T E M I N T O P R A C T I C E

Chapter 9: Putting the System
into Practice
Now lets try to put the system into practice. Heres a fake book style version of a folk
tune.

On the following pages youll find an analysis of how to realize this song.

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Amazing Grace

Suggest ed realizat ion
Remember that the left hand plays the note name of the chord, or the slash chord
alternate bass note.

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The chord tones for the suggested realization:

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Example They Didnt Believe Me
This tune uses the pattern of a minor 7
th
moving to a dominant 7
th
around the circle of
fifths. This is often called a two five pattern.

Herbert Reynolds
Jerome Kern
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Example Working Through changes in a Fake
Book
So lets work through They Didnt Believe Me.
You can see that the first chord is Am7.

Using the system, you would find these three notes:

With A as the root, and G and C in the right hand.
Often, the chords dont fit in the right octave to play comfortably in the right hand.
If you were to add the chord just as its written above, with the G down a 4
th
from
middle C, and the C on middle C; youd have quite a stretch up to the melody note, A.
So, take the G up the octave, to where it rests just a whole-step below the melody note.
Then the right hand is much less stretched.

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So you can see that Ive inverted the Am7 and D7 chords from where they were in the
previous exercise.
From the system, youll get the Root, 7
th
and 3
rd
.

But to fit a chord under the melody comfortably, or to make it sound better, you might
switch the order up.

The same thing goes for the D7 chord. So the patterns you learned for minor 7
th

chords moving to dominant 7
th
chords (or any of the patterns youve learned so far)
can be flipped in the right hand.

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Another trick in your toolbox to make the chords easier to play is to put one of the
notes into the left hand.
For example in measure 11, you can start with A and D in the right hand, but then the
melody jumps down to F#. Since you want the melody on top, youll either have to
drop the harmony out (easiest solution) or bring it down the octave, as Ive shown
here. But that makes the stretch in the right hand awkward, unless you play it in the left
hand.
I would put the A moving to G (on the words beyond compare) in the left hand
with the Root note.

Also, in measures 15 16, you can see that Ive put the chords down low while the
melody note holds through. You also might want to put the middle voice (the A to
G#) in the left hand. Or you could (more easily) just stop playing the melody note and
play everything but the root in the right hand.

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S P E E D D R I L L S

3 6
Speed Drills
Practicing Realizing Chords from Chord Symbols
In this chapter, you will begin to memorize the most common chords. For each example, you will first
study the chords, and get the pattern in your fingers. Youll then look at the same example written out
fake book style and realize it looking at just the fake book chart.

Chapter
10
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Suggest ions for addit ional pract ice.
1. Run out and purchase The Ultimate Jazz Fakebook C Edition (C Edition
means for guitar and piano, dont buy the horn version!). In it you will find
hundreds of standard songs. By using the method put forward in this book
and mixing in the melody you will learn immeasurably valuable vocabulary
for how music masters put it together. Oh, and find recordings of the songs
to study.
2. Buy How to Speed Read Piano Chord Symbols Part II which continues
on where this book leaves off.
3. Start trying to play along with recordings of your favorite music. Even if you
can only figure out one note from the recording, and you play that note along
with the recording when you hear it, youll be training your musical mind to
play with style.

Cont act t he Aut hor
You can set up lessons with me over the phone if you would like. Lessons are $40/hr.
We can cover whatever material you like. Thanks again for reading my book!
Nathan Andersen
23-12 24th Ave, Apt 2
Astoria, NY 11102

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