Harold Hanson Udokwere

This is a re-printed edition of Piano & Keyboarding Volume 1.

In this fifth edition of Piano and Keyboarding volume one, I would make a little
adjustment to the teachings.

I always like to stress to all of my students that playing music is not nearly as difficult as
it seems. It does not take a genius to be a good musician. You can learn to do amazing
things with your hands. It just takes the desire/motivation to do so, and don’t forget
practice! “Practice makes improvement.” Think about it, to excel at any
profession/activity/hobby/sport/etc, it takes a lot of practice.

Good News!

This course does not require an insane amount of practice. By the end of your study, you
will have a good idea on how to:
1. Play notes on the Piano/Keyboard
2. Determine what notes are which on a Piano/Keyboard
3. Play your scales on all Keys
4. Understand the basic music language
5. Identify chords
6. Master the sets of couples
7. Master the 3-4 principle and numbering system
8. Play songs using the power of couples and chords

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 The Keys

This is a Piano/Keyboard with the NOTES written on each key.

Let me break it down for you. There are ONLY 12 notes in existence and they repeat
themselves over and over again in what we call ‘Octaves.’ An Octave refers to the
number 8 (Oct.). It is derived from the Latin word Octava which means eight. The eighth
tone or octave of a series will be the same with the first tone of that series. An octave is
calculated in both directions - ascending and descending. Octaves to the right are higher
in pitch and octaves to the left are lower in pitch.
What is a pitch?
This is simply the degree of how high or low a note or other sound is. It is the level of
highness or lowness of a music sound. Right now, we covered note names where you can
tell the difference between two notes, but when you hear them, you use the pitch levels to
identify that difference. You may not be able to readily give that pitch a name, but your
ears can identify the intensity or degree of it.

Musical Notes are identified by letters of the alphabet. The letters in music are A, B, C,
D, E, F, and G. There is NO ‘H’. After ‘G’ it simply starts over at ‘A’ again (see above).
How can you have more than one ‘A’? The TONE of the note sounds the same, but the
‘pitch’ is higher or lower. There are many ‘A’s’ on the piano and many of the other
letters as well. The lowest ‘A’ will sound extremely low like a Bass and will not be very
distinguishable. The highest ‘A’ will sound very high pitched like a flute or piccolo. So
it’s 8 notes from ‘A’ to ‘A’ and ‘C’ to ‘C’ and so on. Thus, it’s called an ‘Octave’.

OK, back to my original point. Did you realize what I said? There are ONLY 12 notes in
existence! This makes music a lot easier than you thought right? EVERY SONG
YOU’VE EVER HEARD WAS MADE UP OF A COMBINATION OF THESE 12
NOTES. No matter how complicated of a Mozart song it is, there are only 12 notes to
choose from:
2
A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G# and then back to ‘A’

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

The Black Keys are in sets of 2 and 3. I call them ‘Chopsticks’ and ‘Forks’. The note ‘C’
is at the beginning (the left) of the ‘chopsticks’, while at the beginning of the ‘forks’ is
the note ‘F’. The chopsticks and forks repeat themselves over and over again and the note
at the beginning of them will always be the same. In front of every pair of chopsticks will
be ‘C’ ALWAYS. Or you can see it like this, ‘C’ is the first letter in Chopsticks, and ‘F’
is the first letter in the word Forks. This will help you memorize which notes are which,
without writing the notes on each key!

These note names are used to interpret certain PITCH.

A note therefore is a musical sound of definite pitch, or a symbol representing this sound.
You will then ask, what do the ‘#’ signs mean?

This will now introduce you to what we know as Pitch Modifiers. This is just how we can
modify the pitch level of notes by the introduction of certain symbols.
Pitch modifiers are 5 in number:

Sharps 

Flats 

Naturals 

Double sharps

Double flats 

The # sign stands for “Sharp”.

So if you see ‘A#’ that means ‘A’ Sharp. C# = C sharp and so on.
The Sharps (#’s) can be the black or white keys. 3
The very next key to the RIGHT of any given key is the ‘Sharp’ of that note, and to
the LEFT, a ‘Flat’ of that note.

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

Let’s look at the keyboard once again
# # # # # b b b b b
C D F G A D E G A B

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

Notice that the black notes seem to bear two names? These black notes are dependent
tones both in name and sound. They derive their names from the white/natural notes.
When you name them in relation to the white note on their left, it becomes a sharp [#].
When you name them in relation to the notes on their right, they become a flat [b].

Remember I said that the very next key to any given key is a “Sharp” or “Flat”? It
doesn’t necessarily have to be a black key. Take for example keys B and C natural. C
# b
natural will also be called B , and B natural will also be called C , following the rules I
just laid out.
# b
Let us try another scenario. Take G natural, which is between F and A . With relation to
# ## #
F , it will also be called F [F double sharp] because it sharpens F . Right? And with
b bb b
relation to A , it will be called A [A double flat], because it flattens A as well. So in a
crazy sense, the white notes have three names each, while the black have two names.

Someone will ask then, when is it necessary to use the double sharps/flats in note naming,
and how is it easily identified? That’s easy.
You see, in the concept of the double sharps/flats and the single sharps/flats, there is an
easy way for students to identify when they are used.

Single sharps and flats are used when the reference point/note is a white key, and double
sharps and flats are used when the reference point/note is a black key. That means, when
you are naming a note with respect to the white key directly to the right or left of your
destination, it’s either a single sharp or flat of that key. On the other hand, when it’s with
reference from the black note on its right or left, then a double sharp or flat is used.

If you skip a half step and go directly from let’s say, ‘A’ to ‘B’, it is called a Whole Step.
Remember those exceptions now! The difference from ‘B’ to ‘C’ is NOT a whole step.
Remember, from ‘B’ to ‘C’ is a half-step because they are right next to each other. So
from ‘B’ to ‘C#’ would be a WHOLE- STEP. The same goes for ‘E’ to ‘F’ (half step).
From ‘E’ to ‘F#’ would be the WHOLE STEP. The reason why people make this mistake
is because from every other white key to the next white key is a WHOLE STEP.
4

That covered, I want to introduce you to the naming systems we use to denote the sounds
in music. We identify these sounds by letter names, sol-fa names, and interval names.
©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved
Using letter names is what we just covered recently, using the first 7 letters of the
alphabet. Sol-fa naming is the use of sound syllables to represent notes: Do Re Mi Fa Sol
La and Ti. And lastly, Interval naming is the use of Roman numerals to name notes.

Just like we have with the note/letter name identifiers, the very next key to the RIGHT of
any given key is the ‘Sharp’ of that note, and to the LEFT is the ‘Flat’ of it, we can also
apply the rule to the sound syllable identifiers. When the natural note syllables are raised
[sharp], a variation is also created by adding “i” to the first consonant of that syllable:
Do (taking only the first consonant, D) becomes Di, Re becomes Ri, Fa becomes Fi, Sol
becomes Si, and La becomes Li.

When the natural syllables are lowered, a variation is also created by adding “aw” to the
first consonant of that syllable. For example: Re becomes Raw, Mi becomes Maw, Sol
becomes Saw, La becomes Law, and Ti becomes Taw.

In summary, we have 12 keys on the piano keyboard. 7 of them are ‘naturals’ with the
alphabets A, B, C, D, E, F, G, while 5 of them are dependents because their names are
# b # b # b # b # b
derived from the ‘naturals’ [A or B , C or D , D or E , F or G , G or A ]. Each of
the dependent keys has 2 names each [sharps or flats] relating to the key name they
depend on. All the keys whether they be natural or dependent are called accidentals.

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 The Major Scale
This is a very important fundamental of music. This ‘Scale’ makes up the sounds of ‘Do-
Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do.’ It’s called the ‘Major Scale’ and it is one of the main modes of
music. There are ‘major’ and ‘minor’.
Every song you’ve ever heard was either in a ‘major’ or ‘minor’ key.

These are the major scale forms of all the 12 keys. Scale degrees are run across while the
keys run downwards.
Scale
d r m f s l t d1
Keys
# # #
A A B C D E F G A
# b b b b
A or B B C D E F G A B
# # # # #
B B C D E F G A B
C C D E F G A B C
# b # # # # # # # #
C or D C D E F G A B C
# #
D D E F G A B C D
# b b b b b
D or E E F G A B C D E
# # # #
E E F G A B C D E
b
F F G A B C D E F
# b # # # # # # #
F or G F G A B C D E F
#
G G A B C D E F G
# b b b b b b
G or A A B C D E F G A

Everyone loves the ‘C Major Scale’ because it is ALL white keys, and therefore it is
called a natural scale. Every other scale has a black key in it, whether it’s one, two, three
or more!

Instead of memorizing EACH of the 12 Major Scales, which would take a lot of time,
you can use my secret formula that will allow you to play any major scale based on a
pattern.
Remember I talked about Whole Steps and Half Steps? Well, if you look at the ‘C’ major
scale you can see that the pattern is as such:
After the starting ‘C’, the next note is ‘D’. The distance between these notes is a Whole
Step (because you skip over C# and go to D). Let’s call a Whole Step ‘W’ and a Half
Step ‘H’. The pattern of the C Major scale is:

W, W, H, W, W, W, H.
6

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

Pretty easy to remember if you see the pattern: two whole steps and then a half step
followed by three whole steps and a half step. This holds true EVERY MAJOR
SCALE!!!
Whoa! That makes it A LOT EASIER.
Let’s test this out! The next Major Scale, the ‘D Major Scale’ would
be D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D.
This obeys the rule! After the first note ‘D’ it follows the
pattern: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D
1st, W, W, H, W, W, W, H.
The first note cannot be a whole step or a half step because you need to be referring to the
distance between TWO notes to have a whole step or a half step.

This scale is so important because EVERY song that is in a ‘Major’ key will be made up
of ONLY THE NOTES OF THE MAJOR SCALE. So, if the song is in ‘C Major’ such as
thousands of songs are, the song would consist of only the notes of the C Major scale!
Example: The song ‘Mary had a Little Lamb’ is in the key of ‘C Major’. This means that
every note in this song will be a note in the ‘C Major Scale’.
Here are the notes for ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb.’
3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 3, 5, 5
E, D, C, D, E, E, E, D, D, D, E, G, G
3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 3, 2, 1
E, D, C, D, E, E, E, D, D, E, D, C.
The numbers are the fingers you should use. The letters are the notes on the piano. The
numbers are right above the corresponding letter.

There is a point I want you to take note of when naming your major scale, and that is
“you get to use each alphabet once in the whole scale”. That means you do not skip
b
alphabets or use an alphabet twice in sequence e.g. let us see the scale of A :
b b b b b
A B C D E F G A
You can see that the alphabets do not skip or repeat themselves in sequence. There is
some kind of A, then some kind of B, and some C, and some D, and some E, and some F,
and some G. No matter the key you find yourself in, theoretically, you maintain that rule.
b b #
You don’t say A , then B , then C, then C ...etc. That will be theoretically wrong. You
have just used the letter C twice in a row.
#
Take another example from the key of C :
# # # # # # # #
C D E F G A B C
No matter what key you are in, you don’t:
• Use a letter twice in a row,
• Skip a letter,
• Or mix up sharps and flats in the same scale 7

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 The Finger Techniques

Your RIGHT hand is numbered as follows... Your thumb is finger number 1, index
finger is number 2, middle finger is number 3, ring finger number 4, and pinky finger
number 5. Your LEFT hand is the same. Thumb is finger number one, and so on. They go
opposite ways but the thumb is still number 1 and so on.
We are going to learn the scale with our RIGHT hand first. The right hand is the lead
hand in the piano and plays the important lead melodies of a song. The left hand is an
accompaniment and plays chords and bass lines.
So the ‘C Major Scale’ is as Follows:
C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C
Moving from LEFT to RIGHT, Finger number One will play the first ‘C’. Then finger
number 2 plays ‘D’ followed by Finger #3 which plays ‘E’. On the fourth note, which is
‘F’, you will cross your thumb underneath your middle finger (finger #3) and play the ‘F’
with your THUMB! This allows you to finish the rest of the scale with the rest of your
hand, fingers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
So, in case this was confusing, the fingering for C. D. E, F, G, A, B, C would be fingers:
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Now, when you come back down the scale (to the left) you play every note that you
played on the way up the scale AND with the SAME fingers.
So, the scale would be C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, B, A, G, F, E, D, C.
Fingers are: 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 1.
The Bold letters and numbers are going ‘up’ the scale, which is left to right. Then on the
way back ‘down’ the scale (not bold) is right to left.
‘Up’ refers to UP IN PITCH and ‘Down’ refers to DOWN IN PITCH.
When you play notes from left to right you will always be going UP in pitch from a low
sound all the way on the left, it gets higher and higher as you move to the right and all the
way on the right is the highest pitched note. So thus, when you play to the right you are
going ‘up’.

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 RULES TO FINGER TECHNIQUES

Using correct finger techniques makes your playing more convenient. It builds mastery of
the various keys and helps build precision.

* DO NOT use fingers 1 and 5 when running your major scale on the black keys.
* When it comes to crossing fingers, only the thumb is allowed to cross behind the other
fingers.
* When you use a sequence of 1-2-3, it will be followed by 1-2-3-4.

The piano keyboard is grouped in 3’s and 4’s for the white notes, and in 2’s and 3’s for
the black notes. So as a guide, use fingers 1, 2, and 3 on white group 3 [2 and 3 on black
group 2], and 1, 2, 3, and 4 on white group 4 [2, 3, and 4 on black group 3].

The Finger Placement Table

Left Hand Right Hand

C Major
1 octave 54321321 12312345
Multiple octaves 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2… 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4…

#
C Major
1 octave 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 [2] 23123412
Multiple octaves 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1… 23123412312341…

D Major
1 octave 54321321 12312345
Multiple octaves 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2… 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4…

#
D Major
1 octave 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 [2] 21234123
Multiple octaves 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1… 2 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2…

E Major
1 octave 54321321 12312345
9
Multiple octaves 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2… 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4…

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

F Major
1 octave 54321321 12341234
Multiple octaves 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2… 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3…

#
F Major
1 octave 43213212 23412312
Multiple octaves 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1… 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1…

G Major
1 octave 54321321 12312345
Multiple octaves 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2… 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4…

#
G Major
1 octave 32143213 23123123
Multiple octaves 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1… 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2…

A Major
1 octave 54321321 12312345
Multiple octaves 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2… 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4…

#
A Major
1 octave 32143213 21231234
Multiple octaves 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1… 2 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3…

B Major
1 octave 43214321 12312345
Multiple octaves 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2… 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4…

* Another finger exercise I would introduce to you is the exercise called the Hanon. I would
explain five of the movements [exercise 1 - 5] in the stave section, as writing down finger
numbers alone will not really help.

10

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 How is a Scale Built?
There are two Major scales, the Scale of Sharps and the Scale of Flats. The underlying
principle of the Scale of Sharps is the perfect 5th. The underlying principle of the Scale
of Flats is the perfect 4th.

Scale of Sharps
C Major – No sharps #
G Major – 1 sharp – F
# #
D Major – 2 sharps – F C
# # #
A major – 3 sharps – F C G
# # # #
E Major – 4 sharps – F C G D
# # # # #
B Major – 5 sharps – F C G D A
# # # # # # #
F Major – 6 sharps – F C G D A [E ]
# # # # # # # #
C Major – 7 sharps – F C G D A [E B ]

Scale of Flats
C Major – No flats b
F Major – 1 Flat – B
b b b
B Major – 2 Flats – B E
b b b b
E Major – 3 Flats – B E A
b b b b b
A Major – 4 Flats – B E A D
b b b b b b
D Major – 5 Flats – B E A D G
b b b b b b b
G Major – 6 Flats – B E A D G [C ]
b b b b b b b b
C Major – 7 Flats – B E A D G [C F ]
Intervals: The distance between two notes or the position of a note relative to another.

Relative minor: Relative minor of a Major scale is the 6th tone degree of that scale [‘la’]

Key Signature: The key signature of a minor scale is the key signature of the relative
major scale i.e. key signature of ‘la’ as a relative minor is ‘do’.

Now remember when I said that naming a black key in relation to the note on its left
#
makes it a sharp of that key [A – A ], and on the right makes it a flat of that key [A –
b
A ]? When naming them based on their diatonic names [d, r, m…], if it is based on the
e 11
key to the left, you replace the sound with an ‘e’ [sol – s ], and when it is based on the
aw
key to the right, you replace the sound with an ‘aw’ [sol – s ].

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

Let me introduce to you the different scale degrees and their diatonic names.

Numbers Sol-fa Scale degrees Modal degrees

1 - do - Tonic - Ionian mode

2 - re - Supertonic - Dorian mode
3 - mi - Mediant - Phrygian mode
4 - fa - Subdominant - Lydian mode
5 - sol - Dominant - Mixolydian mode
6 - la - Submediant - Aeolian mode
7 - ti - Leading tone - Locrian mode

With that understood, let me list for you the intervals as they relate to the Tonic
note [do]:
d–r - Major 2nd
d–m - Major 3rd
d–f - Perfect 4th
d–s - Perfect 5th
d–l - Major 6th
d–t - Major 7th
d – d1 - Octave
d – de - minor 2nd
d – maw - minor 3rd
d – fe - diminished 5th
d – se - minor 6th
d – taw - minor/dominant 7th

Intervals
What are intervals by the way? An interval is simply the distance between two
notes/pitches. So, interval means distance.
When we talk about intervals, there are two physical types; Harmonic and Melodic.
Harmonic Intervals occur when two notes are played at the same time. Melodic Intervals
on the other hand occur when two notes are played separately i.e. one after the other.

There’s another way I like to call the types of intervals that exist. This is when I speak of
Generic & Specific intervals. This ‘types’ of intervals have to do with certain properties
12
that determine their identity: Quantity & Quality.

The Quantity {Generic} of an interval indicates the distance between two notes.
©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved
Consider the notes F and A. The distance between these notes is three [F G A]. So the
quantity of this interval is
third/three.
When we consider the quantity of
an interval, we don’t consider the
accidentals. Hence, the quantity of
the interval between F and Ab is still three. So, to count the quantity of an interval, you
just have to count the notes between the two given notes, and also include the two given
notes.

Melodic third interval [Notes played separately]

Harmonic third interval [Notes played together]

The Quality {Specific} of an interval on the other hand is determined by the number of
half-steps between the two notes.

Considering the same notes F & A, and F & Ab, both of them are third intervals right?
But I bet you they’d sound different. That’s because of the quality of the intervals. The
first one is called a “Major” interval, and the next a “Minor” interval.

The following are the terms used to describe the quality of an interval:
1. Major: This can be used only with these quantities – seconds, thirds, sixths, and
sevenths. They are based on the ‘Major scale’ and is a half-step more than a minor
interval. Example: C to E is a major third.
2. Minor: This can be used only with these quantities – seconds, thirds, sixths, and
sevenths. They are based on the ‘minor scale’ and it’s a half-step less than a major
interval. Example: C to Eb is a minor third.
3. Perfect: This can be used only with these quantities – unison, fourths, fifths, and
octave. Example: C to F is a perfect fourth.

13

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Chords 1
We have a chord when we hold together a number of keys in combination to produce a
set of complimentary sounds. Chords can be played by using one of your hands or both of
your hands. When playing chords, it is important to know the notes that form a group/fill
a tone with adequate accompaniment.

The first chords we would talk about here are the Triad Chords. These are chords of three
notes, hence the name. There are other chord types like monads, dyads, tetrads, pentads,
etc. but these are dealt with in another book. We would be working on key C for this
book, and I want you to transpose these teachings to other keys during your practice.

The basic triad chord for the tonic is d – m – s/1 3 5. On the key of C that would be keys
C – E – G. So, the Major scale chord progression will follow thus:

D-dms-135

R-rfl-246

M-mst-357

F-fld-461

S-str-572

L-ldm-613

T-trf-724

These chords are called TERTIAN CHORDS because they are spaced by thirds. What I
mean is the distance between each note/tone is some kind of third. It could be a Major
14
third or a Minor third.

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 INVERSIONS

These are the various ways of playing a particular chord. The inversions are:
• Root inversion
• 1st inversion
• 2nd inversion
• 3rd inversion [for four note chords] etc.
The root inversion makes the root the first note in the chord. The 1st inversion makes the
root the third note in the triad chord. The 2nd inversion makes the root the second note
in the triad chord.

Root 1st inversion 2nd inversion

When playing inversions, you can combine multiple inversions e.g. 1st inversion with the
3rd inversion, to add flavor to your sound. If you want to concentrate on roots, then you
can “super-impose” a root different from the main root i.e. instead of using a ‘do’ root
when playing the 1st inversion, you could use a ‘mi’ root to add spice.

Or you could use a ‘sol’ root on the 2nd inversion. All this depends on the progression
of the song being played. It is not a compulsory implementation.

SUPER-IMPOSING

This means to involve a tone with another. Super-imposing chords on chords/roots on

chords is determined by the progression of the musical piece being played. The best times
to apply these super-imposed chords are as passing notes, when songs pause, or when a
song is about to be repeated. The root has to remain stable to beautify/quantify the notes
sang. It is one of the preferred ways of adding spice to any music, if not the only way.
Examples are f / s, s / d, t / s, r / f, s / f, etc.

15

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 The Harmonizing Scale

This is another way to play your chords up the scale ladder, only this time you make use
of both your inversions and super-imposed chords. These movements will prepare you
more for the keyboarding in latter sections.

D-msd-351

R-flr-462

M-sdm-513

F-ldf-614

S-dms-135

L-dfl-146

T-rst-257

So what we have is:

D – tonic 1st inversion
R – supertonic 1st inversion
M – tonic 2nd inversion
F – subdominant 1st inversion
S – tonic root inversion
L – subdominant 2nd inversion
T – dominant 2nd inversion

Work these movements out on all the keys to get accustomed to them.

16

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Basic Music Language
Rhythm: Music has movements – quick or slow, lively or soothing. This movement is called
rhythm.

Pulse: There is always a regular pulse or beat in music, which can be slow or fast. Over this,
we can hear sounds of different length, some longer, some shorter than the beat.
Or - crotchet - 1 beat - Taa

Or - minim - 2 beats - Taa – aa

Or - dotted minim - 3 beats - Taa – aa – aa

- semibreve - 4 beats - Taa – aa – aa - aa

A dot makes a note half as long again i.e.

+ = interpreted as 2+1=3
If two notes are tied together, the second one does not make a fresh sound, but continues
the first sound e.g.

= =
Accent & Time: Some music sounds are played louder than others. We say they have a
stronger accent or strong beat. Strong accents in music today occurs regularly every two,
three, or four beats, and we say the music is in 2, 3, or 4 time.

Bar lines: This is placed before each regular recurring strong accent. You can hear where
the bar lines come if you listen for the strong beat. The music between two bar lines is
called a bar. A double bar line shows the end of the piece, or section of the piece. Double
bars divide the music into strains or parts.

2
4
3
4
3
17

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

Phrase marks: These are divisions in music shown by curved lines over or under the notes.
The end of the phrase corresponds to a comma or full stop, and it is usual to take a breath
there. A piece of music quite often begins in the middle of a bar, and then it usually ends
in the middle of a bar too. These incomplete bars add up to one complete bar.

The Stave [Staff]

Music notes are written on five lines to show their pitch. ‘Do’ can be on any line or
space.

18

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Exercise (Playing by Stave)
Play and follow the placement of the sol-fa on the staves on your piano. The idea is to
play them without looking at the piano.

(a)

(b)

(c)

The Positions of 'do' chord notes on stave

1
* When ‘do’ is on a line, ‘mi’ and ‘sol’ are on lines and ‘do ’ is on a space. When ‘do’ is on a
1
space, ‘mi’ and ‘sol’ are on spaces and ‘do ’ is on a line.

Music Writing
This must be pleasant to look at, easy to read, and absolutely accurate.

Stem rules:
1. Notes above the middle line have their stems down ( ); notes below have their stems up
( ). Those on the middle line have it either up or down.
2. When the stem goes down, it comes before the note; when it goes up, it comes after the
note.

Black notes:
These must be firm, round and neat, exactly on the line or space. Never make a white
note first and fill it in because it looks untidy. Don’t make a slanting line that looks as if it
might be either on a line or on a space – or both. Just make a large round dot. 19

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Music shorthand
= = = =
This helps to write music as fast as you can sing it. First write the shorthand signs in time
with the music evenly spaced and not to close, then add the bar lines and time figure.

Stage

Translation

Extension of sol-fa range

When notes are wanted which go above or below the staff, they are written on short lines
known as ‘ledger’ lines.

Time Signatures
A time signature consists of two figures placed one above the other, at the beginning of a
piece of music to ‘signify’ the time. The top figure shows the number of beats each bar
is to have, and the bottom figure shows the kind of beats.

Any sort of note can be the beat, though the crotchet is the most usual. Minim beats are
often used for hymn tunes. The following table shows the relative values of the notes
taking the semibreve as 1.
1
2

These notes are turned into these figures:

=3 = 3 = 3
4

=3 = 5 = 5 20
4

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

4
4 time is called “common time”, and ‘C’ is sometimes used for it in place of figures.
Quavers: A quaver is half as long as a crotchet. It is written as or
When two quavers occur in the same beat, they are usually joined thus – or
Intervals & triads: An interval is the distance in pitch between two sounds. ‘do’– ‘mi’ is a
third, ‘do’ – ‘sol’ is a fifth. The most frequently heard chord kind is a triad. They can be
built on every note of the scale. It is convenient to call them by the number showing their
scale position e.g. V is the triad on the fifth degree of the scale.

I II III IV V VI VII
d r m f s l t

The different kinds of notes and their values

In modern music, there are six different kinds of notes:

[1]Semibreve [2]Minim [3]Crotchet [4]Quaver [5]Semiquaver [6]Demisemiquaver

Each note has its corresponding rest, which is equal in duration to the note it represents.

semibreve minim crotchet quaver semiquaver demisemiquaver

One semibreve = 2 minims = 4 crotchets = 8 quavers = 16 semiquavers = 32

demisemiquavers.

One dotted semibreve = 3 minims; one dotted minim = 3 crotchets; one dotted crotchet =
3 quavers; one dotted quaver = 3 semiquavers; one dotes semiquaver = 3
demisemiquavers

Double dotted notes mean their value is increased three fourths [3/4] of the original.

21

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 PREPARATORY LESSONS
Numbers above represent what fingers to use. Those below represent counts [common time of 4 crotchets in a bar].
RIGHT HAND ONLY

Slow and distinct

1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1

1234 1234 1234 1234 1234 1234 1234 1234 1234

1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1

1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4 5 43 2 1 23 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 12 3 4 54 3 2 1

1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 2 3 4

12 345432 1234 5432 12 34 5432 12 34 5432 1

1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 1234

LEFT HAND ONLY

5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5

1234 1234 1234 1234 1234 1234 1234 1234 1234

5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5

1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 2 3 4
5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 34 54 3 2 1 2 3 4 5

1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 2 3 4

54 32 1234 5432 1234 54 32 1234 54 32 12 3 4 5

22
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 1234

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 BOTH HANDS

* For clarity, I omitted the numbers of the counts and fingers on the notes. The numbers are
the same just like in the preparatory exercises above, even when holding the chords.
23

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 24

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

*The dots at the double bar signify that the parts are to be repeated. These exercises must
be carefully counted during practice, as they show the different kinds of times in common
use.

*With this basic knowledge, you can pick up any score sheet manual and practice more
pieces. In volume two, we would have more pieces to work with. 25

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

HANON FINGER EXERCISES

26

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 27

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 28

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 29

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 30

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Chords 2
Chord Identification
In music, there are actually four chord types you are expected to know by heart. With
these, you can play all the chords you want to in the world. These chords are Major,
Minor, Augmented, and Diminished chords. These are called Chord Qualities.
Here are the four basic TRIAD chords in the key of C major:

C Major

C Minor

C Diminished

C Augmented

Major: A Major chord comprises of notes following the major scale

Minor: A minor chord is achieved when you flatten the third note
Diminished: A diminished chord is a flattening of both the third and fifth notes
Augmented: An augmented chord is achieved by sharpening the fifth note
Sustained: This is achieved by sharpening the third [adding the fourth] e.g. Csus 4
(9)
Added: These are basic triad chords with other notes added e.g. C6
b
Flattened: These chords carry flat notes e.g. C 5
#11 31
Sharpened: These chords carry sharp notes e.g. CM7

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

35 Chords on the key of 'C'

32

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Scales 2
There are various steps in scales. We have already dealt with the major scale, so here we
would deal on a few others that will be helpful to you in this level of training.

Chromatic scale
This is a scale of all semitones, and it is full of musical color.

d de r maw m f fe s se l taw t d1

Whole Tone Scale

As the name implies, these scale steps are in whole tones. It was made popular by
Debussy, who used it to create vague effects.

d r m fe se taw d1

Pentatonic Scale
A scale of five notes, as the name implies, which omits 'f' and 't' from the major scale.

d r m s l d1

Blues Scale
d maw f fe s taw d1

Harmonic minor Scale

l t d r m f s e l1

Melodic minor Scale

This scale changes pattern in ascent and descent.

l t d r m fe se l s f m r d t l1

When running this scale, you sharpen/raise the 6th and 7th tone when ascending, and then
you restore them in descent.

33

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Jazz Scale Forms
Dorian Scale
d r maw f s l taw d1
The secret is that you run the Major scale of the flat 7th note starting from the second of
that scale e.g. if you are on C, you'd be running the key of Bb beginning from C [re]

Phrygian Scale
d de maw f s se taw d1
The secret is that you run the Major scale of the flat 6th note starting from the third of
that scale e.g. if you are on C, you'd be running the key of Ab beginning from C [mi].

Lydian Scale
d r m fe s l t d1
The secret is that you run the Major scale of the 5th note starting from the fourth of that
scale e.g. if you are on C, you run as if you are running the key of G starting at C [fa]

Mixolydian Scale
d r m f s l taw d1
The secret is that you run the Major scale of the perfect 4th tone starting from the fifth of
that scale e.g. if you are on C, you’d be running the key of F beginning from C [sol]

Aeolian Scale
d r maw f s se taw d1
The secret is that you run the Major scale of the flattened 3rd note starting from the sixth
of that scale [la] e.g. if you are on C, you'd be running the key of Eb beginning from C

Locrian Scale
d de maw f fe se taw d1
The secret is that you run the Major scale of the flatted 2nd note starting from the seventh
of that scale [ti]

Melodic minor [Jazz form]

d r maw f s l t d1
Harmonic minor [Jazz form]
d r maw f s se t d1
Diminished Scale
d r maw f fe se l t d1
Blues Scale [Jazz form]
34
d maw m f fe s taw d1

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Auxiliary & Exotic Scale Forms

Auxiliary Blues Scale

d r maw m f s l taw d1

Auxiliary Blues Scale [2]

d r maw m f fe s l taw d1

Gypsy Scale
d de m f s se t d1

Augmented Gypsy Minor

d r maw fe s se t d1

Composite Scale [1]

d de maw m fe s se taw d1

Composite Scale [2]

d r maw f fe se l taw d1

35

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Chords 3

In this section, we are going to explore seven sets [the seven tones in the major scale],
and the five ‘accidentals’ [the other notes not on the major scale]. I want to give you a
formula to remember, and these will help you throughout your music life. It is the way to
study and play/write music.

Tones form scales

Scales form chords
Chords form patterns or progressions
Patterns form songs

You have to be able to recognize the sets in a song and learn how to play them. I want so
desperately to teach you how to ‘play by ear’. Playing by ear is all about having different
options and not being stuck with basic ‘textbook’ chords, so when I introduce each tone
of the scale, I’d provide several options that I would use myself when I am playing. It’s
up to you to master them and manipulate them anyhow you like.
You don’t have to sound like me. Play as you deem fit, according to what you hear.
Remember that the ear is always the final judge when it comes to playing songs. These
chords listed here are those commonly played in gospel worship music. Practice them till
you get accustomed to them.

Tone #1 – ‘do’
These are tones that can be played on the first tone of the scale, ‘do’.

dsd/sdrm dsd/lrs

dsd/rsd d s taw / m l taw r

dst/trms dst/dmst

36

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

* The first quartal chord selection on the top right – d s d / l r s can be led to using the
quartal chord selection of de se de / to mo se.
* The slash (/) between chords indicates that the left hand plays the notes on the left, and
the right hand plays those on the right.

Tone #2 – ‘re’
These are chord selections that can be played with the ‘re’ tone as the root.

rld/fldm r l d / fe t d m

r l d / m fe l r l d / se t r f

r l d / se d r f r l d / taw d r f

Tone #3 – ‘mi’
These are chord selections that can be played with the ‘mi’ tone as the root.

mtr/rsd m t r / se d r s

m t r / se de f m t r / f se t r

m t r / m s taw r m t r / t r fe l

37

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

Another chord selection that can go with the ‘mi’ root is your ‘do’ major ‘add 9’ note [d r
m s]. The ‘mi’ note is one of the most unique notes on the piano as it can share the same
major chords with the ‘do’ note, and the ‘sol’ note.

Tone #4 – ‘fa’
These are some chords that will usually accompany the fourth tone of the scale.

fdm/mld fdm/fsld

fdm/lrml f d f / maw s l r

f d m / se d r f f d m / se d m

Tone #5 – ‘sol’
These are the accompanying chords for the fifth tone of the scale. The pronunciation is
‘sol’ as in ‘sew’ if sewing a cloth, not ‘saw’ as that will mean a flattened fifth tone ‘fe’.

srf/fldm srs/sltr

srs/drms s r f / f l taw r

s r s / se d r s s r s t m se

38

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Tone #6 – ‘la’

lms/stdm lms/fld

l m s / s taw de m l m s / t r fe l

l m s / l t de m lml/drms

Tone #7 – ‘ti’

tst/str tst/ldf

t s t / l r fe t r fe / l d m

t f l / t maw fe l t m s / t r fe l

I want to now deal on the ‘accidentals’. There are five in number; all having two names
each, depending on how you are naming them, whether based on the note/key in front of
them, or that behind them. The simple rule is: When naming the accidentals, based on
sharps, you replace the original name with ‘e’ to the first letter of the tone name. Naming
it based on flats, you replace with ‘aw.’ So, ‘do’ becomes ‘de’ when sharpened, and ‘mi’ 39
becomes ‘maw’ when flattened.

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Tone #1 sharp – ‘de’ or ‘raw’

de se de / taw maw se de se de / t m se

de se de / s taw de m

Tone #2 sharp – ‘re’ or ‘maw’

maw taw de / de f fe taw maw taw de / maw fe taw r

maw taw de / fe l d m

Tone #4 sharp – ‘fe’ or ‘saw’

fe de m / taw r m l fe de m / maw fe l d

fe de m / t d m l

40

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Tone #5 sharp – ‘se’ or ‘law’

se maw fe / d maw f se maw s / se d r s

se maw s / t r m se

Tone #6 sharp – ‘le’ or ‘taw’

taw f taw / s d r m taw f taw / se d r s

taw f se / l d r f

Some of these chords can be used as part of the chord progressions themselves. Mostly,
they are what we call ‘passing’ chords to another tone on the progression. For example,
the chord selection of (se maw s / se d r s) is a passing chord instead of the 3rd to the 6th
tone, i.e. ‘mi’ to ‘la’.

Explore! Use your imagination. You have been given some beautiful chord selections to
make your piano play richer and more exciting.

41

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 3 - 4 Principle

I want to talk about the ‘3-4 principle’ a little here before we enter into anything else, as
this is important for you to harness the power of your chords better. This is the
underlying principle of patterns. Like the ‘circle of fifths’, it shows a simple patterned
movement around the tones of the scale, but unlike the circle, it focuses on the major
scale of the key in question alone.
It is important for you to memorize these laws, both of the ‘3-4’ and the ‘circle of fifths’,
for you to be able to fully master the flow in which music in general follows.

Now listen!

The ‘3-4 principle’ states simply: “3 goes up and 4 goes down!” Repeat that after me. “3
goes up, and 4 goes down!” And why this is so important is because if you want to know
or remember which chords are commonly preceded by certain chords, just remember the
‘3-4 principle’. Now if you recall the number system ‘7-3-6-2-5-1-4’, then you’re fine
because that’s basically the pattern. A circular progression! That tells us that the ‘7’ tone
has a strong tendency to lead to the ‘3’, and the ‘3’ has the tendency to lead to the ‘6’,
and the ‘6’ to the ‘2’, and so on. That’s a pattern on its own. It is important to remember
that this flow has to follow the count of scale tones, not just tones on the piano. They
have to be tones on the major scale.

So if I am on tone ‘2’, I would count three tones up to get me to tone ‘5’. Then if on ‘7’, I
would count four tones down to ‘3’. What I am trying to do is not exceed the number
seven in my additions, i.e. 1 + 3, 2 + 3, 3 + 3, 4 + 3, 5 – 4, 6 – 4, and 7 – 4. So just turn
the numbers into scale tones: d [1], r [2], m [3], f [4], s [5], l [6], and t [7].

What I am putting across is that, take for instance I am on the 7th tone of the scale which
is ‘ti’, it would lead me to the 3rd which is ‘mi’ because the 7th has a strong tendency of
leading to the 3rd, and the 3rd to the 6th, following the additions and subtractions.

Are you following?

I know this is somewhat mathematical, but you have to understand these movements.
Yes! You can’t escape the presence of math in everything. Ha! Ha!!

42

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Couples
Now, we would take these chords that we’ve learned and put them together.

COUPLES DON’T MEAN HUSBAND AND WIFE in this context.

What we mean by ‘couples’ is “a group of chords related in progression”. What I mean is
any two or more chords that follow each other closely, or have a strong flow relationship.
These chords kind of link, and that’s why they are couples. Coupling is what we would
call pattern building. Remember I said patterns build songs? ‘Couples’ is the idea behind
patterns.

I would be talking about the seven sets of couples.

Couple one
The first set of couples will cover anything that can be played coming away from the first
chord. That is, any chord that can be played after the first chord. At least by now you
should know what the first tone is and the chords associated with it.

1 – 2 [d – r]
This couple progression is used in songs like “There is a name”, “Majesty”, “I will sing”,
and more.
e
d/drms-r/fldm d/drms-r/fldm d/sdrm-r/f ldm

Another option would be to play the 1 sharp before heading to 2 [1 – 1#/2b – 2]

d / d r m s – de / s taw d e m – r / f l d m d / s d r m – de / taw maw se – r / f l d m

1 – 3 [d – m]
This couple progression is common to songs like “Thank you lord”, “I need you”, “Praise
is what I do”, “Jesus, at the mention of your name”, “You are the only living God”, and
more.

d / d r m s - m / se d r s d/rsd-m/rsd

1 – 4 [d – f]
This is used in songs like “Hallelujah”, “Praise Jehovah”, “Draw me close”, and more.

d/drms-f/fsld d / d m s t - f / l r m l *d / s to d m - f / f l d mo

(The * chord is just another variety of the 4 - 1 progression) 43

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

You can also connect your 3 to 4 as a passing chord from your 1

d/rsd-m/rsd-f/lrms d/drms-m/dmst-f/ldm

1 – 5 [d – s]
Used in “Bigger than what people say”, “I simply live for you”, “More of you”, and
more.

d/drms-s/str

1 – 6 [d – l]
Used in songs like “You are awesome in this place”, “Anointing”, “I take pleasure”, and
more.

d/drms-l/dmst d/rsd-l/ldms

1 – 7 [d – t]
Used in songs like “As the deer”, “Heart of worship”, “Here I am to worship”, and more.

d/sdrm-t/str

The bottom line is tone 1 can lead naturally into any other tone on the scale.

Couple two
The second set of couples will cover anything that can be played coming away from the
second chord. That is, any chord that can be played after the second chord.
2 – 5 [r – s]
This is the most common movement of the 2nd tone, because the 2nd tone has a very
strong tendency above other tones to lead to the 5th tone following the ‘3-4 principle’.
This progression is used usually to take you one step away from home, i.e. it leads you to
5, which will take you home to 1. So it’s common in rounding up songs.

r / fe l d m - s / f l d m r/fldm-s/fldm r / fe t d m - s / f l d m

2 – 6# – 5 [r – taw – s]
The 6# here acts as a passing chord to the 5th tone. This movement is also common in
some songs.
r / f l d m - taw / f taw r - s / f l d m

44

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Couple three
The third set of couples will cover anything that can be played coming away from the
third chord. That is, any chord that can be played after the third chord.
3 – 6 [m – l]
You probably came to a 3rd by playing a 7th first or a 1st, either way this is the strongest
couple of the 3rd tone if you follow the principle. Most likely, a run from the 3rd to the
6th is played in some music e.g. m – fe – se – l. Or you can just play the 3rd straight into
the 6th.

m / se d r s - l / s t d m m / f se t r - l / s t d m m / t r f e l - l / t m o s to

Another way of playing this movement is in connecting the 3rd and 6th with the 5#.

m / f s e t r - se / s e d r s - l / l d m s

3 – 4 [m – f]
This movement is common in songs like “Praise Jehovah”, “Halleluya to the King”, and
more.

m/dmst-f/lrml m/drms-f/ldm m/rsd-f/msld

Couple four
The fourth set of couples will cover anything that can be played coming away from the
fourth chord. That is, any chord that can be played after the fourth chord. This is famous
too.
4 – 5 [f – s]
This progression is basically what you are going to do the most. This movement can be
seen in songs like “You said”, and more.

f/fsld-s/str f/lrms-f/str

Another connection to the 5th would be through the 6#. [f – taw – s]

f / f s l d - taw / f taw d r - s / f l d m f / l d m s - taw / se d r s - s / s d r m

4 – 7 [f – t]

f / l r m l - t / maw fe l r f / s l d m - t / l r fe
45

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

There is another connection we can take, which is bringing 4# before the 7th. [f – fe – t]

f / m s l d - f e / f e to d m - t / m o f e l r

4 – 6 [f – l]
This movement is seen in “Worship experience”, “More than anything”, and more.

f/fsld-l/stdm f/lrms-l/ldms

4 – 3 [f – m]
This movement is common in many songs.

f/mld-m/rsd f / se d m - m / m s taw r f / maw s l r - m / s t r m

4 – 1 [f – d]
Used in songs like “Our God is an awesome God”, “Breathe”, “You are the most high”,
and more.

f/ldm-d/rsd f/lrms-d/drms f / f se d r - d / l r s

Couple five
The five is the second most important note on the scale. It is the melody of the root major
triad. It gets you to both the ending of a song, and the beginning of a song.
5 – 1 [s – d]
Used in almost every song on the planet.

s/fldm-d/drms s / f l to r - d / m l to r s / se d r s - d / d m s t

5 – 3 [s – m]
Used in many, many songs.

s / d r m s - m / se d r s s / s d r m - f / maw s l r - m / s t d m

5 – 4 [s – f]

s/sltr-f/fsld s / d r m s - f / se d m s/strm-f/lrml

You can also connect a 1 chord between the 5th and the 4th as a passing chord.[5 – 1 – 4]

s / f l taw r - d / m l taw r - f / l r m s s / taw m l - d / t r m l - f / l r s

46

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

5 – 6 [s – l]

s/str-l/dmst s/drms-l/ldms

5 – 7 [s – t]
This is popularly used to end some worship songs, rather than just maintaining the 5th
tone alone.

s/fsld-t/sltr s/dfl-s/sdm-t/rst

Couple six
6 – 2 [l – r]
The 6th has a very strong tendency to lead to the 2nd.

l / s taw de m - r / f l d m l / s t d m - l r / fe l d m l / de f fe taw - r / f l d m

You can connect the 1# to the 6 – 2 movement also. [6 – 1# – 2]

l / s t r fe l - de / s taw de m - r / f l d m

6 – 3 [l – m]
As the 3rd can lead to the 6th, so can the 6th to the 3rd.

l/stdm-m/rsd

6 – 4 [l – f]
This is common in “All glory”, “Heal me o lord”, “ Let it rain”, and more.

l/stdm-f/lrms l/dmst-f/ldm

6 – 5 [l – s]
This can be used with the same root note [or not]. You would see these in songs like “All
glory”, “We worship you today”, and more.

l/ldms-l/sltr l/stdm-s/str

6 – 7[l – t]
Used in rounding up songs also.

l/dfsl-t/rslt

47

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved

 Couple seven
This 7th tone can be used over a 5 since it is part of the 5th tone chord. The chords
associated with the 7th are usually diminished or half-diminished in nature.

7 – 1 [t – d]
t/str-d/drms

7 – 2 [t – r]
This is common in songs like “Heart of worship”, and few others.

t/sltr-r/fldm

7 – 3 [t – m]
This is where the 7th would usually lead to if you follow the principle.

7 – 6 [t – l]
t/strm-l/stdm

Other couples you can harness which are not listed here:

1 – 5#, 1 – 6#, 2 – 1# - 1, 2 – 4# – 5, 2 – 3 – 4, 2 – 4, 2 – 6, 2 – 1 – 7, 2 – 7, 2 – 2# – 3, 3
– 2# – 2, 3 – 5, 4 – 2, 5 – 4# – 4, 5 – 1# – 1, 6 – 1, etc.

Alright! So we are done with couples now. I guarantee you that with these, you’d be
playing songs in no time. Take note also that nothing comes over-night, so you have to
keep practicing till you master these movements in and out. Have fun in your practice
time.

48

©2006.WorshipFingers Gospel Music Training Center | All Rights Reserved