This is the initial part of a mini-series of learning worship chords using the keyboard, It is also for those who have played the keyboard with the traditional music score but would like to shift into more modern, chord-based playing.
This lesson examines what worship chords will be played in a specific key (this information is also helpful to guitarists), how to create these worship chords, and how to perform them in various positions (known as inversions or voicings).
The understanding of worship chords using the keyboard
Before we can grasp worship chords, we must know a bit about scales. The majority (though it’s not always the case) music for worship is the primary key, so we’ll steer clear of minor scales for this introduction. If you’re familiar with your scales, you’re already ahead of the game. If you don’t, you’ll always be able to figure out the scales. Every major scale comprises the same mixture of tones (T) and semitones (S). Semitones are the smallest note in music and are discovered when playing notes directly adjacent to an instrument (including white notes). One tone equals two semitones. In the C major scale, you don’t use any white notes, so it’s not difficult to figure out the presence of a tone or semitone in-between notes:
You can calculate a vital scale that begins at any note with this pattern of semitones and tones.
The most significant and most powerful chords in any piece will be built on scale notes. Therefore, once we begin using passing notes and other notes (explained in the Intermediate DVDs), it is essential to stay with the notes of the major scale for them to be working well.
The basic chords consist of three different notes. They are composed of a root note three, a third, and a fifth. It is the root note they begin on. The third is the third note of the scale that starts on the root note, and the fifth is the fifth note of the scale that begins at the root. There are two primary kinds of chords, the minor and the major. The only difference is the three. Here’s how to work out the major and minor chords by taking note of the semitones (the root note can be identified as C):
It is possible to play chords on any note of the scale. However, if you use only notes in the major scale, you will always find major chords on specific notes and minor chords on other notes. We often use the term “notes” from the scale with Roman numerals or numbers to make it easier to comprehend. For instance, the note beginning in a major scale could be known as 1. (or the note 1 (or) and will always include a significant chord with it. Here’s a diagram to help you understand the notes of a scale that are the major chord and minor chord that is associated with them (again, the pattern applies to all major scales):
The primary task of an excellent keyboard player is to master all of the major and minor chords to make them easy and natural to play. It is possible to find an icon for chords (e.g., G, Em) above the stave, and you need to understand this perfectly. Additionally, there are different ways that you can play any chord. For example, if we assume that we’ll use in the first (1st) note an instrument within the bass (left hand), we could then play all three notes with the right hand, in whatever order. Therefore, we can play each chord in three positions or the voicings:
These three voicings may be played with different octaves of the keyboard. We employ different voicings because when we use only chords that are rooted, our hands would be bouncing across the keyboard and could sound disjointed. When we employ different worship chords voicings, it’s possible to limit our movements and allow for more sequences of chords to play, such as the following example:
Try to learn to master all chords as many different voicings and octaves as you can so that they are natural and you can use them with ease. Also, try to practice pieces to find the most similar to the voicing of the song so that your playing becomes extremely effortless.
