There are basically 3 chords for every song. They are the 1 chord, the 4 chord and the 5 chord. Musically speaking, that terminology would be considered "slang", but we're trying to help church pianists learn how to play the hymns in the shortest amount of time, so please forgive me if I use a few short-cuts here and there!
* The 1 chord is built upon the first note of the scale of the key in which you are playing. For example, in the key of C, the 1 chord is C (C-E-G). The 1 chord consists of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the scale.
*The 4 chord is built upon the 4th note of the scale, and the 5 chord on the 5th.
In the key of C, based upon the C scale, our chords would be 1-C, 4-F, 5-G.
In order to figure out the 4 and 5 chords, you will have to refer to those scales in order to get the correct notes to build your chord. To save you time, I have listed all of the primary chords for every key here on this page. Feel free to copy it and post it at your piano or in your hymn book.
Key of C (no sharps or flats)
Scale: C D E F G A B C
Chords: C (C-E-G) / F (F-A-C) / G (G-B-D)
Key of D (2 sharps (F# and C#)
Scale: D E F# G A B C# D
Chords: D (D-F#-A) / G (G-B-D) / A (A-C#-E)
Key of E (4 sharps (F#,G#,C#,D#)
Scale: E F# G# A B C# D# E
Chords: E (E-G#-B) / A (A-C#-E) / B (B-C#-D#)
Key of F (1 flat (B flat)
Scale: F G A B-flat C D E F
Chords: F (F-A-C) / B-flat (B-flat - D - F) / C (C-E-G)
Key of G (1 sharp (F#)
Scale: G A B C D E F# G
Chords: G (G-B-D / C (C-E-G) / D (D F# A)
Key of A
Scale: A B C# D E F# G# A
Chords: A (A-C#-E) / D (D-F#-A) / E (E-G#-B)
Key of B (5 sharps (F# G# C# D# A#)
Scale: B C# D# E F# G# A# B
Chords: B (B-D#-F#) / E (E-G#-B) / F# (F#-A#-C#)
Other commonly used Key signatures in hymn playing:
B Flat (2 flats, B-flat and E-flat) (I wish there was a flat sign on my computer keyboard!)
Scale: B flat C D E flat F G A B flat
Chords: B flat (Bflat-D-F) / E flat (Eflat-G-Bflat)
Key of A Flat (A-flat, B-flat, D-flat, E-flat)
Scale: A-flat, B-flat, C D-flat, E-flat, F, G, A-flat
Chords: A-flat (A-flat, C, E-flat) / D-flat (D-flat, F, A-flat) / E-flat (E-flat, G, B-flat)
There are more key signatures, but these are the most common ones used in the hymn book.
If you have more specific questions about hymn playing, please feel free to email me at harmonyhillmusic@hotmail.com
3 comments:
I'm doing some research. Astronomers say we have now deciphered the song of the universe and it is in Bflat. How many popular hymns can you think of that are in keys that have Bflat in them? I used to play piano in church and used your 1-4-5 approach to hymns, but I can't remember now what keys they were in. I do know that I really liked Fmajor because the 5chord, the one that soars highest in the song, is the Bflat. Longing for God attuned to His wavelength.
Sorry to have to repost, but I realized I said Fmajor and I meant Eflat .
EFlat?? That's just plain Blasphemy!
Post a Comment