How Great Is Our God

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

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

I –> VIm –> IV –> V

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

In the C key, that means:

C –> Am –> F –> G

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

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

C (+G) –> Am (+G) –> F (+C) –> G (+F)

Here is the illustration on video…

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

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

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

Chord Mixing (part 2)

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

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

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

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

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

Chord I + Chord V

Chord IV + Chord I

Chord V + Chord IV

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

Chord VI m + Chord V

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

Similarly,

Chord II m + Chord I

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

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

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

Chord Mixing (part 1)

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

In general, this is how I mix chords…

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

Chord I ( + Chord V )

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

Chord IV ( + Chord I )

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

Chord V ( + Chord IV )

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

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

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

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

Here is an illustration on video…

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

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

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

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

Improvising Sus2

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

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

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

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

Figure 1: C2

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

Figure 2: F2

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

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

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

Suspension (part 2)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Figure 1: C2

Figure 2: F2

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

The 8-year-old Preacher

I just received this link through a mail. What a revival!

See for yourself…

Something About Cambodia

On the flight back from Phnom Penh, I met a Cambodian lady who now stays in the US. Her mother and the children left Cambodia for US during the war. They thought they had lost their father in the war until more than 10 years later when they discovered him alive and had remarried. He is now a monk.

The lady visits Cambodia 2 to 4 times year, as she now owns some pieces of land, and grows some fruits in Cambodia, more as a hobby, than for a business, she said. How nice!

Based on her itinerary, I commented that she had just missed the Cambodian New Year in the middle of April. It was deliberate, though, according to her, because the celebration in the US is more interesting! Though their motherland has moved on, the Cambodian immigrants in the US are still holding on to the image of their country as they knew it when they left. They are also holding on to traditions that are probably no longer observed by those living in Cambodia. Therefore, the Cambodian New Year celebration, as it turns out, is actually more traditional and at the same time more modern (meaning parties! …being in the US) overseas among the Cambodian immigrant communities than in Cambodia itself.

Having talked so much about Cambodia, perhaps I should share a couple of video clips that I have taken.

This is a view of Bayong, one of the temples inside Angkor Thom City in Siem Reap.

This is a tut-tut passenger’s view of crossing a junction in Phnom Penh. Note the cars, tut-tuts and motorcycles criss-crossing. Drivers here are amazingly tolerant of one another!

Lastly, for the music fans, one of the most popular local singers currently in Cambodia is Sukon Nisa. She has a very sweet voice indeed. I am sure you can check out more about her on the Internet, and probably download some of her songs too! While typing this, I am actually listening to her album bought from the famous Russian Market in Phnom Penh.

Red Piano

It has been more than a week since I last blogged!

I have been very busy with work, traveling to Kuala Lumpur (the capital of Malaysia) and Phnom Penh (the capital of Cambodia) in the last 10 days. Will be back to Phnom Penh again tomorrow, and I am now in Seam Reap, the place famous for its Angkor Wat.

Actually, my work requires me to be in Phnom Penh tomorrow till next Tuesday. Since 01 May was Labour Day, I seized the opportunity to fly into Seam Reap and check out Angkor Wat before going to Phnom Penh.

I am putting up at a place called Molly Malone’s. It’s an Irish pub as well as a guesthouse (a kind-of 2-star hotel. Check out http://www.mollymalonescambodia.com/). It is very Irish indeed. My room is small but cozy. Molly Malone’s is situated right in the middle of night-life happenings! From my room, I can hear the music and people having a good time on the street. The street is full of pubs, restaurants, souvenir shops and internet cafe. It costs USD0.75 to get online for an hour.

Red Piano is a restaurant across the road, teeming with tourists. So, not wanting to miss out the fun, I sat at a table all by myself just for the experience, and ordered myself a cup of coffee and a chocolate pancake. This is what it looks like:

A group of Koreans had their eyes wide open seeing my pancake when they walked past my table. LOL. It’s about 1 foot in diameter. But honestly, it didn’t taste as good as it was described on the menu.

I will get back to the “suspension chords” when I am home. I can’t continue when I am oversea, since I need to capture photos of my hand on the piano to illustrate the chords.

To find out more about Red Piano, check out: http://www.redpianocambodia.com/

Jamie Cullum

I don’t know how many of you know about him.

The first time I saw Jamie Cullum was on TV a few years ago when he was playing before the Queen.

Have taken note of his albums since.

Here are a couple of videos of Jamie Cullum that are really awesome from YouTube. If you appreciate talents, you would definitely enjoy his performances.

I can’t embed this second one, so please visit: http://youtube.com/watch?v=TWTEfhhZXK4.

Enjoy!

Improvising Sus4

Note: I have cut-and-pasted the following text from my earlier version of “Suspension (part 1)” post, so that each of my postings will not appear under more than 1 category (Now, “Suspension (part 1)” is under the “Cheat Theories” category, and “Improvising Sus4” is under the “Cheat Tricks” category). At the same time, I have added illustration photos on the “Suspension (part 1)” post (if you haven’t seen them), and do likewise on this post.

If you find learning a Sus4 chord a challenge, don’t worry. This is where another Cheat Trick comes in.

To improvise Chord I4, try this: Play the “doe” note with your left hand. And with your right hand, instead of playing Chord I, play Chord IV. That sounds pretty much like Chord I4 to me. (In the C key, that means playing the C note with your left hand, and the F chord with your right hand. The resulting sound is very much like C4)

Figure 1: C4 (by combining F chord with C bass)

As for Chord V4, try this: Play the “so” note with your left hand. And with your right hand, instead of playing Chord V, play Chord I. Again that sounds pretty close to Chord V4 to me. (In the C key, that means playing the G note with your left hand, and the C chord with your right hand. The combination sounds very close to G4).

Figure 2: G4 (by combining C chord with G bass)