>>> We have found the following conversations to be very helpful and thought that we should publish them for all of our students to observe and learn from. Enjoy ... <<<

CONVERSATION #1 ---

(CHAT STARTED AT 10:29 am)

Roger: Hello there

ME: Hello, how are you today?

Roger: I'm fine. Thank you

ME: By the way, this is Jermaine. I'm on this live chat this morning to speak with some of my students. If you have any questions, I will be glad to assist you. May I ask your name?

Roger: (we didn't know his name at the time) Ok, this is great. I initially just wanted to see if this live chat thingy worked before I ordered. I had no idea I would be chatting with you. Oh yes, my name is Roger

Roger: Roger*

ME: Well, as you can see, we're live (but not in color). hehe. Do you have any questions about the course? or about playing gospel / jazz music in general?

Roger: Actually, I've been playing for about 3 years. But I really need to improve my ability to play songs in every key. Do you have something for this?

ME: Sure ... my course actually covers transposition. However, I can show you a few techniques right now...

ME: Say you know how to play a dominant chord. For example, the C7 chord (which is pronounced "C Seventh") consists of 4 notes: C - E - G - Bb. My rule is... "if you know ONE chord, then you know them ALL." Do you know why Roger?

Roger: Uhhh ... well I've only been playing for 3 years and I really haven't gotten into all the theory. But why?

ME: I see. Well, I'm not trying to pressure you. Don't worry if you don't know the answers. That's why you have come to my website right?

Roger: sure...

ME: Well, here's the technique (and its very easy). If you want to play ANY chord (and I mean any chord) and you know ONE chord of its same type, then simply follow these steps:

ME: First, you must know one of the chords. In our example, lets say we know how to form a C7 (C - E - G - Bb). To form an Ab7 (A flat Seventh), we must first count how many half steps separate C and Ab. You can either count these half steps by going up the piano or down (whichever way the notes are closest together). Are you still with me?

Roger: Ok, so you're saying to count how many half steps Ab is from C? I'm not catching you when you say "half" steps.

ME: My fault Roger. I should have explained half steps. A HALF STEP simply means the difference between two keys which are RIGHT NEXT to each other. In other words, B and C are 1 half step apart because there aren't any notes in between them. However, C and D are 2 half steps apart because C# is in between the two notes. Got me?

Roger: Ok, I see. So E and F would be 1 half step apart. But F and G would be two half steps?

ME: Yes, that is correct. Also, another word for saying two half steps is to say 1 whole step. That's because two half steps equal one whole step. But its easier in this case to count half steps because I don't expect you to remember 1.5 whole steps (and all those decimals) when you can simply remember 3 half steps (my course is all about giving you theory in an easy format).

ME: So how many half steps are in between Ab and C?

Roger: Let's see. Is the answer 5?

ME: Ok... Roger. I think you might have miscounted. There's actually two answers depending on which way you chose to count. You could have either started at C and counted down That is, from C to B is 1 half step, from B to Bb is another half step. Or ... you could have started at C and counted up. That is, from C to C#, from C# to D and so on. Which way did you count Roger?

Roger: I went backwards because it was much easier. Let me try again

ME: Ok, no problem

Roger: Ok, is 4 correct?

ME: There you go! Because, from C to B is 1, from C to Bb is 2, from C to A is 3 and from C to Ab is 4.

ME: ... and here's the trick. Just simply subtract the number that you get from 12 and it will give you the opposite end. That is, if you subtract 4 from 12, you'll get 8. This means that if you count up (instead of down), you'll notice that Ab is 8 half steps up from C. These two numbers should always equal 12. Make sense?

Roger: Sure it does. I understand that because I teach math (despite my last error ... lol.)

ME: Ok, we're almost done. Now that you know that Ab is 4 half steps down from C, simply move all of your fingers 4 half steps down. That is, if you have your fingers on C - E - G - Bb, just simply slide each finger down 4 notes.

ME: C would now become Ab (obviously). E would become C, G would become Eb and Bb would become Gb. Tell me if I'm moving to fast...

Roger: I see, so all of my fingers move down the same amount of notes right?

ME: That's correct. You MUST make sure that all of them move the same amount of notes for the Ab7 chord to sound correct.

ME: This technique can be used to learn all chords ... and I mean all chords! Here is a distance chart (relative to C) so that you don't have to do all the counting that you did just now...

C to B (1 half step down; 11 half steps up)
C to Bb (2 half step down; 10 half steps up)
C to A (3 half step down; 9 half steps up)
C to Ab (4 half step down; 8 half steps up)
C to G (5 half step down; 7 half steps up)
C to Gb (6 half step down; 6 half steps up)
C to F (7 half step down; 5 half steps up)
C to E (8 half step down; 4 half steps up)
C to Eb (9 half step down; 3 half steps up)
C to D (10 half step down; 2 half steps up)
C to Db (11 half step down; 1 half steps up)
C to C (12 half step down; 12 half steps up)

(CHAT ENDED AT 10:42 am)