The purpose of this post is to show you how to take a song and put the chords into progression format. Once it is in progression format, it will be easy to play this song in any key. I'll do some of it a piece at a time, then end with the entire song in progression format. Here is the song in chord format:
"Hosanna" by: Kirk Franklin
Key C LH/RH
Intro:
/ C, E, F, G
C / F-A-C
C / G-B-D
C / G-C-E
(repeat)
/ C, F, E, C
/ G, F, E, D, C, B
F / C-F-A
G / D-G-B
A / E-A-C
G / D-F-Bb
(repeat)
F / C-F-A
G / D-G-B
C / E-G-C
Verse 1:
The angels
E / E-G-C bow
F / F-A-C down at the
G / D-G-B thought of
C / E-G-C You,
(repeat)
G / G
A / A
G / G
F / F the
E / E price
that You
F / F-A-C paid gives us
G / D-G-B life brand
A / E-A-C new, Ho-
G / D-F-Bb sanna for-
(repeat)
F / F-A-C ever we
G / D-G-B worship
C / E-G-C You,
Verse 2:
for You are
E / E-G-C the
F / F-A-C joy
that my soul
G / D-G-B lives
C / E-G-C for,
the Lamb that
E / E-G-C was
F / F-A-C slain
for my
F / F-A-C sins
and the
E / D-G#-B One
I adore,
A / E-A-C King
of
D / F-A-C Kings
ruler of
E / D-G#-B every-
A / E-A-C thing, Ho-
G / D-F-Bb sanna for-
F / F-A-C ever we
G / D-G-B worship *2nd time go on
A / E-A-C You, Ho-
(repeat)
C / E-G-C You,
Verse 3:
for Your
E / E-G-C patience and
F / F-A-C kindness,
F# / F#-A-D favor and
G / G-B-D mercy,
G# / G#-B-E honor and
A / A-C-E glory, be-
B / G-B-D cause You are
C# / A-C#-E or C# / G-A#-C#-E worthy, we
D / A-C-F can't live with-
E / G-C-E out You, we
F / A-C-F can't breath with-
F# / A-D-F# out You, we
G / A-C-F can't sing without You, Ho-
Modulation chord to Db: Ab / Bb-Db-Gb sanna, Hosanna,
Verse 4 (new key is Db):
Db / F-Ab-Db no
greater love in this world but You,
Db / F-Ab-Db
no one can compare to the things You do,
Eb / Eb-Ab-C
F / F-Ab-Db wher-
ever You
Gb / Gb-Bb-Db go
I will fol-
F / Eb-A-C
low
Bb / F-Bb-Db You,
Ab / Eb-Gb-Cb sanna for-
Gb / Db-Gb-Bb ever we
Ab / Eb-Ab-C worship *last time go on
Bb / F-Bb-Db You, Ho-
(repeat a couple times)
Db / F-Ab-Db You,
Vamp:
F / F-Ab-Db Ho-
Gb / Gb-Bb-Db san-
na,
Ab / Eb-Ab-C for-
Bb / F-Bb-Db e-
ver,
(repeat)
Modulate to D (same format):
F# / F#-A-D Ho-
G / G-B-D san-
na,
A / E-A-C# for-
B / F#-B-D e-
ver,
(repeat)
Modulate chords (going up to key of G):
G / G-Bb-Eb ever, and
G# / G#-B-E ever, and
A / A-C-F ever, and
Bb / Bb-Db-Gb ever,
Key G:
and ever
B / B-G-B Ho-
C / C-E-G sanna *repeat from here
D / A-D-F# for-
E / B-E-G ever.
(repeat 3x)
C# / B-D#-F-G
Now, let's start to take this song apart and put it in progression format. First, since this song is in the key of C, let's recall our C major scale and chords built off the scale degrees::
C major scale: C=1 D=2 E=3 F=4 G=5 A=6 B=7
1 chord = C-E-G
2 chord = D-F-A
3 chord = E-G-B
4 chord = F-A-C
5 chord = G-B-D
6 chord = A-C-E
7 chord = B-D-F
Now, let's go through some of the song:
"Hosanna" by: Kirk Franklin
Key C LH/RH
Intro:
/ C, E, F, G
C / F-A-C
C / G-B-D
C / G-C-E
(repeat)
O.K., let's stop right here and progressionalize this:
/ C, E, F, G = / 1, 3, 4, 5
C / F-A-C = 1 / 4 chord
C / G-B-D = 1 / 5 chord
C / G-C-E = 1 / 1 chord
Did yall see and understand what I did there? I took the single notes and tranlated them into scale degrees, then I looked at the chords and compared them to the chords built off the scale degrees in the key of C. Now, let's go on to another part:
/ C, F, E, C
/ G, F, E, D, C, B
F / C-F-A
G / D-G-B
A / E-A-C
G / D-F-Bb
(repeat)
O.K., let's stop right here and progressionalize this:
/ C, F, E, C = / 1, 4, 3, 1
/ G, F, E, D, C, B = / 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 7
F / C-F-A = 4 / 4 chord
G / D-G-B = 5 / 5 chord
A / E-A-C = 6 / 6 chord
G / D-F-Bb = 5 / b7 major chord
(repeat)
Is it starting to sink in now? I really do hope so. This is basically how I figure out songs and play them in all keys, by looking at the song in progression format and learning the pattern. It may seem like a lot of work at first, but once u get the hang of it, your brain will automatically convert what you hear into progression patterns. Thus, your learning time will be cut in half, allowing u to focus more on perfecting the song than learning it. Here is the entire song in progression format:
"Hosanna" by: Kirk Franklin
Key C LH/RH
Intro:
/ 1, 3, 4, 5
1 / 4 chord
1 / 5 chord
1 / 1 chord
(repeat)
/ 1, 4, 3, 1
/ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 7
4 / 4 chord
5 / 5 chord
6 / chord
5 / b7 chord
(repeat)
4 / 4 chord
5 / 5 chord
1 / 1 chord
Verse 1:
The angels
3 / 1 chord bow
4 / 4 chord down at the
5 / 5 chord thought of
1 / chord You,
(repeat)
*piano run The price that You
4 / 4 chord paid gives us
5 / 5 chord life brand
6 / chord new, Ho-
5 / b7 chord sanna for-
(repeat)
4 / 4 chord ever we
5 / 5 chord worship
1 / 1 chord You,
Verse 2:
For You are
3 / 1 the
4 / 4 joy that my soul
5 / 5 lives
1 / chord for,
the Lamb that
3 / 1 chord was
4 / 4 chord slain for my
4 / 4 chord sins and the
3 / 3 dom.7 chord One
I adore
6 / 6 chord King
of
2 / 4 chord Kings
ruler of
3 / 3 dom.7 chord every-
6 / 6 chord thing, Ho-
5 / b7 chord sanna for-
4 / 4 chord ever we
5 / 5 chord worship *2nd time go on
6 / chord You, Ho-
(repeat)
1 / 1 chord You,
Verse 3:
for Your
3 / 1 chord patience and
4 / 4 chord kindness,
#4 / major 2 chord favor and
5 / 5 chord mercy,
#5 / major 3 chord honor and
6 / 6 chord glory, be-
7 / 5 chord cause You are
#1 / major 6 chord or #1dim7. chord worthy, we
2 / 4 chord can't live with-
3 / 1 chord out You, we
4 / 4 chord can't breath with-
#4 / major 2 chord out You, we
5 / 4 chord can't sing without You, Ho-
Modulation chord to Db: 5 / 4 chord sanna, Hosanna
Verse 4 (new key is Db):
1 / 1 chord No
greater love in this world but You,
1 / 1 chord
no one can compare to the things You do,
2 / 4 chord
3 / 1 chord wher-
ever You
4 / 4 chord go
I will fol-
3 / 3 dom.7 chord
low
6 / 6 chord You
5 / b7 chord sanna for-
4 / 4 chord ever we
5 / 5 chord worship *last time go on
6 / chord You, Ho-
(repeat a couple times)
1 / 1 chord You,
Vamp:
3 / 1 chord Ho-
4 / 4 chord san-
na,
5 / 5 chord for-
6 / 6 chord e-
ver,
(repeat)
Modulate to D (same format):
3 / 1 chord Ho-
4 / 4 chord san-
na,
5 / 5 chord for-
6 / 6 chord e-
ver,
(repeat)
Modulate chords (going up to key of G):
3 / 1 chord in Eb
3 / 1 chord in E
3 / 1 chord in F
3 / 1 chord in Gb
Key G:
3 / 1 chord
4 / 4 chord
5 / 5 chord
6 / 6 chord
(repeat)
b5 / 5 dom.7 chord with raised 5
