Musician Transformation Training FUNDAMENTALS FLUENCY This training will ensure that you get the most out of the Fundamental Factory program, which covers Fundamental Fluency techniques. It goes without saying that if you don t have the basics mastered, you can t excel to the highest levels without major struggles. Focusing on the fundamentals speeds up your understanding of complex concepts in the future, among many things. Welcome! Pg 1
How much time to spend on the Fundamentals: In my 29-pg report on practicing, I gave this 1-hour chart as one potential way to break up your practice sessions. http://www.hearandplay.com/missingchapter.pdf You ll use this more after you re done with the ENTIRE Musician Transformation program. In the beginning, since you re focusing on fundamentals, you ll need to dedicate most of your time to the F.F. part of the formula (fundamentals fluency). As you progress forward, you ll slowly add in the next components ( Chordal Command, Pattern Proficiency, etc). So don t be confused... this chart WILL help you --- but only after you have covered all elements. If you aren t fluid in understanding all 12 major scales, 12 minor scales, number system, and intervals, then that s what you need to worry about FOR NOW. That s not to say you can t fiddle around on the piano. If you re in the Gospel Music Training Center, sure, you can learn a song to get your feet wet. JUST REMEMBER THAT THE TRUE GOAL IS TO BE ABLE TO KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE SONG LEARNING PROCESS THAT YOU CAN DO IT ON YOUR OWN ONE DAY. So it s like the popular analogy Give a man a fish and he ll eat for a day... teach a man how to fish and he ll eat for a lifetime. Learning how to fish takes longer, of course. So while you re learning, you also need some fast food to get you motivated, enthused, and balanced (because if you re only doing book work and not playing, you ll lose interest --- TRUST ME). So eat fish now but go through this program to learn HOW TO FISH. The end result will amaze you. Pg 2
KEY POI TS SUMMARY: 1) The suggested time table above is mainly for use when you have covered all 5 elements at least once. Before then, give the most focus to Fundamentals Fluency, splitting your allotted time among each newly added element as you go. (So when it s time to add Chordal Command, then you split practice into Fundamentals & Chords... and so forth). 2) The true goal is to understand the entire song learning process from the playing by ear perspective. Until then, it is perfectly fine to LEAR SO GS because motivation and enthusiasm is half of the battle. SELF ASSESSME T: Rate yourself (on a scale of 1-5 according to how true each statement is): 1 = not true 2 = under average 3 = average 4 = good / o.k. 5 = very much so! 1) I can call out any number of any scale (like the 6 th of D major ) instantaneously: 1 2 3 4 5 2) I can play any major scale at an impressive speed without thinking about it: 1 2 3 4 5 Pg 3
3) I can play any natural minor scale in a second s notice: 1 2 3 4 5 4) My rhythm is pretty good: 1 2 3 4 5 5) I can call out any interval within seconds (example: major third ): 1 2 3 4 5 A ALYSIS (GAME PLA ): If your score is 22-25: You re certainly ready for the next stage. The fundamentals is probably not your problem. If your score is 19-21: You re almost there. You re hanging around the slightly over average and good level but remember: GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF GREAT so give it a little bit more time and focus and you ll be ready to take it to the next level. If your score is 15-18: Work on your fundamentals for a good 3 weeks and once it s in your blood, you most likely won t have to look back because when you know it, you know it. Natural practice will help you to reinforce it. If you re below 15: Start from scratch. There should be no rush any time soon to move on to the chord county dvd until you can play every major scale, every minor scale, call out every number of the scale quickly, have decent rhythm and timing, and know your intervals. Pg 4
What to work on: SCALES 1) Why Won t He Wear White When Hot W.W.H.W.W.W.H. W = whole step H = half step Repetition is the mother of skill. Playing them over and over is the key to ultimately memorizing them. You ll start by writing them on paper and playing them from the paper. But over time, you ll just naturally memorize them. There s no way you can play scales dozens and hundreds of times and NOT MEMORIZE THEM. Either the problem is: 1) You re not playing them enough Playing them once or twice here or there (when ya want to) ain t gonna cut it. You have to put in dozens and hundreds of repetitions. REPETITION IS THE MOTHER OF SKILL. 2) You re not focusing It s like writing down a phone number. You can write it down and you can WRITE it down. You can just record what someone tells you in a way that you re not focused on remember it or you can actually analyze what they tell you and find ways to remember the number. Pg 5
For example, when my wife and I were dating, her first phone number ended in 3587. Immediately after phoning it a few times, I came up with a way to remember it because no one likes to pull out a paper every time you want to call someone (and cell phones weren t as widespread and smart then anyway so I was still doing it the old school way.) The way I remembered it was odd numbers starting at 3 (like 3, 5, 7) but instead of going immediately to 7, go to the number higher than it first and end on 7 --- thus 3 5 8 7). Once I made that connection in my head, all it took was one time and I could never forget 3,5,8,7. I had found a way to make sense of it that STUCK WITH ME. Then eventually, I just memorized it and even my shortcut wasn t needed anymore. IF YOU RE STRUGGLI G WITH SCALES, YOU EED TO DO THE SAME THI G. You can use: - Acronyms like why won t he wear white when hot - White notes vs black notes like always play the 3-grouped black keys together in this major key - Feeling some scales feel differently than others. - # of sharps / flats Every scale will use every alphabet letter. By nature, you CANNOT skip a musical letter. Each scale will always have an A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The only difference is whether it s A flat (Ab) or A sharp (A#), and so forth. And you need to concentrate on each scale just like you d do to memorize a phone number or combination lock password. EXTRAS Things you should do WHILE you re learning your scales are: - Number each one from 1 to 7 - Know the common fingerings (for help with coordination and speed later on) - Practice the scales in the pattern of the circle of fifths (going counter-clockwise as if a clock was ticking backwards). Pg 6
UMBER SYSTEM I wish I could make this deep, but all this entails is numbering each tone of the scale. So if your C major scale is C D E F G A B C. You ll just write down: C = 1 D = 2 E = 3 F = 4 G = 5 A = 6 B = 7 Getting the numbers in your system works just like the previous tips I gave. - Call out the numbers as you practice each scale - Use my flash cards (included in this document) For a full-length video lesson I created on using and remembering the number system, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf6qjwat4rg. There s a special pdf report that goes along with that video at http://www.hearandplay.com/numbers (it covers a really effective way to get the numbers down in your system... FOR EVERY KEY!). All the work is done for you too so check those two links out AFTER you read this entire report. Pg 7
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LET S PLAY A GAME: number game Either use the flash cards or have someone yell out questions like 5 th of Ab or 7 th of B. With another musician, race to see who calls out the correct tone. Use the flash cards I ve provided at http://www.hearandplay.com/numbers Pg 10
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USI G THE CIRCLE OF FIFTHS CHART: Without going into depth about the circle of fifths (because future elements in the program cover this in detail), I ll just suggest to LEARN EVERYTHING in this order: C F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb B E A D G This doesn t just apply to scales but chords, patterns, progressions... even songs. Why? Because music flows in fourths. As you start playing songs, if you re cognizant of intervals (and particularly perfect fourth intervals), you ll notice that 70 to 80% of the time, there is circular movement among the chords. Meaning, if you play a C major chord, chances are some type of F chord is next. If you re playing a Db chord, chances are some type of Gb chord is next. Just understanding this is the BIGGEST THING you can ever do for your playing and understanding of music. Pg 13
Just make sure you re going in the counter-clockwise direction. That is, the opposite of how a real clock would tick. Go from C to F to Bb to Eb, and so on. The other way is important too, don t get me wrong. Going from C to G (a fifth ) is common. But going from C to F is more common. And if you reverse things and go from G to C, that s very common as well. KEY POI TS SUMMARY: 1) If you haven t memorized your scales, it s either because you haven t given it enough repetitions or you re not focusing (truly engaged in learning them in a way that STICKS). 2) If you re struggling to remember scales, you can make up acronyms, remember the feeling each scale gives you (or a group of scales), go by # of sharps or flats, go by black keys vs white keys. 3) Other things to work on WHILE playing scales: number system, fingering, and the circle of fifths order. 4) Flash cards are a fast and fun way to learn the number system. Use the tool I made at http://www.hearandplay.com/numbers 5) The circle of fifths rules in music. Use it to learn all your scales, chords, patterns, and songs because that s the direction music flows in and practicing with it will only further your understanding and memorization of it. Advanced umber System Techniques: If you re using the circle of fifths, you ll be used to flowing from C major to F major (whether you re practicing scales or playing fancy chords later on, you ll go in THIS ORDER). One thing to keep in mind is the relationship between C and F. The reason they re neighbors on the chart is because they have a strong connection... a strong sense of commonality. And if you look at their scales, it only differs by ONE NOTE. The 7 th tone of C (which is B ) is the only difference between C major and F major. In F major, we play a B flat (Bb) instead of B. That s the only difference. Pg 14
And because C major and F major share 6 of 7 notes, that makes them more related than, let s say, C major and Gb major (which only shares 1 note... F ). I know you re thinking they share 2 notes but while Cb sounds like B they are NOT THE SAME just like Germaine and Jermaine aren t the same. So since Gb major only has 2 white notes and one of them is called Cb, that only leaves F... the only commonality between C and Gb. So it s no surprise C and Gb are opposites on the circle... separated by 6 degrees! Ever heard of the 6 degrees of separation concept? Interesting huh? Since C major and F major have a lot of the same notes (6 out of 7), here is a conversion chart that may be handy. GOLDEN RULE: When you re in one key and you want to learn the next neighboring key on the circle of fifths, understand how the numbers change up and you ll be good to go! The 1 st tone of the ORIGI AL key becomes... The 2 nd tone of the ORIGI AL key becomes... The 3 rd tone of the ORIGI AL key becomes... The 4 th tone of the ORIGI AL key becomes... The 5 th tone of the ORIGI AL key becomes... The 6 th tone of the ORIGI AL key becomes... The 7 th tone of the ORIGI AL key doesn t exist in the next key... The 5 th tone of the next key on the circle of fifths The 6 th tone of the next key on the circle of fifths The 7 th tone of the next key on the circle of fifths The 1 st tone of the next key on the circle of fifths (obviously) The 2 nd tone of the next key on the circle of fifths The 3 rd tone of the next key on the circle of fifths However, if you lower it a half step, it will be the 4 th tone of the next key on the circle of fifths How you can remember this: Just add 4 or subtract 3. That s it! You can actually add 4 up until you get to the 4 th tone of the original key (because 4+4 = 8 and we don t want to do that). So once you get to the 4 th tone start subtracting 3 and get the equivalent numbers in the next key. As long as you keep the answer between 1 and 7, that s what will dictate whether you add or subtract. Pg 15
This is just another way to get the NUMBERS down in your bones. Understanding the number equivalents between keys will help you to transpose songs and go in and out of different keys a lot easier. Minor Scales One of my favorite sayings is: If you know major, you know minor. Why? You can play any minor scale by simply playing A Y major scale starting and ending on the 6 th tone of that major scale. That s it. Doesn t that sound easy? So if you know your numbers, you ll be good at determining the 6 th tone of any scale very quickly. Then, you simply play that SAME major scale (do NOT change a thing about the scale... play the same notes) starting and ending on that 6 th tone. See how we did that? The picture above shows a C major scale repeated two octaves (which means it repeats itself again with higher sounding notes). I repeated the scale so that I can show you this simple strategy to learn the relative minor scale that goes along with C major. You see, every major scale has a minor scale that s related to it. You can call it a sister or brother scale or a cousin... it don t matter. They are related. They share the SAME OTES. They share the SAME UMBER OF SHARPS & FLATS. They share the SAME KEY SIG ATURE. They share the SAME CHORDS. Pg 16
For C major, that relative minor is A. How did we get A? Easy. It s the 6 th tone. 6 is your magic number when it comes to minor keys. Just remember 6. (I know some of ya ll are scared of 6. It s just one 6. It ain t 3 of them so don t worry!!! ). So just play C D E F G A B C but from A to A --- thus, giving you: A B C D E F G A So now, you ve added another fundamental... and it took all of 3 minutes! REMEMBER: IF YOU K OW YOUR MAJOR, YOU K OW YOUR MI OR. In the same spirit as earlier, you ll also want to practice your minor scales in the same CIRCLE OF FIFTHS pattern. And go in the same order. The only difference is instead of starting with C major, you ll start with A minor since A is the relative minor of C. If you look at the same circle of fifths, you will see the RELATIVE MINORS illustrated in the most inner circle of the chart. Notice C is on the outskirts but if you look towards the inner area, you ll see it s relative counterpart, A minor. Pg 17
Relative Minor This is the order you ll play your minor scales. And remember, minor scales are simply major scales starting and ending on the 6 th tone. So rather than getting all worked up about playing A minor, just try to think of C major being played from A to A. It s so much easier. Rhythm & Hanon Exercises: For developing rhythm, coordination, independence, and many other things, I recommend practicing every scale with a metronome. You can pick one up at the local store for $20 bucks. This will keep you on time. You ll need to use self-judgment to make sure you re keeping that time and paying attention to the metronome. Timing will improve as you play more and more with the metronome. Hanon exercises are great too. We held a $200 mastery training program in 2008 and one of the topics was Hanon. We covered the first 10 exercises or so on the training. It is the second training and I d like to give it to you for free. Visit http://www.hearandplay.com/mastery.html to get it. Pg 18
Intervals and the umber System: Because you ve invested time in learning the number system, intervals will be a piece of cake. From the 1 st tone of the scale to the 1 st tone of the scale (itself) is called U ISO. From the 1 st tone of the scale to the 2 nd tone of the scale is called a MAJOR 2 D. From the 1 st tone of the scale to the 3 rd tone of the scale is called a MAJOR 3RD. From the 1 st tone of the scale to the 4 th tone of the scale is called a PERFECT 4TH. From the 1 st tone of the scale to the 5 th tone of the scale is called a PERFECT 5TH. From the 1 st tone of the scale to the 6 th tone of the scale is called a MAJOR 6TH. From the 1 st tone of the scale to the 7 th tone of the scale is called a MAJOR 7TH. From the 1 st tone of the scale to the 8 th tone of the scale is called a PEFECT OCTAVE. Pg 19
Notice that some intervals get a PERFECT and some get a MAJOR. This has to do with how consonant the intervals are. This gets into a discussion of frequency of vibrations and ratios between notes (like 3:2 or 4:3 ) and there is no need to go that far. Just memorize the 1 st, 4 th, 5 th, and 8 th tones as PEFECT and the rest as MAJOR. With the number system, it was all about single notes --- knowing the 6 th tone of C. With intervals, it s about knowing the distance between two notes --- the distance between C and A (or the 6 th tone of the scale). Since you know the numbers, this is easy. Just slap a major before the 6 and you have yourself a major 6 th. Now if you raise or lower any of these intervals, you ll get minor, diminished, and augmented intervals. Perfect intervals will never use the terms major or minor. Again, the reasons go beyond the context of what we re studying. They can be diminished (lowered a half step) or augmented (raised a half step). So taking the distance between C and its 5 th tone would normally be a perfect fifth. If you raise that 5 th tone, you ll get an Augmented 5 th (G#). If you lower that 5 th tone, you ll get a Diminished 5 th (Gb). The same happens with major intervals. If you lower it, you ll get a minor interval. However, if you raise it, you can use the word augmented. If you raise the 2 nd tone of C, which is D, to D#, that would be an augmented 2 nd. If you lower it to Db, that would be a minor second. Pg 20
If you simply learn these intervals in every key (using the technique above), you ll have every interval off every tone memorized. KEY POI TS SUMMARY: 1) Keys that are neighbors on the circle of fifths chart share most of the same notes (6 out of 7), thus they are more related than any other tones. 2) The 6 th of one key, for example, will be the 3 rd in the next neighboring key on the circle of fifths. This is important when it comes to playing chords because you ll know that the same minor chord you play in the key of C major on the 6 th tone can be played on the 3 rd tone of F major. 3) To play a minor scale, just go to the 6 th tone of any major scale and play the SAME major scale starting and ending on it (in C major, you d play the same EXACT notes of the C major scale, starting and ending on A, which is the 6 th tone). 4) Playing with a metronome is essential to building good rhythm and timing. It will improve over time. 5) Hanon exercises are great for coordination, independence, dexterity, agility, speed, and more. You can watch a 2-hour training at http://www.hearandplay.com/mastery.html (yours free). It s the 2 nd presentation. 6) Intervals in music mean distance. Understanding the distances between two notes is very important. It will allow you to easily transpose songs to new keys, among many things. Understanding intervals will also allow you to form tons of advanced chords (including altered chords). 7) The distance between the 1 st tone of the scale and the 1 st (itself), 4 th, 5 th, and 8 th tones (itself but higher up) get the name PERFECT. Everything else (2 nd, 3 rd, 6 th, and 7 th ) get the name MAJOR. 8) By raising or lowering notes, you can change PEFECT INTERVALS into DIMINISHED or AUGMENTED intervals and you can turn major intervals into MINOR (and AUGMENTED, although rare since it will most likely clash with a more popular interval ---- Augmented 6 th = the same sound as a minor 7 th so most people will use minor 7 th ). 9) KNOWING THE FUNDAMENTALS WILL SHORTCUT THE AMOUNT OF TIME IT TAKES TO SUCCEED. COMMIT TO IT AND I LL SEE YA AT THE TOP! Pg 21