Play The Thickest, Fattest Chords On Planet Earth
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Amazing grace, how sweet the sound…
Most of us play that first word over a plain C chord. Three notes. It works, but it doesn’t exactly give you chills.
Now play it with all 10 fingers, every note of the C major scale except one. Suddenly that first chord sounds as big as the words you’re singing.
That’s my no note system.
And here’s the best part. You don’t need a lot of music theory, and you don’t need to be an advanced pianist. You don’t have to think about 9ths and 13ths. You just play the scale and leave out one note. That’s it.
Here’s what you’ll be able to do:
- Find the no note on major chords and turn a simple C chord into a gorgeous major 13
- Give minor chords and dominant 7th chords the same lush treatment, so every chord in a song sounds rich
- Play my favorite cluster voicings, the ones I love so much I want you to steal them
- Use the range rule to keep your chords beautiful instead of muddy
- Transform Amazing Grace phrase by phrase, including a magical walk down from way up high
By the end, you’ll have one simple system for making ordinary chords sound thick and beautiful in any song you play.
Writer
Jonny May
Jonathan May is a pianist from Southern California who specializes in many styles of piano. At age eighteen, Jonny became the youngest pianist to perform at Disneyland. Each week he entertained thousands of guests with his arrangements of American classics and Disney songs. Jonny has also performed with the Youtube...
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