Gospel Piano (part 1) Diatonic Triads:

                Gospel music is composed of various chord progressions that are strung together.  A chord progression is a group of chords that travel or progress through a harmonic sequence.  A progression can vary in size from two to seven or more chords.  They can be either diatonic or chromatic.  There are no set rules for chord progressions, although there are some sequences which tend to occur frequently.  

                The diatonic triads in major and minor keys were already discussed in my Chord Progressions lesson.  That discussion was based off of a classical musical perspective.  

In gospel music, these chords are viewed through a slightly different perspective.  A number system is used, identifying each chord with its corresponding bass note.  At some points within the number system, multiple chords could be used against the same bass note.  For example, the 2 chord can be the typical classical 2 chord (in a Major Key this is a minor triad, in a Minor Key this is a diminished triad) or it could be a V chord in 2^nd inversion (with the 5^th of the chord in the bass).  The most common of these substitutions is found on the 3 and 7 chords.  The most frequent 3 chord substitution in gospel music is playing a tonic triad in 1^st inversion (with the 3^rd of the chord in the bass).  The most frequent 7 chord substitution is playing the dominant in 1^st inversion (with the 3^rd of the chord in the bass).  These changes were applied to the gospel version of the diatonic triads displayed in this video, but other substitutions are also discussed in the lesson.  

                Within the larger scheme of harmonic movement, all songs end on the tonic harmony.  This final cadence is usually achieved by a dominant chord that resolves to the tonic.  The dominant chord is usually approached by either a two or four chord.  Subdominant or supertonic harmony can be approached either directly from the tonic, or by the use of the seven, three or six chords.  This type of large scale harmonic motion corresponds to the names given to each diatonic chord (as listed in the previous paragraph).  An outline of this large scale harmonic typical harmonic motion is provided in the video.

               Small scale harmonic progressions can take on any form.  There are many fragmented chord progression that can precede the main cadence of a piece of music.  This allows for an extensive amount of usable chord progressions. 

                The best way to acquaint yourself with common chord progressions is to listen to the progressions used in the music on your playlists.  Listen first to the bass line and use it to determine the roots of the chords.  Then listen for the upper tones to establish the quality of the chords.  In addition, experiment on either a guitar or piano forming various chord progressions.  Listen to the character of each progression and the relationships between the different chords.  Expand your knowledge by developing strategies for connecting progressions.  

               These strategies can be used to determine the chord changes of any gospel song that you are trying to learn to play.  Most of these songs will contain seventh chords, upper extensions, substitutions and other advanced techniques.  We will cover all of these techniques in future videos.  However, any song can be boiled down to a simplified form using only triads (as demonstrated by the example song in the video).  This is the 1^st step for entering the beginning stages of gospel piano playing.

                This Learning Music With Ray video discusses the diatonic triads use in gospel piano playing.  It is a study in the typical harmonic patterns used when traveling from one chord to the next in gospel music.  I provide a detailed illustration of the diatonic triads, found in both major and minor keys, from both a classical and gospel perspective.  I discuss the large scale harmonic motion that is found in most pieces of music.  Finally, I provide an example of an original gospel song written out in a simplified form containing only triads.  I give a chord by chord analysis of the song and demonstrate how the diatonic triads discussed earlier in the lesson can be applied to the performance of the song.