Time to Get The "D" in Diminished

Many musicians as about the elusive diminished chords. To be honest there is no secret.

Dimished Chord Formula:

Root Note----Flatted 3rd-----Flatted 5

The most amazing thing about diminished chords is that they add the dissonance in your playing and that's what the "D" stands for.

Let's look at at the C diminshed chord


Piano Tip # 1

• You can move to any note in the chord that is a half step above. 

For example: Play the C diminished chord and go to E. The reason behind this is because its a passing chord. The Eb leads to the E if you look at the chord closely.

One of the building blocks of diminished chords is the fact that they have a tritone inside of them. If you dissect the chord you will see that there are two tritones that exist.

Tritone # 1: C and Gb




Tritone # 2: Eb and A



I will explain further along in another post about tritones. However, back to diminished chords

Piano Tip # 2

• Diminished chords can be used as a passing tone to get to the next closest note.

For example: If I am in the Key of C and I want to get to D which is the 2 chord. How would I get there?

Chord #1: C major chord (C, E, G)



Chord # 2 C diminished chord (C, Eb, Gb, A)



Chord # 3 D minor chord (A, D, F)



This is just a sample of what diminished chords can do. When you practice the positions and the fingering you can do wonders effectively.

All the best,

-Jamie

What Makes A Professional Musicians Different Than An Average Musician?

This is probably the number 1 question that makes musicians go wild. What is the difference between a professional musician and an average musician. The answer will surprise YOU.


Here are three things that separate professional musicians from an average musician.

Attribute # 1: Its not the amount of time youve been doing it.

People always say that its because I got 30 plus years of being a musician thats what makes me a professional. Even someone who is just out of the gate learning will aspire to become great. You will learn through your experiences of what it takes to become a professional.

Attribute # 2: There is an ART and SCIENCE to become a MASTER

Martial Arts Masters spend years learning the ART and TECHNIQUE to perfect they skill. It's the passion and drive that will get them far. You may not get PAID for your work but it's the feeling inside that will bring you true success. In the music world, there are many musicians who take unpaid gigs but it's the passion and drive that keeps them going. People will recognize that you are a leader in your field of excellence. When that becomes the norm then great things will happen. People will become attracted to your success and those who are willing to invest in you will see the great potential for more. You will reach that level of MASTERY when you doing something more than just once and then become PAID.


Atttribute # 3: Think BIG to Acquire SUCCESS

The one thinking that stops many musicians no matter what skill level they are at is the ability to think BIG. Many musicians are hurting because some won't share there chords with you or that you are being put down by fellow musicians. You got to rise above those challenges to acquire success. Many of those professional musicians were at the same stage you were at and they rose above it and the people that didn't think that they were going to be successful came back. Their mindset changed and have become attracted to their success. It starts with yourself. If you can change the way that you think and not focus on the actions you will become a success.

Think Bigger Chords and Riffs
Think Bigger Dreams
Think A Bigger and Better Life for Your Music!

I hope that this inspires someone for success.

3 Mental Mind Tricks to Reach Your Music Goals Faster

When it comes to learning anything, I can probably come up with a hundred excuses on why I shouldn't need to know anything new. As a person, who has learned about marketing it all comes down to perception and setting yourself up to success. That's easier said than done. Most times when we want to come achieve our goal we become our own worst enemy. That's forces us to take even longer to reach the goal.

With that said, I want to share three simple techniques on how to set yourself us for success an lead you on the path to success with your music goals.

1. Your Motivation

What are you really trying to obtain? As human beings, we are not completely truthful with ourselves. You need to search deep within yourself to find out where the motivation will come from. Are you motivated by the passion that comes from doing something you love or are you driven by the reward that will come when you finally complete that goal.  For example, learning to build a bench because you need somewhere to sit. \

When you trying to motivate yourself; try not to see this as a meanless chore. Find a deeper meaning that will keep you going for the long run. When you are personally invested in something your passion will always shine through.

Try to find that end of the rainbow and find ways to motivate yourself. Like creating a goal board with a picture of your goal. When you take hold of your motivation, you will feel more in control.

2. Fixing Your Mindset Is Key

Simply put: When you are trying to keep the motivation going, your mindset is the most important thing.

When your mindset is not right, even the littlest things can set you off track.

 Remember the saying: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

What you mind is saying is: If you think your going to fail, you will fail. There are to many times when the mind is focus on that one thing and will limit the potential of growth that you could have. When you think about growth it will challenge those things that are constant.  For example: "If I don't try then what was the point?".

Sometimes you need to suspend the disbelief and the second guessing. When you do that you leave yourself open to all possibilities that are out there in the world.

3. Partner Up

Wondertwin Powers Activate!

It's no fun trying to achieve your goals by yourself. Try to make time to share your experiences with a friend because that will help increase your motivation when it comes to reaching all your music goals. Trying having a practice session with a friend who knows your goals and will help you when things get rough. When you share your goal with a friend it's makes it more worthwhile and it doesn't seem like such a struggle to get to the top of that mountain.

Take Care
-Jamie

America's Got Talent

It's true. According to the National Association of Music Merchants. Millions of people play piano especially between the ages of 5-11. It's true what they say learning an instrument at a young age can definately pay off when you are older. Now with the use of technology it's becoming easier especially that many people are learning privately. What is suprising is that they are motivated through their parents but what is making the rounds is that they are choosing to do it themselves and learn.

Congratualtions Musicians Sorry Guitar players. :(

Photo Credit: Matthew Wolfer

Think Gospel Piano Is Just For Beginners? This Brilliant E-Book will Help You Become a Master

Hello, Everyone

It's been a while however we are back and kicking more butt than ever. We are going to be releasing a new e-book for all of our readers. The one question that I continueously get is how do I get from a beginner piano player to an advanced piano player. Well, I am going to personally demystify this in this e-book. In this e-book you will receive over 100 chords in all 12 keys with every popular progression you can think of. The best part is that when you get to the last page of the e-book you will receive something very special. All that I can say is that you have to follow the instructions and send us a video with your playing.

I know how hard it is to start playing piano especially gospel. I have spent a obscene amount of time going through this e-book putting together the countless amount of chords and tips and tricks to becoming a master. By all means I am not saying that you will become a master overnight but if you apply these techniques and movements in your playing you will see a difference.


We are offering this e-book as a thank you to everyone who visits the Musicians Forum. Everyone has been very supportive to us and we want to thank them.

To receive this e-book send us an email to businessandmusiciansforum@yahoo.com

Everything You Learned About Practicing Is A Lie?

Greetings, Everyone

I have been away for quite a while (maybe too long) but I am back. Let's just say that life got busy for a bit but have settle down. In the time I have been away I have been reflecting on my practicing and my playing. I have been not focusing so much on the blog but I am BACK!.


To be quite honest, everything you about practicing is a lie. For many years, I was always told that the best way to learn a song or practice a scale is to sit in a room with a piano and watch Youtube. (I am not knocking Youtube because its an awesome resource for musicians I have learned a lot from it)

In the 21st century, there is a new way of practicing and its called APPLICATION. If you can't apply what your learning its no use to you. Everything involving application is important when it comes to practicing. Whether it's learning a scale or learning a new chord movement for a song the key is APPLICATION!.

I have been around many musicians that can sound nice in one key however when it comes to doing the same thing in a different key they can't do it or just press that magic TRANSPOSE button. When your practicing you need to apply the same tricks and runs in other keys. You never know when that one keyboard run can get you out of a major jam.

Take the skills that you learn from practicing and see what it can do to your life because it will make a difference.

The message that I want everyone to take away from this is that you need to apply what you learned not just in one area but in all.

HUGE Christmas Announcement and Giveaway

Dear Readers,

Over the past couple of months we would just like to thank our readers and listeners for making The Musicians Forum a success. This Christmas season my favorite season of the entire year, is here and only a few days away to Christmas. We would love to share a special Christmas and New Year Announcement with you!

Until December 31, 2013 at 4:00pm EST/ 2:00pm PST we are going to be holding a contest for all of our readers. You will have the opportunity to win some awesome prizes.

Prize # 1- Keyboard Foot Pedal
Prize # 2- Drummer's Pack (Drumsticks and Drum Key) or Keyboard Foot Pedal (if your not a drummer)(your choice)
Prize # 3- Cash Prize of $20 US

In order to enter you need to do the following:

Send us an email at businessandmusicianforum@yahoo.com telling us how you are going to become a better musician in 2014.  Please include your Twitter username. The more entries will mean more contests and better prizes for the future.

We will be announcing the winners through Twitter. Please make sure you follow us.


RULES & REGULATIONS

-Contest ends on December 31 at 4:00 PM EST/ 2:00PM PST
-Get additional entries by commenting on the blog and leaving your Twitter username (you can only comment up to 4 times)
-Send us an email telling us how you are going to be a better musician in 2014. (1 EMAIL per person) Please include your twitter name as well.
-NO REPEAT EMAILS
-You can also enter on Twitter using the hashtag #NewYearGiveaway and @MusicianForum must use those to qualify

We will ANNOUNCE the WINNERS ON January 1 on Twitter.

That's it. Share this email and please send the Christmas and New Year Love to others.

Thank You

The Musician Forum

Neo-Soul Keyboard Foundation Chords

This is the one secret that every musician has been trying to discover for years. Most musicians don't even want to share how they create neo soul flavour. Just in time for the holidays I am going to take the time to explain these awesome neo-soul chords and give you a few tips and tricks to help improve your neo-soul. 

Tips & Tricks for Neo-Soul Chords

• Grace Notes
• Clusters
• Minor 9 Chords

Grace Notes

We all have heard the term "Grace Notes" however in the contaxt of music this just refers to the note right next to the note. For example: In the key of Eb

 

In the key of Eb, the above example is an Eb major triad with the added 2nd which is F. The grace note would be the F because it is right next to the G.

Clusters

Clusters are just a group of notes that are clump together. Clusters will work when you are playing a major/minor chord. For example: In the key of Db

This is a great cluster chord in the key of Db because this utilizes all the notes in the scale. This combines all the notes for the 4 chord which is Gb (F#)

Minor 9 Chords

Essentially, we are going to be combining a minor chord with all the other tools we have learned so far. 

We are going to be in the key of F minor (relative key is Ab)

This is combining a Ab Major 7 chord with an Eb major triad in the 3rd inversion. When you combine these two chords you have powerful minor chord that gives you a bright sound and the best part is that you can invert the Eb chord. This will give you a different sound each time you invert the Eb chord. 

The trick to forming the minor chord is take major 7th chord in which every key your in and invert that to the 3rd inversion. Take the first note of the inversion and use that as your chord that you will play in your right hand. This will always be a major chord. Just remember that the major 7th chord will always be played on the 6th note of the scale which will always be a minor.

I hope this post helps you get started in the world of Neo Soul. 

For more cool tricks and movements like this, I recommend Gospel Musicians “Fundamentals of Neo-Soul Keyboard” by  gospel musician and producer, Jamal Hartwell. Click here for more information.

5 Holiday Gifts for Musicians

Its that time of the year to buy gifts. We all know the drill when we have to do the hustle and bustle for that person that you have in mind. If your stuck on what to buy for that musicians in your life, well were here to help you. We have picked the top 5 hottest items for that musician for you.


1. The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear 

When I first started piano, I was struggling just to even learn the notes. I couldn't read theory or I even didn't know it. This was one of the first books that I purchased and still I have it. I have never gone wrong with this book and I still refer to this when I still need to create chords or learn a concept. This is great for a beginner who is just learning piano/keyboard.

2. Superior Singing Method - Online Singing Course
For the singer at heart that sings even though they are going to Starbucks this is a perfect gift. Even if your learning how to sing or are a professional singer there is always something to learn.








3.Neo Soul Keys for Apple iOS and Higher


This is the most powerful electric library up date. I have received so many requests from musicians who have asked me about how they can update the basic sounds on a keyboard to something way better. Every musician should have this. This is not just another sample pack. You can use this even on any Apple software including your iOS phone.





4. Dr. Drum Beat Maker 

The drummers would not like me if I didn't put this on the list. This was the second most requested item of the year that was brought to my attention. This will help you build click tracks for gigs, rehearsals and just tracks to jam to with friends. It's a stocking stuffer that just keeps on giving.







 
 5. Hear and Play: Conquering Christmas Classics

Wouldn't it be nice to learn how to play those Christmas classics without having to learn to read sheet music. This series teaches you to learn how to play by ear. You can learn classics such as The First Noel or Go Tell It On The Mountain. You have an awesome Christmas learning these songs and many more..





That's all for the year. We hope that you find something for that special musician in mind. Happy Holidays!

5 Awesome Reasons to Learn Five New Chords

Recently, there have been many musicians who have been emailing lately and asking why do you need to learn new chords when it comes to learning music. Today I am going to debunk that reason and give you plenty of content to show why it is worthwhile.

Reason #1 - Being Versatile: Nothing feels better than knowing you can play a song with the new chords that you have learned without hesitation!

Reason #2 - Freedom: Musicians who only know a few chords will only touch the surface of what they can achieve. When you challenge yourself to learning more, there are more doors that can open up to you and you won't have to rely on using the transpose button. When you start to use the "transpose" button it only limits what you can do and restricts your freedom.

Reason #3 - Confidence: This is a big one! You are able to become that person that you have always wanted to be and take your talent to the next level. Instead, of playing the basics your are now playing a level that is above your skills. People will take notice and see the confidence and drive that you have.

Reason #4 - Respect: Just think for a moment that you are in a situation or a jam session with some friends and you play an amazing chord that turns heads. They will be asking What did you just play? or Can you teach me that? You have now gained a little more respect for what you have just learned

Reason #5 - Acheivement: When you learn something that is out of your comfort zone it feels awesome. Granted, we can fool others with the transpose button. Nothing feels more greater that achieving the goal yourself. Doctors receive awards. Athletes get championship rings. The most important thing is that you have accomplished something that you are satisifed with. That's a lot better then receiving a ring or an award. We all have to start from somewhere to get to someplace.

Best Wishes

How to Make Music That People Want To Listen To?

Just recently we heard the biggest announcement in the music scene. Someone just sold over 300,000 albums in a single day.

In order to create music that makes people that people want to buy you have to look at the following.

Create Enriched Content

As the saying goes: Content is King. A saying that's true one hundred percent of the time. You want to build content that people will remember and add value. People listen to music for a variety of reasons. The content of what is in the song people will remember such as it brings an emotion or just because it so catchy. Let me use one of the most remembered songs of this past year "Gangnam Style' people remember the song because it's so catchy.

Break the Mold

When you break the traditional norm of music of creating a standard song that has a verse chorus verse than chorus, then ending. People will remember. The goal is to stand out. There are so many artist that have stood out in music this year and that's what keeps them on the top.

Share, Share, Share

No one knows that you exist unless you tell them you do. You have get yourself out there and give people a reason to listen to you. Start with a small idea and expand. You will see your haerd word start to pay off.

What makes the best artists in the world so unique is that they take the time to share the experience with the people that listen the most.

Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and put yourself to the limit.

So remember, if you want your music to grow this year.

Create amazing content
Be different
Share

It's Finally Here: The Contest of the Ages

The anticipation is finally over because after several long months we have finally come to the first release of our Secret Chords E-Book. This was the culmination of many months of studying and learned of one of the most highly guarded secrets in music.

Of course, I can't reveal that to you in this post however what I can tell you is that this is one of those things that will definitely spice up your playing. There are many people who have asked musicians to share their secrets and many won't even give you the time of day.

Here at The Musician Forum we will make it a duty to share with you as much knowledge as possible. But enough talking.

The e-book will be released within a couple of weeks. A date will be announced at a later time. However, we are giving you a special treat by giving 2 lucky people an advanced copy of the e-book before the release date.

The one thing that I can tell you is that if you are reading the blog and following us on Twitter then you have a better chance to win.

The way to claim the advanced copy of the e-book is to enter the contest. In order to win you need to:

1. Follow us on Twitter (@MusicianForum)
2. Invite a friend to follow us on Twitter
2. Send us an tweet or an email telling us why you should receive the e-book.
Use the hashtag #MusicianContest to enter on Twitter or send an email

The winner will receive an advanced copy of the e-book.

The contest will close on June 28, 2013 at 12 noon. The winner will be notified by email or by Twitter

It's time to get started so start telling your friends if you want to participate in the contest.

Thanks,

Jamie M

Here is a Awesome Chord Movement That You Can Use Right Now

In this post I want to share a sweet way to play the "1 chord".

What do you mean by "1 chord"

Well, every note the piano has a different tone

If we look at every note in a scale, we notice that there are 8 notes in the scale. For example, in the C major scale; we could assign each note a number.

C=1
D=2
E=3 and so on until we get back to C which would be number 8 but in this case we will refer to this as one.

Now, we have just learned that we can assign notes to a scale and refer to them as numbers. Let go back to talking about the one chord.

Recently, they have just analyzed thousands of songs and documented that 8 out of every 10 songs start on the "1 chord".

When you ate just learning piano or keyboard, you are taught to play the one chord as a triad which is three notes for example, lets go back to the key of C and look at the C major chord which is the 1 chord.

Here are the notes as follows:



In the left hand- C
In the right hand C  E  G

Now, lets be honest that really sounds full and boring. As you learn more about music, the one key lesson is that you can play a chord many different ways. This is however a great beginner chord to use when you are first playing. We are going to take this up a notch and make the chord sound a little more open.




This is a C Suspended

In the left hand- C, E
In the right hand- A, D, G

Compare the difference and try it for yourself and let us know what you think.

The trick to forming this chord in all 12 keys is just take it up a half step and you will have a 1 chord in the key of C# and so on.

This is more open and leaves you to do a lot more in order to make your sound better.

3 Music Lessons That I Learned From My Mom

They may be homemakers or full-time mothers but in today's day and age, mothers are not getting enough credit.

They are raising children and teaching them the skills to survive in this world and even though society places a limited value on them, there is much more that society doesn't see.

In honor of Mother's Day, we thought we would share some lessons my mother taught me about music and life.

1. "Your crazy if you try to be the best at everything"

My mothers best advice is just that. She taught me that when you work and practice you may not see results right away but you will be learning a skill that can last you a lifetime. As a result, I learned to pace myself in my music practice and in my future. Learning to be able pace yourself for the future and to focus on one goal at a time was the ultimate motivator for me to become successful.

2. "Have fun and enjoy the best that life has to offer"

Being a musician, you learn to be very critical of yourself if you mess up a run or chord. It's all a learning experience. Even though I can never get back the time I invested in practicing I have to make the best of this. My mom wasn't the best at everything but she learned to have fun an enjoy every moment.

3. "Your never too young to stop learning"

I remember when I first started my first business when I young. I was selling lemonade it was a complete failure. No traffic meant no sales. I remember I sat there for hours and no one would show up. I had that look of optimism on my face. Then sadness two hours later. This would then shape me to always strive to become better in every experience. When my mom presented that saying to me, this would be the guiding principle for me to receive an education, learn music and most of help pass this on to others.

We want to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day to everyone.

Sincerely,


The Musician's Forum

The One Thing I Should Have Learned As A Musician

Fellow music lovers,

There are many unanswered questions in life such as when I will win the lottery or how do I get the last slice of pizza before my friends. Then there are times that you wished you had an opportunity to relearn. Throughout my life of being a musician there are many times in which you get to reflect on how you got to where you are now. I have experienced many different obstacles and lots of opportunities to play with many different people. The one thing that I wished I had learned as a musician is ALWAYS CONTINUE LEARNING. Most of the time we make the mistake of thinking that we know it all and unfortunately we don't. There is always going to be some new chord or amazing run or progression that will capture our interest so that we can learn it.

This is just a post just to encourage you to always strive to learn and improve your skills. This will not only help you in music but also in life.

Happy Easter

Greetings, I personally want to wish everyone a Happy Easter and share some words of wisdom.

Be patient and persistence in your practice and most of all have fun

Thanks
The Musicians Forum

Are You Ready to Win Musicians?

Anybody will tell you that to path to winning is not by luck but by being the best that you can be. You can do this by preparing mentally and physically. You need to be able to get in that "flow" as soon as you are on the field.

Here's how:

1. Visualize

Believe it or not but all athletes visualize their moment of winning. What happens is that they will start to get in this mode.

2. Have a Winner's Mindset

If your sloughing and you body is not ready to become a winner then you have wasted your time. You got to change that by having a winning attitude:

1. Confident in yourself and your actions
2. Take risks but realize the outcome of those risks
3. Breath ( you will feel much better)

If you wants win I would highly recommend that you take these steps to heart and get ready to change the world. Musicians it's time to start winning

You'll Be A Horrible Musician At Least Once

I have been a horrible musician at least once. The first chords that I ever learned were the blues chords such as C7, F7 and G7. It took me around three weeks to memorize those chords. When I first decided to play piano, my goal was to sound like every top musician in the world. Then reality hit me and said you may not make it there however, if you get to enjoy what you do and share your passion with others that is what will make it worthwhile. 

Throughout, the course of my years of playing I have learned that you are going to suck at a lot of things at least once. For example, I remember the first time I was playing with a group. It was a disaster. I was hitting wrong notes in the scale, wrong chords and at the time my mentor was just giving me that death stare. It wasn't a fun experience. That meant I had to go back to the drawing board and regain confidence in playing public. Less then a month later after perfecting those chords and building my confidence. I proved to my mentor and to myself that I can do anything. It took a failure to bring me to where I am now. It would have been awesome if their was some way I could have corrected the sucking sooner.

Here they are:

1. Growth

If you want to grow you need to expand your chord and scale vocabulary. That means not playing the same chords every time you practice. That means expanding your thinking. Take the time out of the day and focus on how to expand your playing.

2. Speed

I am not saying that your going to be a music master overnight. What I am saying is that you have to go at a speed that works for you. When you are growing quickly that means your are succeeding. When I started learning to do runs on the piano I would find that song on the radio (yes we still have that) I would repeat it over and over again trying to get that run. I would take me weeks and even months just to figure that run and include that in my playing.

Let's be honest with ourselves and with our playing as musicians. Take a hard look at yourself and evaluate the progress that you have made. See what areas you can improve on. If you practice and apply some hard work you can accomplish anything. Good Luck and Best Wishes.

How to Play Smooth Piano Music

One of the most requested questions that I receive is:

I am a new musician and I am having trouble with my playing. How do I make my playing sound more smooth? Do you have any techniques or suggestions?

Well, if you playing sounds choppy or is not connecting when you play by yourself or with a band, here are a couple of techniques you can practice to help your playing start to flow.

Technique # 1- Octaves

Whether you play guitar, organ, keyboard trying playing on the higher octaves. What happens is that based on style of music that you playing. There are certain points where you don't have to playing in the same octave. That makes you playing sound basic and normal (not that there's nothing wrong with that :) ) The flavour of playing will come from the unexpected movements from the low or high octaves.

Technique # 2- Inversions

Your always going to have the freedom of inverting a chord when you are playing exactly what is on the recording. This is a MUST for anyone who is playing organ, keyboard and guitar. When you are moving from point A to point B. There is a fast way of getting to point B if it's extremely close.

Let's look at an example:

This is a C major chord (Point A)

To get to point B which is F you can play this chord which is a F major



However we want to use an inversion which is a different form of the same chord. Notice the notes in the F major chord which is:

Root: F A C
1st inversion: A C F
2nd inversion: C F A

We are going to use the 2nd inversion to get to F. This is the same F major chord but using an inversion.



This chord is a lot easier and simpler to play then going all the way to F A C. The best part is that it's just a note away.

Building Momentum to Your Musical Dreams

One rule that I learned through the many years playing music is:

Momentum is the one thing that will keep you moving faster and faster

What does this mean for you? What does this mean for your playing? What does this mean for your musicial dreams?

In short, you will continue to stay where you are unless you make a change. If you skip practice, or miss an exercise, there is a high chance that you will continue to do the same thing.

If you stick with that habit, the longer it will take to get to your dreams. It will continue to be a habit that will be harder to break. The one fact that shocked me was that experts say it will take 21 days to take a new activity to a brand new habit. If you don't want to be another statistic it's time to break that with some motivation and get in gear.

The holiday season approaching and a new year is going to begin soon. It's time to gain momentum. The question that's probably on your mind is: How do I gain momentum?

Planning
Direction
Commitment

This are the three words that are going to help you achieve that momentum. Study have show that if you plan something around the same time frame every day you are more likely to achieve.

Think about a bicycle for a moment.

Once you start pedaling and you gain enough speed to keep the bicycle moving. You can then start changing gears from 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and so on. Each time you decide to change gears it's get hard and hard but you have to keep pedaling to maintain the same speed. Once you release you will maintain the same speed.

This is how reaching you goals and dreams will feel. It will take a lot of time and energy but in the end this is what will make it worth while. Once you get it going the momentum and drive will do the rest. Then it's your job to decide where you want to go.