Ask BizModerator

March 15,2011

Greeting Fellow Readers and Musicians,

First off I just want to announce that I was away in New York for a convention and that I am sorry to those readers who missed my last post. Since I just got back this morning, I just want to talk about an email that I received over the weekend from a fellow musicians and I want to answer his question on this blog post. Welcome to our new segment called Ask Bizmoderator. This is where I will answer any questions that our fellow readers have.

It comes from a fellow reader named Samson in Nigeria and he writes:

"Please can you help me with phat chords formations, explaining some more on tritones, and how to use these chords in a real life situation"

I would just like to say thank you Samson for that wonderful email.

In our last post we talked a little bit about Tritones and some examples of how to use them in a 7-3-6 progression. Here's the link to that post.
12 Days of Music- Day 3 Tritones


Here is just a review:


Tritones are the 3rd and 7th of a chord. The most efficient and musical method of right hand fill for any 7th chord is to add the Tritones below the melody. The left hand only has to provide the root of the chord.


Here is just breakdown of all the tritones in the 12 keys

C tritone: Bb E
C# tritone: B F
D tritone: C F#
D# tritone: C# G
E tritone: D G#
F tritone: D# A
F# tritone: E Bb
G tritone: F B
G# tritone: F# C
A tritone: G C#
A# tritone: G# D
B tritone: A D#

The most common applications of the tritone are used as passing chords or as fillers in songs. For example, If you in the key of C you can use the C tritone and bounce between the C and C# tritone if you are playing some old school music.

Triads over Tritones

Lets stay in the Key of C try this movement:

A 1-4 movement going from C to F


L.H/ R.H
C/ B-D-E-G (C major 9)

L.H/R.H
F/E-G-A-C (F major 9)

Note: Replace the C chord with the C tritone in the left hand

L.H/R.H
E-Bb/D-G-Bb (G minor)

or E-Bb/ Eb-Ab-C (Ab Major)

then move to the F major 9
Tritones can be used in any type of music however they are mostly featured in Gospel Music. I love to use them in funk, hip hop and R&B music. It adds more depth to your playing.

Here are some fantastic practical applications of triads over tritones. Good Luck Samson and let me know how it goes.

If you would like a question to be featured on The Business and Musicians Forum visit the contact us button or
Click Here Now to Post Your Question

Until Next Time

12 Days of Music: Day 3 - Tritones

As you can see we have done some updates to The Business and Musicians Forum. The first changes was that the Musician's Store has been updated with a few new products.We recently received messages from fellow musicians who were tired of the same sounds that they have on their keyboard and wanted to update them. We have added a Neo-Soul Rhodes download as well as a MKS-20 Roland download. These are now in the Musician's Store as well as some other goodies. We have reached Day 3 of the 12 Days of Music and today we are going to give you the gift of tritones. In our previous post entitled "What is a Tritone?" we touched a little upon tritones.

Just as a review:

Tritones are the 3rd and 7th of a chord. The most efficient and musical method of right hand fill for any 7th chord is to add the Tritones below the melody. The left hand only has to provide the root of the chord.

They can also be used as a passing chord or as a one chord in certain situations in gospel music, jazz, rock and many more genres

The most common movements can be:

7-3-6
2-5-1
2-6
3-6-2
and many more


Here is just a brief example of the power of tritones at work



For example the use of a tritone in the key of Db (C#)

F B/F-Ab-Db

This is a good example of a one chord in the key of Db


In a case of a movement for example 3-6-2 in the same key it would be


Eb A/ D-G-B (3 chord which is F)

D-Ab/Db-Gb-Bb (6th chord which is Bb)
***Basically this is a half step down because tritones goes in 4ths

Finally the two chord can simply be

Eb-Bb/Gb-Bb-Db-F (2 chord which is Eb)


We will be using this movement later on in the coming days

For more information on How to Play Tritones and How to apply them in your playing we highly recommend that you check out Tritone Xtravaganza

Click Here To Learn The Secret Weapon

Best Wishes and keep watching for Day 4 of the Twelve Days of Music for more tips, surprises and more!

Introducing the best FREE video I have ever given (and MORE)...

As we all know that the back to school season is upon us. Every student is getting ready with the tools and resources to help them get them through another year. What about musicians who want to learn how to play music by ear.

If you play or are learning any of these instruments this video is for you!!
-Guitar
-Horns
-Bass Guitar
-Piano
-Organ

Are you a struggling musician who is having trouble on learning how to play by ear?
Are having problems when a singer comes up to sing and you can't pick out the key?
Are you having issues with you learning your scales and the number system?
Are having trouble listening to a piece of music and trying to pick out the chord progressions?

If you answered yes to any of the statements above I would highly suggest that you take a look at this FREE video?

VIDEO LESSON #1 – “The KEY to getting to the next stage in your ear training”

This lesson reveals very important SECRETS that you MUST have as an ear-musician.

If you read sheet music, this isn't the most important principle that is discussed however when it comes to playing by ear, “NUMBERS” make a BIG difference!

If you know your numbers “inside” and “out” will reflect how far and quickly you can get there!

If you have no idea what I’m saying or talking about, check out the lesson below!



(The Gospel Music Training Center is very helpful)

Here are some recommended resources that will improve your skills as an ear musician

Training For Musicians

Finding the Key to Any Song

Learn How to Play Piano By Ear

What's A Tritone?

Tritones are the 3rd and 7th of a chord. The most efficient and musical method of right hand fill for any 7th chord is to add the Tritones below the melody. The left hand only has to provide the root of the chord.

In music, the interval of the diminished fifth, exactly half the octave, and considered in the Middle Ages to be the moral antithesis of the octave's perfect consonance, or ‘diabolus in musica’ (devil in music).

Sounds scary? Hear for yourself and find out why Tritones were banned from Christian music several hundred years ago.In today's modern age tritones have been embraced in all modern music and in some of your favorite songs.



Tritones are just another way to play a chord or to use as a passing tone.


For example in the key of Ab

Let's say you are playing a 1-7-6 progression and you want to play a tritone.

In other words you are going from the Ab to the G to the F

To use a tritone as a passing tone you would play

L.H/R.H
E Bb/ Eb Ab ( Represent's the 3 which is C)

This chord you would play it just before you reach to the F minor chord.

Let's recap

Tritone is the third and the major 7
Can be used for a passing note (see above)
Can be used as a replacement for an chord

Note: For more information on Tritones I would highly recommend that you check out GK Urban 600

Learn To Play Contemporary Tritones