HEART OF GOD CHURCH

SCHOOL OF MUSIC
KEYBOARD
COURSE SYLLABUS
INTAKE IV (MAR - MAY 2014)

COURSE OUTLINE
Wee
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1

Date

Lesson

Topics

29 Mar

Lesson 1

Introduction to Keyboard Playing

Basic Equipment Setup
Basic Keyboard Theory
Chord Progressions

5 Apr

Lesson 2

Improvisation Rhythm
Voice Leading
Transposition
Worship Song: Thank You

12 Apr

Lesson 3

Improvisation Basics
Motifs
Worship Song: Alleluia

19 Apr

26 Apr

Lesson 4

Complex Chords Sus, 7ths, slashed

chords
Relative Major and Minor
Harmonizing Melody
Worship Song: Sanctuary

3 May

Mid-term test
& Review

Topics covered from Lessons 1 4

10 May

Lesson 5

Dynamics & Expression

17 May

Lesson 6

Various Keyboard Sounds

Praise Songs

24 May

Lesson 7

Recap

10

To be
confirme
d

Final exams

All topics

BREAK

LESSON 1
Lesson Outline
Introduction to Keyboard Playing
Basic Equipment Setup
Basic Keyboard Theory
Exercises
#1: Chord Progressions

INTRODUCTION TO KEYBOARD PLAYING

What is the difference between classical piano playing and keyboard playing?

What are the advantages?

What do you think is the role of the keyboard in a band/worship team?

BASIC EQUIPMENT SETUP

Yamaha PSR-E333
61-key Touch Response Keyboard
Power Adaptor Earphones

Sustain

BASIC KEYBOARD THEORY

Major Keys / Scales
Key/Not
e
C
D
E
F
G
A
B

Chords are the basic building blocks of keyboard playing.

Basic chords are made up of triads (1-3-5).
Chords are like different family members.
The key is the family.
Note: Major chords are the default and do not need extra indication beside it.
For e.g. C by default means C major.
Chord

1 (Root)

3
(Third)

5 (Fifth)

C
Cm
C#/Db
C#m/Db
m
D
Dm
D#/Eb
D#m/Eb
m
E
Em
F
Fm
F#/Gb
F#m/Gb
m
G
Gm
G#/Ab
G#m/Ab
m
A
A#m/Bb
m
B
Bm

Within the key of C major, we have 7 diatonic chords (chords that belong to the
family)
Chord
Degree
Chord
Notes

ii

iii

IV

vi

viio

Dm

Em

Am

Bdim

ii

iii

IV

vi

viio

Try it in D major:
Chord
Degree
Chord
Notes

Tip: Dont worry if you cant remember them in your head (thinking). Recognize
them by sound (hearing) and by shape (seeing).
As you learn, youll realize there are 5 ways of learning:
-

Thinking
Hearing
Seeing
Touching (Psychomotor skills)
Speaking (Reciting, counting)

To play the chord, simply play the bass note on your left hand and the triad (1-3-5)
on the right hand.
Inversions
Root inversion:

__________

First inversion:

__________

Second inversion: __________

CHORD PROGRESSION
A chord progression is a set of chords (usually comes in a 4-chord progression).
It is the foundation for songs.
Exercise #1: Chord Progressions
Practice the following chord progressions:
Key: C major
Progression: C Dm F G
Key: G major
Progression: G Em C D
Key: D major
Progression: G D Bm A
Key: E major
Progression: C#m B A A
Try playing each of the chords with different inversions on the right hand (R.H.)
(e.g. for C major chord)
As you do so, play the root note on the left hand (L.H.)

PRACTICE!
1-hour Practice Rule

Familiarize yourself with the different inversions.

*TIP* Practice with a metronome!

LESSON 2
Lesson Outline
Rhythms
Exercises
#2: Worship Song: Thank You
#3: Changing key
RECAP CHORD PROGRESSIONS

Commonly used chord progressions

Chord
Progressions
I vi IV V

Chords (in C
Major)

Mood / Feel

I IV V I
I ii IV V
I Vb vi IV
I I IV IV
IV V vi vi
I vi iii IV
V vi I Vb
I bVII/I IV IV/V

VOICE LEADING
In lesson 1, we learn about the different inversions in a chord. Chord inversions
are useful in improvisation and you have to be familiar with chord inversion to
apply voice leading.
Voice leading means moving between chords in a progression using the least
amount of note change from one chord to the next. This gives a smoother sound.
For E.G
C chord: C E G
Am chord: A C E

RHYTHMS
Pounding
- Playing on the crotchets
Varied Rhythms
- Quavers
- Dotted rhythms
Anticipation

LEFT HAND TECHNIQUE

Try playing different variations on your LH other than just playing an octave.
Broken
1- 51- 51- 5 -

Chords
7
8
10

However, balance the use of octaves and broken chords because you dont want
your LH to be over complicated, especially in a band setting.

Exercise #2: Worship Song: Thank You

Verse:
C
Am
Thank You for the promises You made
F
For the gift of life You gave
C
Always, I will sing Your praise
Thank you for the chance to live again
For your grace that never ends
Always I will sing you praise
Chorus:
F G Am
Hallelu--jah
F G Am
Hallelu--jah
F G Am
Hallelu--jah
G
My beloved King
F
To you I sing
Bridge
C
You mean everything to me
Am
You're all this world will never be
F
Your name reigns in my heart
C
You're all that I depend on

Exercise #3: Changing Key

1. Convert chords to numbers
2. Convert numbers to chords
Now, change Thank You to the key of E:

PRACTICE!
1-hour Practice Rule
- Apply different chord voicings in the song
- Try practicing the song in different keys to familiarize with transposition

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LESSON 3
Lesson Outline
Improvisation Basics
Motifs
Exercises
#4: Motifs
#5: Worship Song: Alleluia

IMPROVISATION BASICS
Advantages of improvisation:
- Coming up with melodies on your own allows you to express yourself.
- Every time you play is different.
Does improvisation mean playing anything I want?
Keith Jarrett, one of the greatest jazz improvisers of our time, once said that
improvisation either takes no practice at all or an entire lifetime of practice.

Building up your musical language

If you think of music as a form of communication or language,
Scored music is like prepared speech
Improvisation is like stand-up comedy
To speak a language well, you need to start from the basics basic grammar,
vocabulary and sentence structures.
These basics can be learnt in three ways:
1. Developed on your own
2. Imitating those around you
3. Imitating musicians on radio, CDs, etc.
Basically, improvisation is playing something out of nothing! Be creative!

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MOTIFS
Motifs are short musical phrases (melodic or rhythmic) that are repeated
throughout the music with variations.
Exercise #4A Motifs Development
Try coming up with a few motifs! (In the key of C)
Remember the three ways in which you can learn the basics.
Find a way to remember your motifs.
You may use the space below to note them down.

Exercise #4B Motifs in the Song

Now try putting these motifs into the song Alleluia.

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Exercise #5 Worship Song: Alleluia (in E)

A
B
E
I will lift my heart and sing
A
B E
I will worship You my King
A
B E
Earth and heaven now proclaim
A
B
E
Jesus Christ the mighty name
A B E
Alleluia
A B E
Alleluia
A B C#m
Alleluia
A
B
E
Alleluia to Christ the Lord

PRACTICE TIP: REMEMBER THE KEY SIGNATURE (AND THE ACCIDENTALS) OF E

PRACTICE!
1-hour Practice Rule

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LESSON 4
Lesson Outline
Complex Chords Sus, 7ths, slashed chords
Exercises
#6: Worship Song: Sanctuary

COMPLEX/EXTENDED CHORDS
7th Chords

Major 7th
Dominant 7th
Minor 7th
Half-Diminished
Diminished 7th

Intervals
1-3-5-7
1-3-5-b7
1-b3-5-b7
1-b3-b5-b7
1-b3-b5-6

Short for: Dominant 7th Chords. A C7 chord would make it: C E G Bb.
This is different from a major 7th chord, which includes the natural 7th (the note in
the major scale). A Cmaj7 chord would be: C E G B. (Cmaj7 may also be written as:
C7)
To find the 7th note of a dominant 7th chord, simply lower the 7th note of a major 7th
chord.
There may also be 9th, 11th, 13th chords (typically used in jazz)
When you play these chords, include the 7th as well.
A simple way to count the 9th, 11th and 13th is to subtract the no. by 7.

14

Sus Chords
Short for: Suspended Chords.
The sus note is not a part of the normal chord, thus creating a feeling of
suspension / tension / openness that asks to be resolved (may or may not,
depending on what effect you want to achieve)
They are especially appropriate when the chord is the ending chord of a chord
progression.
Sus4 (default sus) omit the 3rd note and replace it with the 4th.
A Csus chord would be: _______________
Sus2 offers a gentle, dreamy feel as opposed to the basic major chord, which
has a stronger, more solid feel to it.
A Csus2 chord would be: ________________
Slashed Chords
Chords with a different bass note than the root.
C/E
D/F#
E/G#
F/A
G/B
A/C#
B/D#
Slashed chords with bass notes not part of the chord also exist.
C/D chord = Play C chord on the Right Hand, D Chord on the Left Hand.
Sometimes used as passing chords for smoother transition (e.g. in the song
Sanctuary, from G to G/F to Em. This is known as descending bass)
Take note that you choose the correct notes when playing the 1-5-1 pattern on
the Left Hand.

Relative Major & Minor

Knowledge of relatives makes the formation of minor 7th chords easy.
For every major chord, there is a relative minor chord.
For E.G
C ------ Am (relative)
F ------- Dm (relative)
All minor chords can automatically be replaced with a minor 7th chord to create
more harmonic texture. Like Am7, Em7, Dm7.
For E.G
Am7 = C/A (C chord over A note)
Em7 = G/E (G chord over E note)

15

HARMONIZING MELODY
How to harmonize melody with chords?
To harmonize the melody to the chords, we need to play the melody as the
highest pitch together with chord notes which are neither too near nor far from
the melody not.
E.G
Demonstrate in Sanctuary

PRACTICE!
1-hour Practice Rule
- Add in motifs to Sanctuary
- Listen out to the melody line and harmonize with chords

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Exercise #6: Worship Song: Sanctuary

C Am Em F G
C Am Em F Fm
C
When my world was in darkness
F
You spoke Your word
Am7
Night turned into day
F
Your beauty filled this place
C
When my world stood in silence
F
You filled my heart
Am7
With songs that never end
F
C/E
Forever I will praise
Dm7
To think that the universe
C/E
Could not withhold your glory
Am7
G
D/F#
You choose to live in me
C/G
G
Im so amazed
C
Am7
And I worship You Lord
F
G
My life in You restored
G/F Em7
Here is my heart
Am7
Make it Your sanctuary
Dm
G
For nobody else but Jesus only (You)
F
C/E
You are faithful and true
F
Glorious Lord
Am7
G
Dm7
All my life it is You I adore
C/E
Youve touched my soul
Bb
G
Completed my world I surrender to You

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LESSON 5
Lesson Outline
Dynamics
Expression
Exercises
#7: Practice Sanctuary with dynamics

DYNAMICS
Dynamics refer to the volume of your playing.
In classical music, we learnt:
Pianissimo very soft
Piano soft
Mezzo-piano moderately soft
Mezzo-forte moderately loud
Forte loud
Fortissimo very loud
In contemporary music, these terms are seldom used but the idea is similar.
Why do we need dynamics in a piece of music?
Dynamics go beyond just a technical definition of volume. They convey the
emotions, style and expression of the song.

EXPRESSION
Vary your playing to fit the lyrics and meaning of the songs
Where should you crescendo / decrescendo?
Take note of dynamic variations between different sections of the song
(verse vs. pre-chorus vs. chorus vs. bridge; verse 1 vs. verse 2) as well as
within each phrase of the song.

18

Exercise #7: Worship Song: Sanctuary

Now put in dynamics in Sanctuary (Refer to previous lesson for chords).

PRACTICE!
1-hour Practice Rule

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LESSON 6
Lesson Outline
Various Keyboard Sounds
Praise Songs

Types of keyboard sounds

Category
Acoustic Piano
Electric Piano

Organ
Strings

Slow Synth
Fast Synth

Orchestral

Sound
Normal Piano
Concert Grand
Bright Piano
E-Piano
Clav
Fender Rhodes
Wurlitzer / Wurly
FM Piano
Jazz Organ
Rock Organ
Solo Strings
(Violin, Viola,
Cello, Double
Bass)
Small Ensemble
Symphonic
Synth Strings
Pads
Effects pads
Airy / Choral
Lead
Sawtooth
Square
Sine
Res / Punch
Woodwind
Brass
Bell / Percussion

Usage

Drums
Sound Effects

20

PRAISE SONGS
(Demonstration only, will not be tested)
Happy Day
Things to note:

Undivided
Things to note:

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