KEYS
WE HAVE A LOT IN COMMON | Ed Kerr
You and I have a lot in common. We ‘ve been
touched by the truth of the Gospel. We’ve
experienced many times the power there is
in proclaiming truths about God as we sing
to Him in worship settings. We’ve discovered
that our keyboard skills can combine with the
skills of other musicians to provide powerful
opportunities for our congregations to express
their hearts to the Lord.
Yep. We have a lot in common. I just looked
over the list of top CCLI songs and can safely
say that you and I probably have lots of songs
in common. The top song on the list today is
“Build My Life”. It’s followed by “Who You Say
I Am’, “What A Beautiful Name”, “Way Maker”
and “Great Are You Lord”.
There’s something these songs all have in
common. In fact, just about every song on
most of our song lists at our churches have
this thing in common. The songs use a limited
number of chords. Though there are 7 chords
available in the scale of any key and an infinite
number of chords possible “outside” that key,
modern worship songwriters tend to stick with
this limited number of chords.
It’s common among worship musicians to
describe this limited number of chords as the
1456. Each number in 1456 refers to the scale
tone over which the chord is built. So, in the
key of D, for example, the 1 is D, the 4 is G, the
5 is A and the 6 is B minor. Describing chords
by number like this is often called the Nashville
number system.
There are some very significant things that the
1456 chords have in common, too. They share
some of the same notes. Here’s a chart that
shows the spelling of the 1456 chords in D
major.
CHORD ROOT THIRD FIFTH
1 - D D F# A
4 - G G B D
5 -A A C# E
6 -Bm B D F#
Some of you reading this article may be
completely comfortable with thinking about
chords in a song by number. I want to focus
here on an important aspect of chords numbers
and chord spellings that impacts what each of
us do at our keyboards as we play these songs.
I’m referring to common tones. Common tones
are pitches shared by successive chords. Look
over the chart I showed earlier and pick out
some of the common tones. The note D is part
of the D, G and B minor chords. The note A is
part of the D and A chords. F# is part of the D
chord and the B minor chord.
Recognizing common tones that exist between
the chords you’re playing can have a huge
impact on the keyboard parts you create.
Much of what sets apart an inexperienced
keyboard player from an experienced one is
the way chords are connected. For example,
an inexperienced player might play their chords
with the root, 3 rd and 5 th stacked above each
other in their right hand. Let’s say they’re
playing the chorus of “Who You Say I Am” in D
major. Here’s the chart:
D
A
Who the Son sets free, oh is free indeed
Bm A G D
I’m a child of God, yes I am
D
A
In my Father’s house there’s a place for me
Bm A G D
I’m a child of God, yes I am
For the D chord that starts the chorus in your
right hand you could play, from top note to
bottom note, A F# D. Then, when the A chord
comes along you could play, from top note to
bottom note, E C# A. The notes of the chords
are correct, but a more modern sound can
108 August 2020
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