KEYS
KEYS KEYS . YEP . NOT A TYPO . | Ed Kerr
It happens every now and then . For you too , I ’ m sure . Amid the flood of new worship songs being released weekly a song grips me , moves me , inspires me . I discover a song that I look forward to introducing at my church . That ’ s what happened a few days ago when I heard Elevation Worship ’ s “ This Is the Kingdom ” for the first time . It ’ s filled with Scripture , beautifully arranged , timely and encouraging . It also features a piano part that ’ s worth studying . It ’ s a delight to play and a bit challenging in a few sections .
The most conspicuous element of this piano part is how much repetition is involved . When the intro begins , a lilting figure is heard from the piano . ( Figure 1 )
What happens in the 2 nd measure of the intro is important for us to remember as keyboard players . What happens ? Nothing ! Nothing changes about the notes and rhythm played . The significant thing that does change , though , is the chord . For three measures the same piano figure is played , but each measure features a different chord . ( Figure 2 )
In measure 4 of the intro ’ s piano part , a slight change happens . A new piano figure is heard over a new chord , D major 7 . Here ’ s what ’ s played over the D major 7 . ( Figure 3 ) Then these 4 measures repeat without change . ( Figure 4 )
I ’ m not just presenting these examples so you can play this beautiful song on your own . I find that if I really scrutinize a keyboard part , figuring out what ’ s going on in terms of melody and harmony , my personal “ vocabulary ” of keyboard concepts that work in any number of songs can grow . In this article I ’ m going to call these things a “ Keys Key ”, an important concept for you to remember . So , let ’ s go deeper into what ’ s happening in these four measures .
First , it ’ s interesting to see that some of the notes in the piano part aren ’ t part of the chord indicated . For example , the B minor 7 is spelled B D F # A . The first note of the keyboard part is an E . Hmm . This E can be called the “ add4 ” of the E minor 7 . That ’ s a detail that ’ s worth storing in your memory . A Keys Key . Actually , a less theoretical takeaway could be that you can try playing a melodic pattern over changing chords and see how things sound , even if some of the notes don ’ t “ belong ” in the chord indicated in your chart . You can let your ear be the judge of whether or not that pattern works .
Next , notice that the keyboard player made a change in the melody when the D major 7 came along in measure 4 . I can ’ t say for sure what the thinking behind this change was , but it supports my PRV concept I ’ ve described in earlier articles here . PRV is an acronym that stands for Present , Repeat , Vary . By presenting a melodic or rhythmic idea , repeating that idea and then changing that idea the result can be a more interesting musical phrase . So , in this example you hear the same melodic idea three times in a row over changing chords , Bm7 , Esus and A / C #. Then , after three statements of that melodic idea a new idea is heard in the 4 th measure of the phrase . So , your second Keys Key is PRV : Let repetition be part of the keyboard parts you create and vary the part after a few repetitions .
Another important concept is modeled in this arrangement when the chorus comes around . The vocal melody features a lot of activity as each phrase of the chorus begins , and the phrase ends with a longer sustained note . ( Figure 5 )
During that sustained note in the vocal line , a piano part is introduced with lots of movement . ( Figure 6 )
Here you can see the movement in the vocal line along with the movement in the piano .
The vocal line is shown in the top staff with the piano part shown just below it . ( Figure 7 )
The important Keys Key illustrated here is that movement in a keyboard part is best heard when the vocal is holding a long note or not singing .
There ’ s another Keys Key I want to focus on in the Bridge of “ This Is The Kingdom ”. As the bridge is repeated numerous times , a piano figure is introduced that is eventually heard in octaves high in the piano . Playing those octaves can be challenging . ( Figure 8 )
The Keys Key I want you to remember here is that your left doesn ’ t need to be used all the time . So , for these octaves you could let each hand take one of the notes rather than playing them with just your right hand . ( Figure 9 )
The last Keys Key I want to stress here is a crucial one when you ’ re playing passages like this one with the challenging octaves . Whether you play these octaves with your right hand only or let your left hand take the bottom note of each octave , be sure and let your sustain pedal help you connect the notes . When using a sustain remember that as soon as you sound a note you can hold your sustain pedal down and move your hand into position for the next note . If you wait until just before the next note needs to be played to reposition your hands the chances of you missing that note increase . Take away that possibility by using your sustain pedal wisely .
My hope in describing this song ’ s piano part in detail here is that you ’ ll find at least one Keys Key to remember . As I mentioned earlier , my encouragement to you is to make these concepts part of your sense of keyboard style so that when you ’ re playing a song with a similar tempo and meter you will be able to create your own parts that add significantly to your arrangements .