Chorus Root |
Third |
Fifth |
|
F |
F |
A |
C |
C |
C |
E |
G |
Am |
Am |
C |
E |
G |
G |
B |
D |
And here ’ s the Chorus showing the melody on |
top and the other 2 harmonies below it . Note |
that the duet note is the bottom note of the |
three . |
F |
F F |
F F F |
E E |
C |
C C |
C C C |
C C |
A |
A A |
A A A |
G G |
What a beau-ti-ful name it is , |
E |
E E |
E E E |
D D |
C |
C C |
C C C |
B B |
G |
G G |
G G G |
F F |
What a beau-ti-ful name it is , |
F |
F |
F F E |
D |
C A |
C |
C |
C C C |
A |
G F |
A |
A |
A A G |
F |
E C |
The name of Je-sus Christ , my King |
There ’ s something quite conspicuous about |
that middle note . Do you see it ? It barely moves ! |
It sits mostly on the C , with the melody above |
it and the duet harmony below it doing most of the movement . That makes it a less exciting or challenging part to sing , but it is essential in filling out the harmonies and bringing richness to the vocal moment .
There ’ s a term for this unmoving note . It ’ s called a common tone . A common tone is a note that ’ s part of multiple chords . Train yourself to know the spellings of the chords in the songs you ’ re playing and with time you ’ ll find that your fingers stay on the common tones rather than moving to a different note . This is an important skill to have when helping vocalists find their parts but also in developing your keyboard parts . It ’ s especially true when you ’ re creating pad parts .
Quick example of common tones : the four chords in this chorus are C , F , G and A minor . The note C is a common tone between the C , F and A minor chords . The note G is found in the C and G chords . Let ’ s dig a little deeper into chord spellings to create even more common tones . Turn the F chord into an F2 chord ( spelled F G C ) and the A minor chord into Aminor 7 ( spelled A C E G ) and the note
G now works in every chord ! So , this allows you to hold the C and G down throughout the progression .
That ’ s the essence of most pad parts you hear on modern recordings . Two notes held throughout the chord progression .
In conclusion , learn your chord spellings . Learn the common tones that exist within your chord progression . You ’ ll find that sketching out vocal harmonies becomes effortless for you , and you may also discover that your keyboard parts begin to sound more and more like the keyboard parts you hear on recordings you love .
Ed Kerr Ed Kerr lives in Seattle with his family . He serves as worship arts director at First Free Methodist Church , teaches keyboards in Paul Baloche ’ s leadworship workshops and is a clinician with Yamaha ’ s House of Worship . He also manages the Yamaha Worship Facebook group and invites you to join the group . www . KerrTunes . com