How to Play from a Fake Book without Gettin the Blues

Index of Chapters
CHAPTER 7

Dominant 9th Chords

Page 156

This is one of the most common sounds in

jazz, musical theater and pop music.
CHAPTER 8

Slash Chords

Page 169

Slash chords are fake book notation for

inversions. These can either be combination
chords such as a G chord over an A bass
note, or simply inversions, such as a G chord
over its fifth, D.
CHAPTER 1

G, Am7 and D7

CHAPTER 9

Page 1

Your first three chords and how to recognize

them.
CHAPTER 2

Em and C

Page 16

The six minor and the four major chords.

Drills to expand your skills
CHAPTER 3

Seventh Chords

Page 32

CHAPTER 4

Page 64

Practice realizing common melodic patterns

from a chart along with the II > V pattern
CHAPTER 5

Diminished Chords

Page 81

Learn the ins and outs of this fancy sound. A

wealth of exercises to study for mastery.
CHAPTER 6

Flat 9 and Flat 5

Page 117

These dominant chords are basically

variations on the diminished chord. Learn
how to think of them this way, which will allow
these somewhat difficult chords to suddenly
seem a lot easier!

Page 183

Learn common voicings that allow you to

move some of the notes from the right hand to
the left. Especially common are the Root-7th
voicing and the Root-3rd voicing in the left
hand.
CHAPTER 10

6th and 13th chords

How to read and understand the richer and

more expressive sounds of Seventh Chords

Common Patterns

Dividing the Workload

Page 194

The final piece in the puzzle, the sixth and the

thirteen chord are some of the most pungent
and interesting in your tonal pallet. Learn to
make them soar.

INTRODUCTION
This book is my sixth piano book related to playing from fake books and improvising at
the piano. This book takes many of the ideas I put forward in How to Speed Read Piano
Chord Symbols and its sequel and expands on them, offering the aspiring pianist more
in depth study on these famous and beautiful patterns.
I tried in this book to refrain from showing the chords in an encyclopedic way. I cant
stand piano books that promise to teach you every piano chord, but then show them one
after another in sequences that are more related to the convenience of the author than to
the any relationship that is common in music. So unless it was particularly instructive to
do so, none of the chords will be shown in a phone book style in this book. You will
see them in context, adjacent to the chords with which they usually cohabitate. After you
have studied these patterns, you will start to recognize them every time you play a piece!
Also, many of the exercises in this book will show the sequence in an annotated
format, which means, I took the time to write the note names under the staff! This will
make this book infinitely easier to digest for the 95% of you who are not fantastic sightreaders. Another pet peeve of mine when Im trying to study out of piano books is when
they write the music in strange keys that are painful to decipher. These annotations will
help keep you breezing along. And once youve played through an exercise once or
twice, you wont need the annotations anymore. So this book will actually help you sight
reading as well!
Anyway, I just finished this book in April, so please give me any feedback you as far as
suggestions for revision in future editions.
And, lastly, may you enjoy many hours of piano playing pleasure!
Nathan Andersen

C H A P T E R

Chapter

Chapter 1 G, Am7 and D7

This is the note Middle C:

It is just to the left of the two black keys at the center of your keyboard.

C
This the note G:

It is the leftmost of the two white keys between the three black keys.

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This is the note C and the note G played together:

And heres how it looks on the keyboard:

When you play two (or more) notes together at the same time, it is called a chord.
Lets add one more note to our chord. It is the note A.
A is the rightmost of the two white keys between the three black keys:

A
Heres how A looks on the staff:

Now lets play all three of these notes together. Play the A with your left hand.

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This chord is called A minor 7. It is written Am7 for short.

In this book, I will usually only write the right hand notes on the staff. The left hand
notes will be determined by the chord symbol written above the staff. So Am7 will
look like this:

Here you see the C and the G written in the right hand, and the left hand note is
determined by the symbol written above the staff. So by seeing Am7 written above
the staff, you know to play A in the left hand.
Now lets learn another chord. This chord is called D Dominant or D Seven. It
will look like this:

If you look carefully, you will notice that the bottom note is same between the two
chords. The note middle C. It sits on the first ledger line below the staff. The
higher note is the note F# (pronounced F Sharp).
Here is F# by itself:

Heres how F# looks on the piano. It is the leftmost of the three black keys:

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And heres how F# looks in the chord D7:

F
D

Play the D in the left hand.

So lets alternate. Play Am7, then D7. (Heres Am7 again for easy reference).

Heres how the notated music would look:

And heres the music again, this time with the notes written in below the staff:

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Lets learn another chord the G chord. The G chord uses the note G, which youve
already learned and one other note the note B.
Heres the note B. It is white key just to the right of the three black keys:

B
Heres how the note B looks on the staff:

It is just below the first ledger line.

Here it is with the note G. The note G sits on the second line of the five lines of the
staff:

To make these two notes a G chord, simply add G to the left hand.

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Now lets practice moving between the three chords weve learned.

Am7
D7

F
D

Most often in music, you will not see the chords stripped down to their bare essence,
as you see here. More often, you see melody notes or extra notes added on. Try
reading through this example (Ive written the notes below the staff).

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In the key of G, the first three notes are G, A and B:

G sits on the second line of the staff.

B sits on the middle line of the staff.

A sits on the space between them. It is the second space on the staff.

G
G is the leftmost of the two white keys between the three black keys.

A
A is the rightmost of the two white keys between the three black keys.

B
B is the note just to the right of the three black keys.

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Lets look at some combinations of Am7 to D7 to G, adding some extra notes.

In the following example, the note A is added to the Am7 and the D7.

Am7
D7

G A

F
C

(The diagrams above only show the right hand, be sure to add the left hand notes -- A
to the Am7 and D to the D7 chords).

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The note A can also be added down the octave. It sits on the second ledger line below
the staff.

Am7
D7

F
A

(The diagrams above only show the right hand, be sure to add the left hand notes -- A
to the Am7 and D to the D7 chords).

Now lets look at this variation.

Over your Am7 chord, add the melody note B. This makes the chord an Am9 chord.

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Look at this harmonization of Mary Had a Little Lamb.

See if you can pick out some of the chords youve learned.

Now lets look at Mary had a Little Lamb in pieces. First the melody:

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Now just add a bass note in the left hand. When you see the chord symbol above a
note, simply add that note in the left hand somewhere.

Now, lets go back and play it again, only this time, well add chord tones underneath
the melody in the right hand. The left hand is still only playing the root of the chord.
Ive written in the notes to add under the melody. This time Ive left out the melody
notes. If you cant figure them out, look at the diagram above.

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In the previous example we saw several new voicings of the G chord. A voicing is a
different arrangement of the notes in a chord.
The first voicing of G we learned was like this.

(remember to add the bass note, G)

You can easily invert this to either this:

G
or this:

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Take a look at this example. Notice how the notes in the chords are the same, but the
order changes.

Heres the same chords, but played as arpeggios, i.e. broken chords:

Youll notice, sometimes the G chord has the note D added, and sometimes it does
not. The note D is the fifth of the chord. The fifth is not a necessary note, but adds
fullness to the chord. Here are various voicings of the G chord, both with and without
the extra note, D. (Remember to add G in the left hand.)

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Which voicing of G you will see (or use) in a song depends on the melody. In Mary
had a Little Lamb, the songs starts on the 3rd scale degree, and so you will use B at the
top of your G chord.

The song Here comes the Bride starts on the fifth scale degree, so you would start
with the note D on the top of your G chord:

Here are four common voicings of G and D7, first played as arpeggios, then as chords:

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Here are the same patterns, only this time the G and D7 chords alternate. Also, this
time, Ive only written in a few of the notes. The other ones youll have to figure out
yourself!

Silent Night: Ive written in only the top note of the chord.

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C H A P T E R

Chapter

Chapter 2 Em and C
The chord Em is comprised of the first three lines of the staff: E, G and B

The top two notes, you already know from the G chord. The last note, the note E is
the bottom line of the staff. On the keyboard it sits just to the right of the two black
keys.

Heres an example of a common chord pattern using Em:

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Often, you will see the Em chord broken up between the right and left hand. For
example, if you play the E in the left hand, that leaves the G and B in the right:

Youve probably noticed that these are the same two notes in the G chord! In fact, to
switch between a G chord (played with just the notes G and B) and an Em chord, you
can simply move the left hand bass note from G to E!

As with the various voicings of G, you can move the G and B in the right hand and
still have an Em chord. Here are four voicings of Em, using only the notes B and G in
the right hand:

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Here are two other variations:

To make an Em chord, all you really need are the root and 3rd of the chord the notes
E and G. So you could see variations without the note B in the Em chord:

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Lets practice moving between Em and the other chords weve learned.

Heres the same exercise, only this time, Ive only written the melody note on the staff:

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Now, heres the exercise one last time. This time its written how it would be written
in a fake book: just the melody and the chord symbols. You fill in the chords!

The Third of a Chord

The most essential note in a chord after the root is the third of the chord. Lets study
the chords weve learned so far to get to know their thirds.

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The third of a G chord is B. Therefore the

simplest G chord would be the note B in
the right hand and the root note, G, in the
left.

The third of an Em chord is G. Therefore

the simplest Em chord would be the note
G in the right hand and the root note, E, in
the left.

The third of an Am chord is C. Therefore

the simplest Am chord would be the note
C in the right hand and the root note, A, in
the left.

The third of an D chord is F#. Therefore

the simplest D chord would be the note
F# in the right hand and the root note, D,
in the left.

The first four chords in this sequence are constructed of only the third in the right and
the root in the left:

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After the third and the root, the most common note to add to a chord is the fifth.
Here is the sequence above, only this time with the fifth added to each chord. Below
the staff, Ive written the note name of the fifth of each chord:

The fifth can also be above the third like this:

Most of the time you will want to vary the voicings you use, otherwise the chords dont
seem to move smoothly. Notice how changing just the Am and the final G in this
sequence makes the music seem so much smoother.

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When you reading from fake books, which voicing to use is usually obvious because of
the melody note. For example, if you are playing an Am chord and the melody note is
E, youll want to keep the E on top:

You would most likely voice this Am with the third of the chord (C) just below the
melody note.

If on the other hand, the melody note is C, you would use lower notes on the staff:

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Heres a likely solution:

Often simple solutions will sound just as good as more complex ones:

(Same as above, but leave out the fifth from the Am and the D7 chords.)
Lets learn another chord. The chord C:

C
It looks like this on the staff:

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C is related to Am in the same way that G is related to Em:

The root and third of C are the third and fifth of Am:

For example, see how the Am and the C in this example are the same in the right hand:

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This sort of knowledge is useful when harmonizing a song and playing by ear. Because
instead of choosing between seven different chords to harmonize a melody note, you
are often only choosing between three primary flavors of chords: The I chord, the IV
chord and the V chord. In the key of G, the I chord is G; the IV chord is C and the V
chord is D.

The other chords are just variations on these chords. For example, Am is just a variant
of C. In fact often, the only difference between them is the root:

The relative Minor

If you go down 3 keys to the left and add that note to a chord (and remove the top
note) you get the relative minor of the original chord.
For example, heres G:

G
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The relative minor of G is Em:

Three keys down (skip two keys)

Notice how the root of the relative minor is down 3 keys from the original root.
Heres another example, the chord C:

The relative minor of C is Am:

Heres the chords from the previous page written out on the staff:

You can also move to the relative minor by replacing the top note with the root of the
relative minor.

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The top note of a G in root position (the 5th) is replaced with the root of the
Em.

The top note of a C in root position (the 5th) is replaced with the root of the
Am.

Heres the same harmony written out with two different voices. Notice how the
bottom two notes of the major chords hold though and become part of their relative
minor chords.

If the G chord starts in first inversion, the middle note moves up to the E:

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Practice this exercise.

Here different inversions help to create a smooth scale in the melody:

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Heres an exercise to practice reading inversions. Practice this several times, then turn
to the next page, where only the melody note is given.

On the last system you see the chord D7, D7 is basically the same as D, except that
you replace the note D with the note C.

The most important notes (besides the root) in the D7 chord are F# (the third) and C
(the seventh).

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Now repeat the last exercise, this time filling in the chord from the melody.

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S E V E N T H

Chapter

C H O R D S

Chapter 3 Seventh Chords

In root position seventh chords have an extra note on the top.
This is Em:

This is Em7:

This is Am:

This is Am7:

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C H O R D S

Play through this exercise:

One handy way to think of minor seventh chords is that they are a combination of a
minor root and its relative major. This is especially handy because you can play any
major chord in the right hand, and the root of the relative minor in the left and youll
have a nice full sounding minor seventh chord.

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C H O R D S

So if you see these minor seventh chords,

you can simply play the relative major in the right hand, while playing the root of the
minor seventh in the left!

G chord in the right hand,

the root (E) in the left!

C chord in the right hand,

the root (A) in the left!

Heres another example:

G chord in the right hand,

the root (E) in the left!

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C chord in the right hand,

the root (A) in the left!

S E V E N T H

C H O R D S

Bm and Bm7
Heres the chord Bm:

F
B

Try this exercise:

To make Bm7, just put a D chord in the right hand and the note B in the left:

Practice:

D chord in the right hand,

the root (B) in the left!

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C H O R D S

Heres more practice using minor seventh chords.

(G in the right hand!)

(C in the right hand!)

(D in the right hand!)

(C in the right hand!)

(D7 with B instead of A)

For a D13 chord, play B instead of A (the 6th instead of the 5th).

F
D

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C H O R D S

Now practice reading this chart. (Its the same as the last page, but without the chords
written in.)

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C H O R D S

GM7
If you add the note G below a Bm chord, you get the chord GM7 (Pronounced G
Major 7).

F
G

Just like our minor seventh chords, major seventh chords are combination chords.
Only with major seventh chords, you take the root down four half-steps (skip three
keys) -- and the chord on top is a minor chord.
Chord type in Steps down from rightright hand
hand chord to bass

Major
Seventh

minor

four

Minor
Seventh

major

three

So if you wanted to change GM7 to minor seventh chord, you could take the root (G)
up a half-step (to G#) and change the chord on top (Bm) to a major chord (B).

B chord in right hand.

Bm chord in right hand.

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C H O R D S

So lets look at one of the minor seventh chords we already know and change it to a
major seventh chord. Lets change Am7 to AbM7. Drop the root a half-step (from A
to Ab) and change the C chord in the right hand to a C minor chord (drop the third
from E to Eb).

Am7:

A
AbM7:

Left Hand

E
C

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C H O R D S

Lets practice the chords C, Cm and AbM7 in several different voicings.

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S E V E N T H

C H O R D S

Now heres the same exercise, written out fakebook-style. Once you have mastered
playing it from the last page, practice realizing it from this page.

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S E V E N T H

C H O R D S

Lets go back and practice Bm and GM7. To move from G to Bm in the right hand,
simply change the note G (in the G chord) to F#.

Bm

F
B

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C H O R D S

Turning any major chord into a major seventh

chord
As we saw in the last exercise, if you take G and lower the root (G) a half-step, you get
a major seventh chord. This is true for any major chord.
You can lower the root of any major chord and get a major seventh chord.

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C H O R D S

When we took the root of the G chord down a half-step, we got a Bm chord. This is
true for any major chord. If you lower the root a half-step, you get a minor chord built
on the original chords third (the third is the middle note in root position).

Heres the exercise from the previous page, only this time the major seventh chords
have been replaced with minor chords. Remember, these minor chords related to the
Major chord just before them. Just lower the root of the Major chord (for example,
take the D of the D chord down to C#) and then change the root to the root of the
minor chord (in this case, F#).

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S E V E N T H

C H O R D S

Dominant Seventh Chords

So far in this chapter weve looked at minor seventh chords and major seventh chords.
There is a third type of seventh chord called the dominant seventh chord. Youve
learned one dominant seventh chord so far, the chord D7.
You can find dominant seventh chords in a similar manner to finding major seventh
chords just take the root note down two half-steps in the right hand. (Remember,
to find major seventh chords, you took the root note down only one half-step.)

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Try this chord progression:

To make the two middle chords dominant instead of minor, just raise the third of each
chord:

Practice these variations on the progression above:

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C H O R D S

So far weve learned to find dominant seventh chords by taking the root down two
half-steps. You can find the seventh note in a dominant chord from the fifth. The
seventh note in a dominant chord (the minor seventh) is up three half-steps from the
fifth.
The fifth is on top in root position.

The note up a minor third is the minor seventh. This is the note you will add to a
major chord to make it a dominant chord.

Remember, to find a minor 3rd, go up (or down) three keys. In other words: skip two
keys!

B
G

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C H O R D S

The interval between the fifth and the minor seventh of a dominant chord figures
prominently in the blues.

Blues progressions such as the one above sound nice with a boogie-woogie style lefthand accompaniment. To make a boogie-woogie bass, just alternate between the fifth
and sixth of a chord like this in the left hand:

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C H O R D S

Often in chord progressions, minor chords will alternate with dominant chords:

Lets learn a simple version of this progression. It looks like this:

First just play the third and root for each chord:

Now play just the root and third in the right hand for each chord:

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C H O R D S

Now for each chord, replace the root in the right hand with the minor seventh.
(Remember, the minor seventh is two half-steps below the root; i.e. skip one key.)

Now just switch the order of the right hand notes on every other chord like this.
Youll notice that the third of Bm chord becomes the minor seventh of the E7 chord,
and likewise with the next measure; the third of Am chord becomes the minor seventh
of the D7 chord:

The first four chords above are voiced with only the third and seventh in the right
hand. This is often called in jazz a shell voicing. (You can learn more about them in
my book How to Speed Read Piano Chord Symbols.)
Now lets replace the Bm7 with the fuller version we learned at the beginning of this
chapter. Remember, for Bm7 play a D chord in the right hand and for Am7 play a C
chord in the right hand.

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C H O R D S

Now try this version, with doublings on the E7 and D7:

Here are some simple chords made with just the root and the 3rd.

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C H O R D S

In this exercise, you will compare major chords with their major seventh and dominant
seventh variations.

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S E V E N T H

C H O R D S

Heres the same exercise written out fake-book style.

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S E V E N T H

C H O R D S

Heres the same exercise transposed down a half-step. I added a few hints, as you can
see. Dont get creative on this one, just realize the chords the same way as the last two
pages.

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C H O R D S

Minor Seventh Chords

Start on Em7, then move all four notes of each chord down a half-step from chord to
chord.

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C H O R D S

Heres another exercise for the minor seventh chords. This time, each measure starts
with a major chord. The second chord in that measure is a minor seventh chord built
on the relative minor of the first chord. In other words, in each measure, once you
have found the first chord, bring the left hand note (the root) down 3 half steps (i.e.,
skip two half-steps). If you have trouble finding any of the notes, return to the
previous page for help.

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S E V E N T H

C H O R D S

Heres the same exercise, only this time, Ive left the fifth out of each chord.

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S E V E N T H

C H O R D S

Here is same exercise, except that the order of the notes in the right hand has been
flipped.

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S E V E N T H

C H O R D S

Heres another exercise to relate minor seventh chords to their relative major chord. If
youre having trouble reading this, go to the next page.

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S E V E N T H

C H O R D S

Heres the same exercise, only with the notes written in for those who need it.

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C H O R D S

Lets find minor seventh chords by finding the 3rd and 7th from the root.
S T E P

1 :

F I N D

T H E

M I N O R

R D

The 3rd of a minor chord is up a minor third. To find a minor 3rd, skip two keys.

S T E P

2 :

F I N D

T H E

M I N O R

T H

The minor seventh is down a whole-step from the root. To find a whole-step, skip
one key.

Root

Minor
7th

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Root

Minor
7th

S E V E N T H

C H O R D S

Practice finding minor seventh chords from the root.

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C H O R D S

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C O M M O N

C H O R D

Chapter

P R O G R E S S I O N S

Chapter 4 Common Patterns

Nothing will speed your ability to read from fakebooks than practicing common
patterns. Heres a typical melody with typical chords:

If we want to make a general rule as to what must be added to fill out these chords:
1. You need the root of each chord in the left hand
2. You need the third of each chord in the right hand
3. You need the seventh of each chord if its a seventh chord
So for the chord C, were going to need to add the third (E). Since the melody jumps
across the E at the middle of the keyboard, were going to have to use the E down the
octave (at first). You want your melody on top, and you dont want your chord tones
too close. So you can either play the E in the left hand along with the bass, or play it
with the right hand on the first note and then drop it out when the note jumps up too
high to hold on to it.

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C H O R D

P R O G R E S S I O N S

If the melody is too low in the right hand, you can place the chord tones down the
octave, either in the left hand or where able in the right.

Another (easier) option is to add the necessary chord tones later in the measure:

For the Dm7 chord, the third (F) is already in the melody, so only the seventh (C) must
be added.
For the G7 chord, the seventh (F) is already in the melody, so only the third (B) must
be added.

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C O M M O N

C H O R D

P R O G R E S S I O N S

The last measure of this section uses the same two chords, but this the melody doesnt
incorporate either the 7th or the 3rd of either chord.
So to the Dm7, you must add the 3rd (F) and the 7th (C). To the G7 you must also add
the 3rd (B) and the 7th (F).

On the following page, well practice realizing the chords C, Dm7 and G7.

Root

3rd

7th

none

Dm7

G7

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C H O R D

P R O G R E S S I O N S

In this exercise, youll work through common variations on the C > Dm7 > G7 > C
chord progression. In the first two measures, the progression is written out fakebook
style, see if you can figure out the chords, then study the realization that Ive written in
in the following two measures.
FAKEBOOK CHART

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C H O R D

P R O G R E S S I O N S

Dm9

G13

6
C9

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C H O R D

P R O G R E S S I O N S

Now lets start to practice the same common chord patterns in different keys. Heres
the key of G

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C H O R D

P R O G R E S S I O N S

Now, the key of F:

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C H O R D

P R O G R E S S I O N S

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P R O G R E S S I O N S

The Key of D:

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P R O G R E S S I O N S

Key of Bb:

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C H O R D

P R O G R E S S I O N S

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P R O G R E S S I O N S

The Key of Eb:

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P R O G R E S S I O N S

Key of A:

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C H O R D

P R O G R E S S I O N S

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Key of Ab:

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Key of E:

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Chapter

C H O R D S

Chapter 5 Diminished Chords

Diminished chords are used to slide between chords in common patterns. So they are
really just an embellishment.
Compare these two progressions:

In the second progression, the chord C#dim7 slides between the C and the D7 chord.
Diminished chords work well for this because they are unstable tense sounding
chords, so they dont move the harmony to a definite place yet do give the sound of
movement.

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Diminished chords have a low third and a low fifth. So the easiest way to find them is
by altering major chords you already know by lowering the 3rd and 5th:
C:

Cdim:

E
C

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Youll see diminished seventh chords more often in fake books than simple diminished
chords. Diminished seventh chords have an extra note added on the sixth scale
degree (technically, its the diminished seventh but it will be easier to think of it as the
sixth scale degree).
The sixth scale degree is down three half-steps from the root. (Remember to go down
three half-steps, you skip two half-steps.)

C
skip 2 keys

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Descending minor 3rds

So if you take a diminished chord and add a note a minor 3rd down, youll get a
diminished seventh chord:
Cdim7:

E
A

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Practice the following exercises:

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Heres a jazzy re-write of Mary had a little lamb. See if you can figure out the
harmony. An example solution sits on the following page.

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C H O R D S

Heres a solution to the Mary had a Little Lamb re-write. There are much more
creative solutions, but this solution emphasizes the basics which is a great place to
start.

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F L A T

Chapter

Chapter 6 Flat 9 and Flat 5

The distinctive sound of a diminished seventh chord come from the fact it is
constructed entirely of minor 3rds. This means there are basically three diminished
seventh groups. They share all of the same notes! Only the bass note is different:

Group 1
Bdim7
Abdim7
Fdim7
Ddim7

Group 2
Bbdim7
Gdim7
Edim7
Dbdim7

Group 3
Adim7
Gbdim7
Ebdim7
Cdim7

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F L A T

Getting to know these diminished seventh groups will really help reading from
fakebooks because many other chords share most, if not all of the notes of a
diminished seventh.
One of the most common of the chords related to the diminished seventh is the flat 9
chord. The easiest way to understand a flat nine chord is that you basically add the
note a half-step up from the root to a dominant seventh chord.

add the note a halfstep up from the root

(Db in this case)

Strangely enough, if you examine the intervals between the notes in a flat nine chord,
youll notice that every note from the 3rd up is a minor third.

the 3rd to the 5th is a minor 3rd

the 5th to the minor seventh is a minor 3rd

the minor seventh to the flat 9th is a minor 3rd

even the flat 9th to the 3rd is a minor 3rd

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F L A T

If you are trying to read from fakebooks, this bit of information is invaluable. If you
take any of the chord tones (other than the root) of a dominant seventh chord and
build out one of the diminished seventh shapes, youll have a flat nine chord.
Here is the 3rd, 5th and 7th of a G7 chord. Youll notice that are each a minor 3rd away
from one another. If you add another minor third (in either direction) youll have a flat
nine chord:

G7

G7
G7

b9
b9

Now, once you know this, you can start with any of the chord tones of a G7 chord
(other than the root, and build out in minor 3rds to create a flat 9 chord:

b9

G7

A
D

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F L A T

This exercise compares flat 5 chords with diminished chords. The only difference
between Ddim and Dm7b5 is that Dm7b5 is a seventh chord, so youll need the minor
seventh (C) in the chord. In this exercise, I simply replace the Root in the right hand
(D) with the minor seventh (C).

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T H

C H O R D S

Chapter

Chapter 7 Dominant 9th chords

The ninth is the note a whole-step up from the root. If a chord says D9, that means
its a dominant chord, with the 9th added.
Remember, that a dominant chord requires only the 7th and the 3rd:

D7

F
C

A ninth chord adds the 9th ( a whole-step up from the root).

D9

F
C

By now, you should know your dominant 7th chords, so in the following exercises, the
note names will not be written in for you. This will help you practice memorizing
chords, both in your minds eye (with eye to hand coordination) and how they appear
on the staff.

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Chapter

C H O R D S

Chapter 8 Slash Chords

Slash chords are chords that have an alternate bass note. Most of the time, that simply
means that you change the root of the chord, and the right hand stays the same. So
the symbol C/G would be pronounced See over Gee and you simply have to
play a different note in the left hand. Try this example out, hold the right hand notes,
while you change the bass to the alternate bass:

If it were written out as notation, it would look like this:

Ok, so lets practice slash chords.

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It would also be a
good idea to practice
this page down the
octave.

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D I V I N G

C H O R D S

B E T W E E N

T H E

H A N D S

Chapter

Chapter 9 Both Hands

In this chapter, youll learn to play part of the chord in the left hand. First, try this
sequence:

You could simply add the missing chord tones underneath the melody, adding them as
close to the melody notes as possible:

This solution presents some awkward placements on the keyboard, as well as making
the CM7 difficult to realize without putting the seventh at the unpleasantly close
distance of a half-step down from the melody note. So what if we put the seventh in
the left hand along with the bass? Heres the right hand (add Root and 7th in left).

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Heres the same solution, but with the left hand written in.

Now practice this sequence. Add Root and 7th in the left hand for every chord.

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C H O R D S

B E T W E E N

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H A N D S

D I V I N G

C H O R D S

B E T W E E N

T H E

H A N D S

If youre having trouble figuring this exercise out, you can use this annotated version.
Ive written in all the notes for you!

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B E T W E E N

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Now go through these chords one more time, this time looking only at the melody and
the chord symbols, as you would in a fakebook:

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C H O R D S

B E T W E E N

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C H O R D S

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T H E

H A N D S

You can also realize chords with the root and 3rd in the left hand:

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10
Chapter

C H O R D S

Chapter 10 6th and 13th chords

The sixth scale degree is a minor 3rd down from the root.
Play through this example:

A six chord is simply a major chord with the sixth added:

Add D

Add A

Add A

Add E

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A minor six chord also has the note down a minor 3rd from the Root, only with a
minor 3rd in the chord rather than a major 3rd:

Add D

Add A

Add A

Add
Eb(D#)

Add A

The next twelve pages are taken up with exercises to help you learn major and minor
sixth chords in all twelve keys. Play through them regularly until you no longer need to
look at the annotations below the staff.

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Heres another exercise to help you solidify your knowledge of six chords.

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The 13th chord is a variation on the dominant 7th chord. It has both the minor 7th and
the major sixth. Because they are only a half-step apart, they are never played in the
same octave, and the 6th is almost always played on top:

The easiest way to find thirteenth chords is to start with a dominant and then go up a
fourth from the 3rd.
In the first measure below, all the intervals between the notes are fourths. If you
notice the A to the D, this becomes the 3rd and 13th of the F13 chord. The 13th is the
same as the sixth, only in a dominant chord.

The reason it is called a 13th is that chords are named based on where an interval falls if
you were to build it up from the root of the chord:

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In the next exercise the melody starts on the root of the dominant 13th chord. This is
to help you relate in your mind that the 13th is the sixth scale degree (in relation to the
root of the chord).

After you have played through these sequences many times and have grown familiar
with them, try counting along with the melody (as you see above in parenthesis). Also,
note that even though we are counting from the root of the dominant chord, it is not
the root of the key. The actual tones in the key are from the 5th up to the third. Its
helpful to count it this way as well, thinking in terms of the key -- especially if you are
trying to learn to play by ear.

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If the 6th scale degree is not on top, usually, it is the doubled root on top:
Root

If you example the last chord above, youll see that the top three notes are the same
notes in an Am chord! These means you can make a fuller 13th chord by simply
placing the relative minor of a chord on top of the Root and 7th.
If you remember the relative minor is the chord down a minor 3rd from the root.

Play the Bb in the left

hand along with the root.

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On the first four chords

in this exercise, play the
Root and the minor 7th
in the left hand. I didnt
write in the seventh,
simply to keep the
harmony clearer in the
right hand, but the first
four chords wont
sound right if you dont
add the seventh!

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