Category: Music

Song – L’abe Igi Orombo

Hi folks,

In this post I share a children’s song I used to sing a long time ago when I was a little kid. It’s a folksong from Nigeria titled L’abe igi Orombo. This song is in Yoruba and means “Under the orange tree.” I just remembered this song while practicing on the piano and thought I would record myself singing and playing the song on the piano and share with you. So, first, here are the lyrics of the song in its original form, Yoruba:

L’abe igi orombo

L’abe igi orombo
N’ibe l’agbe nsere wa
Inu wa dun, ara wa ya
L’abe igi orombo

Here is the song translated in English

Under the Orange Tree

Under the orange tree
Where we play our games
We are happy, we are excited
Under the orange tree

Here is my recording of the song:

Finally, here are the notes that go with the song. Note: the song is in the key of Cmajor.

L’a be i gi o rom bo
RH Cmaj (E G C) Cmaj (E G C) Cmaj (G C E) Cmaj (C E G) Cmaj (G C E) Dmin (F A D) Cmaj (E G C)
LH C G C
Ni be l’a gben se re wa
RH Cmaj (E G C) Cmaj (E G C) Cmaj (G C E) Cmaj (C E G) Fmaj (A C F) Cmaj (G C E) Dmin (F A D)
LH C F G
i nu wa dun a ra wa ya
RH Cmaj (E G C) Cmaj (E G C) Cmaj (E G C) Cmaj (C E G) Fmaj (C F A) Fmaj (C F A) Fmaj (C F A) Cmaj (C E G)
LH C C D E (base run) F A
L’a be i gi o rom bo
RH Dmin7 (D F A C) Dmin7 (D F A C) Cmaj (G C E) Cmaj (C E G Cmaj (G C E) Dmin (F A D) Cmaj (E G C)
LH D G C

Enjoy the music.

Till next time.

How to play praise music on the piano

Hi folks,

In this post I will discuss how to play pray praise music on the piano.  When I say praise music, I don’t mean just any praise music. Rather, I mean the hand clapping, toe tapping, foot stumping, finger snapping praise music. I am currently taking a course called Gospel Music 300, from Hear and Play where I am learning this technique.

There are 5 parts to praise music. They are parts A, B, C, D and E.

Part A consists of a base run on the left hand and some progressions on the right hand, all in the key of the song. So, if your song is in the key of A♭ major, then part A will be a base run and other progressions in the key of A♭.

Part B of praise songs consists of a base run and some other progressions on the 4th tone of the key of the song. So, if your song is in the key of A♭ major, then part B will be in the key of D&flat. since D♭ is the 4th tone of A♭ major scale.

There are many praise songs that use just part A and B. These are usually call-and-response type of songs where the singer or choir calls out something and the congregation responseds all in a rhythmic fashion.

songs that use parts A and B

God is a good God

Have you tried Jesus

Praise the lord everybody

I don’t know what you’ve come to do

I’m a soldier in the army of the lord

I get joy when I think what he’s done for me

What you know about Jesus

I’m not tired yet

If you call on Jesus (he will answer prayer)

Take the Lord with you (everywhere you go)

If you can’t tell it, let me tell it

Lay your hands on me Jesus

In part C we do a 7-3-6 progression. That is, we play a chord from the 7th tone of the key of the song, to the third tone, to the 6th tone. Then you can walk up from 3 to 5 by half tones. That is, 3, 4, ♭5, 5.

Songs that use parts C and D

Can’t nobody do me like Jesus

When I woke up this morning

Jesus is on the main line

Praise him praise him

I believe I testify

Bless that wonderful name of Jesus

One glad morning

Glory glory haleluya when I lay my burdens down

I’m on the battle field for my lord

Jesus I’ll never forget

I’m so glad Jesus lifted me

99 1/2 won’t do

Jesus getting us ready for that great day

Par E can be thought of as the vamp.

That is, it is a short passage of music that you repeat until the end of the song. Usually you focus on the 1 and 4 tones in part E.

Some songs that use just part E

Jesus Said It

What’s his name (Jesus)

My soul is a witness

Believe on me

I’ve come to praise his name

He’s been good

What a mighty God we serve

He’s the joy of my salvation

Jesus can work it out

He’s been good

Here are some songs that mix it up a bit:

What a mighty God we serve

Victory, victory shall be mine

Victory is mine

He’s the joy of my salvation

O Come, All Ye Faithful – Piano Composition

O Come, All Ye Faithful – Piano Composition

Hi folks,

Today I will share how to play the song O Come, all Ye Faithful. I will add a recording of how I play it, lyrics, notes and chords for the song. First, I will show the notes in D ♭ major, then I will show it again using the number system. This way, you can transcribe the song to any key easily. Using these, you should also be able to easily play the song as per the recording. Note that you will want to play chords to harmonize the notes where appropriate. You could use single notes for the base runs on the left hand.

First, here is the recording of the song:

Now here are the lyrics of the song:

O come, all ye faithful

Joyful and triumphant

O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem

Come and behold Him

Born the King of Angels!

O come, let us adore Him

O come, let us adore Him

O come, let us adore Him

Christ the Lord

Now here is the song with notes in the key of D ♭ major

O come all ye faith ful
RH D♭ D♭ A♭ D♭ E♭ A♭
LH D ♭ A ♭
Joy ful and tri um phant
RH F E♭ F G♭ F E♭
LH D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭
O come ye o co ome ye to Be eth le hem
RH D♭ D♭ C B♭ C D♭ E♭ F C B♭ A♭ A♭
LH B♭ C D ♭ E♭ D♭ C B♭ A♭ E♭ A♭ E♭ A♭ A♭
Come and be hold Him
RH A♭ G♭ F G♭ F
LH D♭ D♭
Born the King of A an gels
RH E♭ F D♭ E♭ C B♭ A♭
LH C D♭ C B ♭ A♭ E♭ A♭
O come let us a dore Him
RH D♭ D♭ C D♭ E♭ D♭ A♭
LH D♭ D♭
O come let us a dore Him
RH F F E♭ F G♭ F E♭
LH D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭
O come let us a dore Hi im
RH F G♭ F E♭ D♭ C D♭ G♭
LH E♭ F G♭ G A♭ A B♭ E♭
Chri ist the Lord
RH F E♭ D♭ D♭
LH A ♭ D ♭

Finally, here is the song using number system:

O come all ye faith ful
RH 1 1 5 1 2 5
LH 1 5
Joy ful and tri um phant
RH 3 2 3 4 3 2
LH 1 2 3 4 5
O come ye o co ome ye to Be eth le hem
RH 1 1 7 6 7 1 2 3 7 6 5 5
LH 671 2 1 7 6 5 2 5 2 5 5
Come and be hold Him
RH 5 4 3 4 3
LH 1 1
Born the King of A an gels
RH 2 3 1 2 7 6 5
LH 7 1 76 5 2 5
O come let us a dore Him
RH 1 1 7 1 2 1 5
LH 1 1
O come let us a dore Him
RH 3 3 2 3 4 3 2
LH 1 2 3 4 5
O come let us a dore Hi im
RH 3 4 3 2 1 7 1 4
LH 2 3 4 ♭5 5 ♭6 6 2
Chri ist the Lord
RH 3 2 1 1
LH 5 1

That’s all for now. Till next time, happy piano playing.

The importance of perseverance and vision

Hi folks

Today I will like to talk about a few important concepts that are very important when practicing music. These apply to not just music actually, but to any endeavour in life. They are perseverance and vision.

A few days ago I was practicing how to harmonise every tone in all major scales (one scale at a time) when I realised I was moving a little too fast. I would practice for a short while, become marginally better and jump to the next key.

Then I got to stop and question myself: is this the right way to practice? What will I really gain after going through all keys this way? Will I really have anything tangible to show for it? And my answer to this was a resounding no.

So I got back to the basics of what practice should be about, which I share here.

Before beginning practice it is necessary to have a clear vision of what you want to accomplish after practice. Sit and visualise it. E.g if you want to become fluent in playing a certain progression, imagine what it would be like to play that progression with the fluency you desire.

Next, keep practicing until you reach the goal you visualised. As long as your goal is a realistic one, you must persevere through practice as you gradually become more skilful in your craft and reach your goal. Do not get tempted to jump on to other things until your practice goal comes to fruition. It could take a week or even more to become fluent in certain routines, e.g. playing certain triads, scales, arpeggios, etc. 

Keeping these two principles in mind should make for more effective practice.

That’s all for now. Till next time.

How to use a Diminished chord in a 1-6 progression

When going from 1 down to a 6, you can play substitute the 6 part with a 1diminished chord over flat 5.

E.g. In the key of Cmajor if you are playing a 1-6-5 melody from a C to A and then G, on the right hand you play

C C+D#+F#+A C+E+G

On the left hand you play 1 flat5 5. In the key of C that will be from a C to F# to G.

Recording coming soon.

Till next time.

A Nice Run to Play Before the 1 Starting Chord

Hi folks,

In this post I will talk about a nice run to play before the starting 1 chord of slow gospel chords.

On the left hand, you go

3 4 5 6 7 1

e.g. in the key of C major, you will go

E F G A B C

On the right hand you will harmonize the following melody:

3 4 3 2♯ 2 1

by using the following chords:

1 4 3minor 2♯-minor 2minor 1.

In the key of Cmajor these chords are:

G+C+E A+C+F G+B+E F♯+A♯+D♯ F+A+D E+G+C

That is:

First chord you harmonize the E using a Cmajor chord
Second you harmonize the F using a Fmajor chord
Third you harmonize the E with a Eminor
Then you go down a half step with the same chord shape to harmonize the D♯ with a D♯ chord
You then harmonize the D with a Dminor
Then you harmonize the C with a Cmajor chord.

To make it more melodious, on the right hand you can insert a 1sus4 chord before the last 1chord. That is, insert a Csus4 chord before the last Cmajor chord. So instead of going from F+A+D to E+G+C on the right hand, you can play it like this:

F+A+D  F+G+C  E+G+C

Furthermore, you can make the left hand run a little more melodious by quickly adding a 2 before the 5 since 2 normally has a strong pull to 5. So the left hand run becomes

3 4 2 5 6 7 1

To summarize, on the left hand you play the following notes

3 4 2 5 6 7 1

while on the right hand you play the following chords:

1 4 3minor 2♯minor 2minor 1sus4 1.

In the key of C, on the left hand you play:

E F D G A B C

while on the right hand you play:

G+C+E  A+C+F  G+B+E  F♯+A♯+D♯  F+A+D  F+G+C  E+G+C

Below is a recording.

Enjoy.

The 9 (add 6) Chord

Hi folks,

I will like to talk about the 9 (add 6) chord. This chord is a nice one to use in worship songs.

You can use this for the 2 chord or the 1 chord.

E.g When playing a 6-2 progression, you can play a minor 9 for the 6 chord and a 9 (add 6) for the 2 chord. Similarly, when playing a 5-1 progression that does not end a song, you can play a 5 minor 9 chord, then a 1 9 (add 6) chord.

Here’s an example of such a chord.

D♭ 9 (add 6)

To play it, you play D♭ on the left hand. Then play F B♭ B and E♭ on the right hand.

An easy way to think about it is to play the root note of the chord on the left hand, then play a quartal 3 chord with an added ♭5 on the right hand.

For example, F is the 3 chord on the D♭ major scale. F B♭ and E♭ is the F quartal chord. And B is ♭5 on the F scale.

Using this trick, it is easy to play 9 (add 6) for any key. That’s all for now. Enjoy.

An Interesting 2-5 Progression

When playing a 2-5 progression, here’s a way to add a few interesting chords in between.

The principle is that you walk up from the 2 chord to the 5 chord.

i.e. 2 3 4 ♭5 5.

Alternatively, to make it easier, you can take out the 4 and walk up as follows:

2 3 ♭5 5

An example of this is:

2minor7 1maj/3 4maj7 ♭5(with a quartal chord of its flattened 7th note) 513

The fourth chord there deserves more explanation.

Let’s assume we are in the key of D♭, what does a ♭5 (with a quartal chord of its flattened 7th note) mean?

Well, first ♭5 tone of D♭major will be G.

The 7th note of G major is F

Then we play a quartal chord of F (F B♭ E♭) on the right hand over G on the left hand.

In the key of D♭ the walk-up will be as follows

Chord LH RH
E♭minor7 E♭ B♭ D♭ G♭
D♭major / F F A♭ D♭ F
G♭major7 G♭ F B ♭ D ♭
G (with a quartal chord of its flattened 7th note) G F B♭ E♭
A♭13 A♭ G♭ B♭ D♭ F

Below is a recording of the first variant:

And of the second variant.

I use the second variant in Thank You Lord posted earlier. See if you can spot it!

Enjoy.