Originally posted by Diki:
Unless there's a LOT of inter-song transposition and some pretty whacked out chords, I am a big believer in the number system. Instead of learning C-F-G-Am, you learn what they are relationally, and then learn the song 1-4-5-6m, and now you can play it in any key you want...
It's a big part of Nashville sessions, and helps you quickly understand the relationship between chords, and once you understand the relationship, you start to understand the 'WHY' of a chord sequence. Once you understand the 'WHY', you are beginning to get to the core of what music is about....
Diki,
That is what I do, but I haven't used the number system ever. I try to find the rlationship of the chords relative to their position on the keyboard.
There are many songs that go Am - F - Dm - E or G.... (I can only easily play on the C scale only), or maybe Dm - F - G - Am or Am - F - G - E or variations of those.
Often find myself playing a "new" song and depending on the first two chords, I can guess the others easily most of the time.
That works for songs I have in my mind, but trasposing or "reading" from a fake book chart is another matter. What I do is take the first chord and apply the "relativity" of each chord to the others in the song (which I have easily figured out in C), but starting on the different first chord. Sometimes works out easily, sometimes not. Things like F#m followed by Bbm kill me instantly!!! Can't put my fingers onthe right keys!
Have seen the "circle of fifths" mentioned before, never took the time to study it. Is it worth the time?
[This message has been edited by trident (edited 12-03-2008).]