{"id":7490,"date":"2022-04-22T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/?p=7490"},"modified":"2023-04-18T10:51:23","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T17:51:23","slug":"gospel-piano-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/gospel-piano-101\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>Gospel 101: Your First Gospel Piano Lesson<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Gospel piano is a beautiful genre of music. The gospel sound is unmistakable, and for many musicians, it\u2019s an incredibly rewarding genre to learn because it enables you to give back to your spiritual community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/erskine-hawkins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Erskine Hawkins<\/a> has played with world-class musicians like Eminem, Rihanna, and Zendaya. But his favorite thing to play is gospel music! In this lesson, Erskine will show you how to take a simple chord progression and transform it into gospel goodness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\"><p><strong>Table of Contents:<\/strong><\/p><nav><ol><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#the-basic-gospel-piano-progression\">The Basic Gospel Piano Progression<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#gospel-tweak-1-walk-ups-and-walk-downs\">Gospel Tweak #1: Walk-Ups and Walk-Downs<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#gospel-tweak-2-chromatic-grace-notes\">Gospel Tweak #2: Chromatic Grace Notes<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#gospel-tweak-3-pentatonic-riff\">Gospel Tweak #3: Pentatonic Riff<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#\ud83d\uddd1\ufe0f-final-tip\">Final Tip<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>> Make sure you download the <a href=\"https:\/\/d1923uyy6spedc.cloudfront.net\/Gospel%20101%20-%20Score-1649626849.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">free lesson resource pack<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\"><center><h2 class=\"has-text-align-center\" style=\"font-size:22px\"><strong>Level Up Your Playing<\/strong> \ud83d\ude80<\/h2><p>Get free lessons, tips, exclusive interviews, music news, and more delivered to your inbox every week. Unsubscribe anytime.<\/p><iframe class=\"email-form-include\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weeklyemail\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-basic-gospel-piano-progression\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>The Basic Gospel Piano Progression<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s start with a simple <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-chord-progressions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">chord progression<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/Gospel%20101\/gospel%20basic%20progression.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Get to know this progression well and practice it a few times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The chords we\u2019ve chosen already hint towards a gospel sound. For example, we play a dominant 7th chord (E7) instead of a normal E Major chord (E). This gives the progression an extra jazzy sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ll also use a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/slash-chords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">slash chord<\/a> (F\/G). Another name for this chord is the <a href=\"https:\/\/musictheory.pugetsound.edu\/mt21c\/IVover5SusChord.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">IV\/5 \u201csus.\u201d<\/a> In C Major, it can be notated as G9sus4 because it contains G (the root), F (the 7th), A (the 9th), and C (suspended 4th from D).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"gospel-tweak-1-walk-ups-and-walk-downs\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Gospel Tweak #1: Walk-Ups and Walk-Downs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A simple way to make any chord progression more interesting is to put interesting stuff <em>between <\/em>the chords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Erskine adds some meat to the bass by playing chromatic octaves with his left hand. All he\u2019s doing here is approaching each bass note by starting two half-steps away. It\u2019s deceptively simple, but the effect is huge!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/Gospel%20101\/gospel%20walks.png\" alt=\"Gospel piano 101: standard notation of chromatic walk-ups and walk-downs.\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To add an even bigger sense of movement to your progression, try pulsing your right hand chords as quarter notes, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/Gospel%20101\/gospel%20pulsing%20chords.png\" alt=\"Gospel piano 101: standard notation of pulsing right hand chords.\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\"><center><h2 style=\"font-size:22px;\"><b>Get the Full Gospel Course<\/b><\/h2><\/center><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/Gospel%20101\/Erksine%20and%20Lisa.jpg\"><p>Access Erskine\u2019s full gospel piano course by joining Pianote! Erskine\u2019s course includes exercises, eleven video lessons, and real song examples.<\/p><center><a class=\"join\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">JOIN PIANOTE<\/a><\/center><br><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"gospel-tweak-2-chromatic-grace-notes\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Gospel Tweak #2: Chromatic Grace Notes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>That chromatic sound is essential to gospel music, and another way to add more of it to your progression is with grace note slides. Use neighboring black notes to slide into your target white notes, or vice versa. You can also play <em>two <\/em>chromatic grace notes to your target note too. This works well for the thirds in your chords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/Gospel%20101\/gospel%20gracenotes.png\" alt=\"Standard notation of gospel progression &quot;feel&quot; with grace notes.\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"gospel-tweak-3-pentatonic-riff\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Gospel Tweak #3: Pentatonic Riff<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As a final gospel flair, Erskine ends the progression with short, pentatonic riff in both hands to approach the final chord:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/Gospel%20101\/gospel%20pentatonic.png\" alt=\"Standard notation of gospel progression with pentatonic riff\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/pentatonic-scale\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">major pentatonic scale<\/a> consists of the notes 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. So, to find a pentatonic riff that works with your chord progression, find your progression\u2019s key signature and then the key\u2019s pentatonic scale degrees. Then, play around with those notes and see what you come up with!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"\ud83d\uddd1\ufe0f-final-tip\" style=\"font-size:28px\">\ud83d\uddd1\ufe0f <strong>Final Tip<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t be too polished! Gospel music isn\u2019t meant to be an exact science. Your hands don\u2019t have to land together precisely. Instead, play freely and organically. Case in point: Erskine likes to play with a \u201ctrashcanny\u201d feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We hope you enjoyed this lesson! You can learn more gospel piano (for free!) here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/gospel-piano-progression-hotline\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Gospel Piano Chord Progression You Need to Know<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/gospel-progressions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Intro to Gospel Piano Chords (Progressions, Transitions &amp; More)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/passing-chords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Get That Sweet R&amp;B\/Gospel Sound on Piano<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<iframe class=\"email-form-include-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weekly-email\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how to play the signature gospel piano sound with Erskine Hawkins, pianist for Eminem, Rihanna, Zendaya and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[507],"tags":[1088],"class_list":["post-7490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chord-theory","tag-ch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7490"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13196,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7490\/revisions\/13196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}