I have an Acc. 2 question, the transposing section. I’ve recently rewatched the TT video and looked at the pdf document for Acc 2. The video just talks about the advantages of learning to transpose and about the process, but not really about the project for the student. Since students have transposed accompaniments going back to fairly early in the Acc 1 book, is this just a similar project with a few more chords beyond I,…
What about fingering for chords? Sometimes my new students want to play the basic chords with 1, 2, and 5 instead of 1, 3, and 5. I have been trying to get them to do 1, 3, and 5… But maybe it doesn’t matter. Marsha, one chord that comes in fairly early in some arrangements is an add9 chord, which is played with 1235. So it makes sense for students to…
In Accompaniment 2 (Scale Tone Chords and Transposition), Why doesn't Neil use or mention the fairly standard nomenclature of scale degrees where the Roman numeral is capitalized when MAJOR or lower case when minor (I ii iii IV V vi vii)? He says that the notes he's making are an "informal system" but ESPECIALLY with regard to exceptions (ex. Major IV in a minor key, or minor iv in a major key), I've found that standard…
First, how do you teach all the complex chords beyond the last Danny Boy piece in Accompaniment Book 1? Do you choose other lead sheets? Work on exercises with the other chords? Second, after Accompaniment Book 1, when is a student ready for Accompaniment Level 2? Thx! Chord Drill by Elizabeth Gaikwad. I personally wait a looooong time before doing Acc 2. I want them to be super comfy with…
This comes up a lot with students in Accompaniment... which way to play the chords, move them up or down? For instance in Amazing Grace students tend to go up for the F and G chords. Also, should C (or any tonic root notes) be on the bottom of the LH or top? Do any of you experienced teachers have any opinions, maybe Neil Moore? Where to place chords and LH? I tell students to keep…
Elizabeth Gaikwad, I have a question about the Chord Drill inversions. I understand that students need to have all Accomp 1 chords solid and that is the prerequisite. What I'm wondering, is how the inversions appear/are taught in Accomp 2? Will it be beneficial to do the chord drill inversions before it comes up in accomp 2 and how does the training differ in these two components? Students should work their…
Question for Elizabeth Gaikwad about Chord Drill: Is there an easier way to vocalize ALL the chords when going through the drill? We get tongue-tied saying this out loud - "C# major, C# minor, C# major, C# suspended, C# major, C# major7, etc. etc. Some are easier than others, but the sharps really get me. I think it's important to say it, so I've tried short cuts like omitting the 'C#' or whatever chord name from…
A parent asked me tonight "when will my daughter be able to hear a song, and just know how to play it with all the chords and in the right key?" I was unsure how to answer this, so of course I told the truth, that I haven't taught any higher than where we are currently (level 6) and that it is to be discovered. He said that he knows someone with traditional lessons that was…
Right now I have several students who are simultaneously going through RR and Accompaniment Variations. As such, it *seems* like a logical step to start including swing rhythm as a variation when learning to read 8th notes (doubles). However, there is not a single discussion or teacher training addressing this that I can find. Especially when attempting to reverse engineer Alma Mater Blues and Light Blue, how have other teachers approached this? I am hesitant to…
I had a student with extensive prior experience ask the difference between a maj 7th and 7th today so I hope this question makes sense. Is Bb the dominant 7th in the key of F? Cmaj7 is C, E, G, B. C7 is C, E, G, Bb. So a dominant 7 chord includes a flatted 7th. Similarly, Fmaj7 would include E, and F7 would include Eb. …
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