HMPI BLOG

Have you ever sat down to practice and didn’t know what to really work on? Have you ever felt like you were not accomplishing much in your practice time.

We probably have all felt like this at some point in time.

Let me share some things with you that has helped me over the years.

If you are anything like me you are probably really busy and don’t have as much time as you would like to practice so therefore you have to make your practice time count.

I have found that it helps to make out a practice schedule.

1# Specify how much time you can allot to practicing a particular day.

2# Determine what you want and NEED to practice on.

3# Divide the time up that you have so you can practice on everything.(You have to stop working on a particular thing when the time is up or it will throw off your schedule)

4# Keep a log or diary of what you practiced on so you can track your progress.

A practice schedule for me may look something like this:

 

Practice Schedule

Time 1hour

Finger Exercises/Scales 15min

Sight Reading 15min

New song to learn 20min

Improv/Soloing 10min

 

Your practice schedule can be as long as you want it to be and you can include as much as you want in it.

The point is you have an organized approach to your practicing and overtime you will improve faster because you are hitting everything you need to work on consistently.

I find that it helps when doing finger exercises to use a metronome or something that keeps a steady beat for you. Set the tempo at a speed that is a bit of a challenge but not so fast that you keep messing up. As you get more comfortable gradually increase the speed.

One more tip:

When you are learning something new many times you will run across a section of it that gives you trouble.

For example you may be learning a new song and everytime you get to the first verse you mess up. Most people will go all the way back to the beginning of the song and start over and get to the first verse and mess up again. This wastes alot of time. You should isolate where the problem area is and focus on that.

 

Identify the area that is giving you trouble.

Play a little before the problem area, the problem area, and a then little after the problem area.

You will save time like this. Keep doing this until you work the problem area out and can move from before it all the way to after it smoothly.

Now start at the beginning.

Just a few Tips

Until Next Time,

Kenny Hollins

 

We now have available one of the sections from the DVD Learn A Neo Soul and Jazz Approach. We have made the section on Tritones available for instant download with screen capture. You will learn what the Tritone is, how it is used, and some easy but effective ways to apply it to your playing.

If You have the Learn A Neo Soul and Jazz Approach DVD then you already have this lesson but if not this is an opportunity to get the same instruction for a fraction of the cost of the DVD. The DVD is $19.95 but this download is only .99 cents.

This is a very small investment that you can make in your playing that literally may instantly take your playing to the next level.

Download HERE

Only .99 cents

The sound that we consider to be contemporary gospel is made up of many chords that have tritones in them.

A Tritone is theoretically an augmented 4th or a deminished 5th.  For example if you where playing the C major scale the notes would be CDEFGABC

C is the first note and F is the fourth note. Therefore when you play the two notes C and F at the same time you are playing a perfect fourth.

But a tritone is an augmented fourth so you have to raise the fourth note up one half step. So a tritone would be C and F#. It also could be a deminished 5th which would be C and Gb.

HOW DO I USE IT?

There are many ways to use tritones.

Commonly they are used in altered dominant chords. For example G7#5#9, Ab7b9.

Usually you play the tritone with your left hand and the extentions of the chord with your right hand.

The tritone gives you alternatives to what type of dominant 7 chord to play.

You can change the extentions in your right hand and get a whole new sound and chord that will work.

If you are familiar with tritones then you know what I mean. If not you can get the dvd

Learn To Play The Hammond Organ or

Learn A Neo -Soul And Jazz Approach.

These techniques are explained.

How do I figure out the tritone.

Say for example you are playing an Ab dominant 7 chord which is

Ab C Eb Gb 

Ab is the root of the chord

Whatever the root of the chord is you play the b7 and major 3rd.

In the case of Ab the tritone would be Gb and C.

Once you figure out the tritone then you add your extentions.

 

One little trick I learned is to play certain major triads over the tritones and it creates different kinds of altered dominant chords.

For example if I want to find another chord for the Ab dominat seven I can figure out the tritone and play that with my left hand.

Then I can add the number 2 major triad, b5 major triad, #5 major triad, 6 major triad

on top of the tritone with your right hand.

In the example of Ab dominant 7

With your left hand you would play Gb and C

Right hand you could play the major 2 triad which is Bb major

The number 2 in the Ab major scale is Bb so therefore the major 2 triad would be a Bb major chord

So I would play a Bb major triad over the Gb and C with my left hand.

Try these alternatives for your dominant seven chords. We will get deeper a little later.

If all of this stuff sounds like chinese to you and you want to be able to do it you should get either The Hammond Organ DVD or The Neo Soul DVD

www.hmpi.net

Be Blessed,

Kenny Hollins

One of the easiest ways to learn new songs that I know is by reading the chord symbols. By chord symbols I mean symbols like Cmaj7, D7, Ebmin, F#min7 etc.

Many musicians get turned off when they see these kind of symbols if they don’t understand them. Playing chord symbols is a very useful skill to have.

1. You don’t have to memorize the song

2. You don’t have to struggle to learn the song

3. You can communicate more effectively with other musicians

4. It is down right faster

I am going to show you some things that I have learned to make reading chord symbols easy.

FIRST you have to know all 12 major chords in root position. A major chord is simply the 1st, 3rd, and fifth notes of the major scale.

For example the C major scale is

CDEFGABC 

Therefore the 1st, 3rd, and 5th are the notes C,E,G

The notes to the C major chord are CEG

 

You can figure out all of the 12 major chords like this by playing the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the major scales.

In order to do this you have to start off playing your major chords in root position. Root position means you play the notes of the chords in order from left to right.

For example if your trying to play a Cmajor chord in root posistion you must play the C with your right hand furthest to the left the E in the middle and the G furthest to the right. This is C major in root position.  You have to play the chords in root position to do this and then you can change it up after you know which notes to play.

To get a diagram of how to do it.

Click Here

Here is a diagram of all 12 major chords.

Click Here

Our DVD Gospel Pianist Basics Deluxe goes through how to do this in great detail.

This could be this missing ingredient to you learning the new material that you want to learn. We have developed a unique way of teaching people to play chords symbols that is Quick and Easy. The most important part is that it WORKS.

If you would like to get the Piano Basics Deluxe DVD go to our store HERE

Till next time.

Kenny Hollins

www.hmpi.net

One thing that I have learned is that every person has greatness invested in them. The mere fact that you are alive means that your life is for a great purpose and that greatness is on the inside on of you waiting to be released into the earth. The thing we have to do is believe that we really do have this greatness on the inside of us whether we can see it in operation or not. 

When we say “I am going to be all God has created me to be” is when this greatness will start to manifest in and through us. You have to just know that your current state is not your destination.

When we don’t allow fear to hold us back from our spot then we with boldness go after our spot.

What I mean by your spot is you doing the things that you were destined to do and on the level you were destined to do it on.

Listen don’t be afraid of the greatness that is in you that wants to get out. That’s why you are not satisfied with where you currently are.

That greatness on the inside of you will not allow you to be happy operating like a turkey or a chicken when you where destined and designed to soar like an eagle.

So whatever you do whether it is sing, play piano, write, arrange, or whatever just know that God taylor made you to be great and be a winner.

Follow your heart and do what you are drawn to and do it knowing that you are destined to be great at that thing.

When you start walking in your greatness you will inspire others to walk in there greatness and then this world will be a much better place.

Peace,

Kenny Hollins

If you are anything like me you love to hear people that play with rich, full, and colorful chords. Chords that are not muddy or thin but just right. Here are a few things that I do to create nice sounding chords.

The First thing that I do is to ask myself am I playing the chord that I am playing in the best place on the keyboard. Sometimes moving the chord up or down an octave can completely change the sound or effect of the chord. I like to call this the sweet spot for the chord. Try it different places on the keyboard and see what sounds the best.

 

The second thing that I do is to observe what I am doing with my left hand. What you do with your left hand will many times give you the body or meat of the chord. It can make your chord sound full or even muddy if too much and too low.

 

It is usually pretty safe to play a perfect 5th interval with your left hand. A Perfect 5th interval is the 1st and 5th note of the major scale of whatever the chord is.

For example say that you are playing a C major seven chord. Since the chord is some sort of C chord then you would use the C major scale to figure out the perfect 5th interval.

The C major scale would be CDEFGABC. The 1st and 5th notes are C and G. So a C and G played at the same time would be a perfect fifth.

This is common to do with your left hand on many chords. It won’t work as well on minor 7 b5 chords or altered dominants like G7#5.

 

The third thing is I sometimes add the ninth to the chord to add color to the chord.

The ninth of the chord is simply the second note of the major scale of that particualr chord or a whole step up from the root of the chord.

For example if you are playing a F minor chord the ninth would be the note G.

The F major scale is FGABbCDEF. The second note of this scale is G. Remember that the second and ninth note of a scale is exactly the same note.

So F minor is F Ab C. With the added ninth it will be FGAbC. This adds color to the chords or gives the chord a more jazzy sound.

Try adding the ninth to some of your chords.

The fourth thing I do is rearrange my chord. I rearrange the notes of my chord by moving the notes around.

For example if I am playing a Cmajor 7 chord like this.

C/CEGB

To make it sound better I will try all of the above techniques mentioned.

and move the notes around like something like this.

CG/BEG

CG/BDEG

CG/DEGB

CGE/DGB

Try these techniques and see if it helps to add flavor to your chords.

Kenny Hollins 

This is a big topic among musicians. Having a career in music is what many musicians would love to do. It’s just like being paid for something that you would probably do for free because you love it so much.

Many musicians feel they can’t do it because they don’t believe that they will make enough money to be sustained or they believe that they can do it but just don’t know how to do it.

I have been a professional musician for sometime now and I know that it is possible. First thing is you have to believe and know that it is possible for you to live very comfortably as a professional musician. By professional I mean music is how you make your income, not that you are musically perfect. (All things are possible to them that believe) 

Second thing you have to ask yourself (and be honest) is music something I really believe I am destined to do.

My personal conviction is that when you do the thing or things that God has gifted and destined you to do, then you will be the most successful in that than in any other thing.

So identify what your true gift or gifts are and develop them and really go after excellence in the area of your God given talents and gifts.

The problem is people see other people operating in their God given gift and see the success that they are having and try to copy them based on what they see. This is ok if your gift is in the same area as the person you are watching. You actually could learn from them if your gifts are in the same area. You don’t want to make the mistake of pursuing something that you really are not gifted to do.

For example when I was in Jr. High School I use to want to play pro ball because that is what all my friends wanted to do. I joined the team and just so you can know I AM NOT A GIFTED ATHLETE.

I remember playing in a game and I did so bad that the WHOLE GYM laughed at me! And after enough times of me embarassing myself I figured out that pro ball was not my calling. LOL. I decided to focus on what I was good at. I was good at music and I was gifted in music.

I also remember being asked by a teacher to play saxophone in a school program. I did it and when I got through the WHOLE GYM gave me a standing ovation.

Isn’t it interesting that the same people that laughed at me when I was doing what I was not gifted at were the same people that gave me a standing ovation when I was doing what I was gifted at. Your success is in doing what God has gifted you to do.

Let me clear this up. People sometimes don’t know what I mean when I use the term gift. From my understanding a gift is a God given talent, ability, know how, an edge, and anything that comes easier for you than most people.

This is the misconception. Just because you are gifted in a particular area does not mean you don’t have to work hard in that area.

Because you are gifted in something means you really should work harder at it.

Some of the most talented and gifted people I know are also some of the laziest people I know.

This is because they have only relied on their gift alone and have not mixed hard work with it.

It is like the story of the tortose and the hare. The hare was naturally much faster (gifted) but he was lazy and he believed his speed gave him a license to be lazy and he would still when the race. On the other hand the tortose wasn’t as fast so he had to really on the principle of hard work to get things accomplished.

We all know that the tortose won the race and the hare lost.  And the tortose won because he worked hard, did not give up, and kept pressing on until he finished the race. He Won.

That’s what we want to do. We want to WIN! And you can win if you do what God has gifted you to do and work HARD at it.

Be the best you possibly can be. You will reap the benefits from your hard work.

“Be not deceived for God is not mocked for whatsover a man soweth that shall he also reap.”

 

Getting to the point of thinking like this is really just half of it. The other half of it is the business part of it.

You have to look at it in terms of “Supply and Demand”. In other words what do I have, what can I do, and what do I know that other people want or need. This is your product.

Identify your supply and ask yourself is there a demand for it.

Do people want and need what I have to offer?

If the answer is yes then you need to figure out how to get it out to people.

Sit down and make a business plan.

Ask yourself:

1. what is my product

2. who will want to buy or pay for my product

3. how will I let people know about my product

4. how much will my poduct be sold for

5. how will I distribute my product to people.

I am using the word product loosely. Your product could be a service that you offer or something that you actually do your self or even a tangible thing that you sell.

 I learned this from piano master George Duke. You want to create as many streams of aggresive and passive income as possible. Meaning you want money flowing in to you from more than just one place.

Aggresive income is income you make from you physically doing something. (example) I played keyboard for a wedding reception and made $200 dollars. This is agressive income.

Passive income is income you make from not physically doing something. (example) You recorded a CD of music and people buy it over the internet. In other words you have done the work and now you are making income from something you have already done.

In a sense you are not having to use physical energy to make the income other than make the CD available to people. This is an example of passive income.

Examples of Aggressive Income for a musician:

Playing for a Band, Touring, Producing A recording project, Teaching Music Lessons, Playing for a church, music engineering just to name a few.

 

Examples of Passive Income For A Musician:

CD’s, DVD’s, Books, Digital Downloads, and videos just to name a few.

 

You have to set up a system to where you can be paid for your passive income products. The internet has made creating passive income much easier.

You also have to set up a system in which people know about your aggressive income products as well.

So in conclusion there are many ways a musician can have a solid career in music. You have to have a product that people want whether it is you playing the organ or having a CD that people want.

People only want to pay for quality. Your product has to be a quality product.

You have to set up a system for people to know about your product and a system where they can pay for your product.

Lastly, make sure you are doing the things that you are gifted to do and mix hard work with it.

(send me a shout and let me know if this helped anyone) 

Be Blessed,

Kenny Hollins

 

One of the easist ways to learn new songs that I know is by reading the chord symbols. By chord symbols I mean symbols like Cmaj7, D7, Ebmin, F#min7 etc.

Many musicians get turned off when they see these kind of symbols if they don’t understand them. Playing chord symbols is a very useful skill to have.

1. You don’t have to memorize the song

2. You don’t have to struggle to learn the song

3. You can communicate more effectively with other musicians

4. It is down right faster

I am going to show you some things that I have learned to make reading chord symbols easy.

FIRST you have to know all 12 major chords in root position. A major chord is simply the 1st, 3rd, and fifth notes of the major scale.

For example the C major scale is

CDEFGABC 

Therefore the 1st, 3rd, and 5th are the notes C,E,G

The notes to the C major chord are CEG

 

You can figure out all of the 12 major chords like this by playing the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the major scales.

In order to do this you have to start off playing your major chords in root position. Root position means you play the notes of the chords in order from left to right.

For example if your trying to play a Cmajor chord in root posistion you must play the C with your right hand furthest to the left the E in the middle and the G furthest to the right. This is C major in root position.  You have to play the chords in root position to do this and then you can change it up after you know which notes to play.

To get a diagram of how to do it.

Click Here

Here is a diagram of all 12 major chords.

Click Here

Our DVD Gospel Pianist Basics Deluxe goes through how to do this in great detail.

Till next time.

Kenny Hollins

www.hmpi.net

We have to make sure we are registered to vote. By the way I am in favor of Obama but I thought this video was hilarious!

I believe creativity, wisdom, insight, and knowledge comes from God. Having these things will make us better musicians. If you don’t already do this pray and ask for these things in your music before you practice. Try it and see if it doesn’t make a difference. IT DOES! Now of course we have to do our parts and study and work hard but the ability to understand musical concepts and apply them comes from God. Let prayer become a regular part of your practice time and watch yourself over time go up levels.

Kenny Hollins