Special Considerations and A Few Notes on Style

Congratulations - you've made it to the fifth and final post in the Freestyle Piano Series. We're going to conclude by looking at some nitty-gritty details and some random mushy stuff about "style." I hope this series has been enjoyable and informative, and most of all that it has given you new confidence and freedom.

Special Considerations

• Transposing. Transferring songs into different keys is an essential skill for all musicians - except perhaps drummers and kazoo players. You don't really know a song unless you can play it in any key. Well, maybe that's not quite fair. Let me put it another way. You may think you know a song thoroughly, but until you can play it in any key you haven't yet grasped its internal constitution, its immutable melodic code. This is one of the main reasons why the number method is so valuable. Understanding this "internal constitution" - which consists of numbers, not notes - is the key (pun intended) to efficient, on-demand transposition.
  
• Finding the Key. It happens all the time. Someone begins a song, whether instrumentally or a cappella, and you haven't a clue what key they're in. Don't panic - it's easy to find. Quietly play a few notes, listening for whether they "fit," either melodically or harmonically. Once you've found a note that fits, locate one or two others to help you piece together the scale. (You don't have to piece together the entire scale, because you should have the all the major scales memorized, or at least the scales for the 6 most common keys: C, D, G, F, Bb, and Eb. All you need to do is identify enough notes to determine which key the song is in.) With practice this technique will come easy and natural.
  
• Teamwork. Playing well with other musicians takes good communication and practice. It's important to be clear about who is "leading" a song, because this can lead to confusion if left ambiguous. Also, it helps to know whether you are playing ornamental or structural piano. Here's how to tell the difference: if the piano is "holding up" the song, it's structural piano. You're in the lead, and you're responsible for keeping the song moving along, which usually means you will have to carry the chording and rhythm strongly with your left hand. If there is another instrument such as a guitar "holding up" the song, this frees you up to be creative and make your playing more open and less dogmatic.
• Transitions.It's common to insert a 4-5 turnaround between verses, by which I mean a 4-chord and then a 5-chord. (In G, that would be C and then D.) This really depends on the song, however. For many hymns, you will often be better off just counting the appropriate number of beats and then starting right into the next verse. Use your imagination. The important thing is that everyone knows when they ought to start singing. For modulating, (changing keys,) play the 5-chord of the key you're modulating to, in order to transition. (Sometimes, you can just move abruptly into the new key, but it depends on the song.)
  
• Rounds. Playing rounds can be confusing because the melody is in two places at once. Often the simplest thing is to play whichever melody you find most comfortable, or if this is too difficult, to just play the chord progression and forget the melody altogether. Always remember that it is not the job of the pianist to have to play the melody all the time. In fact, constantly playing melody can be monotonous and distracting.
  
• A Cappella. Instrumental accompaniment is usually a welcome support for group singing, but sometimes some simple a cappella can provide a powerful interlude of undistracted worship. Don't be afraid to leave off the keys every now and then and enjoy the simplicity of silence.
  

A Few Notes on Style

• Be Relaxed. When playing piano, it's important to be (or appear) as relaxed as possible. Of course, difficult songs challenge all of us, so don't be ashamed of needing to concentrate now and then. Just remember that generally your audience is only as relaxed as you are.
• Leave Space. Some pianists feel like they have to fill every square inch of auditory real estate with harmonies and runs and trills and other activity. This is not true. Space is your friend: you want your playing to breathe, not bloviate. Leaving deliberate space adds drama and demonstrates that you are in control.
• Use the Pedal. I tend to use the pedal liberally, which keeps the sound present and full while freeing up my fingers for the next chord or phrase. For everyday worship, the pedal is your best friend, but be cautious about over-using the pedal when playing more intricate pieces, as it will tend to muddy the sound.
  
• Use Grace Notes. One of the most effective ways to make your playing sound more colorful and "expensive," is to offset notes from each other instead of playing them all simultaneously. There are several ways of doing this. When playing single-note melodies, use grace notes liberally. A grace note is an adjacent note that is "crushed" into the main note quickly and gracefully just before the main note is played. When playing harmonies, offset the timing of the two notes ever so slightly, so they just barely "twinkle" against each other. You'll be amazed what a difference this makes when you learn to do it.
• Play like you mean it. E. B. White's English teacher Will Strunk once said "If you don't know how to pronounce a word, say it loud!" Piano should be approached with the same abandon. It's not surgery. Play within your ability, but don't be timid about it. For the gift of life and the joy of music, play like you mean it.

Image courtesy of lawrencewoof.com

Petra!

Sunday morning we crossed the border into The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to tour the ancient city of Petra, a 2-hour bus ride into the heart of the country. Before driving through Aqaba, Jordan's port city on the Red Sea, we passed the "Garden of Peace," a young forest of half a million trees planted between Jordan and Israel after Jordanians cleared the area of land mines in 1994.

Our tour guide kept us informed and entertained with a continuous narrative full of Middle-Eastern wit and rife with propaganda, made all the more conspicuous by his adequate but somewhat limited English. We heard about the international prestige of Jordan's hospitals, the health and vigor of it's thriving economy, and the outstanding quality of it's roads. (He didn't really need to tell us about the quality of the roads; we could feel the quality well enough, even through the buoyant suspension of the tour-bus.)

Jordan is about the size of Portugal, and is 95% Muslim and 5% Christian. We were in high desert, and there was lingering snow on the ground from the storm a week prior. The topography reminded me strongly of Colorado.

The city of Petra is about the size of modern Paris, making it the largest ancient city in the world. Caravans of 10,000 camels would pass through here, traveling the old spice road from the Orient.

We walked down to the city through the Siq (pronounced "seek"). In ancient times this canyon served as the ceremonial entrance to the city and was used for important events, which consisted primarily of funerals. The culture of the Nabataeans revolved around death; the center of their community was the Necropolis, which is a cemetery. The caves you see in Petra are not homes, they are tombs - 5,800 of them. This preoccupation with death I find quite disconcerting, and hardly indicative of a healthy civilization. As Gandalf says in The Return of the King, "The old wisdom borne out of the west was forsaken. Kings made tombs more splendid than the houses of the living, and counted the names of their descent dearer than the names of their sons."

Here our tour guide Ashurov (in sunglasses) is explaining the idolatrous practices of the Nabataeans. In various places along the Siq, idols would be placed in candlelit settings like this one. Ashurov mentioned an incident when, according to either legend or sacred texts - I don't remember which, the patriarch Abraham once destroyed an entire city of idols, leaving only the largest idol intact in order to prove it's impotency; a quite ingenious idea, and one you may want to remember if you plan on doing any idol-smashing.

This is the most famous edifice in Petra, known as The Treasury. All the buildings in Petra were cut out of solid stone; really, they might more properly be called carvings rather than build-ings. Because no iron tools have ever been found here, archaeologists believe the Nabataeans simply used hard flint to carve the soft limestone.

We continued walking deeper into the city. The canyon was cold. Ashurov, who seemed himself to be some kind of mystic, commented about how ancient myths regarding virgin births were eventually absorbed into Christianity. I thought instantly of C. S. Lewis's essay Myth Become Fact in God in the Dock, in which he argues that these sorts of myths were not absorbed but rather were actualized by Christianity, which is a deeper difference than it may seem.

The color in the caves was stunning. It was unbelievable to see the effect created by slicing a flat plane through the wild veins of mineral brilliance.

There's nothing significant in this picture. Except me, of course.

Everywhere there were large posters of King Abdullah II alongside his late father King Hussein. The Jordanian people all but worship their king and royal family, creating a strong atmosphere of political idolatry. They trace King Abdullah II through the royal genealogy 42 generations, right back to Mohammed.

As we drove back to the border in the dark, we passed numerous Muslim prayer towers, lit with a ghastly green light, the holy color of Islam. Throughout Palestine we saw numerous bright green doors, bright green railings, and bright green tapestries. I don't care much for this decorating scheme myself, but most of the time it's not particularly obnoxious. However, using green electric lights around the platform of a prayer tower just doesn't look very good. In fact, it looks like Minas Morgul - vacuous, gasping, "a corpse-light, a light that illuminated nothing."

Keep your passport handy: tomorrow we go to Egypt.

A Drop of Compassion in a World of Hate

For several months now I have sponsored two children through Compassion International, an organization focused on providing health-care, food, shelter, and education for under-privileged children. Doing this has served as a means to anchor the plight of the poor in my heart; poverty is a human problem, and it should have a human face.

Beyond all the statistics, politics, and media distortions there are a child's pleading eyes, silently asking if we will show them some simple love in this dark and unfriendly world of complicated hate. The modern Church has been relying on Government to accomplish this task for too long, and it seems we could use a good old-fashioned slap upside the face to wake us up and remind us that poverty is our job, not Washington's. Consider what Julian the Apostate said of the Early Church in Rome: "[They] not only feed their own poor, but ours also,"* and compare that with what the average American church-goer gives to his church today: a whopping 2.66%, of which 2.26% goes towards congregational expenses.** (We should automatically know something is wrong if we're measuring our giving to two decimal places.)

Compassion has a remarkably well-organized international infrastructure, and they've done a good job of making it easy for you and me to participate in serving the poor. Compassion also knows that children need more than just shoes, toothbrushes, and money for school; they need love - desperately and constantly. Unlike most American children, children in other countries often struggle with maintaining even a basic sense of self-worth. Through letters, pictures, and small birthday gifts, sponsors can do a lot towards helping these children understand that they are loved - genuinely and unconditionally, simply for who they are.

This post is not intended to showcase my generosity - I'm much too proud for that. Rather, I simply desire to provoke you to jealousy and encourage you to get involved with the cause of Christ in the greater world. Even the smallest gift can make a profound, eternal difference in the life of a child: "whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."*** To get started, go here.

*Alvin J. Schmidt, Social Results of Early Christianity, 328
**Ronald J. Sider, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, 199-200
***Matthew 10:42

Image courtesy of jupiterimages.com

Kinetics and Improvisation

Welcome to Part IV of the Freestyle Piano Series. This week we're going to roll up our sleeves and talk about kinetics and improvisation. Next week we'll conclude the series by covering some special considerations and a few notes on style.

Kinetics
Kinetics is just a fancy name for what your fingers are doing. In using this term, I'm not referring to specific finger placement (this is more important in Classical piano) but rather the general patterns that you train your fingers to follow. This is particularly important for the left hand. Incorporating arpeggiated chords and simple bass runs into your playing is one of the best ways to achieve a more fluid sound.

Other players often ask me how they should place their fingers, and I'm forced to admit that I honestly haven't the faintest idea. (This proves that I'm a renegade musician.) I've always just done whatever made it easiest to get from point A to point B. Usually it's not any more complicated than that. Sometimes, if you're working on something specific, you may have to stop and try some different strategies so you don't run out of fingers or wind up with your ring finger tripping over your pinkie. But intricate phrases like that are rare in everyday worship music.

If I'm forced to distill my haphazard approach into something more concrete, a few simple techniques and principles come to the surface.

• When playing intervals,* you'll generally want to use the closest two fingers that can reach the notes comfortably. This frees up the fingers on the edges of your hand so you can move around easier. For instance, don't play 5ths with your thumb and pinkie. Play them either with your thumb and ring finger or with your pointer finger and pinkie, depending on where you want to go next: up or down. (It's also quite natural to play 5ths with your thumb and pointer finger.)
  
• You will notice that it's very hard to play notes in quick succession using the same finger. (Try playing one note repeatedly with your pointer finger as fast as you can, and then see how fast you can alternate (or "trill") between two adjacent notes with your pointer and middle finger. See what I mean?) You will save yourself much grief by "using your fingers as a team." The goal is to move your hand as little as possible, because it takes longer to move your hand than it does to move your fingers and there is more potential for error.
• Don't be shy about using your hands in close proximity to play patterns or harmonies that would be difficult otherwise. Also, periodically reaching over your left arm with your right hand to catch a bass note is perfectly acceptable, and gives people the illusion that you know what you're doing.

The main advice I want to give you on kinetics is to just do what works. The more you play, the more nimble and responsive your fingers will become and the more control you will have.

Improvisation
Lots of pianists are completely mystified by improvisation. When you're used to following someone else's musical initiative, it can be scary to strike out on your own. But it is improvisation that transforms music from a humdrum routine into a kaleidoscope of possibility.

There are two main types of improvisation that I want to talk about: melodic improvisation and raw improvisation. Melodic improvisation involves making up simple melodies or embellishments that fit with the chord progression. Great, you say, how do I know what "fits"?

We've already seen that chords are "note-groupings." To avoid dissonance, play notes that are part of the particular chord being played. These are not the only notes you can play, (with a little practice, you'll be able to use notes that are not part of the chord to add more color and contrast,) but generally speaking they are the ones that should be emphasized and played on downbeats. After that, it's just a matter of using your ear to craft an improvisational melody that complements the mood of the music and moves fluidly.

Raw improvisation involves making music from scratch, chords and all. For most of us, this takes considerable practice, and requires either an advanced understanding of music theory or an exceptional ear. Playing improvisation that is soothing without being bland and interesting without being bizarre is not learned overnight. For now, make it a point to observe the relationships between chords and don't be afraid to experiment with different sequences and combinations to learn what sounds good.

Putting it into Practice:

• Practice arpeggiating major and minor chords with your left hand in 1-3-5-3-1 and 1-5-8-5-1 patterns. Don't worry about any right hand melody or other embellishment. The idea is to get comfortable with these patterns so you can maintain them with very little concentration.
• Practice stepping up scales playing octaves with your left pinkie and thumb. Choose a scale and go up and then down in a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 pattern. Using this method (stepping octaves) to transition between chords is a great way to add depth and drama.
• Once you're comfortable keeping an arpeggio going with your left hand while switching between different chords, go ahead and add in a melody with the right hand. You will find that a continuous arpeggio doesn't always sound the best, so experiment with a mix of arpeggios, partial arpeggios (1-3-5), and full chords to determine what works. Every song will be different, so trust your ear.
• Practice melodic improvisation in stages. Begin by simply altering melodies that you know. Then progress to creating brand-new melodies that fit with familiar chord progressions.
  

*The distance between two notes is called an "interval," and different pairs of notes are referred to collectively as "intervals," and specifically as 3rds (such as C and E), 4ths (Such as F and Bb), 5ths (such as G and D), etc. 3rds, 4ths, and 5ths are the most common, because they are the primary harmonies.

Image courtesy of jupiterimages.com

Scared of the Dark

i don't remember meeting Him
He had just always been there
when people ask me, "how did you meet the Lord?"
i don't know how to answer.
meeting Him seems unavoidable
recognizing Him can be tricky
loving Him seems impossible.
people often ask that too - "do you love Jesus?"
and again i'm stuck for an answer
i know the right one - the answer you're supposed to give
i know that it presupposes so many things that it could hardly be honest
so i say
as much as i love,
i love Jesus.

if love was easier, i would love Him more
but then again
if love was easier, it would hardly be worth the little
it would ask
if i was stronger, i would love Him more
or maybe
i would more know how little i love

we grow slowly,
and love takes time...

He's always been there
even in that dark room where i
slept as a child
scared of that dark
in that room that seem to want
to suck me deep into the night's
great lungs
i hated the thought that we were all
hanging upside down - off the bottom of the world
and that all that darkness out there that we
might fall into
was just a shadow of our own selves
just a shadow you could fall through forever.

she said that You were out there too
and then she'd tuck me in so tight that i would likely be safe
till morning
but no woman - not even your own mother
can kiss you without mixing some unspoken sorrow
into her affection
and i always thought
she might be kissing me good-bye
as well as good night

my aunt said that Jesus would knock on the door of my heart
and if i would open the door
He'd come in and sup with me
and when i was old enough to be ashamed of trying to tether myself to my mom
(with that last desperate good night)
i decided
that instead of lying there being afraid
i would listen for His knock.

i heard all kinds of things
scary things
amplified by the dark
and by my nervous and hopeful listenings
was it the voice of Eli? or the call of God?
was it the limbs of the trees outside?
or the knock i was to open to?

i did not worry about what Jesus would find to eat if He came in
i was a child and knew that out of a crowd
a boy would most likely have some fish and some loaves

but i am no longer a child
i am no longer afraid of the dark
i have new things to fear
i am no longer afraid that i will drift away from this world
i am afraid i will never escape it.

and i'm not afraid of good-byes
i've become so used to them it scares me.

i have never heard any knocking sound
that was distinct from every other noise
but i have learned to listen
and i'm thankful for learning

i don't know that the rumble of the thunder
or the crackle in a good fire
or the hum of my wheels
is the sound of Jesus knocking on
the door of my heart
but i'm thankful to Him for all
those sounds
and for giving me ears
and for teaching me to listen.

i don't know that the lonely ache that i
feel - even when times are the best
and friends are near -
is the way that it feels when He knocks,
when He calls,
but i'm thankful to have a heart.
i don't know that He would like everything in it
or that He would find any fish or loaves anymore
or much besides stone and snakes.

but sometimes
i get really brave, and
if i don't open the door
i at least unlock it

and when i look in
or when i look out
i can see that He's just always been there.

meeting Him seems unavoidable
recognizing Him can be tricky
loving Him seems impossible

we grow slowly,
and love takes time


-Rich Mullins, 1997

Image courtesy of education.nacse.org

Masada and the Temptation of Christ

Hello everyone! Despite the remonstrations of my feet, we will not be observing the Sabbath today. Instead, we follow our merciless itinerary to Masada, at the southern end of the Dead Sea.

Masada, the ancient fortress that was the last stronghold in Judea to fall to the Romans, has become the symbol of Jewish tenacity. All new Israeli soldiers take part in a ceremony on the mountain, and thousands visit the site every week to soak in the intoxicating idealism of freedom. It is a monument to the conflicts of the world that have been physically lost and morally won. As C. S. Lewis said, "We shall probably fail, but let us go down fighting for the right side."*

Masada is a grim place. Looking down, you can see the remains of the Roman encampments and the wall that was built around the fortress to cut off escape. Step back 2,000 years into the battle-hardened body of a trapped Jewish zealot, see the fires burning below you, hear the shouts of the sentries, and imagine what it will be like to die.

The fortress of Masada was originally constructed by King Herod, who saw the obvious defensive advantages of the promontory and developed an elaborate system of aqueducts and cisterns to collect and store rainwater. When the zealots took it over, they converted one of Herod's stables into a Synagogue. It was there that archaeologists discovered fragments of Ezekiel's Vision of Dry Bones; not an inappropriate metaphor for describing the Jew's return from defeat and dispersion to a thriving life in the land of their heritage.

***

Driving through the desert on our way to Eilat, I found myself meditating on the Temptation of Christ. All of a sudden it hit me that 40 days is an awfully long time to spend alone in the desert without eating anything. How dulled we become to the dramatic realities of the Incarnation! Christian education seeks to "familiarize" children with the stories of the Bible, and sometimes I think we may have done altogether too good a job of it.

Right on the cusp of His public ministry, the Spirit compelled Christ to enter the solitude of the desert, alone, without food, without friendship, without forests or flowers - just His tremendous soul face to face with the immensity of His task. Would He go through with it? Was He prepared to redeem the tragedy man had made of creation, even in the teeth of vicious supernatural opposition? Thank God, He was; He powerfully, gloriously was. As He lifted His tired and victorious eyes to heaven, a cohort of shining angels came marching in on the heels of the devil, and the horizon before Him burst into dazzling white:

The people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region
and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.**

The Temptation is the greatest estimate in the Gospels of the strength of Christ's spirit and purpose. Gethsemane stretched His resolve to the breaking point, but the choice had already been made long before. The cost had already been counted, it only remained to be paid.

The account ends with Jesus slipping quietly back into public life; it's not clear if He was even missed. Still, later on after He became popular, He kept to this same pattern of solitary personal devotion:

But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. (Mark 5:15-16)

Has God brought you to "desolate places"? Then thank Him, and concentrate so you don't let Him down. He just wants to see what you are made of so He knows how far He can throw you.

*C. S. Lewis, The World’s Last Night and Other Essays, (Harvest/HBJ, 1987), 90-91
**Matthew 4:16

Qumran, En Gedi, and The Dead Sea

Today we drove South on highway 90 through the Great Rift Valley. Highway 90 reminds me of CA 395, partly because the terrain is similar but mostly because you have that sensation of being "East of stuff."

Qumran was the first stop. Situated near the northern end of the Dead Sea, Qumran was where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered during the mid-1900's. This is also where the Essenes lived, a 1st-Century Jewish sect I described in my post about the Shrine of the Book.

The Essenes did not live in the caves - they merely used them to cache valuables when their settlement was threatened by invaders. When the Romans destroyed Qumran on their way to Masada, most of the scrolls were safely hidden. (Historians believe some of the fragmented scrolls that were discovered had been torn apart by angry soldiers.)
Another half hour of driving brought us to En Gedi National Park. You should recognize En Gedi as the site of one of David's strongholds that he resorted to when he was being pursued by Saul.

This a Rock Hyrax, mentioned in Psalm 104 and Proverbs 30. They are roughly the size of a large rabbit, and seem to be equally at home among rocks or in trees.

There's some really neat hiking trails in En Gedi, but after Galilee Joseph and I were doing good just to get around the parking lot. The four of us did hike up Wadi David to David's Waterfall.

There is a spring-fed stream running through Wadi En Gedi that cascades over multiple waterfalls. En Gedi is one place I'd love to go back to when I have more time and my feet are feeling better.

No visit to Israel is complete without a stop at the Dead Sea. We picked a random spot off the highway and went for a short swim. As you wade in, the salt stings your skin. The water feels oily and laps listlessly at the rocky shore. It even smells bad.

The Dead Sea could be called the cesspool of the gods. Legend says it was formed by the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and its depths have never been explored. Who knows how many bones and brimstones lay hidden here at the bottom of the world.

Sting and stench aside, it is quite an experience, if only from the standpoint of physics. However, for me at least, it's definitely in the been-there-done-that category: not something I'd be inclined to do again anytime soon.

After taking a much-needed shower back at the hostel I did some writing before it was time to head over to the cafeteria for dinner. It's much warmer down here than it was in Tiberias, and we're all thoroughly enjoying it. Being here is reminding me how much I like the desert.

Tomorrow, we visit Masada. Shalom and Good Night!

Pictures and Date Change

I've now uploaded two albums of pictures - a master album that provides an overview of the trip and another album for the more artistic or scenic shots. Joseph has also uploaded some pictures, here and here.

Also, just to make sure everyone heard, the slideshow at Parishs has been moved up a day to Monday the 25th, at 6:30 PM. Sorry for the confusion.

The Galilee Gauntlet

[Note: For this adventure I decided to put a few videos in the post and put the pictures in a slideshow. Enjoy!]

Most of you know that Joseph and I enjoy performing random feats of lunacy together. While staying at the hotel in Jerusalem, we were reading up on the Sea of Galilee and discovered that the circumference of the Sea was 33 miles. Instantaneously we both perked up. "Hey....!"

To most people that would be just a statistic. To us it was a challenge. On Wednesday we asked the Hostel owner about it. "Ahhh, you sport-man, eh? It's a long ways - too far to walk. Take bicycle - more fun for you." We grinned like the idiotic numbskulls that we are. "We like to walk." He shrugged. "Well...ok! But tomorrow will be raining, you know."

We set out Thursday morning before 6:00. It was dark and threatening to rain. Sure enough, about 2 miles out of the city we hit a squall. It doesn't take long for the front of your pants to become soaked when you're walking into the wind. After about 15 minutes the rain quit, and to our great relief we didn't encounter any more significant precipitation for the rest of the day.

There are two ways to pull off a challenging day like this. You need to be in shape, or you need to be willing to push your pain threshold. I found myself needing to leverage both. Also, both Joseph and I brought music players along, which are almost indispensable when you're doing that much walking. Like raisins.

I've been forced to admit that most of my music doesn't cut the mustard for listening over here. It's too introspective and self-important - fine for home, but not suitable for a place where you're being confronted with thousands of years of history under every rock. A place like this drives home one's own insignificance like nothing else. Accordingly, I've found myself listening mostly to the City On A Hill compilations and the worship albums from Caedmon's Call. For every individual, the path to identity, reality, and meaning lies through the valley of insignificance.

About two-thirds of the way around we realized that we were going to be seriously sore. With characteristic doggedness we decided we might as well finish: better to be sore and victorious than sore and defeated.

Galilee isn't really designed to be walked around - it's certainly not an idyllic stroll along a nice firm beach. Most of the time we were forced to walk on the highway, but we also walked on stone paths, asphalt bike trails, concrete-encased pipelines, and, when we had no other choice, mud. Along the eastern side of the sea we dropped down to the water and traversed several rocky stretches of shoreline. We definitely experienced Galilee up-close and personal.

Joseph and I are both used to climbing and descending, but neither of us has much experience on flat ground. We both agreed that this stunt was much tougher than the Yosemite Triple Crown. The only thing that got me through the last mile was Derek Webb's "Medication."

The first half of the day was quite enjoyable. The second half - not so much. Turns out that the total distance is not 33 miles, it's 40 miles. I knew that walking that far on pavement in my Merrells was going to hurt - I just underestimated how much. It's not something I'd do again, and I wouldn't recommend it either. Jesus never bothered walking around - He was smarter: He just walked across.

Let's Talk Chords

Welcome back fellow ivory-ticklers! This is the third post in the Freestyle Piano Series; after this we have two more to go.

Chords constitute the backbone of the entire freestyle method. Without getting too technical, chords are note-groupings that provide a convenient means of describing the harmonic progression of a song. (The sequence of chords in a given song is called the "chord progression.") Learning how to construct and combine chords is at the heart of playing confident freestyle piano.

First, we need to understand how chords are constructed. This is where all the numbers we talked about last week really become useful. Using the chart below, anyone can figure out the notes in any given chord effortlessly.

Chord Types, where "X" is the letter designation (A-G) of the chord:

Notation	Notes	Example	Notes
X	1 3 5	A	A C# E
Xm	1 3b 5	Dm	D F A
X7	1 3 5 7b	E7	E G# B D
Xmaj7	1 3 5 7	Fmaj7	F A C E
Xm7	1 3b 5 7b	Bm7	B D F# A
X2	1 2 5	A2	A B E
Xsus	1 4 5	Csus	C F G
Xdim	1 3b 5b	Gdim	G Bb Db
Xaug	1 3 5#	Eaug	E G# C

Guitarists don't have to know the notes in the chords they play, they just memorize fingerings. (Ask a guitarist what notes are in an F#min sometime: most of them won't know.) Pianists, however, are not so lucky. Chords are your ticket to freedom from the slavery of four-part notation, but you have to learn them forwards, backwards, upside-down, and inside-out.

As you can see from the examples given in the chart above, 1 is equivalent to the chord's letter designation and you count up the Ionian scale from there. Once you know how to build chords "from scratch," you can start basing your play on chords rather than sight-reading and enjoy a tremendous amount of creative freedom.

Chords can be played as many different ways as there are notes in the chord. These are called permutations. Take a C chord for instance. This chord can be played with either a C, an E, or a G as the bass note, and it will still be the same chord. (Sometimes the chord notation will designate a specific bass note with a slash. "C/E" means a C chord with an E as the bass note. If there is no slash, the chord is played with the root as the bass note.)

Now that we've seen how chords are made, we can now examine how they relate to one another. In any given key you will generally find the same chord patterns. Being familiar with chord patterns will help you know what to expect and enable you to transition and improvise appropriately. We'll take a closer look at these patterns in just a minute.

Using the number method, chords are referred to numerically based on their position in the scale of the mother key. So in the key of C, C would be 1, F would be 4, G would be 5, D would be 2, and so on. Just like using numbers to describe melodies, using numbers to describe chords simplifies things dramatically and allows songs to be "translated" into different keys very easily.

Common Chords by Key

1	4	5	6m	2m	3m
A	D	E	F#m	Bm	C#m
Bb	Eb	F	Gm	Cm	Dm
B	E	F#	G#m	C#m	D#m
C	F	G	Am	Dm	Em
Db	Gb	Ab	Bbm	Ebm	Fm
D	G	A	Bm	Em	F#m
Eb	Ab	Bb	Cm	Fm	Gm
E	A	B	C#m	F#m	G#m
F	Bb	C	Dm	Gm	Am
Gb	B	Db	Ebm	Abm	Bbm
G	C	D	Em	Am	Bm
Ab	Db	Eb	Fm	Bbm	Cm

Most songs use 5 or 6 basic chords. As you can see from the chart above, the 6 most common chords are 1's, 4's, 5's, 6m's, 2m's, and 3m's. You will also come across 2's, 3's, 4m's, 6b's, and 7b's, but not as frequently. For now, work on memorizing the common chords for the 6 most common keys: C, G, D, F, E, and Bb. But that's 36 chords! No it's not - it's only 20, because all 12 keys share the same 24 chords - they just combine them differently. In fact, if you set yourself to learn 4 chords a day, you can learn all 24 in less than a week.

That's enough for one day. Work through the exercises below, and check back next week when we'll talk about Kinetics and Improvisation. Also, if you'd like printable versions of the charts in this post, let me know and I'll send them to you.

Putting it into Practice:

• What are the notes in an Am chord? Fsus? Ebmaj7?
• What is the 1 chord in D? The 4 chord in G? The 2m chord in Bb?
• Figure out and practice playing permutations for the common chords. For instance, C can be played as C-E-G, E-G-C, and G-C-E.
• Practice playing 1-4-5-1 chord sequences with your left hand in C, D, and G. You may want to use different permutations so you don't have to move your fingers as much. (For instance: in C, the easiest way to play this sequence is C - F/C - G/B - C.)
• Start playing through songs from a praise book, (or a hymnal with chords,) playing the chords with your left hand and the melody with your right. Don't try and do anything fancy, just concentrate on learning the chords and playing them accurately.
  

Image courtesy of popmatters.com

A Bit of Miscellany

• We're going to be hosting the promised "Israel Night" tomorrow evening here at the house, so if you can make it please come. If you can't make it, the Parish family has generously opened their home Tuesday February 26th so I can share the pictures and stories a second time.
• After I dropped my camera early in the trip, my battery life kept getting worse and worse until the end of the trip when I was switching batteries several times a day. Suffice to say I'm currently in the market for a new camera, so if anyone has any recommendations, please send them my direction. I'm looking for something in the 5-8 megapixel range, with 12-18x optical zoom, fast USB data transfer, image stabilization, and good battery life, preferably for less than $400.
• If you know me at all, you know that I'm not much for television. However, on the flight home, when my eyes and brain were too tired to do anything else, I watched a video called Martian Child that was actually pretty good. It's about a widowed Science Fiction author who decides to adopt a troubled, reclusive young boy who thinks he's from Mars. I appreciated the video's redemptive theme and strong affirmation of the value of life. (Disclaimer: the in-flight version didn't contain any objectionable material but it had been "edited for content." So if you're going to see it, take the normal precautions.)
• Thanks to the persistence of my brothers, I ski now, and ride lifts and fall down and stuff. I'm not very good at it yet, but it's cool.

I Don't Belong (Sojourner's Song)

Capernaum, Snow, and a Boat Ride

This morning we made a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast in the Hostel kitchen. Before we left, I headed across the street to the local sporting goods shop to see if I could pick up a compass. The place was roughly the size of Herb Bauer's bathroom, but they did have several compasses. The proprietor was somewhat taken aback when I asked her what the local declination was - I guess that's not a standard tourist question. (Declination is the difference between true north and magnetic north - about 15 degrees in Oakhurst.) I looked up Israel's declination later and found it's 4 degrees East, which is not significant enough to create errors unless you're doing precision navigation.

When we got to the car we discovered our battery was dead; apparently the dome light had been left on overnight. It must have been rather comic to see three guys who take pride in always being meticulously prepared stranded on the other side of the world without jumper cables. But as I told Joseph, "The only difference between an inconvenience and an adventure is how you look at it."

The first stop on the schedule today was Capernaum, on the northern shore of Galilee. This city was the location of the healing of the paralytic (Mark 2) and is mentioned numerous times throughout the course of Jesus' ministry. Today there is not much left except the remains of a synagogue and some excavations where Peter's house is believed to have been.

After Capernaum we stopped briefly in Bethsaida, another town on the Northern shore farther away from the water. Bethsaida was built on an artificial mound, both for defense and to command a better view of the Sea.

We had intended to drive up into the Golan heights area during the afternoon, but we were stopped by falling snow near a little town called Ortal. I don't know what all I expected to find in Israel, but I certainly didn't expect snow. After throwing a few snowballs we turned around and headed back down to Galilee.

Israel is like the world's stage - the place where 2,000 years ago God came and acted out His redemption drama. As you drive the roads and taste the food and watch the people, it slowly dawns on you that everything here is archetypical: every city is Jerusalem, every man is Jewish, every mountain is Moriah, every river is the Jordan, every lake is Galilee. Israel is the world.

I've deliberately (and somewhat automatically) framed most of my pictures so as to leave out Israel's dirty laundry, so I feel I should provide some qualification and say that while the country is indeed quite beautiful in many respects, there is abundant trash, plenty of Hebrew graffiti, and power lines everywhere. This situation of grandeur amidst garbage is consistent with the idea of Israel as the world's stage, for anyone who has ever been on a stage knows that as a rule they are simultaneously idyllic and cluttered. The wainscoting, potted plants and effects lighting coexist with crumpled water bottles, blinking electronics, and tangled cables duct taped to the floor. It's not easy being a microcosm of the universe.

When we got back to Tiberias, Joseph and I headed down to the docks to see if we could get a short boat ride on the Sea. After a bit of bargaining, one of the local fisherman agreed to take us out for 20 minutes. After 2,000 years, there are still men here pulling fish out of these waters and making a living at it.

Local fisherman - the type Jesus invited to follow Him

Tiberias

Yours truly: cold, wet, and having a great time

Thus concludes another day. Shalom and God Bless.

Nazareth Village, Rain, and Pizza

Tuesday morning we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel we were staying at in Nazareth. Because of the relatively high price of prepared food, we quickly learned to apply the camel principle and take full advantage of the provided breakfasts.

After breakfast we drove over to Nazareth Village, a small living history project (similar to Plymouth Plantation in New England) intended to show what life would have been like in Nazareth during the time of Christ.

As a tradesman myself, I have always been interested in learning more about Christ's occupation. According to our tour guide, the Greek word dicton means "builder," and since there was little to no specialization in those days, a dicton would have worked with both wood and stone.

Outside it was raining in earnest, so we had to hurry across the wet dirt paths to the shelter of the Olive Press and Synagogue. Apparently the ancient villagers used to observe the routes the donkeys took up and down the hillsides, and then enlarge these thin trails into paths and streets, taking advantage of the donkey's instinctive knack for finding the quickest and easiest way from point A to point B. To this day, there are streets in Nazareth that began as donkey trails.

Harvested olives would first be crushed in an olive mill. Once they were reduced to paste, the olives would be put in baskets and pressed several times. The first press was done using the weight of the baskets alone and produced the purest oil, which was set aside for temple use. After the first press the olives would be pressed a second and third time using stone weights like these pictured above.

Every building, jar, and rug in Nazareth Village is handmade, using the same tools and materials they used 2,000 years ago. When you visit, make sure and allow time to enjoy the gift shop.

From Nazareth Village we drove to Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee. We checked into the Tiberias Hostel and got some tips from the proprietor about what to do in the area. In the course of the conversation he mentioned there were a bunch of crocodiles near the Northeast shore somewhere, but this time of year they would all be hibernating:

They fed them their last meal several months ago - maybe 10-12 chickens... they won't wake up until March... April... I don't know.

The Hostel owner also told us about a certain bench on the Eastern shore that was reported to have some kind of mystical power:

You sit on it, and you feel some energy... some warmth... I don't know.... if you believe it, good for you. Me - I don't believe it, I just tell you about it.

Armed with maps and forewarned about hibernating crocodiles and magic benches, we left the Hostel to drive around the Sea, planning a stop at the Yigal Alon Museum to see the Galilee Boat.

The Galilee Boat (web photo)

The Galilee Boat, amazingly preserved remains of a fishing vessel that has been carbon dated to the time of Christ, is one of the most fascinating things to see in Galilee. The 27-foot boat was discovered by local fishermen in 1986 during a drought year when the Sea was low, and after a painstaking excavation and conservation process has been put on public display.

Archaeologists identified 12 different species of wood in the Galilee Boat. The exterior cladding is mainly Cedar, and the interior ribbing is predominantly Tabor Oak. The other woods are Christ Thorn, Carob, Aleppo Pine, Hawthorn, Sycamore, Laurel, Willow, Judas Tree, Plane Tree, and Atlantic Terebinth. Some of the wood had been salvaged from other vessels.

After completing the loop around the Sea we went into Tiberias to get some dinner and do some shopping. During our time in Galilee, dinner usually meant mushroom pizza. It was affordable, predictable, and actually tasted pretty good to boot.

We're planning two more full days in Galilee before it's time to head South, and we're hoping the weather improves a little. We'll see.

Shalom and Good Night!

Back Home

After eating one last shawarma, having my meticulously packed luggage completely disemboweled going through Israeli customs, and flying for a combined total of almost 18 hours, I'm now back in my beloved California. Before getting completely buried in the next barrage of activity, I will be blogging through the rest of the trip, which includes hiking around Galilee, praying at the Garden Tomb, visiting Qumran and En Gedi, swimming in the Dead Sea, climbing Masada, and touring Petra and Egypt.

Also, sometime during the next several weeks we'll be hosting an "Israel Night" here at the house, complete with pictures, show-and-tell, and olives. I'll keep you posted regarding date and time.

Because He lives!

Journey's End

My mind is rushing like these rivers

And I can't slow these moments down
We pass through our days like strangers
And I need to see your face just now

-Sandra McCracken, Gravity | Love, "Chattanooga"

It's almost time to catch the airport shuttle from Jerusalem back to TLV for the long flight west. So many things about the trip stand out for different reasons, but God's hand of guidance, blessing, and protection has been evident the whole time. We're leaving with full hearts, tired legs, and empty wallets. God is good.

Shalom Jerusalem!

Scales, Melodies, and Number Theory

So far I've missed one week. Not bad for being on the other side of the world. I think my last post on keys was still somewhat confusing, so I'm hoping things will start to become a little clearer now.

Didn't you love doing those color-by-number things when you were a kid? I did. I wasn't terribly creative growing up, and I was very happy to let someone else take the responsibility for figuring out what color to put where. Under this arrangement, I didn't have to waste time agonizing over endless shades and hues, and I could concentrate fully on what I really wanted to do: coloring.

Breaking music down into numbers provides the same type of freedom. You don't have to concentrate as much on the mechanics, which means you can focus on actually making music.

The advantage of using numbers over letters is that it allows you to think independently of keys. (We already saw that songs retain the same sound and structure regardless of what key they are played in.) Although it is a bit more work up front, learning the number method really pays off in increased flexibility and confidence later on.

My first instrument was not the piano, it was the harmonica. (You could justifiably say I entered the world of music theory through the back door.) The harmonica player has an almost unfair advantage in understanding the number method. When a harmonica player wants to switch keys, he simply picks up a different harmonica and plays the same pattern of notes. What the number method does is take this principle and make it practicable on any instrument.

There is nothing original about the number method - it is the same idea behind singing Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do to teach the relationships within the major scale. When using the number method, Do, the tonic or "root", is always 1, and the numbers count up the major scale from there. This is not Sudoku.

Do	Re	Mi	Fa	So	La	Ti	Do
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1
A	B	C#	D	E	F#	G#	A
Bb	C	D	Eb	F	G	A	Bb
B	C#	D#	E	F#	G#	A#	B
C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
Db	Eb	F	Gb	Ab	Bb	C	Db
D	E	F#	G	A	B	C#	D
Eb	F	G	Ab	Bb	C	D	Eb
E	F#	G#	A	B	C#	D#	E
F	G	A	Bb	C	D	E	F
Gb	Ab	Bb	B	Db	Eb	F	Gb
G	A	B	C	D	E	F#	G
Ab	Bb	C	Db	Eb	F	G	Ab

chart 2

This simple chart is the foundation of the whole method. Using this chart, you can quickly locate the numeric equivalent for any note in any key, and the letter equivalent for any number in any key, until you have a firm enough grasp on the system to figure it out in your head. In time, this will become automatic.

If all this business about numbers still doesn't make sense to you, don't worry. It will soon. For now, work through the exercises below and feel free to ask for clarification on any point in the comments.

Putting it into Practice

• What is #5 in the key of D? #7 in the key of E? #2 in the key of Ab?
• What number describes F in the key of C? E in the key of G? F in the key of Db?
• Play a song you know well, but instead of singing the words to the melody, sing the numbers to the melody. (If you hate math and find it awkward to sing numbers, use the Do-Re-Mi scale.) Repeat with other songs. The goal is to understand the independence of melodic structures from their particular given key.
• When you're listening to songs you have not seen the music for, try and decipher what the melody is doing in terms of numbers. (You don't need to bother about what key the song is in.) This is often surprisingly easy, especially with simpler songs. When you're playing worship, you will need to know exactly where the melody is at all times, so you can insert the appropriate transitions, harmonies, and improvisational embellishments.

Shalom From Eilat

Hello everyone. I'm writing this late Sunday night on a coin-operated internet terminal in the lobby of our hotel here in Eilat. I just paid 10 shekels for 30 minutes, so this will be brief.

Today we crossed the border into Jordan and toured Petra, (amazing!) and we leave early tomorrow morning for an overnight trip to Egypt to see Cairo and the Pyramids. After that we'll have a few more days in Israel before we head for home.

I don't expect to have much internet access during the remainder of the trip, but I do hope to complete the daily journaling once I return home, working from my pictures, notes, and impeccable memory. For the time being we continue to covet your prayers. Good night and God Bless!