The circle every gospel progression travels
Gospel does not wander. It moves up a fourth at a time and comes home. This free chart puts that on one page, in all 12 keys, in print large enough to read at the keyboard. It comes with my three-chord starter guide, a one-page sheet of the 1-5-6-4 in all 12 keys, and a sheet for changing keys fast when the singer asks.
See how the key sheet works
Where should I send it?
One email with all four. I send something occasionally after that — a new chart, a new book — and every message has an unsubscribe link that works. I do not sell or share your address.
The chart
- 1.The circle of fourths in all 12 keys, one key to a page, in large print.
- 2.The 7 - 3 - 6 - 2 - 5 - 1 run marked in gold on every page, so you can see where each turnaround starts and where it lands.
- 3.How to name what you play in the key you are in: the 2-5-1 of the 4, not “a 2-5-1 in F.”
Four chords, every key
- 1.The 1-5-6-4 in all 12 keys on one large-print page, so you can find it in whatever key the song is in.
- 2.The same four chords in four orders, the way songs actually use them.
- 3.A ten-minute daily practice to get them under your hands.
Change the key fast
- 1.The 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 chords in ten church keys, on one large-print chart, so you can move a song up or down by number.
- 2.Three steps for when the soloist asks for a different key five minutes before service.
- 3.Amazing Grace worked in G, A and B♭, so you can see it done.
The starter guide
- 1.The three chords that carry most of the hymnal, and how to find them without counting.
- 2.How to tell which one comes next by ear, rather than guessing.
- 3.What the left hand does while the right hand is busy.
- 4.What to do when the worship leader changes key mid-song and does not tell you.
- 5.A first hymn, worked all the way through.
A free tool for the music ministry
Free Choir Set Planner
Plan the choir songs for Sunday in a few minutes. Keep your song list, auto-pick a set, then print it or text it to the choir. No sign-up.
Plan this Sunday →Who is writing this. I started learning piano at thirty-five, because my pastor asked me to become the church musician. I could not read music then and I still play by ear now — every Sunday at my church in St. Louis since March 2007.
This is the guide I wanted on the day I said yes.