Adapting the O/C To The Music: Jesus Loves Me
Up until now, we have seen how the O/C can enhance the music that we play. Music, however, does not always fit into this system perfectly. Many times, a chord is needed for only one beat instead of two or three. In this case, we modify the O/C to fit the situation.
Simply put, you should play the necessary O/C until a chord change occurs. When a change is needed, play the octave of the new chord, and, if there are any beats remaining in the original pattern which have not been played, use the new chord to play any remaining beats.
Jesus Loves Me
In this version of Jesus Loves Me, the chords sometimes change on the fourth beat of the measure. Since we are already familiar with the melody, we can put our attention to the necessary chording. Here is the music and the demonstration midi file.
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| Fig. 1 | Fig. 2 |
Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 show how a change in the normal 2/4 O/C is reflected in your playing. Where one would normally play an F Major Chord on beat 4 (Fig. 1), instead you play an Octave C (Fig. 2). This is repeated again on the second line. While only a simple change, it does add a better harmony to the melody.
Here is the new version of Jesus Loves Me, as we would play it in our developing evangelistic style. Is it getting easier yet?
