# AI Wiki - Music - Gospel Music ## Overview Gospel is Christian music in the African-American tradition, and it is the source from which a lot of popular music is drawn. Its roots go back to hymns and spirituals. The term "gospel song" first appears in print in 1874 in a songbook by Philip Bliss, tied to the revival meetings of Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey. Traditional Black gospel is usually dated from the 1930s in Chicago, when Thomas A. Dorsey (a former blues pianist) began writing and publishing gospel songs and organized choirs. The National Baptist Convention endorsed the music at its 1930 meeting. Dorsey wrote "Precious Lord, Take My Hand", and he helped launch the career of Mahalia Jackson. Later branches include the urban contemporary gospel that starts with the Edwin Hawkins Singers' "Oh Happy Day" (1969), then Andraé Crouch, the Clark Sisters, Yolanda Adams and Kirk Franklin. And soul, the best-known popular offshoot, is gospel's sound with secular words (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Soul and R&B Music]]). What makes gospel worth studying for any pianist or guitarist is the harmony. Gospel players decorate a simple three-chord song with a constant stream of passing chords, and the result is a vocabulary you will hear in R&B, neo-soul, jazz, pop ballads and worship music everywhere. ## Call and Response Call and response is a pattern in which a leader sings or plays a phrase and a group answers. In gospel it appears in several layers at once: - **Preacher and congregation**, or **lead singer and choir**: the lead sings a line, the choir repeats or answers it. - **Voice and piano**: the singer holds a note, and the piano fills the gap with a run or a chord stab. - **Piano and organ**: one instrument answers the other. Early gospel was mostly a cappella, with hand-clapping and foot-stomping as rhythm. Yale professor Willie Ruff links the practice to "lining out" (one person sings a line of a hymn and the others follow), and call and response is a feature of Black American music generally. For you as a player, it means that you should leave space after a vocal phrase and fill it. Don't talk over the singer. See also [[AI Wiki - Music - Melody and Phrasing]]. ## The Instruments - **Piano.** The leading instrument of the rhythm section. Left hand carries the bass line and octaves, right hand plays full chords, fills and runs. Many gospel pianists play with a wide, active left hand and busy right-hand fills. See [[AI Wiki - Music - Left-Hand Accompaniment Patterns]] and [[AI Wiki - Music - Hand Independence]]. - **Hammond organ.** Laurens Hammond and John Hanert made it, and the Model A went on sale in June 1935. It was marketed to churches as a cheaper replacement for a pipe organ, and by 1966 an estimated 50,000 churches had one. It has **drawbars**, sliders that mix the volume of harmonics (the 8-foot drawbar is the fundamental, others sit an octave or more above or below), so the organist shapes the tone as they play. Many players add a **Leslie speaker**, whose rotating horn creates a shifting, swirling pitch. The B-3 model (1954) is the classic. Twinkie Clark of the Clark Sisters is a well-known gospel organist. In uptempo songs the organist plays chord riffs, glissandos (slides across the keys) and pedal bass. - **Bass and drums.** Locked to the piano, with a heavy backbeat on 2 and 4 in fast songs, and a 12/8 or 6/8 triplet feel in the slow songs. - **Guitar.** Less central; usually a clean rhythm part, often with a hint of the blues. See [[AI Wiki - Music - Electric Guitar]]. - **Choir.** Layers of harmony in the vocals, often in thirds and sixths, with a call from the director. ## Harmony: Passing Chords Gospel harmony is built on the simplest chords, I, IV and V. The skill is in what the pianist puts between them. The passing chords are stepping stones, like walking down a staircase instead of jumping to the bottom. The same few tools show up in every lesson. **Chromatic walk-up and walk-down.** Two chromatic dominant sevenths lead into the target chord. In F, going to the IV chord (B♭): A♭7 then A7 then B♭. The bass line moves by half steps and the right hand holds a shape that slides along. **2-5-1 passing chords.** Any chord can be approached by its own ii-V (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Secondary Dominants]]). To go from C to F (the IV), play Gm7 and C7 on the way, which is the ii-V-I in F. The same trick works for any chord of the progression. **7-3-6 and other dominant chains.** Players also speak of passing progressions by degree numbers, such as 7-3-6, 5-1-4 and 3-6-2. They are chains where each chord is a dominant seventh that resolves to the next one, a fifth lower. In C, the 7-3-6 run is B7, then E7, then Am: B7 pulls to E, E7 pulls to A. Numbering systems vary between teachers, so check the definition of each name before you rely on it. ```progression B7 E7 Am key: C functions: yes ``` Written as chord names in C, the block names the chain: B7 is V7/iii and E7 is V7/vi, two secondary dominants that land on Am. **Tritone substitution.** Replace a dominant seventh with the dominant seventh a tritone (three whole steps) away. The two chords share the same 3rd and 7th (swapped), and the substitute resolves down by a half step. For example, Am7 - D7 - G becomes Am7 - A♭7 - G. The bass moves chromatically down, and it is one of the cheapest ways to make a progression sound "gospel". See [[AI Wiki - Music - Reharmonization]]. **Suspensions.** A 9sus or 4sus chord on any dominant, resolved a beat later. B♭9sus going to B♭7 is the usual example. **Diminished passing chords.** A diminished seventh built on the half step between two chords (for example B♭dim7 between B♭ and F/C). See [[AI Wiki - Music - Diminished and Augmented Chords]]. **1-6-2-5.** The turnaround that decorates the end of the line, with the VI chord played as a dominant seventh (D7 in F) to pull strongly to ii. In practice, gospel pianists often alter the 5th and 9th on such a chord. ```progression I VI7 ii7 V7 key: F instrument: piano voice-leading: yes functions: yes ``` ```chords {title: Gospel passing chords in C} {time: 4/4} {start_of_verse: Plain I – IV – V} | [C] / / / | [F] / / / | [C] / / / | [G7] / / / | {end_of_verse} {start_of_verse: Same song with a 2-5-1 into the IV, a tritone substitution and a diminished chord} | [C] / / / | [Gm7] [C7] [F] / | [C/E] [Ebdim7] [Dm7] [Db7] | [C/G] / [G7] / | {end_of_verse} {comment: Gm7 – C7 is the ii–V of F. Db7 is the tritone sub of G7, and it resolves down to C/G. The Ebdim7 connects C/E to Dm7.} ``` The second line as chord names in C, with `functions: yes`. The block names each passing chord: Gm7 is ii7/IV (it tonicizes F, with C7 as V7/IV), Ebdim7 is a passing chord between C/E and Dm7 (biii°7), and Db7 is bII7, the tritone substitute, outside the key: ```progression C Gm7 C7 F C/E Ebdim7 Dm7 Db7 C/G G7 C key: C functions: yes ``` Here is the tritone substitution and the passing ii-V as piano voicings. The right hand moves almost nothing: ```chord instrument: piano --- symbol: Gm7 pitches: G2 F3 Bb3 D4 title: Gm7 (LH root, RH b7-b3-5) --- symbol: C7 pitches: C3 Bb3 E4 G4 title: C7 (LH root, RH b7-3-5) --- symbol: F pitches: F2 A3 C4 F4 title: F (LH root, RH 3-5-root) --- symbol: Db7 pitches: Db3 B3 F4 Ab4 title: Db7 (tritone sub of G7) ``` C major in close position, the base shape that the passing chords decorate: ```keyboard notes: C3 E3 G3 C4 E4 G4 range: C2-B4 title: C major, close position ``` ## Shout Music A **shout** (also a praise break) is a fast-paced gospel form tied to ecstatic dancing and the idea of "getting happy". The form has a very fast tempo, a chromatic bass line, piano or organ chords, snare hits and handclaps on the upbeat. The organist typically improvises over riffs made of dominant seventh chords while the band keeps a driving groove. Its roots are often traced to the ring shout of enslaved West Africans, blended with Christianity, and the modern shout developed with Pentecostal and Holiness churches. (The source article carries a "citation needed" flag on parts of this, so treat the details as provisional.) For a player, shout music teaches three things: 1. **Stamina**: a short riff repeated over and over for minutes, with changes only in energy. 2. **Chromatic bass motion**: a walking-up bass line (the I rises through half steps to IV) over dominant sevenths. 3. **Layering**: the band builds by adding instruments, and by modulating a whole step up (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Modulation]]) in the last choruses. ## Rhythm and Feel - **Slow gospel** is usually in 12/8 or 6/8: four beats each divided in three, with arpeggiated or rolled chords in the piano. See [[AI Wiki - Music - Rhythm and Time Signatures]]. - **Mid-tempo** songs are a shuffle or a swung backbeat (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Swing and Shuffle Feel]]). - **Fast songs** have a straight, driving two-and-four backbeat, which is the base of what you hear in soul and later funk. - **Rubato** (a free tempo) is common in the verses and in the slow vamp before a climactic moment. ## Influence on Soul and R&B Soul took three things from gospel: the vocal sound (melisma, shouting, ad-libs that stay on the beat), the call-and-response structure (lead and backing singers, horn answers) and the rhythm section vocabulary (Hammond organ, piano with rolling chords, plagal endings). Sam Cooke came out of gospel (he sang with the Soul Stirrers), Ray Charles reworked gospel songs into secular hits, and Aretha Franklin grew up in the church and recorded gospel before she became the Queen of Soul. The harmony that neo-soul and contemporary R&B use today (extended chords, chromatic passing chords) comes straight from the church pianists. See [[AI Wiki - Music - Soul and R&B Music]] and [[AI Wiki - Music - Extended Chords]]. ## Songs to Study - **Thomas A. Dorsey – "Precious Lord, Take My Hand"** (early 1930s), as sung by Mahalia Jackson: the classic slow gospel in a simple harmony. - **Edwin Hawkins Singers – "Oh Happy Day"** (1969): the song that carried gospel into the pop charts. - **The Staple Singers**: the gospel-to-soul route. "I'll Take You There" (1972) is a pop hit built on a gospel structure. - **Clark Sisters – "You Brought the Sunshine"** (1983): Twinkie Clark's organ and vocal arrangement. - **Kirk Franklin – "Stomp"** (1997): gospel with hip-hop and funk. - **Aretha Franklin – "Amazing Grace"** (1972 live album): church piano and choir. ## How to Practise 1. Play a plain I - IV - V in F (F, B♭, C7) on piano with a steady left hand. 2. Add the walk-up A♭7 - A7 into the B♭ chord. Hear how it pulls. 3. Add a 2-5 into one chord, such as Gm7 - C7 into F. 4. Replace a V7 with its tritone sub. Compare both. 5. Sing a simple melody on top and answer each phrase with a right-hand run or a short chord. 6. Learn a gospel shout riff on dominant sevenths and play it at 120 to 130 bpm for five minutes without stopping. 7. Use a [[AI Wiki - Music - Metronome and Speed Building|metronome]] on beats 2 and 4 only, to feel the backbeat. ## Key Points - Gospel came from hymns and spirituals; Thomas A. Dorsey's work in 1930s Chicago defined traditional Black gospel. - Call and response, between lead and choir and between voice and instrument, structures nearly everything. - Piano is the central rhythm instrument and the Hammond organ (drawbars and Leslie) is the signature sound. - Harmony: simple I-IV-V framework decorated with walk-ups, 2-5-1 passing chords, dominant chains (7-3-6), tritone substitutions, suspensions and diminished chords. - Shout music is fast, chromatic, riff-based and built on dominant sevenths. - Soul and R&B took gospel's vocals, structure and harmony. ## Open Questions - Which exact voicings do the best-known gospel pianists use for the 7-3-6 run? The numbering varies between teachers, and the source found here only lists the names. - How are the tempo ranges in shout music documented in sources outside lesson sites (the only numbers found came from AI music-generation playlists, which were not used)? - Where is the line between "gospel harmony" and "jazz reharmonization"? The tritone substitution is shared by both. ## References - Wikipedia, "Gospel music": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_music - Wikipedia, "Hammond organ": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammond_organ - Wikipedia, "Shout (Black gospel music)": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shout_(Black_gospel_music) - Piano Groove, "Gospel Passing Chords & Substitutions": https://pianogroove.com/blues-piano-lessons/gospel-passing-chords-substitutions/ - Piano With Jonny, "Tritone Substitution: The Complete Guide": https://pianowithjonny.com/piano-lessons/tritone-substitution-the-complete-guide/ ## Related - [[AI Wiki - Music - Soul and R&B Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Blues Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Jazz Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Piano Voicings]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Secondary Dominants]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Cadences]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Piano Improvisation]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Funk Music]]