MIDI collection
Gospel MIDI Bank
Advanced Gospel Chord Progressions
Transcriptions of 47 Gospel pianists: the harmonic movement, voicings and passing chords that define the style, written out note by note as MIDI and as synchronised video.
Contemporary Gospel piano is hard to learn from recordings. The parts that matter go by too fast to hear and faster still to transcribe: the passing chord that lasts an eighth note, the inner voice that moves while the top stays put, the reharmonization that turns an ordinary cadence into something that lifts a room.
This collection is that work already done: detailed transcriptions of 47 Gospel pianists, one folder per player. It is not me playing — it is what they play, written out note by note so you can see it. Open the MIDI in any DAW and slow it to half speed to follow how the harmony moves, or open the LMV file and watch the performance as video with the notes running alongside it.
The selection and the analysis are mine, after years of playing Gospel professionally, week after week, in front of full rooms. I know which playing is worth taking apart and why it works, and that is what is here: how these players think and how they play, in detail.
What you'll get
- See contemporary Gospel voicings written out, note by note
- Slow any passage to half speed without changing the pitch
- Follow the passing chords and reharmonizations that are too quick to catch by ear
- Study the harmonic movement — where a line resolves, and why it works
- Adapt the vocabulary to your own playing instead of copying a lick
- Watch the pianist play and see the notes at the same time, with the LMV files
- Use it directly in a production, or purely as a study tool
What's included
- 47 folders, one per pianist, each named after them
- A .mid file in every folder, to open in any DAW
- An .lmv file in every folder, to watch it played back as video
- The free MIDIculous software included, for Windows and macOS
Who it's for
- Gospel and worship keyboardists building a deeper harmonic vocabulary
- Pianists who can play the changes but want the movement between them
- Producers who need authentic contemporary Gospel piano in a track
- Players studying how the modern Gospel keyboard sound is actually built
Questions
- What musical world does this draw from?
- The contemporary Gospel keyboard scene. The transcriptions are of 47 pianists from that world — Cory Henry, Mike Bereal, Quennel Gaskin, Dominique Brice, Eddie Brown, Melvin Crispell III and many more — each in their own folder. To be clear: none of them is involved in this product, affiliated with it or endorsing it. These are transcriptions and analyses of their playing, made by me.
- What's actually in the playing?
- Extended and quartal voicings, chromatic and diminished passing chords, reharmonization over familiar changes, inner-voice movement, walk-ups and walk-downs, turnarounds, modulations, and the rhythmic placement that makes Gospel comping sit where it does.
- Do I need to read music?
- No. MIDI shows you the notes on a piano roll — you can see the shape of a voicing and how it moves without reading a score. If you do read, most software will render it as notation.
- What is an LMV file?
- LMV stands for Live-MIDI-Video. The file combines MIDI data and video data with an algorithm that keeps them in sync, so you watch the pianist play and see the piano notes at the same time, in real time. It is perfect for watching your favourite player perform a piece while you follow the notes live. A good LMV file is hard to find and expensive; here you get one for each of the best Gospel artists, to download to your own computer. It is like having a pocket music teacher.
- What software do I need?
- For the .mid files, any DAW or notation software that opens standard MIDI — Logic, Ableton, Pro Tools, Studio One, MuseScore, and so on. To watch the performance as video there are the .lmv files, which open in MIDIculous; the software is free and included in the download, for Windows and macOS.
- Will it work with my piano sound?
- Yes. MIDI carries the performance, not the sound, so you can play it back through any instrument you like.
- Is this for learning or for producing?
- Both. Take the files apart to learn the vocabulary, or use them directly in a production.
- What's included exactly?
- 47 folders, one for each pianist analysed and named after them. Inside each are two files: a .mid you open in any DAW or notation software, and an .lmv that plays the performance back as video inside MIDIculous. The MIDIculous software, in its free version, is included in the download, for Windows and macOS.
Gospel MIDI Bank
Advanced Gospel Chord Progressions