What is Davids secret chord?

A simple take on it would be that David played a secret chord that 'goes like this': IV – V – vi – IV. But of course, that isn't just one chord, it's a chord progression.

classicfm.com - What is the 'secret chord' mentioned in Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah'?

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What is the ‘secret chord’ mentioned in Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’?

By Sofia Rizzi

Leonard Cohen hides a sneaky message in his lyrics, and it's all amazingly reflected in the music. Below are the somewhat confusing lyrics of the first verse of Leonard Cohen’s best known song, ‘Hallelujah’.

Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord

That David played, and it pleased the Lord

But you don’t really care for music, do you?

It goes like this

The fourth, the fifth

The minor fall, the major lift

The baffled king composing Hallelujah.

It’s all about chords, music, numbers, minor and major. But what does it all mean?

The ‘secret chord’

The ‘secret chord’ is a biblical reference. David was a King from the Hebrew bible, and although we all mostly remember him for being the underdog who defeated Goliath, he was, first and foremost, a musician. So we know David played a ‘secret chord’, whatever that may be. The next part of the verse explains this a little further... ‘it goes like this’.

The fourth, fifth, minor fall and major lift

The line ‘the fourth, the fifth / the minor fall, the major lift’ is in fact a description of the chord sequence taking place under those words. Here's the breakdown: – 'The fourth': This phrase sits on the fourth chord of the scale, or sub-dominant chord (IV) of F major. – 'The fifth': The melody moves up one note to the fifth chord of the scale, the dominant (V) of G major. –'The minor fall': Again, the melody moves up one note here to the sixth chord, the submediant (vi) of A minor. The 'fall' in this phrase is referring to the minor, or 'fallen' third of the chord. –'The major lift': This is a first inversion chord of the fourth, or sub-dominant (IV) of F major. The 'lift' refers to the chord changing from a minor to a major chord, and in the process 'lifting' the harmony. There is only one changing notes in this chord, it moves from A–C–E to A–C–F. It's Leonard Cohen giving a subtle nod to musicians – and for non-musicians, it's an actual explainer of what's going on in the music.

What does this mean?

A simple take on it would be that David played a secret chord that 'goes like this': IV – V – vi – IV. But of course, that isn't just one chord, it's a chord progression.

So is David's 'secret chord' in fact the underlying chord progression of the song – which in essence makes up the whole song?

Meanwhile, the whole song and its message is 'Hallelujah' – so is Cohen saying that the song itself is the 'secret chord'?

Cohen's lyrics and harmony leave a lot to the imagination – which is maybe the whole point. He himself said that he chose the word 'Hallelujah' because it means so much in so many ways.

All in all, we're very impressed and a little confused, Mr. Cohen.

Buy Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' here >

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1. The sound

The digital piano produces sound by playing pre-recorded sounds of acoustic pianos. The method and equipments used to record these tracks affect the quality of the sound. A good digital piano should sound warm and less digital, closely mimicking an acoustic piano. With that said, everyone prefers different sound quality, and it is important to choose a piano that sounds nice to you. Apart from the general quality of the sound, you should also listen for the articulation and the decay—the start and the end—of the sound. A digital piano with better control over articulation and decay more closely resembles an acoustic piano and thus sounds more natural.

2. The number of keys

A full-sized piano consists of 88 keys. However, some digital pianos come with only 61 or fewer keys. For advanced piano players, a piano with 88 keys is required. Therefore, if you’re a beginner who’s serious about learning the piano, it is advisable for you to get a full-sized piano.

3. Polyphony

Polyphony refers to the maximum number of sounds that a piano can produce at any time. This means that a piano with 32-note polyphony can produce up to 32 notes at once. Intermediate players should get pianos with at least 64-note polyphony. For advanced pianists, getting a piano with 128-note polyphony or more is desirable. One question that I frequently hear is this: a full-sized piano has 88 keys, why should there be a piano with 128-note polyphony? This is because the use of the sustain pedal allows the piano to produce many notes at once. If you’re playing a long string of notes while using the sustain pedal, the piano could be producing more than 88 notes at some point.

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