How to Make Simple Chords Sound Extraordinary

I’m on a Zoom call, talking to a piano student. This guy hits me with a question: “How do I know what chord voicing to play next?”

Huh?

He continues: “I know some chords, but I don’t know how to go from chord to chord. It has something to do with moving the notes as little as possible, right? I just don’t know what chord to play next.”

Ohhhh.

So I tell him, “You’re on the right track. That whole ‘moving notes as little as possible’ thing is called voice leading."

But here's the thing nobody talks about. When you play chords on keys or guitar, you gotta pay attention to the top note of your chord voicings. It's like the oil in your car – it's not the engine, but try running without it and see how far you get. I call it the “implied melody.” It's the hidden tune in your tune, you know?

And guess what? Your implied melody should be…wait for it…melodic. I mean, who'd have thought, right?

Let me show you with a super simple example: Going back and forth between C Major and F major. One version sounds clunky, the other could be a song in and of itself.

Hear the difference? Good. Don't just slam keys and hope for the best. Think about your voice leading and implied melody.

Truth be told, none of this matters if your voicings suck.

This is where Sick Chords Vol. 1 comes in. It’s a shortcut to learning pro-level voicings for jazz and R&B. And here's the kicker – the chords are organized by what note is in the top of each voicing. I haven't seen that anywhere else, and it's a game-changer because it makes your job of crafting an implied melody way easier.

Happy shedding,

P.S. And if you want to go all in on chords, voicings, progressions, voice leading, and reharmonization, then my flagship harmony course, Chord Theory for R&B Piano, is your ticket. Enroll within the next week, and I’ll toss in Sick Chords Vol. 1 for free. Consider it a little extra bonus for reading to the bottom of this email. Just drop me an email after placing your order and mention this offer.