Marlborough

THE VOICING GAME

2 0 0in
A Masterclass 9 Minutes

A Chord Academy Publication

 What are voicings and why are
they so important?
This is a Bb Major triad in it's most basic form.

It is perfectly okay to use this basic version of the chord, but just know that
there are countless ways to express the "major" flavor based on two factors: the order of
the notes, and including extra notes we call "tensions," or color tones. This is called voicing.
The major chord has two or three tension options based on it's function: 9, 13, with the
addition of #11 when specific conditions are met.

You may not have any idea what any of that means yet, but whether you are a beginner
who knows very little music theory, or a more intermediate player who has used quite a
few 7th chords and knows some harmony, the main thing is that this is a Bb Major, and
the chord below is a Bb Major, and they sound completely different.

Check out this voicing of Bbmaj7:

If you know a little theory, we dropped the Bb down an octave, substituted in a major 7th,
and added in the 9, which is C. Or you can think of it as a D minor7 on top of Bb.

Down below, check out this lush Bbmaj7 voicing with both a 9 (C) and a 13 (G). If you
really know what you're doing, you can try suspending a Gb before releasing to G, or
performing a grace note from G to A at the top of the voicing...sounds pretty huh?

There's also an aspect of voicing called inversions. This is when we shift the notes in the chord
around so it has a different shape. To those that already know what they are, you can go way
beyond the standard "put the bottom note on the top" inversions. Play this one, down below.

Voicing is just one aspect of harmony, but it's so important. But let's take it back to the
basics before I get too carried away...if you're a beginner, please read on! If you already
know a thing or two about harmony, humor me for a second:
 What separates the pros from the
Joes?
The single most important factor that separates an average player from an
expressive wizard is called "voice-leading." So what is it? Voice leading is
defined by the flow of one voicing to the next, in order to create smooth,
musical harmonic motion.

Let's take a look at this on the most basic level: This is a C major triad.

Let's just say the following chord in a progression is an F major triad.

Jumping between these two voicings sounds rudimentary and blocky. But
what if there was a way we could shift the notes of the F triad into a different
inversion so that the transition between the chords is smooth?

C Major
Triad

F Major
Triad

As you can see, I changed the inversion of the F major triad by shifting the
note C down an octave as the diagram illustrates. This creates the smoothest
possible transition between a C major triad, and an F major triad, and this is
how voice-leading works on a fundamental level.

The key here is taking this concept, and slowly infusing it with more advanced
harmonic concepts as you develop your understanding of harmony.
 Let's Take it up one notch:
Let's take a look at what this means when you apply that same logic to 7th
chords...here is a standard Cmajor7 chord:

Root (C) E minor

Triad

Most people think of a C major7 and try to process the entire structure at
once. If you want to process harmony on a deeper level, you should start
visualizing 7th chords in two parts, like this. The root of the chord is C, with
an E minor triad stacked on top of it.

Here is the same thing done to an F major7 chord:

Root (F) A minor

Triad

F major7 can be broken down as just an F with an A minor triad stacked on

top. As with the example on the previous page, these "standard" versions of C
major7 and F major7 are called "root position" and transitioning back and
forth between them will once again sound clunky and basic.

But instead of trying to voice-lead an entire major 7th chord to another, what
if I told you that you could voice-lead just the triads that lie on the tops of
seventh chords?

Root (F) E minor

Triad

First change the root to F...

 And then change the E minor triad to the closest inversion of the A minor
triad that exists inside the F major7 chord.

Root (F) A minor

Triad

This is how you voice-lead correctly.

In my harmony workshop "The Master's Framework", I teach you how to

understand harmony on a functional level. Functional meaning "in context"
and in layman's terms, hearing a song and understanding what the chords are
instantly, and knowing where they are on the piano.

But completely separate from that skill, is the ability to make your chords
sound smooth, professional and polished.

Without voice-leading, yes, the chords you play may be correct by name, but
they won't sound exactly the way you want them to.

This is exactly why I created "The Voicings Vault."

Because I struggled for years to understand how to accomplish perfect voice-

leading on the fly. Anytime I wanted to voice-lead two chords correctly, I
would have to think about it for 30 seconds before actually playing the chord I
wanted to play.

By then, the idea that I was working on had vanished because I couldn't arrive
at the correct inversion or chord position when I needed it.

So I just stuck with root position chords all the time, which left me with an
incurable case of "beginner's syndrome."

The Voicings Vault is a 40 exercise series organized into 6 different levels that
is designed to quite literally download the smoothest voice leading options
straight to your brain.

I'll start you with the basics: triads, guide tones, basic seventh chords...and
then we can get fancy. (try it free for 30 days at chordacademy.online! :)

All you have to do is drill the exercises until they are second nature, and your
sound will elevate to a place you never thought possible. Let's take this a step
further.
 smooth dominant resolution:
Here is a C7(b9);

Added
C7  Tension (b9)

When you study functional harmony, you'll learn that when you see a 7(b9)
chord, the following chord is typically some kind of minor chord a perfect fifth
(7 half steps) below.

In this case, the following chord would usually be an F minor. Let's use F
minor9 for this example. This means an Fmin7 with a 9 added in for color.

Added
Tension (9)
Fmin7

But we can also think of it as the note F with an Abmaj7 stacked on top, just
like this:

Abmaj7 on
top.
Root (F)

What we need is a way to shift the Abmaj7 in a way that creates a smooth
transition between C7(b9) and Fminor9. Check out what happens next:
 What I'm going to do here, is take the two lowest notes of Abmaj7, and shift
them up an octave, like this:

Abmaj7 on
top.
Root (F)

What you end up with is this:

Abmaj7 in
Root (F) 2nd inversion.

We may have shifted the notes around a bit, but this entire chord is still called
"Fminor9."

Starting with the root position C7(b9) and then transitioning to this voicing of
Fminor9 will yield very smooth results.

C7(b9)

Fminor9
Can i change the voicings in any song?
Yes, absolutely. For example, consider the basic 7th chords to
"American Boy" by Estelle:

Emaj7

Cmaj7

Amin7

Fmaj7

These are the basic root position voicings for the chords. There
are so many options, but let's turn these basic chords into
something a little more colorful...while also using better voice
leading.
 Here are some new voicings that use available tensions and follow the
principles of voice leading:

Emaj7(9)

Cmaj7(13)

Amin7(9)

Fmaj7(13,9)

Well don't just stare, pull out your favorite electric piano sound and try them!
This isn't just for theoretical purposes...this is so you can infuse your music
with more color and beauty. This is how I play in real life.

It's time to take your harmony game to a new level, and I wanna be the one to
help you do it!
 Harmony within Harmony
Once you've mastered one concept, there is always another level to take it to.
Consider the line of the song that goes "I really want to, come kick it with
you." There's an Emaj7 being played during "I really want to," but during the
words "kick it with you", which all happen on a Cmaj7 chord, you can
harmonize the melody by changing the voicing on each note.

Try using to chords below to harmonize the line. Even if you aren't too sure
what all the tensions mean, notice how the chords make you feel.

Cmaj7 (kick)

Cmaj7(9,#11) (it)

Cmaj7(9) (with)

C6 (you)

Amin7(9) (You'll be my American)

F#min7(11) (Boy)

B7(#9,b13) (American...) Then back to Emaj7 on the last "Boy"

Smooth huh? It's very subtle, but I'm fusing my knowledge

of guide tones, tensions, and upper structures: all concepts
that can be taught and internalized with the correct
system.
 Why Chord Academy?
Music is a lot of things, but random is not one of them. That's where
Chord Academy comes in. I've spent the last six years of my life
studying classical theory and jazz harmony every day, and
eventually teaching others on a one on one basis, and in the
classroom.

Through my experiences, I have learned what most musicians

struggle with, and I have also spent countless hours distilling all my
abilities into a series of exercises that will ingrain the language into
your mind and body.

What do you do when you want to learn a new language? You learn
what the letters are, then you learn what sounds they make, you
start forming basic words, you seek out the most common words in
the language and memorize them and their meanings, you begin
building a vocabulary, and you practice speaking this language every
single day.  This is exactly the approach I have taken to Chord
Academy as a whole.

The skillset you're looking for is much closer than you think. Wanna
play on a level that takes others to another place every time they
hear you? Check. Take the harmony on your productions to another
level? Check. Hear a song and know the chords automatically like it's
your native language? Check. All attainable, and you can start the
journey to that goal at this very moment.

Just as a closing note, learning harmony on a deeper level is such a

rewarding experience, and if you are really trying you take your
music game to the next level, investing in a greater understanding of
it can truly set you apart from the rest. Once you experience how the
right harmony can make you feel, and how you can make others
feel...there's no going back. That's why I'm teaching these
techniques...because I wanted to share this level of understanding
with others, and hopefully change someone's life.

Head to chordacademy.online for more info, or to try the Voicings

Vault Membership FREE for 30 days.