Masterclass Neo Soul

Day 1
Lesson
by Nicklas Myhre
1. Chord progression with non-diatonic harmony
Transcription: Jan Jakut
b ã
C² G- 9 F² B 9 11
4 .. œj ww
j w ww w
b www b ww ..
œ
V4 w ww
j ww
w
œ
bw
H H H

. 3 5
.
. .
3 5 3 5 5
4 3 5 5
5 3 5 7 6
3 5 8
3 6

C∆ [ I ] Gm9 [ ii ]
R . 3fr. R . 3fr.

. .
key of C Major key of F Major

F∆ [ I ] Bb9#11 [ bVII7 ]
. 5fr. . 5fr.

. .
R

key of F Major F melodic minor

 DAY 1 exercise 1
Diagrams

chord diagrams basic

C∆ Gm9 F∆ Bb9#11

X X X X X X

3fr. R 3fr. R b7 b3 5 5 7 9 #11

7 6fr. R b7

5 3 5 9 3

R
8fr.

R = root note / 1

Embellishment locations Version A

*Left unchanged

C∆9 Gm9 F∆9 Bb9#11

X X X X X X

3fr. R 9 3fr. R b7 b3 5 R 9 5 7 9 #11

b7
7 6fr. R

5 3 5 9 3

8fr. R
= notes added

= hammer-on &/or pull-off

Embellishment locations Version B

C∆9(13) Gm9 F∆9 Bb9#11

X X X X X

3fr. R 9 5 3fr. R b7 b3 5 R 9 5 7 9 #11

R 5
7 6fr. R b7

5 3 13 5 9 3

b7 R
8fr.
= notes added

= hammer-on &/or pull-off

get the neo-soul sound in 10 days Day 1

 Masterclass Neo Soul

Exercise 1

Version A

b ã
C² G- 9 F² B 9 11
4 jw
j w ww w
V 4 .. œ ww b www b ww ..
œ
j ww
w ww œ
bw
H H H

. 3 5
.
. .
3 5 3 5 5
4 3 5 5
5 3 5 7 6
3 5 8
3 6

Version B
b
C² G- 9 F² B 9 ã 11

œœœ œ œ œ ˙ . œ œ œ œ ˙.
b œœœ œ œ œ ˙. b œœœ
œ œ ˙.
Vœ œœ œœœ œ bœ
Let chords ring
H
3
H
5
P
3
. 3
H
5
P
3
P
.
H H P
.
H P
.
3 5 3 6 3 5 5 6 5 5 6 5 5
4 3 5 5
5 3 5 7 6
3 5 8
3 6

C²
œ w
j
V www
H

3 5
4
5
3
 DAY 1 exercise 2
Diagrams

Embellishment locations Version A (recap)

*Left unchanged

C∆9 Gm9 F∆9 Bb9#11

X X X X X X
3fr. R 9 3fr. R b7 b3 5 R 9 5 7 9 #11

7 6fr. R b7

5 3 5 9 3

8fr. R

C major pentatonic scale most common “box”

Relative minor = A

6 1

3 5

1 2

5 6

2 3

6 1

get the neo-soul sound in 10 days Day 1

 Masterclass Neo Soul

Exercise 2

1. Pentatonic scale A minor

œ œ œ
4 œ œ œ
V4 œ œ œ
œ œ œ
5 8
5 8
5 7
5 7
5 7
5 8

2. Connecting chords and fills

a) Melodic motif

œ j
œ
V
bœ ˙
sl.

8
8 7 5

b) Chords and motif combined

b
C² G- 9 F² B 9 ã 11

˙ œ b œj œ œ j ˙ œ b œj œ œ ˙˙˙ œ b œj œ œ
V .. ˙˙˙ b ˙˙˙ b www ..
j œ
œ
˙˙ ˙ bw
H sl. H sl. sl.

. 3 5
.
. .
3 5 8 3 8 5 8 5
4 8 7 5 3 8 7 5 5 8 7 5 5
5 3 7 6
3 5 8
3 6
 DAY 1 exercise 3
Diagrams

chord diagrams basic

E∆ Bm9 A∆
X X X X
7fr. R 7fr. R b7 b3 5 5 7

5 3 5 9 3

12fr. R

E major pentatonic scale most common “box”

Relative minor = C#

6 1

3 5

1 2

5 6

2 3

6 1

get the neo-soul sound in 10 days Day 1

 Masterclass Neo Soul

Exercise 3

Chord progression in E Major: I - ii / IV - IV

E∆ [ I ] Bm9 [ ii / IV ]
R . 7fr. R . 7fr.

. .

A∆ [ IV ]
. 9fr.

R . .
 Masterclass Neo Soul

Voice Memo Challenge 1

1. Scales

œ œ œ œ œ œ
a) E Major pentatonic b) C# minor pentatonic

# ## 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ
V # 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ
9 12 9 12
9 12 9 12
9 11 9 11
9 11 9 11
9 11 9 11
12 9 12

2. Chord progression

E∆ Bm9 A∆
R . 7fr. R . 7fr. . 9fr.

. .
R . .

# #
E² B- 9 A²
V # # .. ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ..