Chord Melody Masterclass
An Introduction to Voice Leading and Plurality (Insights and Tips on Harmony II)
About this masterclass
Genil Castro continues his Insights and Tips on Harmony series with a class on two foundational ideas: voice leading — the most effective way to move from one chord to the next — and plurality, the phenomenon of one chord structure functioning in many different ways. The vehicle is 3- and 4-note rootless extended voicings, applied to comping and chord melody.
What's covered
- What plurality means in practice — how a single shape can be an Fmaj7, a rootless Dm9, or a Gsus13 depending on the bass note, echoing Mick Goodrick's question: not how many chords you know, but how many usages for each chord
- Voice-leading fundamentals: preserving common tones and changing only what's absolutely necessary
- Comping with 3- and 4-note rootless voicings built from the major scale
- The cycle of 4ths through the major scale, voice-led chord to chord through root positions and inversions
- Chord melody on Satin Doll using 4-note rootless voicings and voice leading
- Using chord voice leading to produce melodic lines
An intermediate-to-advanced class for guitarists who want their chord changes to connect smoothly and their voicings to do more than one job.
Lessons in this masterclass
Lessons
- 1An Introduction to Voice Leading and Plurality (Insights and Tips on Harmony II) Full Class34m 15s
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