Curriculum

Lessons

Work through the handbook chapters, then deepen the same ideas through the seven transcript systems.

  1. Chapter 1 The Standard Basic Chords

    There are two systems of thinking to play our standard basic chords. The first is to think of the chord notes spatially (how they’re constructed by intervals...
  2. Chapter 2 Suspended Chords

    Suspended chords are powerful tools for composers, adding tension, emotion, and intrigue. They create anticipation and resolution by altering specific notes...
  3. Chapter 3 Sixth Chords

    Major and minor 6th chords are versatile chords that musicians and composers utilize to add depth, emotion, and sophistication to their compositions. These c...
  4. Chapter 4 Adding Extensions & Alterations

    Now that you know how to play the basic standard chords as well as Suspended and 6th Chords, we can now add extensions and alterations to all these chords. F...
  5. Chapter 5 Omit Chords

    When it comes to chord symbols, the terms "no" and "omit" are used to indicate that certain notes in the chord should not be played. ”no” and “omit” can be u...
  6. Chapter 6 Slash Chords

    A slash chord is a chord that indicates a bass note other than the root note. Slash chords are often used to create a counter-melodies in the bass, as well a...
  7. Chapter 7 Polychords

    A polychord is a chord made up of two or more separate chords played at the same time. Polychords are a useful tool for creating complex harmonies. To create...
  8. Chapter 8 The Standard Basic Chord Voicings

    What is a the difference between a ”chord” and a chord voicing”? A chord is a group of three or more notes played simultaneously, creating a harmonic sound....
  9. Chapter 9 Next Steps

    Congratulations on reaching the end of The Chord Formulas Handbook! Feel free to return to this resource as you progress through your music journey. All chor...
  10. Chapter 10 Seven Systems: Spatial Chord Construction

    are three or more notes there are two systems to construct all our standard basic chords the first system we're going to learn is the spatial system looking...
  11. Chapter 10 Seven Systems: Major Scale Degree Thinking

    spatial system of playing our standard basic chords how chords are spaced out by intervals we had our Triad chords spaced out by major and minor thirds and o...
  12. Chapter 10 Seven Systems: Suspensions and Replacements

    adding and omitting we're going to replace add and omit notes from the standard basic chords we've just learned to create new types of chords so first is rep...
  13. Chapter 10 Seven Systems: Adding Sixths and Extensions

    major and minor Triads so here's our C major Triad our C major chord and we add the sixth scale degree that's a C major sixth chord and if we have a Minor tr...
  14. Chapter 10 Seven Systems: Omitting Notes

    lot of reasons why you'd want to remove notes from your chord the first reason is an instrument's limitation I'm teaching You on piano I have 10 fingers so m...
  15. Chapter 10 Seven Systems: Slash Chords and Alternate Bass

    for example we could play a G major chord and below that G major chord we can add a b so we'd write this chord as G slash B this is called a slash chord the...
  16. Chapter 10 Seven Systems: Polychords

    alright our final system of thinking is stacking chords on top of each other also called poly chords a poly chord is written as fraction for example you migh...