music notation for gospel piano minor triad neighbor chords

Minor Triad Neighbor Chord Melody

An extension of the Neighbor Chord concept is to play the prevailing minor triad and neighbor chord pair “melodically” up or down in all three voicings…

Applied to a C Minor Triad…

piano-ology-gospel-school-neighbor-chords-minor-triad-melody

If the four-note chords in the right hand are too much of a reach, just drop the bottom note and play 3-note voicings instead…

piano-ology-gospel-school-neighbor-chords-minor-triad-melody-alt

Study-Practice Notes

  • Think of the neighbor chord as “the ii” of the prevailing chord.
  • Notice that each of the three chord pairings has a characteristic triad “shape”.
  • Notice that the prevailing harmony is played on downbeats and the neighbor is played on the upbeats.
  • Use your knowledge of chord theory, ears, eyes, and muscles, work this pattern out for all twelve minor triads.

learn more…
Gospel School: Major-Minor Mixture

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