Lesson Goal: To add some tasty major 2 5 1 chord voicings to your pop/rock piano comping bag… by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle..
Study & Practice Advice
Learning these patterns is not a matter of brute force memorization. Learning these patterns is the process of internalizing them in four ways: experiencing their sound-feelings, connecting them to your knowledge of music theory, seeing the visuospatial layout on the keyboard, and instilling the muscle memory of your physical execution (choreography). If you’ve studied your scales, chords, and chord progressions the right way this should all be a piece of cake. And you should be able to easily “transpose” these patterns to any other keys you’d like to play in.
Major 2 5 1 Version #1
The most basic ii7-V7-IM7 chord progression (cadence) played in a pop/rock rhythm pattern using exclusively 7th chords without any added color tones…
Major 2 5 1 Version #2
A gospel infused version a la Carole King (notice the absence of the leading tone B(Ti) in the G chord)…
(*) Don’t waste time quibbling about what to call the G7 chord. Just think of it as a IV chord played over So. (Another example of how knowing your scales like a musician makes learning these voicings super easy!).
Major 2 5 1 Version #3
This version has a very smooth and relaxed vibe (due to the minimal motion of the voices)…
(*) Don’t waste time quibbling about what to call the G7 chord. Just think of it as a ii7 chord played over So. (Yet another example of how knowing your scales like a musician makes learning these voicings super easy!).
Major 2 5 1 Version #4
This version has a jazzier quality to because of the liberal use of 9th chords and the added 13th in the G7 chord…
(*) Don’t waste time quibbling about what to call the G7 chord. Just think of it as an FM7 chord played over So.
Major 2 5 1 Version #5
This version makes a great ending, largely because of the sus4 in the G chord resolved to a simple major triad…
Notice how the note C (Do) stays on top the whole way… a great example why voicings really matter and how harmony and melody work together to achieve a musical purpose, in this case a strong sense of being finished.
return to… Pop/Rock Piano Lessons
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Hello,Frank Peters,
Thank you so much for all your lessons on chords – I am gradually taking in a whole sort of progression of your oeuvre of lessons. You are providing exactly what I am looking for – an understanding of how music “works”. I hope you will not mind, I play the modern lyre, which is fully chromatic: my soprano lyre covers 3 octaves+. Your piano recordings however are inspiring me possibly to play the piano again as well which I haven’t done since I was a child and I am now about to enter my 8th decade. I’m thinking about it.
I am so grateful to you for the way in which you enable learning and for giving us all these lessons. I am more confident, with your help, when I compose short pieces of music and they are getting more interesting I think.
Your lovely message of appreciation absolutely made my day, Marion!
It’s particularly nice to hear my lessons referred to as “oeuvre”. And thanks for sharing a bit of your musical life with me. The lyre is such a beautiful organic instrument, but you have my permission to play piano too! : ) Please let me know how I may be of service.
All the best to you in music and life.