• Week 1: The Polychord Voicing Technique

    If you’re interested in learning the polychord voicing technique and how it can be applied in chord progressions and songs, then this lesson is for you.

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    The Art Of Polychords

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    If you’ve ever wondered how master musicians execute and remember large, extended chord voicings, understanding polychords will be especially helpful for you. A polychord is simply a big chord made up of smaller ones. For example, C minor 11 is: By all means, this would be considered a “big” chord. But do you really have to […]

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    Ask Jermaine: “How To Create Those Fancy Jazzy Chords”

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    This edition of “Ask Jermaine” was posted by Ronald Verwer in our Free Lessons area. He writes: Hi Jermaine, how fabulous the way you are explaining the composition of the various chords. Your flash cards are a great help. It becomes so easy to follow. By just sitting on the piano and practicing with the flashcards improves my playing tremendously. Even after 60 years of playing! You are a legend. The thing I want to know is how to create that Jazzy sound…

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    The “Polychord” Game: How Many Chords Can You Spot?

    gameshow.jpgPolychords are huge extended chords that consist of two or more smaller chords.

    As your chords get bigger and bigger, you’ll spot smaller chords within.

    These smaller chords present opportunities to explore other voicings.

    For example, if you spot a C minor triad and an Eb major 7 in the same chord, this gives you countless ways to voice the chord… including two-hand versions…

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    The secret behind “big picture thinking”

    bigpicthinkignsmall.jpgOur last radio show was awesome! We took several callers, gave away tons of prizes, and delved into some more music theory concepts!

    One of our callers had a question about a particular altered chord and I spent some time unraveling it with her. In this post, I just want to take some time to review what I told her on the air. I think this will be extremely helpful for people in the same situation.

    Her question had to do with playing a C diminished 7 chord over F bass. She wanted to know what type of chord it was. So we broke it down…

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    Now you can play big chords without having to memorize anything

    stackingsmall.jpgOn yesterday’s radio show, I got a question from a fellow in Vallejo, California about polychords. So today, I just want to take a second to explain what polychords are for those of you who missed the show.

    First, it’s helpful to note what the word “poly” means. It’s a greek prefix, meaning “many” so that should give us a hint as to what polychords are…

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    The Power Of Using Superimposed Chords

    At first look, the word “superimposition” may sound like a complex concept… but I assure you, it is easier than it looks! For a chord to be superimposed on top of another chord means just that! Usually, you’d play one particular chord on your left hand while playing another chord on your right (both at […]

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