I'm one of the guitarists who watches your videos, and what I really like about what you do, is that you talk entirely in terms of scale position. After years of playing guitar, I came to the conclusion that C, E, G, Bb etc. is of little consequence -- it's really all about scale position, especially when it comes to the guitar, where you can just slide the whole pattern up a few frets and you're in a different key. That's why the way you talk about playing piano is useful to guitarists too.
Thanks for your comment Morgan, I hadn't thought of it from that perspective but glad that my videos are a good fit for you. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, appreciate your support. 🙏
Yeah I'm similar, I play guitar and on top of that I play in different tunings often so even though I know the standard tuning fretboard pretty well, I'm still often not thinking about what specific notes I'm actually playing, just the intervals I want. We guitarists have a tendency to think and say things like "3rd fret on the B string" even if it's tuned to FACGAE and there's a capo on the 4th fret (meaning it's neither a B string nor the actual 3rd fret). Guitar makes us think very transpositionally.
@@michaelkeithsonat 10:40 in the video you show the 6 types of chords . could you please list me what key each of those are so i can break them down and recreate them myself. list each key of each chord 1 to 6 pls. thanks like they aren't all in F are they? the chord changes when you change the bass but you didn't say to what note.. it would really help me be able to use this voicing
I am a guitar player and this is hands-down the best music theory channel I have seen yet. I love the understated, direct presentation as much as the content. Congratulations on a wonderful channel that is free from all the usual tropes. Best wishes.
Your channel is GOLD Your content is perfect for where I am at in my musical theory journey In addition to the content, I love your teaching style and personality, and the subdued lighting is awesome too. It's obvious you put in a lot of work in creating each video. Please know that all that effort is greatly appreciated 🙏 Greeting from New Zealand
Thank you Michael Keithson for giving the people what they want! You are a diamond geezer, and you are sewing the seeds for other people's compositions.
Michael, thank you very much for this valuable content for us. I was intuitively discovering the various functions of this voicing, but your explanations took me to another level. God bless you!
I'm a long time guitarist and recent piano player. Love your vids! I would encourage ALL guitar players to familiarize themselves with the notes of a keyboard. It makes it SO much easier to understand all those extended chords as each individual note can be instantly recognized unlike a guitar fretboard.
This was already one of my favorite shapes - for dominant chords - and you expanded my understanding exponentially. It was always there and i didn’t see it until you pointed it out. Thank you!
The naming conventions for chords really break down when you move the root, even though the sound of the resulting chord fits lots of contexts. This type of exercise can help iron out relationships between chords. Thank you for the video!
I have trouble quickly finding rootless voicings and their variants without a root context, and I know it’s simply a lack of practice and memorization on my part. So I appreciate your comment about not necessarily knowing all of them immediately, although that doesn’t let me off the hook! 😅 Anyway, thank you for your world class instruction. It always inspires, and it’s such a friendly format. You do beautiful work.
Thanks Dave! Glad you enjoyed it. You're right, it does make a huge difference if you've consistently got the opportunity to use these voicings. Having regular performance or rehearsal opportunities can make such a big difference because you're regularly implementing the stuff you're working on in your personal practice. Happy practising!
i really like the way you explain music theory concepts, even though i know a lot of this stuff already it's really nice to hear it the way you present it with context
Really great video, Michael. I am a guitar player and I've been using that so-called "box" voicing for years now. The two uses you mentioned that I have not used -- or don't remember using -- are the "phrygian" (sus b9) chord and the tonic chord (resolution to that minor 6/9). Everybody should pay attention here, especially those who use jazz voicings.
Thanks for the kind comment, much appreciated. I haven't heard it called a 'box' voicing before, glad there were still a couple of takeaways for you in there. Thanks for the support 🙏
Another guitarist here and for learning this idea you picked the best key to start with as the top notes can be played easily as xx3200 and trying the bass notes you’ve shown us. Thanks!
I will need to watch this over and over until I can document how varying the left hand bass note creates the different chords. A good use of screen time, so much better than stressing over political matters.
I knew what the voicing was gonna be before even watching. My theory and composition teacher in college was an amazing jazz pianist and he taught us this same thing and called it the Swiss Army voicing.
To me, (been playing piano for over 30 years now and always scan UA-cam for new piano videos), these are the best honest explanations of the "ins" and "outs" of the piano, voicings, chord structures and excellent way of showing us all these different concepts in a simple down to earth way. Thank you Michael for sharing.
Great video, Michael. Thank you. I'll have to watch this one several times and hopefully the penny will drop a little further on each viewing!! I love your channel. Absolutely brilliant.
Another one of the guitar guys here, great video again. You make things clear and concise, I often come up with ideas like right after watching your videos and making sens of it on the guitar. Please keep going! :)
This was amazing!🙌 I was playing these voicings comfortably on the guitar while watching this, and it's so interesting that these are all things I've "accidentally" fit into things but never really thought about it this way! 10:18 If it helps anyone, I took this note for reminding myself later using that old ASCII guitar notation 😋- The Chords on guitar- G7(13) 3x3200 Altered (Db7#9b13) x43200 Phrygian (E7sus4b9) 0x3200 Half-diminished (Bm7b5) x23200 DM6/9 x53200 FMaj7#11 (Lydian) 1x3200
Hey hey! Another good one, right up my alley! Musical harmony is a wonderful and powerful thing, and sharing it with others, just magnifies that power and wonder. How lucky we are to be a part of all this .. . . . . . . .
Yeah, it's great! This is video is so similar to the comment you left on my video 'half-diminished' video about the different possible uses of the chord, it's almost interchangeable with this voicing really. Funny that you hadn't watched this before you left that comment! Thanks for sharing 👍
@@michaelkeithson The way you present these ideas is very much like what I do with my jazz guitar students. I am going to recommend that they watch your videos. I very much enjoyed your musicality too, your playing is full of the harmonic colors and motion that I love, it's beautiful stuff. Kudos and good luck to you. . . . .
Just found your channel a few weeks ago, Really enjoy your topics and concise presentation. I'm a guitarist but i lurk on a lot of piano channels and I find for certain subjects i prefer learning on piano which I can then transfer to guitar.
Hey Matt! Good to hear, glad you've been enjoying the video, thanks for leaving a comment. It seems to be pretty common to have you guitarist looking in on these piano based theory videos. Happy to have you all! 👍
I love this little masterclass. Tysm, Michael. This is one to live with until it sinks in. (After I figure out all the wrinkles). Just subscribed. Cheers!
@@michaelkeithson Thank you, Michael. I look forward to learning more from all your videos. Great pacing and content. Also interested in any documentation you may be creating for sale or otherwise. Sometimes these processes are easier with a .pdf documentation. Cheers!
@@dpwaldman3145 Thanks man. I haven't done any pdfs yet but I'm planning on creating one or two courses separate to the YT channel over the next year and will probably include some pdfs with those.
Major 7 #9 is my favorite voicing especially in D Major. I love to voice it with F# Bb C and F in the right hand. Paul McCartney utilizes this in Maybe I’m Amazed in the bridge transition between each four bar run!
Thanks for the comment. Your voicing is the same as mine but just a semi-tone up. If you're playing that over a D then it'll will be a D altered or D7#9b13 👍
I’m still learning stuff on guitar and wanting to play jazz. Your videos are gold! Harmonies, voicings, chords relationships, and all that. I’m sharing your channel out if that’s alright.
@@michaelkeithson If I may advise, you should have lessons packages, monthly zoom meeting, discord forum, improv tips and all those good stuff. I clicked by how you explains things because you put it in a simplest context. I’m dumb and not everyone on this platform understands how to teach dumbass like me. Keep up the great work! Cheerss!!!
@@dannyprasetya2496 Thanks for the feedback Danny. I do need to have a sit down and think about some extra offerings, I think a Patreon is on the horizon but need to think about what I can offer through that. Also have plans for a couple of video courses but haven't really started with that yet! Appreciate your support and suggestions. Cheers 🙏
I notice that I have used 7sus9b13 here and there without knowing it. My top two favorites from your list: 3 and 5. At 8:42 you start playing m6/9 and I immediately have a melody in my head that I love - sorry for borrowing this. As always, I am happy and grateful that you share this with us. It breaks through so many rigid patterns, that I am trapped in. Thank you so much.
Thanks for the comment, really good to know there was some useful stuff in there. Steal whatever you like, just happy that it inspired you and got you thinking. Cheers.
Great content as always Michael, felt so seen in that guitarist call-out. It was a bit more challenging as a guitarist to follow until you got to Dm6/9 where it all "clicked", as this is perhaps the most common intervallic voicing arrangement accessible on guitar (honestly, that's what it sounded like to me from the start). As a guitarist, if you build the m6/9 with the root on the 5th string, and just move that bass note up/down, it all makes sense (-1 Semitone = Altered; -1 Tritone = Dom13; +3 Semitone/1 Minor 3rd = 7Sus4b9 (Implied 7th); +4 Semitone/1 Major 3rd = Maj7#11)). I actually feel like I learned more working that out than if there had been transcription, wonderful wisdom sir. PS: 11:07-11:45 Made me lol, piano problems...shape is static through keys for Guitar (per string set in a given tuning*)
As a guitarist, this is a classic. I also consider the m7b5 to be a swiss army knife too. The are only one note apart. A major7#11 a tritone away from a m7b5 chord are good subs for each other
Hello Michael! Interested to know, do you have a complete course on playing the piano? Your UA-cam videos are fabulous and very easy to understand in how the different concepts of piano playing intermingle with one another.
Hi Dee, thanks for the comment. I don't currently have a complete course but I do have plans to create one. Make sure you sign up on my website and then you'll be emailed whenever I manage to get a course done! Thanks
Using the FABE voicing, a seventh one is putting a C in the root, for an Ionian voicing, a sus maj7, a very pretty chord one hears too little. Another possibility is an Aeolian voicing with an A in the bass, which I don’t think was mentioned. If you add a C#, so you have FABC#E, you can use D,E,F,G,A, and B in the bass to get, respectively, a major minor, sus b9, Lydian augmented, dom #11, minor major with 5th in the bass, and half diminished with natural 9th, the chords of the melodic minor scale, and if you put the C# (aka Db) you get the 7th, the alt dom you mentioned in the video.
Thanks for sharing! 👍 I don't find I ever use those others but maybe I need to explore a bit more. Appreciate you adding to the conversation. Thanks! 🙏
@@michaelkeithson You’re already using melodic minor chords if you’re playing alt dom chords. You probably also play dom #11 chords. You can think of the “magic” note as a color tone, which is the major 7 of the minor scale, i.e. a Dorian scale where the seventh is raised. This is a very pretty note! For example, you can play a half dim chord with a natural 9th added, say a b half diminished with a C#. If you put a G in the bass, that becomes a G7 #11. An E in the bass is a sus b9, but with this very pretty color note included. If you’re interested in this subject, Mark Levine has a book called “The Jazz Piano book” which has a nice section, but the best way of thinking about the melodic minor scales and chords I haven’t seen discussed, which is instead of thinking of it as a major scale with the third note flattened, think of it as a Dorian scale with the seventh raised. That way all the chords line up, where you simply have an added color tone.
In reverse Guitar lessons from a few great players helped me with my piano Namely how to become patient especially when it comes to wierd hand contortions
Hi Michael! I appreciate your work very much. Guitarist here, for 50+ yrs. Guitar is a tricky bitch... as transposition is easy and most guitarists are trapped into chords w/Root in the bass and transposing a few shapes they know. Most of them don't see a shape as other possible chords, unless VERY advanced musicians. I moved away from chords with a root in them, unless I want to strongly state their function in a harmonic progression. Learned a lot about these things from Charlie Banacos, back in '90s, when he was around. See... another problem with guitarists is often poor voice leading; most of them are trapped by knowing chords shapes rather than "morphing" one into the next chord. Like in a II V I or other progressions. As a simple example... take the Dom7 b9 sus voicing from this video... and play it like this Ab C D G as D h/dim, then simply lower that C to B for a G add b9 (7b9 function) and finall down to C G Bb Eb G for a complete minor II V I . On the other hand, the magic of this voicing from the melodic minor scale can also be great in the typical guitarist transposition mindset, so you could play Ab C D G and move it up a minor 3rd to B D# F A# and move it up again a maj 3rd to Eb G A D and here you have your minor II V I, DH/Dim/G7b9/Cm69. Melodic minor scale chords are VERY useful in the way they can be used for many different families... and the scale has that powerful unstable character given by its double tritone. Guitar has a hard time with clustery chords. Those multiple seconds are impossible to play, whereas on the piano it's much easier. The voicing you are showing here is VERY hard when making inversions on the guitar. Impossible seconds in it. But spreading the notes a bit helps to get some other voicings and helps the adventurous guitarist to wander in piano land! Great to see somebody talking about these things on YT.... where too many chat about the same old stuff... Cheers to you!
Thank you so much for this voicing. I liked using that G7/C#altered voicing as a transition to a C major 9 sounds so nice. I don't know if that has a theory name but sounds good to my ear. Tritone sub ? Idk but thanks :)
So I love rootless voicings. I use the A&B method. ie built on the third(A) or on the Seventh (B). the voicings you show here are what I would call (B) rootless voicing, ie built on the Seventh. Can you follow up on the (A) type rootless ie built on the third. Thanks Love your stuff!! Sax player / frustrated pianist.
Really great video not only for showing people these chords but also to show how open-ended chords can be! I have to ask though, what piano plugin is it you're using when playing your keyboard? I had to pause halfway through and look for something similar sounding in Pianoteq cuz of how much I liked the sound, lol.
Hey man, thanks for the kind comment. For this video I actually was using the sound direct from the Nord Stage, it was the 'felt upright' sample from their piano library. Pianoteq does have a felt preset though, so you may be able to get somewhere close.
Isn't this the famous 'Joe Henderson' chord (major seventh with flattened fifth)? I guess that's why Joe wrote so many modal tunes structured around this chord, because it's so versatile and sounds so cool.
I'd never heard it called that but look it up and you're right, apparently a few people call it the 'Joe Henderson' chord, although not sure I'd say it's famously called that. Find it strange being called a maj7 b5 - I prefer to think of it as a #11 as I'm often including the 5th and most often see them written as a #11, not very common to see it written with a b5. Such a useful chord though, thanks for sharing!
I guess it depends how you use it.....if you think of it as a useful collection of 'upper structure' tones, as you do, then it's better to think of it as #4. I think Joe Henderson thought if it as a chord in its own right. Would love to know what modes he used over it. If you listen to JH's modal tunes it's like the epitome of 60s modal jazz, complete with the obligatory vibes!
So how does that Fatar TP100 keybed on the Nord lead feel? ...I have the SL88 Grand hammer action but wanted to get something for my PC as well ...the Arturia Keylab 88 seems to have the same key action as the Nord Lead 4 (Fatar TP 100) with a more compact hammer action so I was wondering how it feels for a pianist.
Hey man, my keyboard is a Nord Stage 2, I’m pretty happy with the keybed from a pianist point of view. I don’t know if it’s the same as the Nord stage 4 but I played one recently and that felt really nice and a little different to mine. Don’t know if that helps or answers your question!
10:36 These two chords (chords 5 and 6 in the list) sound really good in sequence like this. Feels like a good anchor point for some moody brainstorming.
Thanks for this excellent lesson. So much information here, I've been over it several times making notes. One question, what are your thoughts on using the same voicing for a maj13 chord ( ie. C F A B E )?
Okay I get it, all the flat 9 can be converted into Triads after you turn the 13th into diminished but if you want to really have fun you can turn the 13th into 12th by deducting the flat fifths and it becomes a c-sharp flat and 9th diminished 3rd to the 10th right?
Very helpful interesting and instructive. On another channel I watch some times I think they called this voicing the "unicorn" voicing because of the shape on the staff? but maybe I'm getting that wrong notwithstanding I enjoyed the video. Thank you.
@@michaelkeithson It is the "You'll Hear It" pod cast and UA-cam channel. The episode is called "Our Favorite Chord" hosted by Adam and Peter "daily jazz advice commin' atcha!"
@@alphaomega6062 Ah, I love the open studio stuff. Haven't seen that episode though, probably should've have watched it, would have no doubt improved my video!
@@michaelkeithson Cool. Those guys move so fast though and interrupt each other, which is charming, but I find your channel easier to follow due to the more considered pacing. Each style has its place. There is so much great stuff on UA-cam. Another jazz piano channel I enjoy is Jeremy Siskind his style pretty "off the cuff" but his content, like yours is very informative.
@@alphaomega6062 Yeah, I'm a fan of Jeremy Siskind too, his videos are a little low quality and somewhat haphazard but that guy really knows his stuff so there's usually some nuggets in there.
Beginner here. You mentioned you only play in 6 or so keys regularly. I'm looking to get the most utility out of my practice that I can, as progress is very slow. I started off mostly playing in C and more recently, I take F and G for a spin as well. Should I just keep adding an accidental in either direction and expand my playing into new keys this way? That was my plan, but now I'm wondering if there are some keys that just tend to be favored by other musicians that I should focus on?
Hey David, thanks for the comment! I think you’re doing the right thing, keep extending out round the circle of 5ths. You do need to have a good grasp on all chords really. I think the best way is to practice playing lots of songs that you’re familiar with. Find the chords online and try to play through lots regularly. Don’t worry about learning them perfectly, just make it a point to try and get through it once or twice then move on to the next song. You’ll get used to playing a variety of chords in a variety of keys and the repetition will be valuable. In terms of playing in limited keys, it kind of depends on what kind of music you’re playing. Jazz and gospel tend to play a lot in the flat keys. Rock and pop tends to be more sharp keys because of they’re more guitar friendly keys. Hope that helps.
Hey Michael, I want to master harmony and music theory so I can play very freely and compose my own music. I know some basic stuff, i can use seventh chords in most of the major keys and some minor. I can play some chord progressions but with the basic shapes and it doesn’t sound that advanced. I know about the modes but i didnt study them much, i also watch open studio and they always say to lock things in in 12 keys but i dont know if the concept is relevant for my level of knowledge and if I want to spend my time doing it. So where to start? Should i practice voicings for, lets say, types of chords like maj7, m7, 7, sus, maj6, m6 with some extensions so it sounds better? Or should I master every mode in every key… or should I do something totally different? Thanks!
@@michaelkeithson I appreciate your reply! It's interesting that a dom7 chord doesn't need to have the 7 to be what it is. Kind of like saying a house is still a house without a roof. But I'll take it. Peace.
@@-jq8gt I think, in retrospect I should have written it without the 7 - just Esus4b9 - even though it's functioning as a dominant. We could simply voice as a 7 chord by moving the root in the voicing down to the 7. So F A B D - but then it wouldn't fit nicely in my video if it didn't share the same notes as all the other chords!
I'm one of the guitarists who watches your videos, and what I really like about what you do, is that you talk entirely in terms of scale position. After years of playing guitar, I came to the conclusion that C, E, G, Bb etc. is of little consequence -- it's really all about scale position, especially when it comes to the guitar, where you can just slide the whole pattern up a few frets and you're in a different key. That's why the way you talk about playing piano is useful to guitarists too.
Thanks for your comment Morgan, I hadn't thought of it from that perspective but glad that my videos are a good fit for you. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, appreciate your support. 🙏
Yeah I'm similar, I play guitar and on top of that I play in different tunings often so even though I know the standard tuning fretboard pretty well, I'm still often not thinking about what specific notes I'm actually playing, just the intervals I want. We guitarists have a tendency to think and say things like "3rd fret on the B string" even if it's tuned to FACGAE and there's a capo on the 4th fret (meaning it's neither a B string nor the actual 3rd fret). Guitar makes us think very transpositionally.
Sounds like we guitarist are fake and not fit for music theory regardlessof the talent @silphv
😂😂😂😂
@@michaelkeithsonat 10:40 in the video you show the 6 types of chords . could you please list me what key each of those are so i can break them down and recreate them myself. list each key of each chord 1 to 6 pls. thanks like they aren't all in F are they? the chord changes when you change the bass but you didn't say to what note.. it would really help me be able to use this voicing
I am a guitar player and this is hands-down the best music theory channel I have seen yet. I love the understated, direct presentation as much as the content. Congratulations on a wonderful channel that is free from all the usual tropes. Best wishes.
Ah, thank you! 🙏 I really appreciate your kind comment, glad you’re getting some value from the videos.
Absolutely agree!
Your channel is GOLD
Your content is perfect for where I am at in my musical theory journey
In addition to the content, I love your teaching style and personality, and the subdued lighting is awesome too.
It's obvious you put in a lot of work in creating each video.
Please know that all that effort is greatly appreciated 🙏
Greeting from New Zealand
Thanks man, really appreciate it. Glad you're finding some value in my videos and appreciate your kind words. Cheers 🙏
Thank you Michael Keithson for giving the people what they want! You are a diamond geezer, and you are sewing the seeds for other people's compositions.
Ah, thanks 🙏. It’s good to hear you think I’m giving the people what they want. Thanks for the comment, it’s much appreciated.
Holy Horseballs! your channel is the gift that keeps giving
🤣 Thanks for the great comment.
Glad your enjoying the videos 🙏👍🏼
I only play guitar and I watch every one of your videos. Super helpful
Glad you're here Joe, great to hear guitarist like yourself and finding some value in my videos. Cheers.
Great video on how context plays an important role in a chord's name (function - voicing) in a progression. Big like!
Michael, with the science, you have out done yourself again. I only have two words (Absolute Genius)!!
🙏 Thanks Michael, appreciate your kind words.
Michael, thank you very much for this valuable content for us. I was intuitively discovering the various functions of this voicing, but your explanations took me to another level. God bless you!
Cheers Milo, appreciate you leaving a comment. Glad there was something in there for you to take away. Thanks! 🙏
Very nice to think of one voicing and the different functions and not the other way around
I'm a long time guitarist and recent piano player. Love your vids! I would encourage ALL guitar players to familiarize themselves with the notes of a keyboard. It makes it SO much easier to understand all those extended chords as each individual note can be instantly recognized unlike a guitar fretboard.
Thanks man, glad you're liking the videos. Yeah, the piano is such visually helpful instrument for theory work. Thanks for the comment 👍
I've watched this video 6 or 7 times now. This is an epic piece to the puzzle of music
Cheers Sean! Appreciate you increasing the view count! Glad you've found some value in there.
I love the way you think and how you associate theory with sounds and preferences.
Thanks for the comment. Glad you enjoyed it 👍
This was already one of my favorite shapes - for dominant chords - and you expanded my understanding exponentially. It was always there and i didn’t see it until you pointed it out. Thank you!
Awesome! Great to read your comment, this is what I hoped for this video! Have fun exploring these new ideas! Thanks for leaving a comment 🙏
Great Lesson. I always look forward to you dropping a new video, and always learn something new. Thank you Michael.
Ah, thanks Bill! That’s nice to hear 😊 🙏
The naming conventions for chords really break down when you move the root, even though the sound of the resulting chord fits lots of contexts. This type of exercise can help iron out relationships between chords. Thank you for the video!
I have trouble quickly finding rootless voicings and their variants without a root context, and I know it’s simply a lack of practice and memorization on my part. So I appreciate your comment about not necessarily knowing all of them immediately, although that doesn’t let me off the hook! 😅
Anyway, thank you for your world class instruction. It always inspires, and it’s such a friendly format. You do beautiful work.
Thanks Dave! Glad you enjoyed it. You're right, it does make a huge difference if you've consistently got the opportunity to use these voicings. Having regular performance or rehearsal opportunities can make such a big difference because you're regularly implementing the stuff you're working on in your personal practice.
Happy practising!
i really like the way you explain music theory concepts, even though i know a lot of this stuff already it's really nice to hear it the way you present it with context
🙏 Thank you. Appreciate your comment, and glad you enjoyed the video.
Thank you so much! You are opening the secrets I’ve been yearning for years! 🙏🤗
That's what I'm here for 😂. Glad you're finding my videos useful. 👍
An extremely high-quality explanation in a short period of time. Great, Thank you
Thanks Igor! Appreciate your kind words! Thanks for leaving a comment 🙏
Really great video, Michael. I am a guitar player and I've been using that so-called "box" voicing for years now. The two uses you mentioned that I have not used -- or don't remember using -- are the "phrygian" (sus b9) chord and the tonic chord (resolution to that minor 6/9). Everybody should pay attention here, especially those who use jazz voicings.
Thanks for the kind comment, much appreciated. I haven't heard it called a 'box' voicing before, glad there were still a couple of takeaways for you in there. Thanks for the support 🙏
2:45 for what again?
Clear, concise, cannot stop watching now. Subbed.
Cheers Colin, glad you enjoyed it 👍
Another guitarist here and for learning this idea you picked the best key to start with as the top notes can be played easily as xx3200 and trying the bass notes you’ve shown us. Thanks!
Perfect! Glad it was useful 👍
Just so cool to be able to match up chord structure numbers in music theory with different colored voicings. Forever learning. Great stuff!
Cheers Dave! Glad you enjoyed it. 👍
You've given me a lot to chew on this video, always a great choice of topic to get my mind's gears creaking. Cheers 🎉
Cheers man, appreciate your comment. Glad it’s given you some stuff the think on!
I will need to watch this over and over until I can document how varying the left hand bass note creates the different chords. A good use of screen time, so much better than stressing over political matters.
Another guitarist here benefiting from your theory lessons. Great visualization on the piano.
Awesome, thanks for the comment 👍
Thank you so much. I find what you are teaching challenging and refreshing . I appreciate that thanks again!
And I appreciate your nice comments Bridget, thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
I knew what the voicing was gonna be before even watching. My theory and composition teacher in college was an amazing jazz pianist and he taught us this same thing and called it the Swiss Army voicing.
Ah cool, I’d never heard anyone else talk about like this so it’s nice to know others are calling it the same thing! Cheers for the comment. 👍🏼
To me, (been playing piano for over 30 years now and always scan UA-cam for new piano videos), these are the best honest explanations of the "ins" and "outs" of the piano, voicings, chord structures and excellent way of showing us all these different concepts in a simple down to earth way. Thank you Michael for sharing.
🙏 Thanks Dee! Really glad you're getting some value from the videos. Appreciate the generous comment 🙏
Great video, Michael. Thank you. I'll have to watch this one several times and hopefully the penny will drop a little further on each viewing!! I love your channel. Absolutely brilliant.
Thanks Trefor, I appreciate you coming back for more. Glad you're enjoying the channel, thanks for the support. 🙏
Thanks for another great video.
You are very welcome! Thanks for coming back and watching!
There must be more of these multi-purpose shapes!. Please keep these vids coming.
This is so abooooove my head.... I hope one day it'll make sense...
Great channel! I’m a bassist and this is information all musicians can benefit from.
Thanks! I appreciate the sub, good to hear that my videos are finding bass players too! 👍
I'm a guitarist and this channel and "en Blanc et Noir" are my two favorite music channels, and you both teach on piano!
🙏 Thanks! It seems to pretty common that guitarists appreciate the pianists for the theory videos!
Top banana is MK with his voicings and demystification shenanigans !
Thanks Brendan! Appreciate your comment 🙏
Exactly how I try to implement new voicings 12:27 thanks for that tip
Another one of the guitar guys here, great video again. You make things clear and concise, I often come up with ideas like right after watching your videos and making sens of it on the guitar. Please keep going! :)
Thanks Vlad! That's great to hear, glad the videos are inspiring you to create!
Bro im a guitar player, but your lessons are AMAZING! Learned a lot so far that can translate to guitar just as good. Thanks for all you do.
Thanks Mauricio! Really appreciate your kind comment and glad that you're enjoying the videos. Thanks for the support 🙏
Another awesome video Michael. Thank you.
🙏☺️ Thanks Raymond!
Another guitarist that found your site yesterday...great info here! Subscribed, and stepping through your content. Thank you!
Welcome! Thanks for the sub 🙏 Glad you enjoyed it 👍
So nice, M!
🙏
This was amazing!🙌 I was playing these voicings comfortably on the guitar while watching this, and it's so interesting that these are all things I've "accidentally" fit into things but never really thought about it this way!
10:18 If it helps anyone, I took this note for reminding myself later using that old ASCII guitar notation 😋-
The Chords on guitar-
G7(13) 3x3200
Altered (Db7#9b13) x43200
Phrygian (E7sus4b9) 0x3200
Half-diminished (Bm7b5) x23200
DM6/9 x53200
FMaj7#11 (Lydian) 1x3200
Awesome, glad you found it interesting and useful and really appreciate your contribution for the other guitarists 🙏
Hey hey! Another good one, right up my alley! Musical harmony is a wonderful and powerful thing, and sharing it with others, just magnifies that power and wonder. How lucky we are to be a part of all this .. . . . . . . .
Yeah, it's great! This is video is so similar to the comment you left on my video 'half-diminished' video about the different possible uses of the chord, it's almost interchangeable with this voicing really. Funny that you hadn't watched this before you left that comment! Thanks for sharing 👍
@@michaelkeithson The way you present these ideas is very much like what I do with my jazz guitar students. I am going to recommend that they watch your videos. I very much enjoyed your musicality too, your playing is full of the harmonic colors and motion that I love, it's beautiful stuff. Kudos and good luck to you. . . . .
@@rigelloar7474 🙏 Thank you! Glad you enjoy the videos and really appreciate you sharing them with your students. 🙏
Sincere, useful and cool... Thanks a lot!
🙏 Thanks for the nice comment Guillermo!
Love it! once again Thank you Maestro. so grateful for all your work and effort
Cheers! Appreciate your kind words and support, really glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you Michael.
You are very welcome Leo! 👍
Pretty nifty- advanced. Packed
I loved watching this, definitely helpful and inspiring 😊
Thanks Marco! Appreciate your comment, glad the video was useful. Thanks for sharing the love 🙏
Waaaaoooo!!! Great teaching!!!
I recently joined your channel and I might say: I really enjoy the way you teach!
Thanks a lot❤
You are very welcome! Thank you for leaving a comment, I really appreciate your kind words and I'm glad you're enjoying the videos! Cheers 🙏
Just found your channel a few weeks ago, Really enjoy your topics and concise presentation. I'm a guitarist but i lurk on a lot of piano channels and I find for certain subjects i prefer learning on piano which I can then transfer to guitar.
Hey Matt! Good to hear, glad you've been enjoying the video, thanks for leaving a comment. It seems to be pretty common to have you guitarist looking in on these piano based theory videos. Happy to have you all! 👍
Absolutely awesome.
🙏 Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
I love this little masterclass. Tysm, Michael. This is one to live with until it sinks in. (After I figure out all the wrinkles). Just subscribed. Cheers!
Cheers DP, appreciate your kind comment. Glad you enjoyed it. Happy exploring!!
@@michaelkeithson Thank you, Michael. I look forward to learning more from all your videos. Great pacing and content. Also interested in any documentation you may be creating for sale or otherwise. Sometimes these processes are easier with a .pdf documentation. Cheers!
@@dpwaldman3145 Thanks man. I haven't done any pdfs yet but I'm planning on creating one or two courses separate to the YT channel over the next year and will probably include some pdfs with those.
@@michaelkeithson OK then, sounds good! I will stay tuned for your courses! Btw, just followed you on Instagram. Cheers!
@@dpwaldman3145 Thanks DP! Appreciate the support 🙏
Major 7 #9 is my favorite voicing especially in D Major. I love to voice it with F# Bb C and F in the right hand. Paul McCartney utilizes this in Maybe I’m Amazed in the bridge transition between each four bar run!
Thanks for the comment. Your voicing is the same as mine but just a semi-tone up. If you're playing that over a D then it'll will be a D altered or D7#9b13 👍
Once again, an awesome video!
Thanks Jordi! 🙏
I’m still learning stuff on guitar and wanting to play jazz. Your videos are gold! Harmonies, voicings, chords relationships, and all that. I’m sharing your channel out if that’s alright.
Cheers Danny, glad that I can be some part of your music journey! Thanks for sharing the channel too, really appreciate it 🙏
@@michaelkeithson If I may advise, you should have lessons packages, monthly zoom meeting, discord forum, improv tips and all those good stuff. I clicked by how you explains things because you put it in a simplest context. I’m dumb and not everyone on this platform understands how to teach dumbass like me. Keep up the great work! Cheerss!!!
@@dannyprasetya2496 Thanks for the feedback Danny. I do need to have a sit down and think about some extra offerings, I think a Patreon is on the horizon but need to think about what I can offer through that. Also have plans for a couple of video courses but haven't really started with that yet! Appreciate your support and suggestions. Cheers 🙏
@@michaelkeithsonGo for it!! 🍻
LOVE your channel
Thanks Vanessa 🙏
I notice that I have used 7sus9b13 here and there without knowing it. My top two favorites from your list: 3 and 5. At 8:42 you start playing m6/9 and I immediately have a melody in my head that I love - sorry for borrowing this. As always, I am happy and grateful that you share this with us. It breaks through so many rigid patterns, that I am trapped in. Thank you so much.
Thanks for the comment, really good to know there was some useful stuff in there. Steal whatever you like, just happy that it inspired you and got you thinking. Cheers.
Brilliant. Thank you.
Thanks Beth! Glad you enjoyed it
Awesome always
🙏 Thank you!
Always great, always informative. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and thoughts. 10/10 🎼💖🎵
Thanks man 🙏, appreciate your kind words.
Great content as always Michael, felt so seen in that guitarist call-out. It was a bit more challenging as a guitarist to follow until you got to Dm6/9 where it all "clicked", as this is perhaps the most common intervallic voicing arrangement accessible on guitar (honestly, that's what it sounded like to me from the start). As a guitarist, if you build the m6/9 with the root on the 5th string, and just move that bass note up/down, it all makes sense (-1 Semitone = Altered; -1 Tritone = Dom13; +3 Semitone/1 Minor 3rd = 7Sus4b9 (Implied 7th); +4 Semitone/1 Major 3rd = Maj7#11)). I actually feel like I learned more working that out than if there had been transcription, wonderful wisdom sir.
PS: 11:07-11:45 Made me lol, piano problems...shape is static through keys for Guitar (per string set in a given tuning*)
Thanks for sharing Donovan! Appreciate your comment. Hope it was still useful!
Great as always, thank you so much! Stay awesome 🙌
Cheers man, appreciate it 🙏
As a guitarist, this is a classic. I also consider the m7b5 to be a swiss army knife too. The are only one note apart. A major7#11 a tritone away from a m7b5 chord are good subs for each other
Thanks for the comment Eric! Yeah, they're so similar and can be interchangeable a lot of the time! Cheers for sharing 👍
Hello Michael! Interested to know, do you have a complete course on playing the piano? Your UA-cam videos are fabulous and very easy to understand in how the different concepts of piano playing intermingle with one another.
Hi Dee, thanks for the comment. I don't currently have a complete course but I do have plans to create one. Make sure you sign up on my website and then you'll be emailed whenever I manage to get a course done! Thanks
Great! I'm studying Jazz Harmony and Voicings. It's Difficult but on the + Your Vid Makes sense 😂😂 💯👍
Hey Stephen, thanks for the comment! Glad it made sense, happy exploring!!
Using the FABE voicing, a seventh one is putting a C in the root, for an Ionian voicing, a sus maj7, a very pretty chord one hears too little. Another possibility is an Aeolian voicing with an A in the bass, which I don’t think was mentioned. If you add a C#, so you have FABC#E, you can use D,E,F,G,A, and B in the bass to get, respectively, a major minor, sus b9, Lydian augmented, dom #11, minor major with 5th in the bass, and half diminished with natural 9th, the chords of the melodic minor scale, and if you put the C# (aka Db) you get the 7th, the alt dom you mentioned in the video.
Thanks for sharing! 👍
I don't find I ever use those others but maybe I need to explore a bit more. Appreciate you adding to the conversation. Thanks! 🙏
@@michaelkeithson You’re already using melodic minor chords if you’re playing alt dom chords. You probably also play dom #11 chords. You can think of the “magic” note as a color tone, which is the major 7 of the minor scale, i.e. a Dorian scale where the seventh is raised. This is a very pretty note! For example, you can play a half dim chord with a natural 9th added, say a b half diminished with a C#. If you put a G in the bass, that becomes a G7 #11. An E in the bass is a sus b9, but with this very pretty color note included. If you’re interested in this subject, Mark Levine has a book called “The Jazz Piano book” which has a nice section, but the best way of thinking about the melodic minor scales and chords I haven’t seen discussed, which is instead of thinking of it as a major scale with the third note flattened, think of it as a Dorian scale with the seventh raised. That way all the chords line up, where you simply have an added color tone.
I see a video from Michael Keithson, who not only makes the best music theory videos but was also the best ever Batman, and I press ‘Like’ … 🎹🦇
Ha! Cheers Kieren! 😂
"YOU WANNA GET NUTS?! LET'S GET NUTS!" *plays Db7**#9b13*
In reverse
Guitar lessons from a few great players helped me with my piano
Namely how to become patient especially when it comes to wierd hand contortions
you are awesome man . thanks for your effort. all the others are fake but your are reallll thanks man you have been a blessing to me
Thanks for the kind comment! Glad the video has been helpful.
Thanks so much
You are very welcome! Hope it was useful 👍
A very good lesson thank you very much GodBlessing
Thanks Fabian, glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the comment. 👍🏼
nearly 25% of 100000 subs. Congrats
Thanks Elijah! Slowly but surely! 👍🏼
You are awesome sir
Thanks Ian, glad you enjoyed the video 👍. Thanks for the comment 🙏
I love this channel!
🙏 Cheers Christopher!
Hi Michael! I appreciate your work very much. Guitarist here, for 50+ yrs. Guitar is a tricky bitch... as transposition is easy and most guitarists are trapped into chords w/Root in the bass and transposing a few shapes they know. Most of them don't see a shape as other possible chords, unless VERY advanced musicians. I moved away from chords with a root in them, unless I want to strongly state their function in a harmonic progression. Learned a lot about these things from Charlie Banacos, back in '90s, when he was around. See... another problem with guitarists is often poor voice leading; most of them are trapped by knowing chords shapes rather than "morphing" one into the next chord. Like in a II V I or other progressions. As a simple example... take the Dom7 b9 sus voicing from this video... and play it like this Ab C D G as D h/dim, then simply lower that C to B for a G add b9 (7b9 function) and finall down to C G Bb Eb G for a complete minor II V I . On the other hand, the magic of this voicing from the melodic minor scale can also be great in the typical guitarist transposition mindset, so you could play Ab C D G and move it up a minor 3rd to B D# F A# and move it up again a maj 3rd to Eb G A D and here you have your minor II V I, DH/Dim/G7b9/Cm69. Melodic minor scale chords are VERY useful in the way they can be used for many different families... and the scale has that powerful unstable character given by its double tritone. Guitar has a hard time with clustery chords. Those multiple seconds are impossible to play, whereas on the piano it's much easier. The voicing you are showing here is VERY hard when making inversions on the guitar. Impossible seconds in it. But spreading the notes a bit helps to get some other voicings and helps the adventurous guitarist to wander in piano land!
Great to see somebody talking about these things on YT.... where too many chat about the same old stuff... Cheers to you!
Thanks for the nice and thoughtful comment, and I appreciate you sharing your insight 🙏
Glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers
Love it!
Thanks Reba!
Thank you so much for this voicing. I liked using that G7/C#altered voicing as a transition to a C major 9 sounds so nice. I don't know if that has a theory name but sounds good to my ear. Tritone sub ? Idk but thanks :)
Thanks for the comment!
Yep, with a C#/Db in the bass it would be seen as a tritone sub 👍
I’m 95% guitar and 5% piano. music is music and you’ve a great way of explaining it.
Thanks Connor! Appreciate the comment 🙏
Thanks 😌
You are very welcome Nathan 👍🏼
Another guitarist here - SOLID CONTENT - cheers!!!
Cheers man, appreciate the comment. 👍
So I love rootless voicings. I use the A&B method. ie built on the third(A) or on the Seventh (B). the voicings you show here are what I would call (B) rootless voicing, ie built on the Seventh. Can you follow up on the (A) type rootless ie built on the third. Thanks Love your stuff!! Sax player / frustrated pianist.
Really great video not only for showing people these chords but also to show how open-ended chords can be! I have to ask though, what piano plugin is it you're using when playing your keyboard? I had to pause halfway through and look for something similar sounding in Pianoteq cuz of how much I liked the sound, lol.
Hey man, thanks for the kind comment.
For this video I actually was using the sound direct from the Nord Stage, it was the 'felt upright' sample from their piano library.
Pianoteq does have a felt preset though, so you may be able to get somewhere close.
Isn't this the famous 'Joe Henderson' chord (major seventh with flattened fifth)?
I guess that's why Joe wrote so many modal tunes structured around this chord, because it's so versatile and sounds so cool.
I'd never heard it called that but look it up and you're right, apparently a few people call it the 'Joe Henderson' chord, although not sure I'd say it's famously called that. Find it strange being called a maj7 b5 - I prefer to think of it as a #11 as I'm often including the 5th and most often see them written as a #11, not very common to see it written with a b5.
Such a useful chord though, thanks for sharing!
I guess it depends how you use it.....if you think of it as a useful collection of 'upper structure' tones, as you do, then it's better to think of it as #4. I think Joe Henderson thought if it as a chord in its own right.
Would love to know what modes he used over it. If you listen to JH's modal tunes it's like the epitome of 60s modal jazz, complete with the obligatory vibes!
I'm mostly a drummer so all this is way over my head.🤣
I'm learning though. Slowly. Thanks for the lessons.
Hey Phil, thanks for watching. Glad that you feel like you're learning something though! 👍
Thanks !
You are very welcome!
I like how you explain the material. Can you make a video that talks about "Scale and Improvisation". Thx Broo
So how does that Fatar TP100 keybed on the Nord lead feel? ...I have the SL88 Grand hammer action but wanted to get something for my PC as well ...the Arturia Keylab 88 seems to have the same key action as the Nord Lead 4 (Fatar TP 100) with a more compact hammer action so I was wondering how it feels for a pianist.
Hey man, my keyboard is a Nord Stage 2, I’m pretty happy with the keybed from a pianist point of view. I don’t know if it’s the same as the Nord stage 4 but I played one recently and that felt really nice and a little different to mine.
Don’t know if that helps or answers your question!
10:36 These two chords (chords 5 and 6 in the list) sound really good in sequence like this. Feels like a good anchor point for some moody brainstorming.
Have fun exploring! 🎹🎵
This video is awesome! not only educational, but relaxing shiiiii im about to turn the keyboard off n make some tea hahaha
Ha! Cheers Aidan. Glad you it enjoyed. 👍
Thanks for this excellent lesson. So much information here, I've been over it several times making notes.
One question, what are your thoughts on using the same voicing for a maj13 chord ( ie. C F A B E )?
Okay I get it, all the flat 9 can be converted into Triads after you turn the 13th into diminished but if you want to really have fun you can turn the 13th into 12th by deducting the flat fifths and it becomes a c-sharp flat and 9th diminished 3rd to the 10th right?
Nailed it! Good job 👍😂
Very helpful interesting and instructive. On another channel I watch some times I think they called this voicing the "unicorn" voicing because of the shape on the staff? but maybe I'm getting that wrong notwithstanding I enjoyed the video. Thank you.
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. I’ve not come across that term before. What’s the other channel? I’ll check it out. 👍🏼
@@michaelkeithson It is the "You'll Hear It" pod cast and UA-cam channel. The episode is called "Our Favorite Chord" hosted by Adam and Peter "daily jazz advice commin' atcha!"
@@alphaomega6062 Ah, I love the open studio stuff. Haven't seen that episode though, probably should've have watched it, would have no doubt improved my video!
@@michaelkeithson Cool. Those guys move so fast though and interrupt each other, which is charming, but I find your channel easier to follow due to the more considered pacing. Each style has its place. There is so much great stuff on UA-cam. Another jazz piano channel I enjoy is Jeremy Siskind his style pretty "off the cuff" but his content, like yours is very informative.
@@alphaomega6062 Yeah, I'm a fan of Jeremy Siskind too, his videos are a little low quality and somewhat haphazard but that guy really knows his stuff so there's usually some nuggets in there.
Had a feeling it would be FABE
Beginner here. You mentioned you only play in 6 or so keys regularly. I'm looking to get the most utility out of my practice that I can, as progress is very slow. I started off mostly playing in C and more recently, I take F and G for a spin as well. Should I just keep adding an accidental in either direction and expand my playing into new keys this way? That was my plan, but now I'm wondering if there are some keys that just tend to be favored by other musicians that I should focus on?
Hey David, thanks for the comment!
I think you’re doing the right thing, keep extending out round the circle of 5ths. You do need to have a good grasp on all chords really. I think the best way is to practice playing lots of songs that you’re familiar with. Find the chords online and try to play through lots regularly. Don’t worry about learning them perfectly, just make it a point to try and get through it once or twice then move on to the next song. You’ll get used to playing a variety of chords in a variety of keys and the repetition will be valuable.
In terms of playing in limited keys, it kind of depends on what kind of music you’re playing. Jazz and gospel tend to play a lot in the flat keys. Rock and pop tends to be more sharp keys because of they’re more guitar friendly keys.
Hope that helps.
@michaelkeithson This is very helpful Michael, thank you! I appreciate your thoughtful response!
FABElous voicing
😂🤣 Great comment 👍🏼🎹🎵
Hey Michael,
I want to master harmony and music theory so I can play very freely and compose my own music. I know some basic stuff, i can use seventh chords in most of the major keys and some minor. I can play some chord progressions but with the basic shapes and it doesn’t sound that advanced. I know about the modes but i didnt study them much, i also watch open studio and they always say to lock things in in 12 keys but i dont know if the concept is relevant for my level of knowledge and if I want to spend my time doing it. So where to start? Should i practice voicings for, lets say, types of chords like maj7, m7, 7, sus, maj6, m6 with some extensions so it sounds better? Or should I master every mode in every key… or should I do something totally different? Thanks!
Great video. I don't understand why you can call the E7sus4b9 chord that when it doesn't have a 7th the way you play it.
Good point. It’s not strictly a 7 but it does function as a dominant chord in these examples.
@@michaelkeithson I appreciate your reply! It's interesting that a dom7 chord doesn't need to have the 7 to be what it is. Kind of like saying a house is still a house without a roof. But I'll take it. Peace.
@@-jq8gt I think, in retrospect I should have written it without the 7 - just Esus4b9 - even though it's functioning as a dominant. We could simply voice as a 7 chord by moving the root in the voicing down to the 7. So F A B D - but then it wouldn't fit nicely in my video if it didn't share the same notes as all the other chords!
@@michaelkeithsonI really appreciate the response. I trust your expertise.