HOW TO IMPROVE MY PIANO SKILLS

Starting to learn piano but finding it hard to improve? Been taking piano lessons for some time now but feeling no progress? Or maybe you have some piano experience but you need to improve your playing skills?
In this article, we'll be showing you how to improve your current piano skills. The article takes into account people who learned playing by ear, using instructional materials such as books and DVDs, or using lessons from a professional teacher. So, if you feel that a certain step has already been accomplished, go ahead and skip it to the next step. Dive in and enjoy!

Edit Steps

1. 1
   

   Manage your learning and practice time.
   Manage your learning and practice time. Dedicate a time slot to sessions or training and be committed about it. Try not to allow anything to deter you from your practice. Commitment to practice is crucial to improving your abilities.
   Ads by Google

   In Home Music Lessons

   piano, guitar, drums, etc. affordable lessons in your home
   www.rhythmicstudios.com
   • Use schedules if your time is so full that you cannot dedicate the same time slot periodically.
   • Use reminders on any device you usually carry with you to remind you of your sessions.
2. 2
   Plan your practice. Although this is not necessary later, at first, when you're learning new things, it's important to know what you should be learning in the next few sessions so as to be able to measure your progress. This is supposed to help you keep track of your knowledge and skills progress, not be a tool to disappoint you if you didn't make the progress you hoped for in the time you expected. If you feel some particular concept took a really long time to master, don't worry. The important thing is that, in the end, you do master it.
3. 3
   Improve your musical notation reading skills. Many of the steps and tips to follow will either depend on, or greatly benefit from a proficiency in reading musical notation (sheet music). You can do this as follows:
   • Learn to read piano music if you haven't already done so. Make sure you understand most of the concepts of musical notation. If you want to improve your overall piano playing, you'll need to learn about more advanced musical notations such as dynamics, tempo, key and time signatures, clefs, etc. Knowing only how to read the notes themselves and their intervals won't be enough.
   • Learn to sight-read piano music. This will improve your ability to translate what you see and understand on the musical sheet into beautiful piano tunes.
4. 4
   

   Improve your finger placement and speed on the piano keys:.
   Improve your finger placement and speed on the piano keys:
   • Learn some finger stretching exercises to use before you start playing.
   • Learn proper piano finger placement if you haven't already done so. Placing your fingers correctly on the piano keys is crucial to developing more advanced abilities.
5. 5
   Practice the different scales using proper finger placement. Start by practicing going up the scale, then down, then up and down. Do each one at least five times using proper finger placement when practicing a certain scale.
   • Try to practice two or three scales before each session. Do this whether a "session" is a lesson with a teacher, or some free time slot you assigned to learning and practicing the piano.
   • Try to practice using sheet music that contains finger numbering on them, especially at first. This way you can be sure that you are playing correctly.
   • Practice with increasing speed. When learning a new song, or a new scale, start by playing it slowly but obeying the timing of the piece. Then, start speeding up, keeping proper time intervals between the notes. For example, if practicing a simple C Major scale, you'll start by playing each note (C, D, E, F, G, A, B) as a whole beat. Then start playing each note for half a beat (not leaving the other half beat as a rest), then quarter, and so on. Once you made a mistake, start all over again. Practice this for half an hour a day until you feel you can do it without making any mistake.
   • Practice proper chords finger placement. You can find many resources on the internet detailing proper fingering for each chord. Sometimes you'll find more than one optimal finger placement; this is a matter of preference, so follow whichever makes you more comfortable while playing (especially while progressing from one chord to the next).
6. 6
   

   Memorize and practice musical scales, especially the most prominent ones.
   Memorize and practice musical scales, especially the most prominent ones. Learn all the Major, harmonic minor, melodic minor and chromatic scales. Master the scales and practice them. Also, if you're playing a specific style (such as blues, jazz, etc.), learn the scales of that style.
7. 7
   Memorize and practice chords. Chords are multiple notes played together at the same time (on the piano, pressing multiple keys simultaneously).
   • Begin by learning the most prominent chords.
   • Learn the different inversions of a chord. Try to learn when and in what progression each inversion is used.
   • Practice chords by playing progressions. Start with simple ones such as the C-F-G progression. Once you've mastered those, go to more complicated ones.
8. 8
   Improve your musical aptitude (commonly called musical ear) by practicing listening to musical pieces and trying to infer their notes. Do this as follows:
   • Start with simple and slow songs. Try to find the notes of the song first by trial and error on the keyboard.
   • Try to name the notes using only your ear after that, and writing them down.
   • After you've finished a section, try playing the notes you've written down, see how close you were.
   • You might create some grading system and try to test yourself. Don't worry if you get only few notes at first. Just learn from the mistakes you make. Bit by bit, you'll some day be able to write down the whole song with great accuracy.
9. 9
   Improve your musical "mind playing". Mind playing is when you play a song or a piece of music in your mind. This can be done as follows:
   • Look at a sheet music and try to play it in your mind. At first, you'll find difficulty doing so, so play it tone by tone. At the very beginning, you might use some sort of recording device and read the notes by humming and recording. With progress, you'll start recording larger chunks of the sheet before pausing to read the next chunk. Then you'll be able to sight read whole passages, melodies, and even pieces in your mind.
   • After that, actually play the piece and see how close it was.
10. 10
    

    Make sure your posture on the piano is proper.
    Make sure your posture on the piano is proper. Improper posture on the piano can cause pain which in turn makes your body more stiff so that you can't play as fluently as you would if your posture were correct.
    • Align your pelvis opposite to the Middle C note.
    • Sit upright, not leaning towards or away from the keyboard.
    • Be relaxed, not stiff.
    • Your fingers should be slightly curved downwards, as if you're holding an apple in you hand. Do not place your fingers in a perpendicular position with the keys. Also, do not allow your fingers to curve upwards.
    • If you're new to playing, watch the pinky fingers. They seem to go higher than the other fingers for new learners. Try to make each pinky stay at the same level as the other fingers. This might need some practice at first, but keep it up until it becomes the natural stance.
11. 11
    Practice on your favorite musical pieces or songs at first. You can find a lot of free sheet music on the internet and you can buy song books and sheet music from many music stores. You can also download free midi files of the song or piece and transform it into sheet music using certain software such as MuseScore.
    • Start by playing the piece really slowly. What matters at first is that you get the progression of notes and chords.
    • Worry about timing at the next stage. After you've mastered the progressions and development of the piece, start perfecting your timing. Make sure each note is played for the period it is meant to be played, and at the time required.
    • Use sectioning while learning. Learn sections of the song, master them and then move to the next section. A section can be a melody, a chord progression, a chorus or refrain, etc.
12. 12
    Improve your left-hand right-hand coordination skills. This can be accomplished as follows:
    • Do some coordination exercises before you start practicing. The use of a metronome device would be good as you can practice coordination at different tempos.
    • When practicing more complex pieces, start by practicing the right hand part of the piece, then the left hand (or vice versa) then try to play them together. Take your time, don't rush it. Once you've mastered one part, move to the next, and not before that.
13. 13
    

    Practice performing in public.
    Practice performing in public. It's important to get used to playing in public while not getting tense because of a wrong note, or nerves.
    • Start by performing in front of a small group of private acquaintances (family, friends, etc.).
    • Increase the number of attendants slowly.
    • Start performing in private occasions (picnics, vacations, parties, etc.)
14. 14
    Make use of modern technology if you're practicing by yourself. There is a wide range of software and hardware designed to aid in the practicing and improvement process. Some of those are:
    • Metronome devices. Used to practice timing and tempo and adjust your playing in accordance with time.
    • Software pianos. These can be useful while improving your musical aptitude and mind reading.
    • Musical notation software such as MuseScore. This type of software is useful for transforming midi files into sheet music. It is also useful for storing musical scores digitally, managing them, reprinting them, etc. Also, software helps with the process of composing music.
    • Musical software games and practice aids such as Synthesia and PrestoKeys. These games and aids are used to practice musical scores by means of a MIDI keyboard or a piano (in which case, the game won't be able to keep your score).
15. 15
    Learn the fingering techniques. Efficient fingering will help your technique so much more. Compare this to multiplication. If you were given the problem 5 plus 5 plus 5 a hundred times, would you do 5 + 5 + 5 +... or 5 * 100? Obviously the second option. Similarly, if you could use a more efficient fingering, why not use it? It takes 1 minute extra to figure out what fingering suits you best. A minute spent now could save you hours later when you try and change your fingering.
    • Know how the muscles in your hand work. Most of this comes from common logic. For example, you can easily point at something with your index finger. How about your ring finger (thumb = 1, index = 2, middle = 3, ring = 4, pinkie = 5) I'm not an expert in human anatomy, but it's very likely that the thumb and index finger have individual muscles, while the third, forth and fifth have muscles connected to each other. As a result, don't use excruciatingly painful fingering, such as pressing the middle C with your pinkie and then going for the E with your thumb and then the G with your ring finger.
    • Buy your sheet music. If you can afford sheet music, it may be in your best interests to do so. Sheet music comes with fingerings (only the ones you need to know), and people will usually have tested it before releasing it. You can photocopy books as well, but make sure you don't break any copyright .
    
    Published by
    John Moses Oche

Starting to learn piano but finding it hard to improve? Been taking piano lessons for some time now but feeling no progress? Or maybe you have some piano experience but you need to improve your playing skills?
In this article, we'll be showing you how to improve your current piano skills. The article takes into account people who learned playing by ear, using instructional materials such as books and DVDs, or using lessons from a professional teacher. So, if you feel that a certain step has already been accomplished, go ahead and skip it to the next step. Dive in and enjoy!

Edit Steps

1. 1
   

   Manage your learning and practice time.
   Manage your learning and practice time. Dedicate a time slot to sessions or training and be committed about it. Try not to allow anything to deter you from your practice. Commitment to practice is crucial to improving your abilities.
   Ads by Google

   In Home Music Lessons

   piano, guitar, drums, etc. affordable lessons in your home
   www.rhythmicstudios.com
   • Use schedules if your time is so full that you cannot dedicate the same time slot periodically.
   • Use reminders on any device you usually carry with you to remind you of your sessions.
2. 2
   Plan your practice. Although this is not necessary later, at first, when you're learning new things, it's important to know what you should be learning in the next few sessions so as to be able to measure your progress. This is supposed to help you keep track of your knowledge and skills progress, not be a tool to disappoint you if you didn't make the progress you hoped for in the time you expected. If you feel some particular concept took a really long time to master, don't worry. The important thing is that, in the end, you do master it.
3. 3
   Improve your musical notation reading skills. Many of the steps and tips to follow will either depend on, or greatly benefit from a proficiency in reading musical notation (sheet music). You can do this as follows:
   • Learn to read piano music if you haven't already done so. Make sure you understand most of the concepts of musical notation. If you want to improve your overall piano playing, you'll need to learn about more advanced musical notations such as dynamics, tempo, key and time signatures, clefs, etc. Knowing only how to read the notes themselves and their intervals won't be enough.
   • Learn to sight-read piano music. This will improve your ability to translate what you see and understand on the musical sheet into beautiful piano tunes.
4. 4
   

   Improve your finger placement and speed on the piano keys:.
   Improve your finger placement and speed on the piano keys:
   • Learn some finger stretching exercises to use before you start playing.
   • Learn proper piano finger placement if you haven't already done so. Placing your fingers correctly on the piano keys is crucial to developing more advanced abilities.
5. 5
   Practice the different scales using proper finger placement. Start by practicing going up the scale, then down, then up and down. Do each one at least five times using proper finger placement when practicing a certain scale.
   • Try to practice two or three scales before each session. Do this whether a "session" is a lesson with a teacher, or some free time slot you assigned to learning and practicing the piano.
   • Try to practice using sheet music that contains finger numbering on them, especially at first. This way you can be sure that you are playing correctly.
   • Practice with increasing speed. When learning a new song, or a new scale, start by playing it slowly but obeying the timing of the piece. Then, start speeding up, keeping proper time intervals between the notes. For example, if practicing a simple C Major scale, you'll start by playing each note (C, D, E, F, G, A, B) as a whole beat. Then start playing each note for half a beat (not leaving the other half beat as a rest), then quarter, and so on. Once you made a mistake, start all over again. Practice this for half an hour a day until you feel you can do it without making any mistake.
   • Practice proper chords finger placement. You can find many resources on the internet detailing proper fingering for each chord. Sometimes you'll find more than one optimal finger placement; this is a matter of preference, so follow whichever makes you more comfortable while playing (especially while progressing from one chord to the next).
6. 6
   

   Memorize and practice musical scales, especially the most prominent ones.
   Memorize and practice musical scales, especially the most prominent ones. Learn all the Major, harmonic minor, melodic minor and chromatic scales. Master the scales and practice them. Also, if you're playing a specific style (such as blues, jazz, etc.), learn the scales of that style.
7. 7
   Memorize and practice chords. Chords are multiple notes played together at the same time (on the piano, pressing multiple keys simultaneously).
   • Begin by learning the most prominent chords.
   • Learn the different inversions of a chord. Try to learn when and in what progression each inversion is used.
   • Practice chords by playing progressions. Start with simple ones such as the C-F-G progression. Once you've mastered those, go to more complicated ones.
8. 8
   Improve your musical aptitude (commonly called musical ear) by practicing listening to musical pieces and trying to infer their notes. Do this as follows:
   • Start with simple and slow songs. Try to find the notes of the song first by trial and error on the keyboard.
   • Try to name the notes using only your ear after that, and writing them down.
   • After you've finished a section, try playing the notes you've written down, see how close you were.
   • You might create some grading system and try to test yourself. Don't worry if you get only few notes at first. Just learn from the mistakes you make. Bit by bit, you'll some day be able to write down the whole song with great accuracy.
9. 9
   Improve your musical "mind playing". Mind playing is when you play a song or a piece of music in your mind. This can be done as follows:
   • Look at a sheet music and try to play it in your mind. At first, you'll find difficulty doing so, so play it tone by tone. At the very beginning, you might use some sort of recording device and read the notes by humming and recording. With progress, you'll start recording larger chunks of the sheet before pausing to read the next chunk. Then you'll be able to sight read whole passages, melodies, and even pieces in your mind.
   • After that, actually play the piece and see how close it was.
10. 10
    

    Make sure your posture on the piano is proper.
    Make sure your posture on the piano is proper. Improper posture on the piano can cause pain which in turn makes your body more stiff so that you can't play as fluently as you would if your posture were correct.
    • Align your pelvis opposite to the Middle C note.
    • Sit upright, not leaning towards or away from the keyboard.
    • Be relaxed, not stiff.
    • Your fingers should be slightly curved downwards, as if you're holding an apple in you hand. Do not place your fingers in a perpendicular position with the keys. Also, do not allow your fingers to curve upwards.
    • If you're new to playing, watch the pinky fingers. They seem to go higher than the other fingers for new learners. Try to make each pinky stay at the same level as the other fingers. This might need some practice at first, but keep it up until it becomes the natural stance.
11. 11
    Practice on your favorite musical pieces or songs at first. You can find a lot of free sheet music on the internet and you can buy song books and sheet music from many music stores. You can also download free midi files of the song or piece and transform it into sheet music using certain software such as MuseScore.
    • Start by playing the piece really slowly. What matters at first is that you get the progression of notes and chords.
    • Worry about timing at the next stage. After you've mastered the progressions and development of the piece, start perfecting your timing. Make sure each note is played for the period it is meant to be played, and at the time required.
    • Use sectioning while learning. Learn sections of the song, master them and then move to the next section. A section can be a melody, a chord progression, a chorus or refrain, etc.
12. 12
    Improve your left-hand right-hand coordination skills. This can be accomplished as follows:
    • Do some coordination exercises before you start practicing. The use of a metronome device would be good as you can practice coordination at different tempos.
    • When practicing more complex pieces, start by practicing the right hand part of the piece, then the left hand (or vice versa) then try to play them together. Take your time, don't rush it. Once you've mastered one part, move to the next, and not before that.
13. 13
    

    Practice performing in public.
    Practice performing in public. It's important to get used to playing in public while not getting tense because of a wrong note, or nerves.
    • Start by performing in front of a small group of private acquaintances (family, friends, etc.).
    • Increase the number of attendants slowly.
    • Start performing in private occasions (picnics, vacations, parties, etc.)
14. 14
    Make use of modern technology if you're practicing by yourself. There is a wide range of software and hardware designed to aid in the practicing and improvement process. Some of those are:
    • Metronome devices. Used to practice timing and tempo and adjust your playing in accordance with time.
    • Software pianos. These can be useful while improving your musical aptitude and mind reading.
    • Musical notation software such as MuseScore. This type of software is useful for transforming midi files into sheet music. It is also useful for storing musical scores digitally, managing them, reprinting them, etc. Also, software helps with the process of composing music.
    • Musical software games and practice aids such as Synthesia and PrestoKeys. These games and aids are used to practice musical scores by means of a MIDI keyboard or a piano (in which case, the game won't be able to keep your score).
15. 15
    Learn the fingering techniques. Efficient fingering will help your technique so much more. Compare this to multiplication. If you were given the problem 5 plus 5 plus 5 a hundred times, would you do 5 + 5 + 5 +... or 5 * 100? Obviously the second option. Similarly, if you could use a more efficient fingering, why not use it? It takes 1 minute extra to figure out what fingering suits you best. A minute spent now could save you hours later when you try and change your fingering.
    • Know how the muscles in your hand work. Most of this comes from common logic. For example, you can easily point at something with your index finger. How about your ring finger (thumb = 1, index = 2, middle = 3, ring = 4, pinkie = 5) I'm not an expert in human anatomy, but it's very likely that the thumb and index finger have individual muscles, while the third, forth and fifth have muscles connected to each other. As a result, don't use excruciatingly painful fingering, such as pressing the middle C with your pinkie and then going for the E with your thumb and then the G with your ring finger.
    • Buy your sheet music. If you can afford sheet music, it may be in your best interests to do so. Sheet music comes with fingerings (only the ones you need to know), and people will usually have tested it before releasing it. You can photocopy books as well, but make sure you don't break any copyright .

HOW TO SING

muzic pro-lesson

series of guitar lessons circulated in "News", in the pre-web days of the Internet. 29 lessons were written before it died out, and I happende to write the first three. They represent a little bit of internet history, as they may have been the first guitar lessons written for the internet.

The lessons were all written in txt format - they were written around the same time as Tim Berners Lee were sitting in Switzerland specifing the first version of html. I have converted them to html, and may have added a few links from the lessons.
Lesson: 28
Title: Top Note Chords (voice leading)
Level: Intermediate
Style: Technique
Instructor: Kevin Morgan
The subject of this lesson is the development of voice leading capability, coupled with increasing your chord vocabulary.
We will be working in a major key based on the major scale (i.e., a key based on a scale where the interval spacing between notes is W-W-H-W-W-W-H, where W means whole tone and H means half tone). As you should be aware to make full use of this lesson, the triad chords that arise from such a scale, if the starting note is C, are:
C Dm Em F G Am Bdim
The 7th chords that arise from such a scale (starting again at C) are:
Cmaj7 Dm7 Em7 Fmaj7 G7 Am7 Bdim7
Of course, these chords (formed from our scale) can be extended further to include 9's, 11's, and 13's. As those notes are included, the specifics of each chord diverge even more (in the same way that at the triad level, both F and G were simple major chords, but at the four note/7th level, the F extended to Fmaj7, while the G extended to G7).
Now let me explain where we are headed. I want you to develop an ability to play four note chords for ALL chords in the key, with ANY of the possible notes in the FULLY EXTENDED (i.e., up to the 13th) chord "on top" (highest tone in the chord). Hence, working with C out of the key of C major, we will be able to play four note C chords where the top note is any of:

      C     D     E     F     G    A     B
     root  9th   3rd   11th  5th  13th  maj7th

When looked at this way, it becomes relatively clear: we are talking about playing varieties of a C chord with ANY of the notes in the key on top.
Another way of organizing this list is by position in the chord instead of in the scale:

      C     E    G     B      D    F     A
     root  3rd  5th  maj7th  9th  11th  13th

Our approach to forming useful chords will be to put the root of all chords into the bass, and always use the 5th string for this root. We won't be delving into inversions in this lesson. And why use the 5th string? Only one good reason: when playing with a root on the 5th string, you have "easy access" to the 5th of the chord on the 6th string, same fret (for all but the diminished chord, which as a b5 instead of a normal 5th). Thus, we have convenient access to an alternate bass tone, for creating some bass movement (you've heard the term "alternating bass"?).
Also, with 4 note chord voicing, we will be forced to be selective about which notes go into the chord (i.e., a full 13th chord has all 7 notes in the key in it!). In general we'll be trying to get the 3rd and 7th, which are most significant in defining the character or "type" of the chord. As we've already said, we'll always have the root (on the 5th string), or optionally, the 5th (on the 6th string), in the bass.
We will use a system that will give us, for each of the seven chords in the key, seven different voicings, where each voicing has a different one of the seven possible notes in the key in the upper voice. Hence, we are going to cover 7x7 = 49 chords. But don't panic (yet!). Enough talk, let's play.
Our starting point is Cmaj7, the first chord in the key (C major) we are working in, and the first voicing we want is with the ROOT of Cmaj7 (C) as the highest tone, and the ROOT of Cmaj7 on the 5th string. Here's the chord in tab:

       Cmaj7:

        ---  x  ---
        ---  1  ---   C (root)  (1st finger)
        ---  4  ---   B (maj7)  (4th finger)
        ---  2  ---   E (3rd)   (2rd finger)
        ---  3  ---   C (root)  (3nd finger)
        ---  x  ---

This is a nice maj7 voicing (if you ask my opinion). The "adjacent" tones of the maj7 and the root on the 3rd and 2nd strings gives it a nice feel. Note there is no 5th, but it's hardly missed.
Now what we are going to do is, using the same voicing structure, play ALL the chords in the key. That is, we'll use the same root on 5 string, 3rd on 4th string, 7th (or maj7) on 3rd string, and root on 2nd string chord structure, making adjustments based on the specific chord (b3 for minor, 7th for 7th chords, etcetera).
Hence, the next chord "up" in the key is Dm7, which is:

       Dm7:

        ---  x  ---
        ---  3  ---   D (root)  (1st finger)
        ---  5  ---   C (7th)   (4th finger)
        ---  3  ---   F (b3rd)  (1st finger)
        ---  5  ---   D (root)  (3rd finger)
        ---  x  ---

Note the barre on fret 3. 3rd and 4th fingers can "slide" up from the Cmaj7 chord without repositioning, and vice-versa.
The next chord is Em7, and it has the same shape/fingering as Dm7, only two frets higher up (barre is on the 5th fret).
The next chord is Fmaj7, and it has the same shape/fingering as Cmaj7, but with the third finger on the F at the 8th fret of the 5th string, and 1st finger on the F at the 6th fret of the 2nd string.
The next chord is G7, and now we have a new shape (but same general "formula" of root-3rd-7-root, 5th to 2nd string). This one is probably familiar to you as a "C7" shape:

   G7:

        ---  x  ---
        ---  8  ---   G (root)  (1st finger)
        --- 10  ---   F (7th)   (4th finger)
        ---  9  ---   B (3rd)   (2nd finger)
        --- 10  ---   G (root)  (3rd finger)
        ---  x  ---

Next is Am7, with the same shape as our other m7 chords, barre on the 10th fret.
Last is Bdim7. The difference between a diminished 7 and a minor is the b5 in the diminished chord. Our chord voicings have no 5th at all, so the shape for our Bdim7 is the same as our m7 chords. In fact, with no b5, you could say we aren't really playing a Bdim7, but...let's not quibble. When played in the context of the other chords in the key, it's a Bdim7. This one has the barre on fret 12 (or no barre at the nut, with the 5th and 3rd strings fretted at fret 2; in this open position, be sure to keep the 1st string quiet!).
Okay...we've now covered all chords in the key of C major, using a voicing that puts the root on top. Next up are all the chords in C major using a 3rd on top.
These are easy, because they are familiar to you. Our formula will be root- 5th-7th-3rd on the 5th through 2nd strings. This gives us our standard A7 chord shapes. We start with the Cmaj7 played as:

   Cmaj7:

        ---  x  ---
        ---  5  ---   E (3rd)   (4th finger)
        ---  4  ---   B (maj7)  (2nd finger)
        ---  5  ---   G (5th)   (3rd finger)
        ---  3  ---   C (root)  (1st finger)
        ---  x  ---

Familiar, right? I'm going to assume you either know or can work out on your own the rest of the chords in the key using this formula/fingering/chord shape. Note that because we have the 5th in these chords, the Bdim7 IS a different shape from the rest of the minor chords.
Now lets drop back to the chord voicings with the 9th on top. These you probably are less familiar with across the board. Our formula for these voicings is root-3rd-7th-9th on strings 5-4-3-2. The first two you probably are familiar with, particularly you jazzer types:

  Cmaj7(9):

        ---  x  ---
        ---  3  ---   D (9th)   (3rd finger)
        ---  4  ---   B (maj7)  (4th finger)
        ---  2  ---   E (3rd)   (1st finger)
        ---  3  ---   C (root)  (2nd finger)
        ---  x  ---

  Dmi7(9) (or Dmi9) :

        ---  x  ---
        ---  5  ---   E (9th)   (4th finger)
        ---  5  ---   C (7th)   (3rd finger)
        ---  3  ---   F (b3rd)  (1st finger)
        ---  5  ---   D (root)  (2nd finger)
        ---  x  ---

Now we hit a rather interesting and less known chord shape. The Emi7 is the iii chord in the key of C major. We are forming 9 chords _within_the_key_, and the 9th of Emi in the key is F, which relative to the Emi chord is a b9. Hence, the chord is:

  Emi7(b9)

        ---  x  ---
        ---  6  ---   E (9th)   (2nd finger)
        ---  5  ---   C (7th)   (4th finger)
        ---  5  ---   F (b3rd)  (1st finger)
        ---  7  ---   D (root)  (3rd finger)
        ---  x  ---

The next chord is Fmaj7(9), with the same shape as the Cmaj7(9) chord. The 2nd finger goes on the 8th fret of the 5th string (the F, whaddya know). Next is G9 (or G7(9), either way). This is a familiar chord shape also:

  G9:

        ---  x  ---
        --- 10  ---   A (9th)   (2nd finger)
        --- 10  ---   F (7th)   (1st finger)
        ---  9  ---   B (3rd)   (3rd finger)
        --- 10  ---   G (root)  (4th finger)
        ---  x  ---

Next is Ami9 (or Ami7(9)), with the same shape as Dmi9, with the D bass note on the 10th fret of the 5th string.
Next is Bdim7(b9)), with the same as the Emi9. Why? Because both have b9's! And that does it for four notes voicings with the root on the fifth string and the 9ths (within the key) in the top voice.
So far, we've covered roots in the top voice, 3rds in the top voice, and 9ths in the top voice, for a total of 3*7 = 21 different chords, although again, many have the same "shape" and hence are the same chord structure.
Let's go to fifths. However, I'm now going to speed this up because you should now have the concept. Once we define a "formula" for the chord (a particular set of strings and a particular selection of chord tones to go on each string), you should be able to work out the fingerings for the entire set of such chords within the key.
So the formula we will use for putting the 5th on top is to use strings 5- 3-2-1, with root, 7th, 3rd, and 5th on the respective strings. So for Cmaj7 we have:

   Cmaj7:

        ---  3  ---   G (5th)   (2nd finger)
        ---  5  ---   E (3rd)   (4th finger)
        ---  4  ---   B (maj7)  (3rd finger)
        ---  x  ---
        ---  3  ---   C (root)  (1st finger)
        ---  x  ---

My guess is most of you haven't used this chord form before! I'll give you one more (which may be a little more familiar), then, you're on your own with the rest of the 5th on top chords:

  Dmi7:         ---  5  ---   A (5th)   (3rd finger)
        ---  6  ---   F (b3rd)  (4th finger)
        ---  5  ---   C (7th)   (2nd finger)
        ---  x  ---
        ---  5  ---   D (root)  (1st finger)
        ---  x  ---

Now work out the rest: Emi7, Fmaj7, G7, Ami7, Bdim7. Which ones have different shapes from the above? G7 and Bdim7.
Moving on...lets cover the chords with the 11th on top. Here we are going to use a kind of funky formula because, well, because I like it and the fingering works out well. Again, we are working on the 5-3-2-1 string set, and the formula is root-7-9-11. No 3rd, no 5th. Now you could probably rename this chord as some bizarre inversion of something or other, but let's not confuse our concept. If you are playing the chords discussed so far in a key (or any other chords in the key), and throw this in, the surrounding music will "fill in" the sense of the chord. In a band situation, the bass will in all likelihood hit the 5th for you at some point and maybe the 3rd too, etcetera. So let's flow with it.
Of course, there's the issue of what the heck I call these chords. Okay, I'm going to cheat. I'm going to call the first one a Cmaj7(9)(11), and (wink wink) hey there's no 3rd or 5th in the voicing, sorry about that.

  Cmaj7(9)(11):

        ---  1  ---   F (11th)  (1st finger)
        ---  3  ---   D (9th)   (3rd finger)
        ---  4  ---   B (maj7)  (4th finger)
        ---  x  ---
        ---  3  ---   C (root)  (2nd finger)
        ---  x  ---

One more:

  Dmi7(9)(11):

        ---  3  ---   G (11th)  (1st finger)
        ---  5  ---   E (9th)   (4th finger)
        ---  5  ---   C (7th)   (3rd finger)
        ---  x  ---
        ---  5  ---   D (root)  (2nd finger)
        ---  x  ---

These will test your understanding of our chord construction concept as you work out the rest of the chords in the key of C major, because almost every shape is different here. Here are the chord spellings that indicate why:

   Cmaj7(9)(11)
   Dmi7(9)(11)  (or just Dmi11)
   Emi7(b9)(11)
   Fmaj7(9)(#11)
   G7(9)(11)    (or just G11)
   Ami7(9)(11)  (or just Ami11)
   Bdim7(b9)(11)

So the ii chord and the vi chord have the same shape/spelling, and the iii and vii chords also (since there is no fifth in these chords).
Only the 7th and 13th are left to handle.
For the 7th on top, we'll "cheat" and go to a 5 string voicing. Why? Because the fingering, using a barre, is much easier. If you're plucking, you can still pluck just 4 strings (5-3-2-1 recommended). The string set we will use is 5-4-3-2-1. The formula is root-5th-7th-3rd-7th. The shapes are the same as the shapes for the 3rd on top voicings, except we are adding the 7th on the 1st string, using the 4th finger.

  Cmaj7:

        ---  7  ---   B (maj7)  (4th finger)
        ---  5  ---   E (3rd)   (3rd finger)
        ---  5  ---   C (root)  (3rd finger)
        ---  5  ---   G (3rd)   (3rd finger) 
        ---  3  ---   C (root)  (1st finger)
        ---  x  ---

You can work out the rest; there's only two other voicings.
For the 13th, we'll use a root-7th-3rd-13th voicing using strings 5-3-2-1.

   Cmaj7(13):

        ---  5  ---   A (13th)  (4th finger or 3rd finger)
        ---  5  ---   E (3rd)   (3rd finger)
        ---  4  ---   B (maj7)  (2nd finger)
        ---  x  ---
        ---  3  ---   C (root)  (1st finger)
        ---  x  ---

Since the 13th (6th) changes it's position in different minor chords (if you are strictly staying in the key, which we are), the shape is different for a Dmin7(13) and a Emin7(b13).
You get to work out the remaining 13th chords.
So there you've got 'em. Simple suggestion: try playing a chord progression of IV-iii-ii-I, using the SAME voicings for each pass over the progression, but CHANGING voicings each time you go back to the IV chord (i.e., first time use root on top; 2nd time use 3rd on top, etcetera; after you can "cycle", jump around randomly). Record this vamp for 5 minutes, and boogie over it!
Fun city!
Of course, these chords are of big time use when composing and you need a particular chord over a particular note, also.
You could get into other inversions instead of just the root in the bass...just think, that multiplies the number of chords we just talked about by 7!!
Next lesson we'll talk about...11th chords! All inversions for all chords in a major key, using the chord formula 1-3-5-7-11. VERY cool chords, useful for substition for tension AND as a basis for interesting lead lines.

 

Drop 2 Voicings

Drop 2 voicings are formed by taking a chord and then dropping the next to the highest note, or voice, to the lowest note of the chord. Similarly, there are drop 1, drop 3, drop 2 & 4, etc. Drop 2 voicings are important because most of these chords are easy for a guitarist to play on 4 adjacent strings.
Drop 2 is just a name for how the chords were derived from another chord. This is only important for naming the voicings. I will describe how they are derived then I will show you the voicings.
The example below shows four C Major 7 chords and their drop 2 voicings in standard notation. The important thing to realize is which note is dropped to the lowest note.

C Major 7 Drop 2 Voicings

Let's explore the theory behind the example. C Major 7 consists of four notes: C, E, G, B. There is a root chord and 3 inversions for any 4-note chord. The table below shows the chord intervals and the notes that create the chords. First, it shows the note intervals for the base chord. Second, it shows the note intervals for the drop 2 chord. Third, it shows the notes of the base chord (lowest to highest). Last, it shows the notes for the drop 2 chord (lowest to highest).

Drop 2 Intervals and Notes

Voicing	Intervals	Drop 2 Intervals	Notes for C Major 7	Drop 2 Degrees
Root	1-3-5-7	5-1-3-7	C-E-G-B	G-C-E-B
1st Inversion	3-5-7-1	7-3-5-1	E-G-B-C	B-E-G-C
2nd Inversion	5-7-1-3	1-5-7-3	G-B-C-E	C-G-B-E
3rd Inversion	7-1-3-5	3-7-1-5	B-C-E-G	E-B-C-G

Practical Uses and Tips

The theory of drop 2 voicings is dry, but the chords they produce are fantastic because they form compact and playable voicings. They don't stretch your fingers too much and they don't repeat any notes.
To use these voicings, I recommend learning the highest note interval and the lowest note interval for each drop 2 voicing. For example the 2nd Inversion drop 2 has the 1st, or root, as the lowest note and the 3rd as the highest note. You can use this to form a bass line as you change chords or as a melody on the highest note. This is effective in writing chord progressions.
If you're interested in jazz, you'll also notice that the color notes (3rd and 7th) are the two highest voices in the chord. If the bass player is playing the root, you can forego playing the root and play only the color notes to create the chord.
As you play more and more, you'll probably notice that the drop 2 chords on strings 1-4 and 2-5 are the most useful. If you need to lessen your practice, I would start with these string groupings first.

C Major 7 Drop 2 Voicings

Each line below contains four drop 2 chords for a string set. The four chords are derived in order from the Root Position, 1st Inversion, 2nd Inversion, and 3rd Inversion. For example, measure 3 of line 2 is the 2nd inversion drop 2 C Major 7 chord on strings 2 - 5.

C7 Drop 2 Voicings

C Minor 7 Drop 2 Voicings

Below are the drop 2 patterns for the F chords. The ordering is different in these patterns. See if you can identify how they are organized.

F Major 7 Drop 2 Patterns

F7 Drop 2 Patterns

F Minor 7 Drop 2 Patterns

ii V I Chord Progressions with Drop 2 Voicings

Now let us practice using some of these voicings in ii-V-I chord progressions. This is a very common Jazz chord progression. Practice these chord grips then try taking out the root note and optionally the 5th of each chord as if a bass player was playing the root note. This will keep the focus of your playing on the color notes (3rd and 7th) that determine the type of chord that is played (major 7, minor 7, dominant 7, etc). One tip is to remove the lowest two notes from the drop 2 chords that have the root as their lowest notes. These ones do not have a slash next to the chord name. The 3rd and 4th lines below show progressions using only voicings with the root as the lowest note.
JOHN MOSES OCHE