Riff
Curriculum

Chord Building System

For players who can grab chords but don't know why they're shaped that way

This course is an 8-week chord-building system for players who can grab chords but don't know why they're shaped that way. Instead of memorizing whole chord shapes, you'll learn to stack intervals — 3rds, 5ths, 7ths — over a root note, one at a time, and finally understand how a chord is built.

Month 1 covers 6th- and 5th-string root shapes, switching from major to m7 to Maj7 with a single finger move, plus voice-leading through a ii-V-I. Month 2 moves the root higher for a brighter register, adds 9th tensions for color, and shapes your top notes into a melodic line as chords change.

By the end, you'll be able to work out any new chord yourself — just by asking which string the root is on and where the 3rd and 7th sit. In the final week, you'll blend every voicing you've learned and record your own comping.

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Dissecting the 6th-string root — a chord is assembled, not memorized Major → minor — lower the 3rd a half step and the expression flips Dominant 7 — add the b7 and you get a 'wants-to-resolve' tension Completing m7 + integration — cycle four characters over one root
Dissecting the 5th-string root (A-form) — moving the home to the 5th string Minor + dominant 7 on the 5th-string root — same principle, new layout m7, then Maj7 arrives — the b7 vs 7 half-step duel on the 3rd string 5th-string root integration — cycle five characters in one spot
Introducing ii–V–I — pop's heart, and root-string crossing Connecting Dm7-G7-Cmaj7 in one region — minimal finger movement Moving to another key — ii–V–I is a pattern that slides whole ii–V–I integration — cycling smoothly with no jumps
What a shell voicing is — drop the 5th, keep only 3rd & 7th 6th-string-root shell set — Maj7·7·m7 with three fingers 5th-string-root shell set — drop the root down to the 5th string ii–V–I as shells — closing out the month
Discovering the 4th-string root — moving the root up to the high register High-register major/minor — the top note splits bright from dark High-register inversions — which of R·3·5 goes on top? High-register integration — comping a bright progression, thin and pretty
What the 9th is — laying color onto Maj7 to make Maj9 m7 → m9 — lay a 9th on a minor for that neo-soul color 7 → 9 — lay a 9th on a dominant for a shimmer 9th integration — color stays on top, only the skeleton cycles
What voice leading is — I choose the top note Minimal top-note movement — turn C-Am-F-G into a song The reverse — melody first, chords underneath Voice-leading integration — make the top note sing, like a pro
Challenge orientation — ii–V–I in several voicings Rhythm challenge — same chord, different groove Your own arrangement — reharmonize with 9ths and top notes Final recording & self-analysis — the crystallization of two months

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