Theory
The stage of Week 3. This week you finish by pouring the half-step-above approach and the slide you drilled all week into the signature vamp. Same Dm9 → G13, yet today you confirm with your hands how one move — sliding in from a half-step above — makes it fully neosoul. Bar 1 is the home chord Dm9; bar 2 is the Ab13 → G13 chromatic approach.
The key is bar 2. Press Ab13, a half-step above the target G13, briefly, then slide down a half-step and land. This one chromatic step turns a flat progression into a smooth flow. The approach chord, slide, and insertion you learned this week are all held in these two bars.
Today it's about the glide and the landing, not speed. Roll it gently at BPM 75, but press the approach briefly and melt into the target. When the chromatic approach vamp rolls in a round, unbroken loop, Week 3 is complete. First, lay bar 1's Dm9 on the hand.
▶ Bar 1 is Dm9. 5th string 5th fret root; the 9th on the 2nd string makes the soft color.
See it
The star of bar 2 is the approach chord Ab13. A half-step above the target G13, set it on the 6th string fret 4, then soon slide down. This one grip is the starting point of this week's signature.
▶ The approach chord Ab13. 6th string fret 4 root; get ready to push down a half-step.
Now here's the finished chromatic approach vamp with the two bars joined into one. This week's result is all held below. Bar 1's stability and bar 2's sliding landing link into one flow.
▶ BPM 75. In bar 2, press Ab13 (6th string fret 4) briefly and push it down to G13 a half-step below (fret 3) as if sliding. The gliding landing is the taste of neosoul.
Today's practice
0–10 min · Warm-up BPM 65. Warm the hand by grabbing Dm9 and the Ab13 → G13 slide in turn. Call back bar 2's half-step slide.
10–20 min · Brain training (checking the approach spots) With the left hand only, silently draw the vamp. Check with your eyes the spots of bar 1's Dm9 and bar 2's Ab13 → G13 approach.
20–40 min · Real chromatic approach vamp (BPM 75) Repeat the four bars below without a break. Watch just one thing: whether the sliding landing rings clearly every second bar.
▶ BPM 75. Loop the chromatic approach vamp twice. Don't miss the slide landing every second bar.
40–50 min · Recording / self-feedback (recommended) Record 30 seconds and listen back. Compare Week 1's flat vamp with today's chromatic approach vamp — how much the flow has changed.
Done when: You can loop the chromatic approach vamp (Dm9 → Ab13 → G13) at BPM 75 without a break and make bar 2's slide landing ring clearly. (Week 3 complete!)
Here are just the mistakes that show up most as you roll the chromatic approach vamp.
▶ On the 2nd string, fret 6→5 is Ab→G's 13th; on the 3rd string, fret 5→4 is each chord's 3rd.
- The approach is too long. Press Ab13 only briefly on the first two beats. Drag it too long and it sounds like a chord swap, not a glide.
- The landing sounds flat. You must push with the finger planted in a slide so the two chords link into a single line.
- You're late in bar 1. Move the hand to the 6th string at the end of Dm9 and bar 2 won't be late.
- It gets messy when the speed rises. Drop the BPM to 65 and win back the glide first.