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Harmony

Color C7 with Em7b5

Hold a C7 shell while E-G-Bb-D adds a bright ninth color and returns cleanly on beat 3.

15 minadvancedC7 shell / Em7b5 arpeggio / beat-3 resolution

Today's Thing

Play two bars of C7 using left-hand C-E-Bb and right-hand Em7b5, resolving on beat 3.

15-Minute Map

  1. 1Set the C7 shell
  2. 2Add the upper color
  3. 3Land on beat 3
  4. 4Reverse the shape
  5. 5Loop two bars
Two bars over C7 C7 shell LH: C E Bb Bar 1 E G Bb D beat 3: E Bb Bar 2 D Bb G E beat 3: E Bb
Two bars over C7 shell
  1. 13 min

    Set the C7 shell

    Put C in the low left hand, with E and Bb above it. Hold the three notes for four counts. Hear C as the floor, E as the major-third bite, and Bb as the flat-seven pull.

  2. 24 min

    Add the upper color

    Keep the left hand down. In the right hand, play E-G-Bb-D as even eighth notes and count 1-and-2-and. Stop after D and leave beats 3 and 4 open so the color stays clear.

  3. 33 min

    Land on beat 3

    Play E-G-Bb-D again on 1-and-2-and, then land on E-Bb in the right hand on beat 3. The D should feel like it leans forward into the C7 shell, not like a wrong note.

  4. 43 min

    Reverse the shape

    Use the same notes downward: D-Bb-G-E on 1-and-2-and. Keep left-hand C-E-Bb unchanged, then return to right-hand E-Bb on beat 3. Do not add extra notes while the sound is still new.

  5. 52 min

    Loop two bars

    Bar 1 ascends E-G-Bb-D and resolves to E-Bb on beat 3. Bar 2 descends D-Bb-G-E and resolves the same way. Stop as soon as the pulse or the left-hand C starts moving around.

Stop Here

Keep C-E-Bb steady underneath, and let Em7b5 be a short color flash inside C7.

After playing

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