Voicings
Pick the shell that steps
Play Dm7, G7, and Cmaj7 as two-note left-hand shells chosen so the top note holds or falls a half step.
Today's Thing
Loop Dm7, G7, and Cmaj7 with left-hand shells D-F, G-F, and C-E so the top voice moves F, F, E.
15-Minute Map
- 1Play the three shells
- 2Compare with sevenths only
- 3Play the top line alone
- 4Loop it in strict time
- 5Add Am7 the same way
- 13 min
Play the three shells
Play Dm7 as D and F together, G7 as G and F, Cmaj7 as C and E — left hand only, in the octave just below middle C. Hold each shape for four slow beats, listening for how two notes still sound like the whole chord.
- 23 min
Compare with sevenths only
Play the same chords as root plus seventh only — D-C, G-F, C-B — and hear the top note leap: C to F to B. Then return to D-F, G-F, C-E: mixing thirds and sevenths is what lets that top note hold, then fall by half step.
- 33 min
Play the top line alone
Play only the upper notes as a one-finger line: F, F, E. Listen for a held tone followed by one half-step fall, then add the roots back underneath and confirm that same line still comes through the full shapes.
- 43 min
Loop it in strict time
Loop the three shells with a slow metronome, four beats per chord, for two minutes. If a change feels like a grab instead of a small shift, slow down, and keep the hand in that octave below middle C — any lower and the thirds turn muddy.
- 53 min
Add Am7 the same way
Add Am7 in front of the loop and test both shells by ear: A-C puts the top on C, which must leap to the next F, while A-G puts it on G, one step above. Keep A-G and loop all four chords — the top line now walks G, F, F, E.
Stop Here
Once the four shells run without attention, hold one right-hand chord tone per bar over the loop — that free hand is the whole point of playing only two notes below.
After playing