🧠 Two shapes unlock 14 chords (you already know both)

Hey music makers!

I just got back from a Disney cruise with my family.

On day two, I walked into a "Learn to Draw" workshop taught by Lon Smart, an actual Disney animator. We were drawing Ursula from The Little Mermaid. Not an easy character.

I used to draw as a kid, and I was pretty good. But I never followed formulas. I didn't even know animators had them.

Lon showed us his formula for the face. Start with a simple circle. Add a vertical line and a horizontal line. This will position the eyes.

Sketch everything lightly in the beginning so you can adjust the face easily. Then build the complexity from that simplicity. Trace over lines to add weight, then add your shading.

It was amazing to watch it unfold.

To my surprise, my Ursula sketch looked great. I'll share it with you if you're interested. Just reply to this email.

Walking out of that room, I thought about music. I do that a lot, by the way.

There's a harmony formula just like this. Ridiculously simple, ridiculously powerful. It unlocks 14 professional voicings that sound beautiful.

It's called triad over root.

You just need to know how to build two basic chord types. And you most likely already know them.

Today I'm showing you three of the 14 chords. Next week, you'll get the full list.

Quick question before we start: Ever wonder why some progressions stick and others disappear overnight?
Take the 3-minute assessment →

Let's dive in.

Key: F Major

Progressions:

Intro: Dm → Bbmaj7 → F → C (vi → IV → I → V)

This is one of the most popular progressions in modern music: I → vi → IV → V.

The songwriters just reordered it and started on the vi chord (Dm) to give it a minor feel.

Here's something cool: the vi chord is in the tonic family. That means it plays a similar role to the I chord. It can feel like "home."

The chorus uses the same progression. But plays every chord as a power chord. Just the root and the 5th. No 3rds.

That's a great contrast idea for you. Use the same progression but vary the chord color. Try this when you want to vary sections without drastically changing the harmony.

In the Challenge section below, I'll show you how to upgrade this progression using triad over root.

Remember Lon's formula? Simple shapes that build into something complex and beautiful.

Triad over root works the same way.

You place a major or minor triad in your right hand. That's your "upper structure." Then you play a single bass note in your left hand. That bass note either becomes the root of the whole chord, or it creates an inversion depending on the chord.

This is how most pop music harmony works today. You're taking basic chords and turning them into richer, more colorful versions.

Here's how simple it is:

Play a C major triad in your right hand (C, E, G). You may already know this shape.

Now change the bass note in your left hand to something other than C.

That's it. That's the whole formula.

One triad → Different bass notes → 14 professional voicings.

Let me show you three:

Voicing #1: C/D = D11

Right hand: C major triad (C, E, G)
Left hand: D

The formula: Play a major triad one whole step below your root.

Want G11? Play F major triad over G.
Want A11? Play G major triad over A.

Voicing #2: C/F = Fmaj9 (no 3rd)

Right hand: C major triad (C, E, G)
Left hand: F

The formula: Play a major triad built on the 5th degree of your root.

Want Bbmaj9? Play F major triad over Bb.
Want Gmaj9? Play D major triad over G.

Voicing #3: C/A = Am7

Right hand: C major triad (C, E, G)
Left hand: A

The formula: Play a major triad a minor 3rd above your root.

Want Dm7? Play F major triad over D.
Want Em7? Play G major triad over E.

Here's what just happened:

You didn't memorize three random chords.

You learned three formulas you can use in any key.

One rule. A big set of chord options.

Now let's use them.

I hope you find this information valuable and put it to great use.

For years, I thought my memory was just bad.

I'd watch tutorials, practice voicings, feel good about it. Next day? Gone.

So I'd practice more. Longer sessions. More repetition. Nothing changed.

Then I read about learning science. Spaced repetition. Retrieval practice. Contextual encoding.

And I realized that my memory was fine. My system was actually broken.

I wasn't testing myself soon enough. I was inconsistent with my practice and I was learning without connecting it to emotion.

Once I figured out which step was failing, I saw faster growth.

So I built a quick diagnostic. Three minutes. It shows you exactly where your retention system is leaking.

Because if you're like me, you don't need to practice more. You need to know what to fix first.

Before you practice these three voicings, take this quick diagnostic.

It's free, and helps you figure out three things:

✅ Where your retention is leaking (so you stop relearning the same progressions every week)
✅ Your biggest skill gap (is it retention, application, confidence, or practice design?)
✅ Your personalized growth path (the one system change that'll make the biggest difference right now)

👉 Take the assessment →

This uses learning science proven across 60+ studies. The same principles Harvard Medical School and Juilliard use to accelerate mastery.

Takes 3 minutes. It could save you years of spinning your wheels.

P.S. I wish I'd figured out my retention blind spot years ago. It would've saved me so much frustration. Take the assessment and skip the struggle I went through.