The Dark Major: A Chord-Colouring Trick for Richer Piano Harmony
Explore “dark major” piano harmony over an F-sharp major chord. Choose a scale that retains its root, third and fifth, then move through pairs of scale thirds over a sustained bass. Jason Zac from Nathaniel School of Music explains chord colouring on the piano through the concept he calls the 'dark major' — a way of shading a familiar major chord so it sounds moodier and more expressive. You'll see how small changes to the notes inside a chord completely change its emotional colour, and how to apply this to your own playing so ordinary major harmony sounds far more sophisticated. It's a simple, ear-opening approach to making your chords sound richer without learning dozens of new shapes. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) ➡️ https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🎹 Piano Courses & Private Lessons ➡️ https://piano.nathanielschool.com ============================= ▶️ Related Lessons & Playlists 🎵 Music Theory lessons ➡️ https://geni.us/PianoTheory 🎹 All our lessons on Chord Inversions (Playlist) ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ygtrGwGFmfyvMyGWH52EC 👂 Ear Training lessons ➡️ https://geni.us/EarTraining ============================= 🎓 Learn Music with Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac ➡️ https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) by skill level, topic & genre ➡️ https://learning-portal.nathanielschool.com ============================= 💰 Donate on PayPal ➡️ https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 Call +91 98454 65411 · 💬 WhatsApp chat +91 77604 56847 📧 Customised & Private Classes ➡️ music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music ➡️ https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #DarkMajor #ChordColouring #PianoHarmony Chapters 00:00 The dark-major chord colour 00:54 Introduction to chord colouring 02:13 Choose the parent scale 03:23 The scale used in the demonstration 04:04 Add the second, fourth and minor sixth 04:47 Add the minor seventh 05:48 Find pairs of thirds within the scale 06:56 Keep the root while the thirds change 08:48 Move to another chord 10:24 Try the idea with a minor chord 11:24 Use the technique with slower chord changes 12:24 Recap of the three-step method
Related lessons
- 5 Elegant Piano Voicing Techniques for Any Chord Progression
Learn 5 voicing techniques on the Piano to play any chord progression using Triads, 7th, 9th, 11th and beyond. Using the vi - ii - V - I jazz chord progression, we learn how to voice chords with 5 methods: using Fifth Chords, Open Seventh…
- 5 Fancy Piano Chord Hacks to Transform a Simple Triad
Make plain major and minor chords sound far more beautiful and exciting with 5 fancy chord-playing styles on the piano. Jason Zac from Nathaniel School of Music teaches 5 fancy chord-playing styles that spice up simple triads and make…
- 5 Piano Chord Techniques That Instantly Sound Pro (Smooth & Organic)
Learn 5 rarely discussed techniques for playing chords professionally on the piano so they sound smooth, dynamic and organic. Jason Zac from Nathaniel School of Music walks you through five chord-playing approaches that most players never…
- 5 Ways to Make Your Piano Arpeggios Sound Melodic & Soulful
Turn plain, mechanical arpeggios into something melodic and soulful with 5 simple tips and techniques on the piano. Jason Zac from Nathaniel School of Music shares 5 tips and techniques to transform your standard arpeggios into something…
- Advanced Piano Chords Over Minor Progressions: Suspended & Quartal (3 of 6)
Learn how to use advanced chords, Suspended, slash, quartal voicing and diminished 7th, over the pre-dominant chord of Minor progressions. Jason Zac from Nathaniel School of Music brings you Part 3 of a 6-part series exploring the Minor…
- Carnatic Music Theory for Beginners: Melakartha & Shankarabharanam
A beginner's guide to Carnatic music theory — the Melakartha system and the Shankarabharanam scale — with its history and parallels to Western music. In this lesson, NSM alumnus Raghavan Subramanian explains the basics of Carnatic music…
Skill Level
Want structured lessons?
Continue with live guidance, feedback and a clear path through the Intermediate Piano Course.
