Course Overview

In this pathway, we lay out a clear and connected approach to developing harmonic fluency, starting with simple ideas and gradually expanding how we hear and shape harmony. We begin by learning how to add color without changing the song, then move into inversions so chords connect smoothly and feel more like a musical line than isolated shapes. From there we explore diatonic substitutions and secondary dominants, learning how harmony can create motion, tension, and release while still staying grounded. Each step builds on the last, giving you practical tools that work in real music.

As you move through the lessons, remember that harmonic fluency is not about memorizing labels or chasing complexity. It is about sound, movement, and feel. Take time to listen, loop progressions, and play these ideas in context so your ear and hands grow together. Most importantly, start using these concepts before they feel finished. Harmony comes alive when it is put to work, and the more you play with these sounds in real situations, the more natural and expressive they will become.

Welcome to the start of a new pathway on harmonic fluency, where we begin learning how to make harmony more interesting without losing its core sound. In this lesson we take the mystery out of reharmonization by starting with simple, musical ideas that anyone can use right away. The goal is not to chase complicated theory, but to understand how color, motion, and good voice leading can quietly elevate everything we play. This approach helps us sound more expressive, more connected, and more intentional with every chord choice.

With the first lesson, we set the ground beneath our feet by learning how to add color to the harmony without disturbing the song itself. Now we start walking forward. This chapter takes that same musical idea and sets it in motion by stepping away from root position chords and into inversions, where the harmony begins to breathe and move from the inside. Instead of changing the progression, we change how we travel through it, letting the voices connect more naturally from chord to chord. As this becomes familiar, comping starts to feel less like assembling shapes and more like guiding the music along a clear, intentional path.

As we continue moving forward in our harmonic fluency journey, this lesson opens up a new way of creating interest without leaving the key. Up to now we have focused on adding color and reshaping harmony through inversions, learning how to make progressions move more smoothly while staying true to the song. Here we take another natural step by exploring diatonic substitutions, a way of rethinking familiar chords so the harmony feels more active, connected, and expressive. This approach gives you more options when comping, helps the harmony breathe, and deepens your understanding of how chords relate to one another inside a key.

As our journey into harmonic fluency continues, this lesson opens the door to a sound that feels instantly familiar and unmistakably American. After learning how to add color, use inversions, and explore diatonic substitutions, we now step into the world of secondary dominants and a powerful companion concept that expands their usefulness even further. These ideas help us create stronger forward motion, add a bluesy edge when the music asks for it, and bring otherwise simple progressions to life. This is where harmony starts to lean, pull, and tell a deeper story.

Continuing with our journey of harmonic fluency, this lesson introduces a sound that feels natural, grounded, and deeply rooted in the American jazz tradition. After exploring secondary dominants and companion minor harmony, we take the next step by learning how a dominant chord can briefly lean away and then gently return right back home. This Bounce Back Dominant idea gives us a way to create motion, fill space, and add a bluesy sense of pull without ever losing sight of the original harmony. It is a subtle shift that brings simple progressions to life and lets the harmony breathe, stretch, and settle in a more expressive way.

We’re taking another big step forward in our harmonic fluency journey by looking at sounds that add motion, tension, and arrival in a very direct way. b5 substitutions, often referred to as tritone substitutions, along with what I call “Approach from Above or Below”, both give us powerful tools for creating movement without overcomplicating the harmony. These sounds show up everywhere in jazz, blues, and American popular music, and once they are under your fingers they begin to feel natural and intuitive. This is the kind of material that helps your playing sound intentional, connected, and alive in real musical situations.

Moving further along our harmonic fluency path, we now arrive at a color that adds motion, mystery, and a beautiful sense of arrival to even the simplest progression: the diminished sound. Diminished harmony can feel mysterious at first, but when we break it down into practical ideas like Leading Tone Diminished and Common Tone Diminished, it becomes a beautiful and very usable tool. These sounds generate motion, anticipation, and subtle tension that resolve in satisfying ways. Once you begin to hear how diminished chords can guide you into the next harmony, your progressions start to feel more fluid, expressive, and intentional.

Continuing our journey through harmonic color, this lesson explores how the diminished seventh sound can open up a surprising amount of movement and variety in your playing. The diminished chord may look mysterious at first, but in practice it comes from a very small set of shapes that connect beautifully with the most common chord types. By learning how leading tone diminished chords interact with major, dominant, and minor harmonies, we begin to unlock a rich palette of expressive sounds. These ideas not only deepen your understanding of harmony, they give your progressions more motion, character, and musical storytelling.