Harmonic Heavy Lifting:
Exercises for Voice Leading Chord Pairs

Voice-Leading Chord Pairs

(Note: You might want to wait to check this out until AFTER you have already done the exercises in the prior blog entitled "Build Harmonic Proficiency")

Once you're comfortable articulating triads on the violin in various ways, you can start voice-leading chord progressions. The most difficult part about "playing the changes" is getting from one chord to the next, so by isolating two chords (a "chord pair"), we build up to playing progressions of several. Most progressions will be built upon the chord pairs that I suggest, so once you get to working on a longer progression, you will have internalized many of the pairs within it. It's the transition between any two chords that hangs people up, and this exercise takes us into the heart of the problem.
We'll use the chord pair of G major- C major as an example. (these can also be considered as arpeggiated triple stops in close voicing)

Start by playing the G major triad in root position G-B-D
Then play the C major triad in 2nd inversion G-C-E That's your first chord pair.
Now, move up to the next inversion of each chord:
G major in 1st inversion: B-D-G
C major in root position: C-E-G
and again one more time:
G major in 2nd inversion: D-G-B
C major in 1st inversion: E-G-C

Then repeat the sequence up the octave, and invert coming down.
The inverted, descending pattern will look like this:
(from the E strings, descending) B-G-D/ G-E-C G-D-B/E-C-G D-B-G/C-G-E

Now, we'll find other ways to express the same chord pair, i.e., by using double stops and triple stops in close and/or spread voicings.

Triple Stops/ Spread Voicings (play both as triple stops and as arpeggios)
(Ascending from the open G the intervals will all be 6ths or 5ths, i.e. following the same rules as the triple stop spread voicings from the previous blog)
open G-open D-B on the a string/ open G-E on d string -C on the a string
B-G-D/C-G-E
D-B-G/E-C-G (Then play up the octave and invert coming down)

Play the chord pairs expressed as 1) double stop close voicings 2)double stop spread voicings 3) Triple stop spread voicings 4)triple stop close voicings 5)quadruple stop (spread voicings) 6) arpeggiated form of any of the above.

These might cause you to burn out pretty quickly, but are really worth checking out for 10 minute periods or so at beginning and/or end of your practice sessions. I also really recommend doing them on the piano.

Besides playing these exercises literally over progressions, we can super-impose chord pairs and longer progressions over modal or one-chord vamps and do other cool stuff. Look for more applications of these chord pair exercises to follow soon.

For more tools to help "play the chords", check out my string ensemble charts (each chart works interchangeably for duo, trio or quartet).

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