80s Chord Voicing Tutorial

Thought it might be of use to do a video showing how to voice your everyday vanilla chords in an 80s way. It’s actually very simple, so hopefully it’s easy to grasp.
Here’s some emulations of the Juno-6, although it now seems the most popular one (the TAL-UNO-X) is no longer free and costs around £45. But that’s still very cheap for what it is.
blog.wavosaur.com/6-free-vst-...
All the featured chords if you want them written down (commence debate about whether 11 chords exist):
Fmaj7sus2 (LH = F C / RH = F G C E)
Dm11 (LH = D A / RH = F G A C)
Bbadd2 (LH = Bb F / RH = C D F)
Gm7sus2/4 (LH = G D / A C F)
Cadd4 (LH = C G / RH = C E F G)
Dm11 (LH = D A / C E F G)
F/C (LH = C F A / RH = C F A)
F/A (LH = A F / RH = A C F)
Ab6 (LH = Ab Eb / RH = C Eb F)
Gm7sus4 (LH = G D / C D F)
Thanks for watching.
I’m also on Facebook: / alexballmusic
I’m also on Instagram: / alexballmusic

[@AlexBallMusic]

Hello, Thanks for watching my video and for the comments and feedback. I get the same question sent to me a lot which is "can I use these chords / can I sample the audio and use it in my track?" Well, the point of the video is that I show you the principles of chord voicing so that you can write your own music. These are my chords and my composition using the concept, so using them as-is would mean we'd get into co-writing / interpolation etc and it just gets messy. If you're remixing it for a bit of fun and not selling it or monetising it, then I don't mind. But if you're putting out an album or wanting to make money from a track, I'd encourage you to write your own progression because then it's yours to use as you please. Many thanks

[@chromaticswing9199]

I respect your opinion but I don’t think you can really own a chord progression. Like how many people would be in trouble if the I V vi IV or the I IV V was copyrighted? And how would one copyright a simple root position triad chord voicing, or any of its myriad of variations? I don’t know all of the answers but the fact is that music shares a language, and while you can copyright a book or slogan, you can’t copyright the phrase, “I love you”. At least in America!

[@AlexBallMusic]

@@chromaticswing9199 My chords are performed in a specific order, with specific voicings, with a melody entwined and with specific rhythmic values. That's what I was referring too. That's totally copyrightable and mine. Especially as people are actually sampling the recording from the video and not even replaying. If someone wants to compose something with the same relative chord numbers then that's different. Absolutely.

[@chromaticswing9199]

Yeah fair enough, agreed

[@hkb1979]

You should turn this into a proper track and release it. That would put it all to rest. And I'd be able to listen to it more often! Seriously I've come to this video a dozen times in the last year to hear the song in the intro. Please do something with it - it's great.

[@user-nf9xc7ww7m]

Can chords be sustained with "voice lead" or some other synth string/choir? Trying to play a few 80s songs and it sounds like there is no empty space. The treble clef is played by piano and the bass clef by the bass, and the strings seem to not follow the melody. An example is Chicago's Look Away. Please let me know.

[@creatingacomposer3838]

The chords in the intro make my knees weak.

[@JohnSmith-in1tt]

80’s Chord Voicing Chord Tutorial: just play any chord with a Juno-6. Done

[@TayTayMakesBeats]

Or you can go with the patrician's choice, the stale cracker of synths, the mighty DX7!

[@MusokeMSK]

Basically... Yea that's it

[@siklabbaga]

Step 1: Buy a Juno6 or a DX7 Step 2: Prophet?

[@tracyallen4238]

Agreed with both. However broken chords are what's on deck.

[@ZapAndersson]

@@TayTayMakesBeats I hate the DX7's and their sounds with a passion of a thousand exploding suns. Sorry, just had to throw that out there.

[@cooperfrancis7551]

"some people say there is no such thing as an 11 chord" I don't want to talk to those people

[@ericwinter4513]

Cooper Francis I don’t think anyone is out there saying that there’s no such thing as a minor-11 chord. It’s when people write D11 that it starts to get nonsensical.

[@jessetervo1719]

@@ericwinter4513 How is that? I mean how D11 does not make sense?

[@ericwinter4513]

Jesse Tervo Well, what would the notes of a D11 chord be?

[@jessetervo1719]

@@ericwinter4513 D, F#, A, C and G and an option to use E if they like

[@ericwinter4513]

Jesse Tervo D F# A C E G? Notice that you end up with the interval of a minor 9th between the F#, the third, and G, the 11. What you have is neither a D7 nor a D7sus, so the quality of the chord becomes kind of confused. Can you have the 3rd and the 4th (11) in a dominant chord? Simply put, yes, but it requires a lot of skill for it to work and not just sound messy. I think the tendency is to voice it with third above the 4th, so that you end up with a major 7 instead of a minor 9, and the symbol is written as D7sus (add 3) My main point is that you see this chord symbol often written in Beatles books and such in error when they don’t intend the series of notes mentioned above.

[@RobFlaxMusic]

6:15 "Ooh, that's sounds nice, iinit" is the most British expression of chordal joy possible.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Think I said "dunnit" but in a mumbled way. Possibly makes it even more British.

[@andrearonen3409]

Hey. You know stuff. You do good stuff. You deserve more people to see your stuff.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks. I have more stuff planned with stuff in it, and stuff.

[@ArieAGinting]

@@AlexBallMusic and you got interesting Humor Stuff LOL

[@oromoiluig]

I'm into stuff and you're into stuff.

[@gazzamuso]

What the hell this is amazing

[@MartinJovanovic]

Oh he does know stuff, Andrea, and he's freakin pleasant to listen to

[@EricJacobusOfficial]

You could do soundtracks for all these nostalgia games and movies they make now. Just hit a few keys and you're good.

[@koba5152]

It’s you

[@baronroth6122]

11th if 7th is present, 4th if no 7. "Add" if 3rd is present, "sus" if no 3rd.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Yes, absolutely. I said that about the 11th chord because I've seen various debates about how the 4th and 11th are enharmonically equivalent (especially if the harmony is voiced in such a way that it's within the same octave as the third). But then a 13th could also be a 6th, so I don't follow the argument. I think there are 11th chords if there's a 7th exactly as you say.

[@FlorissMusic]

Sus4*

[@officialnovadrome]

instructions unclear, solved calculus

[@mikethemusicman1978]

@@officialnovadrome u could call it an add 11 if there's no 7th whether dominant or major 7

[@williamhealy6381]

He's speaking the language of gods

[@NathanPrillaman]

Killer voicings. That's a great patch for demonstrating, too.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks. I think it's nearly impossible to get a bad patch on a Juno, which always helps!

[@hankhillsdisappointedsigh]

@@AlexBallMusic Am I missing something? I got the TAL U-No-62 and I have copied the settings to the best I can and it sounds significantly different than the patch you are using, namely way crappier.. lol. What am I doing wrong?

[@AlexBallMusic]

I've never used TAL, so I don't really know without sitting in front of it. Demos I've heard of it sound very close to the real Juno. Theoretically it should be a case of matching the settings and possibly tweaking very slightly.

[@hankhillsdisappointedsigh]

@@AlexBallMusic That's what I figured, but I noticed several of the settings off to the left are not there on the VST. :/

[@ink2296]

@@AlexBallMusic im having the same problem

[@_mickmccarthy]

Love videos like this, every time you come back to them you learn a little bit more. Great work Alex

[@NumptyButtkick]

Great stuff Alex, thanks for doing these videos. Please do more, they're so informative!

[@soulrydaz]

Great job Alex...keep these tutorial coming especially from that magical 80s era💯👌🏾

[@sram993]

That was so incredibly beautiful and evocative!

[@negvey]

For real thanks for writing out the chords in a simple manor in the description, really do appreciate that, i can practice now :)

[@cameronmarshall9556]

That was brilliant, really great to have every note explained, showing how a subtle voicing change can make a huge difference. Please do a few more..!

[@b00i00d]

Very helpful that, besides the video, you've included a synopsis of the chords in the description. Thanks for this post!

[@Jay_Percival]

Love these chord descriptions mate. ♥️❤️Awesome work

[@philomena6070]

That last part where the echo was added...it melted my heart.

[@offbyjuan]

Beautiful patch, and beautiful voicings

[@ProfessorElz]

Thank you so much for this. These chords put me on a whole new level with my piano playing.

[@garrettfahrbach]

Thanks for posting this, it was very helpful to learn some new flavorful voicings!

[@TheVirgology]

Really like how clear you make the chords visually . You actually list the notes most times. thanks for the good work . @Zodiac Traxx

[@rayderrich]

3 years later I thank you for explaining this, I am studying the whole synthwave thing and you helped me very well.

[@AykutKlc]

What other resources do you use? I also want to make some synth wave tracks in future.

[@TheRealPrimeOne]

I love that synth patch! So rich and lush.

[@zachmiller2601]

This was amazing! Would absolutely love similar types of videos for different eras. Chord voicings for 50's/60's Vocal Jazz (Sinatra), 60's R&B/Soul (Al Green, Wurlis + Rhodes), 70's funk, so on and so forth. This is the type of learning that works best for me by far, so thank you so much!

[@scottmacgregor4622]

I enjoyed that very much. I've always been partial to the 1-5 voicing in the left hand. The added clusters in the right hand really coax out some interesting voicings.

[@giantenemybird2687]

Im 2 mins and 30 secs into this video and you've already taught me 2 critical pieces I've been missing out on. Thank you

[@monsaemon]

So glad the algorithm made me stumble into this video! Changed the course of my piano practice today. It quickly became playing with synth patches in Logic and playing these awesome voicings!

[@ErikOrchestralTutorials]

Good, clear, straight forward video. Thanks, Alex!

[@tim_arterbury]

Such an eye opening tutorial. Its cool how the limitations in synth voices contributed to the voicing style of the 80s (and using synths in general).

[@KidMrRemixes]

Thanks you Alex. I’m not a musician but I do dabble in electronic music. this has totally inspired me so much to be more creative with what I’m writing.

[@devinwrightmusic]

Such an amazing description thank you. Definitely going to use those chords for a song! Super inspired!

[@JonMurray]

That opening piece mate. Just bloody lovely.

[@jorhay1]

Mr Ball is legit. Quite possibly the best 80’s chord video on KZbin. Bravo sir. Subscribed.

[@jwoz9]

This is awesome man. Loving the sound of the juno and the chords. Cheers

[@AlexBallMusic]

Cheers. Love the sound of the Juno too!

[@romangamer9177]

This was inspiring! need more of this please!!!

[@N1K5TA]

Loved it ! Can’t get enough 80s ...Yes more of these please :)

[@ZoeSummers1701A]

More 80’s please! I learnt so much from this!

[@annieandnancytv6530]

This is a great video Alex, we have just bought our family a Akai mini to start the musical journey for our children. Being in a band myself previously, I was more of a guitar person, but we are now looking at the synth/80's synth style. This video has been a great help.

[@RicardoDiLago]

Now i have got a Juno-6 myself i am appreciating the sound of 6/60 more. never really wanted them but the sound is so lovely and warm. so pleasant to listen to and play with. this vid inspires to try the chords

[@davidlloyd9598]

Great tutorial. Thanks for sharing the left and right hand voicings. They sound good on my DX7.

[@SamuelDilmar]

Yo, super helpful! I've been amassing a YTubs playlist of vids discussing Pop music styles during my time in college. Really helps fill in the gaps classical training leaves behind. Luv your stuff ya saucy devil! Rock on!

[@DjCutman]

so interesting! and love that Juno sound

[@themonth]

Thanks a lot mate! Love the synth tracks poping up around the world nowadays.

[@aeshaeshaesh]

God bless you. This is just the kind of inspiration I needed this weekend.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Cheers Nils.

[@brians1025]

That was Hella Cool! Really appreciate your work on this vid & for the tut. 😎 Cheers!

[@Pinegroove]

beautiful voicings, really inspiring.

[@osvaldomesa]

thanks for the video! this tips are pure gold!

[@scott-cu6pg]

you are amazing, man, sounds like heaven! Thanks!!!!

[@PortodeIdeias]

Man, what a beautiful sequence

[@ericwinter4513]

This makes me desirous of a synth...like on the show Humans

[@victoza9232]

That's a great show! It sucks that they cancelled it.

[@blockbusterlady5993]

That first melody made my heart melt.

[@Floydandsome]

It sounds beautiful

[@baigmusic]

Wonderful channel Alex, subscribed! Frickin love the sound of the 80s haha

[@cymonalex]

Nice work Alex !

[@paulmorris1834]

This has to be of my favorite 80s chord tutorial

[@beattherapydotcom]

So rare to find someone able to speak this language in such a casual manner... I like to think I can understand part of it at least!! Sounds great!! Will have a go in my next soundtrack. Thank you for this! 😅💙

[@lukeskywalk9773]

That was beautiful, my friend. Thx!

[@henryaposto3550]

Your videos are so good dude.

[@adrianastello859]

GOLD! man thank you! u just made my night.

[@jfjusa1]

sounds just like the 80-s. very cool! thank you for the lesson!

[@MusicalWizardryMarcoIannello]

Trip down the memory lane, Alex, pure nostalgia, nearly shed a tear :)

[@AlexBallMusic]

I love these kind of chords too, dripping with nostalgia.

[@marzacdev]

Very informative, thanks for sharing this knowledge.

[@alecornelli]

Spandau round and round, china chrisis black man ray.....you nailed it man. Gives me goosebumps. Thank you sir, you keep that flame alive

[@wishwashstudios437]

Reminds me of journey faithfully, great job Alex!

[@DaveBode]

Alex, you make excellent content. Keep on making great vids, bro!

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks Dave.

[@muscularmusings]

Ah this is great, dude. Really enjoyable edutainment

[@cybersurfer3d837]

Thank you so much for this. I have a minilogue korg synth and I’ve been trying to learn more chords/progressions like this. Your awesome!!! This video was very helpful. Especially with understanding how polyphonic chords works. I’m stoked to apply this teaching 🤘🏼

[@AlexBallMusic]

Glad you found it useful Andrew. Hope you have fun with it.

[@phataton8206]

People who say there’s no such thing as an 11 chord have never taken music theory.

[@TheUKNutter]

Paul Hatton This is why I dislike all of Adam Neely’s videos

[@aleksamrkela831]

I've never taken music theory, and I know there are 11 chords. :P

[@elliotthoward9695]

Every theorist I've ever talked to has been in the "rule of sharp-11s" school of thought; if a chord has a major third, its 11th must be sharped. I have no problem with a major-11th chord having a place in theory, but in FUNCTIONAL harmony, it isn't really acknowledged. I know we've evolved past functional harmony and that unusual dissonances are widely accepted, but I feel like our system of chord symbols might be dated when talking about extremely "modern" dissonant chords, anyway.

[@phataton8206]

I can solve the mystery. Usually when a maj 7 is “colored” beyond a 9 it’s usually NOT the one (tonic) it’s usually the 4 chord that gets very deeply colored. And in this case the 4(11) IS a sharp 11. The other case the tonic 11 is not raised but the HOME BASE most of the time sounds like it’s trying too hard. This is why people might say “most of the time the 11 is raised” because “most of the time in a maj11 the chord is functioning as the subdominant. Not tonic.

[@phataton8206]

And in many “blues based” songs. Use the dominant 11 (C11) which is usually NOT a raised 11.

[@Eric-et6sj]

This video is great, thanks for sharing! I’d love to see more of this type of thing. Something on slash chords would be great and in keeping with the retro vibe :)

[@itisconsulting]

That was great Alex! you always make a great video.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks Bill!

[@cafzone]

Discovered you channel last week. I'm hypnotized since then. And I don't even do music. :D

[@studilocker4439]

That tip with the muddy intervals at the lower notes was very very interesting to hear! Thanks a lot..I noticed it but had no rule :)

[@torarnv]

OMG, this is amazing, thank you so much!!

[@Meenousemusic]

That's actually a good hint with 6 voices. Thank you, awesome channel mate. Even clicked the bell.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Yep, a small but crucial thing! Thanks for stopping by.

[@zooblestyx]

This patch and these chords. The soul of the Juno-6.

[@j8577798yt]

Clear and to the point. Very good !

[@moognificat]

Absolutely yes to all of this. Great video! I'd like to amplify your mention of that 1st inversion F chord towards the end of the progression. So 80's! I hope that sticking the bass on the 3rds of our chords will come back into mainstream fashion soon.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Yes totally, they're even in the Back to the Future theme. First inversion I to IV to V sus4. Screams 80s. Reckon it's come full circle now, I use it all the time.

[@sionnachs_workshop]

Great and easy info to digest, many thanks!

[@adrianneacsu2404]

love this video, also love how you did the video;)

[@insensituity1]

Excellent video. I would love to see a video showing the settings for your 20 favorite Juno 6 patches with brief demonstrations so that I can steal them for my Juno 60.

[@chrisblubbi9554]

It doesn 't matter what you are playing on a Juno 6. A Juno 6 is pure music. Thank you for your video and have a lot of fun with your Juno.

[@Edfreitag]

The best keyboard tutorial on KZbin.I was ready to give up until i found your channel

[@Nightdare]

You need just 2 ingredients: -Tons of reverb, then add even more reverb, mixed with a lot of echo -Just play everything in D minor, which is the saddest of all keys, I find. People weep instantly when they hear it, and I don't know why.

[@jarrydwells9154]

lick my love pump

[@alexacosta2140]

Nightdare a wise man once said that 😂

[@singlesideman]

I guess I'm just an eighties chap because I've been making chord voicings like this since, well, the eighties... Wonderful to see and hear this. And the envelope on this patch is great - it sounds like a sweet, soft and loving kitty cat meowing and rubbing its face against yours.

[@bentrolley4316]

Best comment. Came to see what problem people could possibly have with 11 chords, turns out that's all silliness and I was gettting kinda frustrated until I came across this bit of loveliness :)

[@jonathanredman8497]

Really useful tutorials. Many thanks.

[@adham-omran]

Just.. Awesome. Would love to watch more videos like these Love ❤️

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks, that's good to know. Will have to do some more here and there.

[@adham-omran]

@@AlexBallMusic I'll have the bell ready to whenever you upload

[@arthurmartins5495]

Thx for this Video!! Just when i started to do some synthwave stuff

[@christofferainek]

Just... gorgeous👌

[@craigberry4051]

Great video! Would love to see more.

[@LocaliLLocano]

Awesome video. I love your channel mate

[@amircohen5925]

Thank you Alex.. Amazing as usual !!!

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks Amir.

[@OliKember]

God this was useful. I would take a voicing lesson on every decade from you. Glorious.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks Oliver. A 70s one would be quite doable and is distinctly different. Thinking of that kind of Chicago, Elton John, Supertramp, 10cc kind of area. Will have to think up a little progression.

[@OliKember]

@@AlexBallMusic Awesome! Fingers crossed.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Had a quick noodle and have a good 70s one. Will make a quick video in the next week or so.

[@OliKember]

Alex Ball Whoop!

[@baloothedrummer]

Oliver Kember i would too, I hope he does a series on that

[@johnmiller19925]

Awesome stuff! Thanks!

I find it a lot clearer than the guide to light music because it's less hasty; you take the time to explicit each chord transition: it's A-class education. Learnt a lot from it. Thanks! (These chords are a bit Aaron Copland-like, which is very interesting.)

[@benj2101]

Real nice chords thanks for the share 👌🏻

[@mbrombert]

My goodness that intro... gorgeous!

[@un-enlightened]

subtle vhs overlays on point!

[@juliansolo1825]

Awesome! Love your channel

[@margotmuller2893]

danke, danke, danke!! das macht uns glücklich! didi aus köln, germany