What Are Sugar Chords?

Ready for some sweet Sugar Chords? Adam Maness guides you through the three levels of chord structures you’ll need, using one simple phrase from On Green Dolphin Street.

00:00 Intro
1:16 Why use Sugar Chords?
2:22 Overview of the chord structures
6:26 Closed voicings
8:45 Drop-2 voicings
10:49 Drop-3 voicings
12:15 Adam imagines a violist 😂
14:47 “That’s where the sugar comes in!”

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[SonDialer]

You explained years worth of questions, that I thought were unrelated, and tied them all together in this one concept. Most significantly, I discovered what question Im trying to ask. Great lesson and well articulated.

[dougshankle]

You are without a doubt one one of the best teachers Ive ever seen on YT and I am a guitar player.

[Zomboinie]

As someone who's played nearly exclusively closed 7th voicings for over a year, when you said "up to the 9th in the rh, root in the bass, play whatever you don't in rh" i instantly understood, and simultaneously couldn't believe how simple it was.

[alasdairduncan]

I have nowhere near the level of understanding required to grasp this subject matter, but you explained it all so well that I could still follow every word. You're clearly a great teacher.

[terrylaw]

I’m 68. Took piano lessons as a kid. Picked up rock in high school and even aspired to jazz at the time. Loved Blood sweat & tears and a lot of the jazz that was around then but never really learned it well. I would listen to Oscar Peterson and wonder how a human being could play like that. Keith Emerson too. Anyway did play in rock and rock & roll bands even in clubs in the 70s & 80s. Gave it all up for a career as a mechanic. But I still practice and noodle around at home Have a few friends who would like to jam but I find it frustrating that even my limited ability exceeds theirs.
Got on this channel by chance. I watch Adam and think when I retire and have more time I can try to learn some of this material. But if I had one tenth of his ability I’d be happy. I feel practically a beginner seeing the amount of knowledge out there

[danieltonga]

I'm a jazz guitarist looking to venture into piano, and I feel like this idea has opened up a wide new realm of possibilities for me in terms of voicings and movement. Kept feeling like I was getting stuck in rootless voicings in the right hand or alternating between open and closed voicings. Thank you for this video!

[Jdizzle]

Brother, I’ve been playing piano for 25 years… mostly blues, pop, and rock styles. I play a little bit of jazz, here and there.

Within 2 videos of yours, I’ve learned more about jazz than I have in all of my years of playing! You break everything down so perfectly… very, very easy to understand… so clear, and concise! Thanks for everything you do!!!

[denisdiblasio]

Great! Great! Great! Explained it slowly, repeat it, demonstrated it. Made it simple to see . Bravo!

[bbrennan]

I'm picking up what you're putting down.

[Skootavision]

New sub! Pianist of 40 years and still learning. I've been upping my piano improvisation game for the last decade and am very happy I found your channel. PDF downloaded for incorporation into laters' practice. Thanks 🙏

[ottatarrega]

Love how you explain the material, very structural and crystal clear!

[conradoalpiano]

Señor Adam Maness, yo antes pensaba que para mover las voces interiores de los acordes habia que hacer un curso para brujos, pero gracias a su sencillez, claridad y filantropía al transmitir su conocimiento tan generosamente, ahora veo las cosas más claras, y aunque parezca exagerado las veo más fáciles.
Para mí, usted es un apóstol de la música. Muchas gracias. Estoy suscrito a este canal y mis likes no faltan nunca.
Dios lo bendiga en unión de su familia.

[MrZedhow]

Brilliant lesson, only recently wrapped my head around block chords and drop 2, the Barry Harris 6th diminished lesson sorted me out. Beautifully explained.

[scoro]

It's very nice to accidently stomp on a tutorial that focusses on that exact phrase of the tune I'm trying to learn rn. It feels even more effective after trying to work around the tune on myself first by listening and noodling around and then to watch this. I'm like "ahh that's the sound I'm hearing and couldn't figure it out" and I'm more familiar with the problems and issues that are dealt with.

Guess finding and watching this video will have a refreshing impact on my learning process. Been stuck for a long while now. It feels good to make one small step in the right direction

[adamwhitford]

this is so frickin valuable even for other instruments. I play bass and thinking about playing with roots/dropping other notes from the chord. I am impressed by anyone who can think like this on the fly to be doing both the voicing changes in the right hand and what to pick up in the left hand. I am just sitting here trying to think how I could only do the left hand stuff but on bass. Love this stuff so so so much.

[velociraptor]

13:45 - you must believe in spring (bill Evans) - so beautiful !!

[insidejazzguitar]

Wonderful lesson. I’m having a guitarist’s envy of piano. Explanations are perfectly clear and lovingly delivered.

[drewjansen]

You remind me why my degrees are in Music Theory! Delightfully informative. You're a natural on camera.

[rogerball]

Now apply this exact example to guitar. Very interesting. 4 note close voicing quite challenging on an instrument that is tuned in fourths :)

[vocalchords]

Interesting how the contrary motion began life in Gregorian plain chant - love the clarity of your video - and that all this colour has its roots - literally in those exploring sound 500 years ago or more! This is counter point writ large - with joyous energy! Thanks for a great video.