Block Chords Made Easy

Adam Maness guides you through his simple system for Locked-Hands and Drop-2 voicings.

Start playing classic chords today

Not happy with your chord melodies?

Looking for that George Shearing, Bill Evans block chord sound?

With step-by-step lessons, Adam Maness guides you through a comprehensive study of Block Chords, helping you use timeless Locked Hands & Drop 2 voicings to create beautiful chord melodies over your favorite tunes.

After completing this course you’ll be able to:

  • Build great-sounding Locked Hands & Drop 2 voicings on any chord, with any melody.
  • Use block chords to voice 6 popular jazz standards: On Green Dolphin Street, Blue Bossa, There is No Greater Love, Autumn Leaves, All the Things You Are, Fly Me to the Moon.
  • Develop your practice routine to lock-in these concepts in for good.
  • Build your own chord melodies over any tune you like.
  • LEVEL 3
  • 23 videos
  • 5 hourS
  • Guided Practice SessionS
  • PDF GUIDES & CHORD ARRANGEMENTS
  • Subtitles: English

Meet Your Instructor

As Open Studio’s Creative Director, Adam Maness develops the curriculum of all of the courses, in addition to teaching his own popular course like Magic Voicing SystemPiano Fingering Independence and more.

Adam is a versatile pianist, arranger, composer, and producer whose performances, original compositions, and arrangements have been featured on numerous recordings and on national and international radio and television broadcasts. He is best known as co-founder and composer for the genre-bending chamber ensemble, The 442s.

Course Contents

Start Here

  • What Are Block Chords?

Locked-Hands Theory

  • Major Set
  • Dorian Set
  • Dominant Set
  • Diminished Set
  • Melodic Minor Set

Locked-Hands in Practice

  • There Is No Greater Love
  • Autumn Leaves
  • Fly Me to the Moon
  • On Green Dolphin Street
  • Blue Bossa
  • All the Things You Are

Drop-2 Theory

  • Major Set
  • Dorian Set
  • Dominant Set
  • Diminished Set
  • Melodic Minor Set

Drop-2 in Practice

  • There Is No Greater Love
  • Autumn Leaves
  • On Green Dolphin Street
  • Fly Me to the Moon
  • Blue Bossa
  • All the Things You Are