Neo-Soul Colours

Slow the tempo down to around 90 and funk turns into soul. The right hand keeps subdividing, but there is suddenly room between the hits — and empty space is unforgiving, so the chords have to be more interesting.

That is where the richer voicings earn their place. A major seventh instead of a plain major triad. A minor ninth instead of a minor seventh. Same function in the progression, more colour in the chord.

Use them sparingly and in the middle of the guitar. Neo-soul parts are usually three or four notes wide, often with one finger sliding into the shape from a fret below rather than arriving cleanly.

Dm9

Dm9. The ninth is what separates this from a plain Dm7.

B♭maj7

B♭maj7, the chord this vamp leans on after the minor.

This one moves Dm7 to B♭maj7 to Gm7 and back, at 90 BPM.

Try substituting as you go: play Dm9 everywhere the chart says Dm7, and hear how much difference one added note makes when the tempo is slow enough to notice.

Then try the slide. Fret the shape one fret low, strike it, and slide up into position so the chord arrives just after the attack. Done on most of your chord hits, that slide is a large part of the neo-soul sound.

Neo-soul in D minor at 90 BPM. Substitute the ninth, and slide into the shapes.