How Any Guitarist Can Get That Smooth Lo-Fi Sound Using The "Upper Structure" Secret (Even Without Music Theory)

If you've ever heard that smooth, layered guitar in a lo-fi track and thought "I'd need years of jazz training to sound like that"—this letter will show you why that's not true.

And why the guitarists creating those sounds often know LESS theory than you do.

In the next few minutes, you're going to discover the 4 chord "colors" behind 90% of that lo-fi sound... one simple concept that turns any chord you already know into something richer... and why getting this vibe is more about what you LEAVE OUT than what you add.

F major and C major. Two chords you already know.

So why doesn't it sound like that when YOU play them?

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Most People Get This Backwards

Here's what most people get wrong about lo-fi:

They hear "lush" and think "complex."

They assume those guitarists know a ton of jazz theory. Fancy chord shapes. Years of music school.

But when you actually break down what's happening in those tracks, it's the opposite.

Most lo-fi progressions use 2-4 chords. That's it.

The complexity isn't HORIZONTAL. It's not about how many chords you know or how fast they change.

The complexity is VERTICAL. It's about how DEEP you go into the chords you're already playing.

The texture. The voicing. Which notes you emphasize. Which ones you bury. What you leave out.

That's where the "lush" comes from.

And that's actually way more learnable than jazz theory.

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Why Collecting Shapes Is The Opposite Of Making Music

I see it all the time with students who come to me.

They hear lo-fi and assume they need to go learn a bunch of jazz chords first. So they start collecting shapes. Minor 9ths. Major 7ths. Fancy voicings from YouTube videos.

And then they never use them.

Because knowing a shape isn't the same as knowing what to DO with it. How to voice it so it sounds smooth instead of stiff. How to connect it to another chord without losing the vibe.

Here's what actually matters:

There are only 4 chord "colors" in the entire lo-fi palette.

Major 7. Minor 7. Dominant 7. Half-diminished.

That's it. Every lush lo-fi guitar part you've ever heard uses those four sounds. Just voiced different ways and stacked using one concept that ties everything together.

The concept is called upper structures.

It's embarrassingly simple once you see it. And it lets you turn any chord you already know into 3-4 richer voicings without memorizing new shapes.

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Two Chords You Already Know. Stacked.

Here's what I mean:

There's a way to take two chords you already know. Chords you've probably played a thousand times. And stack them so they create that rich, layered sound you hear in every lo-fi track.

Not new chords. The ones you already have.

Just stacked in a specific way that creates depth where there was none.

When I show this to students, the reaction is always the same: "Wait... that's it?"

Yeah. That's it.

The lush sound they'd been chasing for years? Two simple chords, stacked.

One of my students, James, had been playing for 8 years. Knew tons of chords. Could play along with anything. But whenever he tried to create that lo-fi sound on his own, it fell flat.

After one lesson on upper structures, he sent me a voice memo: "I finally get it. I've been collecting puzzle pieces for years without knowing what the picture was supposed to look like."

Another student, Sarah, had never touched a jazz chord in her life. Thought lo-fi was "above her level." Within two weeks of learning the four colors, she was building loops that sounded like the playlists she'd been listening to for years.

This isn't about talent. It's not about how long you've been playing. It's about seeing the system.

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Why Two Chords Beat Six (Every Time)

Now here's the part most people miss:

Lo-fi isn't about adding more. It's about going deeper into less.

Most guitarists hear "lush" and think they need more chords. More shapes. More complexity.

But listen to any great lo-fi track and count the chord changes.

Two. Maybe three. Rarely more than four.

The complexity isn't horizontal. It's not about how many chords you play or how fast they change.

The complexity is VERTICAL. It's about the texture and depth of each individual chord. The voicing. The space between the notes. What you leave out.

A single chord, voiced right, isn't just a chord. It's an atmosphere.

That's what most guitarists miss when they try to play lo-fi. They hear "simple" and think "boring." They try to add movement, insert fancy changes, fill every gap with notes.

And they kill the vibe.

Lo-fi rewards restraint. Depth over width. Two chords voiced richly beat six chords played thin.

Every time.

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You Don't Need A Jazz Background To Understand This

And here's what's exciting:

You don't need a jazz background to understand this. You don't need to read music or know what a "dominant 7" means before you start.

All you need is to understand how the four colors work. And the one concept that ties them together.

Once you do, that sound you've been hearing in lo-fi playlists? You'll know exactly how to create it.

Here's some of what you'll discover inside:

• The 4 chord "colors" that create 90% of the lo-fi guitar sound. And more importantly, how to HEAR them. Once you can identify these colors by ear, you'll recognize them in every beat, every neo-soul track, every "lush" progression you've ever wanted to figure out.
• Why lo-fi complexity is VERTICAL, not horizontal. And what that actually means for how you play. Most guitarists try to learn MORE chords. Lo-fi is about going DEEPER into fewer chords.
• The upper structure concept that turns any chord you already know into 3-4 richer voicings instantly. This single idea replaces years of memorizing shapes. You'll understand it in about ten minutes. And you'll use it forever.
• The "constant note" trick that makes progressions sound smooth instead of choppy. Lo-fi guitarists keep one note static in the top voice while everything moves underneath. This is the "glue." Once you hear it, you can't unhear it.
• Why you should almost NEVER strum these chords straight down. And the picking approach that makes them breathe. There's a reason lo-fi guitar sounds "alive" while regular chords sound like blocks of sound.
• The specific minor 7(9) voicing that appears in probably 80% of lo-fi tracks. I'll show you exactly where to put your fingers. And the one-finger adjustment that adds the 11.
• What to LEAVE OUT. This is the part most guitarists never learn. Lo-fi is about restraint. Space. Not filling every gap. I'll show you exactly what to subtract to make your playing sound more professional, not less.
• How to make a loop "lock" even when it's just you and your guitar. There's a specific way to place chords against a beat that makes everything sit. And it's probably the opposite of what you'd naturally do.
• Why simple progressions often sound MORE lo-fi than complex ones. The genre rewards depth over width. Two chords voiced richly beat six chords played thin. Every time.
• How to use open strings to create instant lushness. Even with shapes you already know. There's a reason lo-fi guitarists love certain keys. I'll show you which ones and why.

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This Is Not "Jazz Guitar Training"

I want to be clear about something.

This is not "jazz guitar training."

You're not going to learn about tritone substitutions or chord-scale theory. You don't need any of that for this.

What you WILL learn is how to hear and voice chords so they sound like the music you actually listen to.

That's what this masterclass gives you.

By the end, you'll have a framework. A way of hearing that makes everything click. And the next time you hear a lo-fi track and think "I want to sound like that"... you'll know exactly how.