guitarbuddha -> RE: Following the leader (Mar. 21 2015 22:18:31)
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Hey Miguel. I hope you don't mind I thought I would chip in a bit more as I struggle with 'harmonising on the fly' much more than I would like to. Have you tried 'reverse engineering' a progression ? What I mean is take a standard tune and harmonise it as simply as possible using just I, IV and V. Then look at how the original arranger elaborated on this. Most standards tunes are when you look at them pretty much diatonic to the home key ,give or take a few chromatic approach tones. Yet if you look at the harmony there seem to be lots of modulations. So given that the tune really doesn't actually modulate what is happening ? Mostly the apparent modulations are just elaborations on real simple I IV V stuff. Like this, suppose all that is needed for the melody to be supported is two bars on one a bar on four and then back to one I, I, IV, I now decide that you are gonna hit vi (relative minor) for the second bar for variety I,iv,IV,I then you introduce the secondary dominant to get to iv I III7, vi ,IV,I but now the progression seems lopsided because the rate of chord change is uneven so you precede the IV with its dominant -I7-so you get this I III7,vi I7,IV ,I Now there is a hollow spot in the third and fourth bar so on the second half of the bar you might change the bass note on IV to the V ( in the key of F that would be Bb/C) and in the fourth bar you add a turnaround on the dominant so you get. I III7, vi I7a,IV IV/V, I V7 In the key of F (and including a stepwise bass line) this would be F A7/E, Dm F7/C, Bb / C11sus, F6 C7 That is that is the opening of 'I Wish I Knew How It Feels to be Free'. It seems like a lot and it is but what you want to do aurally is focus on the I IV and V functions and become more aware of the routes that can be taken between them. Learn some of these elaborations like 'chord licks' through the cycle of fifths and your ear will start to make connections on the fretboard and eventually it will start to become intuitive. Here is another one that comes up A LOT in latin tunes. Four bar minor blues (I am gonna abandon numerals here and present it in Am) Dm,Am,E7,Am Now you introduce a minor dominant pair at the start (Dm/G7) and substitute the relative major for Am (C) this gives you Dm/G7,C,E7,Am then you break down the E7 to Bm7b5/E7b9 Dm/G7,C,Bm7b5/E7,Am Like the first progression there are now two hollow spots. So you take the CMaj and run through to Fmaj and at the end Am to A7 (to better prepare the Dm). so you get this Dm/G7,Cmaj/Fmaj,Dm7b5/E7b9,Am6 A7b9 It seems like a lot but really it is just a different way of playing the classic four bar minor blues i,iv,V,i. Also it is important to note that the last progression (Dm/G7,Cmaj/Fmaj,Dm7b5/E7b9,Am6 A7b9) looks like it is based on the cycle of fifths and in a way I suppose that it is. But it can be much more empowering to realise that it is also just i,iv and V with a few bells and whistles. And this is real important to a lot of improvised music. If the chords are simple then you play as if they were complex and if they are complex you play as if they were simple and the results in both cases are surprisingly sophisticated and compelling. D.
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