Both Sergei Rachmaninoff and Josef Lhévinne claimed Hanon to be the secret of why the Russian piano school delivered an explosion of virtuosi in their time, for the Hanon exercises have been obligatory for a long time throughout Russian conservatories; there were special examinations at which one had to know all exercises by heart, to be played in all keys at high speed.Hanon is in the public domain; you can download it here.
...A violinist or woodwind player who works out fingerings for these figurations will be able to read at sight, except for rhythmic difficulties, anything that modern orchestral repertory can present. (Virgil Thomson)
The Thesaurus is a monumental compilation of unfamiliar melodic patterns; it is a precious reference book for pianists in developing a superior technique. (Maurice Dumesnil)
Both Sergei Rachmaninoff and Josef Lhévinne claimed Hanon to be the secret of why the Russian piano school delivered an explosion of virtuosi in their time, for the Hanon exercises have been obligatory for a long time throughout Russian conservatories; there were special examinations at which one had to know all exercises by heart, to be played in all keys at high speed.Hanon is in the public domain; you can download it here.
...A violinist or woodwind player who works out fingerings for these figurations will be able to read at sight, except for rhythmic difficulties, anything that modern orchestral repertory can present. (Virgil Thomson)
The Thesaurus is a monumental compilation of unfamiliar melodic patterns; it is a precious reference book for pianists in developing a superior technique. (Maurice Dumesnil)
I've been reading up on popular music harmony recently. The chain of secondary dominants seems to start with Liszt - at least the earliest example I've seen cited is from him. Ragtime used chains of dominant chords in threes and fours regularly, and they also show up in early Tin Pan Alley tunes from the 1890s, although not in a bridge like this example. The old-time barbershop singers consider this progression their own, calling the dominant chord 'major-minor' - the added b7 being the 'minor.' And I think you'll find them in Sousa's marches as well...
An extended dominant is a non-diatonic secondary-dominant seventh chord that resolves downwards to another dominant chord. A series of extended dominant chords continues to resolve downwards by perfect fifths until they reach the tonic chord. Most common is the tertiary dominant, which resolves to a secondary dominant. For example, V/V/V (in C major, A(7)) resolves to V/V (D(7)), which resolves to V (G(7)), which resolves to I (note that V/V/V is the same chord as V/ii, but differs in its resolution to a major dominant rather than a minor chord). Quaternary dominants are rarer, but an example is the bridge section of the Rhythm changes which starts from V/V/V/V (in C major, E(7)). Though typically used in jazz, extended dominants have been used in other contexts as well.Chains of three or more dominant chords are common in songs from the "Golden Age" of American standards (roughly the 1920s to 1940s), and in tunes composed by jazz artists. Here are just a few:
I've been reading up on popular music harmony recently. The chain of secondary dominants seems to start with Liszt - at least the earliest example I've seen cited is from him. Ragtime used chains of dominant chords in threes and fours regularly, and they also show up in early Tin Pan Alley tunes from the 1890s, although not in a bridge like this example. The old-time barbershop singers consider this progression their own, calling the dominant chord 'major-minor' - the added b7 being the 'minor.' And I think you'll find them in Sousa's marches as well...
An extended dominant is a non-diatonic secondary-dominant seventh chord that resolves downwards to another dominant chord. A series of extended dominant chords continues to resolve downwards by perfect fifths until they reach the tonic chord. Most common is the tertiary dominant, which resolves to a secondary dominant. For example, V/V/V (in C major, A(7)) resolves to V/V (D(7)), which resolves to V (G(7)), which resolves to I (note that V/V/V is the same chord as V/ii, but differs in its resolution to a major dominant rather than a minor chord). Quaternary dominants are rarer, but an example is the bridge section of the Rhythm changes which starts from V/V/V/V (in C major, E(7)). Though typically used in jazz, extended dominants have been used in other contexts as well.Chains of three or more dominant chords are common in songs from the "Golden Age" of American standards (roughly the 1920s to 1940s), and in tunes composed by jazz artists. Here are just a few:
This song, because of its exaltation of Brazil's great qualities, marked the creation of a new genre within samba, known as samba-exaltação (exaltation samba). This musical movement, with its extremely patriotic nature, was seen by many as being favorable to the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas, which generated criticism towards Barroso...the Barroso family, however, strongly denies these claims...Anyway, back to the similarities. Here's Rimsky-Korsakov's "Song of India," more properly called "Song of the Indian Guest," from his opera "Sadko":
This song, because of its exaltation of Brazil's great qualities, marked the creation of a new genre within samba, known as samba-exaltação (exaltation samba). This musical movement, with its extremely patriotic nature, was seen by many as being favorable to the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas, which generated criticism towards Barroso...the Barroso family, however, strongly denies these claims...Anyway, back to the similarities. Here's Rimsky-Korsakov's "Song of India," more properly called "Song of the Indian Guest," from his opera "Sadko":
I began to work with Joe in the saloon, from 7 am to 10 pm, first had to put beer on tap then fill bottles of liquor to serve, put bottle beer on ice, two different kinds, then sweep the saloon, wash and clean spitoons, wash all glasses behind the bar. The saloon was about a quarter of a mile North from camp in the valley close to the railroad track. I slept in it at night. I used to hear bumps and knocks on the door at night, but I was not afraid…had two .45 pistols with me.
…got up at five and did the same job, janitor and bartending, for 50 per month…sweep and wash the floor with the rest of the work, also wash the big mirror back of the bar, 5 to 7 a bite to eat and then play the show at night till 11, then to bed and up at 5 the next morning. By working day and night I paid my bills and sent money to mother and dad in Italy.When the US declared war in 1917, Paul "thought I should do something for my adopted country." He joined the Army, and was assigned to an Army band. The armistice was signed in 1918, so he never was sent overseas. He was discharged in 1919, and at the suggestion of a fellow musician, came to San Francisco.
I began to work with Joe in the saloon, from 7 am to 10 pm, first had to put beer on tap then fill bottles of liquor to serve, put bottle beer on ice, two different kinds, then sweep the saloon, wash and clean spitoons, wash all glasses behind the bar. The saloon was about a quarter of a mile North from camp in the valley close to the railroad track. I slept in it at night. I used to hear bumps and knocks on the door at night, but I was not afraid…had two .45 pistols with me.
…got up at five and did the same job, janitor and bartending, for 50 per month…sweep and wash the floor with the rest of the work, also wash the big mirror back of the bar, 5 to 7 a bite to eat and then play the show at night till 11, then to bed and up at 5 the next morning. By working day and night I paid my bills and sent money to mother and dad in Italy.When the US declared war in 1917, Paul "thought I should do something for my adopted country." He joined the Army, and was assigned to an Army band. The armistice was signed in 1918, so he never was sent overseas. He was discharged in 1919, and at the suggestion of a fellow musician, came to San Francisco.
Bird told Benedetti that his title for "Cool Blues" was "Blues Up and Down." This same blues theme was used earlier by the John Kirby Sextet to take the "Biggest [Little] Band in the Land" off the stand. Bird learned it by hearing the Kirby Sextet and through his friendship with Russell Procope, that group's alto saxophonist.This speculation on the origin of the tune does seem credible. However, there is another likely source, in Georges Bizet's opera, "Carmen."
Bird told Benedetti that his title for "Cool Blues" was "Blues Up and Down." This same blues theme was used earlier by the John Kirby Sextet to take the "Biggest [Little] Band in the Land" off the stand. Bird learned it by hearing the Kirby Sextet and through his friendship with Russell Procope, that group's alto saxophonist.This speculation on the origin of the tune does seem credible. However, there is another likely source, in Georges Bizet's opera, "Carmen."
Some tunes seem to make absolutely no sense, like the chords changes are some random crazy collection of complex sounds…
But with a little know-how, using the same tactics we showed you in our recent lesson on learning tunes quickly, even the most difficult tunes can be deciphered in just a few minutes.
Today’s lesson comes from a recent question we received from a reader:
”I enjoyed your latest post and would like to start memorizing standards this way. However, lots of standards don’t seem to fit this method…or rather I can’t see how to fit them. Case in point, the tune ‘Infant Eyes’. Could you show how to apply the method to a ‘non-standard’ song?
That’s a great question, and if you haven’t read our recent post on how to learn the chord changes of a tune in less than 5 minutes, make sure to check that out before diving into this lesson.
Once you have a firm grasp on the method we use there, you’re ready to apply the concepts to something a little trickier…something like Wayne Shorter’s beautiful composition Infant Eyes.
When you first look at the changes to this tune, the common reaction is, “What the ^%$# is going on?!?!?!”
This is a complicated tune in the sense that at first glance, there are few typical progressions like ii Vs or other common chunks of chords that we are familiar with.
In fact, even the key center of … Read More
]]>Some tunes seem to make absolutely no sense, like the chords changes are some random crazy collection of complex sounds…
But with a little know-how, using the same tactics we showed you in our recent lesson on learning tunes quickly, even the most difficult tunes can be deciphered in just a few minutes.
Today’s lesson comes from a recent question we received from a reader:
”I enjoyed your latest post and would like to start memorizing standards this way. However, lots of standards don’t seem to fit this method…or rather I can’t see how to fit them. Case in point, the tune ‘Infant Eyes’. Could you show how to apply the method to a ‘non-standard’ song?
That’s a great question, and if you haven’t read our recent post on how to learn the chord changes of a tune in less than 5 minutes, make sure to check that out before diving into this lesson.
Once you have a firm grasp on the method we use there, you’re ready to apply the concepts to something a little trickier…something like Wayne Shorter’s beautiful composition Infant Eyes.
When you first look at the changes to this tune, the common reaction is, “What the ^%$# is going on?!?!?!”
This is a complicated tune in the sense that at first glance, there are few typical progressions like ii Vs or other common chunks of chords that we are familiar with.
In fact, even the key center of the tune is ambiguous.
And, if that weren’t enough, there are all these weird chords with slashes and upper extensions like #11.
So, how do we even approach a tune like this when we can barely even understand what’s going on?
First and foremost, start with the easiest way to simplify a tune in your mind. Look for the form…
In the case of Infant Eyes, as you can see, the form is ABA where each section lasts 9 bars. That means that all we have on our plates are two sections of 9 bars long to figure out.
But just because it’s only 18 bars doesn’t mean that these progressions aren’t tricky…
In our recent lesson, we worked through What is This Thing Called Love? which makes use of many familiar harmonic elements. Because we’re already familiar with a lot of what’s there, we can jump into the other parts of the process:
And, we can then go into making a tune index card for the tune —if any of this is unfamiliar, review our lesson from a few weeks ago.
But, when we’re dealing with more complicated harmony that has many unfamiliar elements in it, we have to add a step before all of these.
We have to figure out the chords we don’t understand BEFORE we start improvising on it.
I know it sounds like common sense, but everyone seems to ignore this, even me. I remember opening the Real Book to a random difficult tune of which I barely understood the chords to, throwing on a background track, and improvising for hours.
Sure, it was fun, but I was fumbling over the same chord changes and reinforcing bad habits over them, rather than spending 20 minutes figuring out the specific things I didn’t understand.
It doesn’t take that much time to gain a basic understanding of even the most daunting of chords. So, let’s take a look at some of the scary chords in Infant Eyes…
The first thing that stands out are all those chords with a slash and an extra symbol. They’re called “Slash Chords” and are way easier to understand than you might think. Essentially all they are is a chord on the left, with a bass note on the right.
So if you have “C minor 7 / F” that means the chord is a C minor 7 chord with an F in the bass, instead of the usual C.
Not that scary at all…
The whole point of slash chords and what makes them tricky is that with each one, the composer is describing a very particular sound, and if you don’t know what the sound is that they’re describing, well, you’re a little lost.
In the case of Infant Eyes, all the slash chords in the A sections describe a “Sus Chord,” and lucky for you, we’ve talked before about sus chords here.
Because all these slash chords in the A section are sus chords, for memorization and simplification purposes, I think of a sus chord for all these slash chords and will notate them as such later in our memorization process.
So…
C min7 / F becomes F7 sus
F min7 / Bb becomes Bb7 sus
Bb min7 / Eb becomes Eb7 sus
But, what if you wanted to figure this out on your own, that these slash chords were describing sus chords?
With any chord you don’t understand, sit at the piano and play it.
What does it sound like? If you’ve trained your ear you should instantly be able to hear whether it’s major, minor, sus, altered, or anything else– yes, if you’ve drilled these sounds in your mind, it’s like hearing a friend’s voice: you just know what it is without any thought.
And if you know how to think about and analyze chord-tone relationships, then you’ll quickly see at the piano how each note in the chord is acting in relation to its root.
Every chord can be described in some way.
By spending a few minutes at the piano with the chords you don’t understand, you’ll have an “AHA” moment and realize, “Oh, that’s all it is….”
The other slash chord occurs in the second measure of the bridge:
E Major 7 b5 / Eb
Many charts will say this chord is E major 7 / Eb and forget about the b5, not quite the sound we’re after, which brings me to another VERY important point.
With tunes like this, you have to listen to the original recording and determine for yourself what it is you hear.
Sure, I don’t expect you to be able to figure out all these chords on your own, but spend some time and double check the accuracy of your lead sheet by slowing down the tune and playing along with the original recording—I’ll do another lesson on this, walking you through the whole process with this tune because it’s a bit involved but for now, know that a crucial step in understanding, memorizing, and playing over these chords entails studying the actual chord voicings that Herbie Hancock plays on this tune.
Back to slash chords…
This slash chord, E Major 7 b5 / Eb, is a very unique and beautiful sound, and it’s easy to think about as well. It’s just a Major 7 chord with a b5 (same as the #11, the b5 is notated to specify that the 5th is flatted in the voicing instead of adding the #11th to a voicing with the 5th), and instead of the root, the 7th is put in the bass.
There are a few ways to think about this. Most theory books will tell you to play Eb Phrygian, which is completely cool if it works for you.
Or if you prefer, you could also think lydian— check this lesson out for a ton of lydian ideas — if you think of E Major 7 #11. In this case, you’d essentially just think about the left side of the chord, which works as well.
Besides these slash chords, Infant Eyes makes frequent use of dominant chords with alterations (a great lesson on dominant vocabulary here) and Major #11 chords, both of which are simple variations on their basic counterparts, dominant and major, respectively.
In this tune, however, the specific dominant voicings Herbie uses highlight particular upper structure chord-tones (9 11 13) and altered chord-tones (b9 #9 b5 #5).
Sometimes he plays a dominant chord voicing containing the b9 and the natural 13th, and other times he plays a dominant chord voicing with the #9 and the b13 (same as #5).
As I mentioned before, for tunes like this where each chord is a very defined sound and every little alteration contributes to the tune, it’s important to listen to the original recording and figure out the subtleties in the chord voicings.
For now, I’ve notated for you where Herbie tends to (I say tends because he doesn’t always play the same chord voicing each time around) use a voicing containing the b9 and natural 13th, or the #9 and b13th (notated as ALT), but know that you’ll eventually have to dig into the actual chord voicings a comping instrument is playing (something we get into in The Ear Training Method) if you want to hear and play over these dominant chords effectively.
And that’s it as far as basic chord understanding goes for Infant Eyes. It’s not as much as you may think, but before you begin to play on any tune, you should aim to:
If any chord gives you a “What the $#%# is that?” You’re not done with your pre-chord-study.
Once you understand each chord individually, it’s time to understand the chords in the context of a progression, and to do this, as we did in our recent lesson, we construct short memorable sentences that give the chords context and meaning, and associate this context and meaning to information already in your head—knowledge of basic progressions.
But, as you now know by now, it’s a bit difficult to construct a sentence when the tune doesn’t even have a recognizable key?!?!?
So, what do you do?
Well, you do what any great problem solver would do…
You think outside the box and impose your own will on the problem.
Let’s begin to look at how we’d do this for the A section of Infant Eyes…
The A section is an unusual 9 bars long and doesn’t necessarily sound like it functions in any particular key. Some people will say it’s in Eb and others will say Bb.
Like we said in the previous lesson, we’re trying to get these changes in our head so we never have to look at them again in the Real Book, so we’re primarily concerned with finding a way that we can easily think about them, even if it’s not precisely how we hear the progression.
For me, that’s thinking of the whole tune in Eb. When a tune’s key is ambiguous, we just have to make some decision on how we’re going to think about it. This would ideally match up with how we hear the tune, but in the case of tricky tunes like this, ideal is not what we’re after. We’re after any way to conceptualize these change because they’re not easy to think about.
Here’s the secret to thinking about a tune’s changes that function more individually than a cohesive whole:
Use both functional analysis and intervallic relationships to create your short memorable sentences
AND…
Break up each section into several pieces that are easier to recall than the entire section.
Let’s do this with the A section to give you an idea of what I mean…
We’ll break up the A section into 3 pieces:
Using both functional analysis and intervallic relationships makes the first 4 bars easy.
G minor and F minor could function as the iii minor and the ii minor moving to the I chord, Eb major. Remember, with tricky tunes that have ambiguous key centers, we’re making this stuff up to aid in our memorization process. We’re imposing our own structure on to it, not trying to determine what the composer was thinking or firmly declare why a chord functions a certain way.
And the 4th chord is where our intervallic trick comes in. That chord is a dominant b9 13 chord a tritone up (or down, same thing), from the tonic (Eb major)
Our sentence for the first four measures is easy:
iii minor, ii minor, I major #11, up a tritone to Dominant b9 13
Say it a few times…
“Three minor, Two minor, One Major #11, up a tritone to Dominant b9 13”
Easy right?
Once you learn this and our comfortable with it, you could make this even more concise by eliminating the “minor” on the iii and ii because those are the standard qualities attached to iii and ii in a major key, and you could eliminate the “major” after I if you like and “#11” if you have the ability to remember and to hear this alteration.
You can even shorten the “b9 13” to “b9,” and create a schema in your mind that b9 implies the natural 13th. I like to use “b9” for an abbreviated version of this chord. All of this is up to you, but I want to give you an idea of how you can simplify the changes to the point that they’re super easy to think about…
iii, ii, I, up a tritone to Dominant b9
Now say this shortened version a few times…
“Three, Two, One, up a tritone to Dominant b9”
Moving to the next two bars…
I think intervallically because I want to move from the dominant chord somewhere, rather than thinking of the next chord as related to our self-appointed tonic, Eb major. That’s just my preference.
So, to get to measure 5, I think, “down a minor 3rd to major #11” and for the measure after that, “down a half step to a sus 7 chord”
And for the final three measures, I move back to thinking functionally rather than intervallically because thinking of the parallel minor is always easy:
I parallel minor, V7 sus, V7 alt
I know, it sounds like a lot, but it’s actually pretty easy because we’ve split the 9 tricky bars up into three manageable pieces that are easy to navigate between.
Let’s put the whole A section together in a simplified version to get an idea of how easy it really is, and we’ll simplify the sentences even more by abbreviating our intervals— minor 3rd = m3, major 3rd = M3, half step = HS etc…
iii, ii, I, up tritone to Dom b9
Down m3 to maj #11, down HS to sus
i parallel minor, V7 sus, V7 alt
Say each of the 3 pieces over and over until you’ve got them solid. Then connect them, one after the other and verbally go through all 9 bars over and over.
The form of the tune is ABA, the last A section simply leaves out the last chord, so with this work, you’ve just learned 66% of the tune.
When we learned What is This Thing Called Love? it was clear that there were chords in the progression that we were headed toward, in other words, there were target chords.
When a tune shifts from chord to chord and has an ambiguous key center, target chords play less of a role in the memorization process.
Still, there are target chords that we can use more as “important flags” to make sure we’re on the right track.
For the A section, obviously our I major chord (Eb major) is a target chord that we should have in our mind. The other chord I would note as being target chords is the parallel minor because it helps us get through those last 3 bars.
Now, in terms of alternate pathways, on tricky tunes, I like to combine alternate pathways with the way I’m already thinking about the chords to ensure that I don’t make a mistake. In the A section, I may do this at measure 5.
The way that we’re thinking about getting to measure 5 is:
Move a minor 3rd down to a major #11 chord, A7 to F# major, but another way to think about it—an alternate pathway— is move to the bIII major#11 of the key (F# major #11 is the bIII major#11 in Eb).
Having this relationship in mind simultaneously may help you make sure that you moved correctly using your intervallic relationship, and you may want to add this (the bIII major #11) to your list of target chords that you think of upfront as well.
Remember, all of this is meant to help you think through the chord changes in any key. If it complicates your thinking, don’t use it. If it makes it easier, do use it. If you come up with something that works better for you, use that instead.
Now let’s take a look at the bridge of Infant Eyes…
The bridge of Infant Eyes is again 9 bars like our A section, and doesn’t seem to use standard progressions either.
Using Eb major again as our tonic and thinking intervallically makes this pretty easy to think about if we split it into 3 pieces again:
For the first 4 measures…
I major, up a half-step major b5 with tonic in the bass (Eb),
I major #11, up a half-step major #11
You can always make your sentences as concise as you like as we did before:
I maj, up HS maj b5 tonic bass, I maj #11, up HS maj #11
Then for the next two measures…
Up P5 to major, down HS to V7sus
Notice that in the case of “down a half step to V7sus” I combine intervallic (down a half step) and functional (V7sus) thinking to give me two simultaneous ways to get to the chord. In other words, I’m taking two pathways of getting to the chord and combining them to reinforce how I mentally get there.
You could just think of “V7 sus” or “down a half step to sus”, but sometimes it may help you to use this combined method, thinking instead: “down a half step to V7 sus”.
And the final three measure…
down WS to iv minor, P5 up to I7sus, down HS to Dom7alt (which leads to iii minor in the following bar of the last A Section)
Again, I’m combining both intervallic and functional pathways. You can use just functional or just intervallic pathways, or a combination of both if you like.
Let’s put the entire bridge together and make our sentences more concise with the abbreviations for intervals—half step = HS, whole step = WS etc…
First, what are our target chords? For the bridge, you want to have the I major chord in your mind (Eb), the major #11 chord a half step up (E), and the major chord a 5th up from there (B). With these 3 chords in your mind, it’s easy to navigate your way through the bridge. Here’s all of our sentences:
I maj, up HS maj b5 tonic bass, I maj #11, up HS maj #11
Up P5 to maj, down HS to V7sus
Down WS to iv minor, Up P5 I7sus, Down HS to V7alt
Try to think through each of these pieces quickly in a few keys…
One more thing about this tune that you might have noticed if you were paying close attention is that the A section and the bridge actually use some of the same chord relationships, simply shifted to a new key.
Measures 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the A section are identical to measures 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the bridge, just shifted up a perfect 4th (or down a perfect 5th, same thing).
When you start to be able to think intervallically without making your brain explode, you may want to capitalize on this relationship.
Instead of thinking of measures 7 and 8 in a functional way for the A section like we did— i parallel minor and V7 sus — you could think intervallically the whole time:
Maj 7 #11, down HS to sus, down WS to minor, up P5 to sus
If you get this down, then when you get to the bridge, you can think of the same relationships for measures 5 – 8:
Maj 7, down HS to sus, down WS to minor, up P5 to sus
Now, I didn’t show you this upfront for a couple reasons…
First, I wanted to gradually introduce you to the idea of thinking intervallically. Most of the time, we’re so used to thinking about how every chord functions, that thinking a different way can be quite complex.
And secondly, I wanted to give you choices and show you that there are many different ways to think about chord changes, especially if you learn to mix both functional and intervallic ways of thinking.
Always look for and be aware of relationships between each chord and groups of chords.
Use what works for you, but expand and improve your musical mind by trying new ways of thinking through the changes.
Now that you have your short memorable sentences defined and can easily use them, go ahead and draw them up on an index card for review:
As you make tune index cards, place them on your nightstand and right before you go to sleep, glance at them for a few minutes. This exercise will help the changes cement themselves into your mind while you sleep.
Ok, here’s the real test…
Let’s think through the changes of Infant Eyes in the key of Db.
First the A section…
Our target chords are going to be I major (Db major) and the parallel minor is C# minor. We also want to have our bIII major #11 chord in mind, which is E major.
Now, fill in our sentences:
iii, ii, headed to Db maj, up a tritone to Dom b9
F min, Eb min, Db maj, up a tritone to G7b9
Down m3 to maj #11, down HS to sus
Down a minor 3rd to E maj #11, Eb7 sus
Down WS to i minor, Up P5 to V7 sus, V7 alt
C# minor, Ab7 sus, Ab7alt
Not as difficult as you might have expected…
Next, the bridge using our target chords I major (Db major), the major #11 chord up a half step (D major #11), and the major chord a perfect 5th up from there (A major)
I maj, up HS to maj #11 tonic bass, I maj #11, up HS to maj #11
Db maj, D maj b5 / Db, Db maj #11, D maj #11
Up P5 to maj, down HS to V7sus
A maj, Ab7 sus
Down WS to iv minor, Up P5 to I7sus, down HS to Dom7alt
F# min, Db7 sus, C7 alt (which leads us back into the F minor of the A section)
And that’s it! I know it’s not easy at first, and that’s just the reality, that some tunes are just hard to conceptualize. But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t tools that can’t help.
Between functional and intervallic thinking, you will be able to determine many easy-to-think-about pathways leading you from one point in a tune’s progression to another, and you’ll be able to craft meaningful sentences that lead you through the changes.
Once you’ve studied these sentences or come up with your own, sit at the piano and play through the changes while verbalizing out-loud your instructions. This is a very important exercise for you to do.
You must learn to hear these chords and see them in your mind.
See, hear, and feel the relationships.
It’s my hope that the example we went through today, although difficult, gave you a little insight into how you might approach the tricker tunes that you’ve been struggling with, and give you the confidence needed to figure them out. While it may take you way longer than 5 minutes right now, with some on-going practice, you will be able to use this method to dramatically speed up the time it takes you to learn a hard tune.
Now go have some fun conquering one of those complex tunes that you’ve always wanted to learn!
]]>Open up any music theory book and you’ll find the term “lydian.”
A funny sounding word that refers to the fourth mode of the major scale…
You’ve, no doubt, played this scale. You’ve probably even practiced it in every key and studied it’s relationship to the tonic.
But what if I told you that you don’t know this scale. That the way that most theory books and teachers teach this mode is putting you into a harmonic straightjacket.
If you’ve only practiced this scale as an exercise, you’re missing out on a sound and harmonic approach that has been utilized by some of the greatest modern improvisers and musicians like Woody Shaw, Joe Henderson, Mark Turner and Jacob Collier.
And today we’re going to show you the secret to unlocking this sound – turning a mundane theory concept into a real musical technique that you can use in your solos.
Let me show you what I mean…
In Western music theory, “lydian” refers to the fourth mode of the Major scale:
It’s one of the seven musical modes of each key, defined by a raised 4th scale degree. In jazz theory the term lydian becomes synonymous with any number of scales that feature the #11.
This definition is fine if you want to memorize your major scales or pass a test, but if you want to improvise over this sound, you need a different approach – … Read More
]]>Open up any music theory book and you’ll find the term “lydian.”
A funny sounding word that refers to the fourth mode of the major scale…
You’ve, no doubt, played this scale. You’ve probably even practiced it in every key and studied it’s relationship to the tonic.
But what if I told you that you don’t know this scale. That the way that most theory books and teachers teach this mode is putting you into a harmonic straightjacket.
If you’ve only practiced this scale as an exercise, you’re missing out on a sound and harmonic approach that has been utilized by some of the greatest modern improvisers and musicians like Woody Shaw, Joe Henderson, Mark Turner and Jacob Collier.
And today we’re going to show you the secret to unlocking this sound – turning a mundane theory concept into a real musical technique that you can use in your solos.
Let me show you what I mean…
In Western music theory, “lydian” refers to the fourth mode of the Major scale:
It’s one of the seven musical modes of each key, defined by a raised 4th scale degree. In jazz theory the term lydian becomes synonymous with any number of scales that feature the #11.
This definition is fine if you want to memorize your major scales or pass a test, but if you want to improvise over this sound, you need a different approach – and this requires a mental shift.
Instead of a mode or scale that exists only in relation to a major scale, you should look at lydian as a sound all its own.
And you’ll be surprised to know that this sound has quite a history…
From the teachings of Pythagorus to ancient Chinese musicians, and much later in George Russell’s Lydian Chromatic Concept, “lydian” wasn’t a mode or a scale, but a sound – the sound.
These musical minds conceived of a naturally occurring sound built from a series of consecutive 5ths. For instance, take the first 7 tones in the circle of 5ths and stack them vertically:
The resulting chord would be what we would refer to as a Major 7 #11 chord, containing the 9th and 13th. And from that chord you can create the following scale…
A seven note scale constructed from a series of successive Perfect 5ths. For these theorists, this chord, and corresponding scale, was the starting point for harmonic and melodic construction in music.
And this vertical relationship to sound relates closely to how many improvisers conceive of harmony. Listen to how Bill Evans uses this sound in the chord progression to his tune Time Remembered:
When you begin to think of lydian not as a mode within a major scale, but a sound in and of itself you’ll open up a number of harmonic possibilities in your playing.
And this can change the way you approach harmony…
By now you’ve probably heard of Jacob Collier.
And if you’ve listened to his compositions and arrangements you may have noticed the lydian sound in his tunes. To see what I mean, check out the last chord of his arrangement of Fascinating Rhythm:
One of the reasons he has such a complex sound is his approach to harmony – the way he conceptualizes the construction of music. To him the lydian mode is not just a scale or a nice chord to end on, but a sound that relates to his overall approach to harmony and the construction of sound.
Check out this masterclass he did in Norway for more on his musical approach. As he explains his musical conception comes out of the inherent 5th relationship in the construction of harmony – the Circle of 5ths.
Some of the points he makes that you should keep in mind when studying harmony…
And in the interview below he talks about his Super-Ultra-Hyper-Mega-Meta Lydian sound:
He describes this sound as “lydian in it’s most natural form.”
A scale that naturally keeps ascending, the lydian sound moving successively through the circle of fifths:
But enough about the theory, where are you actually going to find this sound in real-life? And more importantly, how are you going to improvise over it?
The key to improvising over the lydian sound starts with ingraining it in your ear. And this means some serious listening…
Lucky for us, there are dozens of tunes in the jazz repertoire that utilize the unique sound of the Major7 #11 chord.
In the mid-1960’s the lydian sound became a central part of the sound of modern jazz from the compositions of Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, and Chick Corea to the harmonic and melodic conception of the great Woody Shaw.
If you truly want to master this sound, you need to study the tunes that use it…
To begin, let’s take a listen to two compositions that prominently feature the Major 7 #11 sound. The most well-known is Joe Henderson’s composition Inner Urge from his album of the same name.
As you can see in this excerpt, the first 16 bars of the tune feature extended sections of the Major7#11 or lydian sound, descending by whole-steps.
Another great example is the tune Zoltan from Larry Young’s album Unity.
the first step in transforming the lydian scale from a theory term that you memorized into a musical device that you can actually improvise with is listening. Below is a list of tunes from the jazz repertoire that prominently feature this lydian sound:
Here’s a spotify playlist to get started…
Before you worry about harmonic patterns, improvisation techniques, and transcribing solos, ingrain this sound in your ear.
Now that you have this sound in your ear, what you are going to improvise over it??
The most obvious place to gather melodic material is with the standard lydian mode…
The scale doesn’t need to resolve and isn’t pulled in any harmonic direction. It’s what George Russell called a “concept of tonal unity.” The great thing about this sound is that every note works over the underlying chord.
In other words, the root, the #11, the 5th…all have equal footing within the lydian sound. Keep this in mind as you implement this scale in your solos.
Listen to how Freddie Hubbard uses a lydian scale fragment in his solo over Dolphin Dance at [1:19] in the video:
Here he uses the sound as a sort of G7 alt. sound, including a B natural in the line that resolves to C minor.
The defining feature of this scale or sound is the raised 4th scale degree or #11. When improvising, you can simply emphasize or incorporate the #11 over a Major 7 chord to imply a lydian sound.
This will take a little practice. Start by acclimating your ear to the sound of the #11 with some ear training exercises. By exposing yourself to this sound your ear will change, making this “dissonant” note sound right. Next, practice using the #11 as a color tone over standard Major7 chords.
A great example of a tune that utilizes this unique sound of the #11 over Major 7 chords is Herbie Hancock’s Tell Me a Bedtime Story:
You can utilize this technique in your solos as well, creating a musical idea around the raised 4th.
Check out how Kenny Garrett emphasizes the #11 (C#) over a GMaj7 in his solo over I’ll Remember April:
Remember, anytime you have a long stretch of a Major 7 chord, you can access this sound by incorporating or emphasizing the #11 in your lines.
But what if you want to get beyond using the lydian scale or throwing the #11 into your solos? Well, here are four ideas to get the creative juices flowing…
The first technique we’ll look at is based on the pentatonic scale – a scale that you’re probably familiar with.
If you’ve listened to Woody Shaw, McCoy Tyner or Kenny Garrett you’ve heard the pentatonic scale used in a melodic way, and you can use this same minor pentatonic scale when approaching a lydian tonality.
Play a minor pentatonic scale from the 7th degree of any Major 7 or Major 7 #11 sound.
Simply go down a half-step from the root and play a minor pentatonic scale. For example, in the key of F# it would work like this:
Over an F#Maj7 #11 chord, the 7th scale degree is F (E#), so you would play an F minor pentatonic scale:
With the minor pentatonic you emphasize not only the strong chord tones of the underlying chord (the 3rd and 7th), but the upper structures (9th, #11, 13th) as well – essentially hitting all the important notes with one scale.
Take a listen to how the F minor pentatonic (enharmonically spelled) sounds over a F#Maj.7 (#11) chord:
(You also can think of the related major pentatonic as well, Ab Maj pentatonic =F minor pentatonic, the notes are the same.)
If you listen again to the melody of Zoltan you’ll find that it is constructed using this technique of a minor pentatonic from the 7th of Major 7 #11 chords:
Let’s take a look at a few examples of this “lydian pentatonic” technique in some solos…
A perfect example of this technique used in a solo is from Woody Shaw’s solo on Zoltan:
Here he plays F minor pentatonic material over an F#Maj7 #11 sound, accessing the minor pentatonic a half-step below the root.
Another excellent Woody Shaw example comes from his solo on In Case You Haven’t Heard, highlighting the Bb minor pentatonic over a BMaj7 #11:
Notice how Woody utilizes the inherent 4th and 5th intervals within the pentatonic scale. Aim to get away from the root to root mentality when you are improvising with scales!
Finally check out how Mark Turner incorporates blues language as well as minor pentatonic material over the Maj.7 (#11) chords in his tune Jacky’s Place. His solo begins at 4:57 in the video:
In the excerpt he is essentially moving between C#- pentatonic over DMaj.7 (#11) and C# (Db) Major over the Ab7 chords.
Ready to try this in your own solos? Here are a few exercises to get you started…
Once you become comfortable applying the minor pentatonic scale to Major chords, you might want to add some harmonic tension to the mix…
In the same way that you would alter the notes in a V7 chord (b9, #9, b13) to create tension and make your line more interesting, you can alter the notes of the minor pentatonic scale to achieve the same effect.
One way to do this is by including the harmonic tension of the major 3rd in the minor pentatonic scale. For example, introducing the major 3rd (G#) within an E minor pentatonic scale:
This technique allows you to temporarily step outside of the harmony of the written chord progression. And when you apply this minor-major pentatonic sound to a Major chord it includes the harmonic dissonance of the minor 3rd (ex. E- pentatonic over FMaj7 #11):
One tune that uses this technique is Joe Henderson’s Afro-Centric. Notice how the melody uses the E natural:
The melody is composed of C- pentatonic material over a DbMaj7 #11 chord and includes the dissonant E natural.
Another similar example can be found in Vincent Herring’s tune Don’t Let It Go:
Over a Db Maj7 #11 chord he employs a C minor pentatonic scale with the addition of an E natural that is emphasized on the downbeat.
Finally check out how Woody Shaw uses this technique in his solo over In Case You Haven’t Heard:
Here Shaw employs E minor pentatonic material with an Ab (G#) – a harmonic side-stepping between consonance and dissonance.
Here are a few practice ideas to master this technique:
The great thing about the lydian sound is that some very simple melodic techniques can create some unique harmonic and melodic effect in your solos.
One of these techniques centers around a major triad built on the 2nd scale degree.
To practice this simply play a major triad a whole-step up from root. For instance over a GMaj.7 (#11) chord you would employ an A Major triad…
Here are a few examples of this triadic technique in action…
Listen the opening of Wynton Marsalis’s solo on Delfeayo’s Dilemma starting at 1:11 in the video below:
He creates a simple melody around the 2nd-degree triad (A major) over the underlying GMaj7 chord. Using a simple harmonic structure in a different context to create a “modern sound.”
Another example of this technique can be found in Robert Glasper’s solo on Tell Me a Bedtime Story:
Here he uses a D Major triad over a C Maj7 chord. Practice applying this technique to the major chords in your own solos.
The next step is incorporating some melodic techniques to make these triads sound more musical within your phrases. You can do this by including the 4th and 6th scale degrees within the triad, and you can play the major pentatonic scale from the 2nd scale degree.
This will create more linear motion and interest in your solos. An example of this technique can be found in Wynton’s solo. Notice how he centers his line around an A triad and includes the D, F# and B to augment his line:
Another melodic approach you can do with triads involves pairing the root triad with the 2nd degree triad. For instance, in the key of G you could alternate between a G Maj triad and an A Maj triad:
Check out how John Swana uses this technique in his solo on Inner Urge:
He is alternating between an F triad and an Eb triad, using enclosures and approach notes to create linear motion. Later in the same solo he uses the same triad technique once more…
Here are a few practice ideas to get these triadic techniques under your fingers…
Learning language from the masters is essential for becoming a proficient improviser.
Whether you see the lydian scale as the ‘root’ scale or as the 4th mode of a major scale, the fact remains that these two sounds are related and interconnected.
And exploiting this harmonic connection can yield some effective improvisation tools. Let’s look at the lydian mode as it relates to a Major key – the way you would in traditional music theory.
For example the FMaj7 #11 sound relates to the modes of C Major and vice versa…
The same sounds or language that you would use in the key of C Major can be applied to the F Lydian sound. Simply take the Major, V7, and minor language that you’ve learned and apply it in a new harmonic setting.
Here are a few example the illustrate this technique…
The first is from Robert Glasper’s solo on Tell Me a Bedtime Story:
Over a C Maj7 (#11) sound he uses melodic material from G Major, borrowing major language from the related I chord (G).
You can use the same concept by borrowing language from the related V7 chord. Listen to the line Mulgrew Miller plays in his solo on Inner Urge:
Over a DbMaj 7 #11 chord he play Eb7 language, utilizing the bebop scale and enclosing the chord tones. Think of playing dominant language from the 2nd scale degree, like you did with the triadic technique.
In the same solo, Mulgrew also applies minor language to a lydian sound. Check out the line he plays at 0:53 in the video:
Once you’ve transcribed and ingrained some jazz language, you’ll find that it can be applied to a number of harmonic situations. The trick lies in know the harmonic relationship between these chords and tonalities.
In this lesson we’ve looked at how the lydian sound relates to the circle of 5ths and we’ve focused on improvisation techniques you can use on the Major 7 #11 chord.
When you add more successive 5ths to construct a chord, you’ll get more scale options and harmonic possibilities. In the future we’ll take a look at these sounds – lydian dominant, lydian #5, etc. Stay tuned for more!
As you head into the practice room, focus on one of these techniques at a time and aim for mastery. It’s a great idea to work these sounds out at the piano in every key. Create a practice track with Transcribe, loop a lydian section, slow it down or change keys, and work out these concepts on your instrument.
Another great exercise is to practice with a drone. Starting with improvised lines in major and slowly incorporating the #11 or lydian tonalities. You can do this as a warm-up exercise.
The important thing to remember is that you don’t have to wait for a written Major 7 #11 chord to use these techniques, you can apply a lydian scale or melodic concept to any Major chord that you encounter!
]]>What if I told you there’s a simple little trick to learn chord changes to a tune in a just a few minutes?
That the countless hours you’ve spent reading tunes out of the Real Book can finally come to a close and you can begin to have chord changes live in your head, where they belong.
And the truth is, this little trick’s been staring you in the face. It’s not new, complex, or even something that takes time to learn. You can start using it TODAY.
Take the tune What is This Thing Called Love?:
For years, you’ve probably opened up the Real Book to “W,” flipped around, to the tune— or grabbed your iPad —and read the chord changes as you solo.
This is a fine place to start, but wouldn’t you think that after years of doing this, the chord changes would finally get into your head and you could stop being a Real Book player?
The thing is, simply playing a tune from the Real Book or even trying to memorize the chord changes in a drill-and-kill fashion won’t get you that far.
So many people try this every single day. They recite in their head over and over…
”G half diminished, C7 alt, F minor…”
Thinking that if they just do it enough that the changes will somehow stick.
But, it’s like cramming for a school test. You may have the information the next day, but … Read More
]]>What if I told you there’s a simple little trick to learn chord changes to a tune in a just a few minutes?
That the countless hours you’ve spent reading tunes out of the Real Book can finally come to a close and you can begin to have chord changes live in your head, where they belong.
And the truth is, this little trick’s been staring you in the face. It’s not new, complex, or even something that takes time to learn. You can start using it TODAY.
Take the tune What is This Thing Called Love?:
For years, you’ve probably opened up the Real Book to “W,” flipped around, to the tune— or grabbed your iPad —and read the chord changes as you solo.
This is a fine place to start, but wouldn’t you think that after years of doing this, the chord changes would finally get into your head and you could stop being a Real Book player?
The thing is, simply playing a tune from the Real Book or even trying to memorize the chord changes in a drill-and-kill fashion won’t get you that far.
So many people try this every single day. They recite in their head over and over…
”G half diminished, C7 alt, F minor…”
Thinking that if they just do it enough that the changes will somehow stick.
But, it’s like cramming for a school test. You may have the information the next day, but it’s gone shortly after that because there’s nothing memorable about the information.
So how do you make something memorable?
You give it context and meaning, and associate it with the information already in your head.
A dead-simple trick to giving chord changes context, meaning, and association is creating short memorable sentences that summarize the changes in a meaningful way.
Rather than thinking of each change as an individual unit, begin to understand how each chord functions within the key center.
Classic music theory would have you believe that chord changes must be analyzed a single way, but when you’re analyzing chords for your own purposes, you can do it however you want!
And to me, the simpler the better. Taking What is This Thing Called Love?…
This is how I would analyze how each chord functions in the A section of the tune because it allows me to sum up all these chord relationships in a simple memorable sentence:
Minor ii V to iV minor. Minor ii V to I major.
This trick gives the chords context in terms of how they function in relation to the other chords, the context gives meaning, and all the while, you’re associating the chords to chord patterns that should be in your mind, things like ii Vs and minor ii Vs in all keys —if these building blocks aren’t in your mind, then start spending some time visualizing these essential progressions so you can easily think in terms of logical chunks of chords.
That’s the entire A section of the tune! And, because the tune is of the form AABA, meaning it repeats the A section twice, then has a “Bridge” section, and then repeats the A section again, with that short memorable sentence, you’ve just memorized 75% of the changes!
Simple powerful stuff…
Ok, so now you have your short memorable sentence, and you have the prerequisite chordal knowledge from practicing visualization of common progressions…now, the key to using these things is thinking of the target chords–where each part of the progression “leads” to.
Using our example, the target chords are the the iV minor chord in measure 3 and the I major chord in measure 7.
The thought process goes like this…
I major is C Major
iV minor is F minor
Now my sentence is, “Minor ii V to F minor. Minor ii V to C major. ”
And my brain fills in the rest because I’ve previously drilled minor ii Vs in my mind over and over, so I automatically know a minor ii V in F and C.
By crafting a simple sentence and thinking of target chords, I can think of 2 chords rather than 8, and have a solid grasp on where the chords are going before I get there.
Let’s take a quick look at the bridge and how using multiple views on chord function can help you learn the changes even faster.
Here’s the bridge to What is This Thing Called Love? with the chord functions of how I’d analyze it. Notice I often leave out upper extensions like “7” or “b9 or alt” instead favoring the most simplified version of the chord for the sentences. I prefer to have a wide range of upper structure options available based upon what I’m hearing in the moment, but feel free to add in any extensions you like…
The short memorable sentence I’d use is:
ii V I I starting on the parallel minor. bVI7 V7 2 bars each.
Easy right?
Well, it’s easy if you know what to look for. Remember, try to find relationships that are easy to recall. There may be 10 different way to think about a group of chords. Find a way that lets you simplify the relationships as much as possible.
If your sentence isn’t short, concise, and memorable, keep working at it.
The first 4 chords I could have analyzed differently. I could have said a ii V to the key a whole step below the tonic (Bb major), but it’s definitely more difficult than thinking of the parallel minor, C major to C minor.
Still, it’s useful to have alternate pathways to conjuring chord changes. Not only does it give you a good mental workout, but it provides a mental check to make sure you’re doing everything correctly, and it helps you recognize relationships that you otherwise may have not noticed.
So, even if you come up with a simple sentence, keep looking for more ways to describe the progression, even if just for the mental exercise.
For any tune you learn, you may find it useful to create a “Tune Index Card” that you can carry around with you and occasionally glance at until the information is in your head for good. When you don’t need the card anymore, you can archive it for review.
Sometimes I like to put basic info on the card as well, like the form. Something like this:
It’s really easy and can help you, especially when you’re starting out.
Have you ever wondered how pros can call a tune in any key and can instantly think of the changes with ease?
This skill comes from thinking of and understanding the underlying relationships as you’ve learned how to do today. Go ahead and try it out for yourself…
I want you to play What is This Thing Called Love? in the key of F#.
Ready?
Step 1: Get your target chords for the A Sections
I major is F# Major and iv minor is B minor
Step 2: Fill in these chords to your short memorable sentences
Minor ii V to B minor
Minor ii V to F# Major
Step 3: Get the bridge
The parallel minor of F# Major (I Major) is F# minor, so…
ii V I I starting on F# minor (you could use your alternate relationship as well, a ii V to E Major, the major chord a whole step below the I)
D7 (bVI7) Db7 (V7) 2 bars each
Done.
You never have to open the Real Book for the changes to this tune ever again.
Next, make a Tune Index Card, and mentally go through the changes in all keys as you go about your day. If you need help getting the basic chord progressions into your mind—as I mentioned before, this info needs to be automatic, literally no thought for all of this to work in real-time—make sure to check out the Jazz Visualization Course.
With the method outlined in this lesson, you’ll no doubt be memorizing the changes to tunes much faster and more permanently, but remember, just because you know the changes to a tune doesn’t mean you’re done with a tune or can hear the changes.
In fact, think of tunes as life-long vehicles that you’ll work on progressively. Your goal is to solo in a lyrical way over the tune, and as you learn and transcribe more, you’ll practice using these new concepts over the tunes you’re working on.
Having the chords function in your mind in a meaningful way, where you don’t have to think about them at all will set you free to focus on the important things, like making music the way you want to.
So now that you know how to learn chord changes quickly in all keys, go try it out on a tune you’ve always wanted learn!!!
]]>The history in this book runs from Plato to Blurred Lines and beyond. You will read about the Holy Roman Empire’s attempts to standardize religious music with the first great musical technology (notation) and the inevitable backfire of that attempt. You will read about troubadours and church composers, swapping tunes (and remarkably profane lyrics), changing both religion and music in the process. You will see diatribes against jazz for corrupting musical culture, against rock and roll for breaching the color-line. You will learn about the lawsuits that, surprisingly, shaped rap. You will read the story of some of music’s iconoclasts—from Handel and Beethoven to Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ray Charles, the British Invasion and Public Enemy.
To understand this history fully, one has to roam wider still—into musical technologies from notation to the sample deck, aesthetics, the incentive systems that got musicians paid, and law’s 250 year struggle to assimilate music, without destroying it in the process. Would jazz, soul or rock and roll be legal if they were reinvented today? We are not sure. Which as you will read, is profoundly worrying because today, more than ever, we need the arts.See the video below for a lecture on the subject by co-author Jennifer Jenkins. I'd recommend that you read the comic book first, though.
The history in this book runs from Plato to Blurred Lines and beyond. You will read about the Holy Roman Empire’s attempts to standardize religious music with the first great musical technology (notation) and the inevitable backfire of that attempt. You will read about troubadours and church composers, swapping tunes (and remarkably profane lyrics), changing both religion and music in the process. You will see diatribes against jazz for corrupting musical culture, against rock and roll for breaching the color-line. You will learn about the lawsuits that, surprisingly, shaped rap. You will read the story of some of music’s iconoclasts—from Handel and Beethoven to Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ray Charles, the British Invasion and Public Enemy.
To understand this history fully, one has to roam wider still—into musical technologies from notation to the sample deck, aesthetics, the incentive systems that got musicians paid, and law’s 250 year struggle to assimilate music, without destroying it in the process. Would jazz, soul or rock and roll be legal if they were reinvented today? We are not sure. Which as you will read, is profoundly worrying because today, more than ever, we need the arts.See the video below for a lecture on the subject by co-author Jennifer Jenkins. I'd recommend that you read the comic book first, though.
I took the ferry boat from New Orleans across the Mississippi to Algiers. On my way up the levee, I heard an elderly negro with a guitar playing three notes for a long time. I didn't think anything with only three notes could have a title so to satisfy my curiosity I asked him what was the name of the piece. He replied, "I got the blues."Hobson comments, "...why the elderly guitarist on the levee in Algiers chose to call the tune "I Got the Blues," we are not told. It may have been just a reference to his own state of mind, or it may have related in some way to "I've Got De Blues" (1901), the first major hit for the African American vaudeville entertainers Chris Smith and Elmer Bowman." [Smith and Bowman's tune, however, was not what we would call a blues.]
I went home. Having this on my mind, I wrote "I Got the Blues," making the three notes dominating most of the time. That same night, our five-piece orchestra played at the Fabaker Restaurant (in New Orleans) "I Got the Blues" which was composed with the purpose of a musical caricature, and to my astonishment became our most popular request number.
During this time people asked me for copies, but I had only my manuscript. I had no intention of publishing it because my interest in music was entirely classical. However, the people's demand by now was so overwhelming that our first violinist, Barzin (later to play first violin with Toscanini, at the Met) persisted until I finally consented to publish 1000 copies for piano, 500 for band and 500 for orchestra...This took place in 1908. The copies were sold in a very short time. I wasn't interested in another edition for the reason already explained.The chord progression was not original with Maggio; similar 12-bar harmonic sequences had been used before in "Just Because She Made Them Goo-Goo Eyes," a 1900 hit tune by Hughie Cannon, and also in other tunes by Cannon. Similar 12-bar progressions had been used even earlier in the folk tunes "Stagolee," "Frankie and Johnny," and "The Ballad of the Boll Weevil."
I took the ferry boat from New Orleans across the Mississippi to Algiers. On my way up the levee, I heard an elderly negro with a guitar playing three notes for a long time. I didn't think anything with only three notes could have a title so to satisfy my curiosity I asked him what was the name of the piece. He replied, "I got the blues."Hobson comments, "...why the elderly guitarist on the levee in Algiers chose to call the tune "I Got the Blues," we are not told. It may have been just a reference to his own state of mind, or it may have related in some way to "I've Got De Blues" (1901), the first major hit for the African American vaudeville entertainers Chris Smith and Elmer Bowman." [Smith and Bowman's tune, however, was not what we would call a blues.]
I went home. Having this on my mind, I wrote "I Got the Blues," making the three notes dominating most of the time. That same night, our five-piece orchestra played at the Fabaker Restaurant (in New Orleans) "I Got the Blues" which was composed with the purpose of a musical caricature, and to my astonishment became our most popular request number.
During this time people asked me for copies, but I had only my manuscript. I had no intention of publishing it because my interest in music was entirely classical. However, the people's demand by now was so overwhelming that our first violinist, Barzin (later to play first violin with Toscanini, at the Met) persisted until I finally consented to publish 1000 copies for piano, 500 for band and 500 for orchestra...This took place in 1908. The copies were sold in a very short time. I wasn't interested in another edition for the reason already explained.The chord progression was not original with Maggio; similar 12-bar harmonic sequences had been used before in "Just Because She Made Them Goo-Goo Eyes," a 1900 hit tune by Hughie Cannon, and also in other tunes by Cannon. Similar 12-bar progressions had been used even earlier in the folk tunes "Stagolee," "Frankie and Johnny," and "The Ballad of the Boll Weevil."
At about the sixth grade I started studying privately and I guess I showed some promise on the clarinet because my folks decided to get me a better horn. We went to a music store to get a wood clarinet, like the pros played, and there was a clarinet and saxophone teacher there named Eddy Flenner: a very fine player and gentleman and I owe so much to him...I studied the clarinet privately with Eddy clear through high school. I got very involved and as soon as I started taking clarinet lessons I wanted to be just like Benny Goodman or Artie Shaw. Then, during my freshman year in high school, I got a new Martin alto saxophone; this was about 1951. I remember seeing my teacher at clarinet lessons, with his shiny alto sitting there, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on that alto!
Some of the first books I used were the Klose method, Langenus, Rose, and Twenty-seven Virtuoso Studies for Saxophone...During my sophomore year in high school I started playing professionally...Then I ran away from home when I was a junior...Kenny supported himself playing music, eventually establishing himself in Las Vegas, playing in the house bands at the Sahara, the Dunes, and the Flamingo. He joined the Count Basie Orchestra in 1977, replacing Jimmy Forrest, and stayed for 25 years. He's retired now, living in Oregon.
At about the sixth grade I started studying privately and I guess I showed some promise on the clarinet because my folks decided to get me a better horn. We went to a music store to get a wood clarinet, like the pros played, and there was a clarinet and saxophone teacher there named Eddy Flenner: a very fine player and gentleman and I owe so much to him...I studied the clarinet privately with Eddy clear through high school. I got very involved and as soon as I started taking clarinet lessons I wanted to be just like Benny Goodman or Artie Shaw. Then, during my freshman year in high school, I got a new Martin alto saxophone; this was about 1951. I remember seeing my teacher at clarinet lessons, with his shiny alto sitting there, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on that alto!
Some of the first books I used were the Klose method, Langenus, Rose, and Twenty-seven Virtuoso Studies for Saxophone...During my sophomore year in high school I started playing professionally...Then I ran away from home when I was a junior...Kenny supported himself playing music, eventually establishing himself in Las Vegas, playing in the house bands at the Sahara, the Dunes, and the Flamingo. He joined the Count Basie Orchestra in 1977, replacing Jimmy Forrest, and stayed for 25 years. He's retired now, living in Oregon.
In the late 1940s, he had a hit on a jazzed-up version of "Loch Lomond", with the band billed as Tiny "Mac" Grimes and the Rocking Highlanders and appearing in kilts. This group included top tenor saxman Red Prysock and singer Screaming Jay Hawkins.Screaming Jay (remembered for his 1956 hit, I Put a Spell On You) was featured on vocals, sax, and keyboards with the Rocking Highlanders. Jay doesn't sing on the "Loch Lomond" track, but if you want to check it out, "Loch Lomond" is from 8:00 to 11:05 in the first recording below. The saxophones get an interesting bagpipe effect in the intro:
In the late 1940s, he had a hit on a jazzed-up version of "Loch Lomond", with the band billed as Tiny "Mac" Grimes and the Rocking Highlanders and appearing in kilts. This group included top tenor saxman Red Prysock and singer Screaming Jay Hawkins.Screaming Jay (remembered for his 1956 hit, I Put a Spell On You) was featured on vocals, sax, and keyboards with the Rocking Highlanders. Jay doesn't sing on the "Loch Lomond" track, but if you want to check it out, "Loch Lomond" is from 8:00 to 11:05 in the first recording below. The saxophones get an interesting bagpipe effect in the intro:
Turn the mouthpiece clockwise, so that your embouchure only controls the right side, with the left side of the reed free. Blow an open C# (sax) or G (clarinet) - then turn the mouthpiece the other way, to free the right side. If the “free” side (L or R) seems stuffy compared to the other, some wood should be removed from the stuffy side.
Turn the mouthpiece clockwise, so that your embouchure only controls the right side, with the left side of the reed free. Blow an open C# (sax) or G (clarinet) - then turn the mouthpiece the other way, to free the right side. If the “free” side (L or R) seems stuffy compared to the other, some wood should be removed from the stuffy side.
"...the slightly different timing mechanisms of Thelonious Monk and Buddy Rich were throwing off Bird and Diz. The horn players asked the engineer if it would hurt the audio if they were repositioned so as to stare at and play directly to Curly, a steady rock and a one-man rhythm section. The adjustment was made."9-12, My Little Suede Shoes - See this post for some details about the origin of this song. My impression of Bird's Latin recordings, including the cuts with Machito, is that Parker's solo concept doesn't always mesh as well with Latin grooves as well as it does with bop/swing. The overall ensemble groove is better in his bop combo and big-band tracks. He seems to be "feeling it" in his recordings with strings, too.
"...the slightly different timing mechanisms of Thelonious Monk and Buddy Rich were throwing off Bird and Diz. The horn players asked the engineer if it would hurt the audio if they were repositioned so as to stare at and play directly to Curly, a steady rock and a one-man rhythm section. The adjustment was made."9-12, My Little Suede Shoes - See this post for some details about the origin of this song. My impression of Bird's Latin recordings, including the cuts with Machito, is that Parker's solo concept doesn't always mesh as well with Latin grooves as well as it does with bop/swing. The overall ensemble groove is better in his bop combo and big-band tracks. He seems to be "feeling it" in his recordings with strings, too.
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