Mon - October 12, 2009
voice leading turnarounds - III
The "Woody'n You"
Sequence
Extrapolations on the distinctive harmonic cycle used in the Dizzy Gillespie song Algo Bueno (1944; aka Woody'n You):
At their core, this set of drills exemplify the harmonic relationship between two melodic minor scales three half steps apart. For example, the scales of B flat and D flat Melodic Minor provide for the basis of, and color to, the first two chords of the sequence: G minor seven flat five and C seven altered.
Page 1
Page 2
Download PDF file here
• Accidentals pertain only to the chord immediately following.
Posted at 05:23 PM
Tue - September 22, 2009
Chromatic Tritones; voice leading turnarounds - II
The Dominant Seventh Sequence
Here is a set of drills applicable to songs such as Nice Work if You Can Get It (George Gershwin, 1937) or the bridge to Jordu (Duke Jordan, 1954) following this basic harmonic outline:
• Note that accidentals pertain only to the chord immediately following.
Page 1
Page 2
Download PDF file here
Posted at 10:04 AM
Sat - September 12, 2009
voice leading turnarounds - I
The Night and Day
Sequence
Here is a set of solutions for voice leading through a common chord sequence - probably the most famous example of which being the last eight bars of the Cole Porter tune Night and Day.
The basic harmonic structure is:
Performance Notes
• All examples are in Bb but the accidentals pertain only to the chord immediately following.
• Rhythmically, these drills were conceived with a Bossa Nova feel and might work best in that context.
• I've added a turnaround to lead back to the first chord in the sequence.
Page 1 here
Page 2 here
Download the PDF file here
Here is a set of solutions for voice leading through a common chord sequence - probably the most famous example of which being the last eight bars of the Cole Porter tune Night and Day.
The basic harmonic structure is:
Performance Notes
• All examples are in Bb but the accidentals pertain only to the chord immediately following.
• Rhythmically, these drills were conceived with a Bossa Nova feel and might work best in that context.
• I've added a turnaround to lead back to the first chord in the sequence.
Page 1 here
Page 2 here
Download the PDF file here
Posted at 10:33 PM
Mon - December 22, 2008
Diminished Scale Voice Leading
Upper partial triads of the tonic and dominant
diminished scales with resolutions to the tonic chord. Specifically, voice
leading to three note quartal fragments of the tonic chord.
Criteria
The examples are limited to those progressions which best meet the criteria that the penultimate "triad" fragment and subsequent quartal fragment (1) have few or no common tones, (2) are in close proximity, and (3) demonstrate contrary motion in voice movement.
The Tonic Diminished Scale
For the key of A major the grand quartal chord is:
G# - C# - F# - B - E - A - D
and the constituent three note "4th" chords which may represent an Amaj chord (sans "D"):
G#4, C#4, F#4, B4
(see previous post on quartal chord voicings here)
The tonic diminished scale in A is:
A - B - C - D - D# - F - F# - G# - (A)
and the constituent triads of the diminished scale are:
D, Bm, B, G#m, Ab, Fm, F , Dm, (D)
Technically speaking, the grand quartal chord for the diminished scale is comprised of alternating P4 and dim4 (M3):
A - D - F# - B - D# - G# - C - F - (A)
Therefore, the subsequent upper partial triads are likewise, in a sense, derivative quartal chords.
Cycle of alternating perfect and diminished fourths
Examples
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Download PDF file here
The Dominant Diminished Scale
The Dominant Diminished Scale in E is
E - F - G - G# - Bb - B - C# - D - (E)
and constituent triads are:
C#m, C#, Bbm, Bb, Gm, G, Em, E, (C#m)
Alternating cycle of dim4 and P4
E - G# - C# - F - Bb - D - G - B - (E)
Cycle of alternating diminished and perfect fourths
Examples
Page 1
Page 2
Download PDF file here
The examples are limited to those progressions which best meet the criteria that the penultimate "triad" fragment and subsequent quartal fragment (1) have few or no common tones, (2) are in close proximity, and (3) demonstrate contrary motion in voice movement.
The Tonic Diminished Scale
For the key of A major the grand quartal chord is:
G# - C# - F# - B - E - A - D
and the constituent three note "4th" chords which may represent an Amaj chord (sans "D"):
G#4, C#4, F#4, B4
(see previous post on quartal chord voicings here)
The tonic diminished scale in A is:
A - B - C - D - D# - F - F# - G# - (A)
and the constituent triads of the diminished scale are:
D, Bm, B, G#m, Ab, Fm, F , Dm, (D)
Technically speaking, the grand quartal chord for the diminished scale is comprised of alternating P4 and dim4 (M3):
A - D - F# - B - D# - G# - C - F - (A)
Therefore, the subsequent upper partial triads are likewise, in a sense, derivative quartal chords.
Cycle of alternating perfect and diminished fourths
Examples
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Download PDF file here
The Dominant Diminished Scale
The Dominant Diminished Scale in E is
E - F - G - G# - Bb - B - C# - D - (E)
and constituent triads are:
C#m, C#, Bbm, Bb, Gm, G, Em, E, (C#m)
Alternating cycle of dim4 and P4
E - G# - C# - F - Bb - D - G - B - (E)
Cycle of alternating diminished and perfect fourths
Examples
Page 1
Page 2
Download PDF file here
Posted at 08:43 AM
Fri - December 19, 2008
The Diminished Scale - Part One
Chords from the Octatonic
Symmetric Scale
In preparation for a forthcoming post, I started to brainstorm and came up with a number of harmonic possibilities which can be extracted from the diminished scale.
Generally, the examples posted below are in order of consonance - from triads to altered dominant chords.
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Click here for the PDF file
Relevant and interesting Wikipedia article here
Posted at 08:52 AM
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