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January5th,2014

10EasyOptionsforExpandingYourDominant7thVocabulary

ByEric

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Whatsthemostimportantchordprogressionthatyouneedtoknowasamusician?

Wellthatsagoodquestion

Inthepastweveexploredsomecommonchordrelationshipsthatyoullencounterasanimproviser,butthereisonechordrelationshipthatsticksoutabovetherest.

Anyguesses?

ItsVtoI.

TheDominant/TonicrelationshipisatthefoundationofWesternmusicfromBaroqueconcertos,toMahlersymphonies,toLouisArmstrong,toColtrane,totheBeatles.

Innearlyeverystandardthatyoullpracticeorperformasanimproviser,youregoingtoencountertheV7toIchordrelationship.

TheBlues,RhythmChanges,StellabyStarlight,GiantSteps,AlltheThingsYouAreitallgoesbacktoV7resolvingtoI.Ifyouhaventalreadyworkedonthisdominanttotonicrelationship,nowisthetimetogetstarted.

TheBasics

Formanyplayers,themostcommonwaytoaccesstheDominant7thtoTonicsoundiswiththeMixolydianmode:



oraBebopScale:

TheothercommonrulethatmanyplayersalsofallbackonforV7toIisthenaturalvoiceleadingmotionbetweenthesetwochords.Comingfromananalyticalperspective,thevoiceleadingrulesoftheVtoIrelationshipareresolvingthe7thoftheVchordtothe3rdoftheIchord:

(73Resolution)

andthe3rdofV7totherootoftheIchord:

(31Resolution)

Thisisafineplacetostartconceptualizingthesechordsinyourmindandyourear,howeverthesetwoscalesandvoiceleadingrulesarejustthebeginning.ToreallystartimproviseoveraDominant7soundyouneedtogoevenfurther.

Learnthelanguage

Thenextlogicalstepafterlearningandingrainingthesescalesandvoiceleadingrulesistranscribing.Remember,ascalewithinitselfisnotmusic,howeverascalecanserveasthebuildingblocksinconstructingamusicalline.

Weretalkingaboutspeakingthejazzlanguage.

Checkingoutthebluesisagreatplacetostartgatheringsomelanguageits12barscenteredaroundaV7sound.Withtranscribedlanguage,youllbridgethegapbetweenplayingscales&chordtonesandactuallycreatingmusicalphrasesinrealtime.

Forexample,checkoutFreddieHubbardssoloonHubtones:



At:48secondsintothevideoyouhearthisline:

Intermsoftheory,themajorityofthenotesinthislineareallfromtheG7bebopscale,howeverinFreddiessoloyoudonthearscales,youhearmusic.

Thelinehasshapeandforwardmotionfromonesoundtothenext,notastaticscaledevoidofanymusicality.Hereinliesthedifferencebetweenimprovisingwithscalesandmusicallanguage.

Thegoalofimprovisingistocreatemusicalphrasesthatcommunicatewiththelistener.

Youneedtoturnthosescales,instrumentaltechniques,andtheoryknowledgeintoamusicallanguage,intomusicthatpeopleactuallywanttolistento.Todothisyoumustspendalotoftimetranscribinganddevelopingyourownlanguageovercommonchordsandprogressions.

ButwhatisthenextstepafteryouvegatheredsomebasicV7language?

Thenextstepismakingthoselinesyourownbyalteringtherhythm,intervals,articulation,andinthiscase,theharmoniccontent

10Dominant7thAlterations

Attheheartofthedominant/tonicrelationshipistensionandreleasethemovementfromconflictanduncertaintytoeventualmusicalresolution.TheV7chordisfullofunlimitedpossibility.



Asyoucraftyoursolo,thereisaspectrumofdissonancethatyoucanmanipulateoverthischordmovementdependingonyourharmonicapproach.Somealterednoteswillbemildlydissonant,whileotherswillclashintenselywiththeharmonyandbegforresolution.

TherearemanywaysthatyoucanaltertheV7soundtocreatemoredissonanceandaccentuatetheeventualmelodicandharmonicresolutiontothetonic.Belowwellexplore10optionsthatyoucanuseoverV7chords.

Witheachoftheharmonicalterationsthatwellcover,rememberthateachonemustbeapproachedasmusicallanguage,notasamusictheoryexercise

1)V7b9

Oneoftheeasiestwaystoalteradominantchordistoutilizetheb9sound.ThisonealterednoteaddsatouchmoredissonancethatwillpulltheV7towardthetonic.

Theb9ofV7naturallyresolvestothe5thscaledegreeoftheIchord:

Askeletonofmelodicmovementcontainingthisaltered9thwouldlooklikethis:

Takealistentoafewexamplesofthisalterednoteinaction.LetsstartwiththemelodyofDonnaLee:



Inthe12thand16thbarsofthemelodytheb9isaccentuatedontheV7chordandresolvedinthenextbar.NowcheckoutCliffordBrownssoloonJordu:

Thefirstnoteheplaysonthebridgeisab9(1:24inthevideo).Againtheb9isusedonthedominantsoundasatensionnotethatleadstoresolution.

Inbothcasesthisb9wantstoresolvedownward,eventuallyarrivingatthe3rdofthefollowingchord.Thisalterednotehasauniquesoundthatyouneedtolearnhowtomanipulateinyourimprovising.

Getthesoundofthisnoteinyourear,experimentwithitinthepracticeroom,anduseitinyoursolos.



2)V7#9

Nextexplorethesoundofthe#9.The#9naturallyresolvesuptotheMajor7oftheIchord:

The#9andb9arealsooftenpairedtogetheronaV7chordasshownbelow:

Keepinmindthatthe#9isalsotheminor3rd,soexplorethisrelationshipbyswitchingbackandforthbyhalfstepbetweenthesetwochordtones:

CheckoutthisarticleformoreideasontheV7#9chordandworkonincorporatingthissoundonyourapproachtodominantchords.

3)V7#11

The#11oftheV7chordresolvestorootoftonic:

ItsimportanttomakeadistinctionbetweenaV7#11andaV7b5chord.OnaV7#11,the#11referstotheupperstructureofthechord,sothe5thisnatural,howeveronaV7b5chordthe5thisflat.

HereareafewwaystoaccessthisV7#11sound:

AMajtriadoverG7:

(Majortriadawholestepabovethetonic)



DmelodicminoroverG7:

Thisii7overtheV7canalsobeapproachedwithii7V7language.

FMajor7#5overG7:

These3ideasareallessentiallythesamesound(V7#11),justapproachedfromadifferentmindset.Oneisamelodicminorsound,oneisaMajor7#5sound,andoneisamajortriad.Dependingonyourlanguageandtechniqueeachwillproducedifferentpossibilities.

4)V7b13/#5

Theb13resolvesuptothe3rdanddowntothe9th:

Tohighlighttheb13or#13youcanuseadescendingAugmentedtriad:

Oryoucanemployawholetonescale(#4,#5):

ListentohowMonkusesthewholetonescaleovertheV7chordonhisblues,BlueMonk(1:031:04):



5)TritoneSubstitution,V7b5b9

OnecommonbebopreharmonizationtechniqueovertheV7soundwasthetritonesubstitution.ForexamplethetritonesubstitutionofaDbMajortriadoveraG7chord:

Thissoundhighlightstheb5andb9oftheV7chord:

Theb5hasadistinctivesoundwhenitusedoveraV7chord,itsdissonantandimmediatelygrabsyourear.ForexamplelistentothemelodyofTuneUp:



ThemelodyemphasizesthetritoneontheV7chords.Focusonthethirdnoteofthemelody:theb5(tritone)resolvingtothe5thoftheVchordandultimatelytothe3rdoftheIchord.

6)AlteredScale/MelodicMinor

Thealteredscaleutilizesallofthealterednotes(b9,#9,#11,andb13):

Thisscaleissometimesreferredtoasadiminishedwholetonescale(itsparthalfwholediminishedscaleandpartwholetonescale)andisalsothemelodicminorscalestartingonthe7thnote(lookattheGalteredscaleaboveasanAbmelodicminorscale).

Takealistentothevideobelow,at4:54Freddiebeginshissolobycreativelyusingthealteredscale:



Youcanalsotakealookatthisarticleon4waystousethemelodicminorscale.

7)HalfWholeDiminished(octatonic)scale

Theoctatonicscaleisaneightnotescale,forimprovisersthisgenerallyreferstothehalfwholediminishedscale(an8notescalealternatingbetweenhalfstepsandwholesteps):

Thisscaleemphasizesthe#9,b9,andthe#11.

TakealookathowFreddieHubbardusesthisscaleinhissoloonBirdlike(2:57):



HeutilizesthehalfwholediminishedscaleovertheV7soundtoresolvetothe5thofthetonic.IndoingsohecreatesmoretensionovertheV7soundwhilegrabbingthelistenersattentionandemphasizingtheresolution.

8)Diatonictriadpairings

AnotheroptionyoucanuseovertheV7chordarediatonictriads.ForinstancealternatingbetweenaGtriadandanFtriadoveraG7chord:

CheckoutthisarticleformoreonUsingTriadsinYourSolo.

ListentothemelodyofPassionDanceandtheopeningtoMcCoyssoloforanexampleofthisinaction:



ThisapproachwillgiveyouaDominantsussound(accentingthe4thscaledegree).Formoreonsuschordstakealookatthisarticle,HowtoImproviseOverSusChords.

9)Nondiatonic(chromatic)triads

Asidefromthediatonictriadsthatnaturallyoccurwithinthekey,youcanalsoutilizethenondiatonictriadsthatoccuroutsideofeachkeycenter.

Eachtriadhasavaryinglevelofdissonancedependingonitsrelationshiptotheroot.

Major6thTriad(b9)

AnEMajortriadoveraG7:

Majorb6Triad(#9,b13)

AnEbMajortriadoveraG7:

Minorb2Triad(b9,b13)

AnAbminortriadoveraG7:



Tritonesubstitutionb5Triad(b9,#11)

ADbMajortriadoverG7:

Major3rdTriad(#5,Maj.7)

ABMajortriadoverG7:

CheckouthowFreddieHubbardemploysboththe#5andmajor7thonthetuneBirdlike(2:32inthevideo):



Eachofthesetriadshavetheirownuniquesoundandmethodofresolution.Strivetofamiliarizeyourearwiththesoundofeachofthesedissonantornondiatonictriads.

10)Diminished(minor3rd)relationships

FinallyexploretheuseofthediminishedrelationshipovertheV7sound.

TobeginplayMajortriadsseparatedbyminor3rdsstartingonthetonicofthedominantchord,forG7:

Anexampleofalineusingthisdiminishedrelationshipisbelow,awholestepbeloweachdiminishedchordtone:

ListentohowJohnColtraneusesthispatterninhissoloonMomentsNotice(2:092:11):

Thereareanumberofdifferentpatternsthatyoucanplayusingthesequenceofdiminishedthirds.

Besidestriadsorscalepatterns,youcanalsoexploredifferentintervalsfromeachoftheDiminishedchordtones(4ths,5ths,etc.)

TakealistentoMulgrewMillerssolointhevideobelow,specificallyaround2:002:05mins:



Heisusingtheminor3rdrelationshipanddescendin4thsfromeachrootnote.

OrcheckoutMichaelBreckerssoloonMyOneandOnlyLove.Injusttheopeningfewminutesyoullhearmultipleusesofthisdiminished3rdrelationshipovertheV7sound:

Connectingtheoryandlanguage

Themainthingtokeepinmindwiththese10optionsisthattheyarejusttheorydevices.

Toemploythesesoundsinyoursolostheymustbemusicaltheyneedtime,articulation,rhythmic



variety,sound,andalogicalplacewithinyourphrase.Thewaythatyouachieveallofthisisthroughlistening,transcribingandapplyingtheseharmonicconceptsmusicallyinyourownsolos.

Onceyouhavethemusicalandstylisticfoundationoftranscribingunderyourbelt,itbecomesmucheasiertoincorporatenewtheoryconceptsintoyourplaying.

Remember,yourenotreinventingthewheelorforcingaforeignobjectintoyourplaying,yourejusthighlightingadifferentharmonicflavorwithinyourlines.

Thebestplayersseamlesslyblendtheseconceptsinandoutoftheirlinesastheyplay.Itsnotacutandpasteapproach,ratheronethatiseffortlessandmusicalanotherharmonicoptionthataddstensionandinteresttotheageoldtonic/dominantrelationship.

Howeverthisisnotanovernightprocess,ittakeshoursofpracticeandtrialanderroronthebandstandtomaketheseconceptseffortless.YoumustgetthesoundofeachoftheseV7alterationsinyourearandingrainthemintoyourfingers.

BeginbygoingtothepianoandplayingeachofthesealterednotesoverasimpleV7voicing.

Theninyourpracticetakeapieceoflanguagethatyouvealreadytranscribed,aiiVIlineorachorusofblues,andexperimentbyalteringtheV7chordusingthetechniquesshownabove.

Inessenceyoullbeusingthesealtereddominantoptionsasanextensionofthelanguagethatyoualreadyknow.

Withthismethodyoullquicklyaddinteresttothatfamiliarlanguage,youllbegintocreatenewlinesofyourown,andmostimportantly,youwontbestuckwiththeusualmixolydianmodesorbebopscales,youlltrulyhaveanentirespectrumofsoundatyourdisposal!

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