jazz – Page 2 – Daily Music Writing Tips

Tip #85 – Basic Cheat Sheet to Jazz Style Harmonic Substitution

“It’s just a ii-V-I”

I heard that phrase a lot whenever I took a class in jazz or played with a jazz group. And rightfully so, as there are a lot of ii-V-I chord progressions found in jazz standards.

That being said, would jazz music get boring over time if it uses this progression over and over again? Maybe “predictable” is a better word, but the great jazz composer’s & arrangers new how to use harmonic substitutions to create interesting progressions that still resembled the original.

In the famous ii-V-I progression, the ii is the pre-dominant area. The V is the dominant area. And that leads into the I that is the tonic area.

A crash course in harmonic substitutions:

The I tonic chord can be replaced by bIII , III , IV , bVI , and VI since they all share a common tone on the tonic scale degree. In addition, minor and diminished versions of the I chord can work as well.

As for the dominant chord, they can be replaced by the dominant or major chord versions of the bII harmony. Also, they can be the dominants or tritone substitutes of the tonic area’s substitutions acting on the original.

Pre-dominant areas are more open, being the ii, iv, and tritone substitute in relation to the dominant area harmony.

Below is a compromised (but still relatively large) sheet of various combinations of the harmonic substitutions mentioned above with a few extras, based in a starting key of C:

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Tip #79 – Cheat-Sheet to Movable Inner Voices under a Stagnant Melody

This long title may seem intimidating as to what I’m going to explain – but it is some common sense that you were probably aware of.

Say you have a composition with a beautiful legato melody and lush harmonies to accompany it. However, it lacks in motion and you feel that some of the inner voices need to move. At the same time, you don’t want to take away focus from the melody or change the harmony too much.

Below, I have provided a cheat-sheet on inner voice movement possibilities:

To read and assess this, first find what chord quality you have. Then, determine from your composition what is your melody note in relationship to the chord harmony. That will be on the left-hand side of the cheat-sheet. From there, look horizontally across to see the advised subtle inner voices that can be moved chromatically or diatonically.

Play around and see what best fits your musical work.

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Tip #78 – Trying Some Chromatic Approach in Harmonization

How would you harmonize the melody below?:

It can most certainly be done it a multitude of ways, but for today’s tip, let’s talk about using 4-way close harmonization. That would look like as such for the chord tones:

However, we have one note left out. The non-chord tone in a passing motion.

Because this non-chord tone is approaching the next note (which is a chord tone) by a half-step, we can consider using a chromatic approach technique to the harmonization.

Simply, have the entire harmonization be an approach by half-step to the landing chord tones. It would look like as such:

Sure, this may go against some principles of avoiding parallel harmony, but…

It sounds good.
You are the composer; so do what YOU want

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Thinking Out Loud – Appropriation of Jazz Music

Forewarning: I am not here to go in-depth on the cultural appropriation of jazz music. Mostly, because jazz – like any form of music – is a shared musical experience for EVERYONE to enjoy.

However, I do want to use this time to speak my mind about how in some cases we have taken the jazz idiom and chained it in shackles to the normality of Western European musical standards.

When people learn a jazz tune for the first time, it might go in one of two ways:

Out of the Real Book, with a fake sheet giving the lead lines and approximated chord changes. From there, the jazz ensemble would follow the typical form of playing the head (once or twice), followed by everyone taking a solo, and ending with the top of the head again.
From an arrangement, usually intended for a school jazz band. This gives the ensemble “training wheels” for learning the typical form of the jazz tune while predicating how the “improvisational” part will sound.

But at some point, the training wheels do need to come off.

While abnormous amount of annotation (including notation of the chord structures, melody, repeat signs, markings, structure, accents, etc.) might be needed if the composition is a lengthy/complex jazz tunes that need these confinements in order to maintain sense of unity, it is truly superfluous to the roots of jazz.

If a performer cannot read from a lead sheet and talk to the band about the structure of who while take the first rounds of soloing, then this is a shame to how literal jazz has become – being reduced from the previous art form it was to now a commodity in the lenses of Western European music.

Just thinking out loud.

Tip #74 – Harmonizing an Appoggiatura Over a Diminished Chord

In the very rare case that you will ever need to do such a thing, let’s dive in a take a look at the steps you would take to actually make a “good” 4-way close harmonization of a melody that exhibits an appoggiatura over a diminished chord.

In the example above, we see that the Bb is an appoggiatura. It is a dissonance on a strong beat caused by a leap in one direction, and resolved in the opposite.

In four-part writing harmonization, the appoggiatura over the diminished chord will replace the next lowest chord member. It that case, the Bb‘s nearest close chord member from below is the Ab:

Also, take notice that it is a whole-step away, too. Next, you would harmonize using the tones of the Ab diminished chord, but omitting the Ab pitch.

From there, you can harmonize the rest of your passage in 4-way close, drop voicing, etc.

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Tip #71 – Understanding Half-Swing

Take a look at the image below:

You might have recognized instantly that the top staff is a notation of straight/even eighths, and that the third staff is of a triplet swing rhythm. Also, you might have figured-out that the last staff at the bottom is a “jagged” and pretty square swinging rhythm.

But what about the second staff??

That is the approximate (and that term is used VERY loosely) of a “half-swing” feel that is roughly in between the straight eighths and common triplet swung eighths.

Be aware; this is a feel for a performer to play. While the notion is good for programming purposes in a DAW, do not ever give someone a piece of sheet music written this way. Simply indicate this feel to a performer, or learn it yourself. You might be surprised as to hose loose and flowing it really is for your composition.

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Tip #69 – Interpolation of Quotes

From music of the Renaissance era, to the prime-time of jazz, and all the way to now in present-day, musicians have been using other famous works as “quotes” within their music.

Obviously, one does run into the problem of plagiarism or lack of originality depending on how the quote is used. Using music in the public domain is a safe way to get around the act of plagiarism, and your own creativity will solve the remaining problem.

The main goal of quoting a well-known theme embedded into your piece is to reinvent it. in some way, shape, or form. People have taken a theme and used it as a cantus firmus, bass-line, fragmented motif, etc. before. If you are expecting to use it as a primary melodic idea, here is a checklist of tips:

Context – Is the theme “well-known” for your intended audience? Does it fit the composition (thematically, harmonically, melodically, motifically, fluidly)? Can the quote be paraphrased in some way? How about restated?
Reconfiguration – Will you be able to adjust the pitches and rhythms without losing the premise of the quote? Can the quote be developed into later themes used? What about broken fragments?
Inflection – what emotional, symbolic, ironic, personal, or associative meaning does this new and reworked quote provide to your composition? Is it worth it?

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Tip #45 – Locrian Bebop Scale Uses

These series of posts are going to cover bebop scales and possible uses – so let’s jump right in.

As a quick refresher: the bebop era of jazz grew from the trends taking place during the 1930’s in the United States, but didn’t become fully developed and established till the 1940’s. During improvisation, some players would use the convenience of these “bebop scales,” which were no more than diatonic scales with a single added chromatic passing tone in-between to push chordal tones on downbeats.

So, now let’s take a look at the locrian bebop scale:

Note that the scale degrees are | 1-b2–b3-4-b5-b6-b7-7-8 |

Some points where they work great is over the vii7(b5) and V7 chords in the key. However, experimentation is encouraged, as this is just a jumping point to start from. Also, building creative lines using the bebop scale should NOT use EVERY SINGLE note. Add space.

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Tip #44 – Phrygian Bebop Scale Uses

These series of posts are going to cover bebop scales and possible uses – so let’s jump right in.

So, now let’s take a look at the phrygian bebop scale:

Note that the scale degrees are | 1-b2-b3-4-5-b6-b7-7-8 |

Some points where they work great is over the iii7 and Imaj7 chords in the key. However, experimentation is encouraged, as this is just a jumping point to start from. Also, building creative lines using the bebop scale should NOT use EVERY SINGLE note. Add space.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.

Tip #43 – Half-Diminished Bebop Scale Uses

These series of posts are going to cover bebop scales and possible uses – so let’s jump right in.

So, now let’s take a look at the half-diminished bebop scale:

Note that the scale degrees are | 1-b2–b3-4-b5-5-b6-b7-8 |

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Feel free to comment, share, and subscribe for more daily tips below! Till next time.