The final chord

[Fiesta red]

Learning a new tune without the music or tab I have difficulty trying to nail that last chord in tunes such as Argentina,Groovey kind of love ,midnight ,Stardust etc . Can anyone explain the musical guidelines or formula to get that chord? Keeping it simple if possible, Thanks...

[JimN]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vla0V2jrtYE&feature=related

JN

[Bob Dore]

Study carefully...

HARMONY BASICS (No. 1)

DOMINANT CHORDS AND THE PERFECT CADENCE

1. Most people will be familiar with the major scale. In the
key of C, this is:

C D E F G A B C

2. This is a DIATONIC scale - so called because two different
types of interval are used to build it. The intervals between
most of the notes are whole tones (= two semitones) but the
intervals between the third and fourth and seventh and eighth
notes are semitones (note the absence of black notes in these
positions on the piano). The pattern of any major scale is:

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX
(I) (II)

T T S T T T S (T) ... etc

(T = tone, S = semitone)

3. A chord is, strictly speaking, any simultaneous sounding
of two or more notes but, more usually, refers to groups of
three or more. The basic chords are called "triads" (= three
notes) and are built up by taking alternate notes from the
scale. So the triad built on the I note will include notes I,
III and V. The chord built on the V note will include notes
V, VII and IX. (Note IX is the same as note II played an
octave higher). This can be applied to any note in the scale.

4. So a basic I chord (triad) in the key of C would consist
of:
C E G

and a basic V chord would be:

G B D


5. There are also two simple things you can do to add a
fourth note to these basic chords. One is to double the root
note at the octave (so that the I chord becomes C E G C).
This does not add anything harmonically to the chord so we can
continue to refer to it simply as a I (C in this case).

6. The other thing you can do is to carry on with the process
of adding alternate notes so that the V chord then consists of
notes V, VII, IX (=II) and XI (=IV). In C this gives G B D
and F. Because we have added something harmonically here we
have to show it in the chord description. As F is the seventh
note starting from G (still using the notes of the key of C)
we refer to it as a V7 chord or, in this case, G7.

7. This is also called a "dominant seventh". The dominant
seventh adds an extra quality of "tension" to the chord. It
is as if the F wants to "settle back" onto the E of the I
chord while the B (which is also present in the simple triad)
wants to "lead into" the C of the I chord (remember that E-F
and B-C are the semitone intervals in the Cmajor scale).

8. This is a very characteristic sound. First of all listen
to Example 1a which is a straightforward representation of
the chords as:

F C
D G
B E
G C

9. Although the chords would not often be played like this in
practice, nevertheless the tones your ear actually focusses on
are the third (B) and seventh (F) of the G7 and the root (C)
and third (E) of the C.

10. This is shown more clearly in Example 1b. here we have
omitted all the "other" notes and also rearranged (inverted)
the two notes in the G7 so that we have:

F
E
C
B

11. In this case the notes of the V7 chord "resolve" to the I
chord by a semitone movement in each case (in opposing
directions - or what is called "contrary motion"). This
sounds very "complete". To most ears the movement between
these two groups of two notes also very strongly implies the
full harmonic effect which you hear when you play the full
chords. This is rather less obviously stated if you use just
the "other" notes (Example 1c):

D
C
G G

12. Listen again to the movement of the 3rd and 7th
of the dominant chord to the root and 3rd of the tonic. But
this time (to prove that the sound is "characteristic"), we
will change the direction of the contrary motion. Example 1d
is:

C
B
F
E



12. The movement from a V7 chord to a I chord is just about
the most fundamental harmonic movement in Western music. It
is referred to as a "perfect cadence"

13. In the next piece, we will try to extend this idea to get
some other interesting harmonic movements. For now though, we
should take note of a key point:




FIRST RULE OF PRACTICAL HARMONY

You do not have to play all the notes in a chord to
"hear" the harmonic movement - some notes are more
important than others.







Harmony Column #1 cont.. - HOT TOPICS (No.1)

MINOR MAJOR SEVENTH CHORDS

Construction:

Root, Minor Third, Fifth, Major Seventh

eg C Eb G B


Written: Cm(maj7)

(NB the natural sign is usually used instead of the "maj").


Function:

17. In principle these chords function as tonic (I) chords in
minor keys. They will harmonise either with the ascending
Melodic Minor (Jazz Minor) scale or with the Harmonic Minor
scale - both of which contain a "major seventh" as the leading
note (B natural preceding the tonic note C).

18. In practice, though, it is not common to use them in this
way.

19. Listen to Example 2a which is a II-V-I progression
"resolving" to the minor major seventh. The chords used are:

C B B
Ab F G
F D Eb
D G C

Dm7b5 G7 Cm(maj7)

20. Despite the theory, the final chord does not sound stable
or "at rest". It is therefore far more common to use the
simple Cm (root, third, fifth and octave) for this purpose as
in Example 2b. Probably for the same reason, minor major
sevenths are usually reserved for implying a continued or
subsequent harmonic motion.

21. By far the most common such motion is a descending
chromatic figure in which the tonic note moves by semitones to
the sixth as in Example 3:

|Cm |Cm(maj7) |Cm7 |Cm6 |

C B Bb A
G G G G
Eb Eb Eb Eb
C C C C


Examples:

22. This sequence can be used for the first four bars of
"Blue Skies" (Example 4). The same idea occurs in many other
tunes and is such a strong one that it will stand repetition
as in bars 1-4 and 9-12 (it is also used again in bars 25-28!)
of "My Funny Valentine" (Example 5):

|Cm |Cm(maj7) |Cm7 |Cm6 |Abmaj7 |Fm7 |Dm7b5 |G7b9 |
|Cm |Cm(maj7) |Cm7 |Cm6 |Abmaj7 |Fm7 |Abm6 |Bb7b9 |

or (in shorter form) in the bridge of "God Bless the Child"
(Example 6):

|Cm Cm(maj7) |Cm7 Cm6 |Gm7 |Dm7b5 G7b9 |
|Cm Cm(maj7) |Cm7 Cm6 |Gm7 C7 |Fm7b5 Bb7 |


23. The same movement can also be used in an "incomplete"
form and/or in a voicing where the chromatic movement is
transferred to the bass (as in bars 5 and 6 of "Yesterdays"
(Example 7):

|Dm |Em7b5 A7b9 |Dm |Em7b5 A7b9 |
|Dm Dm/C# |Dm/C |Bm7b5 |E7 |


24. Another variant is to substitute a dominant ninth chord
for the final minor sixth chord as in bars 13-16 of
"Something" (which also illustrates in bars 1-8 a similar
chromatic movement in the relative major key (Example 8):

|C | % |Cmaj7 | % |C7 | % |F | % |
|D |D7 |G7 | % |Am |Am(maj7)|Am7 |D9 |
|F |Eb G7 |C | % ||

25. This also illustrates another point. Here we have placed
the chromatic motion in both the chords and the bass so that
the root note A is not present after the first chord in bar
13. A professional copyist would, seeing these notes on the
stave:

A G# G F#
E E E E
C C C C
A G# G D

almost certainly describe it as:

Am G#+ C/G D9


Neither description is more "correct" than the other. Note
also that these are not chord "substitutions" (we haven;t
changed anything fundamental) - merely different "views"
of the same movement (depending whether you regard the bottom
note as the root or as the seventh with an implied root).

26. Note also that bars 15 and 16 can be seen as a temporary
modulation into the key of G major. This is more obvious with
the C/G (a IV chord) preceding the D9 (a V chord) rather than
the Am7 (although this is of course the II chord in G). The
alternative sequence Am7 to Am6 would suggest that the key
centre remains in Am.

27. The sound of this harmonic motion is so familar that it
can be introduced almost arbitrarily in situations where
simple minor triads are written in the original. The bridge
of the tune "Bewitched" supports this treatment for two bars
of Dm followed by precisely the same idea a fourth lower for
two bars of Am. The bridge is normally written:

|Dm |Dm |Am |Am |
|Dm7 G7 |Dm7 G7 |Em7 A7#9 |Dm7 G7 |


but Example 9 shows that it can be played as:

|Dm Dm(maj7)|Dm7 Dm6 |Am Am(maj7)|Am7 Am6 |
|Dm7 G7 |Dm7 G7 |Em7 A7#9 |Dm7 G7 |


28. Similar ideas can also be found in some recordings of
blues pieces such as "I Put A Spell On You".


Development:

29. The inherently unsatisfactory sound of the minor major
seventh chord as a I chord is reflected in the fact that many
tunes "break the rules" by using a regular m7 as the tonic
chord. This can perhaps be justified theoretically by the
fact that in such cases the melody does not approach the tonic
note through a major seventh leading note (B to C) but by
descent (eg through D to C) or by a direct skip (eg G to C).
Another way of viewing this is that the tunes are written
using the descending Melodic Minor (or the Natural Minor)
scale which do contain the flattened seventh. In some cases
this may tend to give a "blues" tonality. An example is
"Blue Bossa" (Example 10) for which the chord sequence is:



|Cm7 | % |Fm7 | % |
|Dm7b5 |G7b9 |Cm7 | % |
|Ebm7 |Ab7 |Dbmaj7 | % |
|Dm7b5 |G7b9 |Cm7 |Dm7b5 G7b9 ||

TITLE: HARMONY COLUMN - PART 2


HARMONY BASICS (Part 2)
SEVENTH CHORDS AND THE II - V - 1 SEQUENCE

1. In Part 1 we established that the triads based on a given
scale can be constructed by taking the three alternate notes
starting on each degree of the scale. We also established that
one way of adding a fourth note to the chord was to continue
building "in thirds" in this way. This gives a chord consisting
of the root, third, fifth and seventh.

2. In much modern music (especially jazz) the addition of the
seventh is more or less standard. This approach results in the
major scale (using G as an example) being harmonised as follows:

Scale Degree Chord Notes

F# VII F#m7b5 F# A C E
E VI Em7 E G B D
D V D7 D F# A C
C IV Cmaj7 C E G B
B III Bm7 B D F# A
A II Am7 A C E G
G I Gmaj7 G B D F#

Scale: G A B C D E F# G A B C D E F#


3. Other scales can be treated similarly. For example, using E
harmonic minor we get:

Scale Degree Chord Notes

D# VII D#dim7 D# F# A C
C VI Cmaj7 C E G B
B V B7(b9) B D# F# A (C)
A IV Am7 A C E G
G III Gmaj7(#5) G B D# F#
F# II F#m7b5 F# A C E
E I Em(maj7) E G B (D#)

Scale: E F# G A B C D# E F# G A B C D#


4. In practice (see Part 1), the minor major seventh is not
often played as a I chord and the simple minor triad is more
common. It is also *very* common to extend the V chord in a
minor key to include the ninth note (shown above in brackets).
This imparts a different quality to the chord from the plain
dominant seventh and implies the use of a different scale (where
B7 is ambiguous and might be mistakenly assumed to imply using E
major).

5. In Part 1 we also encountered the "perfect cadence" and it
was suggested that this was a fundamental harmonic movement. To
demonstrate this, Example 1 in the associated MIDI file
(COLMID2.ZIP) shows that a tune which is normally given a
"complex" chord sequence can be harmonised by using nothing more
than this V - I movement. In this case the tune "Autumn Leaves"
has been used with only the V - I cadences in the two keys given
above. The sequence is:


V I V I

|D7 | % |Gmaj7 | % |B7 | % |Em | % |
|D7 | % |Gmaj7 | % |B7 | % |Em | % |
|B7 | % |Em | % |D7 | % |Gmaj7 | % |
|B7 | % |Em | % |B7 | % |Em | % |


6. You can now see the underlying "structure" of the tune which
consists of four bar "blocks" in only two "key centres":


|G Major |E Minor |
|G Major |E Minor |
|E Minor |G Major |
|E Minor |E Minor |


You should be able to "hear" this structure without reference to
the individual chords. The structure also suggests a basic
starting point for improvisation over the tune.

7. In practice this harmonisation is too "static" and too
"regular" to be satisfactory. The main adjustment which is made
is to precede the V - I movement (which is either an ascending
fourth or a descending fifth depending on your politics) by an
equivalent movement (in the same "key centre"). II to V being an
interval of an ascending fourth, this gives us the infamous II -
V - I sequence and Example 2 in the MIDI file incorporates this
as follows:


II V I II V I

|Am7 |D7 |Gmaj7 | % |F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |
|Am7 |D7 |Gmaj7 | % |F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |
|F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |Am7 |D7 |Gmaj7 | % |
|F#m7b5 |B7b8 |Em | % |F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |


8. You can see that, fundamentally, all that has happened is
that in the first bar of each four bar "block" the V chord has
been replaced by the II chord in the relevant key. The b9 has
also been added to the V chords in the minor key for "colour" -
but this does not alter their *function*. In practice the
progression is still unsatisfactory in some respects and needs
some further changes to get to the sequence which is usually
played. We will complete the job in Part 3. Nevertheless, for
now it will be enough to note that the use of the II-V-I sequence
has allowed us to preserve the underlying structure of "key
centres" while adding more "movement" to the progression.

[NB You may also notice that in Example 2 the chords have been
stated more sparsely than in Example 1. This is an application
of our first rule of practical harmony, ie that some notes are
more important than others. We will have a further look at this
(and develop the point) in "Hot Topics"].

9. You should learn to recognise II - V - I movements as they
are *extremely* common and identifying the I chord involved will
usually tell you what "key centre" you are in for the whole of
the II - V - I progression. The following are examples:

II V I Key Centre

Dm7 G7 Cmaj7 C Major
Dm7b5 G7b9 Cm C Minor
Em7 A7 Dmaj7 D Major
Ebm7b5 Ab7b9 Dbm Db Minor

10. Note that the movements may often be "incomplete", eg the II
- V may be played suggesting what chord should come next only for
the ear to be "surprised" by the fact that the tune takes a
harmonic diversion by not "resolving" to the I chord.

11. As an exercise, it is useful to write out the II - V - I
sequence in every key (major and minor) as a way of becoming
familiar with the pattern.


SECOND RULE OF PRACTICAL HARMONY

The II - V - I progression is a more interesting variant
of the V - I cadence but it retains the same function and
harmonises, in the same way, with the single scale which is
implied by the I chord.

_______________________________________________________________



HOT TOPICS (No. 2)

GUIDE TONES & VOICE LEADING


12. In Part 1 of this column, it was suggested that it is not
necessary to play all the notes in a chord and that some are
more important than others. Why should this be so?

13. One reason is easy to explain. Listen to example 3a in the
MIDI file which simply sounds the following chords:


B Bb Bb
G G G
E E Eb
C C C


(Cmaj7 C7 Cm7)

14. These chords all have very different sounds and serve very
different fuctions. However, they all have the notes C and G
(the root and fifth) in common. It follows that the root and
fifth do not help the ear to decide which of these chords is
being played, what kind of chord it is or what function it is
performing.

15. This may seem stunningly obvious, but listen to Example 3b
which plays the same three chords but minus the thirds and
sevenths (ie it plays only the roots and fifths). Not very
illuminating...

16. Example 3c plays only the "functional" notes - the thirds
and sevenths. It is immediately clear that it is the sound of
these notes which distinguish the chords.

17. These notes are sometimes called "guide tones" and this
suggests another reason why they are significant. Take a
standard II-V-I progression such as Dm7 - G7 - Cmaj7 . If we
play this in "standard form" we get (Example 4a):

Scale Chords

F F
E
D D
C C
B B B
A A
G G G
F F
E E
D D
C C


Dm7 G7 Cmaj7


18. Every note in each of the chords moves in parallel motion
with the root. This may be acceptable (and even desirable) in
some contexts (eg folk music) but it does not lend itself to the
expression of "subtlety". We have also pretty fully occupied an
interval of an eleventh (nearly an octave and a half) in which a
soloist may also be yelling for elbow room. This is not a good
plan in improvised music (or where the melody is occupying much
the same range and tonal colour).

19. Assuming that the root is being heard from the bass (or that
it is played in the left hand at least an octave away from the
right hand), consider instead if we simply extract the guide
tones (and invert them on the II and I chords). We now have
(Example 4b):


Scale

F F F
E E
D
C C
B B B


(Dm7 G7 Cmaj7)

20. You can see that we now have much more subtle movement of
only one semitone between each chord. The movement of each
"voice" is now more like a realistic melody of its own rather than
simply arbitrarily leaping up and down the scale following the
root of the chord. At the same time we have suggested the entire
harmonic movement within a diminished fifth while leaving a
substantial space within which solo voices will less often be
interfered with. This is essential when "comping".

21. L. Grigson calls this the "Fewest Notes, Least Movement
Principle". The semitone movements of each voice are simple
examples of "voice leading" (ie where the chord "voicing"
produces "melodic" rather than arbitrary movements in each line).

22. Note that the guide tones may not always be only thirds and
sevenths. The most obvious examples are "half-diminished" chords
where the flattened fifth is "functional" in distinguishing the
chord from a normal minor seventh. In such a case the thirds
might often be omitted leaving the flattened fifth to lead to the
flattened ninth, eg as in a sequence such as Dm7b5 - G7b9 - Cm
(Example 4c):

(C Harmonic Minor)
Scale

C
B
Ab Ab Ab
G G
F
Eb
D
C C C
B B

(Dm7b5 G7b9 Cm)

23. Note also that none of these rules are absolute or
prescriptive (eg in the case just given we have suggested the
minor chord with just the root and fifth - apparently
contradicting what we noted above about non-functional notes.
But this works because the preceding chords have securely
established the key centre as C Minor. Not only do Dm7b5 - G7b9
have the familiar sound of a minor II - V, they cannot be
built from either C Major or F Major which would be the likely
possibilities if C and G were implying either Cmaj7 or C7).

24. Part 3 will introduce the notion of tritone substitution...

HARMONY BASICS (Part 3)
EXTENDING THE II - V - 1 SEQUENCE


1. In Part 2 we saw that the tune "Autumn Leaves" can be
correctly (if rather unsatisfactorily) harmonised using just
perfect cadences (V7 - I movements) in two key centres (G and
its relative minor Em).

2. We went on to replace the first bar of each V7 chord with
the IIm7 to show that, functionally, the II-V-I sequence
preserves the same key centres while creating a less static
harmonic structure. So, for the first eight bars, we have
gone from:

Example 1a:

|D7 | % |Gmaj7 | % |B7 | % |Em | % |

to:

Example 1b:

|Am7 |D7 |Gmaj7 | % |F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |


3. These sequences are reprised in the associated MIDI file
(COLMID3.ZIP). But the improved sequence remains
unsatisfactory in Bars 3 and 4. The problem is that the
melody over the first eight bars (plus the pick-up bar) takes
the form of a descending pattern of four similar ascending
phrases which reaches a natural conclusion in Bar 7 before
being (structurally) repeated for the second eight bars. Where
the melodic line comes to rest the ear accepts the Em in Bars
7 and 8 as the "home key".

4. But the Gmaj7 held for both Bars 3 and 4 sounds too
static, ie as if the harmonic background has "come home"
regardless of the fact that the melodic line is still only
half complete. Before Bar 7 each melodic phrase would, were
it not for Bar 4, come to a temporary rest during which the
harmony rises by a fixed interval of a fourth. But what we
actually have is:


Melody: Phrase Phrase Phrase Phrase
Harmony: +4 home?? +4 HOME


5. This can be resolved by continuing the pattern of shifting
the harmonic background by a fourth between Bars 3 and 4.
Obviously, we have to stay in the same key centre if we are
going to retain the underlying structure of the piece. So we
arrive at Cmaj7 which is the IV chord in G. We now have:

[Example 1c]

|Am7 |D7 |Gmaj7 |Cmaj7 |F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |


which gives:

Melody: Phrase Phrase Phrase Phrase
Harmony: +4 +4 +4 HOME

6. This is more logical and satisfying to the ear. The only
movement which is not an interval of a perfect fourth is the
transition from Bar 4 to Bar 5 but this coincides with the
change of key centre and in fact clearly marks that change.
But note in passing that Cmaj7 and F#m7b5 are closely related.
This may be clearer if you bear in mind that Cmaj7 often
resolves to (or may be substituted by) C6 which requires only
a single semitone movement to arrive at F#m7b5:

Example 2:

Cmaj7 (C6) F#m7b5


B (A) A
G (G) F#
E (E) E
C (C) C


7. The change is therefore not an arbitrary lurch from one
key to the next but lends itself to a natural progression by
"voice leading".

8. Here we have an example of extending the II-V-I sequence
by continuing the movement in fourths to make it a II-V-I-IV
(as in Am7 D7 Gmaj7 Cmaj7). This is called an "overrun" in
Cork's "Lego Bricks" system. But the II-V-I sequence can
also be extended by *preceding* it with a movement of a fourth
to give VI-II-V-I (Em7 Am7 D7 Gmaj7) I suppose we might call
this an "underrun"? This idea appears in the first four bars
of "All the Things You Are" (for which the home key is Ab) as:

Example 3:

|Fm7 |Bbm7 |Eb7 |Abmaj7 |

VI II V I

9. In fact, the next chord of "All The Things You Are" is
Dbmaj7 (the IV chord in Ab) and it is arguable that this is an
example of the II-V-I sequence being extended in both
directions, ie both an "underrun" and an "overrun" in the same
sequence. Actually, because the Dbmaj7 occurs on the "strong"
bar of a four bar unit, it has the effect of suggesting a new
temporary key centre of Db and it could therefore be
misleading to speak of it as as overrun in Ab. Nevertheless,
if you wanted to, you *could* improvise on the Ab major scale
over the first five bars. There would be no "wrong" notes
although it might make for a less interesting solo as you'd be
reducing all the harmonic movement to a "lowest common
denominator".

10. Just to keep the idea going, you can in fact go one step
further by adding yet another movement of a fourth and
constructing a III-VI-II-V-I which (in C) would be:

Example 4a:

|Em7 |Am7 |Dm7 |G7 |Cmaj7 |

III VI II V I

11. When this is used it is very common to make a minor
modification. By simply changing the Am7 to an A7 it "leads"
more satisfactorily into the Dm7 (the note of C# leading to
the D), ie the A7 functions as though it is the dominant of
the Dm7 chord which follows it. This is referred to as a
"secondary dominant". The result is the very common sequence:

Example 4b:

Em7 |A7 |Dm7 |G7 |Cmaj7 |

12. Note that the first two bars now actually form a II-V
movement in D major but one which is unresolved because it
leads not to Dmaj7 but to a II-V in the key of C major.

13. This also explains why you often get chords such as D7,
E7 and A7 cropping up in the key of C (when theory would
suggest Dm7, Em7 and Am7), ie they are usually functioning as
"secondary dominants".

14. In principle, VII-III-VI-III-II-V-I-IV is as far as you
can take this idea within a single key centre . This is
because a perfect fourth above the IV chord will take you into
a different key. In practice it is fairly unusual to work the
idea this hard - not least because the VII chord cannot be
approached by a movement of a fourth from within the same key.
As a result sequences involving the VII chord are uncommon. If
you see a m7b5 chord you can *ordinarily* assume that it is
functioning as a II chord in the relative minor rather than a
VII in the major.

15. We have looked at how the movement within a melodic line
may depend almost entirely on movements round the Cycle of
Fourths. Now go back to "Autumn Leaves" and look what
happens when we move from the "home key" of Em at the end of
Bar 8, to the start of the next melodic line (which is in G
major) in Bar 9. We go from Em to Am7, which is (surprise,
surprise) a perfect fourth...


THIRD RULE OF PRACTICAL HARMONY
(only mildly tongue in cheek)

If you're not sure what the next chord should be,
bet the farm on it being a perfect fourth above
where you are.



__________________________________________________________



HOT TOPICS (No. 3)

TRITONE SUBSTITUTION


16. We are going to introduce the subject of tritone
substitution (more colloquially, "flattened fifth
substitution") by first looking at the theory and then at a
practical example (we'll use it to finish off the job of
constructing the full Autumn Leaves sequence).

17. First of all, what is it and why does it work? You'll
recall from Part I that we introduced the notion that the
"guide tones" are the most important notes in a chord and that
keyboard players will often play just these notes rather than
a full chord voicing. The guide tones for a dominant seventh
chord are the third and the seventh, eg in C7 they are E and
Bb.

18. Notice that these two notes form an interval of a tritone
(= flattened fifth = half an octave = six semitones) and that
when they are inverted (Bb E) they still form an interval of a
tritone. It follows that the same two notes form not only the
third and seventh of one chord but also the seventh and third
of another one. Unsurprisingly, the root of the second chord
is the note which is a tritone (half an octave) away from the
first, in this case Gb. So, we have:

Chord C7 Gb7

Seventh Bb E
Third E Bb
Root C Gb

19. As a result, you can substitute a dominant seventh for
the dominant seventh chord a tritone away and still preserve
the identical "voice leading" created by the guide tones. It
also has the effect of creating a characteristic semitone
movement in the roots of the chord when substituted in a
II-V-I sequence, eg:

Example 5a:

Gm7 C7 Fmaj7

becomes

Example 5b:

Gm7 Gb7 Fmaj7


20. Things can get a little more complicated if you want to
add the fifth of the chords. Often the implications are
simply ignored and C7 and Gb7 are taken as direct substitutes
as above. This works as the resultant voice leading is
natural sounding in the sense that the fifths also create a
semitone movement, eg:

Example 5c:

F E E
D Db C
Bb Bb A
G Gb F

Gm7 Gb7 Fmaj7

21. Another possibility is to flatten the fifth of the
tritone substitute to give Gb7b5 which reintroduces the note
of C and suggests something of the character of the original
chord.

Example 5d:

F E E
D C C
Bb Bb A
G Gb F

Gm7 Gb7b5 Fmaj7

[NB note that C7b5 and Gb7b5 are exact substitutes, ie they
are inversions of each other and contain exactly the same
notes - C E Gb Bb and Gb Bb C E ].

22. A variety of other chord movements can be thought of in
terms of tritone substitution even though they are not
commonly so described. The basic principle is preserving the
guide tones and substituting the root by a note which forms a
tritone interval with it.

23. Now look back at paragraph 6. We commented that Cmaj7
(or actually C6) and F#m7b5 (= Gbm7b5) were closely related.
Writing only the roots and guide tones, we have:

A E
E A
C F#

C6 F#m7b5

24. You can see that it is therefore possible to think of
F#m7b5 as being a tritone substitute for C6. Note though that
it is not "common usage" so to describe it. This is perhaps
because C6 normally functions as a tonic chord while F#m7b5
definitely does not. But, as we'll use it in this context,
the C6 can also function as a VI chord in a minor key.
However, most musicians recognise only dominant sevenths as
tritone substitutes - but there are lots of ambiguities and
personal interpretations in this area.

25. Nevertheless, we can make practical use of this
relationship. So far we've developed the Autumn Leaves
sequence to the following point:


|Am7 |D7 |Gmaj7 |Cmaj7 |F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |
|Am7 |D7 |Gmaj7 |Cmaj7 |F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |
|F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |Am7 |D7 |Gmaj7 | % |
|F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |

26. What is unsatisfactory about this is the repetition of
the same harmonice sequence in line 4. It also crops up at
the beginning of line 3. To make matters even worse the same
sequence occurs as the last four bars of lines 1, 2 and 4, ie
there is nothing to "signal" the end of the tune.

27. Let's try the effect of replacing our "closely related"
chord of Cmaj7 for the F#m7b5 in bar 5 of line 4. This is
likely to work as both Cmaj7 and F#m7b5 are diatonic harmonies
based on the the E harmonic minor scale (VI and II
respectively). We do need to check that the melody notes are
consonant with the chord but let's assume that we've checked
this out (they are). Line 4 then becomes:

|F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |Cmaj7 |B7b9 |Em | % |

28. This not only distinguishes the first half of line 4 from
the second half but also distinguishes the end of Line 4 from
lines 1 and 2, ie we've now got a clear "signal" (the semitone
movement) that the end of the melody is arriving.

29. We've still got two remaining problems. First of all,
the melody line over the last eight bars is a continuous one
and here we've got the now familiar problem (see para.4) that
the harmony has "come home" in the third and fourth bars of
line 4. So, we need to stop these bars seeming to come to
rest and we also need to find a logical path from Em to Cmaj7.
Look at the Cycle of Fourths sequence described in paragraph
11 (Example 4b = Em7 A7 Dm7 G7 Cmaj7). The only melody note
here is a B natural which, against the first four chords,
would form respectively the fifth, the dominant ninth, the
sixth or thirteenth and the third. Might just do it, huh? So
line 4 could become:

|F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em7 A7 |Dm7 G7 |Cmaj7 |B7b9 |Em | % |

30. But since we've already got a nice chromatic movement
from Cmaj7 to B7b9, we can build on the idea to get an
extended line descending by semitones to reach the home key at
the end of the tune. Here we play the trump card of tritone
substitution for the second chord in both the third and fourth
bars of line 4. We can substitute Eb7 for A7 and Db7 for G7.
Now we have:

|F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em7 Eb7 |Dm7 Db7 |Cmaj7 |B7b9 |Em | % |

31. This extended chromatic descent is a *very* strong sound.
So much so that it's almost impossible to listen to a
different harmonisation of this tune without mentally
supplying this figure.

32. We now have the complete sequence for Autumn Leaves which
is what you'll ordinarily see in lead sheets etc. In full, it
is:

Example 6:

|Am7 |D7 |Gmaj7 |Cmaj7 |F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |
|Am7 |D7 |Gmaj7 |Cmaj7 |F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |
|F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em | % |Am7 |D7 |Gmaj7 | % |
|F#m7b5 |B7b9 |Em7 Eb7 |Dm7 Db7 |Cmaj7 |B7b9 |Em | % |


33. This is considerably more interesting harmonically than
our original simple cadences but note that the basic structure
of the piece has not altered at all. The key centres remain
those we started with.

FINAL THOUGHT ON THE "AUTUMN LEAVES" SEQUENCE

34. This analysis has tried to show that strong chord
sequences have an underlying logic and that you have to be
concerned as much with the linear structure of the sequence as
with the vertical harmonies. There are many other chords
which could be selected to harmonise with individual bars of
this melody but if they don't make sense in relation to the
chords which precede them and those which follow them, the
sequence is likely to sound disjointed and unsatisfactory (or
even plain "wrong").

[alanbakewell]

O.K. just run that by me again slowly.

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[Fiesta red]

Thanks for your help Jim and Bob! That should keep me busy this winter Bob!!! Cheers Ken...

[Bob Withrington]

Hi Ken,

I'll plan to ask you a few questions on this subject next spring.

Good luck,

Bob

[Bluesnote]

And if these explanations dont tire you out

Get a Joe Pass or Ted Greene tutor


Joe 'still' gives me a headache
After thirty-odd years too.

[Iain Purdon]

Round of applause to Bob!!