The Harmonic Language Of Jazz Standards
In-Depth
Summary
Here is a chapter-by-chapter summary, with links to actual
excerpts in the form of PDF files. There is enough detail here that if you are
so inclined, you can actually learn quite a bit just from studying this,
although you will have to do a lot more work on your own to figure out all the
applications. But I hope the amount of information I provide here will be
sufficient to convince you to buy the book!
This purpose of this book is to help you improve your skills in playing
standards, by which I mean the songs of George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and
others. The harmony used in these songs is actually quite similar to the harmony
found in classic music, and is variously referred to as tonal or
functional harmony.
Previous generations of jazz musicians often
learned hundreds or even thousands of standards by ear and are able to play them in any key,
with improvised variations on the chord progressions. For various reasons, however, few
younger jazz musicians learn as many of these songs or the skills involved in
playing them by ear or transposing and reharmonizing them on the fly.
I believe that one key to these skills is the ability to understand chord progressions
at a more intuitive level. We are able to play melodies by ear and
transpose them because we can understand melodies in this way. We do
not usually think in terms of "memorizing" a melody one note at a time.
We hear
and remember most melodies in phrases, not as a series of unrelated pitches. If
the melody is random or atonal in nature, this does not apply, but it works for
most standards. The same is
true of lyrics. We do not normally learn lyrics one letter at a time, or even
one word at a time, but as a series of phrases that have meaning. If the lyrics
to a song are in a foreign language we do not understand, we have much greater
difficulty learning them. And this is precisely the problem most of us
experience with chord progressions - they are written in what is essentially a
foreign language. Fortunately, as with any other language, it is possible to
learn the language of harmony.
Scales And Chords
The starting point in the study of harmony is learning major and minor scales
and the various chord types. I expect that most readers will already have a good
working knowledge of this material, but I include this chapter for the benefit
of those who need the review, and to establish a common set of definitions and
concepts for subsequent chapters.
I start by demonstrating the major scale and how each scale defines a key. I
also explain the concept of key signature, and introduce the circle of fifths.
The real core of the chapter comes as I list and define the various types of
chords. I start with the triads found diatonically within a major scale, then
move on to the different types of diatonic seventh chords. I then introduce the
various extensions and alterations that can be made to those seventh chords, as
well as seventh chords that are not found within the major scale. I also briefly
describe some other chords types, including sixth chords, suspended chords, and
polychords. Next I describe the natural or pure minor scale and the chords
diatonic to it, saving a full exploration of the different minor scales until
later.
The most important concept that I establish in this chapter is that while
there are many different types of chords, in the study of tonal harmony they can
all be classified according to one of six categories or qualities. These
correspond to the basic types of seventh chords, and are as follows: major
seventh chords, dominant seventh chords, minor seventh chords, tonic minor
chords, half-diminished chords, and fully diminished chords. This section,
entitled Chord Quality, is the one part of this chapter that everyone
should read, including musicians already familiar with the basics of chord
construction. In fact, this is so important that I am including this section as
a sample:
In the introduction, I state that rules in harmony are like the law of
gravity - they do not tell you what you must do or not do, but instead simply
describe cause and effect. For this reason, I prefer the term "guidelines" to
"rules". This chapter examines the guidelines employed in functional harmony,
showing why certain combinations of chords tend to be used in certain ways.
The complete set of rules is a little longer than I had hoped, but several of
them are just variations on or corollaries to others, or are pretty obvious but
are included for the sake of completeness:
Any diatonic chord can be used at any time.
The dominant (V) tends to resolve to the tonic (I).
Any chord that contains a minor seventh interval between the root and
seventh will tend to resolve downward by fifth.
Chords with a major seventh interval between the root and seventh are
stable.
The IV chord can resolve satisfactorily to the I chord.
Any diatonic chord can resolve downward by perfect fourth to another
diatonic chord.
Any diatonic chord can be replaced by another diatonic chord that has two
tones in common with the original chord, when considered as triads.
The viiº chord may be played as a fully diminished seventh chord,
particularly when it substitutes for V.
If one chord can substitute for another, then the original chord may be
left in place and the substitute chord may be inserted either before or after
it.
Any major, dominant, or minor chord may be preceded by a chord that tends
to resolve to the original chord.
Any time we have a ii-V progression, we can simplify it to V.
Any major, dominant, or minor chord may be preceded by the dominant
seventh chord a fifth above.
Any major, dominant, or minor chord can be preceded by a diminished chord
a half step below.
Any two chords whose bass notes are a whole step apart may be connected by
the diminished chord whose root is between the other two chords.
A major or minor chord may be preceded by a diminished chord built on the
same root, without affecting the resolution of the preceding chord to the
target chord.
The iv chord can substitute for the IV chord in a IV-I progression.
In a iv-I progression, the bVII7 chord may be inserted after or even
replace the iv chord.
Any dominant seventh chord that resolves downward by fifth may be replaced
by the dominant seventh chord a tritone away.
In a minor key, any chord diatonic to the harmonic or natural minor can be
used at any time; the harmonic minor is usually preferred.
When tonicizing a minor chord with a secondary dominant or secondary ii-V,
the use of a b5 on the ii chord and a b9 and b13 on the V chord reinforces the
motion toward a minor key.
A minor key progression may use the i6, IV, or viØ chords from the
melodic minor.
A minor key progression may borrow the I chord, or other chords, from the
parallel major.
Two of the most useful but least well known of these guidelines in harmony
have to do with the iv-I cadence, also called a minor plagal cadence. I
have included the discussion of this principle as a sample:
While the guidelines listed in the previous chapter can explain most of what
happens in tonal chord progressions, we can usually simplify our understanding
of a song considerably. Just as there are many possible chord types but they all
fall into one of six basic qualities, we can divide most harmonic phrases into
one of a few basic categories. To a large extent, phrases within a category are
interchangeable, so not only does learning a song reduce to just recognizing its
structure in terms of these categories, but once we have done so, we also have
the tools we need to reharmonize the song by substituting other idioms from
within the same categories.
Just as we can usually break a song down into a handful of broad sections
such as AABA, we can usually break down each section into a handful of these
idiomatic phrases. The phrases I am talking about are usually around two
measures each. At slower tempos they may be squeezed into a single measure, and
at faster tempos they might take four measures each. The categories of phrases I have identified are
described below:
Cadential Progressions
Cadential progressions are phrases like the familiar ii-V-I cadence whose purpose is to lead us
back to the tonic or I chord. Also in this category are the iv-I
and iv-bVII7-I minor plagal progressions covered in the
previous excerpt. There are a number of other examples, and in this section, I
present a few of them and show how the guidelines from the previous chapter
can be used to derive these cadences. I also hope to get you to hear that
despite the differences between them, they are all serving the same function -
to lead us back to the tonic.
Precadential Progressions
If a cadence is something that leads us back to the tonic, a precadential
progression is something that leads us to a cadence. In practice, this most
often means something that leads to the ii chord, since that is the most
common way to begin a cadence. There are quite a few different commonly
occurring idioms that serve as precadential progressions, such as I-IV-iii-VI,
I-VII-bVII-VI, and I-ii-iii-#iiº. Recognizing how these
progressions all work to serve the same function is the purpose of this section.
Note that while most precadential progressions begin with the tonic, it is
possible to begin a precadential progression from the ii, iii,
IV, or vi chords as well. These progressions are discussed
separately, as they are interchangeable if they start from the same place.
Static Progressions And Turnarounds
Sometimes, a song just needs to stay around the tonic for a while. This is
especially common at the beginning of a tune, where I call them static
phrases. It is also common at the end of an eight-bar section, where we
typically reach the I chord at the beginning of bar seven and then need
to fill space until we reach the I chord at the beginning of the next
section. Static phrases that occur in this context are also called
turnarounds.
While the simplest static progression is just
to stay on I throughout, other variations may consist of a short
precadential phrase paired with a short cadence, as in the ubiquitous
I-VI-ii-V. Other possibilities occur as well, such as I-ii-iii-ii or
I-I7-IV-#ivº. Again, the purpose of this section is to help you
recognize how each of these progressions works to perform the same function.
Transitional Progressions
I define a transitional progression as a phrase that appears to be leading us
away from the tonic and toward one of the other diatonic chords, but does not
actually constitute a modulation to a new key. Another term I sometimes hear for
this is tonicization. The distinction between this and a modulation is
that in the latter, once we reach our destination, we stay there a while, and
see other phrases that function in the new key, whereas in a transition, the
target chord immediately turns around and functions with respect to the original
key.
Most transitions consist of a ii-V relative to the target chord. I
sometimes refer to this as a secondary ii-V. For example, a transition to
the vi chord might consist of a secondary ii-V leading to that
vi chord, or, in other words, viiØ-III-vi.
Unlike with the previous categories of idioms, there are not usually many
different ways of achieving a given transition, although there are a couple of
different ways to transition to IV and also to vi. It is also true
than you can substitute a transition to one chord for a transition to a
different chord, if the target chords can substitute for each other. In
practice, this means a transition to the IV can often be replaced by a
transition to ii or to vi and vice versa.
However, instead of focusing on the different ways of transitioning to a
given chord, the primary purpose of this section help you learn to hear the
difference between the transitions. There are only four common transitions: to
ii, iii, IV, and vi. We almost never see transitions
to V or viiØ. In minor keys, it is the chords
diatonic to the natural minor that serve as targets of transitions.
Modulations
A modulation is like a transition that sticks. Once we reach our target -
which, unlike in a transition, is not necessarily a diatonic chord - we stay
there long enough to have another phrase or two in the new key. In fact, once we
reach the new key, we tend to see exactly the same types of phrases we saw in
the original key: static progressions, cadences, and so forth. Thus the
modulation itself - the motion into the new key - is the final category of
phrase we must learn. And because there are so many potential targets for a
modulation, this is often the most difficult type of phrase to learn to hear. We
can instantly tell a modulation is occurring, but identifying the new key can be
more difficult. Fortunately, as with transitions, there is usually only one way
a modulation is actually accomplished - via a secondary ii-V. So the
purpose of this section is to help you hear the different modulations.
This section includes examples taken from actual standards to demonstrate all
of the different possible targets of a modulation. I explain how you can use the
circle of fifths to help you decide where a modulation is going - you can learn
to tell the different between a modulation in the sharper direction versus the
flatter direction, and also between a modulation that is closely related on the
circle versus one that is more distant.
This chapter concludes with a complete harmonic analysis of a standard,
They Can't Take That Away From Me, by George Gershwin. I manage to reduce
this whole tune down to just a handful of easily heard and understood idioms.
As an example of how I present the various idioms, check out the
following excerpt:
The final chapter of the book is where I show you how to go about applying
all the information presented in previous chapters. In fact, rather than trying
to master the preceding material before starting this chapter, I recommend just
reading through the preceding material and then turning here to see how to
really learn to use it in practice.
The basic practice regimen I describe involves learning tunes - a lot of
tunes. For each tune, you will start by playing it from a lead sheet, then move
on to playing it from memory, and finally transposing it into a few different
keys. I give hints on how to apply your developing understanding of harmony to
make both the playing from memory and the transposing go more smoothly. I stress
using your ear at all steps along the way to help you establish the connection
between theory on paper and the actual sounds of the music.
The key to the approach is to recognize the idioms used in the chord
progressions. Rather than hear a 32-bar standard as consisting of 32 unrelated
chords, you learn to hear it as just perhaps six or seven idiomatic phrases that
all fall into one of just a few easily recognized categories. The idea is to use
the process of learning tunes as a way of getting familiar with these idioms,
and this in turn will make learning tunes easier.
You should find your skills in memorization and
transposition improvising noticeably in a relatively short period of time. I
also show how to apply these same skills to playing a song by ear when you do
not have a lead sheet for it.
I then discuss how to apply your understanding of chord progressions to
substitution and reharmonization, using the standard My One And Only Love
by Guy Wood and Robert Mellin as an example. Looking at just the "A" section, I
first break it down into a series of eight harmonic phrases and then show how to
go about performing substitutions using other idioms from the same categories as
well as more direct application of the guidelines of harmony themselves.
I conclude by discussing ways that your understanding of harmony can be an
aid to improvisation and to composition. Although this is not a book about
improvisation per se, I know that application to improvisation is
an area that will be of special interest to a number of players, so I am
reproducing that discussion here:
