The Reharm Room

[SK]

Joe, not sure that it's quotable, but you're welcome to it.

 

I wish I'd found this reharm thread a long time ago.

... like back when all the file links still worked! There was some good music in here from members. And it evolved as a harmonic workshop... I know for myself, I'd be influenced by something marino, Linwood or Dave did (and others), and it would be applied to the next song.

[Uncle Jam]

Yes, I did find it frustrating that the old links didn't work, so I wasn't able to really digest the entire thread the way I wish I could. Anyway, it's a great idea for a thread, and I'm glad it's active again.

 

Dave, I wouldn't mind hearing the reharms in spite of the recording quality, that is if you would ever have the time to move them over. Sounds like a tech hassle...

[SK]

Glad you broke the lock open on the door. Nice Solar - it has almost a mysterious quality. Along with the unpredictable voicings, I like the intro being around G... and the occasional left hand lines playing off the melody.

 

 

 

 

[Al Quinn]

Ah, what a wonderful way to start the day. Thanks Dave, that was beautiful.

[Legatoboy]

nice Dave!

[linwood]

Such great stuff in the reharm room! Thanks for bringing this thread back up. Although I never forget what great musicians Dave, Sk, Carlo are...it's sure humbling to walk in here and to hear it again.

 

[J_tour]

Haven't had a chance to look at the latest, but if anyone wants to throw in on a basic modulation problem I haven't decided how to settle, I'll outline the little problem.

 

So, Xmas I'm going to be with extended family, all that, and since one of my nephews just started piano lessons, I thought I'd do a short little medley of simple but satisfying (and key word SHORT) more classical-type tunes.

 

WTCII E major prelude --> Air from the E minor Partita.

 

Then I want to get to Bb (I don't know why Bb, it just seems like a good idea, being a tritone away) and just cut out with a little jazz-churchy style "Silent Night" (or whatever, I don't know, but something in Bb).

 

I think easiest way is just to grab onto the F# minor and somehow turn that into an F#7 (from there, just -->F7).

 

I'm finding it difficult to make this sound smooth without doing a bunch of harmonic preparation, i.e., basically noodling around.

 

Any shortcut ideas in voicing that could make this modulation more efficient?

[marino]

Just popping up to say hi. Great to see so many friends and good musicians gathering in one place. I think we should be grateful to Steve for having thought of this thread in the first place: It sure helped to get the harmonic juices flowing. And as we can hear, the musical contributes from everybody are still uniformely excellent.

 

I'm not doing much in the realm of reharm these days (title of new TV series - or KC thread: "Realm of Reharm"). Better said, I'm not reharmonizing many jazz standards... fact is, I've worked on so many of them that I'm not really motivated to do more, unless I can include some of them in a project. I would be ready: I have several dozen to chose from.

 

But I'm working or reharmonization anyway, because I have jazzified several *Italian* songs lately, and I have a whole project of traditional Neapolitan songs with jazz harmonies and arrangements. To make things more challenging, the singer is a classical soprano, with an operatic approach! It's going to be interesting...

[marino]

Any shortcut ideas in voicing that could make this modulation more efficient?

I'm finding kind of funny that you have thought of the key before knowing *what* to play in that key...

Btw, assuming that you're coming from the E tonic chord:

 

E -> Bbm7b5 Eb7 Edim. F7 -> Bb

E -> Am F7 -> Bb

E -> B F# Bb/F F -> Bb

 

etc.

 

 

[J_tour]

I'm finding kind of funny that you have thought of the key before knowing *what* to play in that key...

Btw, assuming that you're coming from the E tonic chord:

 

E -> Bbm7b5 Eb7 Edim. F7 -> Bb

E -> Am F7 -> Bb

E -> B F# Bb/F F -> Bb

 

etc.

 

Thanks very much!

 

I think I'm settling with

 

E-->Em7b5-->A7-->Dm etc to Bb.

 

It's a little noodly, but the Em7b5->A7 has enough room for a baroque-style line before going into the lounge lizard Dm G7|Cm F7.

 

I wouldn't have thought of that were it not for your concise suggestions.

 

Oh yeah, hey, "Green Leaves of Summer" is usually in E minor, so just noodle on that baroqueishly then do that change then do something Christmasy in Bb.

 

Sure, that's the ticket!

 

Thanks again.

[linwood]

another idea... hang on them for 2 or 4 beats and noodle at will

 

E A D G B E to

G F B E A C# E to

F# E A# D G C E to

B F# A C# E G# B E

Bb F D G A C F

[SK]

! I hope Steve doesn't mind me sharing it. I didn't talk to him about it , so if you want me to take it down Steve, I will.

Hey thanks Dave, it's fine with me. Fun to hear these archeological digs from the RR - I wish it was all still intact.

 

And thanks Carlo, Linwood, Dave and everybody who made this thread what it was/is - and to Dave Bryce for making it a Key Thread! Originally, I only hoping for a place on KC to share musical ideas, from full reharms to basic chord variations or lines. And it's still going!

[I-missRichardTee]

another idea... hang on them for 2 or 4 beats and noodle at will

 

E A D G B E to

G F B E A C# E to

F# E A# D G C E to

B F# A C# E G# B E

Bb F D G A C F

 

This looks like a creative idea for the normally difficult ( for me ) modulation.

But E A D G B E Is not quite E major tonality? Maybe a chord prior to E A D G B E that reflects E major?

[J_tour]

another idea... hang on them for 2 or 4 beats and noodle at will

 

E A D G B E to

G F B E A C# E to

F# E A# D G C E to

B F# A C# E G# B E

Bb F D G A C F

 

This looks like a creative idea for the normally difficult ( for me ) modulation.

But E A D G B E Is not quite E major tonality? Maybe a chord prior to E A D G B E that reflects E major?

 

I missed linwood's post, so thanks for that.

 

I take it to be kind of a spoof, just go through the circle. The opposite of concise, but it works, and it's fun.

 

So maybe it's me who is missing something, but I like it!

[linwood]

When I saw the arrow pointing to the Air in Em, I thought he was ending on the final Em triad of Air with the E on top. It's pretty easy to see and hear I'm spelling out a Em there. I moved in a way to enter Bb Major with a half step and also the first melody note of Silent Night is F in Bb and that too is landed with a half step move. J tour those are 5 vertical chords. Em11... G13#11... F#b13#11b9 ... B11...BbM7. You mentioned kind of jazzy.... I'm keeping the E on top until I reach the Bb root. Consider what those roots are in relation to the Bb destination root and you'll see why I chose them and what the relation the high E is to all those roots and that can explain the types of chords....and if you want E major....E G#D G C E

[J_tour]

When I saw the arrow pointing to the Air in Em, I thought he was ending on the final Em triad of Air with the E on top. It's pretty easy to see and hear I'm spelling out a Em there. I moved in a way to enter Bb Major with a half step and also the first melody note of Silent Night is F in Bb and that too is landed with a half step move. J tour those are 5 vertical chords. Em11... G13#11... F#b13#11b9 ... B11...BbM7. You mentioned kind of jazzy.... I'm keeping the E on top until I reach the Bb root. Consider what those roots are in relation to the Bb destination root and you'll see why I chose them and what the relation the high E is to all those roots and that can explain the types of chords....and if you want E major....E G#D G C E

 

Ah! I get it now. I'll try it out voiced like that. Actually, that's really clever. I'll not only have to try it, but think about it as well.

 

Much appreciated, both for the original idea, and the explanation.

 

Definitely the jazzier extended chords can (I'm pretty convinced) be shoehorned into the baroque style, sort of gradually weave the upper extensions in, maybe using some kind of line until bit by bit the ear is ready to ear the real voicings.

 

And then, baddabing you can get to something like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqwmZsPe_3c

 

I still have to remember just how short attention spans little kids have, so that's my main challenge! I think I frightened the piano nephew by writing out some lead sheets of "Happy Birthday" and some other little tunes, you know, with simple chords above and just handwritten melody. Not quite there yet. ETA I should add, if I were "teaching" him, and not his grandmother, this would be all done by ear, so my compromise is to pass along little sheet music and stuff. I'll also ETA I just thought Bach sounded Christmasy, so I picked short simple pieces (I spent Oct and Nov doing all my stuff in E, and Dec is everything in A), but since he likes Beethoven, I might edit down the Rondo from the Op. 26 piano sonata to much shorter as an "encore," or maybe the Allegro from the Op. 126 bagatelles is short enough and has enough variation in mood. I made some copies for him of the simplest Beethoven I know of, the 6 Écossaises, but unfortunately that's way off. I could play those, and then do them a half step up in E (not that hard, you can even just read it straight off the page in E instead of Eb), but I don't like those very much. Never mind, I'm just rambling -- in music and in words, pretty long-winded!

 

EETA can't resist adding more TLDR, you know, never mind why I fixed on E major Bach stuff -- those tend to be, from what I know of his "book," short, pastoral things. The WTCII prelude is one of the comparatively few preludes I like from both books of WTC, but it's kind of dense harmonically and a bit too long. The one from WTCI is, IMHO sort of like a retarded (no offense) version of the E major sinfonia, but the sinfonia is I think too long and complex for kids to enjoy. And I don't care much for the stuff from the Emaj Fr Ste. Meh, maybe the Op 26 Rondo, cut down to brevity, hitting the (IMHO) important bits, then do that nice little Air from the partita, then just close out with a little xmas thing from one of the few xmas tunes I don't hate. Not doing the Guaraldi "Christmas Time is Here" (or whatever the exact title is again), kind of I've done it too many times at family holidays, and nobody sings along. So just close it out with a little Silent Night with a groove.

 

And,if piano nephew gets colichy, him being a Beethoven fan, I've already got the best lullaby behind "Lousiana Lullaby," namely the first movement Op 27.#1 of Beethoven. Just don't hit the allegro bits too hard.

 

Know thine audience!

[linwood]

If you want a simple way to show someone young... maybe arp through something like

E B E G# B E

D A E G# B E

C# G# E F# B E

C G E F# B E

B F# B E A C# E....to BbM

 

VI II V I and tritone subs will come latter.

[I-missRichardTee]

When I saw the arrow pointing to the Air in Em, I thought he was ending on the final Em triad of Air with the E on top. It's pretty easy to see and hear I'm spelling out a Em there. I moved in a way to enter Bb Major with a half step and also the first melody note of Silent Night is F in Bb and that too is landed with a half step move. J tour those are 5 vertical chords. Em11... G13#11... F#b13#11b9 ... B11...BbM7. You mentioned kind of jazzy.... I'm keeping the E on top until I reach the Bb root. Consider what those roots are in relation to the Bb destination root and you'll see why I chose them and what the relation the high E is to all those roots and that can explain the types of chords....and if you want E major....E G#D G C E

 

Closer, but the D is E7, right. it has to be D#?

 

[linwood]

Not if you want -7. If you want 7, write 7.

[I-missRichardTee]

Dave, While generally not a big fan of reharm... I liked your Darn That Dream .

[I-missRichardTee]

Dave,

Since I've never spent the amount of time you have spent... I feel I came off flip.. and hypocritical.

Let me just add.. doing this kind of thing is extremely challenging. I often think of it as each chord change is like a hurdler overcoming endless hurdles; such potential for not keeping the already high standard, maintained as each second passes; just a very difficult undertaking.

You have the somewhat "natural" harmonic progressions implied by the melody. And you have to deal with the new harmonies you inviting, and then somehow make peace with both streams. Really challenging... and bravo to your Darned That Dream, and Solar and Night and Day and other spots in other tunes..

I guess the more one subjects himself to this discipline, the more facility he would gain?

Ranging from completely off the cuff, all the way to every chord pre written ; what approach worked for you?

 

[xKnuckles]

Wonderful music Dave. I have just spent an enjoyable time listening to your tracks.

[J_tour]

Hey, propers to DF for the "Who Can I Turn To?"

 

I still have a little book of standards, getting smaller by the year, but I still like this one, and FWIW I'm still learning some things from DF's arrangement.

 

Short and sweet.

 

Very nice.

[Al Quinn]

Bravo Dave! I just listened to the last four recordings you posted and enjoyed them all.

[J_tour]

Thought I'd give a brief kind of funny anecdote to my little question about modulating E/Em-->Bb.

 

I kind of forgot people like to sing along "Silent Night" -- I guess they know the words or whatever. So after asking someone for a starting note, turned out F was the key to make everyone happy!

 

Easy to forget about little details like that!

 

Anyway, happy St Stephen's Feast Day, and all that jazz.

[hurricane hugo]

[font:Comic Sans MS]If you want to hear an interesting reharmonization of The Star Spangled Banner, find video of today's Outdoor Classic NHL game. A choir of children sang it, and the combo backing them up had a really intriguing take on what to play under that melody.[/font]

[Josh Paxton]

Haven't posted in this thread in a while, but inspiration struck today...

 

[video:youtube]

 

I came across a PDF of an old Japanese jazz magazine with "a private lesson with Herbie Hancock." It had a technically simple but really hip arrangement of "Autumn Leaves," with more-or-less the standard changes, just really well voiced. In the course of reading through it I hit a clam that wasn't even close to what was written, but I thought it sounded good anyway. So I went with it and took it to where it felt like it wanted to go. The above is the result. PDF attached. (Apologies for the weird quarter-note triplet rhythms. I'm learning new notation software, and fixing it wasn't worth the effort.)

852.pdf

[George88]

Really nice, Josh!

[cedar]

Hey Josh,

 

I'm curious what was the note/chord that you initially considered a "clam." Also, is it possible for you to share or point us to the Herbie arrangement?

 

I have at least one transcription of a Herbie solo on "Autumn leaves," I think from a Miles album. But don't think I have a transcript of him doing any kind of rearrangement of the melody or reharm,

[Josh Paxton]

Thanks!

 

The "clam" chord was the very first one. I was looking over my right shoulder at my laptop, got my left hand in completely the wrong place, and came down on a low E instead of a C. Just hearing the melody with an E in the bass sounded kinda cool, so I went from there.

 

PDF attached. It's a longer file, but I've chopped out just the portion with "Autumn Leaves." The whole thing (75 pages) is currently on scribd.com if you search for "Herbie Hancock private lesson." It's all in Japanese, so the text is useless for me, but the musical examples are helpful by themselves.

868.pdf