stoken6 Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 I'm working on a horn arrangement for a song which features a secondary dominant (V-of-V), on which a #11 "resolves" up to a 5. Here's a simplified reduction of the relevant part: So D major, bar 2 is Em (II) to E9 (VofV) with A# resolving to B. That's the trumpet line. I'm struggling to find appropriate lower notes at "?" for the other horns which include some motion (rather than duplicate the E/d/g of the next chord). This 7#11 on the VofV is a classic jazz motif, so I'm hoping some of the mighty brains on this forum can educate me on how to work that harmony to my advantage... Cheers, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrythek Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 Try a chromatic from below... think of it as an Eb9 chord voicing slipping up into the E7#9 you"ve written. Or Eb#9 into your voicing. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonizer Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 Here is what I would do with that measure. I found myself wanting to hear the F# in the E9, but the result did not sound complete to me until I made that E9 have 5 voices. I don't know what the chord having the eighth note duration should be named. I also will not offer a music theory basis for my suggestion, since I don't have one, beyond wanting to hear the F#. It's just what I found myself wanting to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morizzle Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 Yeah, you're gonna have a hard time moving all the voices and still have it sound like a E dominant the whole time. How about prolonging the A# to a quarter note and harmonizing it with Eb/F (well, technically D#/F)? Also, depending on the style, you might wanna lose the root notes in the voicings (I'm assuming there's a bass playing the roots). Quote It's not a clone, it's a Suzuki. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 Thanks all. @harmonizer, your comment was the missing link. 5 voices for E9, but only four horns - so go rootless! Drop2 on the "destination chord" gives me G#-D-F#-B. From then the preceding E7#11 didn't need too much experimentation to find something that sounds good: Thinking of the passing chord as a F#7b13 gives me stepwise motion in 3 of the four voices, while tenor holds the D. I've got alto and tenor a only tone apart (I try and avoid intervals that are too close, as they can exaggerate tuning discrepancies), but saxes blend better than brass, so I think I'll get away with it. Cheers, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.