Post 324: CHORDS - THOUGHT-PROVOKING STUFF FROM A GUEST WRITER

Following my own ramblings and speculations about chords, I have received this contribution from the traditional jazz pianist Chris Reilley.

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Chris writes: -

In my case learning about chords started when I took an interest in playing Boogie Woogie, so the chord shapes in that case were fairly simple first-inversion major triad shapes. From then on it was only a matter of making slight amendments to the chords for the simplest of Jazz Tunes to be able to play Traditional and New Orleans Jazz tunes.

In recent years I have found that some tunes suggest the use of much more complicated chords – some of which are almost impossible to play with the left hand only. I am referring to those chords that require a span of more than one octave or more than the use of five notes in the chord.

I bought a Chord Chart Book in the 1950s which showed all of the most common chord shapes in use and since then I have referred to this and to a book commonly known as the “French Chord Book”. Both of these list the details of a number of different chords some of which either require the use of six fingers or for the chord to be missing a note (usually the root). This is because the chord would normally be played as a split bar with the root being played on the first and third beats and the chord (less the "Root") on the second and fourth beats.

One interesting point made in the Chord Chart Book regarding “Inversions” is the suggestion that chords played on the Piano should ideally be centred over middle C in order to get the fullest sound. This means that some chords should not necessarily be played in the first inversion but maybe in either second or third inversions to obtain the fullest sound.

There is no doubt that some chords use the same notes as other chords in a different key but in a different inversion; this can be confusing and the only way I know to resolve this issue is to make sure that the chord used is in the same key as the tune (unless there is intended to be a change of key at that point).

Another point in chord use is to take into account the unfortunate limitations of some instruments like for example the Banjo and Guitar which in many cases only have four strings.

I have been asked to play “eleventh” or “thirteenth” chords in certain places in tunes and when I have looked at the melody I usually have found that the notes of the “eleventh” or “thirteenth” are actually in the melody. Now as I want to be able to use my right hand for improvisation and harmonic accompaniment, I excuse myself of that task by playing all the notes except the “eleventh” or “thirteenth” notes of the chord and let the melody instruments sound that.

To add to the above there is also the interesting use of Lead-in notes and Chords (e.g. the Dominant Seventh or Augmented Fifth) and the final Chords (e.g. Dominant Seventh, Major Seventh or Major Sixth as well as chordal sequences) being the most common. Also in some tunes there appears what is commonly called the “magic” Chord (in the key of Bb there might appear the chord of Db prior to playing an Eb chord). In the case of the well-known Boogie Woogie composer Jimmy Yancy, he used to finish many of his tunes with a bar or two in a totally different Key.

I hope you find this interesting.

Cheers,

Chris.

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Thanks, Chris. I certainly did. You have made some points that had not occurred to me before.

Post 290: MINOR 7ths AND FLATTENED 5ths

Don't get me wrong: I think the Minor 7th with Flattened Fifth is one of the loveliest and most luscious in the entire lexicon of chords. If you doubt me, try playing it on your keyboard.

C minor 7th with flattened fifth, for example, comprises these notes:

C   -   Eb   -  Gb  - Bb

But I always find it awkward to play. I am a poor keyboard player, so when I am trying to play a tune from a fake book or busker's book and I come across a minor 7th with flattened fifth, I'm stumped. I have to work out what the notes are; and I can't get my fingers into position before it's too late and I'm on to the next bar. It's the flattened fifth that throws me.

However, I discovered that if - instead of playing a minor 7th with flattened 5th - you play the minor 6th of the chord 3 semitones above it, you achieve virtually the same effect. You are using the same notes, but in a different inversion.

So, for example, play the Cm7(-5) above as Eb Minor 6th:

Eb  -  Gb  -  Bb  -  C

It works.

So now, when I'm asked to play Dm7(-5), I actually play Fm6; when I'm asked to play Em7(-5), I actually play Gm6; and so on.

It's a simple little trick that I stumbled on recently. If you know much about music, you may be surprised that I was unaware of something so 'basic'.

But it has been a helpful discovery to me; and I hope it may benefit some readers.

For an example of this chord in action, think of the opening line of that lovely old song from 1913 'If I had my way, dear, forever there'd be a garden of roses for you and for me....'. The word way is sung with the chord of the minor 7th with flattened fifth.

Since I wrote the above, Allen Robnett has kindly added to my musical education by sending me this very helpful comment and tip:

Are you aware that another name for the  x7-5  is  x half dim  or  xf. (The x represents any minor chord here).  That means that if you are conversant with a dim7 chord, all you have to do is raise the 7 a half step and you have the minor 7 flat 5.

And still further thoughts have been sent to me by my old friend John Burns:

My experience of the m7b5 chord is very limited; it does not feature very often in the chords given for the majority of the jazz tunes that I am familiar with. However, in any of the chord sequences in which I have come across it I think it is extremely effective, though generally not essential. It can therefore be used as a embellishment, an example being at the start of Georgia on my Mind (often played in F) where

F /A7    /Dm can be rendered as F        /Em7b5  A7 /Dm

which I think sounds really great.

It turns up as one of various possible chords in the curious downward chromatic motion in Blue Turning Grey Over You:  Bb     /A7      /Dm7b5     /G7

again with excellent effect, and a fine accompaniment to the “middle eight” of Sweet Sue is: (in F)

F    /Am   /Am7b5    /D7     /Gm     /Gm     /Gm7b5      /C7

When looking through the various chord books, I have noticed that usually, though not always, the m7b5 is followed by a dominant 7th chord with a root a fourth higher (fifth lower) than that of the m7b5 chord, as it does in all the examples above. The fingering of these chords on my banjo is not particularly easy with the tuning I use (CGBD). However one inversion (where the root is at the bottom) is infinitely easier than all the others and the move from that inversion to the dominant 7th as described is very simple, requiring the first finger to slide one fret backwards while the other fingers stay in position. The change to the new chord also sounds particularly smooth from this inversion. This simple move led me to notice that, as the first finger is actually covering two strings, the change between these two chords involves the lowering by one semitone of two of the notes of the m7b5 chord, these being the flattened 5th and the 7th , for example:

Cm7b5 to F7 consists of

C, Eb, Gb, Bb      going to   C, Eb, F, A   which is, in root position, F, A, C, Eb, in other words F7. Fascinating, isn’t it; at least, I think so!

(So do I  - ed.)

There is nothing particularly odd about this; there are many chord changes involving the movement of one or two notes by a semitone (the “Dragon chord” is an example) but it doesn’t alter the fact that I find it all very fascinating!

The other feature of the m7b5 chord, which has already been mentioned by you, is its having the same notes as a m6 chord with a root three semitones higher. This causes some confusion for me with the same “chord shapes” being involved but different inversions. A combination of that and the fact that I don’t use these chords all that often is a bit of a problem but, of course, also a challenge…………..!