Q. Hey im having trouble on deciding on choosing a jazz song for music so I decided to change a song that I already know into a jazz song. I play piano and I'm going to sing to it but I dont know how to go about changing it as I've never played a jazz song before :O
Could someone point me in the direction of some jazz scales or how to go about creating the style?
Thanks heaps!
A. The cliche piano/voice duet sound usually revolves around adding extensions to chords, and adding subs, and extra leading chords into the progression.
Lets say for example you have a chord progression C Am Em G, which isn't an extremely uncommon chord progression in Pop tunes.
I would start by choosing some more interesting chords.
I would start by adding extensions to the chords: I would likely choose at first glance, Cmaj7#11, (C,E,G,B,F#), Am9 (A,C,E,G,B), Em7, (E,G,B,D), G7add13, (G,B,D,F,E). These are a little more colourful chords. Further still, lets say this progression repeats, so the G, goes back to C. Another colourful, and hip thing to do is to sub the dominant chord, (in this case G), with the Dominant chord, a tritone away from the fifth, G, so in C, this is a Db. It creates chromatic movement back to C, So I would like play G7, and then push a Db7 back to C.
Harmonizing the notes of the major scale introduces some more colourful chords, as well as an interesting harmonic idea, the functions of these chords. I find this chart helps me organize the function of chords in relation to tonic (T), sub dominant(SD), and dominant chords(D), in the key of C major,
Cmaj7 = T
Em7= T
Fmaj7 = SD
G7 = D
Am7 = SD
Bm7b5 = D
You now have potentially a whole tonne of possible harmonic substitutions to try:
Instead of Em7, you could try a Cmaj7 type chord with an E in the bass, (Cmaj7/E). Or instead of Am, you could try and squeeze in a Fmaj7 type chord. The possibilities are endless. With all this in mind, you must also consider voice leading.
A good arrangement might include a 'secondary dominant, (when functioning, leads to a chord other than the tonic' approach.
A good example would be to push a E7 sound (the fifth of Am) near the end of the measure in C, into the Am.
If you use some of these tricks, you might be able to get something good out of it, I find that if you are making a solo arrangement it is important to not be too 'floaty' with the changes, you can be more liberal in the sense that there is no rhythm section to contend with, but you still want people to hear the movement, and contrary to what some may think, sometimes it is better to play simple things right in the pocket, than to go nuts and try making something sound hip.
A good arrangement will also take into consideration the melody line. When you write it out, make sure that none of you chords clash with the melody notes.
The only real rule in jazz harmony I can think of is to 'avoid' the interval of a minor 9. Its not that you can't do it, it's just generally better if you don't. Exceptions to the m9 rule obviously include the use of chords like G7b9. But it is still considered the the most dissonant of all intervals.
You may also want to learn the Charleston Rhythm, depending on if you are arranging a ballad or a swing tune.
how to compose chords in a different way to blocked out?
Q. i've tried broken chords but i'd like it to be different have you heard adeles version of make you feel my love? well i want to compose something like that in the piano/guitar accompaniment
any ideas??
thanks guys :D
A. Try transcribing parts that have the sound you would like to emulate. Learn those parts and study them. Are there any patterns to how the chords are voiced? What sort of rhythms are being used? How are non-chord tones utilized? Do the non-chord tones outline any particular scales? How does the accompaniment suggest the harmony? How does it interact with the melody?
These are the questions you need to ask yourself when studying those parts.
The musicians that played them probably didn't think them through that much. They probably just dove right in and figured something out on the fly. But different players do different things when they do that... they play things they are familiar with and do often. They sort of have a "strategy" for comping.
For example, my basic comping strategy on the guitar is to alternate between drop 2 voicings with the low note on the A string and drop 3 voicings with the low note on the E string. I try to keep the voice leading as smooth as possible, which means I often have to use inversions.
You can hand me a chart for a song I've never heard before and I can read it down fairly quickly using that method above. It's just a sound I like, so I practice playing that way. I can do something else if asked, but I usually go that way first because it's a more sophisticated approach that I can do right away without having to think about it.
If you always resort to clumsily jumping around to root position, close voiced chord, then you just need to develop a new strategy and practice that. Perhaps you can hit 5ths in the left hand and triads in the right. Whenever you have a 7th chord, leave the root out of your right hand. If the chart calls for an inversion, put the root over whatever note is in the bass, unless it's the 7th, in which case you can put the 3rd. Voice lead the right hand chords up for 4 bars, then back down for the next 4 bars.
That's just an idea of how you can develop your own comping methods. I just made that up right now, but if you try playing that way, it should sound pretty nice (and a lot more sophisticated than what you're apparently doing now). Those are the sort of patterns you should look for when transcribing performances as well. This is how musicians think.
how to play keyboard with both hands?
Q. I can play with both my hands but I have to do it in a simple way. I can't play with both hands at different speeds. It has to be very very simple for me to do it, is there anything I can do to develop?
A. Yes.
You have to learn, seriously enough to understand the difference and, additional impact you can have by using BOTH hands in unison.
Too many just give up and try to do straight melodies with one-hand, dull, fingering.
You have to use your left hand for an accompaniment. For the bass, an applied (called for style) rhythm and proper timing. Then, get down the melody with your right hand fingering the notes of the tune.
It will take time. It will provide a feel for ANY music you are wanting to play. But you have to learn the technique as being so important that you are not going very far in expressing ANY form of music by just a simple run of the melody.
If, you can do that much so far, in the right and expected run of a given melody.
Time to graduate into getting to know how to run a keyboard which was designed and fashioned, for both your hands, and expressing such vivid sounds in harmony and compliment.
There are chord guides and charting systems for the left-hand patterns and their keys of musical notation relationships, as to go with any melody of a song or composition as indicated by manuscript and music books alike.
Even, CD and DVD instructional, piano lesson books and learning aids of what a player can do to get started in getting it all down, Patting the top of the head, while rubbing the tummy, may appear to be harder than playing the piano with both your hands being involved.
Unless, there is of course, an accompaniment feature on a particular digital keyboard. Of which many 'players-want-to-be' can get away with such entertainment. You have to go by that on-board sampling. But you're not being a piano player on your own, with such dependency. (But at least learning proper timing issues and expressions on the way, when it comes to straight melody interpretations.)
Just get past the idea that you can get by from just 'playing around' and not getting serious enough to discover the real, musical possibilities available... 'at hand'.
And on your own.
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