The Diminished Chord, Changing the Melody or the Chords, Common Tones, Pedal Points

The Diminished Chord; Changing the melody or the Chords; Common Tones; Pedal Points

Reference: Levine chapter 14 (available on e-reserve).

THE DIMINISHED CHORD

• You will recall that the chord built on scale step seven (viio7) can substitute for a dominant 7th chord (V7) when moving to I or (i). Chord viio used this way is called the leading tone seventh chord as it leads to the tonic.

It works due to the number of common tones chords V7 and chord viio7 share, particularly, the leading tone:

For example: in the key of FMajor, the dominant seventh or V7 is C7 = C- E-G- Bb

- the chord built on scale step seven of FMajor or viio is Eo = E-G-Bb

• The common tones are in highlighted above. It is as if the Eo is a rootless C7 chord!

• If you extended the C7 to C7b9 = C-E-G-Bb-Db, an entire Eo7 (E-G-Bb-Db) chord has been nested into the C7b9 (highlighted). Consequently, when diminished chords move to I or i, jazz theorists sometimes will refer to diminished chords as disguised V7b9 chords.

• Due to the symmetrical nature of diminished chords (all minor 3rds), it turns out that they can be enharmonically re-spelt to represent different dominant chords, and consequently act as pivot chords to new key areas. This device is used in classical/romantic practice as well as in jazz. When diminished chords are used to used to modulate in classical/romantic music, they are referred to as pivot chords. In jazz they are referred to as disguised V7b9 chords. Here’s how it works...

• Go down a major 3rd from every note of a diminished 7th chord and you will get a different V7b9 chord. Let start with Eo7 for example, E-G-Bb-Db

A major 3rd down from E = C - this is the root of C7b9 = C-E-G-Bb-Db

A major 3rd down from G =Eb - this is the root of Eb7b9 = Eb-G-Bb-Db-Fb (Fb=E)

A major 3rd down from Bb =Gb -the root of Gb7b9 = Gb-Bb-Db-Fb-Abb (Abb=G)

A major 3rd down from Db = Bbb or A - the root of A7b9 = A-C#-E-G-Bb (C#=Db)

Note that the complete Eo7 is embedded in every V7b9 chord above. You are able to resolve (or modulate) to the the tonic of each of these V7b9 chords:

C7b9 resolves to FM or Fm

Eb7b9 resolves to AbM or Abm

Gb7b9 resolves to CbM or Cbm (BM or Bm)

A7b9 resolves to DM or Dm

In summary, Eo7 (or any diminished chord) can enable four different resolutions or potential modulations.

1

Below are the first three bars of George Gershwin’s Embraceable You. The F#o (F#-A-C-Eb) is part of a D7b9 chord (D-F#-A-C-Eb) which resolves to GMaj.

(NB: D is a major 3rd below F# - so there were three different V7b9 chords choices that could have been selected).

=

Figure 14-105

oJ U

4> • <'> •

. <'> "' Figure 14-106

Donald Brown's p iano voicings simplified

( D7 b9 )

E Flo G6 ,..--'--"1'

oJ • .: .=

ADVA N CED REHAUION IZA TlON

F-7

I;e:.' ." -,j

Er;

R

Donald Brown used this idea to modulate

unexpectedly to another key in his wonderful

version of George Gershwin's "Embraceable

You."39 Figure 14-105 shows Gershwin's

original melody and chords for the first three

bars of the tune in H . " Embraceable You" is

usually played in either or G, and Donald's

artful use of the Fl o chord in the second bar

allowed him to modulate from n to G in the

first two bars of the song. The notes in the

Fto chord in the second bar are the 3rd, 5th,

7th, and of a chord, as you saw in

figure 14-104, and normally wants to

resolve to Ga, which is exactly what Donald

does in figure 14-106. Not satisfied with

playing "Embraceable You" in just two keys

(G and Eb), Donald then plays E-7, the II chord

in D major, in the third bar.

)9 Donald Srown, Sources Of Inspiration, Muse, 1989. One

of the best recordings of the 1980s.

337

F#o becomes D7b9.

=

Figure 14-105

oJ U

4> • <'> •

. <'> "' Figure 14-106

Donald Brown's p iano voicings simplified

( D7 b9 )

E Flo G6 ,..--'--"1'

oJ • .: .=

ADVA N CED REHAUION IZA TlON

F-7

I;e:.' ." -,j

Er;

R

Donald Brown used this idea to modulate

unexpectedly to another key in his wonderful

version of George Gershwin's "Embraceable

You."39 Figure 14-105 shows Gershwin's

original melody and chords for the first three

bars of the tune in H . " Embraceable You" is

usually played in either or G, and Donald's

artful use of the Fl o chord in the second bar

allowed him to modulate from n to G in the

first two bars of the song. The notes in the

Fto chord in the second bar are the 3rd, 5th,

7th, and of a chord, as you saw in

figure 14-104, and normally wants to

resolve to Ga, which is exactly what Donald

does in figure 14-106. Not satisfied with

playing "Embraceable You" in just two keys

(G and Eb), Donald then plays E-7, the II chord

in D major, in the third bar.

)9 Donald Srown, Sources Of Inspiration, Muse, 1989. One

of the best recordings of the 1980s.

337

(Levine: 337)

CHANGE THE MELODY

In the excerpt below, from Duke Ellington’s Satin Doll, McCoy Tyner re-harmonises the melody with chromatically ascending ii - V progressions. The simple, sequential melody did not fit perfectly with the re-harmonisation, so he changed the melody to fit his chords (by taking it up a semitone in bars 2 & 4). It is a not a dramatic melodic alteration and the sequential/rhythmic essence of the melody remains, it is a minor melodic variation.

2

Figure 14,.109

0-7 G7 0-7 G7 A

. · . ·

oj r · p-

-,j -,j

Figure 14-110

McCoy Tyner's piano voicings simplified

0-7 G7

j I

# OJ V ·

?f "*

ADVAN C ED REHAlIolONIZAT10N

E-7 A7 E-7 A7 ..... I I I

· · ·

*'

" "

E -7 A7 F-7 ..... I I

ifF IE

.,

Figure 14-10g shows bars 25-28 of Duke

Ellington's "Satin Doll." McCoy Tyner reharmonized

these four bars with chromatically ascending II-V

progressions.41 Duke's original melody wouldn't go

with these new changes, so McCoy moved both the

melody and the chords upward chromatically (figure

14-110), changing the melody to fit the new chords .

• , McCoy Tyner, Double Trios, Denon, 1986.

339

Becomes...

Figure 14,.109

0-7 G7 0-7 G7 A

. · . ·

oj r · p-

-,j -,j

Figure 14-110

McCoy Tyner's piano voicings simplified

0-7 G7

j I

# OJ V ·

?f "*

ADVAN C ED REHAlIolONIZAT10N

E-7 A7 E-7 A7 ..... I I I

· · ·

*'

" "

E -7 A7 F-7 ..... I I

ifF IE

.,

Figure 14-10g shows bars 25-28 of Duke

Ellington's "Satin Doll." McCoy Tyner reharmonized

these four bars with chromatically ascending II-V

progressions.41 Duke's original melody wouldn't go

with these new changes, so McCoy moved both the

melody and the chords upward chromatically (figure

14-110), changing the melody to fit the new chords .

• , McCoy Tyner, Double Trios, Denon, 1986.

339

(Levine: 330)

CHANGE THE CHORD

This sub-title is a little misleading as we have been ‘changing the chord’ or re-harmonising all semester! Consider it a reminder that the arranger, does not have to retain the original chord progression. This can be particularly effective when arranging a well known tune. In the example below, from George Gershwin’s Summertime, the Cm7 that accompanies the C melody note has been re-harmonised with Bbm7 to Eb7. The C melody note is no longer the tonic of the accompanying harmony, it is now the 9th of the Bbm7 and the 13th (or 6th) of the Eb7.

Figure 14-113

(-7 ,..., I

-L

Figure 14-114

Tommy Flanagan's piano voicings

C7 ... · · . ·

oj T ·

.

I·" · ... ·

. ·

I

· T

· ·

AO VANCED R E HAII MOH l l AT I O N

Figure 14-113 shows bars 5-8 of George

Gershwin's "Summertime." The melody note, C,

is the root of the C-7 chord. Now play figure

14-114, Freddie Hubbard's beautiful waltz version of

"Summertime" (with Tommy Flanagan playing piano).42

Freddie starts on a II-V which changes C,

the melody note, into the 9th of and the 13th

of H7 . Freddie's use of the E-7 chord changes the

melody note, A, from the root of the original chord

to the 11 th of E-7, a much prettier note.

A.

ii= e

E- 7 A7 A-7 070lt , . . · · .

p: ·

. · •• ,

42 Freddie Hubbard. The Artisrry Of Freddie Hubbard,

MeA/Impulse, 1963.

341

Becomes...

3

Figure 14-113

(-7 ,..., I

-L

Figure 14-114

Tommy Flanagan's piano voicings

C7 ... · · . ·

oj T ·

.

I·" · ... ·

. ·

I

· T

· ·

AO VANCED R E HAII MOH l l AT I O N

Figure 14-113 shows bars 5-8 of George

Gershwin's "Summertime." The melody note, C,

is the root of the C-7 chord. Now play figure

14-114, Freddie Hubbard's beautiful waltz version of

"Summertime" (with Tommy Flanagan playing piano).42

Freddie starts on a II-V which changes C,

the melody note, into the 9th of and the 13th

of H7 . Freddie's use of the E-7 chord changes the

melody note, A, from the root of the original chord

to the 11 th of E-7, a much prettier note.

A.

ii= e

E- 7 A7 A-7 070lt , . . · · .

p: ·

. · •• ,

42 Freddie Hubbard. The Artisrry Of Freddie Hubbard,

MeA/Impulse, 1963.

341

(Levine: 341)

In addition, the A melody note (originally harmonised with A∅) is now the 11th (or 4th) of an E-7.

COMMON TONES

Repeated notes accompanied by one chord (or harmony) provide a good opportunity for the arranger to use these notes as the common tone in a new progression. For example, below are four bars from Gerome Kern’s All the Things You Are.

The repeated G pitches on bar three have each been re-harmonised into dominant 7th chords.

CHAPTER FO U RTEEN

=

Figure 14-115

C7

( Mixolydian scale

S &W

major sca le

C, f, G, and Bb the common tones of (7 and AbA

* I

II J J •

Figure 14-116

f -7 Bk 7 Eb7 AbA A

.

oj "' li d

1>&

Figure 14-117

f -7 A I

oj W' R· Iou

h •

Figure 14-118

f -7 A I

'" ' 1 ".'1 J, L

:tj I I

342

==&&&M.E$ltt%ESaazgSM=SM&M&

.

becomes...

CHAPTER FO U RTEEN

=

Figure 14-115

C7

( Mixolydian scale

S &W

major sca le

C, f, G, and Bb the common tones of (7 and AbA

* I

II J J •

Figure 14-116

f -7 Bk 7 Eb7 AbA A

.

oj "' li d

1>&

Figure 14-117

f -7 A I

oj W' R· Iou

h •

Figure 14-118

f -7 A I

'" ' 1 ".'1 J, L

:tj I I

342

==&&&M.E$ltt%ESaazgSM=SM&M&

.

4

These dominant 7th chords can be extended if more dissonance and/or colour is warranted:

CHAPTER FO U RTEEN

=

Figure 14-115

C7

( Mixolydian scale

S &W

major sca le

C, f, G, and Bb the common tones of (7 and AbA

* I

II J J •

Figure 14-116

f -7 Bk 7 Eb7 AbA A

.

oj "' li d

1>&

Figure 14-117

f -7 A I

oj W' R· Iou

h •

Figure 14-118

f -7 A I

'" ' 1 ".'1 J, L

:tj I I

342

==&&&M.E$ltt%ESaazgSM=SM&M&

.

(Levine: 342)

THE PEDAL POINT

We are familiar with pedal points from classical harmony. The concept is the same in jazz harmony where a series of chords are played over a sustained bass note. As we have seen, pedals are sometimes found inverted (in an upper voice) in traditional classical harmony, this is less common in jazz.

The pedal us usually the tonic or 5th of the prevailing harmony and usually begin as a consonance. Other chords then sound to created dissonance which resolves a few bars later. See below, Bronislau Kaper’s Green Dolphin Street.

CilAPTER FO UR THN WE&X ua;

Figure 14-120

A I

.., &

. &- _& &-

Figure 14-121

t;: .. .

&-- --&

Figure 14-122

A

., #; j 1

344

_&

"

bM!MM£& . _ iZZZ - ZZE& LZ.Z&&&¥&!&JiX

I

"

Pedal Point

Pedal point, often shortened to just pedal, means

playing a series of chords over the same bass note.

Play figure 14 -120 and listen to the chords played

over an Eb pedal on the first eight bars of Bronislau

Kaper's "Green Dolphin St,"

Play f igure 14-121. bars 13-16 of Richard

Rodgers' "Spring Is Here," Now play figure 14-122,

Kenny Barron's reharmonization of these four bars

using chords played over a G pedal pOint.45 We' ll

analyze Kenny's version of "Spring Is Here," which

is played entirely over a G pedal, in Chapter 16.

& I' ij!= & &

& & &- _&

A-7 D7

A/G

45 Kenny Barron, Maybeck Recital Hall Series, Concord, 1 <)90.

(Levine: 344)

5