We can think of a scale as a kit for making melodies… or as a way of defining harmony. Unfortunately, all the ways we have of depicting scales are well-suited to the former, and poorly suited to the latter. This post aims to rectify that. [read more]
Scales offer a palette of notes to choose from. And they always contain the root. So, what if we don’t want to play the root?! We discuss the possibilities of rootless scales… [read more]
A look at the chord changes of Duke Ellington’s signature tune and all the ways they show up elsewhere… including some surprises… [read more]
A journey into quarter tone harmony lets us see the modes of the major scale from a new perspective. [read more]
Musings about the music that drives us crazy (with a couple examples). [read more]
We’ve all been taught that most intervals are either major or minor… but that unisons, fourths and fifths are special intervals, considered “perfect.” Let’s question that for a minute. Here’s an alternative way of thinking about it that I think makes more sense… [read more]
Did you know that virtually all of the music we listen to hinges on a big mathematical coincidence? Namely, that two to the 7/12 power is approximately equal to 1.5. Seriously. Let me show you what I mean… [read more]
A different, very useful way of ordering the modes of the major scale in your mind… and a trick for remembering the modes in that sequence… [read more]
Pentatonic (five-note) scales are the basis for simple folk melodies and nursery rhymes all around the world. So how is it that they can be used in jazz so powerfully, to create so many colors and degrees of tension and dissonance? Let’s take a look. [read more]
An extremely useful word for something we’re all familiar with. [read more]
In a previous post called “Understanding Sus Chords” I discussed suspended chords—what they are and how to think of them. In this one we look at their uses in songs. [read more]
Consider these two statements: “When you see a G7 chord you can use the G blues scale.” “When you see a G7 chord you can play a G altered lick.” Are they true? The simple answer to each is an unsatisfying “sometimes.” For a more satisfying answer, we need to understand an important distinction… [read more]
I encounter a lot of musicians who know the definition of a sus chord but who struggle to understand sus chords as clearly as, say, minor or dominant chords. Perhaps this post will shed some helpful light. [read more]
A look at a cadence where a ii-V progression resolves not down a perfect fifth to the I chord, but up a half step. [read more]
Have you ever noticed that you can get a bunch of important jazz scales by assembling smaller half-scale “modules” in different combinations? Here’s a fresh way of visualizing some common dominant scales and how they’re “built.” [read more]
Minor chords are often described as “dark,” major chords as “bright.” In this post I propose a technical definition of musical darkness and brightness that I’ve found very useful for thinking about musical harmony. [read more]
Most jazz musicians recognize the enormous value of transcribing solos, but relatively few go about it in a way that lets them milk that value. This post contains many pointers, as well as a step by step example. [read more]
How often have we heard this? Teacher: Do you know what the C lydian scale is? Student: That’s the same as the G major scale, right? It’s useful to know that a C lydian scale has the same notes as a G major scale. But I find it much more useful to know that a […] [read more]
Here’s a beautiful audio/video demonstration of a simple acoustic principle which relates the perfect fifth harmonic interval to a 3:2 polyrhythm. [read more]
My “Radiant Blue” CD is a collection of ten songs that, in different and sometimes unusual ways, follow the blues form. But you probably wouldn’t notice that, listening to it. “Radiant Blue is a CD of blueses, but it is not a blues CD any more than The Who’s rock opera, Tommy, is an opera CD.” [read more]
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