October 2010 Archives

Reharmonization

By Vince Lauria on October 31, 2010 8:38 AM | No Comments

Take any melody and change the chords behind the melody.
This technique creates different moods using the same melody.

Below is a simple four note melody D, C, B, G.
Listen how each chord voicing changes the mood of the melody.
Remember the melody will be the highest tone in the chord.
Lowest tones left - moving to higher tones right, the melody is the last note before the chord.
Melody in G major using half notes. D, C, B, G

Melody written on staff:

Or 4 note mel.png
Diatonic or Commonly Used Harmony example 1:
D,F#,A,     D       D major
C,E,G,       C       C major
B,D,F#,      B       B minor
G,B,D,       G       G major

Rehar 1.png

Planing Technique example 2:
B,E,A,         D       E minor eleventh
A,D,G,        C       D minor eleventh
Ab,Db,Gb,   B       D flat minor eleventh
E,A,D,         G      A minor eleventh


Rehar 2.png
Planing used in example 2 was used by Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and other great composers.



Classical Approach example 3:
D, F, Bb,     D       B flat major  first inversion
E,C,G,        C       C major first inversion - incomplete
F#,C,F#,     B       D dominant 6/7 first inversion
G,B,           G       G major - incomplete

Rehar 3.png

Classical Contrary Motion approach example 4:
B,E,G#,      D       E dominant seventh second inversion
A,E,A,        C       A minor - incomplete
A, D#,G,     B       B dominant seventh third inversion - incomplete
E,B,D,        G       E minor seventh 
 
Rehar 4.png


Multi-tonic Approach example 5:
Eb,G,B,        D       E flat major seventh augmented
A,Eb,G         C       A minor seventh flat five
Gb,C,Eb,      B       A flat dominate seventh sharp nine (altered dominant)   
Ab,Bb,Eb,     G      A flat major / E flat major (polychord)

Rehar 5.png
For the last chord in example 5 - I used a Polychord (two chords played at one time). 
Stravinsky was one of the pioneers of this technique. 

Also example 5 uses a multi-tonic (multiple key) approach.
The keys are C harmonic minor, B flat major, D flat major and A flat major.  




Now transpose these to each position (register) of your instrument, then to all 15 keys.




All materials for personal use only.

Vince Lauria Sun and Earth Music

Copyright © 2011

Planing

By Vince Lauria on October 28, 2010 8:19 PM | No Comments

Planing is a great way to add to new dimension to a song or piece.
Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel were the pioneers of this technique.

Take a simple C major diatonic progression:
D minor seventh- ii7, G dominant seventh - V7, C major seventh - Imaj7
Take the same chords and move up or down in chromatic half steps:

Up in tone:
C#m7 to Dm7, F#7 to G7, Bmaj7 to Cmaj7 

Down in tone:
Ebm7 to Dm7, Ab7 to G7, C#maj7 to Cmaj7


Also use the same chord chromatically in interval distances:
Cmaj7 to Emaj7  
Cmaj7, C#maj7, Dmaj7, Ebmaj7, Emaj7

Also move the same chord by scale movement:
Cmaj7 to Fmaj7   
Cmaj7, Dmaj7, Emaj7, Fmaj7

Also using this same idea and move by minor third intervals:
Cmaj7 to Cmaj7 octave:
Cmaj7, Ebmaj7, F#maj7, Amaj7, Cmaj7.

Also use this same idea and move in whole tone or whole step intervals:
Cmaj7 to Cmaj7 octave above 
Dmaj7, Emaj7, F#maj7, Abmaj7, Bbmaj7, Cmaj7.

Also do descending:
Cmaj7 to Cmaj7 octave below
Cmaj7, Bbmaj7, Abmaj7, F#maj7, Emaj7, Dmaj7, Cmaj7.

Also major pentatonic ascending:
Cmaj7 to Cmaj7 octave
Cmaj7, Dmaj7, Emaj7, Gmaj7, Amaj7, Cmaj7.

Also major pentatonic descending:
Cmaj7 to Cmaj7 octave below:
Cmaj7, Amj7, Gmaj7,Emaj7, Dmaj7, Cmaj7.   

Notice that the same note relationship (shape) stays the same.



Now transpose these to each position (register) of your instrument, then to all 15 keys.






All materials copyright 2010. For personal use only.

Vince Lauria Sun and Earth Music 





 

 

Pivot Chords

By Vince Lauria on October 13, 2010 10:39 AM | No Comments
Pivot or common chords are often used to to temporary (or actual) modulation into a new key center. In "Harmonic function of chords - How do we use chords and scales in songs? Part II
I introduced some progressions using this technique. Below are some additional examples of progressions using the pivot chord technique.

C major to G major to C major.
C //// G //// Dm //// F //// C //// Em //// Bm //// D //// Em //// F#m //// G ////
A //// Dm //// G //// C //// Am //// F //// C //// G ////
The E minor is the iii of C major and vi of G major.
The D major is the V of G major and the I of D major.
A major is the V of D major and the V of D harmonic minor.
D minor is the i of D harmonic minor and the ii of C major.

C major to A harmonic minor to C major.
C //// G //// G#o7 //// Am //// F //// E7 //// Am //// Dm/A //// Bm7b5 ////
E7 //// Fmaj7 //// Cmaj //// Am //// Em //// F //// C //// F //// C //// G ////
C//// 
The G sharp diminished is the viio7 of A harmonic minor and a half step substitution from the G major chord. It is very common to make the natural minor of a major key into the new harmonic minor key.
F major seventh is the IV of C major and the VI of A harmonic minor.

C //// A7 //// Dm7 //// Dm //// G9 //// G7 //// F //// Em //// B7/A //// 
B7+/A //// C/G ////
A seventh is the V7 of D harmonic minor. G ninth is a partial diatonic to D harmonic minor and the V9 to C major. Em is the iii of C major and the i of E harmonic minor. B dominant seventh - third inversion and B dominate seventh - third inversion are the V7+ and V7 of E harmonic minor and the B dominant is often substituted for the viiob5 (Bm7b5). 
Also the A note in the G ninth is also the the fifth scale degree of D minor and D major. 
The G (sharp fifth) in the B seventh augmented - third inversion is also the fifth scale degree in C major. 

Using pivot chords and pedal or common tones when changing chords gives more continuity and melodic flow to the chord changes. 



Now transpose these to each position (register) of your instrument, then to all 15 keys.


All materials copyright 2010. For personal use only.

Vince Lauria Sun and Earth Music



Synonyms

By Vince Lauria on October 1, 2010 9:20 AM | No Comments
Chords with the exact same notes that have multiple names.

In "Voice Leading Part XXII - with chromatic passing tones" 
C minor major seventh - third inversion incomplete has the same notes as E flat augmented.
Cm maj7   = B, Eb, G (no root or C) same notes as: Eb+ = Eb, G, B 

C minor seventh incomplete has the same notes as E flat major.
Cm7   = Bb, Eb, G (no root or C) same notes as: Eb maj = Eb, G, Bb 

A minor seventh flat fifth incomplete has the same notes as F dominant ninth - first inversion
Am7b5   = A, Eb, G (no flat third or C) same notes as: F ninth - first inversion.


Below are other common synonyms from the key of C major:
G dominant seventh - first inversion incomplete has the same notes as B diminished.
G7/B   = B, D, F, (no root or G) same notes as: Bo = B, D, F

A minor seventh has the same notes as C major sixth.
Am7   = A, C, E, G same notes as C6 = C, E, G, A

D minor seventh has the same notes as F major sixth.
Dm7   = D, F, A, C same notes as F6 = F, A, C, D

E minor seventh has the same notes as G major sixth.
Em7   = E, G, B, D same notes as G6 = G, B, D, F






Now transpose these to each position (register) of your instrument, then to all 15 keys.






All materials copyright 2010. For personal use only.

Vince Lauria Sun and Earth Music 

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