Four-Part Chords (9:35)

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From the course by University of Rochester

The Blues: Understanding and Performing an American Art Form

344 ratings

University of Rochester

The Blues: Understanding and Performing an American Art Form

344 ratings

The blues is an American art form and the most important musical form in jazz. Although there are other formal paradigms of the blues, such as 8-bar or 16-bar, this course focuses on different incarnations of the 12-bar blues. There are considerable differences between Early Jazz blues, Swing blues, Bebop blues, Modal blues, and Post Bop blues. Each type has its unique harmonic syntax, melodic vocabulary and, associated with them, improvisational techniques. While other aspects of jazz performance practice have been constantly changing from one stylistic convention to another, the blues has never lost its identity and expressive power, and continues to exert a powerful influence on the harmonic and melodic syntax of jazz. This seven-week course explores important aspects of the blues, blues improvisation, basic keyboard textures, jazz harmonic and melodic syntax. Topics include: (1) Blues Progressions; (2) Blues and Other Scales; (3) Improvisational Tools, and others. This course will also cover valuable theoretical concepts enabling the student to master the art of jazz improvisation. Each topic will be introduced from a practical perspective with the clearly stated goal: to improve one’s improvisational skills. Jazz improvisation is rooted in spontaneity, creativity, self-expression and, at the same time, self-control and order. A unique pedagogical approach based on a one-to-one musical interaction conducted with different instrumentalists will help to reinforce many of the concepts introduced in this course and realize its stated objectives.

From the lesson

Keyboard Realization

Lesson 3 introduces the concept of guide tones and its association with invertible counterpoint. Four-part and five-part chords are discussed in detail by exploring their construction and function, as well as techniques to facilitate good voice-leading between chords using chordal inversions.

Lesson 3 Introduction (3:45)3:44

Guide Tones (8:53)8:52

Invertible Counterpoint (4:20)4:20

Charleston Rhythm (10:04)10:04

Four-Part Chords (9:35)9:34

Five-Part Chords (9:43)9:42

Comping Texture (18:58)18:58

Meet the Instructors

Dariusz Terefenko
Associate Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media
Eastman School of Music

We continue now with a second method of keyboard playing, using Four-Part Chords.

First, let's talk about the root position and chordal inversions.

Given our B flat seven chord, [SOUND] that chord can be presented in root position

[SOUND] in three unique inversions with their own intervallic makeup.

[SOUND] So this is the root position.

[SOUND] First inversion with a third as the lowest note.

Second inversion.

[SOUND] With a fifth, as the lowest voiced.

[SOUND] And in 3rd inversion, with the 7th as the lowest voice.

So, once again.

[SOUND] We have B-flat 7, in the root position.

1st inversion, 2nd inversion, and 3rd inversion.

So again, when you look at the concept of Four-Part Chords

from the prison of invertible counterpoint.

You'll notice that we're basically transferring the lower octave

up an octave, to generate new inversion.

So, we are kind of subconsciously involved with the concept

of invertible counterpoint.

So, look at my shapes.

Each inversion has its own unique shape.

[SOUND] First inversion has the second on top.

[SOUND] The second inversion has the second cluster in the middle.

[SOUND] The third inversion has the cluster at the bottom.

So now, going back to our blues progression,

we can realize the blues progression using complete Four-Part Chords.

So first,

we're going to play the progression using Root Position chords only.

One, two, three, four.

[MUSIC]

You probably know what I'm about to say,

that this realization is not particularly compelling,

because the voice reading between adjacent chords, simply doesn't exist.

So when you look at my hands.

[SOUND] You notice that I'm basically jumping from one chord to another.

Without any considerations for voice reading, without retaining any notes in

common, without thinking about the behavior of guide tones.

Nevertheless, it will be very beneficial in the end to go through all

the inversions that minor to familiarize yourself with different hand shapes.

And prepare for every considerable eventuality,

while you start playing chord progressions for real.

So let me demonstrate what I mean.

So [MUSIC]

We took care of the root position.

A chord.

[SOUND] So the next thing we can do, we can start Internalizing first inversion.

[SOUND] Three, four.

[SOUND] Right, different hand position, right?

[MUSIC]

And then, with the second inversion.

[MUSIC]

And so forth, in the fourth inversion.

Well, that's all good for practice purposes

to familiarize yourself with different hand shapes and it's very beneficial.

It's actually far more challenging to play the blues with nonexistent

voice ring that we will actually play it with a good voice leading.

So let me demonstrate the same chord progression with good voice leading.

So, now we'll start with a root position.

[SOUND] Okay.

And first, listen, observe my hands, and then we'll talk about it.

One, two, three, four.

[MUSIC]

As we're going to hear and see, this realization is much more convincing.

As it utilizes both root position chords and chordal inversions.

In this realization, that you can see on the screen, the motion between

individual chords is controlled by the behavior of the guide tones.

[SOUND] So look at the progression between the first two chords.

[MUSIC]

When you remove the root in the fifth from the right hand and

just keep [SOUND] the third and seven, you'll notice that the guide tones,

results in the same manner as discussed before.

So when you add two more notes, the chord proper,

you'll notice this is really good and that's what we should aiming for.

And now, the things you did before,

practicing different inversions will come very handy, because you

noted that [SOUND] you will be familiar with [SOUND] a chord in second inversion,

when you start your progression in the first inversion [SOUND] chord

[SOUND] the second chord will be in third inversion and so forth.

So I would again advise you to start your blues progression,

on every possible position and inversion.

So, [SOUND] first inversion, [SOUND] and

just make sure to keep everything in the same position.

One other note that I would like to point out.

Notice in measure five and six,

when you have a single harmony, I did something that you might object to.

Because I'm kind of jumping around.

No, I'm basically readjusting to a different chord position.

Over this same harmony, and

that's perfectly all right as far as voicing rules are concerned.

You can readjust to a comfortable position, because if you keep repeating

the same chord, you're in danger of getting too low or too high, and

all of a sudden you're getting the sound of chords that are too muddy to recognize.

So when you have repeated notes, you can easily move to a comfortable position

to do any comfortable register.

Now, again, the realizations that they displayed are hardly idiomatic.

So we can start using different Charleston rhythms, right?

So instead of playing [SOUND] one, two, three, four,

we can actually play these chords with a Charleston rhythm.

[MUSIC]

Readjust.

[MUSIC]

Notice, but the simple readjustments of the register.

We ended up in the same position, we started on.

But still, not too challenging.

You can activate your left hand by adding a two feet.

[MUSIC]

You adjust.

[MUSIC]

So with this realization, you can make things sound a little bit more idiomatic.

Still, not totally in keeping with the jazz idiom,

because we are dealing with Four-Part Chords only.

But as far as rhythm is concerned and

the use of melodic rhythmic diminutions in your left hand.

It's good start for further embellishment and for

further elaborations, both rhythmic and melodic.

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