Emily

[artcore]

I would like to build a cord melody from the sheet music..I can't seem to
find it..Can anyone tell me where to look?....Thanks...

[JohnW400]

It's in both the old and new real book volume 3

[artcore]

Thanks, I just found it in Real book 3...

[JazzMusik]

Does anyone have a chord melody pdf for "Emily"? Thanks so much.

[dot357]

I found this:

http://www.funkybucks.com/images/Emily.pdf

[JazzMusik]

Thanks, dot357! That's a good start. I'm new to this chord melody stuff, but maybe I could practice trying to figure one out based on what you shared...

[artcore]

Yeah, thats a nice clear version..Trying to analize this a little..I see the
first four bars are in Cmaj.I-vi-ii-V....The next four bars has that F# and
Bb..ok didn't take me long to get lost...What key are we on the second four bars?...

[GodinFan]

The version out of the Aebersold book is a bit more straightahead.

The F#13 you're seeing is a tritone sub.

Here's the vanilla changes:

C |Am7 |Dm7 |G7 |C |C7 |F |Fm7/Bb |

A |F#m7 |Bm7 |Bm7/E |Am7 |D7 |Dm7 |G7+ |

C |Am7 |Dm7 |G7 |C |Gm7/C |F |E7(b9) |

Am7 /B7+ |Em7 |A7 |Dm7 |G7 |Bb7 |A7 A7/G|

F#m7(b5) /Fm7 |Em7 |A7 |Dm7 |G7 |C |Dm7/G ||


In the second four, you start in C, the C7>F takes you into F Major, the Fm7/Bb (or Bb7sus4) is being using as bii7 into the key of A in bar 9. Four bars in the key of A, the Am7>D7 is a ii/V in the key of G, the Dm7/G7+ is a ii/V into the key of C.

That covers the first half of the tune. Take a look and see if you can decipher the second half.

[JazzMusik]

Thanks, GodinFan.

[lindydanny]

Anyone have bead on the lyrics?

[JazzMusik]

Lyrics, I got:

Writer(s): Johnny Mercer - Johnny Mandel

Emily, Emily, Emily
Has the murmuring sound of May
All silver bells, coral shells, carousels
And the laughter of children at play

Say Emily, Emily, Emily
And we fade to a marvelous view
Two lovers alone and out of sight
Seeing images in the firelight
As my eyes visualize a family
They see Emily, Emily

(And we fade to a marvelous view)
Two lovers alone and out of sight
Seeing images in the firelight
As my eyes visualize a family
They see Emily, Emily
Too

[artcore]

Thanks Godinfan, starting at bar 17..we have a I-vi-ii-V..next a ii-V-I-IV in Fmaj...next IV-V in Emaj?...next a ii-V in Dmaj....is that correct so far?
( I-vi-ii-V is cmaj.)

[GodinFan]

Originally Posted by artcore

Thanks Godinfan, starting at bar 17..we have a I-vi-ii-V..next a ii-V-I-IV in Fmaj...next IV-V in Emaj?...next a ii-V in Dmaj....is that correct so far?
( I-vi-ii-V is cmaj.)

Not quite.

I iv ii V I in C, then V>I in F major. The E7(b9) is V of the Am in the next bar.

[artcore]

Ok, now I'm with you, I was looking back at the dot357 version...What about the B+..next I see a ii-V-I in Dm...Then three 7th cords..I have not
a clue...

[GodinFan]

B7+ is the V of the next ii...Em7>A7 is a ii-V in D, followed by...another ii-V in C - but that leads to the Bb7 in what's sometimes termed a backdoor, or deceptive cadence.

[artcore]

Ok, a backdoor cadence, in jazz harmony the cadence from bVII to I...as
opposed to the normal cadence V-I...Im learning something here.....
so its still in Cmaj?...We have a A7..F#m7..key of A?...sorry, Im not too
good at this!

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Originally Posted by artcore

Im learning something here.....
so its still in Cmaj?

I never think of parts of a song as "being in C major" or not. If you are trying to do a chord melody version of Emily and you are sticking with a given harmonization, use those chords. If you are improvising, use those chords.

But anyway, I think that Bb7 is really a tritone substitution for an E Alt chord

And stepping back and looking at the entire melody, I see there is only a single accidental (a F#), which could be explained away as a lower neighbour. So I could claim the whole melody is in C, if I were into that sort of thing.

[artcore]

Yeah, this is theory I know that, its something I've been trying to understand..it seems to me its something we should know, or be able
to do with a song..understanding the structure of it..I know its not nessasary to do a cord melody..and there are different ways of looking at
it for single line improvising..

[GodinFan]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles

I never think of parts of a song as "being in C major" or not. If you are trying to do a chord melody version of Emily and you are sticking with a given harmonization, use those chords. If you are improvising, use those chords.

But anyway, I think that Bb7 is really a tritone substitution for an E Alt chord

And stepping back and looking at the entire melody, I see there is only a single accidental (a F#), which could be explained away as a lower neighbour. So I could claim the whole melody is in C, if I were into that sort of thing.

Well, technically the song is in C major, and the melody is overwhelmingly diatonic.

However, you do raise the valid point that I've strayed more into the area of playing lines over a tonal centre, rather than harmonizing this as a chord melody.

I may just do a chord melody and post it as penance. No tabs though!

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Originally Posted by GodinFan

I may just do a chord melody and post it as penance. No tabs though!

I guess it depends on how guilty you feel

I'm just suggesting that a little analysis goes a long way and too much leads to analysis paralysis. John McLaughlin once said that any chord can follow any other chord, and it's true. Sometimes in a chord melody I like to stick in a random chord, and if it sounds cool then figure out how to get to it and how to get away from it.

[artcore]

Ok..you guys!...another question..what is a tonal center?...This is not the
same as a key right?....

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

A piece, like a Jazz standard has an overall key. For example:

"Let's play 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'"
"In Eb?"
"No, in C"

Eb was the key of the piece. But Jazz standards also tend to modulate, say the bridge modulates briefly to a different key, or "All the things you are" is the classic example of a tune that modulates all over the place. Here modulation is just another way to say the tonal center changes in places.

[GodinFan]

OK, I said no TAB, but I wanted to see how easy editing TAB is in Finale. It's also useful to see where to place the voicings.

I wrote the first half on the guitar, then finished it at the computer.

[GodinFan]

OK, I don't think Bar 35 will work well. A 5432 Em7 chord works better.

[JazzMusik]

Awesome! Thanks, GodinFan!

[artcore]

Thanks for the help..and thanks Godinfan for working through that piece..

[GodinFan]

Artcore, as you can see, the melody largely consists of chord tones or extension, making it a relatively easy tune to harmonize. I think I notated any passing chords I used - the Bo7 and G#o7 and the diatonic walk up - CMaj7/Dm7/Em7/FMaj7 as well.