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  #1  
Old 09-11-2010, 02:34 AM
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
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Default hearing the changes

i'm looking for some help if you can provide it.
i want to improve my ability to hear changes.......for less reliance on the real book.
are there some important tunes to learn, (in more than one key i guess,) which have progressions and commonalities with so many other tunes .....that my facility to hear my way through changes in general, could improve?
thanks for any assistance you can provide.
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  #2  
Old 09-11-2010, 06:59 AM
Tom Karol's Avatar  
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Well, there's no substitute for just doing a lot of listening and playing in order to be able to (almost) instantly recognize harmonic patterns, but:

If you're trying to determine the chord progression to a song you're listening to, focus on the bass line first to determine the underlying root motion. Then, you can determine whether the color is major or minor.
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  #3  
Old 09-11-2010, 08:03 AM
 
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If you are looking for a book, check out Hearin the Changes by Jerry Coker or Insights in Jazz by John Elliott. They are designed to help you see/hear common elements in jazz that appear in many songs. This may help with what you are trying to do....


Amazon.com: Hearin' the Changes (DEALING WITH UNKNOWN TUNES BY EAR, ORDER # 14270): Books

Dropback Method
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  #4  
Old 09-11-2010, 09:46 AM
Reg Reg is offline
 
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I can hear changes very easy... I've been involved in music too many years, but what I did as a young man, was tons of ear training, and I took the time to go through, and analysis all the standards. So you see the standard Forms and variations of most tunes. You'll begin to see most tunes follow basic harmonic rhythm and function. You'll get much more out if you go through the process, rather than someone telling you... You probably already can hear blues forms and harmonic movement, next would be Be-bop tunes, usually an AABA form or version of. The B sections are usually series of extended dominants...D7 G7 C7 F7 and back to "A" section, in this case, Bb. (not Secondary Dominants, they resolve to diatonic chords) Listen to tunes like "A Foggy Day", Basic eight bar chord pattern with a lot of the standard variations. The last version goes to the IV chord, or sub-dominant and then winds down. " All the things you are" similar eight bars phrases, but starts in rel. Min. (F- in key of Ab). modulates to Cmaj, then goes to parallel min, C-, a duel function chord. Eventually modulates to Gmaj. somewhat bridge like and back to our I- chord, F-, but ends on relative Maj. Both these tune use many of the standard harmonic or chord movements. Learn to hear extended Dominants, cycle of root motion down by 5ths, chords can change. Which will enable you to hear root motion by 4ths, or sub-dominant function root motion. Next hear root motion by 3rds, you can probable already hear going from Imaj to relative VI-, Cmaj to A-, which when you invert the interval becomes a 6th, C up to a A. Anyway when you go through and analysis tunes, you'll have references in your head from different tunes to help hear changes... Eventually you don't need the reference tunes ... you simple hear and understand. Best Reg
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  #5  
Old 09-11-2010, 02:59 PM
 
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Default hearing the changes

thanks for the advice and suggestions......i'll have to,at the very least, concentrate on root movement.....i would think that a good way to practice this would be to play a progression and try to sing each root as i go.....any other ideas for that?
also, i really do have to study ATTYA more thoroughly and break it down as suggested.
the odd thing is, that as much as hearing changes (aside from the more simple tunes,) has eluded me, for many years i have had a strong ability to pick out melodies, (of course tonal center changes will throw me off,) but this hasn't yet translated to a good ability whith chords.
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  #6  
Old 09-12-2010, 09:06 AM
Reg Reg is offline
 
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Sounds like your heading in good direction. A lot of player like singing the notes... I never did, I just hear in my head, you can also hear voicings... hard to sing... What ever you do will become habit... It's always weird at gigs when players sing while there playing... When I picked a few tunes for examples I just started... You really need to go through at least one real book or some other fake book and analyze tunes. The more the better, it becomes simpler the more you do. If you run into problems, make a note and compare it when you see it again. I'll be glad to help if you get stuck.
Learn to hear tonal center changes. Again start with simple... Relative Min. from Maj. Cmaj to Amin. Then by P5th, up and down... Cmaj to Fmaj and Cmaj to Gmaj. etc... Best Reg
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  #7  
Old 09-12-2010, 11:22 AM
 
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thanks for the help.
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  #8  
Old 09-12-2010, 11:46 AM
 
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I really love the book, "Hearing the Changes." It is very organized, easy to understand, (well, it's jazz theory so some background is necessary) suggested exercises and theory.
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  #9  
Old 09-12-2010, 11:52 AM
 
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Location: Edinburgh, UK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gitmike2 View Post
i'm looking for some help if you can provide it.
i want to improve my ability to hear changes.......for less reliance on the real book.
are there some important tunes to learn, (in more than one key i guess,) which have progressions and commonalities with so many other tunes .....that my facility to hear my way through changes in general, could improve?
thanks for any assistance you can provide.
Hi There

In my book, I say:

It is also worth considering some advice for the student trying to memorise jazz standards, given in the Manhattan School of Music, NYC, Jazz Student Handbook [MSM]. They say “12 tunes say it all!” All thirteen (if we include the Blues) songs they go on to list are included in this book and you might like to start with them. In the table below I suggest why they are important from my analysis ...
And the songs are:

#
Song
Importance
Joins
1
Blues
Blues form. Extremely common chord sequence. Contains the IV n Back brick and the notion of dropping back.
Bootstrap
2
I’ve Got Rhythm
AABA form. Extremely common chord sequence.
Sidewinder
3
Cherokee
AABA form. Introduces the IV ’n’ Yak brick; Donna Lee Opening; B&S cadence approach; and has a bridge made up of New Horizons.
New Horizon; Cherokee; (Dogleg)
4
Sweet Georgia Brown (Dig)
ABAC form. Introduces dominants round the cycle and Chromatic Dropback.
Sidewinder
5
Indiana (Donna Lee)
ABAC form. Introduces the Donna Lee Opening brick, the Slow Launcher; On-Off; TTFA; Somewhereand To IV n Yak.
(Dogleg); Backslider
6
How High the Moon (Ornithology)
ABAC form. Two New Horizons + Bauble progression used in many other songs.
New Horizon; Bauble; (Bird SPOT)
7
Out of Nowhere
ABAC form. Introduces On-Off (nowhere)-On + Dropback; Rainy cadence; Sideslips.
Cherokee; Bauble
8
Perdido
AABA form. Introduces the 7-chord Dropback; I Got Rhythm Bridge.
Sidewinder; (Two Goes)
9
Honeysuckle Rose
AABA form. Introduces the Honeysuckle Bridge used in many other songs, the two goes or more cadence; to IV ’n’ Back; TTFA.
Bootstrap; Woody; (Two Goes)
10
Whispering (Groovin’ High)
ABAC form. Introduces the On Off On + Dropbackbrick; Yardbird substitution.
Bauble; (Happenstance)
11
All the Things You Are
AABA form. Introduces the Pennies Ending; Extended cadence; Overrun; Nowhere.
Sidewinder; Homer; New Horizon; Bauble
12
Night and Day
Unusual form (ABABCB). Introduces the Starlight Cadence; On-off-on-off (oscillations); Night and Day Cadence.
Bauble
13
Lover
AABA form. Introduces the Sideslipconcept. Bridge modulates to key III.
Bauble
So, yes, there are some songs that are worth more in terms of what they teach you than others. All the terms are described in the book and 238 songs are roadmapped in full to show the common elements across the repertoire.
Good luck!

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  #10  
Old 09-12-2010, 11:07 PM
 
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thanks for all the great advice and suggestions!
it's greatly appreciated.
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  #11  
Old 09-13-2010, 09:17 AM
derek's Avatar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jaelliott View Post
Hi There

In my book, I say:


It is also worth considering some advice for the student trying to memorise jazz standards, given in the Manhattan School of Music, NYC, Jazz Student Handbook [MSM]. They say “12 tunes say it all!” All thirteen (if we include the Blues) songs they go on to list are included in this book and you might like to start with them. In the table below I suggest why they are important from my analysis ...

And the songs are:


#


Song


Importance



Joins


1


Blues



Blues form. Extremely common chord sequence. Contains the IV n Back brick and the notion of dropping back.



Bootstrap


2


I’ve Got Rhythm



AABA form. Extremely common chord sequence.



Sidewinder


3


Cherokee



AABA form. Introduces the IV ’n’ Yak brick; Donna Lee Opening; B&S cadence approach; and has a bridge made up of New Horizons.



New Horizon; Cherokee; (Dogleg)


4


Sweet Georgia Brown (Dig)



ABAC form. Introduces dominants round the cycle and Chromatic Dropback.



Sidewinder


5


Indiana (Donna Lee)



ABAC form. Introduces the Donna Lee Opening brick, the Slow Launcher; On-Off; TTFA; Somewhereand To IV n Yak.



(Dogleg); Backslider


6


How High the Moon (Ornithology)



ABAC form. Two New Horizons + Bauble progression used in many other songs.



New Horizon; Bauble; (Bird SPOT)


7


Out of Nowhere



ABAC form. Introduces On-Off (nowhere)-On + Dropback; Rainy cadence; Sideslips.



Cherokee; Bauble


8


Perdido



AABA form. Introduces the 7-chord Dropback; I Got Rhythm Bridge.



Sidewinder; (Two Goes)


9


Honeysuckle Rose



AABA form. Introduces the Honeysuckle Bridge used in many other songs, the two goes or more cadence; to IV ’n’ Back; TTFA.



Bootstrap; Woody; (Two Goes)


10


Whispering (Groovin’ High)



ABAC form. Introduces the On Off On + Dropbackbrick; Yardbird substitution.



Bauble; (Happenstance)


11


All the Things You Are



AABA form. Introduces the Pennies Ending; Extended cadence; Overrun; Nowhere.



Sidewinder; Homer; New Horizon; Bauble


12


Night and Day



Unusual form (ABABCB). Introduces the Starlight Cadence; On-off-on-off (oscillations); Night and Day Cadence.



Bauble


13


Lover



AABA form. Introduces the Sideslipconcept. Bridge modulates to key III.



Bauble




So, yes, there are some songs that are worth more in terms of what they teach you than others. All the terms are described in the book and 238 songs are roadmapped in full to show the common elements across the repertoire.

Good luck!
John Dropback.co.uk Home



Excellent, thanks for that post.
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  #12  
Old 09-13-2010, 09:29 AM
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Edinburgh, UK
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I'm just sorry that the table did not work in my post! But if you are creative you can reconstruct it. There are three columns.

J Dropback.co.uk Home
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  #13  
Old 09-13-2010, 09:40 AM
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Edinburgh, UK
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Default Slightly better table

I can't figure out how to make the table format correctly in the post. This is slightly more readable. John

# Song Importance Joins
1 Blues Blues form. Extremely common chord sequence. Contains the IV n Back brick and the notion of dropping back. Bootstrap
2 I’ve Got Rhythm AABA form. Extremely common chord sequence. Sidewinder
3 Cherokee AABA form. Introduces the IV ’n’ Yak brick; Donna Lee Opening; B&S cadence approach; and has a bridge made up of New Horizons. New Horizon; Cherokee; (Dogleg)
4 Sweet Georgia Brown (Dig) ABAC form. Introduces dominants round the cycle and Chromatic Dropback. Sidewinder
5 Indiana (Donna Lee) ABAC form. Introduces the Donna Lee Opening brick, the Slow Launcher; On-Off; TTFA; Somewhereand To IV n Yak.(Dogleg); Backslider
6 How High the Moon (Ornithology) ABAC form. Two New Horizons + Bauble progression used in many other songs. New Horizon; Bauble; (Bird SPOT)
7 Out of Nowhere ABAC form. Introduces On-Off (nowhere)-On + Dropback; Rainy cadence; Sideslips. Cherokee; Bauble
8 Perdido AABA form. Introduces the 7-chord Dropback; I Got Rhythm Bridge.Sidewinder; (Two Goes)
9 Honeysuckle Rose AABA form. Introduces the Honeysuckle Bridge used in many other songs, the two goes or more cadence; to IV ’n’ Back; TTFA. Bootstrap; Woody; (Two Goes)
10 Whispering (Groovin’ High) ABAC form. Introduces the On Off On + Dropbackbrick; Yardbird substitution. Bauble; (Happenstance)
11 All the Things You Are AABA form. Introduces the Pennies Ending; Extended cadence; Overrun; Nowhere.Sidewinder; Homer; New Horizon; Bauble
12 Night and Day Unusual form (ABABCB). Introduces the Starlight Cadence; On-off-on-off (oscillations); Night and Day Cadence. Bauble
13 Lover AABA form. Introduces the Sideslipconcept. Bridge modulates to key III. Bauble
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  #14  
Old 09-13-2010, 12:53 PM
 
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thanks again
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  #15  
Old 09-14-2010, 10:23 AM
Reg Reg is offline
 
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Hey John... why introduce a bunch of non-musical terminology, when there already is existing labeling which works fine. Is it a means of getting through a process with out understanding the content... I'm not trying to knock, I checked out sight and don't understand why someone would go through system to, well it reminds me of transposing while sight reading...which I'm use to, and don't have any problems with... but there is already enough musical knowledge to recognize and understand. I apologize if I'm missing the methodology... Thanks Reg
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  #16  
Old 09-14-2010, 11:25 AM
 
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Hey Reg

Yes, I think you are misunderstanding. I based my book on the basic system proposed by Conrad Cork in the 1980s. The idea is based on association with things seen before in other songs which is the best way the memory works.

There are "bricks" of chord sequence in the key of the moment, some of which already have names (e.g. cadence) but most of which do not have names and there are "joins" to get from one brick to the next in a key-independent manner. As far as I know, joins are not addresses anywhere else. Their sound can be learned and they are key to playing by ear to hear where the song is going next.

These are the two elements needed to memorise a chord sequence and play in any key.

I liked the idea of Cork's system, but like others found it annoying that it needed extending every time I analysed a new song. So I analysed 238 songs and wrote up the extensions I found necessary. I also built a frequency analysis of bricks and joins so that I knew which were worth learning first.

This system is not aimed at experts who already play lots of standards in many keys. And I can see it is annoying if you have a different name for something than the one used in Cork's system. One I am aware of is the term "Backdoor Cadence" which Conrad chose to call Yardbird Cadence since it occurs in Yardbird Suite.

When I wrote my book, I tried to use standard terms if I knew them and Cork's otherwise and make up others as necessary. But the actual names used should not be an issue. If you electronically search through the PDF you can easily spot the element you are looking for, note its name and then see all the other songs in the book that it occurs in. Very powerful stuff.

Clearly, initially there is some considerable learning to do (no book can do this for the player), but the alternative is to do all the learning blind, not knowing how much more there is to know. My book shows you the extent of what you need to know to play most American Songbook standards and suggests a path of fastest learning using standards from the repertoire which is a lot more fun than reading books!

I hope that helps?

J
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  #17  
Old 09-14-2010, 05:06 PM
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I guess people just are different. I love the Griegson grids and the Lego bricks for understanding and remembering jazz tunes, and I've tried to show these to Reg a couple of times - and he's more or less indicated that he hate the idea (as far as I understood him). My conclusion has just been that what works for me does not necessarily work for everybody. Johns explanation is much better than mine, and that could maybe do the trick .
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  #18  
Old 09-14-2010, 05:15 PM
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whatever works for you, fine...

but mindful repetition bestows manifold benefits that systems and gimmicks do not--training the fingers, internalizing the sound and feel of the harmony on deeper levels, instilling a sense of form to the point of instinct, time feel and greater rhythmic awareness...and the sheer joy of just playing the music...

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  #19  
Old 09-14-2010, 06:54 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by randalljazz View Post
whatever works for you, fine...
but mindful repetition bestows manifold benefits that systems and gimmicks do not--training the fingers, internalizing the sound and feel of the harmony on deeper levels, instilling a sense of form to the point of instinct, time feel and greater rhythmic awareness...and the sheer joy of just playing the music...
Hey Randalljazz

Yes indeed. This is no silver bullet. You still need to put in the x,000 hours playing and repeating.

But this is a framework that shows players what they should be learning in order to maximise payback.

J
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