Analyzing the changes to Beatrice

[Nikkoe]

Hey guys,

Can anybody out there help understand the changes to the tune Beatrice? What are the main key centers? What goes where?

Just the four first bars are really confusing to me... Fmaj7 to Gbmaj7#11, then Fmaj7 to Ebmaj7#11, to Dm7. Does Gb here serves as V to F, and Eb as V to Dm? If yes then how so and what should be played to correctly outline it? If not, what the heck?

Thanks guys!

[GodinFan]

GbMaj7 functions as a subdominant. If you're thinking in terms of pitch collections (ala the Jimmy Bruno method) you'd be in the Db pitch collection. When you move to EbMaj7, you use the Bb pitch collection.

Both of those chords have subdominant, not dominant functions.

[Nikkoe]

Yeah, well, I figure the lydian scale can be used on both maj#11 chords (or Db maj and Bb maj as you said). My question was more, how does all these chords relate to each other (how does Gbmaj#11 relate to Fmaj)? Do you simply considerate all these changes as modal (in other words, you change mode for all of them) or are they related in any kind of modal, bi-modal or whatever way?

[Nikkoe]

I obviously meant tonal and bi-tonal, not modal and bi-modal. Typed it too fast.

[funnyval]

One simple form of modal interchange is bringing into a major key chords that are borrowed from the parallel natural minor key.

When subdominant chords from the parallel minor key are brought into a major key, they are sometimes called subdominant minor chords. As long as you keep the characteristic subdominant flavor, chord tones can be chromatically altered and remain subdominant minor in functionality.

The characteristic flavor of major key subdominant chords consists of scale degrees 4 and 6. In major keys, the subdominant chords are IIm7 and IVma7. For example in the key of F the subdominant chords contain the Bb and D notes (Gm7 = G Bb D F, Bbma7 = Bb D F A).

The characteristic flavor of minor key subdominant chords consists of scale degrees 4 and b6. In natural minor keys, the subdominant chords are IIm7b5 and IVm7. For example in the key of F natural minor the subdominant chords contain the Bb and Db notes (Gm7b5 = G Bb Db F, Bbm7 = Bb Db F Ab).

If you lower the root of the IIm7b5 one-half step, you end up with a bIIma7 (for example, Gbma7 = Gb Bb Db F). The characteristic subdominant minor flavor of scale degrees 4 and b6 (Bb and Db in this example) remains.

Typical subdominant minor chords are:
bIIma7
IIm7b5
IVm6 and IVm7
bVIma7
bVII7

Subdominant minor chords frequently cadence to tonic chords. For a historical look at bII chords check out Neapolitan 6th chords.

[M-ster]

Sax on the Web - interesting. Thanks, Aleikh!