Soloing to Blue in Green

orasnon · #1 08-13-2010, 12:54 AM

Hi, I'm teaching myself jazz, and kind of stumped on something. I'd like to get you guys' opinion on how you approach the chords in Miles' (and Evans) Blue in Green. Particularly I'm stumped on the A7#9#11 chord (the second chord in the song), as well as the E altered chord later. Thanks for you suggestions

Origami · #2 08-13-2010, 01:22 AM

Isn't the chord A7#5#9? Anyway, one approach might be to look at the notes of that scale, which I think would be A, C, C#, D, F, F#, G (or more correctly it's A, B#, C#, D, E#, F#, G). I don't know the name of the scale R #9, 3, 4, #5, 6, b7 of the top of my head, I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find with a bit of research. One of the gurus here will know it straight away.

orasnon · #3 08-13-2010, 03:44 AM

Thanks for the post Origami. Sorry, the chord is A#7#9, my bad. Those notes do sound good over the chord. However, I tend to sound "scalular" when I apply it, and my instinct is that this won't sound good in a ballad. I wonder how the Jazz language would use this notes in a more "idiomatic" way...

IbanezAS100 · #4 08-13-2010, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orasnon

Hi, I'm teaching myself jazz, and kind of stumped on something. I'd like to get you guys' opinion on how you approach the chords in Miles' (and Evans) Blue in Green. Particularly I'm stumped on the A7#9#11 chord (the second chord in the song), as well as the E altered chord later. Thanks for you suggestions

You can try the altered scale (in this case, Bb Melodic Minor), as this is essentially an altered chord-you could play 7#9#11 or 7#5#9 and this scale would cover them both. The rule goes like this: for any Altered dom chord (b5,b9,#5,#9) you can play Melodic Minor up a semitone. So for that E7alt, try F Melodic Minor.

Another scale that fits A7#9 chord (or any 7#9 chord) is the half-whole step diminished, e.g. A-Bb-C-C#-D#-E-F#-G. It will not work with a #5 though as it has a natural 13th.

There are more options, especially with pentatonics, so you can also try a C min Pent (or Eb major if you like) for your 7alt chord.

Hope that helps

IbanezAS100 · #5 08-13-2010, 08:12 AM

...and to avoid sounding too scalar/stepwise, you could apply some of the arpeggios from the Bb MM scale. It might be a good idea to spend quite some time on the Mel Min scale in general as it is one of the common sounds used...

Best of luck

Jake Hanlon · #6 08-13-2010, 09:02 AM

not the greatest tune to start learning Jazz on. There's a lot of harmony in this one that you can really explore. Although it is my current favorite ballad to play :-)

That chord is based off the Bflat Jazz (melodic) Minor scale. You can also stack up A and Eb triad arpeggios to create a different context to fit that chord.

NJJax · #7 08-16-2010, 05:32 PM

Find a way to produce the chord and experiment over the sound. Some possibilities are:

1. Ask a friend play the chord on guitar or keyboard.

2. If you have a recording device, record the chord and play it back in a loop.

3. If you have Band-in-a-Box, program it to play the chord.

4. Play the chord on a keyboard with your left hand and play notes in your right hand.

Try everything that has been recommended, and let your ear lead you.