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Voicing = the vertical arrangement of notes in the chord, and the distance (intervals) between each one.
Originally Posted by elixzer
OK, so right there. What is difference between 'function' and 'voicing'--put simply. ALWAYS as simple as poss
For guitar players, "voicing" equates pretty much to "shape". Different shapes (for one chord) mean different voicings. Guitar is obviously more limited than piano in the available voicing options for any chord, which is why guitarists tend to not to think too much about voicing - because the instrument doesn't offer enough choice to make it a very extensive area of study; we're forced to use a limited selection of voicings.
It's not just the order of the notes (eg R-3-5, or 3-5-R), but how far apart they are. You can have "close" voicings (where chord tones are stacked in 3rds) or "open" voicings, where the notes are spaced further apart, across an octave or two. You can have "drop" voicings, where one note in a "close" stack is lowered by an octave to open up space between those either side.
"Function" = the job a chord does in a key or progression; its role in the sequence.
So, an Am7 chord might be voiced in many ways. But in key of G major it's always the "ii" chord ("supertonic"). Its job (function) is usually to lead to D7 (whose function is "V" or "dominant"). G being the "tonic", of course.
"Functional harmony" is this whole system of chord progressions in major or minor keys; the sense that a series of chords has a logical movement from one to the next, culminating in "resolution" (cadence) to the tonic.
It includes all kinds of "chromatic harmony" - alterations to diatonic chords, or chords from outside the key, that can offer more interesting movements or functions.
(Hope that's simple enough...
Ignore any part of the above that seems too complicated.)
Shame. You're denying yourself one of the great pleasures of music. But as long as it's giving you enough pleasure as it is.... Originally Posted by elixzer
True enough! Originally Posted by elixzer
OK. Originally Posted by elixzer
Sure. Any way you can string notes together in a way you could sing it, is melody. (Being able to sing it - or imagine it being sung - is what matters.) Originally Posted by elixzer
Doesn't have to be on the top strings, but that does help when you want to add chords, because the melody can then stay as the highest note.
Think of what chords could contain those notes. Originally Posted by elixzer
You don't have to harmonise every single note with a different chord - unless perhaps the melody is a series of long notes.
Quite likely your melody will mix short notes with long ones, accented ones with passing ones. The ones that (usually) need to fit the chords are the longer, more accented ones; the ones that fall on the main beats.
Normally - again I'm talking ground rules here - the chords will be in the same "key" as the melody. You don't really have to work this out, although it might help.
E,g, if your notes are C D E and F#, that suggests the key of G major - or perhaps E minor (no other key contains both C and F#). So that gives you a set of chords you can select from.
But if your notes were C D E and G, that opens up other possibilities: those 4 notes occur in 3 keys: C, G and F major (and their relative minors).
Even so, if your opening phrase is (eg) C-D-E-C, you still need to choose a chord or chords that fit, and that's governed by the notes and not the key. A good guess to cover all 4 notes would be C or Am. Those chords both contain C and E, but not D. That's OK if the D is a short-ish note, passing between C and E.
If the D was a longer note, or had a special emphasis, you might want to harmonise it with a chord that contained D - such as D, Dm, G, Bm - or even Bb or Gm. Those chords all contain a D note, but will obviously all sound different -and this is where your personal preference comes in, your aural judgement. You could say to yourself "I can't have Bb because I think the key is C and Bb doesn't belong!" (that's a theoretical judgement); but you could equally say "hey I like the sound of that Bb!" - and if you do, then the theory is irrelevant. (It still applies, but it may just mean the key is not what you first thought... the point is, you don't have to care.)
An important tip is to keep the same chord for as long as you can. Try to keep the chord sequence as simple as possible, provided it suits (supports) the tune. Some tunes will demand you change chords quite often, others will be quite happy over a single chord for several bars. Always listen to the melody, and do what it tells you.
Another tip is to have a rhythm, a groove for your tune: a beat structure that it can sit in. Melodies can move on and off the beat (to achieve a natural sense of phrasing), but a consistent pulse is an important "guide track". It can also help you plan chord changes, because they tend to occur on beat 1 of a bar.
It helps if you can sing your tune, because singing helps you feel the logic of the melody, and where it wants to lead. When composing, you can usually sense, at any point, whether you want to sing a higher or lower note than the last one, or repeat the last one, or repeat a whole phrase, or how much pause you want to take at any point. That's the best way to let a composition unfold. Let the chords act as backup only, underpinning the tune.
Sometimes chords (or chord changes) can inspire you melodically, but don't fix the chords; don't imprison a melody; if you create a chord sequence first, treat it as a draft only, subject to melodic control. Eg, you may feel you want a melody to soar at some point, and the chords will have to follow suit.
It's precisely because a melody is something to be "sung" that it needs to have its own organic life; it's how it connects with us emotionally. Even an instrumental melody has to be "singable", we imagine ourselves singing it. Chords are just the clothes it wears, as it were, or the vehicle it drives in.
Lastly - and I know this is a jazz site, and you clearly like the sound of "interesting" chords - keep the chords as simple as possible to begin with, while finding your compositional feet. Triads only, or 7ths if triads really don't hit the spot. It's true that a lot of jazz melodies accent chord extensions, such as 9ths or 13ths, but that's built on top of a secure triadic foundation. (Two classic jazz melodies, Autumn Leaves and All The Things You Are, are built largely on the 3rds of each chord.)
Of course, in depth study of your favourite melodies will reveal a lot of good tricks of harmonisation. Compositional skills are best learned by analysing (taking to pieces) the work of great composers - not by studying theory books. Copy and steal from the masters: that's what all the geniuses do!Last edited by JonR; 10-23-2013 at 05:59 AM.
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10-23-2013 05:53 AM
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Thank you JonR
I don't understand your tipNow, I know things can change, but to let you in on my 'style'--if I may be so bold. I am very drawn to the Brazilian ways of playing, like Boss Nova for example where you use the lower two strings as a percussive beat, and plucking the other strings. (I very much love all forms of Fingerstyle also but have LOTS to learn about it)An important tip is to keep the same chord for as long as you can.
OVER this I will sing, because I love singing and see guitar usually always to be combined with it--for me. Though of course I love watching and listening to guitarists who don't sing.
Now, as described above, a FIRST tune I have ever 'learned' (AM learning) really, is Jobim's Insensatez which I have been practising with. it is really all chords (the version I am learning) over which I sing the melody. So I am very much into the rhythm. And love the melody too).
So, when I am saying I am looking to create a melody, I am thinking along these terms. A melody which is interesting chord sequence over which I will sing a melody line--if that makes sense...?...?
I remember in times past here others have usually emphasized the importance of instead of getting too lost in theory, to learn songs so you can see how things work. I am trying to with the chord sequence of Insensatez because it really intrigues me.
I had confused 'voicing' with colour (?). Is the latter a term used? I am sure I have heard it before? It is the feel of a chord. That's what I had thought voicing meant.
I am--again, to be bold--experimental. I LOVE harmony, more so than single note runs. I love interesting 'dissonances'---so this is why I am so keen on finding a way to click into being able to construct interesting voicings and colours that then can find function or movementLast edited by elixzer; 10-23-2013 at 06:40 AM.
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How much theory do you know? Originally Posted by elixzer
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I mean when harmonising a melody, ie being led by the melody. Originally Posted by elixzer
Of course, I guess I'm thinking pop and rock styles, rather than jazz! My point was really to underline the point about melody being the main thing; the logic of the melody, the way it moves, is what governs the chord changes, not vice versa. So a chord doesn't need to change unless there's a significant move in the melody which would benefit from a chord change. That might be after 2 beats - or it might not be for 8 bars or more.
(Even in jazz, one can have great tunes on just one chord: Little Sunflower spends 16 bars on Dm7. The stasis of the harmony actually enhances the effect of the melody; it would lose its vibe if changes were added.)
Yes: improvising a new melody over an existing chord sequence. Originally Posted by elixzer
OK, if you're using that sequence, and inventing a new melody, that amounts to improvising on Insensatez. Originally Posted by elixzer
It is, of course, composing in a sense. The same processes are involved: using your ear to decide on note choices. Charlie Parker wrote many tunes based on existing chord progressions. Chord progressions are not copyright.
It's also a good way to understand how chord progressions work, because you will probably find yourself singing phrases that not only reflect the chord tones, but follow certain leading moves between the chords. It's a very good way of feeling yourself inside the sequence, as it were.
Well, voicing is a technical term, to do with defining chord structure. "Colour" and "feel" are more subjective terms. Of course different voicings of the same chord will have (slightly) different feels or colours, while not as different - of course - as different chord types do. Originally Posted by elixzer
The idea of "voices" derives from classical harmony, which was based on choirs to begin with (SATB, soprano alto tenor bass). Each note in a chord is a separate voice or singer. As chords change, each singer moves their note down or up, or holds the same note, to create the new chord. This is the notion of "voice-leading", where the ideal is to move by scale step where possible, no more.
The concept of "voicing" a chord, then, is choosing exactly where (high or low) to place each voice required. Eg, in a Dm7 chord, do we want the F above the C, or vice versa? etc.
OK, but I think it's the function and movement that is important to understand first. Originally Posted by elixzer
Eg, with Insensatez, that descending chromatic line through the first 5 chords (first 10 bars); that's the "thread" that links them - as well as the shared note that they all contain (in melody if not in the chords).
So, in the usual key of D minor, the shared melody note is A (on the first 4 chords), while the bass descends D-C#-C-B-Bb. The rest of the chords are harmonised in ways that fit this scenario smoothly; so there is an additional descending line through the first 4 chords: F-E-Eb-D. So that already gives a series of 3-note (3-"voice") chords:
A.....A.....A*....A(>G).G
F.....E.....Eb....D.....D
D.....C#....C.....B.....Bb
* The melody on the 3rd chord is a chromatic descent (C-B-Bb-A), while on the 4th chord it begins with A but falls to G.
More "voices" can be added to make the chords more interesting. Twin chromatic descents in one sequence are quite enough, so other voice moves can be in whole steps, up or down, or using shared tones across the chords:
A.....A.....A.....A.....A
C.....Bb....G.....G.....G
F.....G.....G.....G.....F
F.....E.....Eb....D.....D
D.....C#....C.....B.....Bb
That's how we arrive at the given sequence: Dm7 - C#dim7 - Cm6 - G9/B - Bbmaj7. There could well be alternative choices here and there, given that the melody is quite limited. (Some charts add an E as 9th on the Dm7, which is purely decorative, although it does hold over quite nicely to a chord tone on C#dim7.)
It is, of course, very clever composition on Jobim's part! A steady, relentless, slow descent, where the functionality of the chords is not always clear, and yet there's an obvious aural logic. (Changes further on in the song are more clearly functional.)
It's difficult to guess which came first here: melody or chord sequence. It's tempting to say chord sequence, because the melody - beautiful as it is - is quite perfunctory; it wouldn't be as attractive without that interesting sequence. (It could have been successfully - "correctly" - harmonised in a much duller way.)
I suspect Jobim was attracted by the idea of holding a single melody note against a slow descent, and maybe the additional idea of some ambiguous functions. (There's plenty of theoretical debate about the C#dim7, eg)
But my point here is that the sequence arises from that concept of linkage, aside from the basic demand of harmonising the melody. (With the chords alone, you could easily substitute another chord here or there which would work as well in a sequence, but would clash with the melody.) Each chord is like a cogwheel in a machine; they may be very beautiful cogwheels, nicely made and polished, but they have to mesh together or the machine doesn't work. There is way more beauty in the flow of the chords than in any one chord on its own. (Each chord is really very ordinary - unless of course you want to embellish it; but then embellishing one chord may throw the whole flow out.)
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Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
I don't know. I dont know how to gauge it. I have practiced triads all over the neck cept the sharps and flats, and am aware the voicings --the b3 of minor and I love the diminished tones which is b5. I am practising and applying in tune, the 7ths and the basic Jazz chords--eg in Insensatez
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All the last bit is looking VERY complex. I supposed I have advanced listening ---many times people cannot handle my eclectic taste in music. What I have found is that many people, even the young, tend to become stuck in rigid grooves with music, and it will freak them out if there are musical styles they don't understand.
But in trying to understand it is another matter. If I get a gist of what you mean you mean there are very interesting things going on with the base--it descends...? This is what I feel. I am very aware of the voicings, and in the bridge--cant name the chords but think you may know what I mean. Whenever I hear it by whomever, there is this underlying feel that REALLY moves me. touches the soul.
I think what I may have to do is begin building a chord knowledge. IE I am getting accustomed to triads, and the basic jazz chords. Now I am looking where the B6, C6's etc are
I am very aware the comedy of learning--for me personally. I cannot speak for others. In that, you FOCUS on something and fail to see CONNECTION!! So for example, sayI am trying to find a triad shape, remember---but when you go to the keys (top of guitar) there is the familiar shape. you'd forgot LOL. Stuff like that.
So I am half aware that when I say I am NOW gonna checkout the 6ths, that really it is part OF what I already know instead of trying to conceptualize an independent B6 or whatever.
But I feel that I need to do what I need, and in order to remember the shapes will have to try and make little diagrams
I like to find combinations of chords and then experiment with finger offs where you get different voicings and also sing over them
I am wondering how I would remember to record something as I cannot write music. Maybe after I sing something over a chord sequence than find the notes and just jot them down
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Ok, a few sample questions: Originally Posted by elixzer
I don't know. I dont know how to gauge it.
1.Do you know what key Insensatez is in? (I think I might have given this away already...)
If you don't - or even if you do - how do you determine that?
2. What are the I IV and V chords in Bb major?
3. What's a ii-V-I in Eb major?
4. What's a ii-V-I in A minor?
5. What are the notes in a Bdim7 chord? What scale is it derived from? What scale is conventionally recommended for improvisation on it? (Tip: two different answers)
Those are fairly beginner-level theory questions (beginner for jazz anyway). If you're fine with those, good. If not, you have some important study to do. If you know all the above, try these:
6. What's a "secondary dominant"?
7. What do you understand by "G7alt"? (Which notes would you form the chord from? Tip: more than one correct answer.)
8. What key would you most expect to find G7alt in?
9. What scale does it imply? (Name and full spelling - again, more than one correct answer in each case, although it's all the same 7 sounds.)
10. What's its tritone substitute?
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I start off on Bm7 Originally Posted by JonR
OK Bb major Ebmaj F72. What are the I IV and V chords in Bb major?
Fminor, Bb7, Ebmajor3. What's a ii-V-I in Eb major?
Bm, Em, Am4. What's a ii-V-I in A minor?
B, A, D, F5. What are the notes in a Bdim7 chord? What scale is it derived from? What scale is conventionally recommended for improvisation on it? (Tip: two different answers)
I await me marksThose are fairly beginner-level theory questions (beginner for jazz anyway). If you're fine with those, good. If not, you have some important study to do. If you know all the above, try these:
Don't know6. What's a "secondary dominant"?
I don't know7. What do you understand by "G7alt"? (Which notes would you form the chord from? Tip: more than one correct answer.)
G ?8. What key would you most expect to find G7alt in?
Don't know9. What scale does it imply? (Name and full spelling - again, more than one correct answer in each case, although it's all the same 7 sounds.)
10. What's its tritone substitute?
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It would help you to study a jazz theory book. (I'm sure forum members can recommend some. I like Levine's The Jazz Theory Book.)
Jobim is an excellent composer and he often does subtle or ambiguous things in his songs. It helps if you can see he's doing.
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Couldn't quote as neatly as I would have liked. My responses in bold.
Ok, a few sample questions:
1.Do you know what key Insensatez is in? (I think I might have given this away already...)
If you don't - or even if you do - how do you determine that?
I start off on Bm7
Starting chord does not necessarily = key. In this case you're playing the tune in B minor. Bm7 can be used, but Bm6 fits nicely as a tonic minor.
2. What are the I IV and V chords in Bb major?
OK Bb major Ebmaj F7
Correct, though plain triads, sixth chords or major 7th chords are all good for the I and IV chords.
3. What's a ii-V-I in Eb major?
Fminor, Bb7, Ebmajor
Correct.
4. What's a ii-V-I in A minor?
Bm, Em, Am
Normally, the dominant in minor is played as a dominant 7th chord. E7 or E7(b9) are common V chords in minor. This is why harmonic and melodic minor scales are employed; so that we have a dominant chord with its stronger pull toward the tonic. A minor chord as the V chord has a much more modal sound.
5. What are the notes in a Bdim7 chord? What scale is it derived from? What scale is conventionally recommended for improvisation on it? (Tip: two different answers)
B, A, D, F
Incorrect, and incomplete. B D F Ab would be the correct spelling for a Bdim7 chord, though many enharmonic spellings are used with diminished chords. Your answer would be correct for a Bm7(b5) chord, aka the half-diminished. As for the scale part of the answer, the WH diminished scale would be the number one answer. Not sure what the asker of the question was looking for for number 2.
Those are fairly beginner-level theory questions (beginner for jazz anyway). If you're fine with those, good. If not, you have some important study to do. If you know all the above, try these:
I await me marks
6. What's a "secondary dominant"?
Don't know
A dominant that's not naturally occurring in the key you're working in. A7 in the key of C, for example.
7. What do you understand by "G7alt"? (Which notes would you form the chord from? Tip: more than one correct answer.)
I don't know
alt chords are dominants with some combination of altered 5's/9's. Sometimes even including all alterations at once. (Yes, you can have a dominant chord that includes b5, #5, b9 and #9.)
8. What key would you most expect to find G7alt in?
G ?
C minor.
9. What scale does it imply? (Name and full spelling - again, more than one correct answer in each case, although it's all the same 7 sounds.)
G7 alt could imply dim/whole tone scale, diminished scale (HW) whole tone scale...just about any of these would sound good.
10. What's its tritone substitute?
Don't know
Substituting a dominant chord that shares the same tritone pitches; conveniently, the tritone sub is in fact a tritone away from the chord it's subbing for. Db7 in place of G7, for example.
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The diminished 7th chord sound occurs in the harmonic minor, so over Bdim7 you could play C HM, Eb HM, F# HM or A HM. I can't say I do anything that tricky. Originally Posted by GodinFan
5. What are the notes in a Bdim7 chord? What scale is it derived from? What scale is conventionally recommended for improvisation on it? (Tip: two different answers)
B, A, D, F
Incorrect, and incomplete. B D F Ab would be the correct spelling for a Bdim7 chord, though many enharmonic spellings are used with diminished chords. Your answer would be correct for a Bm7(b5) chord, aka the half-diminished. As for the scale part of the answer, the WH diminished scale would be the number one answer. Not sure what the asker of the question was looking for for number 2.
I bet the top answer is the G alt scale (by definition!) -- G Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F. Originally Posted by GodinFan
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Ah yes, the infamous 7th mode of the melodic minor... Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
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GodinFan's already answered, but here's mine:
As GF says, starting chord is not a good guide to key - unless the tune also ends on the same chord. In this case it does, so B minor is a good bet. Originally Posted by elixzer
But the main clue is - what chord sounds like the key chord, overall? Again, the final chord will probably be the one.
Yep Originally Posted by elixzer
Yup Originally Posted by elixzer
Nope. Bm7b5-E7-Am. Originally Posted by elixzer
Jazz adopts classical practice in using a major chord as V, to give a leading tone (G# in this key). Known as "harmonic minor", as you may know.
Bm Em Am is not "wrong", but indicates "A aeolian mode", not the "A minor key".
Nope. That's Bm7b5, or B "half-diminished", usually spelled B D F A. Originally Posted by elixzer
Bdim7 = B D F Ab, from C harmonic minor. Bdim7 typically resolves to Cm.
Chord-scale theory says the improv scale is B whole-half diminished (B C# D E F G Ab A#), but C harmonic minor works.
The advantage of WH dim is it will fit any application of Bdim7, because the chord can be used in many ways.
(Spelled D F Ab Cb, it resolves to Ebm; spelled E# G# B D it resolves to F#m; spelled G# B D F it resolves to Am. And because it's all the same notes, sounds the same, it could go to any of those at any time, or to their parallel majors. And there are other uses too... which is why WH dim is the easy answer, and always sounds good.)
So you've done pretty well on this easy part of the test! (Not 100%, but your errors are common and not too serious - easily corrected I hope.) But I hope you can see where you knowledge needs improving.
(GF's answers are good, btw, for the other questions, but I suspect they won't mean very much to you at the moment.)
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OK, so a question---how do you know what the key is of any song you may hear. Do you figure it out from the key of C major to see if its starting on a 2nd,3rd, 4th, 5th etc. OR do you find out quick be seeing what key the tune ends on?..............#also, say I sing some tune from my own creative mind. I am taking to presume that whatever I imagine MAY not start on the actual key or root of the scale, right?
Last edited by elixzer; 10-29-2013 at 09:48 AM.
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Could be either. Originally Posted by elixzer
BTW, you seem to be confusing "key" and "chord". Your last sentence, at least, makes more sense with "chord", not "key". (The last "chord" of a song is usually the "key" of the song. A "key" contains any and every chord that could be built from the notes in the scale of the key.)
But yes - you could go to the end of the tune and see what chord it finishes on. At least 95% of the time, that will be the key. You can do this from sheet music, no need to listen.
Of course, from sheet music you can look at a key signature, which indicates either a major key or its relative minor. Eg, if the key sig has 2 flats, then the key could be either Bb major or G minor. How do you decide? Look at the last chord.
(As I say, this is not a 100% failsafe method, but is a good guide most of the time.)
From listening - really the best guide - the key chord is the chord that sounds most stable, like the place the song could come to rest at any point, without feeling like you need another chord to finish it.
The key sound is established in your ear in various ways. It might be just vamping on one chord for a long time. More likely (at least in jazz) it's done by chord progressions and "cadences" - pairs of chords (sometimes three) that act like punctuation, drawing your ear to expect an ending of some kind: and then either confirming it or subverting it.
Even without chords, a melody will establish a sense of key by how the notes unfold; not just the scale it ends up spelling out, but points of rest or emphasis. Again, it's the idea of "rest" or "stability" - a "gravitional centre" to the whole thing.
But don't forget, btw, that a song may move through more than one key. It's common for the chorus or bridge of the song to modulate to another key - and then return afterwards. In jazz, some standards take journeys through several keys, on their way from - and back to - their overall key centre
Right. As I said, the keynote has a feeling of "gravitational centre" to the other notes. Not necessarily the lowest note, although, classically, final keynotes tend to be low in the bass, which really "nails them down" Originally Posted by elixzer
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So you may feel a keynote as you start. Eg perhaps you start with a chord, humming to a chord. You'll likely feel the root of that chord as your keynote. But you don't have to sing that root note - you could start higher or lower (eg on the 3rd or 5th of the chord).
And as you build your song, you might decide to go back and introduce the song with a chord that isn't the key chord, and work your way round to the key chord.
In general, you don't really need to worry about key - whether playing someone else's song or composing your own. It can be a good thing to know, but it's not essential to define it. (Knowing the key of Insensatez doesn't help you play it - or sing it - better, right?) If writing your own song, just let your ear guide you, in choice of notes and chords. Quite likely you will gravitate to a key of some kind, but no need to feel bound by any rules you think that implies.
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I have come to explore these chords by Ted Greene, but I am not understand what the x means. For example, take a look here
See the chord Em and notice he has done an x on a string that seems to be needed to play. I don't get it.
WHY has he put an x there?
Is he meaning you can either play a note on that string or not choose to play the open string (if you didn't play the note) at all?
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If you read his explanation of symbols at the top of the page, he's written that the x symbol is played AFTER the dot marking. Originally Posted by elixzer
So, you play the Em voicing, THEN add the x finger.
It is unconventional, since we normally think of x as symbolizing a muted string.
However, he does declare his usage of these other symbols right on the page, so he is communicating his intent clearly.
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If you read his explanation of symbols at the top of the page, he's written that the x symbol is played AFTER the dot marking. Originally Posted by elixzer
So, you play the Em voicing, THEN add the x finger.
It is unconventional, since we normally think of x as symbolizing a muted string.
However, he does declare his usage of these other symbols right on the page, so he is communicating his intent clearly.
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Looks like the x is the next note in the melody. So in the first chord, you would play the Em chord with E on top, then the melody continues with F# (i.e., the x) which moves to G in the second (Em7) chord -- which then moves to B on the first string.
MTA -- Crosspost with Godinfan
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So when he therefore also puts an x on an open string, that is NOT meaning to not play the string, but to play the note where the x is placed?
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He's using the X to show a fingered note (not an open string) that is played after the Dot fingerings. Originally Posted by elixzer
Such are the limitations of chord boxes/tab notation for guitar.
If you play the fingering charts he shows in the manner he describes, you should hear the melody to the Shadow of Your Smile.
Personally, I'd much rather see the chord boxes in conjunction with the actual notation. They're helpful in terms of grabbing some of the voicings he likes.
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I always thought this was very clever of Ted Greene. The dots show the chord that is being played and the melody notes that are played after the chord is played are shown within the same "frame". Therefore there is no guessing on how these notes are to be fingered. The downside is that there are no rhythms provided but the player has to do some work after all.
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Well I am loving this idea, because I am all for experimenting, and this encourages that. Originally Posted by ColinO
Errrm if your singing it and playing it at same time, how would you approach it? IE it is not common for singers with guitar to also include melody run fill-ins (eg actually playing the single notes), right? But I suppose in the instrumental part of the song you could do so, and explore other options also?
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A chord melody arrangement is complete in itself. If you're singing the tune, you just need to accompany yourself. Playing a chord melody and singing at the same time is redundant (not to mention fairly difficult.) Originally Posted by elixzer
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Please explain more. I LOVE the subtleties of these chords. And I also like to sing subtly too. Originally Posted by GodinFan
I was talking about leaving the added x notes out which kind of join up the chords.
YOU seem to be saying that if I sing the song, to lessen the chords? To simply them or use less. Is that what you mean?
If so. In the part of the song where there is often an instrumental break, this could mean then including more of the chord melody arrangement?
Please share with me your thoughts on this. I am deeply interested?
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