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JBN What tune is next weeks project based on? I don't recognize it...
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01-02-2021 10:41 PM
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Are we all supposed to be starting on Week Five coming up? I want to make sure I'm on the same page as everybody else. I've actually only been doing this for two weeks now - but I'm jumping ahead to keep up with everyone.
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Day 6 of BBB at 90 bpm. There were moments where I went astray, but for the most part I felt like I was making some nice music. Must confess that I'm looking forward to moving on to the next tune. Whatever that tune is.
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Pretty sure this is Angel Eyes.
Originally Posted by guido5
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Happy New Year and welcome to our fresh start week!
Big change this week. Project 3-A focuses on a minor tonality, for the A section it stays very much within D minor. There are measures of supporting changes that we'll use to create a sense of cadence or breath, contrast and shading, but it pretty much keeps you in D minor.
The B section steps us into a different and brighter key, a nice contrast in feel and sound: Bb in Major. Then another shift into the key of A before the return to D minor. The form is A A B A.
This project is based on the large tonal areas we see in Angel Eyes, but it's different too. It's full of twists designed to sharpen your skills on some useful techniques. I'll talk about these details once we've begun to explore this project. I've included a lead sheet for Angel Eyes if you want to see and play with the original as further exploration.
There's a lot to dig into and a lot to get out of this week. I think it'll be a lot of fun.
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Is there anything wrong with seeing the first 10 bars as originating out of an F major tonality? Obviously I'll aim for the relevant chord tones and extensions for whichever chord I'm playing over, but I've always just sort of translated songs in minor keys to their relative majors for soloing. For instance, when improvising over the changes to Blue Bossa, I'm thinking primarily out of an Eb tonality for the first eight bars - though I throw the odd Gb in now and then for a nice 'blue' note.
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I guess that the results justify the means. For me, the minor tonality has a very strong association with fingerboard positioning and the notes that work to bring out that quality. I'll find my minor "Do" under an index or ring finger of my left hand, and the lines that come out of that, the triads that work for me and the colour notes that inform my ideas are all while I'm seeing or hearing minor. Originally Posted by Socraticaster
It comes down to how you work with the imaginary bass player and what you create in that capacity. Technically they can share the same fingerings in some instances, but how they arpeggiate, how they accentuate, and how they complete ideas of resolution, they always feel quite different and distinctly minor to me.
Work with it both ways. If you find something that works, it's the quality that is most sought after: a style and approach that's all your own.
Here's one version of the vibe and the minor qualities as they emerge
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Hey, guido5. I know you use iReal Pro as I do. I'm having difficulty inputting the DmMaj7 chords. Everything I try iReal Pro says it can't read. Just wondering if you've had better luck than me? Thanks!
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I use the -^7 (minor major 7 chord quality) from the menu of chord qualities when in the editor... On the emulated android version it is about 4 rows down on the second from the last column...
Hope this is clear...
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Thanks. That worked! I appreciate the help! Originally Posted by guido5
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I spent a little time examining the next lesson. Interesting that the A section is written the way it is. Pretty static. I'm surprised some of those Em7 chords into A7b9 aren't written as Em7b5. Also, I don't usually dwell on the noted key centers, but I find it interesting that G13-G7#5 is in Bb. I'm typically trying to hone my awareness of the chord tones so I'm not as focused on key centers off the bat.
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Same thoughts here. Love this tune. Originally Posted by D'Aquisto Fan
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Excellent! Originally Posted by D'Aquisto Fan
While we are on the topic of ireal pro, did you create a new song from scratch for this? I have never created a song from scratch with the editor that wasn't a straight 32 bars using one of the default formats. How did you create the 16 bar sections?
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Exactly. You're going to find that the more you come across charts, especially different people's charts on the bandstand, and ESPECIALLY chords and harmony by the original composers, that there is something in the way each arranger's ear heard things. That's not going to be the way you're necessarily going to play them. For instance, when the minor goes to mMaj7, the note that changes is the note you need to also make the A7 chord if you hear the bass note as an A. Those are the shadings I referred to. Originally Posted by D'Aquisto Fan
Good for you for not seeing the changes as notes to be merely filled in with scales. The music emerges. The next three weeks are going to be a lot of fun!
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Yes. This is the first time I created a new song in iReal Pro. I ended up inputting all the bars, so no first repeat, second repeat, etc. I couldn't figure out how to do that. I was able to copy and paste some of the A section the second time around to avoid too much typing. The lazy part of me wishes Howard's charts were a bit more in line with the typical Real Book changes. It would make this a lot easier. Of course, using iReal Pro is a lot easier than comping the changes every day to a different tempo! If you want I can send you my iReal Pro version via email. Originally Posted by guido5
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I've been using the Howard Roberts SuperChops files for iRealPro that are already pre-made and available on the iRealPro forum. Is there some reason I should be avoiding those and making my own, as some people seem to be doing?
Superchops For Guitar - Howard Roberts
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Just an aside - From Wikipedia : Angel Eyes was introduced in the 1953 film Jennifer.
This movie is available on Amazon Prime video, I put it in my watch list.
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Thank you for this! Originally Posted by Socraticaster
I'm struggling through doing my own because I'm not bright enough to go looking for those on the forum... Doh...
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Wow!! Thank you so much for that link! That's a huge help! Originally Posted by Socraticaster
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Brilliant! That just saved me a tone of time! Originally Posted by Socraticaster
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Just speaking personally, I find there’s tremendous benefit in laying down the chords manually. First, it helps internalize the sound of the changes. Second, it helps me orient myself on the fretboard and give me a framework for how I will move from key center to key center. Originally Posted by Socraticaster
I was using shell voicings for the first week. Then I started sprinkling in some of HR’s voices. This week I plan to use his exact voicings, in part to help me focus on specific sounds over specific harmonies. For example, I might be tempted to just play half-diminished over the minor ii-Vs, but since HR specifically uses vanilla m7 chords in a few places, I am going see what surprises I can find in there.
That said, I do cheat a bit. I will typically record one chorus of chords in Logic, punch-in any errors, and even quantize the chords so they are perfectly aligned to the beat. Then loop it all for as many times as it takes to get me to 10 minutes. It shaves a lot of time off the total routine.
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Week 5 Day 1. 70BPM. Using the newly acquired "official" ireal pro backing (thanks again!). After a bit of orientation, I dove in and swam at 70bpm and was pretty happy with the results for a first day. The HR patented chromatic adventures in the bridge are not quite yet fitting in with their neighbors, but it is a nice form to approach lyrically and a lot of fun. Listening to the Desmond version a couple of times was a good way to prepare. I like that he plays it more up tempo than many other recordings.
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Man, those long stretches of static Dm are bears! Lots of bluesy repetition being played by yours truly. Started out at the week at 66 bpm. Had to sneak a peak at the chart now again. Not a terrible first day, though.
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I just finished week 5, day 1 85 bpm of Howard's Angel Eyes changes with the iReal Pro backing track. FYI, I've been targeting my bmp so every day if I bump it up 5 bpm I get to Howard's target by the end of the week. Anyway, I was getting a bit lost in the form. That last A, then back to the top was confusing me for some bizarre reason. Not sure why? My head space is a bit off this evening. And I agree that the static nature of the A section is oddly challenging. The third time through I started making better music. The end of the B section will require more study to say something musical that follows a melodic line.
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