December 2015 - Stella By Starlight

[wizard3739]

Hi guys, I haven't participated for a while. I recorded a bass line and guitar track into Reaper:

well done, fritz, I hope we hear much more from you!

wiz

[edh]

Rob, that fingering is also new to me. Thanks for the fingering.

[M-ster]

... By the way, I came up with what was for me a new form of playing G7b9#11 (although I didn't use it in the arrangement)

7*666*

It's probably well known, but not to me.

This is an inversion of Db7 (with 7th in the bass). It seems more exotic when you analyze it relative to G, but it's just a tritone substitution. Every 7th chord voicing you know works over both its own root and the root a tritone away.

[Rob MacKillop]

I'm aware of that, but didn't make the connection in this instance. Thanks for reminding me!

[boatheelmusic]

OK, I've never done one of these monthly practical standards, so I thought I'd give it a go. I've never played Stella before.

I'm trying to make sense of the score. Comments on this analysis welcome:

Intro: I VI ii V in Bb

Bars 5&6 ii V in Dm
7&8 ii V in Bb
9&10&11 ii V I in Eb
12&13 two "random" secondary chords: Ab13 and F7 (the 7 is in the melody)
14&15 ii V i in Dm
16 ii V in Ab
17 "random" chord FMaj7
18 ii V in Dm or D
19&20 ii V in G
21 to 24 V i in Cm
25 and 27 "random" Ab7b5 (b5 in melody) and BbMaj9 (9 in melody)
28&29 ii V in Dm
30&31 ii V in Cm (down a tone from above)
33 to 36 ii V I in Bb (down a tone from above)

Rob, thanks - just trying to work this out myself:

in 12 and 13 how about the Db major scale over the Ab13 and the Bb major scale over the F7?

In 19 & 20 do you mean Gm rather than G?

and how about the Db major scale in 33 & 34?

[lawson-stone]

Hi guys, I haven't participated for a while. I recorded a bass line and guitar track into Reaper:

Wow, that's really excellent. You're on a wholly different plane than me. I hope at some point you might talk a little about how your feeling/thinking through the tune, if that's okay.

A very nice handling of this tune, it made my day!

[lawson-stone]

I'm going to try to get another version in at some point this month, but for now here is a quick and dirty CM. Comments, insults, etc. are always encouraged.

Nice, Jehu. I keep wishing I could see the headstock on that guitar, man, like, what is that you play? Your own private luthier? ;-)

[boatheelmusic]

Well, yes - he made that great guitar himself!!

[Rob MacKillop]

Rob, thanks - just trying to work this out myself:

in 12 and 13 how about the Db major scale over the Ab13 and the Bb major scale over the F7?

In 19 & 20 do you mean Gm rather than G?

and how about the Db major scale in 33 & 34?

Db Major scale over Ab13 - yes, that works, because effectively you would be playing the mixolydian mode on Ab, the V of Db.

Bb Major scale over F7 - ditto. There are two ways to look at it - either the major scale on the major chord, or the mixolydian mode on the V chord. Same notes.

"In 19 & 20 do you mean Gm rather than G?" - The Am7b5 (half diminished) followed by the D7b9 would normally indicate a ii-V in a minor key, so, yes, one would expect Gm to follow. However, what we find is G augmented - a pleasant surprise - which has a Major 3rd, so can be viewed as GMajor#5. The whole-tone scale would be my scale of choice for the G+.

"and how about the Db major scale in 33 & 34?" - I can see why you would choose Db Major for the C half-dim, but it has a few questionable tones over the F7 chord. For instance, the F chord has an A natural in it, one of the defining notes of the chord (the major 3rd), but the Db Major scale has Ab and Bb. There are no bad notes in jazz (despite our worst efforts, lol!), but there are some that are perhaps "less good". It's another example of the strangeness of this piece, and what attracts me to it: the minor 2-5 chords leading to a Major chord. My rule is: when in doubt, arpeggiate!

I hope that helps? I think it's good to discuss these things, rather than just upload a performance with no comment, although doing so would be better than nothing at all. Just my opinion.

[boatheelmusic]

Here's my submission - I value your feedback:

[ggjay]

Here's my first version. Quick and Dirty. I'm planning on doing a slow one too later in the month.
Editing is horrible.
Feedback is welcome as always.

[matt.guitarteacher]

Just exploring other areas in terms of harmony, phrasing etc. Still noodling.... A "final" version would have to be pulled back a bit to play it more cleanly, in time more, and with better overall structure (or maybe I can work some of these things out "all the way").

I'd appreciate anyone's feedback. This tune is about at my limits. Need to memorize it and listen to other versions etc. Maybe in January.

[Rob MacKillop]

Well done, Matt. That was much more swingin than my ballad approach, and you include a solo. Excellent. I view everything I do as work in progress, and I guess you will be polishing this one for a long time to come. Keep it up.

[matt.guitarteacher]

Well done, Matt. That was much more swingin than my ballad approach, and you include a solo. Excellent. I view everything I do as work in progress, and I guess you will be polishing this one for a long time to come. Keep it up.

I need to steal some Rob and Jehu chord voicings for sure.

[pkirk]

nice playing to everyone who posted.

I wanted to pass along one tiny variation that is kind of hip: at the very end, when it goes

Em7b5/A7/Dm7b5/G7/cm7b5/F7/Bb/Bb,

try instead

Em7b5/A7/Dm7b5/G7/ Dbm11-Gb7/cm7b5-F7/Bb/Bb.

If you really want to milk it, you can do a whole chromatic descending thing there

Fm11-Bb7/Em7b5-A7/Ebm11-Ab7/Dm7b5-G7/Dbm11-Gb7/Cm7b5-F7/Bb/Bb

at reasonable tempi you can outline the changes in your single line playing and it creates tension against the harmony that keeps resolving itself-sort of- until you hit the Bb where it finally resolves. It also works with the melody if you put those 11ths on top.

and if you really want to reharmonize you can try

Fm11/Bb7/Ebm11/Ab7/Dbm11-Gb7/Cm7b5-F7/Bb/Bb

[Rob MacKillop]

Interesting! I'll give that a try later.

[mr. beaumont]

Well, a favorite tune of mine, so I had to get in this month...trying a few different things out, but as always, trying to leave space. Hope you enjoy, and if there's something you like, let's discuss...heck, if there's something you don't like, let's talk about that too, because that's important

!

[boatheelmusic]

Very articulate, Jeff, in every way.

[mr. beaumont]

Thank you!

[matt.guitarteacher]

Hope you enjoy, and if there's something you like, let's discuss...

great as always, Jeff.

What's your setup at school there for recording this?

[mr. beaumont]

Thanks, Matt.

Just my phone and a Roland Microcube, amp set low and placed close to phone.

By the way, like your posts in this thread a lot.

[matt.guitarteacher]

Thanks, Matt.

Just my phone and a Roland Microcube, amp set low and placed close to phone.

By the way, like your posts in this thread a lot.

Wow. Didn't realize it was just the phone. Pretty amazing what you can get out of a phone these days. That's the reason for my crazy camera angle by the way. Mic up by the headstock for a mellower steel string, right?

Thanks for the kind words.

[Rob MacKillop]

Jeff, that was superb. I love your playing - very soulful, good subs, beautiful lines. In short: inspirational. Thanks for that.

[Rob MacKillop]

Hope you enjoy, and if there's something you like, let's discuss

Jeff, in bar 17 of Howie's score (that would be bar 13 without the 4-bar intro) you are playing a Bb in the bass. I've seen a couple of charts with a Bb chord there, yet Howie has an F. The melody is Eb, so I played it as an F7, but I'm not convinced about the chord. Any thoughts on this?

Also, (1-minute mark) I love your sub for the BbMaj7 (bars 17&18, Howie's score). From what I can make out you are playing a low E, the tritone note, with a BbMaj6/7 above it. Very cool. I'm going to steal that one

But what are you doing right at the beginning for the A7b9? It looks like you have an open A, G on 4, C# on 3, then instead of playing an F on 2, you stretch all the way back to play it on 1 at the first fret. Is there anything on 2? C? So, are you subbing the A7b9 with A7#5#9? Whatever it is, I like it.

And (if you don't mind all these questions!) what are you playing for the G+ chord in bar 21? Looks like a Galt/D. Sounds great. I was using an augmented chord.

[matt.guitarteacher]

I deleted my other post because I wanted to try chord melody so here it is

Dude, no.... I love a good CM, but the other was good stuff. I've got way uglier than that all over the interwebs. :-)

I hope at some point you might talk a little about how your feeling/thinking through the tune, if that's okay.

Me too. I was looking forward to an answer to this as well.

I'd like to know what your approach was on that first take as well.