Blue Moon

[emanresu]

Hey.

I checked different versions of sheets (old realbook, new realbook, aebersold and one another).
Going from A to B part, all of them have C7 to lead to Fm. But the melody has the note Eb. Means, its either C7alt or.. Cm7 (as proposed kindly by just one of the books)
Listening to different recordings, I cant hear that C7 at all. There's usually some fill and a leading bass "lick" to Fm.
So, where does it come from? And how to treat such cases when wanting to learn a tune "right, safe and vanilla"?

E.

edit: sorry, old realbook doesnt have that C7.

[Jimmy blue note]

Real books are roadmaps, not train tracks.
The C7 will suggest a variety of sounds that serve to set up a transition to a different 'mood' through shifting harmony. Try things out in as many ways as you can, and embrace different versions for suggesting options, but in the end, the choice you make as to what you include or what you make as your own version, that's your choice. That's why it's jazz. You make what makes sense to you and then YOU say it with conviction.
Maybe this is not the advice you're looking for, but thinking this way will make the music that the listener, and you, will recognize as valid.
You hear it a lot in old school players. Build your own vocabulary. Use it. Be aware of options. Use your own filters. Play what you hear. Make music.

[Jonah]

New Real Book has all the variants you mention at a time.

My approach to standards from so-called The Great American Songbook is to treat given chords quite freely or if I particularly like some record trying ti pick up this version.
i think also some old songs have no 'orginals' often in concern of composer's intentions and I think it is ok, these songs are realtively simple often use cliche patterns based on functional harmony which allow in turn cliche substitutions. The thing is more about to keep functions there and add or change some colours.
So to me it is the matter of taste.
And Blue Moon is as basic harmonically as can be.
Also in many cases harmonic reference of malody is enough.
One can actually reduce it to just I - I - IV - V anf it will sound ok too.

Long Ago and Far Way - to me at least within the phrase it sounds like you can play almost anything if you just keep basic functions working. It will not ruin the song

Though in But Beatiful, We'll Be Together Again or Alfie it seems like you need to keep in my mind particular chords besides what is there in melody, chords there add important identy to the song.

In many Cole Porter songs chords can be very important because his melodic solutions are very mimimalistic - he often uses one or two short repetitive motives with very small pitch range that do not really describe the harmony and the chords played behind become substantial part of the song.
To some degree it concerns many songs by Duke Ellington - I'd even say with Duke it can be important to hear how he played them to get the vibe and idea of application of harmony.

[Christian Miller]

Have a listen to some different versions. Easy thing to do these days.

Blue Moon is a surprisingly hip tune.

charts wise I always like looking at a few and comparing. Have a look at this for instance, as basic as it gets Blue Moon

i tend to regard the Real Book with the same sort of attitude one may treat the geographical writings of Herodotus (it’s an important historical document but that doesn’t mean there are dudes with faces in their chests or an E7b9 chord in bar 8 out of nowhere*) but the New Real book is a pretty accurate source by and large

*nb sixth edition appears to have fixed this, and other, mistakes

[emanresu]

For some reason, I picked Londons version


blue moon - Google Docs


Surely there are mistakes though.


Thanks. I know that "make it your own" is what's it all about. But... hm. It's not so easy. To relax about it. Sometimes

[Jonah]

By the way New Real Book I quoted above says 'Alternate chords are as played by Art Blakey'

Here is the record