The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    hi everyone

    I'm reading the well known Mark Levin book, The Jazz Theory Book.

    On page 66 on exemple 3-93 he give an exemple for g major\minor chord with d on the bass. Why is he adding the note "a" or "la" to the chord ?, the name of the chord doesn't say nothing about that.

    thanks

  2.  

    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    I don't have the book...

    What do you mean by "G minor/major chord"?

    - G Major and/or G Minor?
    - G MinorMajor7th?

    Wouldn't "la" be "A" in the C major scale and "re" in G?

  4. #3
    with D in the bass (the fifth), and i don't know why there is a "A" note there, wich is the "9"
    of the chord, it's not written in name of the chord.

    This chord is supposed to represent the harmony of the fifth mode of the melodic minor scale .

  5. #4

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    Take a photo of the page and let us see it!

    Use the 'Insert Image' button in the post box

  6. #5
    Jazz Theory Book - The G major/minor chord with D in the bass?-20180422_170535-jpg

  7. #6

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    Okay!

    That's a rootless Gmin/M9 - DBbDF#A. It might be called something else (like a Dmaj#5 or even a Bbmaj7#5) except it's clearly labelled as a Gm chord.

    I don't know why he's put the D in the bass although it's fairly common to play chords with the 5th in the bass. And that's piano, not guitar.

    Are you sure there's no explanation in the text? Sometimes a non-root bass is part of a line, ascending or descending, or performs some other function. It's the context which is important.
    Last edited by ragman1; 04-22-2018 at 02:17 PM.

  8. #7

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    It’s a G-6 with the second borrowed for the root and the 7th borrowed for the 6th

  9. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by joe2758
    It’s a G-6 with the second borrowed for the root and the 7th borrowed for the 6th
    But WHY?

  10. #9
    Jazz Theory Book - The G major/minor chord with D in the bass?-jazz-1-jpg

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by ragman1
    But WHY?
    because without any further context that’s how my ear wants to resolve it. Keep in mind I don’t play anything post bop

  12. #11
    Jazz Theory Book - The G major/minor chord with D in the bass?-20180423_0220081-jpgthe chord Dsus9b in exemple 3-78 contains also the "6" but doesn't contain the 7.
    i understand that the "6" in an important degree in the mode and in the harmony but how can i know to add it if the name doesn't say so?

  13. #12
    can you eplain again why does the chord have a "6" and why there is no "7"?

  14. #13

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    Hey nirs,
    It’s the old fashioned way one can arrive at the same chord. I was sort of just thinking outloud, but in hinds sight I think I should have kept to myself. Sorry, I don’t want to add any confusion.

    I think the style this chapter is decribing treats these interesting chords as stable structures in and of themselves. Probably better to listen to someone who has studied this material.

  15. #14
    ....

  16. #15

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    nirs -

    Your original question was: 'Why is he adding the note "a" or "la" to the chord?'. 'La' is the 6th note which, from G, is E but there's no E in the chord.

    The 'A' is probably in the chord it's because Hancock re-harmonised a D chord. That's what it says in the text.

    Do you think it matters very much?

  17. #16

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    Jazz musicians often put a ninth on top of a minor chord just because it sounds good.

  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by nirs
    This chord is supposed to represent the harmony of the fifth mode of the melodic minor scale .
    The fifth mode of melodic minor is Mixolydian b6. A Dom7b13 usually represents that harmony. Puzzled about that Gmin9/D.

  19. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by grahambop
    Jazz musicians often put a ninth on top of a minor chord just because it sounds good.
    I haven't given the OP's complete quote from #1. He was concerned that the chord name (see photo) didn't include the 9.

    Actually it doesn't include a 7 either, or anything else. It's just GmM7/D. But the text explains this (piano) chord was derived from a reharm of a D major chord.

  20. #19

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    Levine explains earlier that, because there is no avoid note in melodic minor harmony, any note from the scale can work.

    So, I'd guess he's thinking of it as a melodic minor chord with a certain root. That is, a particular root and any other notes from the melodic minor scale that sound good and are used in the jazz world.

    That said, he could have labeled that first one Gmmaj9.

    For the second mode, he doesn't stack thirds.

    Consider:

    G A Bb C D E F#

    If you start with G and use every other note, you get G Bb D F# which is Gminmaj7

    But, if you start with A, you get A C E G which is Am7.

    Levine doesn't use those notes. Instead, he calls second mode susb9. That implies A (because it's second mode) D (the 4th) and Bb (the b9). I'm not sure how he gets to whichever notes he then adds. On guitar, one common susb9 voicing is x08755, which adds the 5th and doubles the root (actually, I suspect the low A is usually omitted on guitar).

    But the main underlying principle here is that Levine teaches that melodic minor chords are interchangeable.

    Try it. Pick a tune that has a 7#11 and when you get to the chord play any voicing using any notes from the appropriate melodic minor.

  21. #20

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    Actually it's not really Levine, it's Herbie Hancock who reharmed a D major to Gm/M7 with the 5th in the bass. According to Levine :-)

    Piano solo at 1.40.

    Attached Images Attached Images Jazz Theory Book - The G major/minor chord with D in the bass?-hl_dds_107348017hx33wwr-jpg 

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by nirs
    Jazz Theory Book - The G major/minor chord with D in the bass?-20180423_0220081-jpgthe chord Dsus9b in exemple 3-78 contains also the "6" but doesn't contain the 7.
    i understand that the "6" in an important degree in the mode and in the harmony but how can i know to add it if the name doesn't say so?
    Read the text in the image you posted: Levine clearly tells you that the 6, not the 7, is the important note in a melodic minor susb9 chord. So now you know to add it!

  23. #22

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    what a beautiful track

  24. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by pcjazz
    Read the text in the image you posted: Levine clearly tells you that the 6, not the 7, is the important note in a melodic minor susb9 chord. So now you know to add it!
    Consider Esusb9 (so we can hear the root on a low open string). Play 0x3200. Has a 5th, but no 6th.

    Then play 0x3220. This grip raises the 5th to a 6th. To my ear I an augmented sound, created, apparently, by the interval between the F and and the C#. I prefer the first one in most situations which call for a susb9.

    How do others handle this chord?

  25. #24

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  26. #25
    about the chord in penelope of hanckok , thanks regman1,for some reason i didnt understood the explanation untiil now (my english is a little weak...)

    about the other chord ,the susb9, i read that he levin think that the 6 is important, but where is the 7 ?, and why the name doesnt contain the 6, i still dont get it, it suppose to be the that represent the harmony of the chord and not clear the reason to write this way

    i have another question - levin , on the next pages bring the chord that represent the harmony of the lydian augmented mode,
    that chord is - g with Eb on the bass.
    how can it be that Dsusb9 with a "6" represent the second mode, and g with Eb on the bass represent the lydian augmented if thay are just inversion of one another?, thay made from the same notes...

    here is the g with eb on the bass

    Jazz Theory Book - The G major/minor chord with D in the bass?-20180423_0242361-jpg