quaver box sessions

#010

q u a v e r b o x s e s s i o n s

Contemporary Piano Improvisation

Written by Terence Oh

Copyright 2001


ii

Foreword

Some years ago while I was studyingclassical piano, I attended a Christmas party at

a friend’s home. As we all sat around in acircle chatting, a girl began playing some

carols on the piano. Her style was simple andcasual, yet she played with a sense of freedom

that I didn’t recognise in my preludes andfugues. Firstly, rather than relying on clefs and

notes, she used a chord chart that providedonly a skeleton structure of the song. With this

scribbling of letters and numbers on the page,she formed contemporary chords, created

melodious frills, all tied together with confidentexpression and rhythm. I was literally in awe.

How was this possible? How did she knowwhich notes to play to make that simple carolcome alive? And here I was, having finished

my Grade 6 classical piano exam, yet Icouldn’t create simple tunes without having the

notes in front of me.

From that day on, I vowed to play like thatgirl. I wanted the freedom to express myselfusing my creativity, my style and my notes

rather than relying on somebody else’s. Duringmy final years of classical study, I searched for

any material, or teachers on the subject, butboth were very difficult to come by. Ten years

on, and after long hours of chordexperimentation and transcribing the work ofjazz and contemporary pianists, I now am a

teacher of contemporary improvisation. And,this text is a compilation of guidelines that I

developed from those years of perseverance.These manuals were written to help those who,

like me, want to play like that girl.


iii

CONTENTS

Introduction......................................................................................................................1

Session 1 – Intervals..........................................................................................................2

Session 2 – Scales.............................................................................................................4The Major Scale 4

Session 3 – Triads and Inversions.....................................................................................6Major Triads 6Minor Triads 6Choosing the nearest inversion 7

Session 4 – Basic Chord Relationships..............................................................................9The II – V – I Progression 10

Session 5 – Think ‘Scale’.................................................................................................11

Session 6 – Minor 7th Chords...........................................................................................12Playing the Minor 7th 12Think ‘Scale’ 13

Session 7 – Suspended and Major 2nd Chords..................................................................14The Major 2nd Chord 15Inversions of the 2 Chord 15Slash Chords 16Summary of Rules 16

Session 8 – Frilly Beginnings..........................................................................................18

Session 9 – The Major 7th and Major 9th Chords.............................................................20The Major 7th chord and its Inversions 20When to Use the Maj7 22Running with a maj7 23The Maj9 Chord 24

Session 10 – Minor 9th and Minor 11th Chords..................................................................26When to use Minor 9th Chords 27Minor 11th Chords 28Running with the 9th and 11th 29

Session 11 - The Dominant 7th Family..............................................................................31When to use the V7 Series 31

Session 12 - Expression...................................................................................................34

Session 13 – Putting It Together......................................................................................35Conclusion 37


Introduction 1

Introduction

All of us desire to play with freedom, to acquire the ability to sit at the pianoand just create music - not to be restricted by the notes printed on a page. We’d love to play, perhaps nothing in particular, but to simply play the waywe feel. Unfortunately, most who have some form of musical training, wereraised to play notes exactly as they appear. Any deviation from the printedscore is deemed a mistake. In this course however, experimentation, alongwith the mistakes it brings, is highly encouraged, because it is only whenwe play outside our comfort zones that we discover interesting harmoniesand effects not previously considered.

Whether you are a beginner or have a solid classical upbringing, this textaims to provide you with a foundation in music creation rather than solelyfocusing on piano playing. In practical terms, you will learn to playcontemporary pieces of music using the given chord symbols and notesmerely as a guide, or a basis from which to work on. In short, this text takesyou on your first steps in the art of playing notes that do not appear on thepage.

There are numerous, comprehensive books available on classical musictheory and to a lesser extent, jazz theory and improvisation, however verylittle deal with general improvisation in contemporary music. This manualaims to bridge the gap between the two streams where most popular musicfalls into. Much of the material covered here stems from jazz theory and istherefore also a good introduction into the subject of jazz and blues.

To gain the most from this course, it is assumed that you have some basicmusical background, that is, you have the ability to read and play notesconfidently in both clefs. If you do not, please spend the time to acquirethis skill before beginning. The first three sessions contain an overview ofthe minimum theory required to fully grasp the concepts covered.Regardless of your level of experience, please work through thesesessions, as it does pave the way for the material that follows.

This text is the first of two manuals, focussing largely on major scaleharmony and the modification of chords. The second manual deals withdifferent playing styles, introduces jazz and blues and the more subtle, finerpoints of improvisation. Practically speaking, at the completion of thismanual, you should be able to take simple to moderate pieces ofcontemporary music, and add your own distinct flavour and color to the songusing chord and rhythm alterations, and the inclusion of runs and riffs.Along the way, you will also develop many of your own chord progressionsthat will enable you to play freely, composing and creating music wheneveryou sit at the piano.

Let’s now begin this course with the one golden rule:

If it sounds good, then it’s right.

S1 q u a v e r b o x s e s s i o n s

Intervals 2

Session 1 – Intervals

Intervals are the building blocks of all melody and harmony. It is theunderstanding of intervals and their qualities that will allow you to playintelligently - to make wise choices when improvising. Because of theirimportance, we shall begin our course with an overview of musicalintervals.

Simply put, an interval is the distance between any two notes. Forexample, if you play a C and the G above it, you have played an interval ofa perfect fifth. By starting at C and counting up the notes in the scale of Cmajor as shown in Fig 1.1, G is the fifth note encountered, hence theinterval is a perfect fifth.

Figure 1.14

Intervals of a fourth, fifth and eighth are known as perfect due to the exactratios in their frequencies. From a musical point, although hollow inquality, perfect intervals exhibit a certain ‘purity’ when played.

All other intervals that appear on the major scale are major intervals, eg.C–E is a major third. If a major interval is reduced by a semitone, itbecomes a minor interval, eg. C–Eb is a minor third. And reducing aperfect fifth by a semitone results in a diminished fifth.

Figure 1.2 contains examples of all the intervals within an octave. Playand listen to the quality of each example. Listen to the hollowness of theperfect intervals as compared to major intervals. Which intervals soundharmonious and which sound dissonant?

Figure 1.24

Good pianists can usually identify an interval upon hearing it, and caninvert intervals quickly. Knowing your intervals and the effect that eachone creates will allow you to build chords and melodies that have theappropriate quality for the given moment.

Keep this in mind as you work through this course as I will often mentionintervals in my discussions. Remember, they are the building blocks ofall melody and harmony, so the more familiar you are with intervals, themore melodious and harmonious you will be!


Intervals 3

Exercise 1.0

Name the following Intervals:

1 C - E Maj 3rd

2 E - C Min 6th

3 F - A

4 F - C

5 C - F

6 G - D

7 E - B

8 A - E

9 A - C

10 D - B

11 Bb - Db

12 Eb - Ab

13 C - Bb

14 Ab - B

15 G - F

Exercise 1.1

What note is required to create the following intervals?

1 C - Perfect 5th

2 F - Perfect 4th

3 F - Major 3rd

4 D - Minor 3rd

5 G - Minor 7th

6 A - Minor 7th

7 C - Major 7th

8 G - Major 6th

9 A - Major 2nd

10 A - Minor 3rd

11 Bb - Major 7th

12 Eb - Minor 2nd

13 C - Minor 6th

14 Ab - Minor 7th

15 C - Diminished 5th

Ask a friend to play a few intervals for you at random and try to determinewhether the interval is perfect, major, minor or diminished . Once you cando this, take it one step further and try to fully describe the interval. Youmay want to begin by trying to distinguish the following more commonintervals: Maj 2nd, Perf 4th, Perf 5th, Min 7th, and Maj 7th.

4 If you inverted the notes in a major interval, the result is aminor interval and vice versa. Their positions will alwaysadd up to 9, eg. invert a Maj 3rd and you get a Min 6th and3 + 6 = 9.

4 An inverted perfect interval remains perfect , eg. Perf 4th

inverted is a Perf 5th and 4 + 5 = 9. Now what do you getwhen you invert a diminished 5th?


Scales 4

Session 2 – Scales

Not many people conjure up pleasant images at the mention of ‘scales’.Thoughts of struggling pianists aimlessly running their fingers up and downthe keyboard often enter our minds. But, believe me when I say scales canbe enjoyable, and so are the rewards of knowing your scales well. After all,scales do provide us with pools of notes from which we can create beautifulchords and melodies.

The first section of this course deals primarily with major scale harmonyand it is therefore important that you are familiar with all the major scalesand how they are constructed. Whether you have a strong classical pianobackground or perhaps you’re just starting out, it is important that youregularly practise all the scales on the following page to improve yourplaying technique. Do not be fooled into thinking, “I’ll rarely play a song inGb major so I don’t need to practise that scale”. As you’ll soon discover,many interesting chords are constructed from each scale, and you don’tnecessarily have to be playing a song in Gb in order to use the Gb majorscale.

As you work through each scale, first memorise the notes that appear in thescale then remember their positions on the scale. The ability to do this willprove useful in later sessions.

The Major Scale

The word ‘scale’ is derived from the Latin word ‘scala’ which means‘ladder’. Now although the rungs on a ladder are evenly spaced, the noteson a scale are often not. Let’s begin by considering the simplest pianoscale. Beginning on the note C, the succeeding white notes on thekeyboard form a major scale as shown in Fig 2.1. The major scale has aset order of tones (T) and semitones (ST) that distinguish it from any othertype of scale.

Figure 2.14

Knowing this order will allow you to derive a major scale in any key. Forexample, to work out the G major scale, simply start on G, then play thenote one tone above it, then the note one tone above that, then a semitoneabove that, and so on until you reach the G an octave higher as shown inFig 2.2.

Figure 2.24

Note that the last four notes in the scale of C major are the first four notes inthe G major scale. The remaining four notes differ to the C major scale inthat the F is raised to F#. This is done to preserve the correct order of tonesand semitones in the major scale. Using the same principle, the last fournotes of the G major scale form the first four notes of the D major scale, andonce again, the seventh note is raised to preserve the tone-semitone order.

It is possible to cycle through all twelve major scales using this technique.This order, where each successive scale is a fifth higher than the previousscale is known as the Cycle of Fifths. The following page lists all the majorscales for your reference – practise these regularly, one hand at a time,until you can play each scale accurately and confidently.


Scales 5

C Major

G Major

D Major

A Major

E Major

B Major

Gb Major

Db Major

Ab Major

Eb Major

Bb Major

F Major

4 The Cycle of Fifths

The order in which the scales are shown is known as thecycle of fifths and it is recommended that when practisinganything in all twelve keys, this order is used.

Alternatively, many musicians prefer working around thecycle in reverse order where each scale is a fifth lower (ora fourth higher) than the previous one. This is becausethis order tends to occur naturally in music, simulatingcommon chord progressions. To do this, start from thebottom of the page and work your way up.


Triads and Inversions 6

Session 3 – Triads and Inversions

Triads consist of three notes stacked on top of each other where each noteis a third higher than the one below it – hence the name triad. There arefour types of triads: major, minor, diminished and augmented as shown inFig 3.1. Incidentally, the terms also accurately reflect a student’spractising habits – the majority of time is spent on major chords, minorchords are a minority, and by the time they get around to learningdiminished chords, so too has their interest!

Figure 3.14

Our initial focus will be on major and minor triads and it is vital that youpractise these triads in every key. Now this may seem daunting at first, butwith a bit of persistence, things will become easier after you’ve workedthrough a few keys. Realise that triads are the simplest form of chords, soin order to play fancy modified chords, you first need to be fluent with yourtriads. For starters, notice that lowering the 3rd in a major triad results in aminor triad.

Major Triads

Let’s begin with the C major triad. There are three notes in the triad andconsequently, there are three unique combinations of arranging thesenotes, ie. C E G, E G C and G C E. These arrangements are known asinversions and are shown in Fig 3.2.

Figure 3.24

You may be most familiar with the root position, but it is important not todefault to this inversion every time a C major chord appears on the page.Why? Because your playing would soon become uninteresting and wouldlack variety and character. Play each of the inversions in Fig 3.2 andlisten to the subtle differences in each. Which inversion sounds thestrongest? Changing the inversion of a chord changes all the intervalsplayed. As a result some chords (which we will study later) may soundsweet in root position but harsh in first inversion.

Minor Triads

Minor triads differ from major triads in that the third is lowered by asemitone. So in the above example, the third of C is E, so lower the E toEb to create the C minor triad. Fig 3.3 shows the C minor triad in all threeinversions. Play Fig 3.3, and once again, listen to the differing qualities ofeach inversion.

Figure 3.34

As you play each inversion, observe and memorise your hand positions.Then make it a major triad and do the same.

4 Use the following fingering when playing triads

Root position: 1 3 51st inversion 1 2 52nd inversion 1 3 5



Choosing the nearest inversion

Play the four bar chord sequence in Fig 3.4. Then play Fig 3.5. Bothexamples contain the same chords, however different inversions were used.In Fig 3.4, only root position triads were played resulting in a ‘choppy’sound, but in Fig 3.5, inversions were chosen that minimised handmovement between each chord, resulting in a much smoother progression.

Figure 3.44

Figure 3.54

Here’s a suggestion when choosing inversions: if any notes in the chordyou are about to play are present in the chord you are currently playing,retain those notes. For example, in Fig 3.5, when proceeding from the F tothe Dm chord, we see that the notes F and A are common to both chords, sowe retain those positions. The C doesn’t appear in the Dm chord so weslide it up one tone to the nearest D.

Moving to the nearest inversion with each chord change will not only ensureyour progressions are smooth, but will provide you valuable experience atrearranging notes within a chord. This is especially useful when we dealwith larger chords in the sessions to come.

Exercise 3.1

Write down the notes from bottom to top that make up the followinginversions. Then play each chord in all three inversions using thefingering mentioned on the previous page. As you play each chord, aim tomemorise each inversion.

1 C 1st inversion E G C

2 F 2nd inversion

3 Bb root position

4 Eb 1st inversion

5 G 2nd inversion

6 Am 1st inversion

7 Bm root position

8 Gm 1st inversion

9 Dm 2nd inversion

10 D 1st inversion



Exercise 3.2

The aim of this exercise is to observe the different qualities of eachinversion due to the different intervals that exist in each inversion of a triad.For each chord, write down all the intervals that exist within the inversionas shown in example 2 below.

1 F root position

2 F 1st inversion A – C: Min 3rd

A – F: Min 6th

C – F: Perf 4th

3 F 2nd inversion

4 Dm root position

5 Dm 1st inversion

6 Dm 2nd inversion

Practise your major and minor triads in all inversions, using thefollowing checklist to ensure all keys are practised.

Major Minor

Key Root 1st 2nd Root 1st 2nd

C

F

Bb

Eb

Ab

Db

Gb

B

E

A

D

G


Basic Chord Relationships 9

Session 4 – Basic Chord Relationships

In the previous session, you familiarised yourself with triads and theirinversions. Here we look at how these chords relate to each other to formmusical structures. In understanding this, you will know what chords toexpect when playing in any given key, and therefore also know what theavailable chords are when creating your own progressions.

Consider the major scale of C as shown in Fig 4.1. The C major triad isderived from this scale and we can see that C, E and G are the first, thirdand fifth notes of this scale. Now have another look at Fig 4.1 and see ifyou can determine any other triads (major or minor) that you can constructbased on the notes in the C major scale. For example, the A minor triadconsists of the notes A, C and E and all these notes appear in the C scale.

Figure 4.14

You should be able to find six triads in all – three major and three minor.Regardless of the key you are in, there will always exist three major andthree minor triads that can be constructed from the scale of that key. In thekey of C, these six chords are given the following Roman numeral valuesaccording to their position on the scale:

Figure 4.24

There is no ambiguity between major and minor for each position on thescale, eg. II cannot represent a D major chord because the D major triadcontains an F# which is not part of the C major scale. Notice also that thethree major chords are I, IV and V and the three minor chords are theircorresponding relative minors, ie. Am is the relative minor of C, Dm is therelative minor of F and Em relates to G. So to work out the six primarychords in any key, first determine the I, IV and V chords, then determinetheir relative minor chords.

Very often, entire songs are written using only these six chords (or somevariation of them), and the ability to quickly recognise which chords areplayable in a given key is an essential tool when improvising anddeveloping your own chord sequences.

Exercise 4.1

Write down the 6 triad names that are derived from the following majorscales:

I II III IV V VI

C

F

Bb

G

D

A


Basic Chord Relationships 10

Exercise 4.2

Below are listed some chord sequences with one or more chords missingin each. Using the table you completed in Exercise 4.1, determine whatkey the sequence is in, then choose a suitable chord to fill in the blanks.Often there may be more than one appropriate chord that you can use, soplay each option until you are satisfied it fits well.

C – F – Dm – – C

C – Am – – G – C

F – Dm – – – F

G – Am – – – G

D – – - – D

Bb – – - –

A – – - –

Repeat Exercise 4.2, but this time move to the nearest inversion asdescribed in the previous session. This is a very useful habit to acquire,and you will be constantly reminded to practise this in all exercises.

The II – V – I Progression

A common progression, or series of chords, that you will encounter is theII–V–I progression. As it’s name suggests, this progression consists ofthree chords, namely, the II, V and I chords of the key you are in. It’spopularity stems from the fact that it establishes and defines the key inwhich you are playing. Consequently, a song or a section of music willoften end with a II-V-I progression.

Fig 4.3 shows an example of this progression in the key of C. Playthrough the example several times to familiarise yourself with the sound ofthe progression and notice how naturally each chord resolves to thefollowing one. Did you use any II-V-I progressions in Exercise 4.2?

Figure 4.34

Exercise 4.3

Using the six primary chords in the keys given below, create then play yourown chord sequences, ending each with a II–V–I progression.

II V I

C

F

G

Bb

D


Think ‘Scale’ 11

Session 5 – Think ‘Scale’

Imagine for a moment that you are playing a simple song in the key of F.As you would expect, you encounter chord symbols like Bb, C and Gm.And as you play each one of these chords, your mind quickly processeswhat three notes make up a Bb chord, a C chord and a G minor chord.

In short, you have restricted yourself to playing three specific notes foreach chord you encounter, and by limiting yourself to three notes, you veryquickly run out of interesting ways to play the chord. But many of us dothis because we have been taught that a Bb chord consists entirely of Bb,D and F and so that’s what we play.

This course aims to change that mindset. It is important to realise that achord is essentially just a few notes taken from a scale and playedsimultaneously. Remember that in the previous session we derived the sixprimary chords from a scale – the scale is the unifying element. As aresult, because our Bb chord appears in the song that is in the key of F, itcan consist of notes in the F major scale apart from Bb, D and F. Thesame can be said for our C chord and Gm chord.

Consider the following chord progression:

F – Bb – Gm – C – F

Instead of playing the standard triads in the right hand, let’s pick three othernotes from the F major scale as in Fig 5.1. At random, we’ve selected A, Dand E. Using these notes in the treble while maintaining the bass line, ourprogression can be played as shown in Fig 5.2.

Figure 5.14

Figure 5.24

Play Fig 5.2 and listen to the effect. Depending on the bass note, ourrandom treble notes may be rich or they may be too dissonant to accept.Now try it for yourself. Pick another three notes from the F scale and playthem over the bass note of each chord. How does it sound? Now if youhad thought ‘chord’ as you played each chord, you would not even haveconsidered playing the three notes you just chose, but when you think‘scale’, your options now increase immensely allowing more interestingeffects and tones.

At this point you might be wondering, ‘are you telling me I can playabsolutely anything in the F major scale over any chord in the progressionand it would sound fine?’ Well, yes and no. Obviously, a song requiressome structure, and melody and bass lines may need to be retained, soyou can’t just play absolutely anything! But, within the structure of thesong you do have the freedom to construct chords and runs using all thenotes in the scale of the key you are in. Over time, you will discover foryourself the most appropriate notes in the scale to include in your chordsand runs. And this, in a nutshell, is the main focus of this text. As youcontinue through the rest of this course, remember the underlying principle– think ‘scale’.


Minor 7th Chords 12

Session 6 – Minor 7th Chords

Fundamental to improvisation is the ability to create a certain effect byaltering a given chord. You may have noticed that the triads you practisedin the previous sessions sound a little uninteresting. The triads, althoughharmonically pure, lack character and depth. Chords are therefore oftenmodified to produce a richer, more contemporary quality, and to create theappropriate mood for the given moment.

In our quest to think ‘scale’, we need to understand firstly which scale touse, and secondly, the resulting quality of the chord when we include othernotes from the scale. For example if you were playing a Dm chord andwanted to create a richer feel, which notes would you add or replace? Whatscale would these notes come from? Which inversion would you use?

In this session we focus first on basic modification of the minor chord thentackle major chords in the sessions to follow. It may take several weeks ofpractise before you feel comfortable with the concept but it is richlyrewarding as you are no longer confined to play chords exactly as they arewritten on the page.

Playing the Minor 7th

Imagine playing a song in the key of C and you come across a Dm chordsymbol. You know that playing a simple D minor triad is quite lame, soyou modify the chord by adding an extra note. But which note should youadd? To create a Dm7 chord, you would add the minor 7th, ie. C, as shownin Fig 6.1. Minor seventh chords are defined by the presence of a minorthird and a minor seventh. Play both the Dm triad and the Dm7 chord andlisten to the difference. The Dm7 sounds richer and more contemporary.

Figure 6.14

However, instead of playing all four notes with the right hand, you can playthe D with your left hand, and play F A C with your right hand as shown inFig 6.2(a). Because your left hand plays the D, it is unnecessary to repeatthis note in the treble. As a result, your right hand is playing an F triadwhich is the relative major of Dm. Similarly, in (b) the relative major of Em7is G, so the G triad appears in the treble of an Em7 chord.

Figure 6.24

(a) (b) (c)

In other words, when playing a m7 chord, the left hand plays the root of thechord, while the right hand plays the relative major triad. Playing a m7chord instead of a minor triad can be done in virtually all situations.

Now play a few simple chord charts replacing all minor chords with m7using the above technique. It is important to begin associating the relativemajor every time you play a minor chord as this will greatly help you in thesessions to come. So whenever you see a Dm, think ‘F chord’ in the righthand. Whenever you play an Am, think ‘C chord’ in the right hand, and soon. And remember, the relative major is a minor third (or 3 semitones)above the root.


Minor 7th Chords 13

In Session 4 we saw that in any given key, there exists six primary chords:three minor chords, and each of their relative major chords. Because theright hand now plays the relative major triad on a m7 chord, it is possiblewhen playing simple songs to only play three major triads in your righthand while your left hand simply picks out the root as the bass note. InFig 6.3 the six primary chords of C are played. However, notice that thetreble consists only of three major triads, namely, C, F and G. The bassnote determines whether the chord is major or minor.

Figure 6.34

Think ‘Scale’

So why can a m7 be played instead of a minor triad? In the aboveexample, we focus on the C major scale because our progression is in thekey of C. Now Fig 6.4 shows the C major scale but it begins on D insteadof C. If we select the 1st, 3 rd , 5 th and 7th notes of this scale, we form theDm7 chord. Because the chord can be formed from the C major scale, itcan be played in the key of C major. The same can be said for Em7 andAm7.

Figure 6.44

Exercise 6.1

Write down the relative major of the following minor keys. Then play eachminor chord as m7 chords until you can do so without hesitation.

1 Cm Eb

2 Fm

3 Gm

4 Dm

5 Ebm

Exercise 6.2

Practise the following progressions playing all minor chords as m7 andmove to the nearest inversion with each chord change.

1 F – Dm – Gm – C - F

2 D – Em – F#m – G - D

3 C – G/B – Am – G – C

4 C – G/B – Dm – F/G – C

5 G – D/F# - Em – Am – C – C/D - G


Sus and Major 2nd Chords 14

Session 7 – Suspended and Major 2nd Chords

Let’s now consider the modification of major triads. Major chords can bebroadly separated into two categories: those that function as V chords andthose that do not. Consequently, the alterations that may be applied to Vchords differ to the modifications of other major chords. So in the key of C,for example, we would modify G, the V chord, differently to the way we treatC and F.

Suspended Chords

Suspended chords are denoted as sus and are often played on a V chord.In its simplest form, a sus chord is a major triad with the 4th included.However, for now, to keep things simple and uncluttered, we shall replacethe 3rd with the 4th every time we play a sus chord. Play Fig 5.1 and listento the effect of the Gsus chord.

Figure 7.14

The suspended chord is so called because the third is raised orsuspended to a fourth. A song rarely ends on this chord because it wouldcreate the impression that the piece was left hanging or suspended withoutcoming to a proper close. In the above example, the Gsus chord isfollowed by a G triad. Notice how naturally the suspended chord resolvesor lowers to the G major triad.

The next time you come across a V-I progression, raise the third and playthe V as a sus chord. If the V chord is to be played over several beats, tryresolving it to the V triad at some stage as in Fig 7.1. If the V is not part ofa V-I progression, then use your judgment as to whether the sus soundsappropriate in that situation.

Exercise 7.1

What is the V chord in the following keys?

1 C

2 F

3 G

4 D

Exercise 7.2

Play the following II – V – I progressions moving to the nearest inversionwith each chord change. Treat each bar as having four beats. Play thesus chord for two beats then resolve it.

1 | Am7 | Dsus D | G |

2 | Em7 | Asus A | D |

3 | Dm7 | Gsus G | C |

4 | Gm7 | Csus C | F |

4 In jazz music, the 3rd is often included in a sus chord.Because the 3rd and the 4th are a semitone apart (minor 2nd

interval), interesting dissonant effects can be createddepending on which inversion is chosen.



The Major 2nd Chord

For a V chord that is part of a V-I progression, the V can be played as a suschord. For all other major triads, the major 2nd substitution is an easymeans of creating a more contemporary sound. In a major 2nd chord, wereplace the 3rd with the 2nd. Major 2nd chords are denoted as ‘2’ and I willrefer to them as ‘2’ chords throughout this course. Play Fig 7.2 andcompare the sound of C2 with a plain C triad. The C2 chord is distinctlymore colorful and more modern.

Figure 7.24

Virtually any major triad can be played as a ‘2’ chord and consequently,this is often a student’s favourite substitution as it is easy to execute withmaximum result. Play Fig 7.3 and listen to the effect of the major 2nd

substitutions. Like suspended chords, it isn’t strictly necessary in a major2nd chord to omit the 3rd , but for the time being, we will do so to avoidclutter.

Figure 7.34

Notice that in Fig 7.3 the Gsus was chosen even though it is not part of aV-I progression. In this situation, both the Gsus or G2 chords would beappropriate. In comparison with the Vsus, the V2 can almost sound minorand it is up to you as to the which chord you prefer. Experiment with boththe V2 and Vsus chords in a variety of situations until you gain a feel ofwhat works and what doesn’t.

Inversions of the 2 Chord

As with the triads you practised in Session 3, It is important to be familiarwith sus and ‘2’chords in all three inversions. As mentioned earlier,moving to the nearest inversion ensures your progressions are smooth. Sotake the time to practise this in all twelve keys. Play each inversion of theC2 chord shown in Fig 7.4 and listen to the quality of each chord

Figure 7.44

Notice that the 1st inversion of the C2 chord sounds sharper and has aminor quality. It also has a broader sound because the span of the chord islarger. The reason that 1st inversion sound more minor is because itcontains a minor 7th interval (D-C). Both root position and 2nd inversiononly contain major and perfect intervals. Practically speaking, if youdesire to create a sharper, less major sound when playing a ‘2’ chord, usethe first inversion.

4 Note that in the right hand, a C2 chord in 2nd inversionresembles a Gsus chord in root position



Slash Chords

Slash chords differ from other chords in that the bass note is not the root ofthe right hand chord. Instead, it is specified in the denominator of the chordsymbol. So a C/Bb chord would imply you play a C chord with your righthand and the note Bb with your left.

Slash chords can be misleading at times because they are often used tosimplify the chord notation and may disguise the true underlying chord.For example, C/Bb is really a form of Bbmaj13 chord, but for many, it ismuch easier to think of a C triad over a Bb than it is to work out the latter.

As a result, if you modified the above chord as though it was a C chord, theresult may not be as expected. Ideally, the true chord should bedetermined first before modification, but this can be a tricky task and weshall cover this much later in the text.

For the time being, here is a simple guideline. Replace the major triad inthe numerator of the slash chord with a ‘2’ chord, eg play C2/Bb instead ofC/Bb. If it sounds better, then use it, if not, leave the chord unaltered.

We mentioned earlier that a V chord may be played as Vsus. If it appearsin the treble of a slash chord however, this can be very dissonant. This isbecause the V chord is not functioning as a V in this situation – you willrarely see a V slash chord in a V-I progression. Play Dsus/F# as shown inFig 7.5 and listen to the result. The Dsus/F# is dissonant due to the minor9th interval between F# and the G an octave above it.. Now play D2/F#.Notice how much smoother it is and how it adds a minor flavour to theplain D/F# chord.

Figure 7.54

The minor quality of D2/F# results from the chord resembling F#m7 asseen in Fig 7.5. If the D was removed from this chord, the three remainingnotes, F#, E and A are common to F#m7. An ambiguity is now created asto whether the chord functions as a major or a minor and it is this tonalambiguity that characterises much of today’s popular music.

In short, when playing a slash chord, either change the chord in the trebleto a major 2nd chord, or leave it as it is.

Summary of Rules

We’ve introduced a number of modification techniques in the precedingsessions, and before moving on, it would be beneficial to revisit a few ofthe key points covered so far. These are summarised below:

• Chords are merely a selection of notes from a scale, so think ‘scale’

• Choosing the nearest inversion at each chord change will ensureyour progressions are smooth.

• All minor chords may be played as m7.

• V chords may be played as either Vsus or V2. If the V is part of a V-Iprogression, Vsus is a stronger option.

• All other major chords may be played as 2 chords

• When playing a slash chord, either change the chord in the treble toa major 2nd chord, or leave it unaltered



Exercise 7.3

Write down the notes in the following ‘2’ chords then play each chord in all3 inversions.

1 C2

2 F2

3 G2

4 D2

5 Bb2

6 Eb2

7 A2

8 E

Exercise 7.4

Play the following slash chords as they are written.

G2/B D2/F# C/D Bb/C

G/F D/C C/Bb Bb2/D

Exercise 7.5

Play the following progressions applying all the principles stated on theprevious page. Play each bar in 4/4 time. When two chords appear in abar play each chord for two beats.

1 | F | Bb | Bb/D | C | F |

2 | D | D/F# | G | G/A | D |

3 | F | C/Bb Bb | F | Bb |

4 | G | D/F# | G/B | D | G |

5 | G | F/G | C/G | G |

As you work through these progressions, try to insert some variation withineach bar, for example, instead of playing the same chord four times (ie.once on each beat) per bar, perhaps revert to the simple triad on one or twoof the beats as shown in Fig 7.6. Once you are confident in varying yourchords in each bar, experiment by including a few extra notes in yourchords - notes that belong to the scale of the key you are playing in. If youcreate any sounds that you like, make a note of what you played and try torepeat it when playing another progression. Remember, think ‘scale’.

Figure 7.64

The following page lists several examples containing all the modificationsdiscussed so far. Play each example and pay attention to the inversionschosen, the quality of each chord, and the modifications made.


Frilly Beginnings 18

Session 8 – Frilly Beginnings

I’m sure all of us have heard a pianist play an attention grabbing riff thathas left us in awe. Within a bar, they’ve started from the upper registersand swiftly tinkled their way down to the bass. Undoubtedly, this is one ofthe most popular skills that a student wishes to acquire.

In this session, we’re going to take our first step in that direction, but beforewe begin, let me make an important point. Being a good musician is notabout playing fancy notes – it’s knowing when to play these notes thatmatter. You will be far more successful if you can execute simple runsconfidently and appropriately, rather then playing fancy riffs at inappropriatemoments.

Consider the two bars shown in Fig 8.1. Given the progression C-F, youwould play a major 2nd chord or a major triad on each beat with your righthand similar to that shown below.

Figure 8.14

To make these two bars more colorful, we could form a simple run bybreaking up the chord on the fourth beat into four semiquaver notes asshown in Fig 8.2. Because our chords currently contain three notes, andour run requires four, repeat one of the notes. The run is played on the beatbefore the chord change because this strengthens the first beat of the newchord. For lack of a better analogy, the run can be likened to a wind-upbefore a punch.

Figure 8.24

Repeat the above sequence several times until it flows smoothly from therun to the next chord. Keep a strong rhythm, accenting each beat andaccent the first note of the run. This will help keep the rest of your runeven. When creating your own runs, break up the chord that you wouldhave played on the fourth beat. This will make things easier for you asyour fingers are already in the correct position as in Fig 8.2.

Now that you are playing four semiquavers on the last beat of the bar, itgives you a lot less time to get your fingers positioned for the next chord.So always prepare yourself by looking ahead at the chord in the next bar,and as you begin the run, plan and visualise which inversion you will usefor the next chord.

Fig 8.3 and 8.4 on the following page demonstrates the use of runs playedon the beat before a chord change. As you play each example, notice howthe run is formed, and realise that inserting a run is an option – you don’thave to play a run before every single chord change. Decide on what isappropriate.

Also, play a few songs that you are already familiar with and choose ahandful of chords to break up to use as runs. Until you gain the confidenceat doing this, you may want to mark on your chord chart exactly where youfeel a run should be played before playing the song.


Frilly Beginnings 19

Figure 8.34

Figure 8.44

Exercise 8.1

By constructing broken chords as shown in Fig 8.3 and 8.4, play theprogressions in Fig 8.5 and Fig 8.6, and substitute the last beat of each barwith a broken chord run. Practise these progressions until you can playthem smoothly and confidently.

Figure 8.54

Figure 8.64

Using the same technique, play the following progressions, treating eachchord as lasting for one bar.

1 C2 – F2 (repeat)

2 G2 – C2 (repeat)

3 C2 – G2/B – Am7 – F/G – C

4 Bb2 – Eb2 – Cm7 – Fsus – Bb2

The aim of this session was to familiarise yourself with executing a run.Once you can play broken chord runs both confidently and smoothly, wecan then focus on altering the rhythm and the notes used in the run. Forthe meantime, keep practising these runs in all the songs and progressionsyou play.


Session 9 – The Major 7th and Major 9th Chords

Consider the scale of C major in Fig 9.1 If we selected the 1st, 3 rd , 5 th and7th notes of this scale we end up with the chord: C E G B. This chord isknown as Cmaj7 and is essentially a C major triad with the seventh note ofthe C major scale added – it is defined by the inclusion of a major 3rd and amajor seventh. If we also included the 9th note, D, in our pool of notes, weform Cmaj9. Both these chords are shown in Fig 9.2.

Figure 9.14

Figure 9.24

As you play each chord, notice that the maj7 and maj9 are certainly richerthan the simple triad, however, they also create an entirely different effectto the ‘2’ chord we have been using. To demonstrate this, play the II-V-Iprogression in Fig 9.3. In part (a), the progression ends on a C2 and in (b),it ends on a Cmaj7. How would you describe the quality of each ending?

Figure 9.34

(a) (b)

Unlike the C2, the ‘airy’ feel about the maj7 and maj9 chords may notalways be suitable replacements when playing a full bar of C, however,their ‘sweetness’ lends themselves for use as passing chords or the basisfor a run. We will deal firstly with the maj7, however, due to their similarnature, most of the discussion is also applicable to the maj9 chord.

The Major 7th chord and its Inversions

Major seventh chords are used frequently in contemporary music andextensively in jazz. Depending on the inversion you choose, maj7 chordscan be rich and sweet or they can be sharp and create tension – thismakes them a very versatile tool to improvise with. Play the chords in Fig9.4. Notice the evenness and smoothness of chord (a) compared to thedissonance created in (b) and (c) where the notes B and C form a minor 2nd

interval.

Figure 9.44

(a) (b) (c)

As you can see, the choice of inversion determines the mood of the chord.Also notice that in chord (b) above, the minor second interval is at thebottom of the chord. This reduces the harsh effect of the semitone gap. Ifyou played a Cmaj7 inversion where the semitone interval was at the top ofthe chord, as in (c), the strength of the dissonance is far greater.


Exercise 9.1

It may take some practice to quickly determine the seventh note of themajor scale and subsequently play the maj7 chord. Take another look atFig 9.4(b). Notice that the seventh, B, is one semitone below the root, C.Counting down one semitone from the root is much easier than counting upseven notes in the scale, so use this method to determine the seventh inthis exercise. Write down the notes that make up the following majorseventh chords and play each one. Try the various inversions of eachchord and notice the different characteristics of each inversion.

1 G∆

2 Bb∆

3 A∆

4 D∆

5 F∆

6 Eb∆

Exercise 9.2

Play each of the II–V–I progressions below moving to the nearest inversionat each chord change. One of the aims of this exercise is to familiariseyourself with the different quality of the major second and major seventhchords. Once you complete this exercise, play the final few bars of a fewsongs you are familiar with and end on a maj7 chord instead of a majortriad or ‘2’ chord. How did it sound? Was it an appropriate ending for allthe songs you played?

1 Am7 – Dsus – G2

2 Am7 – Dsus – Gmaj7

3 Gm7 – Bb/C – Fmaj7

4 Gm7 – Bb/C – F2

5 Em7 – Asus – D2

6 Em7 – Asus – Dmaj7

7 Dm7 – F/G – Cmaj7

8 Cm7 – Eb/F – Bbmaj7

When playing the maj7 chord, it isn’t always necessary to play all fournotes of the chord with your right hand. Because your left hand is playingthe root, feel free to omit the root from the treble as demonstrated in Fig 9.5.This results in a cleaner chord.

Figure 9.54

However, removing the root from the treble eliminates the possibility offorming the beautifully dissonant minor 2nd interval within your right handchord. So as you practise your maj7 chords, experiment by including oromitting the root in the right hand to get a feel for the different colours thischord can produce.


When to Use the Maj7

We’ve suggested in Exercise 9.2 that one possible use of the maj7 chordis to play it as the final chord of a song. This obviously depends on themood and style of the song. More importantly, let’s now focus on how itmay function as a passing chord. The term passing chord is usedbecause such chords are only played in passing, and are held for a shortperiod. Any dissonance created is only brief, and is therefore hardlynoticeable.

Consider a two-bar F-Bb progression. Based on the rules we have coveredso far, the progression may be played as in Fig 9.6.

Figure 9.64

Let’s now insert a maj7 passing chord in each bar. Play Fig 9.7 and noticehow the maj7 chords add a ’sweeter’ touch without spoiling the overall F2-Bb2 quality of each bar. Because the maj7 chords are only held for onebeat, their effect is reduced. On the other hand, if a stronger maj7 feel wasdesired, play the maj7 for more than one beat of the bar – the first beattends to be the strongest.

Figure 9.74

Figure 9.8 shows another interpretation of the F-Bb progression which usesmaj7 substitution to a greater extent while still maintaining the ‘2’ feel. Asyou play the example, notice that the run in the first bar was constructedfrom the notes in the Fmaj7 chord and that a dotted crotchet rhythm wasused to make the example more ‘modern’.

Figure 9.84

In the above examples, which are in the key of F, the maj7 chord was usedin passing over F and Bb chord, that is, the I and IV chords of the key. Vchords cannot be played as Vmaj7 because it cannot be formed from thescale of the key you are in. For example, in the key of F, the V chord is C.The notes in the Cmaj7 chord are C-E-G-B and B does not appear in the Fmajor scale. At this point, remember that I mentioned at the beginning ofSession 7 that the modifications applied to V chords differ to those appliedto I and IV chords.


Running with a maj7

Until now, you played a four note broken chord on the last beat of the bar.This formed your first run. Now let’s be a bit more creative by including themajor 7th in the available pool of notes from which we can form a run or riff.Play Fig 9.9, which demonstrates two of the many possible runs you couldcreate from maj7 chords.

Figure 9.94

Exercise 9.3

Take the time now to experiment with the notes in the maj7 chord. PlayFig 9.9 again, but this time, create your own four note riff on the fourth beatof each bar. The run can take any shape, begin and end on any note withinthe maj7 chord and feel free to repeat notes within the run. Once you havedeveloped a few runs that you like, transpose these runs and use them inthe following progressions on the fourth beat of each bar. Also use maj7passing chords.

1 | F | Bb |

2 | G | C |

3 | C | F |

4 | D | G |

5 | F | Bb | Bb/D | C | F |

6 | D | D/F# | G | G/A | D |

Once you’ve worked through these progressions, use the above techniquein a few songs. Remember that the fastest way to work out the maj7 is tothink ‘one semitone below the root’ and include that note in your majortriad.

It is also possible to play these same runs over chords other than the I andIV. For starters, we could simply swap the runs and chords. Fig 9.10shows the Fmaj7 run being played in the C bar and vice versa. What doyou think of it? Try playing the same runs over other chords in C major, eg.Am, Dm, or G. You may be surprised at how appropriate these runs sound,but remember, the runs and the chords were all formed from the samescale. Remember, think ‘scale’.

Figure 9.104

Strictly speaking, when an Fmaj7 run is played over a C chord, it acquiresa different name. All this will be explained in greater detail in the future butfor the time being, I’m simply encouraging you to use the I and IV maj7chords to develop a few simple runs, then use them often over as manydifferent chords as possible within the key.


The Maj9 Chord

Major ninth chords are similar to major seventh chords in their quality andtexture. As a result, they have similar applications. Now let’s digress for amoment. Remember that the ‘2’ chord can replace the major triad invirtually all situations, creating a more modern feel. The ‘2’ chord wasdefined simply as a major triad with the 2nd added to it as shown in Fig9.11. To simplify the chord, we often omitted the 3rd . Now have anotherlook at Fig 9.11 and notice that the maj9 is essentially a maj7 with the 9th

added to it - the 9th is the same note as the 2nd. As a result, the maj9‘modernises’ the maj7 in the same way that the ‘2’ chord modernises thehumble triad.

Figure 9.114

A casual way of thinking about the maj9 is that it is a blending of both the‘2’ and the maj7 chords. In other words, do not think of a maj9 as a difficultchord which requires you play five specific notes instead of three. Rather,aim to combine the chords you are already familiar with. Here’s anotherthought - realise that the maj9 chord consists of five out of the seven notesin the major scale. The larger the chord becomes, the more it begins toresemble the major scale. So by thinking ‘scale’ instead of ‘chord’, itcreates a freedom for you to play any selection of notes from the scale inthe treble, and your energy can then be devoted to shaping your runs andchords, rather than worrying about playing every single note in the chord.Read the text in Session 5 again to solidify this concept.

Fig 9.12 takes the same example in Fig 9.9, but the runs are now formedfrom the notes within the maj9 chord. Although I have called the riffs maj9runs, begin to think of them purely as notes taken from the major scale. The ‘maj9’ is simply there to provide the shape of the run, so that you arenot playing random notes from the scale. These shapes and patternsformed from the maj9 chord can then be used over other chords within thekey. This explains why we can swap the runs around with confidence asshown in Fig 9.13.

Figure 9.124

Figure 9.134

Let’s now look at more examples that tie together the maj7, maj9 and ‘2’chords. You will see these chords used in a variety of situations. Payattention to the inversions chosen, the notes used within each chord andthe way the runs were constructed. Each example builds on the previousone and increases in complexity.


Figure 9.144

Figure 9.154

Figure 9.164

Figure 9.174


Minor 9th and Minor 11th chords 26

Session 10 – Minor 9th and Minor 11th Chords

Alternatives to the m7 chord are the minor 9th and minor 11th chords. Theseare rich, vibrant chords that may substitute for the minor triad or m7 chord ina variety of situations. Let’s begin with a derivation of these two chords.Consider the C major scale shown in Fig 10.1. Instead of beginning on C,it starts on D. This scale is known as the second mode of C major.

Figure 10.14

By selecting the 1st, 3 rd , 5 th and 7th notes of this scale we form the Dm7chord. Building on this, if we also included the E, G, then B in ourselection, we form the Dm9, Dm11, and Dm13 chords respectively. Thesethree chords are shown in Fig 10.2. Notice how each chord is developedfrom the previous chord by stacking another third on top.

Figure 10.24

For those of you with a classical music upbringing, it might seem foreignthat a C major scale was used to define a family of D minor chords. Let’slook at things from another angle. Back in Session 4, we saw that sixprimary triads can be formed using the notes in any major scale. Using theC major scale, we could form the triads: C, Dm, Em, F, G and Am as shownin Fig 10.3.

Figure 10.34

We then extended that idea beyond the three note triad to include largerchords like Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, etc. All these chords can also be formedfrom the C major scale. Now the same can be said for all the chords in theDm7 family, ie. Dm7 through to Dm13. After all, look again at Figure 10.2 –all the chords consist only of white notes on the keyboard and cantherefore be derived from the C major scale. In fact, the Dm13 chord is theC major scale and conversely, the C scale defines the Dm13 chord and itsfamily. This line of thought stems from mode theory which will beintroduced in the next module.

If you didn’t quite grasp the above explanation, do not stress. For the timebeing, simply realise that to determine the notes in, say, a Gm9 chord youwould have to use the F major scale beginning on G, not the G minorscale. That is, use the second mode of the major scale that is one tonebelow the root.

Exercise 10.1

Name the major scale you would use to derive the following minor chords.Then write down the notes that exist in each chord

1 Am9 Scale: Notes:

2 Em11 Scale: Notes:

3 Fm9 Scale: Notes:



Enough theory for now. Play the Dm9 and Dm11 chord in Fig 10.2. Theyhave a similar quality to the Dm7 chord but sound broader and richer. wehave seen that with the larger major chords, it isn’t always required to playevery single note in the chord. It’s the same in this case - choose the keynotes that give the chord its distinct quality. Common sense would tellyou, for example, that when playing a Dm9 chord, you should include the9th. Often the 3rd or 5th may be omitted (omitting both may thin your chordtoo much) and often the root need only be played in the bass. So on m9and m11 chords you’re left with about four notes to play with your righthand, which is quite manageable.

Fig 10.4 (a) shows a basic Dm9 chord with the 5th omitted. This is one ofmy favourite m9 positions as it is has a distinct sharpness and is easy toplay. On the other hand, if you wanted a richer sound, try (b) where the 7th

is repeated in both the bass and the treble. Fig 10.4 (c) shows a Dm11chord that contains the 7th in the bass, a repeated root in the treble, with a5th, 9 th and 11th. The 3rd has been omitted. As you can see, there arenumerous positions for both these chords.

Figure 10.44

(a) (b) (c)

When to use Minor 9 th Chords

Minor 9th chords are full of character and possess a ‘dark’ quality whenplayed as in Fig 10.4 (a). Because of their distinct sound, they work bestas passing chords, or when held for a longer duration to create thatmysterious feel. m9 chords are ideal for temporarily heightening the effectof a minor chord. Play Fig 10.5 and observe the way the Am9 reallysharpens the minor effect of the bar.

Figure 10.54

Unfortunately, in popular music, the m9 chord cannot be played over allthree primary minor chords in a key, being used only on the II and VIchords. The m9 cannot be played on the III chord as it cannot be formedfrom the scale of the key you are in. Consider the following sequence inthe key of C:

C – Dm – Em – F

We can make the Dm9 substitution because the ninth of Dm is E which ispart of the C major scale. However, the ninth of Em is F# which does notappear in the scale of C and may not be an appropriate substitution in thissituation.

When creating a run over a II or VI chord, aim for the 9th as this is a veryclassy note to include in your run or riff. Examples of this will be given atthe end of this session.

4 As you play each chord, you may experience a slightdiscomfort as your fingers and wrists are in positions youare not used to. These chords are not evenly spaced likethe triads you used to play. As with anything, the moreyou use these positions, the more natural things become,so please persevere!



Exercise 10.1

Play the following progressions making all the necessary substitutions andmoving to the nearest inversion with each chord change. Play eitherbroken chords or maj9 runs on the fourth beat of selected bars. Play m9chords where appropriate:

1 F – Dm – Gm – C – F

2 Amaj7 – A/C# –Bm7 – Esus – Amaj7

3 Bb – F/A – Cm7 – Eb – Bb

4 G – Am7 – Bm7 – C/D - G

Minor 11th Chords

The m11 chord shown in Fig 10.2 contained six notes and can often be toorich to use as a regular substitution for the minor triad. I therefore want tofocus on one simple version of the m11 chord which can be usedfrequently in virtually all situations. But what notes should we include inour simplified m11 chord? Well, in creating a Dm11 chord, we shallinclude a D which is the root of the chord, and the minor third, F, whichdistinguishes it as being a D minor chord. The next obvious candidate isthe 11th which is G. So now we have the three essential notes that makeup Dm11. And to add a bit more color, we include the 7th, C. This Dm11chord is shown in Fig 10.6 below. Play the chord and listen to the effect ofthe G in the treble.

Figure 10.64

The Dm11 is certainly is a lot sharper than Dm7 and has more character,but it has a less distinct quality than the Dm9 and can therefore be usedmore frequently. It can replace a m7 chord freely in most situations withoutfear of clashing with the key or with other band members. But here's thebest part: the beauty of the above m11 is that the right hand resembles anF2 chord. Now back in Session 4, I encouraged you to think of an F triadin the right hand when playing a Dm7. If you've been practising that line ofthinking, all you have to do now is adjust that to ‘think F2’ in the treblewhen playing a Dm11 chord. In general terms, play the root in the bass,then think of the relative major (3 semitones above the root) and play the 2chord with the right hand. From this point onwards, use this simplified m11chord as your default minor chord.

Exercise 10.2

Play the following progressions as they are written. Remember to move tothe nearest inversion with each chord change.

1 C2 – G2/B – Dm11 – F2 – Gsus

2 Fmaj7 – Bbmaj7 – Bb/D – Csus – Dm9

3 G2 – D2/F# - Em9 – Am11 – C2/D – G

4 A2 – E2 – F#m11 – C#m11 – A2

Now play a few songs using m11 as your default minor chord. On the IIand VI chords you have the option of using a m9. Listen to the rich tonescreated when you use these chords.



Running with the 9th and 11th

Before we jump into the examples, let’s go over a few points. Early in thecourse, you were encouraged to always think of the relative major in theright hand when playing any minor chord. This wasn’t only because itprovided a simple means of determining the m7 chord, but rather, it laid thefoundation for the following point, and that is, any improvisation that you doover a major chord can be repeated over its relative minor.

Let’s look at this in more detail. Consider a moderately complex run youcould use when playing an F chord symbol as shown in Fig 10.7 (a). Therun has included the 7th and 9th. In (b), the same run is used, but this timeover a Dm chord symbol. The major 7th of F now becomes the 9th of Dmand the major 9th of F is now the 11th of Dm, so the key notes that youincluded when forming runs over major chords are also the notes to includewhen forming runs over minor chords. In fact, the Fmaj7 family and theDm7 series of chords share many common notes, eg. Fmaj9 = F-A-C-E-G,and Dm11 = D-F-A-C-E-G. As a result, all the riffs and runs you played inthe previous session over major chords can also be used over their relativeminors. You may encounter a few exceptions, but in general, this ruleworks well and will get you off to a good start when improvising over minorchords.

Figure 10.74

(a) (b)

The above principle can also be applied to chord modifications, passingchords, and so on – basically, anything you play over a major chord can beused over its relative minor. This is an extremely powerful rule, because itreduces the bulk of your chords to major chords in the treble.

Exercise 10.3

Play the following two bar progressions repeatedly, using maj7 and maj9chords and runs in the first bar, then repeat the same chords and runs in thetreble of the second bar.

1 F – Dm

2 G – Em

3 C – Am

4 Bb – Gm

5 D – Bm

6 Eb – Cm

7 Ab – Fm

8 A – F#m

The following page lists several examples that demonstrates the use of m9and m11 chords, and the formation of runs over these chords. Observe thedifferent qualities of the 9th and the 11th when included in the minor chordsand notice how the m7 chord in its basic form now plays a lesser role aswe opt for the more colorful m11. Once you’ve studied the examples, try touse the same chord structures and runs in a few songs you are familiarwith.



Figure 10.84

Figure 10.94

Figure 10.104

Figure 10.114


The Dominant 7th Family 31

Session 11 - The Dominant 7th Family

The fifth of any key is known as the dominant. The dominant, or V chord,has a distinctly different function to the I and IV chords and consequently,different modification techniques are applied to the dominant chord. Havea look at Fig 11.1. It is the C major scale beginning on G, and this isknown as the fifth mode of C major.

Figure 11.14

By selecting the 1 st 3rd 5th and 7th notes of this mode, we get G-B-D-F whichforms the dominant 7th chord, G7. Unlike major 7th and minor 7th chords,dominant 7th chords contain a major 3rd and a minor 7th. If we included A,C and E in our selection, we form the G9, G11 and G13 chordsrespectively. These chords are shown in Fig 11.2. Listen to the fullnessof the sound produced when playing the larger chords. Notice also thatthese series of chords create a completely different feel to the series ofmaj7 chords. Dominant chords sound as though they are ‘goingsomewhere’. In other words, it doesn’t sound like a chord you would end asong on.

Figure 11.24

As with the Dm7 family, we used the C major scale to define the G7 series,and once again, notice that the G13 chord is the C major scale. So, towork out the notes in any chord in the dominant 7th series, use the scale inwhich the chord is the dominant, eg. to determine the notes in an F9 chord,use the fifth mode of Bb major because F is the dominant of Bb.

When to use the V7 Series

In general, you can play a V7 through to V13 whenever you encounter a Vchord that is functioning as a dominant. V-I progressions are the clearestexample of this. Fig 11.3 shows a II-V-I progression in the key of C. Untilnow, when you came across a V chord, you would have played a Vsus asshown.

Figure 11.34

You may have also seen the slash chord IV/V being used frequently incontemporary music. This chord is often used in V-I progressions andfunctions as a V chord. Play Fig 11.4 and notice how the F/G chord has asimilar sound and function to the Gsus chord above. After all, in basicterms, a sus chord is really any major chord containing the fourth, so F/Gis in fact a sus chord, which explains their similar quality.



Figure 11.44

Now play Fig 11.5, where a ‘fat’ G13 chord is used. This too, is a suschord, but clearly, it comes out ahead in terms of character and color. Thepoint is, all the above chord symbols are interchangeable, andconsequently, anytime you encounter a V-I progression, you have theoption of playing Vsus, IV/V, or any member of the V7 series, includingV13, which contains all the notes of the scale of the key you are in!Remember once again, think ‘scale’.

Figure 11.54

Several examples have been included using a variety of V chordstructures. Play each example to get a better idea of how to construct Vchords to create the desired effect..

Exercise 11.1

In the following II-V-I progressions, use either a m9 or m11 when playingthe II chord. Whatever chord structure you use in the treble when playingthe II chord, repeat the same structure exactly when playing the V chord.Observe how natural this sounds.

1 Am – D – G

2 Em – A – D

3 Cm – F – Bb

4 Gm – C – F

5 Bbm – Eb – Ab

6 F#m – B - E

Just as we stated in the previous session that whatever you play on amajor chord can be repeated over its relative minor, here we see thatwhatever you play over the II chord can be repeated over the V chord. So,learn to identify II-V progressions quickly while playing a song and treat thetwo chords as though they were one chord in the treble.

More examples follow demonstrating some of the many options availablewhen playing V chord structures. Listen to the richness of these fat V13chords and notice that the runs played over the V chord look very similar tothose played over I and IV chords. And why wouldn’t they? They are allformed from the same scale. Once you’ve worked through the examples,use these large V chords in some songs.



Figure 11.64

Figure 11.74

The notation Bbmaj7#4 in Fig 11.7 indicates a Bbmaj7 chord with theraised 4 th included in the chord. The raised 4th of Bb is E. Often, whenplaying IVmaj7, as in the above example, aim for the #4 as this creates atemporary tense feel that can be resolved easily. Notice that the raised 4th

of the IV chord, is the same as the major 7th of the key you are in. Alsonote that the C13 chord in the third bar resembles a Bbmaj7/C

Figure 11.84

In Fig 11.8, the symbol Bbadd6 suggests you play some basic form of Bbchord and include the 6th note in the chord. Also, realise that a Bbadd6 isthe same chord as a Bbadd13. By including the major 6th, a chord that hasa similar feel and function to a maj7 is created. Often, when a maj7symbol is played, the 7 th is replaced by both the 6 th and the 9th to create adarker texture.

Although the example is in the key of F, I’ve snuck in an A7#5 chord tocreate a more ‘bluesy’ feel. This is the dominant 7th chord of A with theraised 5th, F, included in the chord.

The small C#’s in the fourth bar are called acciaccaturas . They indicatethat each C# is meant to be crushed against the following D, that is, the C#is meant to be played either fractionally before the D is played, or at thesame time, and released immediately. Technically, acciaccaturas arenotes with no duration.


Expression 34

Session 12 - Expression

Because the dynamics of a song are difficult to quantify on a page, I’ve leftthis topic towards the end of the module. However, it is by no means theleast important. Although most pianists starting out are focused entirely onplaying fancy chords and cool runs, it is the ability to play expressivelythat will bring a song to life.

It takes a lot of practise and listening to other musicians to firstly knowwhat expression to use and when. I have encountered far too manymusicians who are capable of playing fancy chords, but they’re asexpressive as a jackhammer. Get it into your head now – it is mucheasier to listen to an expressive pianist playing simple triads than athumper playing jazz.

The dynamics of a song can be likened to waves in the ocean. Wavesconsist of crests and troughs and these extremes are joined by smoothgradients. So too, songs are characterised by their high and low points andthese are linked by sections of increasing or decreasing intensity. I usedthe word ‘intensity’ instead of ‘volume’ because expression is not solelydependent on volume but also takes into account the density of notesplayed, the range of notes played, their duration, the tempo, pedalling,rhythm etc.

Each of the above categories is a topic on its own and it is outside thescope of this text to deal with each one individually. Rather, I’ve compileda simple list of suggestions and tips that should provide some guidance inyour playing. All the following points stem from this one simple rule: Don’tplay each bar in exactly the same way you played the previous one.Create contrast and variation.

• The melody line of a song is a good indicator of volume levels –when the melody rises, increase the volume. When the melodydips, play softer.

• Create a contrast in volume within each bar. Perhaps play the firstbeat louder than the remaining beats, treating them as echoes of thefirst beat.

• The left hand is generally softer than the right. If your left hand isplaying bass notes only as in Fig 12.1, keep it at a level that isaudible but not noticeable.

Figure 12.14

• Ensure your song is ‘breathable’. Don’t clutter up each bar withchords and runs. Sometimes, nothing is the most appropriate thingyou should play.

• By inserting rests and pauses, it highlights the notes you do play,eg. if you rested for four beats then played a single note, everyonewill notice that one note. It’s all about contrast.

• On the topic of contrast, dissonant chords make the chords thatfollow sound much more consonant, so use dissonance to createconsonance!

• Try closing your eyes as you play. This enables you to focus onthe tone and quality produced. Any lack of expression is easilyidentifiable.

Having said the above, it is very difficult to learn good expression from atextbook, so always listen to other pianists and apply what you hear.


Putting It Together 35

Session 13 – Putting It Together

In this final session, we apply all the modification techniques discussed to the final sixteen bars of Nat King Cole‘s classic standard,‘Unforgettable’. The aim is to create a simple, uncluttered accompaniment to the melody line provided in Fig 13.1 with a light contemporary jazzfeel. Look at the chord symbols in Fig 13.1 and notice that the chord structure of this piece is slightly different to the examples considered earlier,as it modulates through a few keys within the sixteen bars. This proves a greater challenge as the scale from which you can construct your chordschanges with each key change. Play the melody a few times until the tune is firmly in your head, then play Fig 13.2 which is the improvisedaccompaniment.. Following is a detailed, bar-by-bar commentary that explains the construction of Fig 13.2. Study the explanations carefully togain a feel for the thought processes involved when improvising. Then apply the same thought patterns when playing other songs.

Figure 13.14

Bar 1

Two dotted crotchets are used. Dotted rhythms are used widely in contemporary music often creating a bit more color than playing evenly on eachbeat. Notice the maj7 interval in the bass. Try not to form the habit of playing octaves in the bass as duplicating notes in a chord adds little to theoverall effect of the chord. Instead, use a third, fifth, seventh or a combination of these. The three-note run at the end of the bar doesn’t begin on thefourth beat but a semiquaver after. This also adds to the syncopated feel already established by the dotted crotchets.

Bar 2

Similar to Bar 1 except a triplet was used to create more emphasis of the three note run than the run in Bar 1.

Bar 3

The first chord in Bar 3 is a simple Bm7 which resembles a D/B. Once again, notice that a 7th was used in the bass. The second chord is aBm7add11. The reason why I didn’t denote this as a Bm11 is that this implies the 9th, C#, may be included in the chord, which isn’t appropriatesince C# does not appear in the key of G. Having said all this, simply think of this chord as a D2/B, ie the relative major second chord in the treble.Listen to the distinct effect of the inclusion of the 11 th (E) in the chord.

Bar 4

This bar consists mainly of semiquavers. Because the first three bars were more chord-like, runs were used in this bar to create contrast with thebars already played. Also, because the next bar is the beginning of a new musical sentence, this is a good opportunity to insert a riff that leads intothe next sentence. The pattern played on the first beat highlights the ninth, ie. F#. And on the second beat, the 11th is played, ie. A. These are keynotes to aim for when playing minor chords. The final riff in the bar begins a semiquaver after the third beat to maintain syncopation and once again,includes both the 9th and 11th. Accent the second, fourth and sixth notes of this final pattern.

Bar 5

Dotted quavers are used here. Just as two quavers make up a crotchet, two dotted quavers make one dotted crotchet. Practise this rhythm until itfeels natural. Note that the Cmaj7 chord is modified slightly with each successive dotted quaver. Each chord is to be played with a slight stabbingmotion and dabs of the pedal – between staccato and legato. Try to vary the volume with each chord to add color. In choosing the notes to includein each chord, simply think scale. We’re currently playing a IV chord in the key of G so any chordlike structures formed from the G major scaleshould work.

Bar 6

The idea of creating chord structures from the G scale continues through this bar. Notice that the thumb and second finger in the right hand stayroughly around the same area with each chord, adding to the richness, while the fifth finger creates the shape of the pattern. As a result, mostattention is given to the top part of the right hand as it creates the melodic component of the chord structures.



Figure 13.24

Bar 7

As with the Bm7 chord in Bar 3, think of the relative major when playing the Em7 chord. By playing a G2 in the treble, you create a simple Em11chord. Due to the flurry of activity in the preceding few bars, this bar creates contrast by reverting back to a simple dotted crotchet feel of Bar 1. Theinversion of the first chord in this bar was chosen to keep the melody note in Fig 13.1 at the top of the chord. Two simple passing notes are thenused to lead into the next bar.

Bar 8

As with the previous bar, the A9 inversion chosen places the B (melody note) at the top of the chord, thus giving the accompaniment the sameshape as the melody. A triplet is then used to casually lead into the start of the next sentence. The triplet is denoted loosely as Asus because ofthe presence of the D (4th) . The inclusion of the 4th gives a slight feel that the chord should be resolved. Realise that Bars 7 and 8 is really a II-Vprogression in the key of D. When thinking ‘scale’ in these two bars, use the D major scale instead of the G scale.

Bar 9

The key changes again to F major, and we begin a I-IV progression. Notice the fifth in the bass and the simple richness of an evenly spaced maj9chord in the treble. This bar creates a bit of space to make the song more breathable. Remember that you do not have to fill each bar with fancynotes when improvising. Always allow enough room for other instruments or vocalists to have their freedom.

Bar 10

I’ve denoted this chord as Bb9add13 because the bottom four notes form the Bb9 and the G is the 13th. I didn’t call it a Bb13 because that wouldimply the inclusion of the 11 th, Eb, which would sound out of place here. Because the Bb9add13 has such character, I’ve chosen to simply sustainthe chord, keeping the bar uncluttered yet colorful.

Bar 11

Another I-IV progression appears in this bar, but this time in the key of C. F7#11 - this chord and mode will be discussed in the next module, but Ithrew it in here to wet your appetite. The key notes are the 7th and the raised 11th, ie Eb and B. This is a very effective chord to occasionallysubstitute for a IVmaj7 to create a darker sound.



Bar 12

A II-V progression in the key of D appears here. The treble of the Em7 chord is a simple G2 in first inversion. The A9 chord is played as an A13 bythe inclusion of the F#. This chord is derived from the scale of D. Compare this A13 chord to the A9 chord in Bar 8. Which do you prefer?

Bar 13

We’re now back in the key of C, starting a II-V-I progression. The first three chords in this bar are simple chord structures constructed from the scaleof C. To add character, the 9th and/or 11th are included in each structure including the standard four-note run on the last beat.

Bar 14

The chord symbol states Gsus, but we can replace that with anything in the G7 family, so long as we include the 4th, C. The 7th is played in thebass, therefore we don’t need to include the F in the treble. The notes chosen for the treble are the same as those chosen for the first chord in Bar13. Remember, in a II-V progression, the same treble may be used over both chords as both the IIm7 and V7 families are formed from the samescale. The second chord in the bar is G7b9 which does not belong to the G7 series of chords. This chord is not formed from the scale of C majorand does not use major scale harmony. We will deal with such chords later. For the time being, note the effect of playing a b9 on a V chord andhow easily it resolves to a Imaj7.

Bar 15

Major 7th chords are commonly replaced by maj9/6 chords, that is, the 7th is replaced by a 9th and a 6th where the 9th is above the 6th in the chordstructure, ie. D is above the A in this chord. The result is a simple, slightly dissonant, dark chord that seems to hang in the air.

Bar 16

This is the ‘turnaround’ progression, ie the II-V chords of G major. Play this bar if you intend to repeat the song.

Play Fig 13.2 several times until you can play it fluently and expressively. With each successive time you play it, try looking more at the chordsymbols rather than the notes provided. The aim is not to memorise Fig 13.2 but rather to acquire the thoughts behind its construction. Onceyou’ve gained confidence, improvise directly from Fig 13.1.

Conclusion

Well done on your completion of the first module in this course. In thistext we focused largely on chord modifications using major scaleharmony, that is, all our chords were formed using various modes of themajor scale. In particular we studied the maj7, m7 and 7 series of chords,ie modes I, II and V of the major scale. In the next module, more detail isgiven to the application of these chords along with an introduction to minorscale harmony. We will also take a closer look at the formation of runs,mood creation, free progressions, and rhythm.

I strongly suggest that, before proceeding to the next module, you spend afew months playing as many songs as you can, until the techniquesdiscussed here become second nature. As you do this, be willing to stepout of your comfort zone and experiment. Most of what I learned stemmedfrom hours of sitting at the piano simply ‘fooling around’. I would take aDm7 chord and play that for half an hour trying to create as manyinteresting effects using that one chord. To avoid severe boredom, I hadno choice but to experiment. I wrote down what I thought worked well overDm7 then tried to apply the same techniques to Em7, and so on. Isuggest you do the same.

Spend time listening to other pianists and transcribe as many pieces aspossible as this greatly improves your ability to identify chords andprogressions when hearing them. A great deal can also be gained byplaying along with recordings and other musicians.

Once again, well done on getting this far. I hope you enjoyed workingthrough this text and I look forward to your company in the next module!

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