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Rhythm Changes?

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#5
geoffkhan said:
There's a lot you can do in the B section. It's really like the 12-bar blues progression: there are many variations and reharms.
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There's a lot you can do with the A section, too. Rhythm changes is like Bach: you can spend an awful long time with them before you get to the music.
 
#6
Pacman said:
There's a lot you can do with the A section, too. Rhythm changes is like Bach: you can spend an awful long time with them before you get to the music.
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Yeah, I can see that, too. There's a lot of cool pedal tone stuff that can happen in the A section.

The most commonly-used variation (or rather embellishment) of the B section I've heard is this: (pretty basic, just a bunch of II Vs)

Am7 \ \ \ | D7 \ \ \ | Dm7 \ \ \ | G7 \ \ \ |
Gm7 \ \ \ | C7 \ \ \ | Cm7 \ \ \ | F7 \ \ \ ||

That website that I posted has a lot of good ideas on it. Just check that out rather than reading my puny ideas. :)
 
#8
My favorite B section variation would be:

D7/D7/Db7/Db7/C7/C7/B7/B7

You gotta love tritone subs....
 
#13
geoffkhan said:
Hahah, yes. Bassists love that chromatic movement. But (as a keyboardist) unfortunately I find it cliched and boring, sorry to say.
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Funny - I work with three of the most brilliant pianists I've ever met, and they love it.

Lynn Seaton said that if something's boring - it's probably you.
 
#15
The two most important notes of a chord are the 3rd and the 7th. In a dominant chord, they form a tritone. Now, let's use a C7 chord - the 3rd and 7th are the E and Bb, right? Let's look at an F#7 (or Gb7), which is a tritone away. What are the 3rd and 7th? A# (or Bb) and E. In both chords, the 3rd and 7th want to resolve to the same notes, so the chords can substitue for one another.

Clear, or muddy?
 
#16
Pacman said:
The two most important notes of a chord are the 3rd and the 7th. In a dominant chord, they form a tritone. Now, let's use a C7 chord - the 3rd and 7th are the E and Bb, right? Let's look at an F#7 (or Gb7), which is a tritone away. What are the 3rd and 7th? A# (or Bb) and E. In both chords, the 3rd and 7th want to resolve to the same notes, so the chords can substitue for one another.

Clear, or muddy?
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Ummm, *looks into coffee*, clear as mud to me. Would you care to elaborate? I'd really like to understand what you're trying to say here.
 
#19
Pacman said:
Funny - I work with three of the most brilliant pianists I've ever met, and they love it.

Lynn Seaton said that if something's boring - it's probably you.
Click to expand...

Well, yes, maybe it's just me. A better word would be "unimaginative" rather than "boring." It's just chromatic movement -- down a half-step every two bars. I mean, maybe you could use that as a sort of starting point.

So instead of:

D7/D7/Db7/Db7/C7/C7/B7/B7

Embellish it and go:

Am7 | D7 | Dbm7 | Abm7 Db7 | Gbmaj7 | Db7 | Ebmaj7 | B13(#11)

Now wasn't that so much more fun?
 
#20
If you do that without thought, it's just as unimaginative and boring as if you do the chromatic movement. I'm a little curious as how you arived at that progression for a Rhythm Changes bridge - functionally, it's all wrong. Want to 'show your math' on that one?
 
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