Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
You think you know music theory?
- Thread starter vindibona1
- Start date
Typically you wouldn't.
When a composer/arranger notates, there are generally two considerations, again depending on perspective; The relation to the tonality within the underlying chordal structure, or second, the readability by the player. I'll address the one from the player's standpoint.
Single note players, as bass usually is, or like trumpet (my other major instrument) don't usually have the luxury of seeing the musical picture from the 10,000 ft overview as pianists might although having chords written in do help. As I'm sure you realize, good players read lines in "chunks" and are used to seeing FAMILIAR musical lines that they can play on autopilot. When an odd notation is introduced, such as a Cb, E#, Fb, or double sharps or flats (you get the picture) many of us have to cerebrally shift gears for a moment as we absorb what we're actually playing in that chunk. If I may speak for myself, if I saw that Cb it would probably slow down my processing. In fact, I had a piece of music on my stand the other day with a Cb and initially it slowed me down for a moment. When I played it again I had to think of it in terms of a "pseudo-transposition" to think of it as a B nat. I suppose if I were a classical pianist (or a better reader) I might be more used to these enharmonics.
JMO
I promise, it's my last example with a touch of "my moral of the story".
You can notate as you wish, just have a good explanation for it.
You can notate as you wish, just have a good explanation for it.
Same as above, the first half of the bar outlines DMaj harmony (for tension) before resolving the nominal harmony DbMaj (release).
That is an enclosure: the harmonic note F is approached both from below (E) and from above by the descending line G-F#-( )-F. You're right that it might have more correct to spell it G-Gb-(E)-F, but that is not really critical here, as the spelling chosen does not prevent a clear understanding of the harmony of this line.
I find Jacob's description of harmony in ascending fifths sound "brighter" and "major" vs harmony in fourths being "darker" and "minor" very interesting. Being that I always think of harmony in terms of stacked thirds.
Another day, another question.
From Bass Guitar June 2020 by Nik Preston.
Here is his example of the C Lydian Dominant mode.
My question is about that last Cb note.
I think the transcriber/writer implied/envisioned the Daug chord.
Irrespective of whether the writer (performer?) envisioned a D+ triad, the transcriber knew that the intervals would be easier to read if notated as a more recognizable D+ triad.
Looks like a typo (both in notation and tab). Cb makes no sense to me there...
Groove Master
Commercial User
- Apr 22, 2011
- 1,808
- 1,291
- Disclosures
- Author of Groove 101, Slap 101 and Technique 101
...Or it is an incomplete exercice that resolves to the b7 (Bb) on the next bar....dunno...
I've almost "assumed" it was a part of our "regular" chromatic enclosure of the target, b7 note - between A and Cb.
Your (correct) answer could cause a lot of beginner musicians to be upset.
One would not find that kind of (correct) explanation in the Music Theory books for beginners.
