Chuck ... Along with the 'bi-tonal' chord you describe, I believe there is also a 'polyphonic' chord structure (I have no theory training) which would have a CM7 - C-E-G-B- in the left hand, followed by a D- F#- A in the right hand ..... I use it some times on the ending of a tune, and it can be quite effective ...
t.

Hi Tony,

I hope you are feeling much better and on the mend. Using these combination of notes as an ending could be used as an ending in a song written in the key of "G" or "C" - I am assuming you are using this in the key of "C."

KN6 Guy

Fortunately, things seem to be coming along well .... A neighbor who had the same surgery just about a year ago told me I have to take things week to week, not day to day, and week to week things are improving...

Yes, the combination I mentioned is used in the key of C, but the formula can be applied to any key i.e. in the key of Eb the left hand would be Eb - G - Bb - D and the right hand would be F - A- C .... I have a friend of mine who is pretty much a self taught piano player, but studied (alto sax) and listened intently to jazz all his life .... he incorporates the 'polyphonic' chords quite a bit in his piano playing, and sounds REALLY good ...
PS - he also has a GREAT ear !!!
t.



[This message has been edited by tony mads usa (edited 04-07-2003).]

I've been reading this thread about harmonies and the lack of harmony, and it brought back memories of my early musical years. I grew up in the 50's with the advent of rock and roll, and when I decided it was time to play an instrument, I chose the guitar, with no knowledge of what I was getting into, of course. Back in those tough times, there was no money for lessons, so you bought a play-along book and hooked up with anyone who seemed like they knew what they were doing, and tried to learn from those meager ends. Three chord harmony was all that was needed for most songs, and all I had to learn was the f chord and the 1-5-7 progression on the guitar neck. Sheet music was another expensive item, so learning and playing by ear was almost mandatory. Growing up in the country, I probably knew two people who played guitar, so I hit a learning plateau very quickly and after too many years of being a mediocre player, finally called it quits and switched to an organ. What a difference that made! Now I had a whole orchestra at my fingertips and it's been a learning curve since! This forum has been a hugh help since I switched to keyboards from the organ, and for a long time I was strictly a reader and not a poster. For the most part, I try to keep my music simple, because it's mainly the styles I'm passing on, and not showmanship. We all have our own little niche, and some more than one, but that's what makes this forum a success and I hate it when I have to pass a day without visiting this site. We are really turning into a family, here.

Hi Tony - I use the chord you describe above as an ending in jazz tunes only I use a dominant seventh as the basis for the chord (B flat in the key of C) - I usually precede this with the same chord structure a semitone above. So for ending a song in C I first play C#-F-G#-C-D#-G-A# followed by C-E-G-A#-D-F#-A (With two hands of course) . This sounds fantastic using brass as a big band ending.

Glad you're getting better.

KFINGERS

Hi Tony,

It is indeed good news that you are healing. I know you will be back on your feet soon and enjoying life as much as ever - especially your music. Its good to see you participating here.

Tony, to be honest, I have never heard the term "polyphonic" applied to a chord type, but having said that, chords are indeed multi-phonic (or polyphonic) since they consist of multiple notes, each with a different sonority. The chord you mentioned - C,E,G,B,D,F#,A - can be looked at from two perspectives. First, as a Cmajor7 chord with a 9th, augmented 11th, and 13th added. Second, as a chord with bi-tonality i.e., C,E,G (C major) with Bminor7 on top - B,D,F#,A. I have never attempted to make an in-depth study of harmony for it is not something I want to pursue in my music. On the other hand, I have picked up a little knowledge over the past 66 years of playing an instrument and my basic understanding of what makes music tick harmonically speaking has come in handy from time to time. I've enjoyed this discussion of chords for it made me do some serious thinking and reading, and recalling from experience. Perhaps we can carry the theme of this thread forward with folks offering nice chords for intros and endings - chords such as you and KFingers have shared.

Take care, Tony.

Best Regards, Chuck

Chuck - As I've said before, I've had no 'formal' training on piano (studied accordion as a teen and "migrated" to piano/kbs later in life), but at one time I did try to improve my piano skills by studying with a guy who was from Austria (I believe) .... He was a fantastic sax player who played GREAT piano ... he taught me the 'polyphonic' chord structure ...
Coincidentely enough, several years after we moved to Rhode Island I studied piano again for about 1 year, and the teacher was a fantastic piano player whose primary instrument was sax!!! .....
Back to 'chords', it would be great if we could keep this thread going with people offering some chord substitutions they use in different songs ... Provided, of course that we do not violate any copywrite laws...
t.

Good Evening, Tony:

The sun has set and nightfall isn't far away here in the UK. We've had a sunny, albeit coldish day. Time to make one of my several daily "check-ins" on our forum.

You said it would be great if we could keep this thread going. As you will have read in my earlier post, I too, thought it would be nice if we could share the chord progressions of our favorite intros and endings. I received an e-mail from Bebop and he encouraged me to keep the chord thing going. I've given some preliminary thought to it and decided I will likely start two threads. One will be discussing chord voicings and the other chord substitutions. I don't think there are any copyrite considerations involved here because we are not stealing original material such as melodies. I'm sure chords are universal or common property in terms of their voicings, substitutions, and progressions. If there is enough interest in such threads, I will assemble some material and post it to get the ball rolling, then rely on the rest of our family to particpate and contribute. Of course I will be an active particpant as well.

I'll wait to hear more from all of you concerning this. That doesn't mean that I expect overwhelming demand or support. Just a few of us who are genuinely interested in learning more about our music are enough to keep things rolling along. Let me know your wishes.

Now to your music, Tony. For some reason I had dropped out of Bebop's KN6000 mailing list and did not receive a copy of your music. Bebop rectified that last night and your music is playing as I write. Great stuff! It will give me lots of pleasure from now on. "All the Things You Are" is one of my favorites, and as is so often the case, a song brings back special memories of yesteryear. I had a buddy in my late high school and after high school days. He had a super tenor voice. That song was one he sang so well and received countless requests for.

That's it from me for the moment, so take care, Tony. Happy playing!

Chuck