Conference napalm::guitar

	I printed your note and played with the tune for a while over
	the weekend. While I won't make any direct suggestions on what
	to play for melody or improv, I'll pull apart the piece and try
	to give some pointers on how to do the analysis.

	Y'all should correct me if I goof up here....

	This is a Jazz piece with tone centers in Eb, Ab, F, C, and Cm.

	Well take it a phrase at a time:

	part1:

	EbM7 Eb7 Ab6	This starts in Eb on the EbM7. The move to Eb7
			suggest a shift to an Ab tone center which stays
			thru the Ab6 chord.

			The dead giveaways:

				M7 chords are used for I and IV
				dom7 (like the Eb7) are used as V chords

	so the opening is

	chord:		EbM7		Eb7		Ab6
	degree:		I		V		I
	key:		Eb		Ab
	solo:		Eb major	Eb mixo		Ab major



	Then we get a bit of verse type action:

	Bb-7 Eb7 Bb-7 Eb7 AbM7
			The big tipoff here is the m7 chord which in
			many standard jazz arrangements is used as a 
			'ii' chord. Given that assumption, the tone
			center stays Ab.


	chord:	Bb-7		Eb7		Bb-7		Eb7	AbM7
	degree:	ii		V		ii		V	I
	key:	Ab

	The ii-V-I is common in jazz arrangements. Work into soloing
	these changes using dorian of -7s, mixo over the dom7s and major
	with M7. Hit the tonic in that last chord to close the phrase
	and let everybody know you're with it.

	Part3:

	Ab-	that's a passing chord taking us into the next section

	Part4:

	We're gonna do a ii-V in F

	chord:	G-7		C7
	degree:	ii		V
	key:	F

	Same rules for improv as in part2. Shift to G dorian and C mixo.
	After soloing on ii-V-Is you'll build up a good size set of stock
	jazz licks that you can toss together to keep you in the groove
	while looking for novel sparkles for the situation.

	Part5:

	Back to a ii-V-I in Eb.

	chord:	F-7		Bb7		EbM7
	degree:	ii		V		I
	key:	Eb

	Part6:

	This is the bridge. I had some trouble with this. I read it as
	a little messy but cute swing thru several keys using C as the
	tonic. The important part for the improv is to be sensitive to
	the chromatic descending line in the tops of the C chords. Here's
	how I broke it down.

	chord:	C-	C-(M7)		C-7	C-6	D-7	G7	C
	degree:	i				I	ii	V	I
	key:	Cm	C harm m	Cm	C

	Note that the Maj 7 in a minor chord takes you into the harmonic
	minor.

	Part7:

	Then a turnaround. This is REALLY GNARLY. I may be talking thru
	my hat here but the F-7b5 serves as a passing chord from C to Eb.
	In C, that chord can be used as a IV chord with the b5 placing a
	big emphasis on the Lydian mode but the fact that it's a -7 also
	stresses it's role as a ii chord in Eb. Two different pictures

	chord:	F-7b5		Bb
	degree:	(IV) ii		V
	key:	(C)  Eb		Eb

	Given the C chord that precedes this section, the C, F-7b5, Bb
	has a chromatically descending line (C, B, Bb) which should be
	noted in working with the chords. On that F-7b5 I'd have to fight
	to NOT play the B one octave up (#11). Too much Steve Vai I guess.




	A tip. Get a tape recorder. Record about 20 cycles of the changes.
	Practice changing modes thru the changes and let it get under your
	skin. You'll do great.

	I don't disagree with your analysis of the tune,and I'll certainly
try what you have suggested. One of the things I have found that works is 
to play/practice appegios,instead of scales on something like this to set 
up the mood/tone of the tune. Intermixing arppegios and scales so the tune
doesn't sound like an exercise of practicing scales. Obviously the solo
would be easier to write if you knew the melody and it's rythmn. And might 
even be easier if you knew the style of music. It would be nice to start the 
solo with a real laid back jazz solo and build it up to a rock solo.

	The bridge section is what I was told to be called a minor line
cliche,and is evident in some pop music(ie Michelle,the Beatles) In playing
a solo part in this section I'd try to emphasize the line for the first 
time around.

	Doing 20 takes on a tape recorder is one way,and even a better way 
is to memorize the sequence of changes in you head so when you play a solo
you can actually hear the chords or tonal centers as you go along. Of 
course in some situations you don't have this luxury....

	Ebmaj7 		Eb7 		Ab6 /

      **Ebmaj          	Eb mixo  	Ab major

	Ebmaj7 		Eb7 		Ab6 /

      **Ebmaj          	Eb mixo  	Ab major

	Bb-7   Eb7        Bb-7   Eb7

      **Ab

	Abmaj7	           Ab-

      **Ab		   Ab-

	G-7        C7    F-7       Bb7

      **F		**Eb

	Ebmaj7


(Bridge)

	C-       	C-(maj7)  	C-7     	C-6      D-7  G7 

      **C mel minor   harmonic min    melodic        A minor 	 C major

	C-       	C-(maj7)  	C-7     	C-6      D-7  G7 

      **C mel minor   harmonic min    melodic        A minor 	 C major


	Cmaj             F-7b5 Bb7

       **Cmaj			Ebmajor

							
    						anyone else have ideas
    
    								Rick
    

	First I hope I'm not sounding too pedantic... we're here to have
	fun....


	Arpeggiations work well for getting with it. The types of modal
	studies I like to work on include arpeggios of all of the chords
	that fit the mode to get a strong feel of the role that say a
	-7b5 chord has as a 'vi' chord in a Dorian... One of the things
	I may not have emphasised enough is that this arrangement like
	many other jazz arrangements is very 'pianistic'. There are
	places where movement in the voices from chord to chord is very
	smoothe. Your solo ideas should take these little motions into
	account so that you don't step on them unintentionally. The work
	on the arpeggios will be very useful in showing you where you
	can pull in some almost folk-like cliches.

	The technique used for that bridge is what I think is called
	a 'pedal'. Yes the Beatles used it a lot and their influence
	may have been what caused it's immense popularity in the mid 60s
	as a sure-fire opening hook that sets up a voice for the melody.

> 	Doing 20 takes on a tape recorder is one way,and even a better way 
> is to memorize the sequence of changes in you head so when you play a solo
> you can actually hear the chords or tonal centers as you go along. Of 
> course in some situations you don't have this luxury....

	I suggested that approach because the things in that particular
piece are pretty stock for a jazz arrangement. If you take a couple of
pieces like that into the woodshed, lissen to some Joe Pass or Wes M.
records, let it all soak in, you'll bypass the head stuff and seeing a
minor7 in a chart will go straight to the ii-V-I reflex in your hands.

So I'll repeat it... there's a lot of stuff involved in getting good
improv chops. What I've found that works for me is doing work on the
instrument and *on paper* to be able to recognize and respond to patterns
and idioms. I promise that if you really *slave* over this piece and a
few like it, you'll recognize these ii-V-I patterns when they appear in
an arrangement and you'll know instinctively how to use dorian/mixo scale
patterns the way you probably already know how to use pent minor w/b5 over
a I IV V....

	some more details....


	Bb-7   Eb7        Bb-7   Eb7

      **Ab

	Abmaj7	           Ab-

      **Ab		   Ab-

	This is different from your original posting but it's more of
	the same.... It's in Ab and its

	ii	V	ii	V

	I	I(b3) (a fake out)

	I	I(b3) (passing to F)

	so the places to focus for the middle section are...

	Bb-7   		Eb7        Bb-7   Eb7
	| Bb dorian	Eb mixo	| ....

      **Ab
	| A major

	Abmaj7	           Ab-
	...		| Carry the 7th from that last chord in your solo
			| and continue in Ab harmonic minor

      **Ab		   Ab-
	| A major	| Lots of choices. I'd play the Ab and be done
			| with it but there are choices in the tension
			| with implications of Fm moving to F in the next
			| chord. (I could be BSing you bigtime)

	change to F

	G-7        	C7    
	G dorian	C mixo

	change to Eb

	F-7       	Bb7
	F dorian	Bb mixo

	change to Ab

      **F		**Eb
	F mixo		Eb lydian

	change to Eb

	Ebmaj7
	Eb

I hope I've helped. How to parse this stuff drove me nuts for weeks
but by giving it steady and concerted (npi) effort, it gets better.

	First I hope I'm not sounding too pedantic... we're here to have
	fun....

***** No not at all!!! have fun and learn something....was really the
intent of the note.....as far as playing "piano type music"with practice 
your voicings on guitar can also follow the same or similiar path that 
you would expect from a piano player with range considerations taken into 
account. 
     It's neccessary to have this"in your hands",but also hearing it in your
head is just as important unless your just using "acceptable" patterns. 
It's too bad video terminals don't do "phrasing" too well. Yep,Wes and Joe
and a host of others....are good influence's for this kind of music.
	Maybe I should have picked a less standard tune for people to play
with..?.....perhaps a simpler tune or changes?  


						Thanks again...

							Rick

	Does that piece have a name?

    As long as we're being pedantic, that descending minor line is not a
    pedal, which is a note that remains constant across changing harmony. A
    pedal tone that would fit the chorus would be Eb. G and Bb could work
    as pedal points also.
    
    This type of progression often resolves by repeating up a tone, so you
    might try Cm  CmM7  Cm7  Cm6  Dm   Dm7  G7. Another typical resolution
    would change the Dm G7  to Dm7b5 G7.
    
    Danny W.

> a note that remains constant across changing harmony

My error. I was viewing the C as the pedal point. Can you post some
examples of pedals? I want to make sure I understand. My understanding
was of a sequence of chords with one voice staying on the same note
like the D in a D Dsus4 D D(add9).

    The chord progression of the chorus of this tune has an easy pedal
    point using an Eb, which is common to every chord. Playing the Eb on
    the fifth string, sixth fret, voice all the chords above it, and keep a
    rhythmic pattern going on the Eb which playing the chords.
    
    Although pedal points are usually played in the bass, the same term is
    often applied to sustained upper voices.  An example, using the same
    basic chord progression, would be to play a G on the first string,
    third fret, and voice all the chords below it. Change the Ab6 to AbM7
    and the Bbm7 to Bbm6 for a perfect fit.
    
    Danny W.
     
    

	`pedal' is a verb. I can pedal one of the voices but just because
	a voice stays on the same note has nothing to do with it unless
	I force it to stand out?

    Actually, the pedal in pedal point refers to a bass pedal on an organ,
    but yes, pedal points are always the lowest or highest voice.
    
    BTW, I slightly mangled my previous reply. An Eb pedal would not be a
    chord tone in the Bb's, so they become Eb9sus, which still works
    nicely with this progression.
    
    Danny W.

	A good book that I've been living with for a while that covers
	jazz improv is one that I found at Building 19. It's still in
	print and I've seen it at Booksmith. He's the details:

		Improvising Jazz
		Jerry Coker
		Publisher: Fireside/Simon Schuster
		List: $8.95
		ISBN: 0-671-62829
		LC: MT68.C64 1986
		Dewey: 785.42

	The book has a copyright date of 1964. For some reason it was
	re-published in 1986.

    >Does that piece have a name<
    
    Rick  apparently wants to keep you in suspense, but it appears to be
    "God Bless' The Child".
    
    Danny W.
    

    	No,I didn't want to keep anyone in suspense Danny,it's just I
    realized I may have overstep certain copyright rules which were setup
    for notesfiles...... I get bored with hardware discussions.... :^)
                                                                   

    re: -.1
    
    Chord progessions are generally considered un-copyrightable.
    
    Danny W.