Passing Tones: Lee Evans

 I have learned music theory from one of my favorites, Lee Evans. He wrote an article in one of my Jazz Magazines about melodic embellishment and ornamentation in jazz. The content is divided into four categories. I wanted to share it with all of my many readers who have asked me about passing tones.

1. Weak beat ornaments


2. Strong or weak beat ornaments


3. Other ornamental devices


4. Combinations of devices from the above 3 categories

So, let's talk about weak beat ornaments. In the examples, I'm talking about single notes and the note highlighted in red is what I'm talking about.

Passing Tone - a chromatic tone between two adjacent scale tones. In traditional usage, half or whole step scale notes which, in a melody, pass between the tones of a triad or chord are sometimes referred to as passing tones. Only half-step tones occurring between adjacent scale notes will be called passing tones in this article.

Example: C to C# to D, then D, Db, C.

Anticipation Tone - an anticipation tone between two adjacent scale tones.

Example: C to D, D or E, D to D

Echappee - a tone occurring between two adjacent scale tones, the motion to the ornamenting tone being contrary to the motion between the scale tones.

Example: C, B to D then C, D, B

Cambiata - a tone occurring between two adjacent scale tones, the motion to the ornamenting tone being the same as the motion between the scale tones.

Example: C, A, B then C, E, D


Neighbor Tone (upper or lower) - a half or whole-step tone occurring between two of the same tones.

Example: C, C#, C and C, D, C. C, Bb, C then C, B, C

For the strong or weak beat ornament:

Jazz Appoggiatura - a leaping tone (an interval larger than a 3rd) which then moves a major or minor 2nd in the opposite direction. (Note that a jazz appoggiatura is a melodic embellishment that does not take into consideration the harmonic or rhythmic implications of the traditional appoggiatura.

Example: C, Gb, F then C, F#, G to C, G, F and C, F, G

Regarding ornamental devices:

Grace Note - an ornamental tone whose time value is not counted in the rhythm.

Example: B to C and D to C

Repeated Tone

Example: F to E (original motive) then F, F to E (repeated tone embellishment)

Tremelo - the rapid alternation of two tones.

Example: C to E, (tremelo) play C, E, C tremelo embellishment (in fragmentation)

Scale Tones - tones found in any scale other than the chromatic scale. (Chromatic  scale tones would be heard as passing tones.)

Example: C to G (original motive) then C, E, F, G (scale tone embellishment)


Chord Tones - tones outlining any chord, including altered chords.

Example: C to C (original motive) then, C, E, G, A, C c(chord tone embellishment)

Free Tone - an ornamental tone having no relationship to any chord being sounded.

Example: G (G7/D), to F# then C

I think that's tons of information for now. There's so many combination examples to write out that I'll skip the final part but you get the idea. Here are some more related former posts:

Passing-chords

Neighboring-tones

Passing-tones

Three-steps-to-passing-chords

Until next time, be sure and stop by and take a look at this music resource, Song Robot







"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Discover Passing Chords in Your Piano Playing

 Use the Dominant 7th Flat 5 Chord as a passing chord to get to another chord within a progression. This would be an altered chord because we've altered the 5th by flatting it.


Take a look at this chord:


A7b5      LH/RH    A/GBC#Eb


When we breakdown this chord, we have:
LH = the root  and RH = b7, 9, 3, b5


How would you use this chord?


In a major 2-5-1 progression use this chord as a tritone substitute for the 5:


In the Key of Ab, a normal 2-5-1 progression would be:

LH/RH                     NUMBER BREAKDOWN         CHORD NAME
Bb/AbCDbF             1/b7-9-b3-5                                    Bbm7
Eb/GBbDbF             1/3-5-b7-9                                      Eb7
Ab/GBbCEb             1/7-9-3-5                                       Abmaj7


I've added the 9th freely. I'm beginning to learn in jazz that you can add the 9 (no alterations) to any of the 7th chords to add some color.


Here is that same 2-5-1 progression with the dom7b5 added. Again in the Key of Ab, the tritone substitution is going to happen on the 5 chord. Change the Eb7 to A7b5.


LH/RH              NUMBER BREAKDOWN     CHORD NAME


Bb/AbCDbF      1/b7-9-b3-5                              Bbm7
A/GBC#Eb        1/b7-9-3-b5                              A7b5
Ab/GBbCEb      1/7-9-3-5                                  Abmaj7


Play the original chord progression and then play it with the change and hear how smooth the chord progression sounds.


You can use this chord as a passing chord to get to the Imaj7 or Idom7.


Here is the 7b5 chord in every key around the Circle of 4ths/5ths. This is how you should practice every chord to really learn them. This should help with your chord placements/voicings.

C7b5 =  C/EGbBbD  

F7b5 = F/ACbEbG

Bb7b5 = Bb/AbCDE

Eb7b5 = Eb/GADbF

Ab7b5 = Ab/GbBbCD

Db7b5 = Db/FGBEb

Gb7b5 = Gb/BbCEAb

B7b5 = B/ADbEbF

E7b5 = E/AbBbDGb

A7b5 = A/GBDbEb

D7b5 = D/F#AbCE

G7b5 = G/FABDb


I use YouTube and Hear and Play Chords Audio Course for great music resources and music tools when it comes to understanding passing chords. Another great book is the Home Study Course


Comments are welcomed and encouraged!
Thanks for stopping by.
I hope you enjoy your stay at LadyD Piano.

12 Secret Gospel Passing Chords

Here's a little bit of theory...

"Diatonic Chords" are simply chords based on notes of the scale. If a song called for a straight AbMaj7 chord for several measures, it would be appropriate to fill in with the other Diatonic Chords. It can add a sense of dynamic motion, without disrupting the inherent harmonic integrity or simplicity of the music. In melody, you've heard of Passing Notes (notes that connect one to the next but aren't part of the chord)? These are Passing Chords.

I found GospelKeys.com to have an excellent learning system for passing chords.

http://www.gospel-chords.com/Passing-Chords.aspx

TUTORIAL: 12 Secret gospel passing chords madameve



GOSPEL EXAMPLE: Passing chords: Cycling through suspensions

A great lesson of Joy To The World using so many wonderful sounding bass chords!



"Passing chords are formed by the stepwise movement of one or more of the voices from a harmony note in one chord to form an intermediate chord or chords on the way to becoming a harmony note in another chord. In other words, passing chord(s) are formed by the stepwise filling in of notes between chords. The stepwise movement may be a filling in by one step or multiple steps."

http://www.harmony.org.uk/book/functional_harmony_passing_chords.htm

My friend, James Stevens has this to say:
"It is absolutely true that diminished and dominant 7 chords can lead to BOTH major and minor chords in the same way. But in a technical sense, we might not usually think of this as a PASSING chord. Passing chords a chords that move in between the main chords in a progression, but don't necessarily have the same strong PULL that a dominant or diminished chord may have by wanting to move up a perfect 4th or up a minor 2nd, respectively.

Here is an example of PASSING chords where each chord would represent 1 beat:

C - C - Dm7 - C/E - F. Notice the main chords are C and F. The Dm7 and C/E are just passing chords, but don't by themselves lead strongly in any direction.
Let me give you an example of a Dominant Chord being used as a passing chord. Suppose I was beginning on a C chord and heading to A7, just for fun I might insert a B7 and Bb7 on the way to A7. Even though these two are dominant 7 chords, in this setting, they would be just PASSING chords.

So whereas Dominant and Diminished chords my lead strongly to a certain chord, major or minor, passing chords are just "Passing Through" filling the space in between the main chords of a line to provide a little color."

http://zone.hearandplay.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=6161&highlight=passing+chords

Hope you've enjoyed adding some color to your playing!
For more info, click here

http://ladydpiano.com

PHAT Chords

When I first learned of Phat Chords, this is what I found in my research:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/9783/ci5.html I felt like I had arrived at another advanced level of music and that it would be hard to understand! lol I had discovered a dictionary of Phat Chords!

In many music forums, you'll find slash chords written to give you examples of those Phat Chords! For Example:

FC / EbGBbD / F (foot pedal)
ADbG / ACFA / B
BbF / AbCEbF / Bb
FB / EbGBb / Db
CBb / EbBbDF / C
FBb / ADGb / F
BbF / AbCDF / Bb
DbAb / FAbCEb / Db
CBb / EAbBbEb / C

Or, how about this chart:
Phat Chords

#1.

Bb/Ab Db Eb F
B/Bb Db Eb Gb
F/Ab Db Eb F
Gb/B Db Eb Gb
B/Eb Ab Bb Db

#2.

C/C Eb Ab
Db/Db F Ab
D/DFAbB
Eb/Db Gb Bb
D/Ab B D F
Eb/Db Gb Bb
D/Ab B D F
Eb/Gb Bb Eb
Bb/ F Ab Db
B/Eb Ab Bb Db

And then here are some more of them Phat Chords:
Legend LH/RH

#1.
BbFAb/CDbEbAb
BGbBb/DEbGbBb
FEb/DbEbFAb
GbDbF/DbFBbDb
BGb/AbBbDbEbGb

#2.
C/BbEbAb
DbAb/CEbFAb
DBb/DGbAbBb
EbBb/DbGbAbBb
EDb/EAbBbEb (passing to 3 (to get to 1-4-5) change to resolve to Key of Db)
FCEb/GAbBbEb
GbF/DbFBb

BAb/G#ADbF (filler)
AGb/GbADbEb (filler)
AbF/DbEbFAb

AGb/ADbEbAb (filler)
EbB/ADbEbGb (filler)
AbEbF/AbDbEbF

EbDb/GbBbDbF
G/FBbEb
AbEb/GbBbCF
DA/CEGbBb
DbAb/CEbFAb

I actually found a website regarding Phat Chords. Got Phat Chords is the #1 community for finding fat chord progressions, scales for piano and guitar, learning music theory, and meeting new musicians. Have a look:

http://gotphatchords.com

My friend Labsonqu, from the HearandPlay zone posted these chords and midi of Phat Chords:
GdBb/BEbGbBb
EbG/AbCEbG
DF/GCEG
BbD/EbGBbD



Jonathan Powell from hearandplay.com reveals many hidden secrets that advanced musicians don't share. These chords are used in todays top gospel songs. He speaks a lot about dissonance and he adds lots of grace notes in his West Coast style of playing. I actually own his Dvd and I'm very pleased with it.
Learn To Play Phat Chords



I have also found a great Tutorial: Gospel Harmonization technique to get phat chords!!! Listen to some beautiful sounding passing chords and Phat Chords!



If you would like to learn about E minor9 chords, where you add F#, or how to play a G minor11, or adding B to an A2 voicing, watch this video. Keep in mind that the 9th and minor 3rd give that great dissonance sound that make up our Phat Chords! Hope you enjoy the study, I know I did!






http://www.LadyDpiano.com

Three Steps To Passing Chords

Passing Chords= Passing notes are non chord notes that lead from one chord note to another. They can be diatonic or chromatic; they can be in a melody or in a harmony part. If you read notes, then Pete Thomas explains passing chords with great illustrations:

http://www.petethomas.co.uk/jazz-passing-chords.html

Learn how to use cool Passing Tones, Turnaround Chords and Endings that Black Gospel And Jazz Music are so famous for. Any chord can be changed or altered, thereby changing its color, its sound.
http://www.jazzchrisitan.com/workbook-pages/passing-chords

The passing note fills in the gap between the two harmony notes in the chords before and after the passing note. The short duration and nature of the passing note does not create a feeling of a change of harmony. The passing chord is an extension of the passing note such that the duration of the passing note and the way the note sounds, in conjunction with other notes of the chord, creates a senses of a change in harmony.

There are three steps in getting passing chords to work for you. The first, is to learn how to simplify the changes down to their bare basics so you can hear the actual changes of the tune as you play through it. The second step is learning to play passing chords comfortably and in time to start with. Third step involves learning to hear where the bass line is going as this will key you in on where you need to go with the chords. As you have more and more experience listening to Jazz, and as you get more experience playing and used to playing with a more analytical ear, you'll eventually just naturally feel what's missing.

Here's an example of a song that uses passing chords:
I Don't Feel No Ways Tired
F/ACDF.....I
A/GCE.....don’t
F/ACDF....feel
Bb/BbCDF..no
C/BbDEG...ways
F/ACDF....tired
Bb/BbCDF...come too
A/GCE......far
D/ACDF....from where
G/BbDFG...I started
C/BbDEG....from
Db/BbDbEG...(passing chord)
D/ACDF......nobody
A/GCE.......told me
Bb/ACDF.....that the road
A/ACDF......would be easy
G,A,Bb,C/DbFGBb-CFA (alternate the chords with the bass LH)
C/CFA.......I don’t
A/CEG.......(passing chord)
D/CFA.......believe
G/DbFGBb.....He brought me this far
G,A,Bb,C/DbFGBb-CFA (alternate the chords with the bass LH)
C/CFA.......I don’t
A/CEG.......(passing chord)
D/CFA.......believe
G/DbFGBb.....He brought me this far
C/BbDFG......to leave
F/ACDF.......me

The Spirituals of Harry T. Burleigh: Low Voice Arranged by For Solo Voice By Harry T. Burleigh. For Voice. (Low Voice). Vocal Collection. Spiritual. Book. 208 pages. Published by Alfred Publishing. (EL03150) See more info...

To sum it up, my dear friend James says:
"Passing chords are chords that move in between the main chords in a progression, but don't necessarily have the same strong PULL that a dominant or diminished chord may have by wanting to move up a perfect 4th or up a minor 2nd, respectively.

Here is an example of PASSING chords where each chord would represent 1 beat:

C - C - Dm7 - C/E - F. Notice the main chords are C and F. The Dm7 and C/E are just passing chords, but don't by themselves lead strongly in any direction.

Let me give you an example of a Dominant Chord being used as a passing chord. Suppose I was beginning on a C chord and heading to A7, just for fun I might insert a B7 and Bb7 on the way to A7. Even though these two are dominant 7 chords, in this setting, they would be just PASSING chords.

So whereas Dominant and Diminished chords my lead strongly to a certain chord, major or minor, passing chords are just "Passing Through" filling the space in between the main chords of a line to provide a little color." I think I'm getting the hang of passing chords.


http://www.LadyDpiano.com