Piano Patterns: Do You See Them?

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When you are sitting at your keyboard or piano, do you see patterns on those keys? Here's what I mean:
1. Chromatically the notes from C to E are the mirror image of the notes from F# to B flat with F and B natural left out. If you number those notes from 1 to 5 in each pattern, the same number in each pattern is the Tri-tone. C = 1, F# = 1....tri tone.  Use this visual to find  tritone substitutions.
2. Take the first five notes of the major scale. These keys are mirror images of each other:
D flat and D
E flat and E
F and F#
A flat and A
B flat and B
3. Remember the tri-tone(s) B-F and F-B because it is the only tri-tone(s) with two white notes. All the others have one black and one white note as in your first pattern.
4. When you look at the circle of fifths, you notice that all the black notes are consecutive: Bb-Eb-Ab-Db-Gb, which you can use to help remember the circle. Try to think about why all the black notes would be consecutive in this circle. What you see is that the circle of fifths consists of the two whole tone scales alternated:
C - Bb - Ab - Gb - E - D
F - Eb - Db - B - A - G
It seems to be easier for me to always think of the circle of fifths in the counter-clockwise direction. Normally I am thinking of the dominant to tonic direction so that is why it seems more natural in this direction. If you learn the circle in this direction, it also gives you the ii-V-I sequence starting from any position as the ii chord. Or you can start two positions earlier and it gives you a iii-vi-ii-V-I turnaround sequence.
Within the circle of fifths the pattern B-E-A-D-G is repeated, first with all flats, then with all naturals, then you just have to add C & F and you have the whole circle (that's how I remember it). It also helps that the first four letters of that sequence spells a word. Once you know the circle and can picture it like the numbers on a clock as it is most often represented, you can look at the position directly opposite to get the tritone interval e.g. if C is at 12 O'clock, look at 6 O'clock to get its tritone interval.
5. Also, let us take the pentatonic scale 1, b3, 4, 5, b7. These keys are the mirror image as far as black key white key notes.
C and Db
D and Eb (E and A are the same as D)
F and F#
G and Ab
Bb and B natural
All the best,
LadyD
Charlie Parker once said "Learn the changes and then forget them."

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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.


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