Chord Voicings- Which Chords with Which Notes?

Cover of Now He Sings Now He Sobs

* What Is A Slash Chord?

A slash chord is any triad played above a bass note:
D/C, Bb/C, F/C, and Ab/C are all examples of slash chords

* Improvisation:

Most young improvisers are taught that every chord has a scale to which it is married.
Try playing melodic lines over:

Slash Chord - Substitution For
E/C Cmaj#5
G/C Cmaj7(9)
A/C C7(13,b9)
Eb/C C7#9
D/C C7sus(9) (Dom or Maj7)
Bb/C C7sus(9)

* Arranging:

As composers and arrangers, we can easily fall prey to utilizing the same chord voicings over and over. Get yourself out of the funk by thinking in slash chords. Each time you invert the triad above the bass note, you'll get a different melody note in the lead voice.

* Add to Your Bag of Tricks

Hopefully this post has been an intro to using slash chords to your improvisation. Remember to experiment. I haven't covered all possible triad and bass note combinations... not by a long shot. Try developing a few of your own voicings to add to your bag of tricks. Then let me know what you come up with!

Two of my favorites are:
Gmaj7/C, which gives you a C Lydian sound and E7/C which gives you a C Lydian Augmented sound.

* GREAT Article by Gary Ewer (love this)

http://garyewer.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/which-chords-with-notes-harmonizing-a-melody

1. Every song needs a basic harmonic rhythm. It’s the frequency of the chord changes. For many songs, chords will change every four to eight beats. Determine what it will be for your own song. This usually means identifying the time signature for your song. If your song exhibits a continuous STRONG-weak-STRONG-weak pattern, you’re probably in 4/4 time.
2. Identify the key of your melody. Often the first and (especially) last notes of your melody will be the key note (tonic) of your song. Once you know the key, you’ll be able to identify the three chords that you’ll uyse the most: I, IV and V of that key (for example, in A major, you’ll find that A, D and E will be the chords that work best.
3. Chords will usually change on strong beats. This means that beats one and three of every bar of your song will be good spots for you to change chords.
4. Identify the melody note on the strong beat. Usually the note or two after it will also offer a good clue as to what the chord should be. Let’s say your melody has the notes A and C# at the beginning. These are two notes from the A chord, and it’s a safe bet to use that chord. But you’ll also find that the notes A and C# also exist in F#m, so consider that chord as well.
5. In general, your chord progressions will start on the tonic chord, then go to the IV-chord, moving on to the V-chord, then return to the I-chord. There are other chords you can use, of course, but that I – IV – V pattern will be a workhorse that will work well for you.
6. The faster your song, the less frequent your chord changes should be. Changing chords frequently in a fast song makes the song sound frantic, and so unless you’re looking for that effect, make chord changes less frequent in faster tempos.

* Suggested Playlist:

Kind of Blue- Miles Davis
Now He Sings, Now He Sobs- Chick Corea... listen to him on acoustic piano.
My Favorite Things- John Coltrane

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Learn How To Play Chord Patterns

Image by Caitlinator via Flickr

I have taken online courses with Jermaine Griggs from HearandPlay.com and also with Willies Myette on jazzpianolessons.com Both of these fantastic musicians and teachers explain the importance of knowing and understanding music theory, especially playing chord progressions or chord patterns. Here are some you need to know that I have found helpful to my piano playing. I share these chord patterns with my piano students to free them up from using and depending so much on sheet music or chord charts.

* CHORD PATTERNS:


I - IV - V - I Chord Pattern

Examples:
Key of C: C - F - G - C
Key of D: D - G - A - D
Key of E : E - A - B - E

I - iii - IV - ii - I Chord Pattern

Examples:
Key of F: F - A - Bb - G - F
Key of G: G - B - C - A - G
Key of A: A - C# - D - B - A

I - vi - ii - V - I Chord Pattern

Examples:
Key of B: B - G# - C# - F# - B
Key of Db: Db - Bb - Eb - Ab - Db
Key of Eb: Eb - C - F - Bb - Eb
Key of Gb: Gb - Eb - Ab - Db - Gb

I - ii - iii - IV - V - I Chord Pattern

Examples:
Key of Ab: Ab - Bbm - Cm - Db - Eb - Ab
Key of Bb: Bb - Cm - Dm - Eb - F - Bb

I - vi - ii - IV - I Chord Pattern

Examples:
Key of C: C - Am - Dm - G - C
Key of D: D - Bm - Em - A - D

1-7-2-6-5 in C

1 – C = CCF
7 – G/B = CCF
2 – Dm7 = D / A D F
6 – Am7 = A / C E G
5 – G = G / B D G


5-1 Walk-up in G minor

E7 = E / D E G# B
D/F# = F# / D F# A
G#o7 = G# / D F G# B
Amin7 = A / E G A C

Other Chords

Fmaj9 = CCF
G#o7 = F# / D F G# B
Amin7 = A / E G A C
C13 = CCF
Fmaj9 = CCF

7-1 in C minor

C#o7 = C# / Bb C# E G
Dm7 = D / A C D F

I = D / D F A
Shall = E / F A D
Re = F / E G C
Co- = G / D G B
ver = A / E G C
It = B / F A D
All = C / E G C

G11 = CCF

* A NICE TYPE OF DISNEY END IN Eb
It is really a 2-5-1 progression with a little bit of the Disney theme song added in.

D/G-B-D-F
G/A-C-D-F-Ab
C/Bb-C-D-F
/G-C-Eb
Bb/F-Bb-D
Eb-Ab-C
G/F-Bb-Eb
F#/F#-A-Eb
F/F-Ab-Eb
Bb/Ab-Bb-Eb-F
Bb/Ab-Bb-D-F
Eb/G-Bb-Eb or Eb-G-Bb

* Note from a Friend:

From time to time, I get a little help from my friends... sounds like a song! lol
A note was posted in the forum by Rueben explaining chord patterns from

http://zone.hearandplay.com

The pattern: you have to establish if it is a repeating pattern like 1st stanza:
Glorify Thy Name
C Dm G C I ii V C
Father I love you I praise you I adore you
C F G G7 I IV V V7
Glorify they name in all the earth
C F I IV
Glorify thy name
E7 Am Fm III vi iv
Glorify thy name
C Em Dm I iii ii
Glorify thy name
G4 C V I
in all the earth

in the second stanza Father is replaced
with Jesus while the third--you use Spirit.
the pattern will be the same in 2nd and 3rd
stanza.
Notice: E7 in glorify thy name is an "altered chord" because diatonic family of C should be Em. The other exception in that line is Fm...the 4th chord should be an F but this one is also an altered chord...an exception because in key of C the diatonic chord family should be C Dm Em F G Am B*..... The III and iv signifies that you are altering that chord.

LadyD, I hope you will now have a clearer picture of what I am saying. It is not the 2-5-1 or 1-4-5 pattern...It is the pattern of the song that you are trying to establish/analyze.
Enjoy....God bless
Ruben

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Cyndi Lauper Time After Time

"Time After Time" was a single by singer Cyndi Lauper, the second from her album She's So Unusual. It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 9, 1984[1], and remained there for two weeks. Worldwide, the song is her most commercially successful single after "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," and reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart and number 6 on the ARIA Singles Chart.

"Time After Time" was nominated for "Song of the Year" at the 1985 Grammy Awards. The ballad is considered a classic of the 1980s and is still played frequently on adult contemporary radio. The song is known for its numerous covers by a wide range of artists.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_After_Time_(Cyndi_Lauper_song)

* Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper Songfacts
"Cyndi came up with the title when she saw it in the magazine TV Guide. "Time After Time" was the name of a 1979 science fiction movie starring Malcolm McDowell as a man who invents a time machine. Says Rob:
"When she saw 'Time After Time,' something clicked - she said 'I think I have a title.' I was sitting at the piano and just started banging out what would eventually be the chorus, hook, and the way we sing it. It almost had like a Reggae feel, it was a little bouncier and a little more upbeat. We started getting off on that chorus, then the verse melodies started to appear. It's a deceptively simple song. The verses are just a little repeating 3 note motif - almost like a nursery rhyme, a very simple song. Then we started to realize we were on to something. The mood of the lyrics came from both of us. I think Cyndi came in and really started the lyric flow, then all of the sudden we realized it wasn't such a bouncy song, but it was a little more bittersweet and a little deeper in its feeling and a little more poignant, so the music started to change. We wrote a little bridge section and I think the last thing we really wrote was the chorus. We had 'Time After Time,' we just had to get the words that would surround it."

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=672

* This classic '80s ballad was one of the biggest hits for the unusual NYC pop princess. At least 97 different artists have covered Time After Time... including myself! My piano students love playing this very catchy tune and so do I!

Time After Time Chords by Cyndi Lauper
* Chord Chart:
Intro: F G Em Fmaj9 (repeat)
Verse:
F C F C F C F C
Ly - ing in bed I hear the clock tick and think of you.
F C F C F C F C
Caught up in cir - cles confu - sion is nothing new.
F G Em F G Em
Flashbacks, warm nights. Almost left behind
F G Em F F Fmaj9
Suitcase of memories, time after
F C F C F C F C
Some - times you picture me, I'm walk ing too far ahead.
F C F C F C F C
You're calling to me I can't hear what you've said.
F G Em F G Em
Then you say go slow, I fall behind.
F G Em F
The second hand undwinds.
( G Am7 F Fmaj9 C)
If you're lost you can look and you will find me. Time after time.
If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting. Time after time.
If you're lost you can look and you will find me. Time after time.
If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting. Time after time.
Verse:
F C F C F C F C
Af - ter my picture fades and dark-ness has turned to grey.
F C F C F C F C
Watching through win - dows, you're wondering if I'm o - k.
F G Em F G Em F G Em F
Secrets stolen from deep inside. The drum beats out of time.
(Refrão)
You said go slow, I fall behind. The second hand unwinds.
(Refrão)
F Fmaj9 C
Time after time.
Time after time.
Time after time.

http://www.e-chords.com/guitartab/idmusica/9764.htm

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner