The Camel

I wrote this after listening to the song “Resolution” by Victor Wooten. I suppose the name is something I thought of as I played that repeating bassline seen in the first line. It goes up and down. While it uses an Ab major chord as its base, the Ebmaj7 and Abmaj7 chords are from the notes that make the two halves of the bass figure differ. With those notes played by any bass instrument, or even an acoustic guitar or piano, another instrument may play the accompanying chords. These two measures can repeat as a vamp for as long as the performers desire.

Thus when the melody enters, it is not necessarily after two measures of rest, as is shown here. The chords are drawn principally from the key of Eb. The first exception to this is the Gm6, which can alternatively be played as a G7. The E natural in the melody would designate a minor 6, while the B natural might make it a G dominant 7. Cm7 and Dm7, as well as Gm7, are all found in the key of Bb. All chords on the bottom line shown here are in Eb.

I will not dissect the melody very thoroughly at this time, but I should point out that in the second measure in the second line of the melody notes, there is a Db in the melody, even though the chord is a Dm7b5. Aside from that and the Gm6 mentioned above, the only other note not in the key of Eb is another Db in the Fm7 chord one measure before the end. In this measure, the bassline may tacit, or simply ring the bass notes, an F for two beats, and a Bb for the next two. An Eb may pedal the last measure. For soloing, the entire “form” may be repeated, or simply using the two introductory chords, or any combination would be fine. The last time the melody is played, it will go right through to the last measure, holding until the performers are ready to finish.

Here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8V5JrP283U

Caracol

 

It is a Spanish word that can mean several things, but perhaps the best translation in this case would be “spiral shell”, like that of a conch or any type of seashell. Like a caracol, this song repeats different sections. In the image above, the different sections are marked with the letters A, B, and C, in square boxes. To begin the song, vamp on a D7#9 chord for about 8 bars or so, in a somewhat funky style (think Sly & the Family Stone, for example), and then on the last two beats, play the two pickup notes that lead into the first “A” section. The chords come mostly from the key of Eb, but also from Bb. It turns out that the song is actually in Bb. As with the other songs discussed here, liberties can be taken with the melody. Note that under the first Dm7 chord suggested “harmony” notes are given. Overall this is a rough sketch of the song, but hopefully it can serve as a somewhat useful lead sheet. At the end of the “1^st” ending, the same notes and chord (although here it is written as a Dm7+, or sharp 5: an A sharp, which is the same as Bb) bring the tune back to the beginning of the “A” section.

The “A” section is played through again, and then goes to the “2^nd” ending and into the “B” section. After the first F in the second ending is played, there is a quick stop notated by the “//” and the “N.C.”, or 'no chord'. The second F quarter note is optional; a quarter note rest may take its place. The 16^th note run is simply a Bb major scale, and can be played by any combination of instruments, solo or in unison. It is an approach to the “B” section, which makes use of repetition, in that the melody uses the same quarter-note-triplet pattern over the succeeding chords. The “%” symbol means to repeat the previous measure (note its use in the second measure of the “A” section – this means the first half of that measure is also an Ebmaj7 chord). Again a Dm7+ chord leads us into another take of the “A” section, before proceeding to the “3^rd” ending and the “C” section.

The “3^rd” ending is a descending chromatic approach to the Gmaj7 chord that begins the “C” section. Note that there is no melody written here. This section is purely improvised. All that needs to be done is to carry through the indicated changes in time, but even this can be done freely. Also note that the chords are all major7's, and in groups of two measures, the root moves up a fourth. For improvisational purposes, it may be easy to treat these as being in the lydian, or fourth, mode. Once again, a Dm7+ returns the song to the “A” section, which can go to the “1^st” ending and back for one more repeat.

The song can end in any number of ways. The suggestions above may serve. I like to use the coda pictured below:

Hopefully that is legible enough. The main idea is to slow down, and end on a simple Bbmajor chord. So, is it a bossa or a samba? Even I don't know. It's something.

“Sprial shell,

Spiral shell,

From the windy street

that used to exist in my mind and now

you can hear my song.”

Here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNFxQV2v9WU

New City Night

To conceptualize this piece, try thinking of comparable works. Keeping with the “key” of C#m, a good example is “Equinox” by John Coltrane, a minor blues. Or, if you prefer more of a 1-6-2-5 progression, Stevie Wonder's “Isn't She Lovely” is also excellent. The way I have chosen to interpret this song is loosely based in the “gypsy jazz” style that came out of Europe in the early-mid 20^th century. One of the classics from this genre is “Minor Swing”, by the great Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli. The guitar can be used heavily for carrying the rhythm, such that additional percussion is not necessary. However, we have tried adding a drum kit into the mix, which I think fits quite nicely, and gives it a more open, flowing feel, while still keeping a swing beat. However, it should be noted that something which may be seen as unconventional, and can serve as a test of theory in this piece, is the section in ¾ time. Because the tempo does not change, though, this section can fit in without any problems.

The transcription featured here is not entirely accurate. The first two lines are repeated before playing the ¾ section, and then they are played once more after the ¾ section, before heading back to the top. Again, the tempo does not change, only the meter does.

A C#m or C#m7 chord occupies the first two measures, as an F# or F#7 does the next two. This then changes to an F#m or F#m7 chord for one measure, then a split measure of Bm(7) to B(7), which the bass may substitute with a chromatic approach for returning to the C#m(7) chord for two more measures. The melody utilizes repetition. In the Bm(7) to B(7) measure, following the F#(7), the melody can either be played as written OR an octave lower. This can be determined by the range of the instrument; for example, a standard violin can not play all of those notes an octave lower than written. Liberties can be taken with the phrasing, as well.

To deal with the ¾ section, the Bm chord was chosen specifically as a Bm6 chord, and the melody notes were chosen to go along with it. Next, and E, or E7 or E9, as it is written here, followed by an A or Amaj7, make the three measures a type of 2-5-1 progression, which then goes up to a C or Cmaj7 chord. The Bm(6) and E(9) repeat, and the melody modulates down a half step for the Eb(9) and D(9) chords that follow, before jumping back into the 4/4.

For solos, the entire form can be used, or just the 4/4, or even a minor blues form, if you really want. The song is quite flexible.

Intro? Try fading in, in some sense, coming up to speed and volume, and adding additional instruments gradually.

To end: tremolo on a C#m chord, or some variation thereof. I like using a C#7#9, which sets us up nicely for the next tune.

Here is a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-SKXuoosVA

Small Theories

What would happen if…

In a song, each part was played in a different time signature? What if those parts were also in different key signatures? Would it matter? How would it sound? Where would it begin?

Let’s give the bass player something. They can start it off. First note: a G. A good, solid note for the instrument, nice to center around. Next note: an F, the dominant seventh above the G. Then the A above that, the third of the F, or the ninth of the G. The fourth note is a Bb, just a half-step above the A, which then goes down to another G, the octave of the first note, and then a C, the fourth of the first G. Let’s repeat these six notes. Repeat them again, and again. It looks like this:

That line plays throughout, until the end (which one might call the “coda”), in this case indicated by the letter “D” in a box. Notice that every fourth note drawn above is made staccato. That’s because our next part is in 4/4 time. Playing the notes staccato is purely optional.

Four bars of the bassline, or six bars of rest begin the “melody” line in 4/4. This also begins with a G. Then an F, but down a whole-step rather than going up. The third note is an A, a whole-step up from that G. The fourth note in the melody is another F, as before. This is the first “chord” in the song. The previous three notes were octaves of the bassline. This first “chord” is a Bb 5 chord – that is, the F is the fifth of the Bb. The second measure in which the melody plays notes begins with a G, just like the previous measure – another octave reflection of the bassline. 

The “melody”:

Here is the “harmony” part:

Note the differences in time and key signature in all three parts. These can all be unified, such as making them all in the key of F, and in 6/4 time. Also, I have not described the chord construction formed by the addition of the “harmony” line. Since this is a relatively “strict” composition, it may be tempting to perform exactly as written, but this is certainly not necessary.

If none of this makes sense, do not worry. Is it math or is it music? Or is it something else? Most of the songs I will discuss originated with some kind of pattern or set of “rules”, but as they grew, worked their way into something more “musical”. Yes, these compositions may be analyzed mathematically, but that could only apply to a “perfect” world, which this (thankfully) is not. To describe how out-of-tune my guitar is, for example, would require more effort than I wish to discuss here. The next songs I will write about will probably sound - and look - more like music, at least in some branch of the jazz tradition. After all, these transcriptions are only guides to interpreting these “small theories”.

Here is a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxvPkTM1CNw