Questions about chord tones and time
hello instructor. I´m very sorry to disturb you... but there are some things that I don´t understand!1- How can not the "chord tone" limits you in therms of notes? I mean, if I play, for exemple, five blow (E), at the exact moment that the chord changes to the IV chord, (that´s called playing on the beat, right?) and stay there for a few moments, then move to four blow (C), Is that allowed? that does sound right to me... but you affirm when talking about of "being responsible for the notes you play" that thas wrong. You tell us about "holding the note", that works the same way for playing the chord tones ON the chord change? iIs that a common thing? because I only seen you play CHORD TONES, not SCALE TONES at the moment that the chord changes... A jazz guy told me that I really CAN NOT do this, and he also said that AT ANY MOMENT I´m allowed to play the four blow C over the I chord. Is that explained by the "clumsy nature" of the blues?2- That guy reaaally can play jazz and do all those scales and etc, but he told me that he could not help my in my blues journey!! How can that be? Perhaps beacause blues is a tradition, that only can be transmitted by a blues guy, and jazz is more based in playing scales, opposed by the "less is more" principle that blues have??3- In bending study 4 you tell us that the the musician is constantly "pushing and pulling the rythm" how this works?? is there something to do with the chord tones??? unresolving it on purpose? Thanks Mr. David I appreciate very much the remarkable work you did on bluesharmonica.com, this is reaallly impressive.
Hello elmocamboharp.
"Playing on the beat" in the context that you state generally describes a style/approach of playing that is mostly on the downbeat, or a mixture of downbeats and upbeats, but there is commonly a note present on the downbeat. A good example of this is Big Walter Horton's "Walter's Boogie." The opposite of this is music that is syncopated, which is an emphasis on the upbeat. In this approach you'll see more rests on downbeats, or holds through downbeats, with most the notes starting and ending on upbeats. This is what gives Little Walter his swinging style, "Rocker" being a good example, especially in the later choruses.
Playing 4+ C and then 5+ E on the IV Chord is fine, those are Chord Tones. Chord Tones will sound good, because the other musicians are also playing those notes. Generally speaking, 70% of the notes you'll play are Chord Tones (G B D F for example for a G7 Chord); 20% will not be of the chord, but from the scale of the chord (the A C and E, the notes in-between the G B D F); and the last 10% will be outside tones, notes not of the chord or scale of the chord, they are outside the key (Ab, Bb, Db, etc.). Notes of the chord match, but can be boring by themselves... scale tones and outside tones add color. The C over the I Chord you spoke of can be used, but it will sound dissonant and will want to be resolved... which is fine, but the 4th scale tone is generally an awkward tone in improvisation and should be used with caution. These concept are covered in the Music Theory lessons on the site, so take your time and walk through those lessons, all the way through all six lessons... it's time well-spent.
Blues music is very diatonic in nature, focusing mostly on the basic 7th chord. Though there are some notes that create bluesy dissonance in our improvising, the chords are fairly straight-forward. Jazz musicians use more complex chords and soloists tend to emphasize work on the extended tones of the chord, so the use of the Root and 5th especially, is generally thought of as too simple, so emphasis is on 3rds, 7ths, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths. At the heart of every great jazz musician is a musician who understands the blues... I have a feeling that your friend is unwilling to take the time to help walk you through the years of study that it takes to understand this theory well.
Pushing and Pulling the beat is where you play in front of (rushing) and behind the beat for dramatic effect. Used too much can make your playing sound out of time. Used in moderation for dramatic effect can be very exciting.
Oh sorry, I mean five hole drawn (F) over the four chord! But anyways, I get you!
Thank you David
Cool. The 5 draw F is a half step away from the 5+ E, the 3rd of the IV Chord. That note will be dissonant, so it will need to be resolved to a chord tone eventually. These are just general guidelines for soloing, the lick vocabulary you develop will be more important than the theory. In accompaniment playing the rules are much more strict, so this theory knowledge of chords is very helpful in ensuring that what you play is harmonious. Best wishes on your studies.
Thanks again Mr. David!!
hello instructor. I´m very sorry to disturb you... but there are some things that I don´t understand!
1- How can not the "chord tone" limits you in therms of notes? I mean, if I play, for exemple, five blow (E), at the exact moment that the chord changes to the IV chord, (that´s called playing on the beat, right?) and stay there for a few moments, then move to four blow (C), Is that allowed? that does sound right to me... but you affirm when talking about of "being responsible for the notes you play" that thas wrong. You tell us about "holding the note", that works the same way for playing the chord tones ON the chord change? iIs that a common thing? because I only seen you play CHORD TONES, not SCALE TONES at the moment that the chord changes... A jazz guy told me that I really CAN NOT do this, and he also said that AT ANY MOMENT I´m allowed to play the four blow C over the I chord. Is that explained by the "clumsy nature" of the blues?
2- That guy reaaally can play jazz and do all those scales and etc, but he told me that he could not help my in my blues journey!! How can that be? Perhaps beacause blues is a tradition, that only can be transmitted by a blues guy, and jazz is more based in playing scales, opposed by the "less is more" principle that blues have??
3- In bending study 4 you tell us that the the musician is constantly "pushing and pulling the rythm" how this works?? is there something to do with the chord tones??? unresolving it on purpose?
Thanks Mr. David I appreciate very much the remarkable work you did on bluesharmonica.com, this is reaallly impressive.