Now check out Clifford Brown’s solo on Jordu: In the 12th and 16th bars of the melody the b9 is accentuated on the V7 chord and resolved in the next bar. Let’s start with the melody of Donna Lee: Take a listen to a few examples of this altered note in action. The b9 of V7 naturally resolves to the 5th of the I chord:Ī skeleton of melodic movement containing this altered 9th would look like this: This one altered note adds a touch more dissonance that will pull the V7 toward the tonic. One of the easiest ways to alter a dominant chord is to utilize the b9 sound. With each of the harmonic alterations that we’ll cover, remember that each one must be approached as musical language, not as a music theory exercise… 1) V7 flat 9 Below we’ll explore 10 options that you can use over V7 chords. There are many ways that you can alter the V7 sound to create more dissonance and accentuate the eventual melodic and harmonic resolution to the tonic. Some altered notes will be mildly dissonant, while others will clash intensely with the harmony and beg for resolution. The V7 chord is full of unlimited possibility.Īs you craft your solo, there is a spectrum of dissonance that you can manipulate over this chord movement depending on your harmonic approach. The next step is making those lines your own by altering the rhythm, intervals, articulation, and in this case, the harmonic content… 10 Dominant 7th AlterationsĪt the heart of the dominant/tonic relationship is tension and release – the movement from conflict and uncertainty to eventual musical resolution. This means devoting time to transcribing language over common chords and progressions.īut what is the next step after you’ve gathered some basic V7 language? You need to turn those scales, instrumental techniques, and theory knowledge into a musical language that people actually want to listen to. The goal of improvising is to create musical phrases that communicate with the listener. Herein lies the difference between improvising with scales and musical language. The line has shape and forward motion from one sound to the next, not a static scale devoid of any musicality. In terms of theory, the majority of the notes in this line are all from the G7 bebop scale, however in Freddie’s solo you don’t hear scales, you hear music. With transcribed language, you’ll bridge the gap between playing scales & chord tones and actually creating musical phrases in real time.įor example, check out Freddie Hubbard’s solo on Birdlike:Īt seconds into the tune you hear this line: We’re talking about speaking the jazz language.Ĭhecking out the blues is a great place to start gathering some language – it’s 12 bars centered around a V7 sound. Remember, a scale within itself is not music, however a scale can serve as the building blocks in constructing a musical line. The next logical step after learning and ingraining these scales and voice leading rules is transcribing. To really start improvise over a Dominant 7 sound you need to go even further… Learn the language This is a fine place to start conceptualizing these chords in your mind and your ear, however these two scales and voice leading rules are just the beginning. Coming from an analytical perspective, the voice leading “rules” of the V to I relationship are resolving the 7th of the V chord to the 3rd of the I chord: 7-3 ResolutionĪnd the 3rd of V7 to the root of the I chord: 3-1 (Leading tone) Resolution The other common rule that many players also fall back on for V7 to I is the natural voice-leading motion between these two chords. The Basicsįor many players, the most common way to access the Dominant 7th to Tonic sound is with the Mixolydian mode: If you haven’t already worked on this dominant to tonic relationship, now is the time to get started. The Blues, Rhythm Changes, Stella by Starlight, Giant Steps, All the Things You Are…it all goes back to V7 resolving to I. In nearly every standard that you’ll practice or perform as an improviser, you’re going to encounter the V7 to I chord relationship. The Dominant/Tonic relationship is at the foundation of Western music from Baroque concertos, to Mahler symphonies, to Louis Armstrong, to Coltrane and the Beatles. It’s the relationship of the five chord to the one chord… V7 to I. What’s the most important chord progression that you need to know as a musician? Well that’s a good question…In the past we’ve explored some common chord relationships that you’ll encounter as an improviser, but there is one chord relationship that sticks out above the rest.
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