Analyzing a Standard All Of Me - Harmonic Analysis in Jazz - Music Theory Lesson
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- Опубликовано: 26 авг 2024
- Harmonic analysis of a jazz standard. Understanding the harmony and being able to make a harmonic analysis of the songs we play is an important skill when playing jazz, so this video is an example of how I analyze songs and how I apply music theory
The video covers which scales are used on the chords, especially the secondary dominants, the key of the song and how the chord progression moves. Knowing how the form of the song is and the common chord progressions in there will make it much easier to use this tune to learn others quicker.
This video is meant as an opening for a discussion so please comment on the video if you have questions or suggestions.
Also if you have ideas for tunes I should try to analyze in another installment!
Here's the lesson on turnarounds that I mention: • Turnarounds part 2 - ...
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Repeating this in my own words:
Chord analysis:
0) prior knowledge: (dominant) fifths lead naturally back to the tonic centre, i.e. first chord
1) first identify the chords that belong to the key (here C major). This gives a kind of reduced, basic progression.
2) next identify the "relative dominants". Here there are two: (i) the A7 which leads to D- (which itself is the 2nd chord of the C major key). In the key of D minor, A7 is the fifth. And (ii) the E7 which leads to A- (which is the 6th chord of the C major key)
3) next, identify "relative dominant of 2nd degree". Here, the E7 chord in the first line leads to A7 which leads to D-.
4) finally there's the turnaround, which has a logic of its own
How to solo over these
0) the pentatonic will most often be a safe haven (C pent major)
1) for chords in the key, you can use the scale of that key (C major)
2) for sequences where a dominant 5th leads to a minor chord of the key, you can use the harmonic minor scale of that chord (A harm-, D harm -)
3) for relative dominants of the 2nd degee, I assume we'll be in the major scale of the dominant of the 1st degree (A major)
4) for the turnaround, I assume you can bring in chromatic progressions, in this case descending ones.
Appreciated!
Glad you like it! Remember that the notes in the melody gives you a good indication of what scale you will find on a dominant chord :)
Hello, I think I understand most of what you wrote (thank you!), except: "the E7 which leads to E-" --- I don't see an E7 followed by an E-. What do I miss?
@@baldvinkovacs I corrected it: it's E7 to A- obviously.
I watched this video about 5 years ago and it inspired me to memorize the diatonic chords in major. while i could sort of follow along, i never really understood it from my own analysis. I'm proud to say I've gotten to the point where I don't need this spoonfed! Ive over the years ive been learning functional harmony ideas, the circle of fifths and major / harmonic minor / melodic minor scales! ❤❤ Thank you jen for inspiring a years long journey to really understand this. Im not on the guitar anymore but your channel really got me exposed to some cool ideas. Now let me get back to taking it in all twelve keys! The more i learn, the more i discover id like to learn.
Blew over this chart who-knows how many times over years, and never realized the harmonic major connection in bar 5 leading to that ii chord. Wow- it makes perfect sense, and the B-flat leading to the C-sharp in the A7 scale solution is a nice minor third. If I ever gig again I'm going to keep that in mind. Som vanlig, tack så mycket Jens!
this is one of the best lessons you've done. would love if you did more of these. Keep making great videos!
Thank you Arnaldi!
This is hurting my head. In a good way. I'll be picking my way slowly through this video for some time to come. Great insights on secondary dominants. Thanks.
I'm amazed at how when I started this was thrown around as one of the first tunes as a lot of singers play it, it took me so long to work out all of this and there are so many people with no clue on how to play over this, it's actually pretty challenging but sometimes get past off as a naff tune
+Jazzer Caster Well, it is very famous but not necessarily easy, unless you compare it to Girl From Ipanema 😁🎸
very useful even for me a rock folk guy covering this song. I was going to play the lead with a slide and this really gives me some great ideas.
That's great, Joe! Go for it 🙂
Very helpful , please analys more standarts! Thank you
Thanks man!
Great lesson. Thanks a lot.
Glad you liked it!
Perfect. I LOVED this lesson. Thank you. Please, please do many more... especially "tricky" ones such as the suggested "How Insensitive"
Thank you Steve! I will return to the topic :)
Oh yeah, the other super popular tune I find "Tricky" is Stella By Starlight. If I can correctly understand Stella and How Insensitive then I think I'd be able to apply the concepts to much easier situations.
This is absolutely brilliant. I'm definitely enjoying these recent videos that move off piste a bit. Like the five best albums video. It's a essential. Good job Jens.
Thanks man! Glad you like the new videos :)
+Jens Larsen line a musician I love your lessons and also the sound of your recording is impeccable
Bill Ford Thank you Bill!
I'm working on learning this song right now so this is quite helpful, thank you Jens!
Great :)
the ego perspective part may not be a very modern approach (in terms of editing and so), as it doesnt use fancy visuals etc, BUT it is the best one (for me). it gave me a completely better entrance into the tune. danke!!
I am not sure what the "ego perspective part" is? but keep in mind that RUclips was a very very different place in 2017 compared to now. People reacted differently to videos and you could still "just" teach and people would be interested. In the meantime we have gotten used to videos and it takes a lot more to get people who don't know you to give it a chance. This video is different for you because you already know me and you are pretty sure that I won't waste your time, but if I published this video now it would not get anywhere.
@@JensLarsen sure. But as I said at least for me seeing a piece of paper, a hand and a pen is the more solid and natural approach - in context of analysis of a piece of paper with sheet music on it.
I teach learning strategies and the perspective matters.
Anyways, I liked the video and will learn the song today!
@@nicohauptmentalist I get that, my point was more that if I did not develop how I make videos you would never have heard of me, and then also never seen this video.
Wow, this was helpful. Just getting into jazz. The way to choose a scale based on chord funtion plus interaction with melody is really interesting.
Thank you! Glad you found it useful! People always forget to take the melody in account! :)
Clear as crystal. Thanks!
Thank you! Glad you like it!
Really cool lesson! Now I found the way to understand which scale more accetable for some situations. Huge thanks, Jens!
Thank you Evgen! Glad you found it useful! :)
Jens Larsen, you have helped me so much. I play it in C concert on Clt. in a Trad Jazz situation. Now I'm facing it on Tnr in a Big Band in Ab concert with lots of chord substitutions. It was freaking me out to solo through those changes. You have explained the structure very well. The Rhythm Section guys play passing chords..I play passing notes..What can possibly go wrong? Nothing really if we know where we're going. Jazz for me has been turning a "wrong" note into something interesting. Yes, one day the Music Police will pull me over, but they will only issue a warning (if I was really swinging at the time). You are great. I am now more confident with this tune. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Very happy you can use the videos! Especially cool that it is useful on another instrument! 🙂
Im so thankful for this lesson sir !
You're very welcome Ludwig! I am glad you find them useful 🙂
The most understandable lesson ive watched thanks
Thank you Brian Cubito Jr. I am glad you found it useful! 👍
Thank you! Really helpful to go through the parent scales of the non diatonic chords in the tune. Would be nice to see an example section at the end where you demonstrate what you have gone through over a few choruses of the tune, and also an analysis of the melody as it relates to the chords. Can you do an analysis of Tune Up next? cheers
That kind of lesson is probably something I might do for my webstore, that would be 45 minutes and a lot of transcribing. That makes some sense right?
To me Tune up is just a bunch of II V I's that modulate to a new key every 4 bars. I think it was originally written like that too by somebody Coltrane used to work for (And I don't mean Miles...)
thanks for another useful video...step by step...easy to follow
Thank you Alex! Great to hear that you found it useful!
Great video! Thank you!
I like the idea to touch on this subject,so respect. It is not much common subject on youtube, so please keep doing it for a while.... I understand that you made it short on purpose and so , you cannot explain more right now. I have my own theory on the subject. I know the functional analysis and it is efficient tool. I would advise to not use auto focus but fixed focus instead, it will help the readibility. Thx so much for these nice videos.
Thanks Antonio Yeah the whole video format is somewhat of an experiment, I did notice the auto focus which is weird since I normally have a fixed focus point set. Very odd.
Thanks Jens, learning a lot!
You're very welcome Hristo :)
Very helpful and timely! Keep the great stuff coming, Jens!
btw: I'm now using the Bias FX patch you created when I'm studying your videos :)
Thanks Steve! How do you like it?
So far, so good, Jens. I like the cloud feature that allows storing and downloading tones. Very cool!
Excellent! Your videos always have useful information, and I enjoy your playing, too.
Very nice job! When you get a chance it would be nice to see how you analyze a modal song i.e., "So What" and what you do to keep track of when the changes happen, developing melodic interest etc.
Would it be right to say that you are actually looking for a lesson on soloing on modal songs and on how to make melodies that are related to the 4 or 8 bar periods?
the beard is epic. all of me is such an important song to me. thank You
Working on it Jens! 🎉
You got this!
I don't know if mentioned before in the comments, but you can see the D7 also as II7. In that case I call this a special function dominant, a dominant that doesn't resolve to it's 'one". In most cases you can use the lydian dominant scale (in this case A melodic minor). In this case that will also sound nice since you are coming from Am. I am glad you pointed out the similarity of Fm6 and Bb7. Often the two are played consecutively resulting in an 2 5. That Bb7 is then also a special function dominant taking the Bb lydian dominant scale, and guess what, that is also F melodic minor (haha).
Great break down. Stardust would be a great tune to analyze
Thank you! Maybe not the most common tune though 🙂
Would love more like this. Helps so much. Thanks Jens.
This is excellent.You should also mention the circle of fifths.Please do more.Thank you.
+Peter Dunphy Thank you Peter! I will do mire, in fact I just published one last week 😊
Why do I need to include the circle of fifths?
circle of fifths is a very important part of composition both in classical,jazz and popular music. I just saw your analysis of Stella by starlight..excellent.Thank you Jans..great videos.
Wonder what his favorite guitar finish is... ;)
But what is the color of my new guitar? 🙂
Tobacco Sunburst...? :p
Nope...
Hopefully we'll see it soon in one of your videos, which are great by the way! Thank you!
Thanks! I have been using it on and off for months, so it's already there 🙂
Awesome Video, Jens!
I really enjoyed this lesson. Keep up the great work!!
You gave me a lot of useful information and points to think about.
Could you give some examples on how you use the different scales over the chords and how you effectively change your scales?
Greetings
Thank you Simon!I think I have lessons on IV minor, and harmonic minor over dominants already (though they are a bit old).
The way I change scales is really by using target notes which I also just did a video on a few weeks ago.
Thank you! I will definitely go and watch them.
Great! Let me know if somethings unclear with them :)
wow , this lesson is truly amazing ,it cleared up many mysteries to me , thank you a tonne .
also , you had a pretty nice beard :)
Thanks Omar, glad it was useful!
How you analyze non-diatonic chords like the secondary dominants in the context of the tune is very useful and clear.
Thank you Stewart!
This was very helpful. More on function patterns!
Hi Jens, instead of Fminor commen is to play F#diminished and intead of Dm7 befor the ending to play d79 and instead of G7 at the ending play Dm7 G7 also instead of last A7 play Ebdiminished those chords give some enthusiastic flavour to the song I guess...
Just at glance then, yes they are all possible 🙂
great sond jens larsen!!!
Thank you very much! 🙂
Always great lessons! Would it be an idea, use this tune to show us maybe two possible improvising approaches? Like pentatonics and triads?
Thanks Stefano! That would be an idea, but already a lesson on one of those approaches would be so big (as in long and a lot of work) that I would use it in my WebStore and not for free on RUclips.
Hope you understand! :)
Thanks Jens. This is a great breakdown of a standard. I am wondering if jazz professionals who know these chord changes focus on the specific out-of-key chords as outliers or as opportunities to add more color to the improv... and how do they determine what notes to use.
+Don Van Gorden I think that if you transcribe jazz solos you'll find that most of what is going on is really simple and just following the chords. Note and scale choices are often made more important than it is.
Exactly. I think I know how to apply modes to follow the chord changes but you have some clever ways of thinking. Just curious to see how you would approach modal pieces like "So What" which are so open to creative thinking. Specifically, I'm curious how you would you use something other than Dorian modes perhaps diminish or melodic minor.
+FranciscoBIdo Most of the creative playing done on modal pieces are just using the modes. Just check Wes or Pat Martino on impressions or some of the later So What recordings from Miles.
It's about the melodies you play and almost never the scale.
Thanks, that's helpful. I think I have been too fixated on scales. Will listen to those tunes as well. Regards.
Would you do" Triste" and "How insensitive" Jobin like this. Great to study analysis on the sheet music.Thank you Jens.
+Peter Dunphy Thank you Peter! I'll keep those songs in mind 😊
Thank you for a nice chord analyze!! great simplicity - but there's a detail in the 5'th actually 6'th bar D - Harm doesn't have a d# which are in the melody. Would you just add it to the scale or use an A alt scale. I has got all the notes, but spoil the simplicity of your analyze. Lots of comments, maybe someone has said the same before
That is just a leading note, not a scale note. A altered does not have an E and the other option would be A7 dim, but that sounds really out of place in this context (which also makes sense since it is just a leading note)
What about the D# in bar 6 over the A7? Just a passing tone? Thank you!
Yes, I think that is also pretty clear from how it sits in the melody. The alternative would be the diminished scale which is atonal and not really a scale your ear naturally puts in there :)
Bedankt Jens, erg duidelijk uitgelegd. Wat is de vertaling voor een auxiliary dominant? Die E7 en A7 waarvan je zegt dat ze in harmonisch mineur staan, dat zijn tussendominanten toch? In de maat 13, 14 en 28 noem je dat het gaat om een dominant van een dominant, is dit dan een ander soort dominanten functie dan die eerdere twee tussendominanten?
can you do same video about "cheek to cheek"?
Maybe, it's not a standard we play a lot around here though. Mainly it's a lot of major turnarounds and a part that goes to minor right?
Yes, I think you right) All songs that you show - I very like. I very like to watch your video and play your licks. Thanks for video and for ALL you do)
Pavel Deryabin You're very welcome Pavel!
Very helpful Jens. I was working on this song today and was very happy to find your analysis. I really hope you do a series of analysis on common jazz standards.
Question for you. What is the value of thinking of a dominant chord as a V of V chord? So with the D7 here why wouldn't we want to just think if it as the 5th mode of G harmonic minor. Why is it better to think of it as the V of G Maj. Conversely, why wouldn't we want to treat the other V7 chords in this tune as V chords of their relative major keys. For instance, we think of the E7 in this tune as coming from 'A' harmonic minor, but why not think of it as coming from A major since E7 has all the notes contained in the A major scale?
Great that it was useful.
The scale choice depends on where your ear hear the chord go in the key. I talk about it in more detail here ruclips.net/video/8dp1upexGCQ/видео.html
@@JensLarsen I should have known you would have a video that covers my question. This is great. But in All Of Me, the E7 that starts on the 3rd bar isn't a secondary dominant, because it doesn't resolve to a major or minor chord? If that's right this would confirm what my ear is telling me. I was practicing this song starting arpeggios on the third and I did not like how the F sounds in the G#Dim on that E7 chord and found that an F# in the G# half diminished sounds much better. I'm probably missing something, but did you make a mistake relating that first E7 to A harmonic minor? The second E7 in the tune starting on bar 9 resolves to Am7, so it make sense there.
I have seen guys play a Bm7 chord before the E7 as a II - V. And then they would play dorian over Bm7 and mixolydian over E7. But wouldn't the "right" choice be Bm7(b5) to E7? How would you do? And how am I - who are soloing over changes - gonna know what chords the boy or girl is gonna choose when she/he is comping? What if they play Bm7 to E7. Then the harmonic scale would not work? What would you do and what is your approach?
That's down to listening (both for you and the ones comping) and knowing the people you play with.
I don't hear a lot of people using a Bm7 there, that would sound weird and out of key if you did, unless it's meant as a surprising reharmonization?
My approach is listening and being aware of what everybody is playing (basically you would just listen for it not being the E7b9 sound, and then try to hear what it is) I often like people who comp me to push a bit with other chords, even if it clashes it does keep the solo fresh.
Thank you for an informative answer!
And thank you for your very informative youtube channel
Emanuel Hedberg You're welcome Emanuel!
What do you think about analysing non-diatonic chords by assigning it the interval in relation to the key and just changing the quality.
All of Me in C for example: CMaj = I, E7 = III7, A7 = VI7 etc.
I find this an easier way of remembering tunes and practicing in different keys. Any thoughts? Cheers!
I find it more practical to just remember the function. That tells me how to play over it too, but what you prefer is of course up to you 🙂
@@JensLarsen I see. I feel like this way tells me how to play over it too, especially since I haven't finished learning HM and MM scale theory, but I'm all comfortable with Major scale theory.
I know what quality arpeggio will work, and I can create tension and release with enclosures, approach notes etc. without needing to think modally or about different scales.
I'm still only half a year into jazz, so this seems like a decent way to think about things for simplicity, but I feel like there is probably a huge downside too. Is this the case, and would you recommend I bite the bullet and analyse it more deeply like you demonstrated?
Thanks Jens. Love your channel.
Don't worry too much about it. Let your way of thinking develop along with the way you play. You can easily change it through time
Do you have video explaining various minor scales - harmonic, melodic, Dorian ( more?) plus when to use them?
I do, but it is tied to Jazz progressions (since those are what you need them for in the context of my channel) so if you are not familiar with jazz songs it may not be all that useful for you: ruclips.net/video/NEvBZTD-f6s/видео.html
A bit of a dumb question, but at around 3:20 you write out D Harmonic Minor & A Harmonic Minor, I can see that you choose those two scales from the melody notes (and chords) but my question is that when improvising would I be able to leave out the notes that make them harmonic and use something like Melodic Minor, Minor Blues, or some other minor scale? would it throw the song off??
Dear Jens,
I happen to have a couple of questions:
*Wouldn't you consider bars 11th until the 14 th being a ii(dorian) -V(mixolydian)?
*Same question with the 27th and 28th bars.
*6th bar: what about the #4 or b5? Do ou consider it just as a passing note? The whole-half tone scale would be really consistent in the 5th and 6th bars since it has all the notes of the chord and the melody.
Excellent job! Thank you very much!
Thanks!
- No I don't see the A chord as a II chord to the D7, it has its own cadence (the E7) and is quite long so it does not sound like a suspention of the D7.
- Actually I'd prefer to harmonize bar 28 with an Eb dim, but if you do use A7 I would probably play it with D melodic minor
- I consider the #4 on the A7 a passing note and not a note that should have a place in the scale. Dom7ths from the dim scale don't usually sound that strong when resolving to a minor tonic.
Does that help?
Wow, many thanks for your fast and accurate answer, and for sharing your knowledge!
-Very well, what you say sounds convincing, and it probably makes more sense than what I suggested.
-I almost always follow strictly the harmonies from the iReal. In that case there is an A7: I like the colour of the mode you suggest and in addition to that, you're right, it would be the closest in terms of alterations to the main key (by adding just one #) and this time there isn't any b9 in the melody! Nevertheless I don't quite understand why would you use the Eb dim instead...?
-I see, it makes sense. "Dom7ths from the dim scale don't usually sound that strong when resolving to a minor tonic." -> Nice, I didn't know this one, I'll remember it!
Once again, I don't know how to thank you! Best wishes,
R.
You're very welcome!
If you want to help me then you can share one of my videos on Facebook or Twitter and help me spread the word! 😊
Done ;-)
I hope you'll get some extra visits to your channel!
Thanks man! That's a huge help!
Hi Jens, how did you immediately know which scales to use by just looking at which notes are sharps and flats? I wouldve never figured it out
No that is not really the process. I have a video on secondary dominants if you are looking for more info
I am confused. how an A7 got a Bb? It should have a C# and a F# right? And the same goes for E7, it should have #C as well.
I think that A7 in Dm very often has a b9 and a b13. Maybe you just need to think a bit about how dominants work in a minor key?
For the F-6, would you not play the b7 (Eb) in the chord since you have the E natural in the melodic minor scale?
I would indeed use melodic minor, but actually a m6 chord is pretty much always melodic minor. The other option would be C harmonic major 🙂
@@JensLarsen sorry, maybe i wasn't clear - would the chord have the b7 (Eb) in it even though we have the E natural in the scale?
An Fm6 does not have a b7? That would be called an Fm13
Jens Larsen ok!
wonderful lesson, thank you very much and more harmonic analysıs please. '' Summer time '' or All Blues would be very good. Thanks.
Use regular scales on the first parts of All blues, diminshed or altered on the #9 chords
Indeed! As Alvin Samson said: The G7 and the C7 are mixolydian (or G blues something will work as well) and for Eb7 and D7 you can use altered or diminished, but if you listen to recordings you'll often here people play the Eb7 as a lydian dominant and D7 as some sort of altered/diminished or harmonic minor dominant
Jens Larsen yes, thaks for the explanation but what I really needed to kow is where Eb7 comes from ( is that a only half step movement forward and back to V chord ) or what it is related to in Harmony . Anyway, thaks again for your time.
That's easy : It's a tritone substitue of the dominant of D7.
Please analys "how insensitive " . Thanks
I'll keep that in mind! Thanks!
Thanks for this Jens...Just one question - in Section B there's a Cmaj7 & E-7 in one bar and you called them Tonic chords. What does that mean please?
You're welcome 🙂
Tonic chords are a part of the three main groups of chords in tonal or functional harmony. You can better read an article on that instead of me trying to explain it in a comment. Maybe try Wikipedia?
Does that help?
Thanks for that Jens. I'll search for the three main groups of chords that work in tonal or functional harmony
Great lesson Jens, I'm really enjoying your videos.
What scale/mode would you suggest for soloing over the D7 in the fourth line before it changes to the Dm7?
Could/would one use the D mixolydian? Any others?
Thanks for making these vids, very much appreciated.
+neveratrivers Thank you! Glad you like them ☺️
For that D7 it is either mixolydian or lydian dominant. I might use one of the other depending on my mod ☺️
Cool, thanks! So I'm guessing the Lydian Dom adds a little more spice with the #4 (b5)
Well, if you put on any aebersold record with a standard in a major key and the V of V in the progression you can hear that sound. They pretty much always play #11 on those 🙂
Hi Jens, I appreciate your videos! Thanks!
I wonder when you play a progression, do you visualize the fretboard by note names, shapes and/or by intervals? Maybe through years of experience you just see how all the nearby notes are related to the upcoming chord?
For me, I think, If I want to stay in the same position on the neck, I'll see the interval from the root of the orignal chord to the root of the next chord and after seeing the root of the next chord I visualize the pattern of it. If I want to change position together with the chord and I don't see a clear interval, I'll go by note name.
Thank you!
When I play a progression I don't really visualize the fretboard in any way, I just focus on what I want to play and try to hear it.
It's actually hard to describe, but I think the more you play and the more options you get used to you will get there yourself.
Helpful video. Question about your analysis of E7 in the third bar: A harmonic minor has a C natural and F natural in it. Those wont clash with the root and fifth of the E7?
No, those are a natural sound of the chord in that context. Try playing a song in minor and then play the dominant with a 9th and a 13th, I am sure you can hear it 🙂
@@JensLarsen sp you're saying the E7 has a minor sound here?
@@adampecsek Yes, it sounds like the dominant in Am
@JensLarsen thanks for answering this questions. Very helpful. I understand why the harmonic minor scale off the i chord works in a V i progression. Here, though, the E7 is moving to a major chord (A7). Does E7 A7 sound like a V i progression because Amin is in the key, but A7 isn't, so the audience hears E7 as a set up to Amin, but then the A7 is a surprise? Does that make sense, the way I've described it?
@@adampecsek yes that is a good description
I was hoping that you were going to apply what you did on the score to the guitar so we could see it in practical application.
That would be the sort of thing I might do for my WebStore. That would simply take too long to make (and be a 30-45 minute video :) )
That seems understandable right?
Actually, no... This was a 10 minute video that you actually had mentioned was too long... you could have done a 5 minute explanation and play the chord pattern you document in a quick once or twice over and still not break the 10 minute mark and like your explanation of pentatonic chords (which btw... love that one!) you would have given a quick practical and applicable nugget of knowledge and still not be any more giving it all away than you were with your example on pentatonic chords.... in fact, you would be consistent with that example...
Or at least that was what I was anticipating....
I understand that you are used to that format. But 5 minute explanation would not cover it. The normal lessons are a much more compact amount of information if you think about it. It's a total of 6 to 12 bars of examples. A practical example (or nugget if you will) on this takes almost a minute to play through and is 32 bars long. Trust me it is a lot more work to do, just like the lesson I have in my WebStore (and I happen to know how much work they are....)
Hi Jens, thanks again for the wonderful video (6 years later :P)
Very basic question: on the II chord, the Dm. Do you play it as II with B natural or as Dm with Bb?
Being that the A7 was harmonic minor (cause of the Bb on the harmony) I would guess the Bb, but maybe not. Probably both options are ok and its a matter of taste but what is most common or more standart? I was playing it and I came to that doubt. Thanks again in advance
It is in the key of C so B is much more natural, but in the context B or Bb are neither that strong on the chord.
hi jens, great video. I was just wondering about the usage of the E7 secondary dominant in bar 3-4 and 9-10. As far as i understood, in both cases E7 has its origin from the A harmonic minor scale. Why does the A harmonic minor scale match in both cases, since we have an A7 chord on one hand and an A-7 chord on the other. I understand that to resolve to the A-7, we take the A harmonic minor scale and we use the V chord as a bridge. What i dont understand is: To resolve to the A7, we take the E7 out of the A harmonic minor scale, but A harmonic minor doesn`t quite match the A7, does it?
Because in C major E7 sounds like it wants to resolve to Am, not A7. It just happens to do so.
Congratulations on this great channel!
I was wondering why you treat the E7 as the dominant of Am and not as the dominant of A (A7 in this case). When I comp in "All of me", I remember using E9 or E13, (adding F# and C#). If I thought of E7 as leading to Am, I would use E7b9 and E7b9b13 instead.
Do you think that both of them are possible? And if not could you explain why?
Thanks so much!
Sure! In the context of a C major song the most natural sound for an E7 is as a dominant for Am, The dominant for A7 in this case would be a dominant for A7(b9b13) and the E7(b9b13) would also be the most natural choice.
E9 and E13 don't sound right in this song in my opinion 🙂
Thanks! Make sense. I will try it out.
To me using E9 and E13 is a reharmonization that I'd use t surprise a listener because they expect the other sound.
Excellent lesson, thank you! Could you elaborate a bit the progression F6 (IV; subdominant) => Fm6 (IVm).
How did you deduce that the Fm6 is descend of IV? Is that when analyzing a song, if one sees a minor chord that is not part of the major harmonic progression (I ii iii IV V vi vii), but is one of the major ones (I, IV or V), it simply must be their "minor"? What's the function of that ("leading to...)? I'm just starting to understand harmonic progressions.
The IVm is a way to move from a subdominant back to the tonic. It is super common. Try to play simple chords like this C F Fm C. You can hear it is basic Country and Western stuff.
I have other videos on it if you look up modal interchanges and "Music Theory 5 - chord progressions you need to recognize"
So instead of SD - D - T, there can be SD - SDm - T. Got it. I'll check out those other videos immediately. You're a gem@@JensLarsen!!
Could you analyze Miles' Solar. I know it's only ii-V-Is in essence, but I've never seen it explained with this level of detail. Thanks in advance. Regards from Canada
Well, I take it you know the song by heart?
Think about it like this: it's sort of a reharmonization of a Cm blues. First two bars are tonic, then you get a cadence to IV but as a major chord, this goes via IV minor to bIII and then a cadence to the neapolitan subdominant (bII Maj7th) and a II V back.
This is really short, but that is the movement explained from a C minor point of view, does it make any sense?
+Jens Larsen I'm sure it makes sense, not to me though :) I'm still building my theoretical knowledge and honestly I'm not there yet. For instance during the row first bars of Cm the melodic goes 1-7-1-2-5, right? If it's a minor chord how come the 7 it's not a b7?
Because it is not a m7 chord, it is a CmMaj7 chord :) Think Melodic minor
Nice! Would you start practicing the solo by playing all the arpeggios (an arpeggio for each chord) or would you think of scales based on the way you analysed the chord progression? Thank you
I would practice the arpeggios, but arpeggios are in scales so it is not one or the other.
Yes, I look at arpeggios as notes in scales, so they naturally blend, but every time I learn a new standard I play several times all the arpeggios and then I move on linking them and analysing those extra notes that link them nicely to see why they work well, and most of the time those notes are diatonic notes so part of the scale. I don't play arpeggios in turnarounds, too fast, I play phrases I like and then I write the notes down and look at the notes of the chords to see why the phrases sound good. For turnarounds I listen to famous solos and copy ideas. The way I solo over the last few bars of this standard is by modifying the original theme.
I am not sure what that has to do with your question? 🙂
@@JensLarsen maybe I got confused. 👍😂
interesting analysis, Jens. What kind of rhythm is that with the 3 note grouping on the second bar of the first four lines? quarter note triplet equalling 2 beats? not seen that before.
yes, that is a quarter note triplet :)
This was extraordinarily informative. But I need the sheet. Where's the sheet music you're working with? I can't keep up with you without it.
Maybe take a screenshot? I am just using the Realbook and adding some Roman Numerals so it shouldn't be too trick :)
I don’t get it, how is the D7 a dominant when we are in the key of C??
It is a secondary dominant. Maybe check out this: ruclips.net/video/8dp1upexGCQ/видео.html
Hello! Thanks for this video. In bar 28, we have an A7 acting as the V of ii. I’m wondering why you’d still use the D harmonic minor scale starting on an A, which has a Bb, even though the melody note for most of that bar is a B natural? Thanks again!
That is the most common choice for that type of dominant, and we usually go with that in the solos.
@@JensLarsen ok, thank you!
Where do you stand on analyzing a standard in terms of key centers versus all on one key with alterations (as you did in the video)? For example, Blue Bossa starts in the tonic minor and then moves to 3 minor in the B section. Is that just another way of looking at it or do you have an opinion on that?
I do have an opinion (not surprisingly I hope). I would mention a modulation if there is one, like in All The Things You Are or Gone With The Wind.
In the case of Blue Bossa: It isn't modulating, everything is in C minor. The Db major is a neapolitan subdominant, and Ebm7 Ab7 is just a cadence to go there. Try to sing the melody and compare it to how it feels to sing the first 8 bars of All The Things, I think you can hear that it isn't really a modulation.
To me the theory I like to use has to try to describe what I hear, and if you just reduce the movements to key centers it is not really telling you how the chords are connected to the key and giving you a sense of why the harmony of the piece is as it is.
I am a bit curious why you see Ebm7 as moving up a minor 3rd and not as a part of the II V I in Db?
Does that make sense?
That is what I was trying to say: a Minor 2-5-1 in C minor moving to a Major 2-5-1 in Db major (I was thinking only diatonically in the songs key after watching the video haha). Reading it back to myself I see how I didn't make that clear. But yes, I understand what you are saying about describing what you hear and reducing the momentary key centers.
Thanks for the reply and thank you for the great video.
I think that the tricky thing is that we need to get used to the fact that if we play another scale it does not mean that the song has modulated.
Some of the songs that are like this and where you don't realize in the beginning are Lady Bird and Stella.
I have a question on F- . It is fourth degree of C melodic minor scale. if you use A harmonic minor scale on E7 (fifth degree of A h.m.s.), why do you use F melodic mino scale on F- instead of using C melodic minor scale? Many thanks.
Sorry I made a mistake: F- is fourth degree of C harmonic ( or natural) minor scale. but the sense of the question is the same
Sure! The F minor is in the context of C major (the song is in C major) so it makes more sense to take a scale that has a C major triad, the choices then are C harmonic Major or F melodic minor ( there's a D in the melody so F harmonic minor is out)
It is not important that it's a minor chord, it's important that it is a chord in a progression in C major (IV IVm I)
Does that help?
In the A7 chord/scale there is a D# in de melody... what's the reason you don't ride it also in the scale like you did with the Bb ? Sorry if that's a stupid question but i'm a student so i'm allowed to ask them :p
+Richard Van Wabeeke you are indeed! A few reasons: it sounds like a leading note to me (that's probably most important) and also because A7 in C major points to Dm and D harmonic minor would be the most natural scale choice.
The only choice with D# and E would be dim scale and that is never a first choice in a real song ☺️
Does that help?
+Richard Van Wabeeke it's not a stupid question BTW....
Jens Larsen Okej, thanks for the explanation!! :) I do have a lot to learn but "all that Jazz" is very interesting and addictive to :p
Richard Van Wabeeke enjoy the journey and keep at it!
I had the same exact question, god I love the internet. Thank You Mr. Larsen!
Very helpfull, i Just want to ask why you don t consider all the chords out like secondary dominant. Thanks
Why all the chords are secondary dominants?! I doubt if that is what you are really asking.
Sorry i meant the chords out of tonality like A7
@@grazianotassistro362 but I do consider A7 a secondary dominant? 🙂
@@JensLarsen thats the question why do you consider for example A7 and D7 like Harmonic minor tonality, instead secondary dominant of Cmaj?
Sorry I m Just learning
@@grazianotassistro362 That is how you would treat them when they are secondary dominants. D7 is not harmonic minor, do you mean E7?
thanks for taking this sort of analysing of standards public Jens!
just a question: I always see dominants as resolving or not resolving, and there fore play or altered or lydian dominant. (Mostly because my musical knowledge and scholarship is limited from that what i can pick up from the web and books ;-))
Is this too limited, and better, like you did to think V of harminic minor, Dominant of the (diatonic) dominant? Maybe thats why I feel often 'repeating myself' in possible phrases over standards, because of my approach?
I do think that the altered is not what you should go for as a first choice all the time, since it is basically a reharmonization. But if you split it up in dominants resolving to major or to minor (so mixolydian or harmonic minor) and then the lydian dominants then you have more options and will probably hit the song better on a standard.
The feeling of repeating yourself might also come from your choice of melodies, more than the chords? I can't really tell from a YT comment :)
+Jens Larsen Thanks Jens, I'll work more on that approach of resolving minor or major! Gread help :-)
LuLu M You're very welcome!
+LuLu M sorry..'great' (stupid tablet keys..lol)
Over the non diatonic chords can I play a dominant pentatonic scale in the key of C or would I do it over the key of E or A
You should choose a pentatonic scale that is found in the scales I talk about for those chords
I don't understand how the Cmaj7 and the E-7are the same and both functioning as tonics. Is this from the idea of parallel tonic (that I hadn't heard of until I looked it up)? Wouldn't E-7 just be the iii?
Yes, Em7 is III, but III is also a tonic function in a major key. When something has a tonic function it does not mean that the root of this chord is the root of the key. In C major Em7 can be a tonic chord and the root of the key is still C.
Does that help?
@@JensLarsen It does! I was not aware of tonic function. I did some reading and understand now that the iii and the vi have tonic function and they provide a stable feeling in the key. Thank you for expanding my mind a bit and thank you very much for all your videos!
Hi Jens. Do you have a moderately paced backing track for this in the key of C that I might improvise over it with the scales covered in this video?
+aristotle358 Thanks! I don't, but maybe I will make one sometime ☺️
type in all of me jazz standard playalong on youtube, you'll find something
Hey Jens! I didn't understand the fact about dominant's dominant: when and why you have to do it?
What do you mean with the fact? 🙂
When you write V on E7 and on A7 😊.
Also I didn't understand what you explain when you write the A scale on the chart paper considering the C, I'm interested in understanding that!
@@Larriex97 Ok. None of those are V of V in C.
V in C is G7, V of V is D7. That is later.
E7 and A7 are both secondary dominants. You choose the scale of a dominant like that by looking at where it resolves to (in the scale)
E7 resolves to Am, A7 resolves to Dm.
That means that you use those harmonic minor scales: Am harmonic on E7 and Dm harmonic on A7.
Does that help?
the E7 got labeled as a V is it because it's basically a G with some minor modifications?
thanks!
No, it's a secondary dominant that points towards Am7. You can look up secondary dominants on Wikipedia as well if you want a bit more perspective than what I cover here?
thanks for the fast reply! so you wrote it V for E7 basically because it is the V of Am?
Or is it a bit more complicated than that? I tried to read the wiki article but it just confused me :/
+dewinmoonl Yes I called it a V because it wants to go to A, same idea with the A7 that follows. It is pulling towards Dm.
Can u make a video on the diatonic chords of Cmaj 1:19
Maybe try to search for diatonic arpeggios? I have an old video that talks about them :)
1.C 2.d 3.e 4.F 5.G 6.a 7.b 1/2 dim. lower case letters mean minor chords. each chord is the 1, 3, 5, to witch 7, 9, 11, 13 can be added as long as you maintain the integrity of the chord
Hey Jens, nice lesson but i think with one mistake: you said in 3:32 as you talked about A7 : you wrote C# which is not C# but D# !!! thats why i think that A7 which has #4 as mentioned D# belongs to lydian Dominant and it comes from D melodic minor, isnt it ?
Hi Ali, The D# is just a leading note and not a scale note. The scale is D harmonic minor and A lydian would be E melodic minor (which anyway doesn't fit)
Does that help?
@@JensLarsen but how can we determine whether it is a scale note or a leading note? It puzzles me
@@kinanalbayras3154 That is usually pretty clear from the melodic context. Reducing a solo to pitches against a chord and leaving out the information of the melody is a very superficial analysis.
And in this case, you can of course also try to play an A7(13#9) and see if you think that is the chord that belongs there :)
Everything I play over the Dm sounds off somehow. Even if it's just the arpeggio. Any advice?
Tune your guitar? I can't really tell from a RUclips comment
@@JensLarsen Nah, that's not it :) I'll just go through your analysis again and figure it out.
Hi Jens, great video. I have some questions.. Is it possible to play D melodic minor over the A7 of the 5th bar? (Like a V7/ii) maybe over the impro choruses omitting there was a Bb in the head's melody? If that's the case, it would crash with the comping unless is discussed before? Thanks
You can use it in your solo, it is normal to change scales. I would however not really recommend that scale since it has less strong leading notes than athe harmonic minor option 🙂
Why do you want to use that scale?
Jens Larsen happens that i read in leavitt's modern method that for a V7/ii (VI7) we can use both the harmonic
(VI7b9) and melodic minor (VI7 9 b13). I do hear the harmonic has stronger leading, like you said, just wasn't sure what an experiencied player would do like with this chords which sometimes have more than one scale option and some theory background needed.
Hey, i read in a comment, for the 13th bar D7, G major is the logical choice. But as it's not leading directly to the V, is possible D lydian dominant also?
Thanks a lot. Greetings from Perú
Great! That is probably a good book then! You ask the right questions btw!!
G major is indeed the logical choice for the D7, but in Jazz after bebop it has become a habit to play the V of V as a Lydian dominant so you can do that as well and you will hear it very very often (especially if you check some aebersold tracks)
Jens Larsen oh great, good info thanks
What about F Dorian on the Fm chord ?
No, IVm chords will mostly be Fm6 chords with F melodic minor as the scale (which makes sense since that is closer to C major). With this melody you could argue that it should be C harmonic major.
@@JensLarsen Thank you !
Maybe autumn leaves next? It's another well known standard.
I was thinking in that song too.
Well, there isn't much to discuss in it though. It's pretty much all completely diatonic to the minor key?
Jens Larsen
True though
Fee fi fo fum isn't really functional for a big part, the chords are just sounds placed next to each other. Therefore a functional analysis doesn't make that much sense.
You could reduce it to something that you could interpret as functional, but that would be a very personal analysis.
Does that make any sort of sense?
I don't know think of one, so I can't say much about that, sorry.
See answer below :)
Alright, so I learned to play it, and I'm having a little trouble understanding why some chords that aren't really in the scale are there. This is my first jazz standard, and I haven't analysed anything else yet. How should I approach this?
I am not sure I follow? The analysis is in this video right? that is how you should approach it?
Alright, I'm watching it again with a clear mind ;) So, now I've figured out that the A7 is basically the dominant of the Dm7. Took me a while to understand that, but now I got it. Sorry for asking first and thinking second.
I started a new one, "How High the moon". It has a progression that seems to consist only of fifths, how is that called?
Thanks, Jens, you're a great teacher! Really hope I'll be ready to study jazz at the university in a few years.
You need to look at more than the root movement between the chords. Try to analyze it by identifying II V I cadences and key centeres
Enjoyed the lesson very much, however I'm wondering why you include the Bflat in the scale on the A7 chord and not the Eflat ?
Aren't both these notes functioning in a similar way? Indeed why include any note from the melody from that bar or any other? Appreciate that there are of course different options but just curious about this instance.
I was wondering why nobody else had asked this yet :D
There are 2 main reasons I guess:
The A7 is a dominant to Dm7. Dm7 is a subdominant chord and the note that points us towards the subdominant is the Bb that's why A7b9 works better than A7(9) in this context, it's a little bit like we want to sound like a C7 leading to F (hope that's not to vague?)
When I listen to the melody the D# sounds like a chromatic leading note and not an actual scale tone. If we wanted to use a scale that has all the notes we need A Bb C# D# E G, which actually only would be found in the diminished scale or some synthetic scale construction, and using that in a song like this is not really going to fit.
Does that make sense?
Thanks, yes I can see what you mean, certainly regarding the first reason, however with regard to the second; to me the Bb does sound like a chromatic leading note as well, almost like a 'reply' to the D#. Though yes, admittedly incorporating the D# would make for a rather strange and out of context scale.
My main point though, is I suppose, that if you want a system then it's good to have definite general rules so you can apply them to any instance and it does seem to complicate matters to consider the melody of any piece which is probably going to be more specific and less easy to categorise, though I can also appreciate the reasons for doing so.
I think there are two things that you have up side down:
You have to remember that the melody is the most important part of the piece, the chords follow the melody not the other way around. How many chord progressions do you know that have a name, compared to how many songs there are?
The other thing is that it does not make sense to make rules because then the system is simpler or more consitent. You need to make rules and decisions that help you play the music in a natural way.
It's about being practical. Wouldn't you say theory is there to describe the music not to restrict it?
Totally agree about chords being subservient to melody, no question, but to me that doesn't necessarily mean if you are looking at a chord sequence with a view to improvising on it that you should consider it.
What about the lyrics? surely just as important, especially in an example such as this.
Regarding your second point, well, doesn't it? Isn't that exactly what you're doing here? Surely the simpler the system the better and in turn the more practical it is?
Also, regarding that Bb ; I still think it sounds like a passing note, surely the strong notes in that bar are E , A, G and F? aren't you just using that note because you personally prefer to use it?, and, in turn complicating things unnecessarily, surely there's just as much a case for a B natural? It even occurs in all the other chords around it, admittedly not actually in the Dm but then again that takes us back to the notes of the C scale again.
It's interesting to note that your sheet music on bars 25 to 26 have F to Fm; whereas my sheet music,in the same key, has Ebdim7 to Em and then bars 27 to 29 have A9, Dm7b5 and G13 resolving to the C of the last bar before the turnaround.
I think the Ebdim to Em7 on that spot doesn't sound that great. F to F#dim would work great though and also fits the melody.
There are a lot of ways to harmonize a standard, btu I guess we already talked about that?
Jens Larsen Yes indeed. I'm torn between the two versions but am also aware of other reharmonizations. Is the F to Fm on the original score for the piece?
aristotle358 I don't know what is original. Just go with what you like!
Jens Larsen Thanks Jens.
Hi Jens, I have an unrelated question based on an accidental discovery. Can you play an F sharp Locrian over an Am6 chord?
This song is the definition of secondary dominants
+Zachary Robinson Haha! It is certainly a good example of them!
Thanks Jens. Just watched again alongside scribbling notes in my real book. So in bar 13, D7, this is known as the ‘Dominant of the Dominant’? Is this a common progression? D7/D7/D-7/G7. Also, in bar 5, is the A7 known as a secondary dominant? Thanks for some great lessons. Gonna sign up to patron soon 👍🏻
Yes! Exactly 🙂
Can you add the F# to the A7 ?
You can, but is sounds a bit off in the context
@@JensLarsen Thanks for the response Mr. Larsen! So would this be considered playing "outside"? How do you decide when to take liberties and add tones that may clash with the C major context? Is it dependent only on the melody that defines the tune or some other rule or intuitive frame?
@@JensLarsen Also, how to know when an actual modulation is taking place, when analyzing a tune?
@@artherladett442 It's not really outside, you don't do that with one note.
Modulations happen when you have a new key center, not just a dominant chord. Like in All the Things You are or The Song is You
@@artherladett442 I talk about key centers and modulations here ruclips.net/video/7WG8d1D0QY8/видео.html
What book is that from? My teacher gave me a copy that looks exactly the same.
+Amber57499 It is from my old real book ☺️
Your book? I probably didn't understand that correctly, but you wrote it?
Well, I'd like to buy it too, so it would be awesome if you told me the name ;)
+Amber57499 haha! It's from the berklee real book ☺️
I don't quite understand how you came up with the scales for the "out" chords, like the E7. Why not Mixolydian over it? Or is that too much like a modulation, then?
Mixolydian on the E7 doesn't fit the melody or relate the chord to the key. If you are in C major and play an E7 you hear it going to Am so you would choose an Am harmonic scale (try to play it and listen :) )
@@JensLarsen Thank you very much for the reply. That does make sense, to keep it close to C as possible, with the G# as the tie in to the chord. Is this the standard approach to secondary dominant chords, then?
I guess it is. You split them in major and minor versions depending on where they lead in the scale.
I go over a lot of this with chord progressions in the "3 scales to play jazz video.."
Hey Jens, another great lesson! I have a general question about song analyzing. I heard from one place that a jazz guitarist should always learn a song by ear and then check it with the chord sheet... but it can take me a really long time to work out progressions by ear, especially if they are a little less predictable than a ii-V-I :) Do you think it is necessary training to learn songs by ear before taking a look at the chords?
You should learn songs by ear for sure! Being good at analyzing really helps with that btw.
But if you are asked to play or sub in a band then just learn the music as well as you can by any means possible.
Jens Larsen Ok great, thanks a lot for your advice! I also appreciate your speedy responses :)
You're very welcome! I am glad you lcan use it! 🙂
What songs do you know and what do you want to learn by ear?
Jens Larsen I know Autumn Leaves very well, Straight No Chaser (jazz blues in F), All of me and a couple of chords solos. I really just want to increase my repertoire of standards. Take the A train, All Blues, etc.
Currently working on All the Things You Are
Hi Jens. As always, thanks for The lesson. :)
¿Is there any of your lessons about how to melodicaly introduce secondary dominants Over the major scale that you already taught to us? Well. It really doesnt matter if it is over the scale. But just how to do it. Your explanations are amazing. I would be super greatfull to you! Cheers