A JOY-BASED PATTERN TO COMPOSE SONGS INSPIRED FROM THE EARLY NEW ORLEANS BLUES JAZZ SONGS.
See also post 430, 322, 426, 216. 215, 205
We remind also that the simplest and most effective way to compose songs (the music without the words) is starting from the simplest and proceeding with the more complicated. Thus the order is
A) First the rhythm and morphological parts of the song
B) Then the harmony with the chord progression
C) Last the simplicial melody and the full melodic themes for each chord or chord transition of the chord progression (possibly with tail and arpeggio parts).
The idea for this structure in composing soengs is from the new Orleans jazz songs.
The joy of the composition of such songs is not only on he next below
a) system of joyful harmony and chord progression creation but also
b) on the joy of the rhythm rhythm which is at least 180 bpm . Furthermore we may use fast notes double the main tempo for reasons of joy.
c) joy from the melodic waving so that if we label + and up-move in a waving and by - an equal time and interval down move of the waving the total waving score of the melody is plus. In simpler terms we may have melodic themes as waves that are by 2nds and start and end a 3rd lower or higher (higher is more joyful) thus withing a chord. Furthermore we may use fast notes double the main tempo for reasons of joy. Then chord changes are modulations of the melodic theme.
Joy from the harmony:
A1) The center of the songs is a joyful triplet of major chords in harmonic relation, in other words the
classical 5M, 1M , 4M. It is set in a sequence that corresponds to a rhythmic pattern. E.g.
(1M, 4M, 1M 5M7) with equal duration per chord. Thus a 4-fold rhythm.
Usually, because the triplet of major chords has two harmonic relations (5M-1M) and (1M-4M) the rhythmic pattern is divided in 2 , each part corresponding to one of the two harmonic relations.
Simplistic counter-melody soloing could be on the 7-1-2 triad notes around the 1st semitone of the diatonic scale (1-2-1-7-1) or on the 2-3-4 triad notes around the 2nd semitone of the diatonic scale (3-4-3-2-3)
Or alternatively a 3-fold rhythm as follows (1M, 4M, 1M, 5M7 , 1M) where the first 2 chords and the last chord have double duration the time compared to the 3rd and 4th. So in rhythmic units it is (2, 2 1,1,2).
This initial harmonic and rhythmic center of the songs is repeated two times (at least) and corresponds to a joyful refrain, from which nevertheless the songs starts returns and ends.
Each time that we return to the central chord progression, it is not necessary to return with the same melodic theme. It can be different.
A2) Then after each (1M, 4M, 1M, 5M7 , 1M) repeated twice we interpolate a less joyful rhythmically isomorphic pattern, derived with one of the 5 systems of substitutions of the major chords of the central part. (X1, X2, X3, X4 , X5) This may be called the couples of the song and have duration at least half of the duration of the central part, so as to guarantee that the joyful part has more duration than the possibly sad part.
The system of substitutions are the next 5, which preserve the harmonic relations of the initial central chord progression. The substitutions are based on melodic (relative chords ,2 common notes) relations of the chords. That is why the 2m can also be substituted with 7bM and the 7d with the 2m, while the 7M7 with the 2#m and 5#m.
Primary a, b substitutions
5M 1M 4M
substituted with 3m 6m 2m (which 2m can again be substituted with 7bM)
or with 3M7 6M7 2M7
Primary c, d substitutions
5M 1M 4M
substituted with 7d 3m 6m
or with 7M7 3M7 6M7
Secondary a, substitutions
5M 1M 4M
substituted with 5m 1m 1m
A most intersecting is the double substitution e.g. 1M with (3M7 6m) with teh same duration
or 5M with (7M7, 3m) or 4M with (6M7, 2m) .
And also the transformation of the harmonic relation to chromatic with the substitution
of 5M7 resolving to 1M with 7m shifting to 1M or 1m
Of 1M resolving to 4M with 3m shifting to 4M or 2m.
We may extend the major harmonic triplet to a major harmonic 5 cycle as follows
in the 5M7 1M7 4M , if the 1M->4M is substituted by 6M7 -> 2M7 we resutlt in a 5 harmonic cycle 6M7-2M7 5M7 1M 4M
In general we have a Universal adequacy of the substitutions in the sense that if we have a melodic theme within a chord and we want to have a
a) harmonic (by 4ths or 5ths) modulation of it
b) melodic (by 3rds) modulation of it
c) Chromatic (by 2nds) modulation of it
it is always possible with the above melodic substitutions of the chords.
These substitutions introduce, blue notes outside the diatonic scale, that are included in the chords, and may define harmonic minor scales, double harmonic minor scales, blues scale etc.
The preference order o introducing blue notes is the next
Diatonic scales in harmonic relation with the focus diatonic scale
1. 7b (5m)
2. 4# (7M7, 2M7)
harmonic or double harmonic minors
3. 5# (3M7, 4m)
4. 1# (6M7)
Neapolitan , double harmonic minor)
5. 2# (7m7, 1m)
So the chord progression of the whole song is a sequence of pairs of pieces as follows
(1M, 4M, 1M, 5M7 , 1M)
(X1, X2, X3, X4 , X5)
The first corresponds to joy and lasts twice as the second which corresponds to degrees of sadness.
The joy of the composition of such songs is not only on he previous
a) system of harmony and chord progression creation but also b) on the rhythm which is at least 180 bpm and
c) melodic waving so that if we label + and up-move in a waving and by - an equal time and interval down move of the waving the total waving score of the melody is plus
