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Sunday, June 21, 2026

496. HOW TO IMPROVISE SIMPLISTIC COUNTER MELODIES (INCLUDING BASS LINES) BEING IN THE 12 NOTES CHROMATIC SCALE , OVER ANY SONG, WITHOUT KNOWING THE SCALE OR THE CHORD-PROGRESSION.

The idea is that behind any harmonization of a melody, by a chord progression in a scale and mode of it, there is an alternative harmonization with only 3 (1,4,5), only 2 (1,2 or 4,5 or 1-4 or 1-5 or 7d-1) or only one chord (1) but which must be neither major nor minor but a neutral power chord P (tonal-dominant-tonal or 1-5-8)

This harmonization is out of the usual style of guitar playing, but still it exists in arrangements where bass, or continuous bass, is engaged.

So the way to find this continuous bass isokratic (drone) line of only a few notes (at most 3-4 notes) continuous or drone bass is to use notes only at the 1st octave of the piano, as if whole chords, and fit it to the melody, changing it by intervals to the 2nd (rarely 3rds) to find the other note.

Usually the odd-numbered notes of the mode will give the first note, and all the even-numbered notes of the mode will give the second note. The changes will be when the melody uses more of the odd-numbered notes or more of the even-numbered notes. 

It is obvious that if the player knows the usual chord progression, then he will simply play one note from each chord as the chords changes to produce a countermelody or bass line. This would be a method of giving many more notes and changes compared to the previous. It will also sound better fitting, but what it takes is that the chord progression must be known. 

Thursday, June 11, 2026

495. ISOKRATIC (DRONE) PAIRS OF NOTES 4-5 THAT DIFFER BY A TONE , MODES, HARMONIC TRIADS OF CHORDS, ANCIENT POWER CHORDS, SUBSTITUTIONS AND EVEN-ODD NOTES CHORDS-ARPEGGIOS

Rule 2.  Each harmonic triad defines this pair.


E.g, the 3M7-6m-2m harmonic triad defines the 3-2 isokratics  (or ancient power chords 3P-2P, where the 6m is usually substituted by 3P, and rarely by 2P) , or the even-odds chord arpeggios. 3-5#-7-2=3M7 and 2-4-6-1 =2m7 . 

Rule 1 This rule is supplemented with the rule where any triad of any mode of a diatonic scale is substituted wth the triad of a single mode through substitutions by relative chords. E.g. If in a song there are the chords 5M, 1M, 4M, but also 2m, 6m, 3m, and 7d then to absorb all chords only in the triad 5P, 1P, 4P, the 2m is substituted with 4M (relative chords) thus eventually 4P , 6m by 1M (relative chords), thus by 1P, and 3m and 7d by 1M7 (again, relative chords) thus by 5P. 


With these two rules, we can convert an ordinary chord progression of minor and major chords to only 3 or 2 ancient power chords. 

But conversely, it can be used to discover an ordinary chord progression of minor and major chords of a melody by starting at first with an harmonization with only 2 or only 3 ancient power chords. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuCGvw-N_BA

The idea, of course, behind the pair of isokratic notes differing by an interval of a 2nd in a mode of a scale is that any melody on a mode of a scale can be harmonized with 2 chords: the odd notes chord corresponding to the note number 5 and the even notes chord corresponding to the note 4.


When in a song, which is in a scale and mode, of notes, numbered 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, the isocratic notes are 4-5, then, the bass line, is the notes 2-4-6-1 as long as isocratic note 4 lasts and 1-3-5-7 as long as isocratic note 5 lasts. The isokratic notes are also ancient power chords (neither major neithe minor, made from interval of 8th and 5th like C-C'-G')
This bass method, in a 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 mode-scale, is based on the musical theorem, in harmony, that every melody in such a mode can be harmonized with two single 4-chord chords, 1-3-5-7 and 2-4-6-1. So the bass lines are arpeggios on these two four-chord chords. We always talk about diatonic modes or modes in melodic or harmonic minor.

Monday, June 8, 2026

494. HOW TO UNLOCK THE IMPROVISATION OF BASS-LINES WITH THE ISOKRATIC (DRONES)TRINITY OF TONAL, SUBDOMINANT AND DOMINANT NOTES 1-4-5.

 The idea, of course, behind the pair of isokratic notes differing by an interval of a 2nd in a mode of a scale is that any melody on a mode of a scale can be harmonized with 2 chords: the odd notes chord corresponding to the note numbers 5 or 1 and the even notes chord corresponding to the note 4.

Sunday, May 17, 2026

493. THE DIMINISHED 7NTH CHORD IS A GATE TO RESOLVE TO 4 DIFFERENT TONALITIES

 

THE DIMINISHED 7NTH CHORD IS A GATE TO RESOLVE TO 4 DIFFERENT TONALITIES

7dim7 = 7 2 4 5#

By lower by a semitone one note of the diminished 7th chord, we result to a major dominant 7th chord, which in its turn resolves to a major chord, which has root i again another note of the initial diminished 7th chord but one semitone higher

7dim7 =7 2 4 5#  via  5M7=7 2 4 5 resolve to  1M

7dim7 =7 2 4 5#  via  3M7= 7 2 3 5 #resolve to  6M

7dim7 =7 2 4 5#  via  1#M7= 7 1# ,4, 5#  resolve to  4#M=5bM

7dim7 =7 2 4 5#  via  7bM7=7b 2 4 5 # resolve to  2#M=3bM

E.g.

THE DIMINISHED 7NTH CHORD IS A GATE TO RESOLVE TO 4 DIFFERENT TONALITIES

Bdim7 = b d f g#

By lower by a semitone one note of the diminished 7th chord, we result to a major dominant 7th chord, which in its turn resolves to a major chord, which has root i again another note of the initial diminished 7th chord but one semitone higher

Bdim7 =b d f g#  via  GM7=b d f g resolve to  CM

Bdim7 =b d f g#  via  EM7= b d e g# resolve to  AM

Bdim7 =b d f g#  via  C#M7= b c# ,f, g#  resolve to  F#M=GbM

Bdim7 =b d f g#  via  BbM7=Bb d f g # resolve to  D#M=EbM

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1265403812411324

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VUtxt0J7mpc



Tuesday, April 7, 2026

489. MELODY IMPROVISATIONS WITH 3 LAYERS OF HARMONIC, MELODIC AND CHROMATIC STRUCTURE

The main idea is to include the harmony in the structure of the melodu improvisation.


And in order to do so, we create melodies that 


1) Have harmonic moves (corresponds to harmonic cycles of chords)

2) Melodic waves (corresponds to chord arpeggios)

3) Chromatic ripples (corresponds to chromatic embellishments or chromatic arpeggios) 


Examples of melodies with quite clear such structure are


1) The improvisational melodies of overtone flutes

2) The Dan Bau (or duxianqin ) improvisation melodies

3) The trombone improvisation melodies

4) Mongolian Morin Khuur cello, improvisation melodies

5) Chinese vilin Erhu, improvisation melodies


Saturday, March 21, 2026

488. Drone playing per tetra-chord and per- scale in Irish Bouzouki and overtone tunings. Ancient methods of voice improvisation accompanied with intervals of 5ths or 8ths.

The drone playing is similar to the finger-picking in guitar playing. In finger-picking we try to play simultaneously, the melody and the underlying chords. In drone-playing the underlying chord is only one, note,  the 1st or 5th of the underlying chord, or both.  And these 1 or 5 are essentially open strings up or down to the string that we play the part in the current tetra-chord) of the melody. 
Inverted ukulele tunings allow also for drone playing (Inverted tuning of  G2C3E3A4 is the A2E3C4G4 , two 5ths and a 6th instead of two 4ths and a 3rd, which is more nice voicing of a minor 7nth chord)
The maximum abilities of drone playing seems to exist in the tunings like DADA or CGCG etc. but also such tunings inorder to give maximum abilities of drone playing (when  playing a melody in a  strings the other 3 strings can serve as harmonic drones, accompanying) they exclude the accompanying with ordinary major or monor 3-notes chords!!!. This forces a playing which is mostly melody (>70%) and little occupied with parallel harmonizing or chord-improvisation. Leonardo da Vinci used to sing and improvise, accompanying his voice with a continuous interval of 5th with a violin or rtaher his lira de Brachio, which later was developed into a Lireno !

and 

 and  Lirona or Lira da gamba
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qkI08CxC1g8?t=8&feature=share)  
The drone-playing is the model of the ancient times' voice improvisation, accompanied only with intervals of 5th ot 8ths!!! (see e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUcTsFe1PVs&t=24s

See e.g.


Friday, February 20, 2026

486. THE CONCEPT OF CHROMATIC ARPEGGIOS

 About concepts of chromatic arpeggios over a chord (and chord-scale).

1) The chord 7-scale is split to 5-string + 4-string parts. 
2) 2nd concept of CA: We substitute the voice melody M of the song with a simplicial submelody SM of it. Each note of the simplicial submelody is a note of the underlying chord. Then we extend the simplicial submelody SM, with small oscillations (within the 7-note chord-scale) 4 times faster, (e.g. if the SM has  notes that are of duration  1/4, then the oscilaltion is with 4 notes of duration 1/16) around each note of the simplicial submelody. The result is the chromatic arpeggio CA-SM, which on the island of Crete is also called "condilies." The pattern of the oscillation determines the style-signature of the condilia.
3) 3rd concept of CA: We create a random sequence over the 5-string or 4-string of the underlying chord, so that it randomly sequences a uniform distribution of notes of it. This is also a chromatic arpeggio fitting harmonically to the underlying chord.
4) 4th concept of a CA: We design a melodic pattern over the 7-notes mode of the underlying chord , which is of the type: a)  stationary waving, or b) Spike or c) straight vector.
If the sequenced notes are a uniform distribution of the 7-notes mode of the underlying hord then, we have an harmonically fitting to the underlying chord, chromatic arpeggio. 
5) Then assume that , we are given a melodic theme M to make an improvisation with it. We identify the M , as a chromatic arpeggio CA , of a chord C. Then we compose a chord progression,  C1, C2, ...Ci , with the chord C in it, and we create chromatic arpeggios CA(i) for each chord Ci. The result is a composition-improvisation based on the melodic theme M=CA. 

Tuesday, January 13, 2026