458. PLAYING ANY DIATONIC SCALE MORE CONVENIETLY (MAXIMAL SYMMETRY) FROM ITS MYXOLYDIAN MODE ON 3 STRINGS AND 6 FRETS

 

457 . HARMONY PASSEPARTOUT : IMPROVIZATIONAL RANDOM WALK OF HARMONIC PAIRS OF CHORDS . THE CHORDICASTER (INSPIRED FROM THE MUSIC OF I. ALBENIZ)

 

1) Each harmonic pair (Xi,Yi) is usually alternated many times. This may be with an arpeggio type or more general chromatic arpeggio too (ostinatos). 

Thus the melody are cycles with 2 melodic scales defined by each of the chords, with starting and ending persistent note on one of the notes of the chords

If the alternation of the chords of the harmonic pair is fast , the the melodic cycle is of diameter an interval of 4th or 5th. Otherwise it even can be longer than an octave.

2) We may have modulations (mode changes inside the diatonic scale) , but we make have transpositions also (translation of diatonic scale) 

3) But the transpositions are of a local character. In other words chromatic, or melodic or harmonic

of the minimum intervals (2nds not 9th-10ths, 3rds not sixths) . 

4) We may very well apply the "partida trick" when  alternating the chords of the harmonic pair, and use as drone the repetition of  their common note. In this way we may cycle  with diameter a whole octave!

5) Practically the length of such random paths of harmonic pairs must  not be very long, so as to fall in the listening habits of harmony. E.g. up to 3 diatonic scales transpositions that give the full chromatic tonality (all 5 blue notes) as in the folk music of Brazil. But for special compositions they can become long cycles covering 12 root notes etc. 

6) The choice of the "state" being an harmonic pair gives high percentage of harmonic transitions in total for the chord progression, making it more beautiful. If the pairs (Xi,Yi) are not harmonic but melodic or chromatic, the chordicaster is called melodic or chromatic. In Latin music dominate the harmonic chordi-casters. In Scandinavian music exist also melodic chordicasters. And in Mediterranean music but also Irish music exist also chromatic chordi-casters. 

Mathematically as improvisation it can be considered a stochastic Markov process, with states , that are  the harmonic pairs, and transitions that are  chromatic (interval of 2nd) , melodic (interval of 3rd) or harmonic (intervals of 4ths or 5ths) shifts of them. 

From 12 bars blues, to Keith Jarrett's Ostinatos , and Iannis Xenakis random music, etc this idea is the abstract mathematical and algebraic formulation. 

If we utilize the DEA system of chord-shapes in the guitar fretyboard, the process becomes simpler.

This will unlock the playing of chords across all of the guitar fretboard, in a way that when playing with these rules the harmony is always beautiful,  what ever we play, while the melodic improvisations very easy familiar and beautiful too. 

The harmonic pairs (Xi,Yi) are always (E,A) or (A, D) or (D,E).

An chromatic transition Yi-Xi+1  for the pairs  (Xi,Yi), (Xi+1,Yi+1) will be such that 

(Xi,Yi) to (Xi+1,Yi+1) is melodic on Xi-Xi+1

And a melodic transition at Yi-Xi+1  will be for the pairs  (Xi,Yi), (Xi+1,Yi+1)  such that 

(Xi,Yi) to (Xi+1,Yi+1) is chromatic transition  on Xi-Xi+1

THE LOCAL (CHROMATIC) TRANSITION RULES OF THE CHORDI-CASTER. Because chromatic transitions are always easier to visualize and execute. The rules for melodic or chromatic transitions become, a rule of chromatic transition of the pairs (Xi,Yi), (Xi+1,Yi+1) , either on Xi to Xi+1  of  (Xi,Yi)  or chromatic on Yi to Xi+1 of (Xi,Yi) correspondingly  . The harmonic transitions work cyclically on the shapes E-A-D-E' etc. where D-E' is the usual positions. In an harmonic transition we set Yi=Xi+1.  But alternatively  it can be converted also to a chromatic shift rule, which is that in the pairs (Xi,Yi), (Xi+1,Yi+1), there is a chromatic transition of a tonal interval of 2nd from Xi to Yi+1. 

Given a Chordi-caster as above, the soli-caster of Rory  Hoffman (see post 455  ) is easier to create as it is melodic cycles and bridges in harmonic pairs (Xi,Yi) very well familiar from 12 bars blues and simple songs. 

Example the Granada by I. Albeniz for guitar where the harmonic pairs are

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4MIAUmW1tc&ab_channel=tubescore.net

(B7-E) (E-A) (G-C)  (C-Fm) (C#-F#m) (B7-Em) (Em-Am) (B7-E)

456. THE FEELINGS OF A BIRD FLYING INSIDE THE GRAVITATIONAL FIELD AS AN EMOTIONAL MODEL FOR THE MELODIES. WHAT ABOUT MOTION OUTSIDE GRAVITATIONAL FIELD?

455. THE IDEA OF SOLICASTER BY RORY HOFFMAN

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUBZB4jDqW0&ab_channel=RoryHoffmanMusic

See also post 457

In this technique we utilize mainly 3 notes chords of the 3 highest strings of the guitar in such a  way that

the highest note and string is always the note of the melody, and in particular a melodic center (the other notes of  the melody are played but with no underlying chord necessarily. 

454. A CHORD AS A GROUP OF MODULATION-VARIATIONS OF MELODIC THEMES OVER THE CHORD.

  A CHORD AS A GROUP OF MODULATION-VARIATIONS OF MELODIC THEMES OVER THE CHORD. 

The elements of  the group are modulations-variations, and the generators of the group are defined by the intervals of the chord. The exact definition of the variation of a chord-fitting melodic theme is such that it holds group closure to the operation of composition of variations. E.g. idempotent  a^2=1, where repeating a shift by an interval is with its complementary interval .

The most relevant layers of the melody is the 1st layer of simplicial submelody, and  the 2nd layer of the arpeggios over the chord. 

The part of a poetic measure corresponding to a chord, is of course a guide too.

453. WRITTING A MELODY OVER A CHORD PROGRESSION AS IF WRITING A POEM WITH SYLLABIC METER.

 

This idea is mainly the one described in 8-bars blocks songs in previeous  posts .

The first 4 bars, have 2 chords one per 2 bars, and the  chords and melodic themes as well

have the pattern of the 8 bars 

Chords          A  A   B  B

                      A  A   C  C

Now each line of 4  bars (AABB, or AACC) may be conceive as a poetic line

e.g. of 15-sylables poetry . 

452. THE MOST CONVENIENT MUSICAL INSRTUMENTS TO IMPROVISE OR COMPOSE THE 3 LAYERS OF A MELODY.

 As we have remarked (see posts 450 447) the melody has 3 layers

1) 1st layer The 1st simplicial submelody or chord progression

2) 2nd layer The 2nd simpicial submelody or arpeggio

3) 3rd layer The chromatic ripples.

A) The 3rd layer because it is mainly waves by intervals of 3rds is improvised best or composed on the fretboard of a string instrument (including violin) but also with the slide of a trombone. With digital instruments my favorite is the digital chromatic harp Thumbjam and of course the piano keyboard.. Harmonicas with cyclic tuning are also  convenient

B) The 2nd layer, is best improvised or composed with a string instrument which plays chords (ukulele, guitar etc) and especially if it is tuned with an overtones tuning system like on Dobro guitar. For digital such string instruments my favorite is the Geoshred. But if the melody is diatonic it can be with the 2-dimensional Musix Pro.

C) The 1st layer are the bridges of the chord transitions. The most convenient instruments are again the string instruments that play  chords (ukulele, guitar etc) bass instruments, but also the digital chromatic harp and of course the piano keyboard.