473. MILES DAVIS MYSTERY-MIRACLE OF MANY HOURS "A CAPELLA" IMPROVISATION IN CONCERTS AND RECORDINGS.

 Mile Davis and his bands is attributed with the mystery-miracle of many hours "a capella" improvisation in concerts and disc recordings.

A careful analysis reveals why this "miracle" occurs.

We will start with the very well known similar "miracle" of many hours of "a capella" meditational improvisation within a single diatonic scale.and a single monotone tonal chord, and we will reduce the Mile Davis Bands miracle to this. We only have to substitute the singlle diatonic scale with a ingle bebop 9-notes scale.

A single 8-notes bebop scale=the union of 2 diatonic scales in harmonic relation (an interval of 4th apart).

E.g. G-C.

A single 9-notes bebop scale=the union of 3 diatonic scales in harmonic relation (an interval of 4th apart).

E.g. G-C-F.

Now if e.g. C has a s tonal chord, the C major, then a 9-notes bebop scale has  "tonal chord", in teh example before, teh 3 major chords are G, C, F, which are also the chords used in 12 bars blues say in C major scale. But the practice of soloing in 12 bars blues in C major, resulted in soloing in the 3 diatonic scales G, C , F , or in the corresponding single 9-notes bebop scale. This exlains why the evolution of jazz and blues resulted in 9 notes bebop scales.

Then  the next 6 characteristscs of the improvisations of Mile-davies bands explain the rest

1) Mile Davis bands improvisation is a minimalistic improvisation. In other words, the number of notes is small compared to the number of rythmic beats. This makes it a slow, cool, and relatively relaxing, and pleasant music in the background.

2) There are not really chords (it is not a chord-based improvisation as e.g. in the Gypsy jazz).

Even the piano is playing mainly solos. This gives more freedom. The background is only the drums

and the bass, which essentially goes step-wise and rhythmically up and down a single 9-notes bebop scale. A Mile davis band typicaly is 5 members. The drums, the bass, piano, a trumpet and possibly a saxophone

3) Each of the 3 members who may improvise by solos (piano, trumpet, saxophone) is most ofteh times in turn and not simulteneously as in the classical New Orleans jazz.

4) The solo, in a stable way maninly in a single 9-notes bebop scale! 

5) The final experience si a group meditation of 5 muscicians , that their brains produce gamma bran waves. 

 

472. VARIATIONS OF THE BASIC TRIAD OF CHORDS 5M7 , 1M, 4M , IN BLUES.

 The basic harmonic triad of major chords in a diatonic scale is used in blues (12 bars blues or not) 

A chromatic variation-pertrubation (similar to that in the previous post  471) is to shift by a simitone up the 5M and 4M, to 5#dim7 and 4#dim7 respectively . 

The 4#dim7 resolves to 5M, while the 1he 5#dim7 resolves to 1M 

Alternative resuotuion to 1M is also the 5aug to 1M or 5M7->5aug->1M.

471. VARIATIONS OF THE BASIC TRIAD OF CHORDS 3M7 6m 2m FOR HARMONIC MINOR IN GREEK REBETIKA FOLK SONGS.

 4M7 6m 2m BECOMES SOMETIMES

7M7 3M7 6m 

4M 3M7 6m 2m

 3M7 6m, 7bM, 2m

4M 3M7 6m 2m, 2#M

 3M7 6dim7 2m

3M7 6m 2dim7 

The latter variations are more often in a specific kind of folk songs Rebetika called Chasiklidika.

470. ESTAS TONNE METHOD OF PRODUCING 20 OR 55 MINUTES OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVISATIONAL MESMERIZING MUSIC

 See also post 74.

Estas Tonne composes and improvises such music with the guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBiVq2MsCbs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk3BvNLeNgw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=747hJQNJpeg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gphiFVVtUI

Estas Tonne, is concentrating very often in permuting the chords of the basic harmonic triad of harmonic minor E.g. 3M7-6m-2m , and with varying arpegios and ostinatos for each one. Then extending it to 4M-3M7-6m-2m, Thus alternating melodic chrd transitions like  6m-$m or 2m-4M , and adding chromatic transitions like 3M7-4M. 

Finally after spending much time on that extending it to the 6 harmonic cycle

3M7-6m-2m-5M-1M-4M

Some times instead of extending to the harmonic 6-cycle, he transposes harmonically e.g. to 

6M7-2m-5m-1M7-4M-BbM7. 

He may alternate the 3M7-6m fast or double the duration of each chord of the harmonic pair 

3M7-6m, and get the harmony in slow motion.

The overall result is that by taking a well kown diatonic or chromatic diatonic harmony of a song with the arpeggios and ostinatos (riffs) the result is a 20- or even 55-minute musical improvisational piece! 

The key ideas are

1)  Harmonic structure =minimal (e.g. a triad Bm-Em-Am but varied with 7th and 6ths)
2) Rhythm, fast but chord duration=maximal
3) Soloing=minimal
4) Chord Harping=maximal
5) Octaves variation across the fretboard=maximal (like improvising one note on many octaves)
6) Volume variations=maximal
7) Pitch ascension, descending by octaves=maximal
8) Ocean feeling=maximal

469. FELLINGS OF TRAVELLING MOTION AND THE EMOTIONS IN A MELODY

CHROMATIC=BY LAND OR STANDING

MELODIC= BY SEA OR MOVING

HARMONIC=BY AIR OR FLYING

468. HOW TO SYMBOLIZE CHORD TRASITIONAL CHROMATIC ARPEGGIOS (OSTINATOS) SO AS TO MODULATE THEM IN NEXT CHORD TRANSITIONS

 If 1,1#, 2, 2# ,......7, 1 is the full 12-notes chromatic scale based on a 7-notes diatonic scale, and

a1, a3 , a5 , a7 is the first chord C1 while 

b1, b3, b5, b7 is the 2nd chord C2

The transitional chromatic arpeggio is a choice of notes some from the first line and some of the 2nd line of the

C1: A1, a2,A3 , a4, A5 ,a6,  A7 

C2:  B1, b2,  B3, b4, B5, b6, B7

capitals are inside the chords small outside the chords. 

Such a pattern applies by substituting different chords transitions C1->C2.

467. WHAT IS THE SYSTEMATIC RE-HARMONIZATION OF A SONG BY GYPSY JAZZ? IT IS THE RELATIVIZED HARMONIC REFINMENT.

WHAT IS THE SYSTEMATIC RE-HARMONIZATION OF A SONG BY GYPSY JAZZ? 

IT IS THE RELATIVIZED HARMONIC REFINMENT.

RELATIVIZED HARMONIC REFINMENT= 

1) We substitute a major chord X, with an harmonic pair (Y1,Y2) (harmonic pair means that Y1, Y2 have a distance at the roots an interval of 4th, that is Y1 resolves to Y2, so that usually Y1 is a chord with a 7nth) 

2) and so that either Y1 or Y2  is relative to X  (melodic relation which means the roots or middle note have a distance an interval of 3rd ) including the case Yi=X, and including 2nd relative (same root but the one major the other minor chord) , 

3) And the other chord to the relative can be major or minor.

An example is converting the chord progression 

4M  1M  5M7 1M as a cycle , to the gypsy jazz re-harmonized chord progression as a cycle 

(2m, 5M7), (1M, 4maj7), (7dim7, 3M7) , (3m, 6M7). 

(See also post 466)