Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 116 views

    Harmonic Rhythm - The Jazz Piano Site

    Uploaded by

    Mbolafab Rbj
    The document discusses the concept of harmonic rhythm in music. Harmonic rhythm refers to the rate at which chords change in a song. A faster harmonic rhythm means chords change more frequently, while a slower one means chords are sustained for longer. The strength of a chord progression can depend on its harmonic rhythm. For example, a V-I cadence typically sounds stronger when the V chord occurs on a relatively weaker beat compared to the I chord.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Harmonic Rhythm - The Jazz Piano Site

    Uploaded by

    Mbolafab Rbj
    116 views7 pages
    The document discusses the concept of harmonic rhythm in music. Harmonic rhythm refers to the rate at which chords change in a song. A faster harmonic rhythm means chords change more frequently, while a slower one means chords are sustained for longer. The strength of a chord progression can depend on its harmonic rhythm. For example, a V-I cadence typically sounds stronger when the V chord occurs on a relatively weaker beat compared to the I chord.

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document discusses the concept of harmonic rhythm in music. Harmonic rhythm refers to the rate at which chords change in a song. A faster harmonic rhythm means chords change more frequently, while a slower one means chords are sustained for longer. The strength of a chord progression can depend on its harmonic rhythm. For example, a V-I cadence typically sounds stronger when the V chord occurs on a relatively weaker beat compared to the I chord.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    116 views7 pages

    Harmonic Rhythm - The Jazz Piano Site

    Uploaded by

    Mbolafab Rbj
    The document discusses the concept of harmonic rhythm in music. Harmonic rhythm refers to the rate at which chords change in a song. A faster harmonic rhythm means chords change more frequently, while a slower one means chords are sustained for longer. The strength of a chord progression can depend on its harmonic rhythm. For example, a V-I cadence typically sounds stronger when the V chord occurs on a relatively weaker beat compared to the I chord.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 7

    (http://www.thejazzpianosite.com/)

    Harmonic Rhythm
    Introduction

    Songs (generally) have a given beat, and the melody takes on a speci c rhythm on top of the beat.
    The harmony (that is, the chords) also takes on a speci c rhythm on top of the beat and this is called
    the Harmonic Rhythm.

    Harmonic Rhythm

    The Harmonic Rhythm is the rate at which the chords change. This in uences the strength of a chord
    progression and even the function of a chord. For example, if we play the following two chord
    progressions, you’ll notice that the bottom one (Chord Progression #2) sounds ‘stronger’, even
    though they both use the same chords in the same order. This is because of the Harmonic Rhythm.

    Chord Progression #1 A7 - Dm7 G7 - CMaj7 CMaj7

    Chord Progression #2 CMaj7 - A7 Dm7 - G7 CMaj7

    In 4/4 time, the Harmonic Rhythm occurs in multiples of 2 beats. That is, the chords generally change
    every:

    ½ bar; or
    Full bar; or
    2 bars; or
    Even longer for modal and fusion jazz songs where the there are no chord changes at all
    – you sit on the same chord for the whole song.

    In 3/4 time, it occurs in multiples of 3 beats. That is, the chords generally change every:

    full bar; or
    2 bars.

    In Odd Meters, the Harmonic Rhythm can be asymmetrical.


    5/4 time = 3 + 2 (see the song Take 5)

    7/4 time = 4 + 3

    Now, we hear chords in Groups of 4. And we can allocate a relative strength to each of the chords in
    that Group of 4.

    The rst chord is Very Strong (S)


    The second chord is Weak (W)
    The third chord is Strong (s)
    The fourth chord is Very Weak (w)

    where S > s > W > w

    This looks as follows:

    Harmonic Rhythm S-W s-w S-W s-w


    Pentatonic Practice Session - Improve your solo playing


    Get the pentatonic scale into your muscle memory and you have a great tool for OPEN
    soloing. reiff.dk

    Strength of a Chord Progression

    As I mentioned before, the Harmonic Rhythm a ects how strong a chord progression sounds; or
    more speci cally how strong a cadence sounds. And the most common cadence is a V-I Perfect
    Cadence.

    A V-I cadence sounds stronger if the V7 chord is on a relatively weaker beat compared to the I chord.
    This is why Chord Progressions #2 above sounds stronger than Chord Progressions #1.

    In Chord Progressions #2, the V7 resolves to a relatively stronger I beat


    In Chord Progressions #1, the V7 resolves to a relatively weaker I beat

    Below are a number of chord progressions that all use a vi-ii-V-I pattern but shift the timing around.

    Chord Progressions #2 sound weak because the V7 is on a relatively stronger beat


    than the I chord; while
    Chord Progressions #1, 3, & 4 all sound strong because the V7 is on a relatively
    weaker beat than to the I chord.

    Chord Progression #1 CMaj7 - A7 Dm7 - G7 CMaj7

    Harmonic Rhythm S ------ W s ------ w S ------ (W)

    Chord Progression #2 A7 - Dm7 G7 - CMaj7 CMaj7

    Harmonic Rhythm S ------ W s ------ w S ------ (W)

    Chord Progression #3 Dm7 - G7 CMaj7 CMaj7

    Harmonic Rhythm S ------ W s ------ (w) S ------ (W)

    Chord Progression #4 Am7 - Dm7 G7 CMaj7

    Harmonic Rhythm S ------ W s ------ (w) S ------ (W)

    Functionality

    And in fact, the location of the V7 chord in relation to the Harmonic Rhythm can even a ect the
    ‘function‘ of the V7 chord. We have not discuss functionality (http://www.thejazzpianosite.com/jazz-
    piano-lessons/jazz-chord-progressions/ii-v-functionality/) yet (we will in a future lesson). But very
    quickly: the usual ‘function’ of a V7 chord is to resolve down a 5th to the I chord (like a G7 resolving
    to a C). The function of the G7 (it’s whole purposes or point in life) is to move to the C (the Tonic
    Chord). Being on a weak harmonic rhythm beat facilitates this function.

    Now, the rst chord of a Blues is usually a V7 chord, but it doesn’t have a dominant ‘function’. That is,
    the rst chord of a Blues does NOT feel like it needs to resolve down a 5th. A Blues in C (starting on
    C7) doesn’t feel like it needs to move to an FMaj7 chord. This is partially because the V7 chord is
    played on beat 1, which is the strongest harmonic rhythm beat there is – so it doesn’t sound like a
    cadence (it doesn’t sound cadential).

     
    For a V7 to sound like it is in a Cadence (i.e. like it wants to move to a I chord) it generally needs to be

    on a weak harmonic rhythm beat.

    We will discuss functionality in much greater detail in future lessons.

    Pentatonic Practice Session - Improve your solo playing


    Get the pentatonic scale into your muscle memory and you have a great tool for OPEN
    soloing. reiff.dk

    II-V-I’s

    So to extend this further, the most common chord progression in Jazz is a II-V-I. So if the V7 has to
    be on a weak Harmonic Rhythm beat, the II is usually (though not always) found on a strong
    Harmonic Rhythm beat. Have a look at Chord Progression #1 & 3 above.

    Missing & Extra Chords

    When you are analysing a song’s harmonic rhythm, look for the general/overall harmonic rhythm of
    the song – and ignore the outliers. A chord progression can miss a chord or insert an extra chord
    without destroying the harmonic rhythm.

    Chord progression #5 (below) has a Harmonic Rhythm of 1 bar (despite the extra chord
    in bar 2):
    Chord progression #6 (below) has a Harmonic Rhythm of 1/2 a bar (despite the missing
    chord in bar 3):

    Also note that di erent sections of a song (AABA) can have di erent harmonic rhythms.

    Section A can have a Harmonic Rhythm of 1 bar; while


    Section B can have a Harmonic Rhythm of 2 bars.

    Chord Progression #5 DMaj7 Gm7 - (C7) FMaj7 Am7

    Harmonic Rhythm S W s w

    Chord Progression #6 Em7 - A7 Dm7 - G7 CMaj7 Dm7 - G7

    Harmonic Rhythm S -------- W s -------- w S -------- (W) s -------- w


    In Practice

    You’ll nd that in 95% of Jazz Standards, the V7 is on a relatively weaker harmonic rhythm beat than
    the I chord. So if you’re composing, or reharmonising a jazz song, the harmonic rhythm is something
    you should keep in mind.

    Guitar Stands - Sanctuary, Home or on Stage OPEN


    Multiple stringed instrument storage system for home or studio drsracks.com

    Jazz Piano Tutorial - Harmonic Rhythm

    >> NEXT LESSON >> (/jazz-piano-lessons/jazz-chords/polychords)

    Guitar Stands - Sanctuary, Home or on Stage


    OPEN
    Multiple stringed instrument storage system for home or studio drsracks.com

    Search The Jazz Piano Site

    Search …

    Donate
    While all my lessons are free, if you nd them useful please consider donating to help keep them

    coming.

    (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?
    cmd=_donations&business=DUZ6VARAK7VAE&lc=AU&item_name=Walk%20That%20Bass&currency_c
    ode=AUD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donate_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted)
     

    Home (http://www.thejazzpianosite.com) Donate (http://www.thejazzpianosite.com/donate/)


    Resources (http://www.thejazzpianosite.com/resources/)
    Privacy Policy (http://www.thejazzpianosite.com/privacy-policy/)
    Sitemap (http://www.thejazzpianosite.com/sitemap/)

    Theme by Tesseract (https://tesseracttheme.com)   (https://tesseracttheme.com)

    You might also like