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64 jazz
Here is a composition (yes, a pretty dull one—but don't forget it's only a diagram) 8 bars in length. It falls into 4 sections each of 2 bars.
The first section starts in C and ends in C: it is devoted to establishing our 'home' and settling down in it.
The second section moves away from 'home' and lands up on the chord of G.
The third section starts in A minor and lands up in D minor.
The fourth section brings us finally home to C.
Now, this is shorter than our original 'Blues' example, yet it is already a more highly organised form. The 'Blues' construction took us one short trip, brought us home for lunch, then took us on another short trip in a different direction.
This one is already more adventurous. We make our first excursion away from home in bars 3-4. But now we don't return home yet: this is going to be an all-day trip. We go straight on to another 'away' destination, and don't finally come home till the last two bars.
You will develop a sense of jazz harmony by listening intently. It will help you sort things out if you bear the principle of this chapter in mind: music has a beginning and an end, and the art of composition is spinning out the gap between beginning and end.
Many jazz compositions use structures and harmonies not at all more complicated than those shown in this chapter. |
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