[TPIN] Good or bad,..here it is

[Jeff Helgesen]

It is useful to stop thinking of improvised lines and composed lines as
different things.  They generally follow very similar rules with regards to
conventional harmony.  The same things that make a precomposed melodic line
"fit" the underlying harmonic structure are the ones that make an improvised
line "fit" the chordal accompaniment supplied by a rhythm section.

(Notes in a melody can be implied by an underlying chord structure without
being implicitly present in the accompaniment.  Your ear's ability to
recognize modern harmony make selection of notes that don't fit the classic
V7-I structure make more sense.)

It would be an interesting exercise to measure one's tolerance for various
levels of reharmonization of a familiar tune.  I'm sure it's different for
different people.


On 11/2/06, William Graham <weg9 at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>
> But how does one know? - Seriously, when I listen to these jazz runs and
> harmonies, I can't really tell whether they are mistakes or not....
>
> --
> Jeff Helgesen
> Buy our CD at http://cdbaby.com/cd/jazzmayhem