Stuart Smith
Miscellaneous harmonic techniques
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- Pedal Point
- Upper structure triads
- Polychords and polytonality
Miscellaneous harmonic techniquesTonic-by-AssertionAlternation between I and ÓVII is common in both jazz and pop music. Familiar examples include Charles Mingus’ Nostalgia in Times Square, Benny Golson’s Killer Joe, and pop oldies such as On Broadway, Uptight, and Got to Get You Into My Life. The use of ÓVII could be viewed as an example of borrowing in the sense of the discussion above, that is, the ÓVII chord could be analyzed as a borrowing from the parallel minor. However, in the usual context, the ÓVII is used as a neighbor chord, with all voices moving strictly in parallel back and forth between it and the Tonic. The effect over several measures of alternation is to establish a Tonic simply by repeatedly asserting it and embellishing it with its lower neighbor. Here, for example, are the opening bars of Nostalgia in Times Square: 
The overall harmony of this piece is a sophisticated variation on the standard 12-bar blues chord progression, while the portion of the melody shown here uses the pentatonic scale just as in traditional blues and much rock (see the Blues section in Chapter V). Pedal PointJazz musicians sometimes use pedal points to create a complex or ambiguous tonality. John Coltrane’s Naima is a good example of this practice: 
Here the indicated key is AÓ, but the EÓ pedal point together with the chromatic harmony of the accompanying chords combine to create a tentative, unstable feeling which is not resolved until the coda provides a sequence of I and IV chords in root position. Upper structure triadsSome jazz artists group tensions into distinct triadic units that are played against an underlying chord. For example, the chord CÏ×Ñ …ÉÉ ÉËØ could be thought of as the combination of a D-major triad over CÏ: 
When tensions are treated in this way, they are said to be “upper-structure triads,” and the chord as a whole—that is, the lower chord plus the upper structure triad—is a type of polychord. There is a great variety of combinations of basic chords and upper structure triads. The following examples only suggest the possibilities. Note that a non-standard version of the “slash” notation is used for these examples. The chord symbol that precedes the slash is the upper structure triad, while the chord symbol that follows the slash is the lower chord. Here are some of the many possible upper structure triads that may be added above a dominant seventh: 
A smaller number of upper structure triads is available for minor sevenths and major sevenths:  
Finally, a still smaller number of upper structure triads is available for sixth and minor sixth chords: 
All of the above examples of upper structure triads show the lower chord in root position and voiced in close position. Many colorful harmonies can be achieved by using different voicings for the lower chord. The chords discussed in the “Rootless” Chords section in Chapter VI, for example, offer many interesting combinations. Polychords and polytonalityConsistent use of upper structure triads can result in a kind of “bitonality”: two different keys in force simultaneously. The upper structure triads can represent one key, while the lower chords represent another. For example, the following chord progression would be indicated in standard chords symbols as DmÏ×Ñ ÉÉ ÉËØ GÏ ×Ñ …ÉÉ ÉËØ CÎ×Ñ …ÉÉØ: 
Under a bitonal interpretation, the chord symbols could be rewritten as Em/DmÏ A/GÏ D/CÎ This progression could therefore be interpreted as II V I in D major simultaneously with IImÏ VÏ IÎ in C major. It is up to the jazz artist to determine whether and how such an interpretation is to be brought into prominence. Exercises How can “tonic by assertion” be explained in terms of linear chords? Are there any chord combinations other than those mentioned above that can be used to create a tonic by assertion? If so, give at least one example. If not, why not? Analyze the pedal-point section near the end of Bach’s Prelude #1 from the Well-Tempered Klavier Book 1 using jazz Roman numeral chord symbols. For the chord GmÏ, find five UST’s that you think don’t work as acceptable extensions of the underlying chord. Explain why in each case. Write a polytonal harmonization of the Rhythm changes such that the chords in the bass staff remain in the standard key of BÓ, while the chords in the treble staff are consistently in a different key. Download 1.17 Mb. Share with your friends:
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