Roller Coaster Ride!
A Snakey, Chromatic ii-V7 Line
"Roller Coaster" - Karen Elzinger This exercise, which features the smaller intervals of Maj. & min 2nds, was developed from one that I made up for myself a while back; when I first heard guys like Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, Steve Grossman and, of course, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, and Miles Davis from the mid '60s before them; who made frequent use of these snakey, swirling, chromatic types of lines.
The original exercise was made up of a pattern which, connecting each measure by a half step, repeated itself down a perfect 4th, and which can be found on pp. 71-76 of my eBook, "Slick Licks That Stick!" which is available right here.
The downloadable exercise presented here is my attempt to tonicize and resolve the original line. Probably the easiest and most accessible way to do that, in my estimation, was as.......you guessed it; some sort of ii-V7-I resolution.
The original exercise was made up of a pattern which, connecting each measure by a half step, repeated itself down a perfect 4th, and which can be found on pp. 71-76 of my eBook, "Slick Licks That Stick!" which is available right here.
The downloadable exercise presented here is my attempt to tonicize and resolve the original line. Probably the easiest and most accessible way to do that, in my estimation, was as.......you guessed it; some sort of ii-V7-I resolution.
The Breakdown:
Line #1, Measure #1; is constructed in two parts. The first beat (four 16th notes) consists of 2 ascending half steps and a descending whole step: = H(up) - H (up) - W (down)
The four 16th note cell, which makes up beat 2, is the exact inversion of beat one, namely; 2 decending half steps and an ascending whole step. = H(down) - H (down) - W (up). It starts a half step up from the final 16th note of beat one.
Beat 3, which begins a half step below the last 16th note of beat 2, consists of two groups of descending whole steps, spaced a descending half step apart: = W (down) - H (up) - W (down)
Beat 4 of measure #1, starting a whole tone up from the last 16th of beat 3, goes W (down) - H (up) - H (down).
Hey Gillespie! You look Dizzy. We're not even out of the first measure yet!
The good news is that measure #2 is exactly the same as bar #1 transposed down a perfect 4th, with the lone exception being the very last interval, which is a whole step instead of a half.
That, my friends, was from the original exercise.
I wanted to see where it could go and how it could resolve. I thought it needed a change of direction from a basically descending line in the first 2 bars to something moving back the other way towards resolution.
The ascent begins in measure #3, with a combination of half and whole steps. The last 5 notes of the measure belong to an F-Ab-B-D half tone / whole tone diminished scale, which take us to the top of the hill before skipping back down with a basket full of daisies in measure #4, via a contrasting arpeggiated figure, spanning an octave and a half.
There are many ways to harmonize this line. The basic harmonies and root movement suggested here work well and sound good. The final 7#9 chord is a tonic dominant, as in a blues, with both Maj. & min 3rd implications.
Line #1, Measure #1; is constructed in two parts. The first beat (four 16th notes) consists of 2 ascending half steps and a descending whole step: = H(up) - H (up) - W (down)
The four 16th note cell, which makes up beat 2, is the exact inversion of beat one, namely; 2 decending half steps and an ascending whole step. = H(down) - H (down) - W (up). It starts a half step up from the final 16th note of beat one.
Beat 3, which begins a half step below the last 16th note of beat 2, consists of two groups of descending whole steps, spaced a descending half step apart: = W (down) - H (up) - W (down)
Beat 4 of measure #1, starting a whole tone up from the last 16th of beat 3, goes W (down) - H (up) - H (down).
Hey Gillespie! You look Dizzy. We're not even out of the first measure yet!
The good news is that measure #2 is exactly the same as bar #1 transposed down a perfect 4th, with the lone exception being the very last interval, which is a whole step instead of a half.
That, my friends, was from the original exercise.
I wanted to see where it could go and how it could resolve. I thought it needed a change of direction from a basically descending line in the first 2 bars to something moving back the other way towards resolution.
The ascent begins in measure #3, with a combination of half and whole steps. The last 5 notes of the measure belong to an F-Ab-B-D half tone / whole tone diminished scale, which take us to the top of the hill before skipping back down with a basket full of daisies in measure #4, via a contrasting arpeggiated figure, spanning an octave and a half.
There are many ways to harmonize this line. The basic harmonies and root movement suggested here work well and sound good. The final 7#9 chord is a tonic dominant, as in a blues, with both Maj. & min 3rd implications.
B.Stern
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