how to play
PART 1 This adventurous approach to voice leading might or might not turn you into a voicing superhero, but it will enable your fingers and expand your mind by Mitch Haupers ave you ever watched a professional dog walker when they’re walking three, four, or even five dogs at a time? Can you imagine trying to control three or four leashed animals with minds of their own and a will to go wherever they want at any given time? For most of us, this would be complete chaos. The spectacle often begs the question: “Who’s walking whom?” But this is what the process of learning voice leading feels like for many players, especially improvisers. This aspect of harmony requires developing the ability to hear multiple voices within chords and to guide those voices to create melodic lines within chord progressions. The skill could also be compared to the artistry of a professional puppeteer working a marionette — there’s more to it than meets the eye, and it takes a lot of practice to make it look so easy. World-renowned jazz guitarist Mick Goodrick has tackled the problem (in classic X-men style) with an immense two-volume set (soon to be three) entitled Mr. Goodchord’s Almanac of Guitar Voice-Leading for the Year 2001 and Beyond. Don’t let the title fool you; this method may have been written by a guitarist, but it’s aimed at any musician who is interested in exploring harmony and voice leading, including keyboardists, composers, and arrangers. In a nutshell, Mick has provided us with every possible three- and four-part diatonic chord that exists within a seven-note scale (triads, sevenths, hybrids, quartal voicings, and spread clusters). He shows you how to move from any possible inversion using many voicings, to any
H
42
Mr. Goodchord’s Keyboard Chord Decoder: What’s with all these Ds and DDs? When working with different types of voicings, it’s handy to borrow the terminology used by arrangers. An arranger will look at a four-note seventh chord in close voicing (4WC, or four-way close voicing) and they’ll number the notes, in their mind, from top to bottom — regardless of the inversion. Here we have a Cmaj7 in root position (a), first inversion (b), second inversion (c), and third inversion (d). Note that the numbers next to the chords refer only to the note order from top to bottom; no functional or intervallic information is implied. a)
b)
c)
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
d)
1 2 3 4
With the chord tones numbered, arrangers will take certain notes and drop them down an octave (D) or two octaves (DD). With any of the inversions shown here, you can take the second note from the top and drop it an octave, and you’ll have a drop 2 voicing (D2). If you take the third note down an octave, it’s a Drop 3 (D3). You can drop more than one note at a time. See Example 1 for examples of drop voicings and how they’re named. ILLUSTRATION © 2003 RICK EBERLY
KEYBOAR D
SEPTEMBER 2003
w w w. key b o a r d m a g . c o m
other possible chord or voicing within the scale. That partially explains why each volume exceeds 300 pages, yet covers only the chords within the major, harmonic minor, and melodic minor scales — in the key of C! And he does it without a speck of standard music notation. It’s a phenomenal system, and many keyboard players find it to be of tremendous value (Russell Ferrante and Lyle Mays, to name but two). We’ve hatched this article to provide an easy introduction to the system, and to give you enough material to work on for quite some time. Even though we show you everything in complete cycles and progressions in C major, by all means start transposing the material and experimenting with it right away. The examples in this article are not meant to be exercises, but springboards. Cycle 2 M Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7, Bm7b5 Hm Cm-maj7, Dm7b5, Ebmaj7#5, Fm7, G7, Abmaj7, Bdim7 Mm Cm-maj7, Dm7, Ebmaj7#5, F7, G7, Am7b5, Bm7b5 Cycle 4 M Cmaj7, Fmaj7, Bm7b5, Em7, Am7, Dm7, G7 Hm Cm-maj7, Fm7, Bdim7, Ebmaj7#5, Abmaj7, Dm7b5, G7, Mm Cm-maj7, F7, Bm7b5, Ebmaj7#5, Am7b5, Dm7, G7 Cycle 6 M Cmaj7, Am7, Fmaj7, Dm7, Bm7b5, G7, Em7 Hm Cm-maj7, Abmaj7, Fm7, Dm7b5, Bdim7, G7, Ebmaj7#5 Mm Cm-maj7, Am7b5, F7, Dm7, Bm7b5, G7, Ebmaj7#5 Cycle 7 M Cmaj7, Bm7b5, Am7, G7, Fmaj7, Em7, Dm7 Hm Cm-maj7, Bdim7, Abmaj7, G7, Fm7, Ebmaj7#5, Dm7b5 Mm Cm-maj7, Bm7b5, Am7b5, G7, F7, Ebmaj7#5, Dm7 Cycle 5 M Cmaj7, G7, Dm7, Am7, Em7, Bm7b5, Fmaj7 Hm Cm-maj7, G7, Dm7b5, Abmaj7, Ebmaj7#5, Bdim7, Fm7 Mm Cm-maj7, G7, Dm7, Am7b5, Ebmaj7#5, Bm7b5, F7 Cycle 3 M Cmaj7, Em7, G7, Bm7b5, Dm7, Fmaj7, Am7 Hm Cm-maj7, Ebmaj7#5, G7, Bdim7, Dm7b5, Fm7, Abmaj7 Mm Cm-maj7, Ebmaj7#5, G7, Bm7b5, Dm7, F7, Am7b5
Mr. Goodchord’s Keyboard Chord Decoder: What’s a TBN? Mr. Goodchord has a few ways of looking at triads and their relationship to a bass note, so there are a few unique terms that crop up. Seventh chords can be thought of as a triad over a bass note (a), separated by a third; Mr. Goodchord uses standard seventh chord terminology for these. When a triad and bass note have a fifth between them (b), Mr. Goodchord calls it a TBN I (triad over bass note I). When a triad and bass note are separated by a seventh (c), Mr. Goodchord calls it a TBN II. a)
b)
c)
Em/C
G/C
Bdim/C
seventh
TBNI
TBNII
The Mother Lode
At the heart of the system are progressions — Mr. Goodchord calls them cycles — that encourage you to experience both the harmonic and melodic aspects of the progressions as you play them. We use six different cycles for each seven-note scale, which means we cover every possible way of moving from one chord to another within a given key. The six cycles aren’t numbered 1 though 6 in order, however; they’re named according to the ascending root movement of the cycle. Cycle 2 uses root movement of an ascending diatonic second, Cycle 3 moves chords by ascending diatonic thirds, Cycle 7 uses root movement of a seventh, and so on. In the key of C, here are the Cycles for the major scale (M), the harmonic minor scale (Hm), and the melodic minor scale (Mm). See chart at left. When you’re experimenting with voice leading over these cycles, use voice movement that is as smooth as possible without moving in
Ex. 1. There are many ways to voice a chord, and arrangers know them by name. Knowing these will come in handy when we start working our voice leading magic. Each of these takes a particular inversion of a close-voiced Cmaj7 chord and redistributes the notes in a particular way. In 1a, we take the second note from the top and drop it down an octave for a drop 2 (D2 for short, in this article). In 1b, take the third note from the top and drop it an octave; this is drop 3 (D3). Drop the second and third notes in 1c down an octave to get a drop 2, 3 voicing (D2,3). In1d, drop the second and fourth notes for a drop 2,4 (D2,4). And finally, drop the second note two octaves and the third note one octave for a double-drop 2, drop 3 (DD2D3). Note how I used different inversions in the close-voiced chords, yet I ended up with C in the bass for every drop voicing. The trick is to know which close-position chord in which drop voicing will put the note you want in the bass.
a)
1 2 3 4
b)
c)c)
d)
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
e)
1 2 3 4
Ex. 2. This gives you an idea of how you can take a voicing through each of the cycles described in the text. Each measure contains the first three chords of one cycle. Here we’re taking a close-voiced triad through the cycles of C major. a)
C
b)
Dm
Em
C
c)
F
Bdim
C
d)
Am
F
C
e)
Bdim Am
C
f)
G
Dm
C
Em
G
Cycle 2
Cycle 4
Cycle 6
Cycle 7
Cycle 5
w w w. key b o a r d m a g . c o m
Cycle 3
SEPTEMBER 2003
KEYBOAR D
43
how to play
• Play the chord in one hand while arpeggiating with the other • Play over different grooves • Break up the notes between hands (one note in the left and three notes in the right, and other such combinations) • Play the voice leading in different directions
Mr. Goodchord
parallel motion with the chord roots. Smooth voice leading means moving to the closest available note from chord to chord. See Examples 2 and 3 to see how you can play close and open position triads through each of the cycles. In the Almanac itself, we use our own text-based notation system to write out the voicings to use over each cycle. We call it the Universal Notation System, since anyone who knows where the notes are on their instrument and who can read Roman letters can understand it. See Example 4 for an example of a 4WC voicing running over Cycle 4 of the C harmonic minor scale. Example 5 shows the same thing in standard notation. Example 6 takes a D3 seventh chord voicing through Cycle 4 in C major. What’s an 4WC and D3? See the sidebar, “Mr. Goodchord’s Keyboard Chord Decoder: What’s up with all these Ds and DDs?” Mick Goodrick and I often refer to this body of material as either “The Mother Lode,”“The M-Lode,” or simply, “All This Stuff.” There’s almost no end to the ways you can work with it and apply it. Here are some ideas of how to get going with it. • • • • •
Play all the notes at simultaneously in both hands Play all the notes at once, split the voices between hands Arpeggiate the chords in the left hand Arpeggiate the chords in the right hand Arpeggiate the chords with both hands in varying registers
Examples 7 through 20 are examples of how you can apply different rhythmic approaches to a variety of cycles, in both standard notation and in our Universal Notation. These illustrate the just a few of the millions of possibilities open to improvisers working with the M-Lode. Though they’re written in C major, feel free to change an E to Eb and play in C melodic minor, or change the Es and As to Eb and Ab and play in C harmonic minor. Example 21, in C harmonic minor, shows you how you can use the sustain pedal to let the chords blend. Example 22 is an excerpt of a composition by Mick Goodrick himself. As improvising musicians, we can benefit greatly from fully exploring and expanding our harmonic vocabulary, which is one of the aims of this material. Rest assured that your soloing will also benefit from your voice leading practice. When we perform, the harmonic choices we make are often influenced by what we hear happening in the moment — a process of harmonic reaction. At other times, we choose according to what our ears tell us could or may happen — a harmonic prediction. Most of the time, we only play what we know, staying well within our harmonic vocabulary comfort zone. How often do we take harmonic risks when we play? Would there be some benefits to practicing risk-taking? Continued on page 50 ➥
Ex. 3. Here we take an open-voiced triad through the first three chords in the cycles in C major. a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
C
Dm
Em
C
F
Cycle 2
Bdim
C
Cycle 4
Am
F
C
Bdim Am
Cycle 6
C
Cycle 7
G
Dm
Cycle 5
C
Em
G
Cycle 3
Ex. 4. Here the scale is C harmonic minor, we’re using seventh chords in four-way close voicing, and were taking the voicings through cycle 4. We’re also using the Mr. Goodchord Universal Notation System. Standard music notation doesn’t quite do justice to all that is contained within the Mr. Goodchord system. To start with, not all musicians can read notation. Our thinking was that any and all musicians who know where the notes are on their chosen instruments would be able to use this system. The arrows represent direction of movement between voices (either up or down). The dashes represent common tones between two adjacent chord tones (and therefore no movement between chords in that voice). The vertical stacks of note names are the chord structures, and the names above them are the standard chord symbols. Cm,maj7 B G Eb C
Fm7 Ab F Eb C
Bdim7 Ab F D B
Ebmaj7#5 G Eb D B
Abmaj7 G Eb C Ab
Dm7b5 F D C Ab
G7 F D B G
Ex. 5. Here is Example 4 in standard notation, using the most basic rhythm. Note that common tones between chords can be re-played, as between bar lines here, or they can be held, as with the lower notes within each bar. Cm, maj7
Fm7
Bdim7
E maj7 5
A maj7
Dm7 5
G7
4 4 ➥
44
KEYBOAR D
SEPTEMBER 2003
w w w. key b o a r d m a g . c o m
how to play Mr. Goodchord Ex. 6. This example shows D3 seventh chords moving through cycle 4 of the C major scale. The repeat signs surrounding the voice leading work the same way as they do in ordinary music notation — simply repeat what is between them. This is in “long form,” which means you have to play through the cycle a number of times before you arrive at the original voicing you started with. This may be two, three, or even four times through, depending on the chord type and cycle. Cmaj7 Fmaj7 Bm7b5 Em7 Am7 Dm7 G ∞ F F ∞ E E ∞ D ∞ E E ∞ D D ∞ C C ∞ B ∞ A A ∞ G G ∞ F ∞C C ∞ B B ∞ A A ∞
■ ■
G7 Cmaj7 Fmaj7 Bm7b5 D ∞ C C ∞ B B B ∞ A A ∞ F ∞ E E ∞ D G G ∞ F F ∞
Em7 Am7 Dm7 G7 B ∞ A A ∞ G G G ∞ F F ∞ D ∞ C C ∞ B E E ∞ D D∞
■ ■
Ex. 7. Check out the cycle 3 triads (open voicing) in C major. C
Em E ∞ G C∞B
E ■ ■ ∞G
G D G B
Bdim Dm D D ∞ ∞ F F B ∞ A
F C F A
Am C ∞ E A ∞
C C E G
∞
Em B E ∞ G
G B D G
Bdim Dm B∞ A D D ∞ ∞ F F
F A C F
Am A ∞ C ∞ E
C G C E
Em G ∞ B E ∞
G G B D
Bdim Dm F F B ∞ A D D ∞
∞
F F A C
Am E ■ A∞■ C
∞
Ex. 8. Here is one possible rhythmic realization of Example 7. This goes through just one cycle; when you play it, continue through the full form. etc.
128
Ex. 9. Here’s another approach to Example 8.
12 8 Ex. 10. This is cycle 6 with open triads in C major. As in cycle 3, there is only one moving voice. This means that the other two voices are common tones.
■ ■
C E G ∞C
Am E ∞ ∞ A C
F F A C
Dm Bdim F ∞ F A ∞B ∞ D D
G G B D
Em G B ∞ E
∞
C G C E
∞
Am A C E ∞
F A C F
Dm Bdim A∞ B ∞ D D F ∞ F
G B D G
Em B ∞ ∞ E G
C C E G
Am C E ∞ ∞ A
F C F A
∞
Dm Bdim D D F ∞ F A ∞ B
G D G B
Em E ■ G ■ B∞
∞
Ex. 11. This is one way to play Example 10.
12 8 12 8 etc.
Ex. 12. This takes the cycle 3 progression of Example 7 and adds a bit of cross-hand fun. L.H.
12 8 12 8 etc.
46
KEYBOAR D S E PTE M BE R 2003
w w w. key b o a r d m a g . c o m
➥
how to play Mr. Goodchord Ex. 13. Let’s try out open triads over cycle 5 in C major.
C ■ ∞E ∞ ■ ∞G
C
∞
G D G B
Dm Am Em Bdim B∞ D ∞ C∞ B ∞ F ∞ E ∞ D ∞ E ∞ A A ∞G ∞ F
F A C F
∞
∞
C G C E
∞ ∞
G G B D
Dm Am Em Bdim E ∞ D ∞ F ∞ E ∞ A A∞G ∞ F B ∞ D ∞ C∞B ∞
F C F A
∞ ∞
C C E G
∞ ∞
G B D G
Dm Am Em Bdim A ∞ G ∞ F A B∞ D ∞ C ∞ B ∞ F ∞ E E ∞ D∞
∞
F F∞ ■ A∞■ C
Ex. 14. You could set off the single common tone against the two moving tones like this; note that this lends itself well to three-bar phrases, as the voice leading repeats every three chords. This starts on the last chord in the cycle.
44
4 4 etc.
Ex. 15. Cycle 4 is known as the Circle of Fifths outside of Mr. Goodchord’s workshop. Open voicings, C major.
C ■ ∞E ∞ G ∞ ■ ∞C
F F A C
Bdim Em Am Dm A ∞ F ∞ G ∞A ∞ B B ∞C ∞ D ∞ D ∞ E E ∞ F ∞
G B D G
∞ ∞
C C E G
F C F A
∞ ∞
Bdim Em Am Dm E ∞ F ∞ D ∞ E A ∞ F ∞ G∞ A B ∞C ∞ D ∞ B ∞
G G B D
∞ ∞
C G C E
∞
∞
F A C F
Bdim Em Am Dm B ∞ C ∞ D B ∞ D ∞ E E ∞F∞ A∞ F ∞ G ∞ A
∞
G D∞■ G ■ B∞
Ex. 16. This realization of Example 15 is similar to that in Example 14, but you can hear how the different cycle gives it a whole different sound.
4
4
4
4 etc.
Ex. 17. Cycle 7 covers a lot of keyboard real estate quickly. Start higher or lower on the keyboard, or transpose up or down an octave to accommodate.
Bdim Am F ∞A ∞ B ∞C ∞ ∞C ∞ D ∞ E ∞ C
■ ∞E ∞ ■ ∞G ∞
G B D G
∞ ∞ ∞
F C F A
Em Dm E ∞F ∞ ∞ G ∞ A ∞ ∞ B ∞ D ∞ ∞
C G C E
Bdim Am B ∞ C ∞ ∞ D ∞ E ∞ ∞ F ∞ A ∞ ∞
G D∞ G∞ B∞
F F A C
Em Dm G ∞A ∞ ∞ B ∞ D ∞ ∞ E ∞ F ∞ ∞
C C E G
Bdim Am D ∞ E ∞ ∞ F ∞ A ∞ ∞ B ∞ C ∞ ∞
G G B D
∞ ∞ ∞
F A C F
Em Dm B ∞D∞■ ∞ E ∞ F ∞■ ∞ G ∞ A∞ ∞
Ex. 18. This alternating staccato texture sounds good over Example 17.
4
4 4
4 etc.
Ex. 19. Cycle 2 provides us with a classic example of conjunct/disjunct voice leading, since we’re moving our voices in the opposite direction of the root movement.
Dm Em D ∞B ∞ F ∞ E ∞ ∞ C ∞ A∞G ∞ C
■ ∞E ∞ ■ ∞G ∞
F A C F
∞ ∞ ∞
G G B D
Am Bdim E ∞ D ∞ ∞ A ∞ F ∞ ∞ C ∞ B ∞ ∞
C C E G
∞ ∞ ∞
Dm Em A ∞ G ∞ D∞ B ∞ F ∞ E ∞
F F ∞ A∞ C∞
G D G B
Am Bdim C ∞ B∞ ∞ E ∞ D∞ ∞ A ∞ F ∞ ∞
C G C E
Dm Em F ∞ E ∞ ∞ A ∞ G ∞ ∞ D ∞ B ∞ ∞
F C F A
∞ ∞ ∞
G B D G
Am Bdim A ∞ F∞■ ∞ C ∞ B∞ ■ ∞ E ∞ D∞ ∞
Ex. 20. This is a staccato treatment of Example 19.
4 4 44
etc.
48
KEYBOAR D
SEPTEMBER 2003
w w w. key b o a r d m a g . c o m
➥
how to play Mr. Goodchord We’re not telling you how or where to play these chord structures on your instrument. The whole idea is to provide you with all the possibilities within the three scale types, so you don’t have to think
about how to arrive at these chord structures. Hopefully, this will free you to spend more time experimenting with different ways to play them. In the second part of this article, we’ll work more with four-part chords, as well as some quartal and cluster voicings. Take all the time you need to work with this material and enjoy it! ➥
Ex. 21. Because of the presence of so many common tones, moving one voice and sustaining the voices in cycle 6 is relatively easy. This etude explores the relationship between common tones and moving voices. Play slowly enough to achieve a sense of the chord progression. If you have a real piano, utilize the combined effect of both the damper and sustain pedals to emphasize the moving voice while maintaining the chord structure beneath.
64 6
4 1
L.H.
5
54 44
54 44
Ex. 22. Mick Goodrick wrote this piece 15 years ago (excerpt shown below) after subbing for Bill Frisell on a tour with Bass Desires. This “pre-Mother Lode” composition contains many of the voicings and chord types that eventually made their way into the voice leading books. There are triads, TBN 1 and TBN 2 chords, and seventh chords. The first chord of the piece is an example of a DD2D3 voicing (C/F). Note the inclusion of seventh chord voicings that have a flat ninth between the seventh of the chord and the root note — what a great sound! Play through the voice leading in C major, cycle 6, using TBN 1 and D2,4, as well as DD2D3. You’ll hear some similarities to this piece.
( )
Rubato 1
9
Excerpts copyright ©2003 by Mr. Goodchord Publications from Mr. Goodchord’s Almanac of Guitar Voice-Leading for the Year 2001 and Beyond. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
50
KEYBOAR D
SEPTEMBER 2003
w w w. key b o a r d m a g . c o m
how to play Mr. Goodchord
Mr. Goodchord’s Advice This article has only hinted at the incredible amount of information presented in the Almanac of Guitar Voice Leading. The first two volumes total over 600 pages of material (triads, seventh chords, and TBN I and TBN II in Volume 1, three- and four-part quartal voicings and spread clusters in Volume 2) — and this is just using the major, melodic minor, and harmonic minor scales in C. Volume 3, due out later this year, will discuss alternative and chromatic voice leading, relate these concepts to the eleven other keys, introduce new scales, and present new ideas for other uses of this material. To keep things simple, we focused this article on stuff from Volume I, namely triads and seventh chords. The second installment of this article (to appear in Keyboard in the near future) will go farther into how the material can help you discover new ways of approaching your voicings. So with so much stuff to work with, where do you start? How do you proceed? Our advice is to work on this material without trying to learn it. In fact, try not to learn it. This way, you eliminate any self-imposed pressure. You just have the experience of going through the material. You’ll discover your own way through it. That will be enough. Self-discovery is one of the most meaningful ways to learn. Have you ever been the first to walk through an open field after a fresh snowfall? We want your experience with Mr. Goodchord to be kind of like that. If you followed someone else’s tracks through the snow, you might miss the opportunity to wander on your own. As you explore, if you make a mistake, it’s okay; in fact, maybe you’ll find something more interesting than what’s in the exercise. In that case, continue your “mistake” through the voice leading pattern. You could also look at it this way: what one person finds useful while playing through this material may not seem valuable to someone else at that point in time. Over the past few years, I have presented this material to many keyboard players and each time we’ve discovered something new in it. Have fun with your own discoveries! k Mitch Haupers is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music. He specializes in teaching ear training, rhythm, harmony and free improvisation. You can read more about his teaching, projects and hear mp3s of his free improvisation quartet at: www.berklee.edu/news/2001/02/mhaupers.html. For more information on Mr. Goodchord, visit www.mrgoodchord.com.
52
KEYBOAR D
SEPTEMBER 2003
w w w. key b o a r d m a g . c o m
