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 harmonic epiphany 
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Post harmonic epiphany
The scales have fallen from my eyes!

My playing has just doubled in quality, in a single moment.

Let me explain.

Some excellent person on this forum suggested reading Harmony by Heinrich Schenker, which I then ordered off of Amazon. Just reading the introduction woke me up. It mentioned all of the bad harmony books that have been written over the years, starting (in the opinion of the man who wrote the introduction) in 1722 with Rameau's Harmony. According to the essay, Rameau's book portrayed harmonies in as moving in blocks, and in conceiving chords as such, betrayed the nature of music as a free-flowing art. Also, the same year offered volume 1 of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, almost the epitome of free-flowing counterpoint.

The essay goes on to quote Bach as saying that the figured bass was tantamount to a school of composition, and characterizing a dominant chord, not as a chord, but merely as a way station for voices to temporarily agree on a harmony before moving on.

After reading this (during an illness where I had quite a bit of free time), the ideas kind of settled in. "Hey, maybe I've gotten some bad harmonic instruction! Maybe my mind is focused on chords as a way to making good music, when maybe my concept is off!"

Maybe chords aren't the way to go. Maybe, a chord is a dead thing, like a fish on a plate. But there is plenty of gorgeous, living music out there. What's the deal?

It came to me! A chord can only come to life in the company of non-harmonics. A chord is like people waiting for a bus. They are together only for a short while before they move on. Movement is the thing!

Every two or three chord tones (to put it in a rule of thumb) should be accompanied by a non-harmonic tone. That's where the beauty is, and that's the answer to every stymied musician who thinks "I've been studying harmony for years - why don't I sound better?"

Of course, even this formulation can lead to stale results. The thing is, to bring your soul to it, keep the music moving, and keep your soul moving. It's not just chords, it's rhythm! It's not just harmonies, it's emotions! It's resolutions! That's where all the beauty is.

So this morning, I put that into practice, and, with my current level of technique (not great), I did an improvisation that really resonated with my soul, and kept moving forward.

I wish I'd known this in my early 30's...

R


Fri Dec 19, 2014 7:50 am
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Post Re: harmonic epiphany
Beautifully stated. Movement is art. Even energized resonance on a chord can be art, but as you said, mainly the movement is what brings it home. Simple chords can only say so much, so your non-harmonics bring in extras to enjoy. When you are ready, please show us examples.

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Fri Dec 19, 2014 8:46 am
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Post Re: harmonic epiphany
Hi Rodan.

Wow, that does sound like an epiphany. I know just what you mean about chords having a function that simply allows you to move in whatever direction your instincts tell you. I't's so much different to the theoretical standpoint of static chords as nomenclature to be laboured over.

It's a bit like if you know what a chord can do you're more likely to remember it, yes?!

And now you're applying that to free form chordal/melodic improv on Stick. The reflects the archetypical inspiration and method from Emmett.

Bravo Sir. Music has it's way with us again. 8-)

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Sat Dec 20, 2014 3:21 pm
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