Re: Beginner's Christmas Carol #1: Silent Night
Luc wrote:
Greg, I had toyed with the thought of making that Am9 chord an A9 (I like the sound of both of them a lot), but I had decided against it in the interest of staying diatonic in the key of G. (My idea of a beginner's chart went right down to keeping the harmonic structure beginner-friendly, too.) I'm not entirely sure why I didn't label it an Am9; I think I was thinking of keeping the chord identification simple (again, beginner's chart) and letting the melody notes do their work as guide tones.
However, your point is a very good one, and I understand the ear's desire to hear a ii-V right there. I heard it, too. I also like the hand motion from the Em to the A9. But my theory question is: when you introduce a non-diatonic note (like a #4) into the mix, what do you call it? Is it the ii-V of V in this case?
Luc, I am no expert, but the way I think about these kinds of progressions is "relative ii-V-I, since the "I" isn't the tonic chord.
A tune like "Autumn Leaves" can be seen as a series of relative 2-5-1 progressions.
Another great example of this is the Coltrane tune "Central Park West" if memory serves.
I'm sure that our resident jazz chord expert, Sir Adelson, could shed much more light on the subject than can I.
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