I had a teacher at Laurier University that taught at Berklee so it was awesome getting the berklee training at my university

I love pivot chords I call em musical worm holes as they transport you to a different place quickly

The concept of key is a feeling of "home". In this tune there's no doubt in the A section that chord center is Ebm. The melody sounds resolved on Eb. Therefore it is the key. If the B section were not written, we're in Ebm
The B section is in Gb starting on the IV, Cb and spiraling down in 5ths as is very common. The last measure of the B section is a ii V turnaround back to the top and Ebm7.

BTW...your reference to blues starting on a dominant chord..it's still a I but not in Major. It's I in the mixolydian mode

Steve A

You misunderstood me Steve on this one...or maybe I wasn't clear enough. Let's say we play a blues in A7 but starting on E7...this blues is not in E7 but in A7. I guess it's more clear this way...because you're right about the X7th dominant chord.

A refreshing topic, fun to read - keep going guys.

Of course starting chords are not necessarily the key. In Alain's illustration the E7 is merely a pickup resolving to the root. Theory is important but so is ear. If a progression sounds resolved on a certain chord, chances are , theory will validate this is indeed the key

Steve A

You can bring your point of view...lol.

On my side, when I improvise on this song I do it in different ways. I can do it only on Ebm7 (aeolian mode) or follow other paths...on Bmaj7(#11) lydian, Abm7 (dorian), etc...or put some diminish arpeggios between some of these chords...Even though the chords are Ebm7 - Bbm7 (vamp in 5/4) sometimes I'll play arpeggions on Gb-Gdim-Abm-Adim-Bbm-Bmaj (Cb) to resolve more inside because these arpeggios give the impressions to play out...But on my side I have the feeling I'm always in...lol.

Let's forget about Take 5 and let's stay on a minor chord starting a song...

Gm for example but, instead of having 2 flats (relative min of Bb), let's say we have 1 flat. So, that means we are in Fmaj.

Or Gm again but with 3 flats at the key...Ebmaj.

In both cases what scale would you use and why?

1st is G Dorian - G A Bb C D E F G
2nd is G Phrygian - G Ab Bb C D Eb F G

Unless I'm misunderstanding the question.

Exactly...I tried this morning (with my looper) a nice progression we don't normally ear...lol.

Gm7 - Dm7b5...repeat for 8 bars let's say and then a B part with Cm7 - Bb/Ab (Ab6/9 #11) repeated a couple of times and finish with an Fm7 to create a suspended feeling before starting over again. With the phrygian mode in G...just great. Sounds a bit oriental.

Now my analysis of the progression....

Part I - IIIm7 - VIIm7b5
Part II - VIm7 - IVmaj#11
The Fm7 chord is a IIm7

The I chord is absent...implied. That is why I like a lot the colours you can put on your solo.

For the other example with the dorian mode...it's more usual.

I have the impression you see it the same way Afro Circus...Am I wrong?

If we're talking about modal playing and harmony, it would be inefficient to put too much stock into Roman numeral analysis, which tends to be a very tonal and diatonic look at things. For me, each of these modes are interchangeable in the moment, obviously depending on the chord that I'm playing over. It all depends on what color I want to go for but I tend to mix and match a lot in my playing