The Quintessential Zombie ♫ ♪

Dave and I had an interesting discussion about leads and melody tonight. A composition is a multifaceted creation that lives and breathes. It is a whole that is greater than the sum of it's parts. And speaking of parts, there are many parts to a composition. Some have more than others. There are elements such as rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, introductions, endings, etc... However, the most important element of any composition is undoubtedly the melody. With out a melody, compositions would be a cacophony of noise and beat. Interesting-maybe...for a bit..., but eventually pretty dull and not very enjoyable. The melody is the identity, the DNA or life of a composition. With out melody, a comp(...OK, I am going to start using the word song instead of composition. Too much typing...) a song would be a mere shell of art. An empty plastic mold of musical interest on a cardboard backing.

The quintessential zombie of the grand staff, it is song bereft of life. -nuff said.

Melody breathes life, color and character into a song and should not be taken for granted.

The most basic, freely obtainable and emminently relevant trait of music and song is melody.

The melody should be reflected or referenced throughout the song. Other elements exist and have roles, but none so important or primary. From the melody, all other elements thrive. The rythmn embelishes and accents. The harmony lifts and complements. The bass drives and supports. All theses are important, but secondary and left listing without melody. Then there is the 'solo' or feature element that adds flair and gives musicians a chance to flex their creativity. Of course, different styles demand different technique and approach, but one vital element is already on hand.

The melody of the song is a primary and perfectly elegible theme for the soloist. As a matter of fact, any soloist worth their salt should be able to play leads using the song's melody.

It is not only relevant to the song, but reasonable as a choice and has been shown time and time again to be the perfect choice for the theme of the solo. Of course, as an improvisition, a soloist should take liberties and excercise the muse for a few bars. But I think you will find that starting, revisiting and/or returning to the melody throughout the solo is a perfect use of the element and makes for a very satisfying jaunt.

Chord Changes

Well, I've decided that I want to spend some time working on my jazz chops and learning a bit more about improvisation in general. I've started to review some different material and am going over standard II-V-I changes and appropriate scale changes. We're keeping it simple right now, just using modes based from the major scale for the I chord of whatever key you're in. I think you can apply the same mentality to the pentatonic major scale (more later on that). For example, my understanding is that the II chord is always a minor 7th chord, the V is always a dominant 7th and the I is always a major 7th. The Dm7 chord uses a D dorian scale (from the key of C) and gives us a minor 3rd interval (F) and a minor 7th interval (C). The G7 chord using a G mixolyidan scale (from the key of C) and gives us a major 3rd interval (B) and a minor 7th interval (F). And finally, the Cmaj7 chord using a C ionian scale (a.k.a. major scale, from the key of C) and gives us a major 3rd interval (E) and a major 7th interval (B).
I think the thing to remember about chord changes is not so much what key the song is written in, but what are the chord changes. Where are you coming from and changing to. I'm sure there's more to it than that and I will be learning that bit later. But for now, my V7 chord will be using mixolydian, etc... It should be good practice.

• Minor 7th chords are II chords


• Dominant 7th chords are V chords


• Major 7th chords are I chords