Play The ‘Wrong Notes’
In this lesson we explore the exact opposite of what we studied in the previous lesson and we intentionally play the so called ‘wrong notes’ or the notes that are deemed to be a bad fit with the harmony.
In the previous lessons we created simple melodies inside the harmony focusing on chord tones. Whilst playing ‘inside the harmony’ is one option, in reality, we can play any note over any chord. As the expression goes “there are wrong notes in jazz music”.
Dissonant Notes As Passing Tones
Looking at the first chord in the form which is an Fmaj7 chord, we identify the most dissonant notes or the notes that clash against the primary chord tones.
This is a major chord which contains a major 3rd and a major 7th and so the notes that should spring to mind as ‘clash notes’ would be the minor 3rd and the minor 7th. One would presume that we can’t use these in our improvisations but as we explore in this lesson, the opposite is true.
Lesson Downloads
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Wrong Notes Notation Examples File Type: pdf
Related Lessons
We explore 2 chromatic lines that work beautifully over the 3625 progression. Apply this technique to any tune that you are working on.
The concepts we’ll be focusing on are target notes, approach patterns and chromaticism. Understanding these principles will give you line structure.
In this lesson we explore how you can navigate over the minor line cliché using bass lines, two-handed chords and left hand voicings.
Practice Tips
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It's true that there are good places to land and not so good places to land, but in terms of the actual notes that we can play over a chord, pretty much anything goes.
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Experiment by adding dissonant notes as passing tones, particularly when we have a single chord in a measure.
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An important element is to connect the chords logically and cleanly with approach patterns and this in turn gives us more freedom in the note choices for our improvised lines.
