Changing Chord Qualities
In this lesson we identify the chords in the A Section of “Misty” where we have the creative freedom to change the chord qualities.
When reading lead sheets we can stick to the original chord changes but we also have the freedom to change the chord qualities which unlocks other possibilities in our voicings and improvisations.
Major 6 vs. Major 7 Voicings
For the first chord in Misty, we can voice this as an Ebmaj7 or as an Ebmaj6. The 9th can also be included in both of these voicings. Omiting the 7th and playing the 6th creates a softer sound on major chords. This can be used in spread voicings and also in the stride left hand voicings as demonstrated in the lesson.
Changing The Stride Placement
In the previous lesson we explored a stride left hand style where the left hand plays the roots on beats 1 and 3, and a rootless left hand voicing on beats 2 and 4. We can change the order of this pattern to add more variety into our left hand accompaniment.
The 1625 & 3625 Progressions
In this first lesson of this course we explored the diatonic harmony of the key of Eb Major. We also discovered that we can change the chord qualities from minor chords to dominant chords and we will now apply this to the tune “Misty”.
Changing minor chords to dominant chords allows us to access different colours and flavours in our chord voicings. We start by playing a dominant VI chord to introduce additional tension in the progression and then we voice the 3625 progression with dominant chords in our stride left hand accompaniment.
Lesson Downloads
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Changing Chord Colours File Type: pdf
Related Lessons
In this lesson we will be exploring the major 251s with b9 and #5/b13 alterations. This will help you visualise alterations in all 12 keys.
Intros can be useful to extend the length of your performance and also to establish the tonality or the key in which the tune is being played.
In a minor 251, the 5 chord will be an altered dominant chord. In this lesson we apply altered dominant chords to the major 251 progression.
Practice Tips
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Experiment with the major 6, major 9, and major 69. It's important to be able to hear the different between these different major voicing variations.
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Alternate the root and rootless voicing movement in the stride pattern to create more variety in our left hand accompaniment.
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Notice the inner moving voice when playing Bb-9 to Eb7b9 to Abmaj9. The b9 over the Eb7 chord adds additional colour and texture.
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First change the chord qualities in 2-handed spread voicings, and then change the chord qualities in your rootless voicings.
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Try to 'play in the moment' by changing chord qualities when the A section repeats.
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