Chords and Horns

[Winslow Yerxa <76450.3230@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Norbert Brunhuber asks about chording.

In addition to playing some notes together that fit the
background chords, there are three other major considerations -

RANGE -

Make sure your chording is in a range that doesnt clash with or upstage the
solist, singer, or other significant parts of the arrangement. THis may mean
choosing a lower-pitch harp or harps at times, and it means listening closely to
the entire band sound.

OVERALL RHYTHM -

As already noted by some responders, there are certain rhythms that work well in
certain contexts. What you're doing, in addition to plays chordal notes, is
FINDING A RHYTHM PART -something that fits with, and adds something to, the
groove already under way.

LINE -

While keyboards tend to stick with rhythmic comping, both horns and rhythm
guitar tend to work harmonized melodic lines into their rhythm parts. Again, you
don't want to steal the spotlight, but some simple moving line, often in an
abbreviated form, like punctuation, can be very effective. This was dealt with
in "Harmonica as Rhythm Guitar" in the Role Playing feature in HIP No. 1, with
examples played on Cassette No. 1.

PARTIAL CHORDS -

George Miklas rightly notes the C, G7, B half-diminished (that's minor third,
diminished fifth, and minor seventh) and D minor 6 available on the C diatonic.
This gives us four of the seven triads (basic three-note chords) built on the
notes of C major. If you narrow it down to two-note protions of chords, which
can
be used in moving lines, there are numerous other possibilities.

E minor 7th (E G B D) - E and G together in various blow holes, G and B in Draw
2
and 3, and B and D together in various draw holes for E minor 7 (or even E7, if
you avoid playing the third, or bend to get it).

A minor (A C E G) - the entire blow chord is an A minor seventh chord, minus the
root.

F major 6th (F A C D) - F and A draw notes are part of this chord, and D can be
added as the sixth in many cases, giving you three notes of an F Major 6 chord.

Adding these three to the four that George named gives you chords built
on all the notes of the C major scale. But there are more.

Bb Major seventh. (Bb D F A) - D and F are basic members of the Bb major triad,
while A adds the major seventh. These are found together in Draw 4,5,and 6. Draw
1 and 2 (D and G) are the third and sixth of Bb, and can be used as part of a Bb
chord in some cases.

Eb Major 6th (Eb G Bb C) Eb Maj 9 (Eb G Bb D F) - there are several
possibilities here. While neither Eb or
Bb can be found in chord-able form on a C diatonic, several of its color notes
can. C is the sixth, and can be played with G, the third, in some circumstances
(which ones? Experiment and let your ear decide.) D and F are the major seventh
and ninth respectively, extensions of the basic triad, and can be played
together, perhaps even in alternation with C and G.

Taking this further means getting into some pretty strange chords, which I won;t
get into here. But there are a couple of other fairly straightforward
possibilities.

SYMMETRICAL CHORDS

Symmetrical chords are chords built with only one kind of interval. The two most
common are augmented chords and diminished seventh chords.

Augmented chords are built with major thirds - like C E G#. Now, which note is
the root of that chord? It could be any one of the three - it has three
potential identities. That means that any major third could be part of at least
three augmented chords. C and E in Blow 1 and 2 (and elsewhere), G and B in Draw
2 and 3, and F and A in Draw 5 and 6 (and 9 and 10) all have this possibility.

The most common use for augmented chords is as a kind of fruity V chord,
especially in gospel music and, with a more bumptious flavor, in swing music
from the '30's.

Diminshed seventh chords are made up of four notes, all a minor third apart.
B D F Ab is one of them (The Ab, a diminished - smaller than minor - seventh is
what distinguished this from the "half-diminished" B chord found on the draw
notes, which sports A, a minor seventh in relation to B). Again, any note in the
chord could be the root, so any portion of this chord - or even any minor third
interval - could function as part any one of four diminished seventh chords. SO
that B diminished triad - B D F could also be part of D, F or Ab diminished.

Dimished chords are often used as a chord leading from IV back to I - as in

C - C#dim7 - G

but can also be superimposed over regular seventh chords. We could take that B
seventh chord and play it over a G7. B, D, and F would already be part of the
G7, and Ab would add a minor ninth. Of course, this would also work over Bb7,
Db7, and E7.

Did I say straightforward? Well, they are useful, and you will encounter them if
you get even a little beyond basic I - IV - V blues.