[Harp-L] ii-V-I, But Lacking Resolution

[Slim Heilpern]

Hi Tin -

Not trying to be flippant, but what I do is I use my ears to decide which chord progression (as written) I like better, or better matches a recording of the tune that I like. Sometimes the chords will be similar and can be substituted to taste (e.g. C9 vs. C7, C6 vs. C, etc...). 

Really, there’s no quick and easy way to learn this stuff, so start with the simplest tunes, preferably ones that you are familiar with. Ear training is essential and I would argue that learning an instrument that allows you to play and experiment with different chords and voicing (piano or guitar are the usual suspects) is essential as well. 

In my opinion, learning music from the great american songbook is a journey with few shortcuts, best to take it slow and start with the basics (learn a chordal instrument, train your ears to hear the differences between the chords and how the melody fits over the chords, learn how to play what you’re hearing on the harmonica).

BTW, you can enter different chords into a song in iRealPro and see how they sound. Also, it may be that the iRealPro default key for the tune is different, in which case you just need to change the key of the tune in iRealPro to match the book you bought. 

Hope this helps…

- Slim.

www.SlimAndPenny.com


> On Sep 5, 2017, at 12:08 PM, Tin Lizzie <TrackHarpL at xxxxx> wrote:
> 
> So, I’m trying to branch out from the standard 12-bar blues on diatonic.  (“High time,” I hear some of you saying.)
> 
> I have opened a book that I bought a while ago, “The Great American Songbook (Volume 2, ’The Composers'), Music and Lyrics for 94 Standards from the Golden Age of American Song,” published by Hal Leonard.  I also purchased iReal Pro.  I’ve been looking at songs that are common to the two.  I practice reading the melody out of the book on my chromatic, accompanied by the chords in iReal Pro.  Well, I’m trying to.
> 
> Except that I have yet to find a song common to the two where the chords actually match.
> 
> I had hoped that iReal Pro would save me the tedium of entering all the chords by hand from the book into Band-in-a-Box.  I would hate to do all that work if the book is wrong.  How does one decide, when sources differ?
> 
> Tin Lizzie
> “Never go to sea with two clocks.  Take one, or three.”
> 
>