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I figured out app.box.com and signed up. Looks useful. 10GB of public file storage.

Here is a link to the iRealPro .html chord chart that I used for the accompaniment on Blue Bossa for my submission to the quarterly recital.

https://app.box.com/s/h0ce3wp2gtu2n244ap19

Thanks so much jazztpt: I always play this tune with the descending bass, too, but you've given me some good ideas for chord subs throughout the song.

Hi wjf - this opens in the iReal app on my iPad but doesn't doesn't work on my PC.

I have this chart as part of the 1300 standards collection.

Cheers

Lean to tail, thanks for fixing the Youtube video. That was a very exciting, spirited performance. Impressive that you can maintain the fast tempo with such complex stuff going on in both hands. Well done!

Ed

Jazzpt,

Interesting, thanks. I'll have to look into the incompatibility, because it will surely come up again This version comes from my Macintosh and I trade versions with my iPad regularly, but I don't have a PC to check.

Here is another comment I intended to make: The modulation in this song is so smooth, it slipped right by me on first listening. Thinking about that later, I realized it occurs at the transition between two sections, when the chord is a V+. The thing that is interesting (to those who are interested in these things) is that a V+ chord in a key is also a V+ in a key a major third above, so the key change seems seamless, if you'll pardon my syntax. Seems (that word again?) like a good trick to know.

Ed

Hi Riddler,

I just finished a Basic Harmony course earlier this summer, so I am very curious. I don't quite understand the V+ of the key a major third above. This is not clear in my mind.

If I put this in simple context, the V+ in the key of C is G7. If we take the key which is a major third above, that would make it a E major key, but the G7 does not fit in this key, so I guess I don't understand your statement.

I would really be grateful if you went over this with me.

I have the feeling I am on to something important and useful.

Thanks very much.

Dennis,

Sorry if that was confusing. I was using the "+" to indicate the augmented triad, i.e, triad with raised 5th:

C+ = (C E G#).

So in the key of F, V+ = C+ = (C E G#), and in the key of A, which is a major third up, V+ = E+ = (E G# C), which is just an inversion of the same chord.

Right?

I'm a bit off-topic here, but this caught my attention and I thought I would mention it.

Ed

Ed, thank you so much for taking the time.

I understand perfectly. Everything I learned in the harmony course is still settling in my mind. I will add this to my arsenal of modulation techniques.

This is another exciting moment in the life of a musician.

Cheers.https://www.pianoworld.com/forum/images/icons/default/smile.gif

In the vocal version of Emily I've been working on, I go back and forth between the Key of A and the key of C more than once. I use a C# altered chord which is a third above A to modulate from A to C and vice versa. (Note: I deleted my former post because I realized I was thinking about the relation between the I chord and the Altered chord a third above it and not about the V+. So Here's the real relationship for modulation)

I (in A) = A C# E

a major third above A: C#Alt = C# E F A B

C6 (minor 3rd above A) = C E A

Uses the common tone C# between the tonic in A and the root of the chord a third above as a leading tone to the new tonic C. Your first augmented chord in F uses the sharp 5 in the V+, the the 3rd in the V+ of the key of A--and then the root of this chord (E+) as the leading tone for modulation into Eb--is that correct?

Phew, hope I got it right this time!

Isn't harmony absolutely awesome !!! I am discovering a whole new universe and I find it fascinating.

Yeah, and studying it helps to keep your brain young. Mine needs all the workouts it can get.

Well, besides the video I first posted here in this thread of this song, about 8 years ago I made an mp3.. I just imported it into my Studio 12 video editing program. I started in key of C and modulated to key of Eb. In key of C, the melody note of the song ends on C, so I held the C note with the R.H. pinky and below that played a Bb9 chord to modulate into the Eb key (V-I progression). (The modulation from key of C to Eb is at around 1:50-2:00).

TILL THERE WAS YOU

There is a modulation in Emily from C to A (one found on the lead sheet, not one I did to adjust the key for my vocal) that uses a Bb7 chord. I play Bb in the bass, D in the melody and D Ab and F below it. This is a very smooth modulation because Bb works as the leading tone in the bass and all the other tones are found in the A major scale, except for F which is a half step (leading tone) from E, the root of V in A. Bb7 is a tritone substitution for the V of A.

Beautiful playing there Elssa!

Elssa, smooth as silk the way you pulled off that modulation! Another instance of switching keys in a natural way with little fanfare. Sounds good!

Starrkeys, yes, I can see that you can use an alt7 chord too for the same modulation, and it also includes the 5+ (b13). BTW, I play Emily too, and I see now that the lead sheet in my fakebook (Just Jazz Real Book, which has a lot of alternative chords as options) has a Bb13 as an option for the transition. Sounds very smooth. I used to play everything by ear in the key of C, and only gradually branched out (kicking and screaming) into other keys. I guess singing has forced you to play in many keys which are comfortable for your voice, even though difficult on the piano. You should look at this as an opportunity to become an expert on modulating!

I am still playing around with the idea of modulating up a third using the V+ chord. I think the thing that fascinates me is that you can use the same chord to perform the same function in both keys, so when you listen, there is no sense of being set up for a modulation, it just occurs.

Here are two very brief recordings I made to illustrate it to myself. I am playing the bridge and final A section of Bewitched, with a G+ chord in the transition to the final A section. In the first recording, I stay in the key of C. In the second, I use the same transition chord ( G+) but modulate to E, and to my ear, it sounds just as natural.


The Chenoweth Modulation

Bar talk has never been so nerdy! Like Dennis says, harmony is fascinating. But I'm afraid nobody is ever going to write a great song called Fascinatin' Harmony.

Ed

Yes, it's forced me to focus more on playing in different keys and modulating than I would have otherwise, but doing so has opened up a whole new world of songs I thought I couldn't sing because I didn't have the range. Sometimes there is only one key that is a sweet spot for your voice, other times you can sound good in part of the song in one key but need to modulate to be effective in the rest of it. And sometime you have the option of more than one key and can make the decision based on an aesthetic choice or how difficult the key is to play.

For instance, I'm just starting "My Romance" and needed to chose a key to create a leadsheet. F# is perfect, but a tough key to play in. E is definitely too low, F has one note I can barely hit, and G makes me go into my head voice at the end and ruins the smoky jazz effect of the rest of the song. In F, I only have to hit the problematic low note once, so I choose to fudge it rather than play in a much more difficult key. I really don't have the option for modulating in this song except if I do it in my piano solo, but I'll get lots of practice transposing.


Well of course, I can hear the difference, because I was listening for it (I wasn't and didn't on the Chenoweth video), but yes I know what you mean. I like the smoothness of it for a vocal transition. Thanks for pointing it out.

Ed, thanks for your kind comments. Well, the smooth transition was helped by the old
"fat thumb" technique (play 2 adjacent white notes with thumb).. Modulating from the key of C to Eb, I played the R.H. C melody note along with the Bb9 chord's C&D with the thumb. So, I put pinkie on C, then below Ab, F, and C&D with thumb.. Left hand arpeggiated the chord from root.