Lesson 20
Notes to Lesson 20
Lesson 20 is a continuation of Lesson 18, Introductions. As Lesson 18 used C as the prime key, Lesson 20 uses G as the prime key. Lesson 20 also uses a few of the chord forms that have several names. There are no surprises here and we can continue to digest Lesson 19's huge data base.
As you play through these examples, note the highest note of each chord, and the simple melody these notes produce. In my personal analyses, I've come to the conclusion that the secret to creating a good intro is to have a good and simple melody, maybe just a descending scale, and then harmonize it. Mickey doesn't provide any written notes to this effect and perhaps he intended us to discover this secret on our own. I'd be interested in hearing any conclusions that you may assess.
About the TEF's: I've transposed the prime examples to all keys. But realistically speaking, I can't play all of them as a transposition of what Mickey originally intended. Previously, when G has been the prime key and Group A chords have been in use, he's asked us to transcribe to F, Ab, and Bb (just a C prime and Group B chords are C, Db, and Eb). I've gotten around this fretboard limitation by either dropping or raising by an octave the problematic passages, or changing the forms to a different group. I've notated which files could be transposed directly and which ones I had to "manipulate". Keep that in mind when you play the versions in C, Db, and Eb. You may find that you can play some of these on your guitars in keys that I can't.
Bonus TEF's: Continuing Mickey's advice, I've included several additional tunes with the rhythm guitar parts added per our previous lessons. This time I've tried to pick tunes with interesting harmonies, providing a little more of a challenge:
A Foggy Day In London Town: This Gershwin classic is played in practically a different way by each group that performs it. This is a slightly up tempo, or as Mickey might say, in "jump" or "bounce tempo." I've improvised just a little on the melody unlike most of the previous standards. I discovered that this tune can be harmonized a number of different ways and remain faithful to Mickey's philosophy. Why don't you try to come up with some different progressions.
Georgia On My Mind: Note that in the usual iii7 - biii7 - ii7 - V progression Mickey has given us, I've slightly modified it to "iii7 - bIII7 - ii7 - V." In C, this means I've used an Eb7 instead of an Eb min7. It just sounded a little more bluesy. Experiment and see what you think.
Stardust: This classic is one of the most recorded tunes of all time and well worth the effort to learn its complex chord progressions. The published key is C, but as a change I put it into G. Lots of possibilities exist here for the rhythm guitarist, so please just consider this one of many.
Thanks For The Memories: This well known classic, associated with Bob Hope since 1938, has a very interesting chord progression. I wrote an intro similar to those of Lesson 20. As the 2nd chorus has a built-in ending, I've included two passes, and to add a little variety, I've included a clarinet, trombone, violin, and flute sharing the melody. From an arranger's point of view (well, at least this arranger), this tune represents the biggest challenge of this group of tunes. I was able to maintain the ascending feel to the harmony, my arranging goal.
If you're hungry for more: You can transpose these exercises to the keys of D, A, and E. As an ongoing project, continue writing rhythm guitar parts for your favorite tunes. Also, you can transpose them plus the bonus tunes to all the orchestra keys and to D, A, and E. If you'd like to share your creations with me, please send them to me and I'll put them on the website's Lesson 17.
Just keep it FUN!