Passing Chords/Reharmonization
To me, half the fun of playing Jazz is coming up with those great passing chords you can use to connect the changes, and in turn add that substantive juice that can fuel any great solo. In embarking a study of passing chords remember this : They're a lot like the seasoning in the stew... too much or too little can be just as bad... but the right amount will add that subtle flavor and energy into your arrangement that's going to make it fun, exciting, and yes (of course) swinging ! And in case you're just getting started, while "not any" ain't an option, keep in mind that in Jazz merely copying other musicians' chordal approaches note for note isn't considered too cool. In the end, when it comes down to it, if you want to be a real Jazz musician, you really have to learn how to passing and substitue chords with the right amount of taste and judgement appropriate to the style of the band or arrangement.
Getting The Hang of It
There are three initial steps you need to take in order to get the hang of using and getting passing chords to work for you. The first is learning how to simplify the changes provided to you down to their bare basics so you can hear the actual changes of the tune as you play through it (not other musicians' interpratations.) The second is learning to play them comfortably and in time to start with. The third involves learning to hear where the bass line is going (even if you're not a bass player). This will key you in on where you need to go with the chords. (--At times, you may have to rework the bass line, but when you do this you'll need to think about the melody and where the reharmonizations are leading to.)- - What'll happen is as you have more and more experience listening to Jazz, and as you get more experience playing with a more analytical ear, you'll learn to do this naturally. You will; however, need to be careful about making things more complicated than they need be. --If the changes are too complicated to start with, you really won't be able to hear where they're going, and that's what the art of chord substitution and passing chords are all about... smoothing out the ride between point A and point B in the slick, smoothest, coolest or most comfortable way possible.
Learning to Simplify Lead Sheets
As for learning to simplify lead sheets, you must first master your basic Jazz chord progressions, especially II V I, II V, V I, I VI II V I, and III VI II V I as well as their tri-tone counterparts (especially the one's that create chromatic root movement.) If you can learn to play a bit of keyboard bass (regardless of your instrument) things will really come to life... again, once you can hear the bass line going in certain directions, that tells you right off what direction you might want to take your chords in. In fact, a lot of ways I come up with my passing chords are simply by HARMONIZING or tweaking the bass line! Actually, the Hammond Organist Bill Heid initially hipped me to this. He told me that if you're really slick in your playing you can harmonize every single note of an entire 12 bar blues bass line. He didn't show me show, but I remembered Big John Patton doing stuff like that, began to listen for myself, and came up with my own approach. Of course, I imagine some people reading this are hoping I'll just write out a bunch of chord change examples and show the passing chords I play, but that's not how Jazz work... passing and substitute chords are all about the particular tune, the groove of the rhythm section, the feel of the moment and the way the musicians are interacting... so you have to know how to use them... Rote memory renders them useless... in fact, players who insist on using reharmonizations they learned from books out of the clear blue in inappropriate situations can be quite disruptive, so if you really want to learn how to use them, don't study playing subs off of pre-written scores by rote memory... learn to hear them/learn to feel them... In essence, its all about context.
Another point, is that a lot what you need to know about chord reharmonization isn't going to be found in theory books, but rather through having a strong repertoire as well as playing experience with the right players. --You'll learn stuff, then begin to hear or feel it in appropriate situations. Stylistic appropriateness, just as much as theoretical possibility must always be considered!!!
One other point: Regarding listening to bass counterpoint -- the more you listen to great classic swinging basslines you'll learn the biggest rule of thumb is that things swing hardest when the cadence is very simple and straight forward (II V I, I VI II V I, etc. etc.) So if you ever see a lead sheet that looks like algebra or rocket science, you'll usually want to to try to get rid of those extra chords that obscure the basic cadence of the tune and get it down to a meat and potatoes level that gives you time and space to think and do your own thing. --The arrangements in THE REAL BOOK (for better or worse) are often examples of appropriately scaled down changes. Arrangements that have every single possible passing chord written out even with slash chords 4 to the bar, can often (but not always), be a bad sign.
In conclusion, many players live in chronic fear of playing over-simplistically, but really, the opposite is true. Its much harder to play the so called one "right" note at the right time only, than a hodge podge of right and wrong notes all thrown together at lightening speed. Chaos in its own way can always be duplicated... ordered and tasteful simplicity is just something you can't fake, and its an art beyond mere casual approach !
As a final word of advice, if you're having trouble putting together chords (which is what gospel and Jazz is all about) I have two books to recommend. My own upcoming book and Jimmy Amadea's "Harmonic Foundations for Jazz and Pop" book -- You can even get with me and work through my 7 secrets system, which should get you voicing out chords and playing off of leadsheets on the spot pretty quickly... Whatever you decide to do, just remember: simply learning licks and modes isn't the answer... Harmony and Cadence is the true substance that really make tunes cook. Listen to any Jazz great and you'll find out that a great deal of their sound comes down to the unique way in which they approach and interpret simple chord changes... and from that, the masters develop their unique styles. --Last, and most important, its all about having knowledge, experience, feel and most important, knowing when and when not to show off.
Eddie Landsberg
further reading: My article on The Love of Jazz Standards. (By expanding your standards repertoire, you can extend your knowledge as to how chords functions.)
Getting The Hang of It
There are three initial steps you need to take in order to get the hang of using and getting passing chords to work for you. The first is learning how to simplify the changes provided to you down to their bare basics so you can hear the actual changes of the tune as you play through it (not other musicians' interpratations.) The second is learning to play them comfortably and in time to start with. The third involves learning to hear where the bass line is going (even if you're not a bass player). This will key you in on where you need to go with the chords. (--At times, you may have to rework the bass line, but when you do this you'll need to think about the melody and where the reharmonizations are leading to.)- - What'll happen is as you have more and more experience listening to Jazz, and as you get more experience playing with a more analytical ear, you'll learn to do this naturally. You will; however, need to be careful about making things more complicated than they need be. --If the changes are too complicated to start with, you really won't be able to hear where they're going, and that's what the art of chord substitution and passing chords are all about... smoothing out the ride between point A and point B in the slick, smoothest, coolest or most comfortable way possible.
Learning to Simplify Lead Sheets
As for learning to simplify lead sheets, you must first master your basic Jazz chord progressions, especially II V I, II V, V I, I VI II V I, and III VI II V I as well as their tri-tone counterparts (especially the one's that create chromatic root movement.) If you can learn to play a bit of keyboard bass (regardless of your instrument) things will really come to life... again, once you can hear the bass line going in certain directions, that tells you right off what direction you might want to take your chords in. In fact, a lot of ways I come up with my passing chords are simply by HARMONIZING or tweaking the bass line! Actually, the Hammond Organist Bill Heid initially hipped me to this. He told me that if you're really slick in your playing you can harmonize every single note of an entire 12 bar blues bass line. He didn't show me show, but I remembered Big John Patton doing stuff like that, began to listen for myself, and came up with my own approach. Of course, I imagine some people reading this are hoping I'll just write out a bunch of chord change examples and show the passing chords I play, but that's not how Jazz work... passing and substitute chords are all about the particular tune, the groove of the rhythm section, the feel of the moment and the way the musicians are interacting... so you have to know how to use them... Rote memory renders them useless... in fact, players who insist on using reharmonizations they learned from books out of the clear blue in inappropriate situations can be quite disruptive, so if you really want to learn how to use them, don't study playing subs off of pre-written scores by rote memory... learn to hear them/learn to feel them... In essence, its all about context.
Another point, is that a lot what you need to know about chord reharmonization isn't going to be found in theory books, but rather through having a strong repertoire as well as playing experience with the right players. --You'll learn stuff, then begin to hear or feel it in appropriate situations. Stylistic appropriateness, just as much as theoretical possibility must always be considered!!!
One other point: Regarding listening to bass counterpoint -- the more you listen to great classic swinging basslines you'll learn the biggest rule of thumb is that things swing hardest when the cadence is very simple and straight forward (II V I, I VI II V I, etc. etc.) So if you ever see a lead sheet that looks like algebra or rocket science, you'll usually want to to try to get rid of those extra chords that obscure the basic cadence of the tune and get it down to a meat and potatoes level that gives you time and space to think and do your own thing. --The arrangements in THE REAL BOOK (for better or worse) are often examples of appropriately scaled down changes. Arrangements that have every single possible passing chord written out even with slash chords 4 to the bar, can often (but not always), be a bad sign.
In conclusion, many players live in chronic fear of playing over-simplistically, but really, the opposite is true. Its much harder to play the so called one "right" note at the right time only, than a hodge podge of right and wrong notes all thrown together at lightening speed. Chaos in its own way can always be duplicated... ordered and tasteful simplicity is just something you can't fake, and its an art beyond mere casual approach !
As a final word of advice, if you're having trouble putting together chords (which is what gospel and Jazz is all about) I have two books to recommend. My own upcoming book and Jimmy Amadea's "Harmonic Foundations for Jazz and Pop" book -- You can even get with me and work through my 7 secrets system, which should get you voicing out chords and playing off of leadsheets on the spot pretty quickly... Whatever you decide to do, just remember: simply learning licks and modes isn't the answer... Harmony and Cadence is the true substance that really make tunes cook. Listen to any Jazz great and you'll find out that a great deal of their sound comes down to the unique way in which they approach and interpret simple chord changes... and from that, the masters develop their unique styles. --Last, and most important, its all about having knowledge, experience, feel and most important, knowing when and when not to show off.
Eddie Landsberg
further reading: My article on The Love of Jazz Standards. (By expanding your standards repertoire, you can extend your knowledge as to how chords functions.)
