Mastering Polychords - Improvisation Ideas

By JazzGuitarMaster Media

Mastering Polychords - Improvisation Ideas explores polychords applications and positions in jazz guitar.Each polychord is analyzed in detail, providing information about chord structure, extended chord name, modal sound and suggested scales for tonal and polytonal improvisation, finally a wide collection of improvisation approaches. This book is suggested to intermediate/advanced players interested in approaching modern harmony sound.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Dec 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781312766051

Book preview

Mastering Polychords - Improvisation Ideas

JazzGuitarMaster.com

presents

Mastering Polychords

Improvisation Ideas

ISBN: 978-1-312-76605-1

JazzGuitarMaster.com

Any part of this book is property of JazzGuitarMaster.com.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the

prior written permission of the author.

Introduction

Polychords are built by stacking 2 or more chords.

The idea is to create a chord that is composed of typically 2 simpler chords. This new chord has a complex sound directly related by its source material.

Creating a polychord is really different from using 9th or 13th altered chords because the composer is interested primarily in the polytonal nature of his chord.

Polytonal means that a chord can be part of 2 different tonal context at the same time. This practice is derived by modern era classical music.

Jazz acquires this composer utility to drive modern harmonic situations and sounds.

Polychords are represented with one chord stacked over another:

In our text we will use also the word over to separate the two stacked chords.

Be careful to not confuse polychords and slash chords: the first ones are composed by stacking chords, the other one is an chord with a bass note different from chord root (i. e. D/C is composed by D triads with C as bass so we have following notes C D F# A).

In some situation slash chords can substitute polychord, but resulting sound is less polytonal and thin.

Functional or true polytonal role

A polychord can have 2 different roles: a tonal function or true polytonal role without any tonal function.

In the first case polytonal chord is describing an extended chord that has a clear and defined tonal meaning (or associated color). An example: D over C is a clear Lydian sound (exploding note construction you have: C E G D F# A or Tonic, 3, 5, 9, #11, 13). The main difference with usual Cmaj13 is that with polychord composer is clearly requesting a defined voicing to create a fatter sound. From functional point everything is the same. This is the most common situation in Jazz.

In a polytonal context we can have sounds with an ambiguous tonal function or without any tonal function. Polychord is created by stackong chords. In many situations one chord is played by one instrument and the other one by another. On a piano you can use left hand for upper chord and right hand for the lower one.

In this situation we can have chords with unusual spelling due to their lack of tonal sense.

In many cases we tried to describe this chord with usual spelling, but with evident problems.

Polychords on guitar

Transposing polychords on guitar is not simple. Guitar voicing have to create the right sound with all limitations related to fingerings.

Positions presented are not always simple to be played requiring many partial capo and complex fingerings. Our main goal is to get the right polytonal sound.

Fell free to choose position you prefer.

Whose this book is for

This book is intended for intermediate/advanced jazz guitar player who wants to explore modern jazz sound.

How to use book material

This book presents chords using C as main root. It is left to you to transpose positions to other roots. We suggest to test these chords in usual standards as substitution for related modal chords: in example you can use D over C instead on a Cmaj7 lydian chord. If you pay attention to create a melodic line in the upper chord movement you’ll obtain a really graceful sound.

For each chord we present:

the extended chord interpretation (useful for tonal functional polychords)

scale analysis to discover modal sound and possible scale for improvisation

arpeggio positions

and finally many ideas for improvisation

Polychords with maj chords on bass

bII over I or (b9,11,b13)

Degree analysis: 1,3,5,b9,11,b13

Extended Chord Interpretation: C (b9,11,b13)

Scale Analysis

Modal sound: C Mixolydian b2b6

Related scales:

  Mixolydian b2b6: 1,b2,3,4,5,b6,b7

  Double Harmonic: 1,b2,3,4,5,b6,7

Chord Positions

Available Arpeggios

Improvisation ideas

II over I or 6(9,#11)

Degree analysis: 1,3,5,6,9,#11

Extended Chord Interpretation: C 6(9,#11)

Scale Analysis

Modal sound: C Lydian

Related scales:

  Lydian: 1,2,3,#4,5,6,7

  Lydian Dominant: 1,2,3,#4,5,6,b7

  Altered Alt: 1,b2,bb3,3,b5,bb6,bb7

Chord Positions

Available Arpeggios

Improvisation ideas

bIII over I or (#9)

Degree analysis: 1,3,5,#9,#13

Extended Chord Interpretation: C (#9)

Scale Analysis

Modal sound: C Phrygian b4

Related scales:

  Diminished HalfWhole: 1,b2,b3,3,#4,5,6,b7

  Phrygian b4: 1,b2,b3,b4,5,b6,b7

  Hungarian Major: 1,#2,3,#4,5,6,b7

  Lydian #6 #2: 1,#2,3,#4,5,#6,7

  Dorian b4: 1,2,b3,b4,5,6,b7

  Dominant #2: 1,#2,3,4,5,6,b7

Chord Positions

Available Arpeggios

Improvisation ideas

III over I or maj7(b13)

Degree analysis: 1,3,5,7,b13

Extended Chord Interpretation: C maj7(b13)

Scale Analysis

Modal sound: C Harmonic Major

Related scales:

  Harmonic Major: 1,2,3,4,5,b6,7

  Double Harmonic: 1,b2,3,4,5,b6,7

  Composite II: 1,b2,3,#4,5,b6,7

  Augmented: 1,#2,3,5,b6,7

  Bebop Major: 1,2,3,4,5,b6,6,7

Chord Positions

Available Arpeggios

Improvisation ideas

IV over I or 6(11)

Degree analysis: 1,3,5,6,11

Extended Chord Interpretation: C 6(11)

Scale Analysis

Modal sound: C Ionian, Mixolydian

Related scales:

  Ionian: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7

  Mixolydian: 1,2,3,4,5,6,b7

  Mixolydian b2: 1,b2,3,4,5,6,b7

  Ionian #2: 1,#2,3,4,5,6,7

  Dominant #2: 1,#2,3,4,5,6,b7

  Bebop Dominant: 1,2,3,4,5,6,b7,7

  Bebop Major: 1,2,3,4,5,b6,6,7

Chord Positions

Available Arpeggios

Improvisation ideas

#IV over I or 7(b9,#11)

Degree analysis: 1,3,5,b7,b9,#11

Extended Chord Interpretation: C 7(b9,#11)

Scale Analysis

Modal sound: C Phrygian b4, Mixolydian b2

Related scales:

  Diminished HalfWhole: 1,b2,b3,3,#4,5,6,b7

Chord Positions

Available Arpeggios

Improvisation ideas