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Polychords and the Jazz Improviser: How to Practice & Apply Polychords to Improv

by: Andrew Hanna

In the world of music, many Jazz improvisers and Classical composers eventually venture into exploring poly-harmony within their respective art form. Poly harmony is the simultaneous sounding of more than one harmonic concept. The preponderance with poly-harmony began the late 19th-early 20th centuries with classical composers as Stravinsky and Debussy. About sixty years later, jazz musicians as John Coltrane and Richie Bierach incorporated such ideas into their music. The benefits of learning poly-chords will enhance an improviser�s repertoire of harmonic concepts. Thus they can create harmonic colorings that can influence a listener�s outlook. This article will focus on how once can practice and incorporate tertian polychords into their improvisational styles. Many of the examples and references within this article will make use of the seventh chord and triad. One should to explore other tertian harmonies such as ninths, elevenths, and all other similar formulations.

Tertian harmony is harmony that spaces its notes a third a part from other notes. Additionally, tertian harmony includes the harmonic inversion of thirds. Before one begins their exploration into poly-chords, one should be familiar with tertian harmony in its simplest terms of inversions and through a few applied patterns. From this understanding of tertian harmony through inversions and patterns and after one has accomplished or, in the least, feels comfortable with tertian harmony, one should then attempt to combine more than one chord.

The first step in gaining an understanding tertian ploychords is to write triads and 7th chords in a formulaic fashion. For example, begin by writing each major chord a major second apart (i.e. Cmaj-Dmaj, Ebmaj-Fmaj, etc.) After writing these series of chords, write out triads that are minor third apart. For example: Ebmaj-Gbmaj, Amaj-Cmaj, and all other similar progressions. As one can see from the two previous examples, one should continue this process until one has exhausted all the permutations of the triad progression. In a similar fashion, one should continue this writing exercise with seventh chords. The purpose to this writing exercise is for the musician/composer to develop a visual and intellectual connection to the concepts that they will use in a open/free musical environment.

To continue with this process of learning tertian polychords, the next step, after one has learned by rote and memorized the permutations, is to apply their understanding of poly chords to an improvisation setting. Before one begins improvising with other musicians, one should improvise alone. This will familiarize oneself with the polychords without the aid of written materials. One should strive, during this stage, to improvise with polychords without much thought. Other permutations on this stage include the improvising within a strict harmonic setting. For example, one can improvise on chords that are a minor third apart. Similarly, one can improvise on a series of polychords.

In the last stage of development, one should perform with other musicians and observe how polychords affect other musicians playing and one's performance. During this stage, one should apply their polychord knowledge towards Jazz standards, modal tunes, or atonal standards. Each form of Jazz standard offers its own rewards and challenges. Due to the pros and cons of each form of standard, the outcome will greatly differ. In addition to performing Jazz standards, one should attempt create their original composition with polychords. Furthermore, one should attempt to re-harmonize a Jazz standard with their new understanding of polychords.

In the end, this article focused primarily on the practicing and application seventh chords and triads in a polychordal environment. One can venture into larger tertian harmonies or into other harmonic formulations, such as segundel, quartal, quintal, and all other similar formulations. During one�s venture into other tertian or non-tertian formulations, one should observe the impact polychords have on one�s and other performances. As a reminder to one�s practicing of polychords, for one to be successful at polychords, one should remain diligent in their practice and application of tertian polychords. The process of learning polychords can be tedious, but in the long run, the rewards are greater than not learning this harmonic concept. In the next article on polychords, polychord progressions and its application to composition will be discussed.

About the author:
Andrew Hanna is the CEO & Production Manager of At Hand Productions, Inc. At Hand Productions is a leading Philadelphia concert and theatrical production company. Andrew Hanna has 20 years of composition experience and 16 years of performance experience. His compositions range from duets to large theatrical productions such as My Journal, Requiem for the Now, and Prophecies of War. At Hand Productions web site is:

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A Huge Concern Over Web: Music Download
by: Plaily Muzic

Internet has come to change everything that once relations used to be lied on. Since Internet had invaded homes, the daily life has never been the same again. Internet changed the family�s habits, the culture and the way someone sees the world. Music is just a part of this change.

Regarding to music, this issue is even more complicated. People now can prepare their own CDs by downloading music from the Internet. And this has become another problematic thing that has contributed to increase the piracy.

The music download problem lies on two issues:

- If people can have access to the most varied types of music, they can have a better idea of a particular artist�s material, they can find out singers they had never heard of and get their CDs even this. These actions may be a little bit illegal and sometimes reduce the profits of the big music companies, but, however, it increases the range where a singer is known. When this happens, both singer and his/her music records win a special recognition, which may lead to the hire of them for shows and (guess what?) profits.

- But if it is true that music download can be beneficial for an artist, sometimes it can also be harmful, speaking about profits of course. And this loss of money in general happens to already famous artists. People download their songs from the Internet because they already know that singer and because they like him/her.

The big music industry complex has a tough battle to face. Profits or recognition!? Profits and recognition depends on each other: you only have profits when you achieve recognition, but your recognition can be measured by your profits. How to solve the problem?

Well, even if this matter seems to be far from a solution, some measures are being taken by the companies. Some laws have been created and other demands are being done. Even if it is hard to supervise all the websites on the Internet that offer music download, some people have been being charged of piracy and arrested.

Janis Ian on her article states that the music download increases the profit of the music industries, instead of what these industries allege. According to Janis, when people downloads a music form he Internet and get to know that song, they buy the CD because they already liked it and have no way to regret buying that CD. She also states that this happens because most of people cannot pay for a CD just to �give it a try�.

Music download is a reality � no matter what.

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