Module 17 — Melodic Decoration and Jazz Vocabulary
Now we take a plain melody and learn how to make it sound interpreted rather than merely reproduced.
The big idea is:
Keep the important destination notes, but become creative about how you arrive at them, how long you delay them, and what you do between them.
This is the same principle as Module 16, now applied specifically to embellishing an existing melody.
17.1Start with a plain melodyTake something simple in C major:17.2Passing tonesA passing tone fills the space between two structural notes.17.3Neighbor tonesA neighbor tone leaves a note and returns.17.4Upper and lower neighborsIf target is G:17.5Approach notesInstead of playing a target directly, approach from one note away.17.6Double approachTarget E:17.7EnclosuresAn enclosure surrounds the target from above and below.17.8The enclosure is about destinationDon't think:17.9Grace notesA grace note is a very quick ornamental note before the main note.17.10Don't overdo grace notesIf every melody note gets:17.11TurnsSuppose melody note is E.17.12Mordent-like decorationsHold E.17.13AnticipationSuppose chord changes to C and melody's important note is E.17.14Delayed arrivalOpposite idea.17.15SuspensionA suspension is a particularly strong delayed resolution.17.164–3 suspensionOver a C chord:17.179–8 suspension-like motionOver C:17.187–6 motionOver C harmony:17.19Repeated-note decorationSuppose melody repeats G four times:17.20Rhythmic displacementOriginal melody:17.21SyncopationSuppose melody originally lands on beat 3.17.22Don't decorate every noteThis is one of the most important rules.17.23Preserve landmarksWhen reharmonizing or embellishing a familiar tune, identify its landmark notes.17.24Example: plain to decoratedOriginal:17.25Chord-tone targeting still mattersSuppose progression:17.26Decorate the guide tonesThis is especially effective.17.27Chromatic lower approachTarget:17.28Chromatic upper approachTarget:17.29Two-note chromatic lead-inTarget C:17.30Approach from a whole step, then semitoneTarget C:17.31Blues inflection previewOver C major/bluesy harmony:17.32Crushing/sliding notes on pianoA common blues/gospel piano gesture:17.33Chromaticism should resolveA strong basic rule:17.34Use harmony-generated chromaticismOur earlier progressions already provide great melodic vocabulary.17.35Turn those lines into ornamentsInstead of plain:17.36Octave displacementSuppose melody:17.37Register is an ornament tooPlay a phrase in middle register.17.38Repetition with variationOriginal motif:17.39SequenceTake:17.40FragmentationTake a melody:17.41ExpansionOpposite process.17.42Rhythmic augmentationTake:17.43Rhythmic diminutionOpposite:17.44Deliberate repetition before variationA common mistake is varying too soon.17.45Don't fear obvious repetitionJazz improvisers repeat things constantly.17.46Ornament a melody in layersTake a simple tune.17.47The melody should survive subtractionA useful test:17.48Interpretation versus improvisationThink of a continuum:17.49First chorus versus later chorusA very effective jazz-standard approach:17.50Embellishment and chord changesSuppose melody note stays C while harmony changes:17.51Don't ornament blindly across a secondary dominantIf harmony changes to E7, remember:17.52Example over C → E7 → AmPlain melody:17.53Ornamenting a cadencePlain:17.54Ornamenting F → E resolutionOver G7 → C:17.55Double-target linesTry highlighting both guide-tone resolutions:17.56Use rests as ornamentAn ornament isn't always an extra note.17.57Articulation vocabularyTry one melody:17.58Dynamics inside a phraseDon't play:17.59A practical embellishment hierarchyWhen decorating a melody, try ideas in this order:17.60An exercise with one targetChoose target:17.61One melody, five versionsTake a very simple melody.17.62Apply it to “Happy Birthday”Play the melody plainly.17.63Apply it to a song you know emotionallyThis may work even better than Happy Birthday.17.64Ornamentation should react to styleFor a classical-like version:17.65Do not think “more sophisticated = more chromatic”A beautiful diatonic suspension can be more sophisticated than six chromatic notes.17.66How embellishment relates to Nahre's demonstrationThis is one of the major steps toward what you originally wanted from that video.•Homework for Module 17Spend around 30 minutes.•Module 17 mini-test1. What is a passing tone?