BookatlasPiano Rabbit Hole: Improvisation Theory & Practice
2978 / 18210 · Workshop 11 — “Body and Soul”: Chromatic Harmony, Delayed Resolution, and Hearing the Melody as the Top Voice of the Chords← prev⊞ allnext →

11.1First principle: chromatic harmony must still have direction

If you simply add:

  • altered dominants
  • diminished chords
  • tritone substitutions
  • chromatic bass notes

the result can become colorful but directionless.

So for every chromatic chord, ask:

Where is it going?

That question is more important than the chord’s label.