BookatlasPiano Rabbit Hole: Improvisation Theory & Practice
7456 / 18210 · Workshop 58 — “The Bare Necessities” Arranging Laboratory: Swing, New Orleans, Stride, Boogie, Blues, Bossa, Funk, Waltz, Gospel, Minor Parody, and Playful Orchestration← prev⊞ allnext →

58.1First establish the song in the simplest form

Pick a comfortable major key.

Let’s use F major for the laboratory.

F major:

F G A B♭ C D E

F G A B♭ C D E

Basic functional world:

I = F

IV = B♭

V = C7

ii = Gm

vi = Dm

This is already enough for a convincing first version.