BookatlasPiano Rabbit Hole: Improvisation Theory & Practice
7734 / 18210 · Workshop 60 — “Butterfly”-Type Floating Harmony: Deep Pocket, Pedal Centers, Upper Structures, Parallel Voicings, Common-Tone Motion, and Making Harmony Feel Suspended Rather Than Functional← prev⊞ allnext →

60.81Mini-composition exercise

Write 24 bars centered on C.

Requirements:

  • at least 8 bars of C pedal
  • both C Dorian and C Aeolian color
  • one upper-triad slash color
  • one quartal-planing passage
  • one fixed high common tone
  • one bass-root shift after a long pedal
  • one Dm7♭5-G7alt-Cm functional cadence
  • immediate return to non-functional floating harmony
  • final chord with the 3rd omitted

The piece should feel harmonically active even though actual root movement is limited.