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My Funny Valentine Chord Question


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Posted

I'm trying hard to get into playing jazz, but it's taking a long, long time. Anyway, I'm working on learning the chords to My Funny Valentine and in the Aebersold arrangement I have there's a chord called F-/Bb. So, this is an Fm with a Bb on the bass, right? I play it like this:

 

E--x--

B--6--

G--5--

D--6--

A--x--

E--6--

 

I'm really just asking to make sure that this is correct as I've never really been taught much about chords and just worked this out myself. Any input is appreciated!

 

Thanks!

 

PS. The Cmmaj7 / B chord I play like this....

 

E--x--

B--4--

G--4--

D--5--

A--2--

E--x--

 

 

Please can someone confirm this is correct for me? Thanks again!

Posted

Those are both good. Fm/Bb is another way of writing Bb7sus4, if that helps you to think about it. Another compatible slash chord version is Ab/Bb, which is very similar to Fm/Bb:

 

x

4

5

6

x

6

 

or

 

x

1

1

1

1

x

 

 

For Cmmaj7/B, you could also just think Cm/B:

 

x

4

5

5

x

7

 

 

Again, very close to what you posted, but just another option to try.

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Posted

Cheers, Poprad! At least I know that I'm on the right track. :D

 

I've only started learning the changes but I soon will learn the melody. How would you play over the changes to this tune? Do you have any particular methodology which you use when working things like this out?

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Posted

Yeah, it's a slash chord- the part before the slash is the chord and the part after is the note in the bass.

My Funny Valentine is one of those tunes that can be played many different ways with concern to the changes. If you listen to 5 different versions you'll probably hear 5 different sets of changes. So it's important to learn and think of the functions of the chords rather than just the names of them, which makes using subs and alternate changes much easier.

For example, with the Cminmaj7/B, that's part of a sequence that goes Cmin, Cminmaj7, Cmin7, Cmin6, right? That's the sort of thing where sometimes you want that note descending in the bass, but sometimes you don't, you want it descending on the top and the bass is just playing a C pedal. It depends on what the bass player and the rest of the group is doing.

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Posted

I've always just treated it as a C blues with a descending bass during that section. Seems to work.

 

Oh yeah and I've always called it My Flabby Valentine though I can't recall why...

Posted
Cheers, Poprad! At least I know that I'm on the right track.
:D

I've only started learning the changes but I soon will learn the melody. How would you play over the changes to this tune? Do you have any particular methodology which you use when working things like this out?



It's all pretty much in C minor, with a brief section in the relative major, Eb. Just look at all the chords in the context of that and it should make sense.

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