Analyzing Songs - Part II (finally) - The Blues

[thamiam]

Analyzing Songs Part II - Bag's Groove

 

OK, after the first analysis ('Another You'), I asked if anybody had any requests for the next one. 335clone asked for some "bluesy jazz stuff as close to the 12-bar format as possible." Well after much delay here is Part II, a look at a very famous, simple jazz blues.

 

Bag's Groove is most famously known from the Miles Davis album "Bag's Groove" ("Bags" was the nickname for vibraphonist Milt Jackson, who wrote the song.) This recording is well known in jazz for Thelonious Monk's groundbreaking solo, which was very simple melodically and very advanced rhythmically. Monk's solo was so different that Miles' practically threw him out of the studio and recorded another take of the song playing piano himself. But with time it has been recognized as one of the purest distillation of blues soloing ever recorded. I attended a concert a few weeks ago of a jazz workshop for junior high school students, and even they were able to groove pretty hard on this song. It's a great piece for beginners and for the masters.

 

Anyway, let's check out the changes. A .jpg of the Real Book copy of this tune I am working from is attached.

 

Form: Counting the number of bars on the chart, there are 24 bars. A quick scan reveals that the first 12 bars and the last 12 bars are identical (except for the 12th and 24th bars, which we'll get to), so the Form is a 12-bar head with one repeat.

 

Key Signature: One flat in the Key signature (Bb). That indicates we are most likely in either F major or D minor (remember, when talking signature we use the natural minor, b3 b5 b7). The first chord is F major, and the last bar is F major, so we can say pretty strongly that we are in the key of F major.

 

Bar 1: F major chord. Note that it is not written as an F7 chord. This is pretty much the choice of the transcriber. In blues it is more or less assumed that the tonic will be played as a dominant 7th chord, but it doesn't have to be. Playing the be-bop scale (a major scale with an added b7 as well as the major 7th) gives you both possibilities. Blues is less about chord adherence then it is compelling melodies, so feel free to alternate according to taste. Look at the melody in the first bar, specifically the first 2 beats. The notes are Ab and C. Yet F major is F-A-C, with an A natural. What gives? Well, like I said earlier, blues songs are more concerned with sounding "bluesy" than sticking to the chord. The minor 3rd (Ab in this case) is one of the bluesiest notes you can play over a major chord.

 

Bar 2: Bb7 chord in parentheses, which usually means that the chord is optional. A jazz-blues usually goes to the IV chord in the second bar, while a more traditional blues may not. Notice again how prominent Ab is in the melody line. Ab is a very strong chord tone in Bb7 (the 7th). Another good reason to play the minor 3rd (Ab) in bar 1 is that any dissonance that exists will resolve very strongly in bar 2 if you go the IV chord. Tension and release is the name of the game, folks. (As has been mentioned in a number of threads of varying topics).

 

Bars 3-4: Back to the I chord (F major) in bar 3. Notice that on the first beat of bar 3 there is a b7th (Eb) in the melody, even though the chord symbol indicates that the chord is major and not dominant. This could be an example of playing a bluesy note outside of the chord, or of the I chord in a blues being an implied dominant 7th chord. Most likely both. In bar 4 the F7 is written out. If I were to read this chart in a playing situation I would probably take the chord symbols not literally (I would assume all of the I chords are dominant 7ths) but as a comping indication, that the composer really wants the dom7th highlighted in bar 4 in order to create a very strong motion to bar 5. In fact, if you listen to the tune this is exactly what it sounds like.

 

Bars 5-6: Up to the IV chord (Bb7). Blues tunes can be considered as 3 4-bar sections, and we are starting the second section now. Again, the IV is played as a dominant 7th chord in the blues. One note about the way the melody is written. This tune is another example of the famously bad transcriptions in the Real Book. If you actually the played the song using sixteenth notes like it is written, you will sound hopelessly unhip. Take a minute to listen to the recording and get the real rhythm.

 

Bars 7-8: Back to the I chord (F major). Again, the dominant 7th is implied both by the Form and by the melody. Doesn't mean you have to play it, but in a band situation be aware that somebody probably will, and you might have some unwanted dissonance if you decide to play the major 7th. Or you might want the dissonance. Up to you.

 

Bars 9-10: This is the start of the third section in a blues, the last 4 bars. In a straight blues it would begin with 2 bars of the V7 chord. In a jazz blues, 2 bars of V7 are substituted by a ii-V, the quintessential jazz progression. So we start with a Gmi7. Remember, functionally the ii chord exists on the same plane as the V chord. The both are part of a resolution to the I chord. Notice again that Ab is a prominently featured melody note. In this case it is the b9 of G-7 and the b6 of C7. These are two other very bluesy notes. They are also featured prominently in the Phrygian mode (b3, b7, b9, b6), so you might look at the ii-V and decide to play in a Phrygian tonality for a bit. Or not.

 

Bar 11: Resolving back to the I chord, again with the dominant 7th in the melody.

 

Bars 12/24: Here is the only difference between the first time through the head and the second time. In bar 12 we have the same ii-V progression we saw before, only this time compressed into one bar. In bar 24, we stay on the I chord. Remember the function of a ii-V is to resolve to a I chord, so playing it in bar 12 is like a cue to the listener that we are going around again. Staying on the I chord is a cue that the melody is over. Tension and Release folks, can't say it too many times.

 

One quick note about the melody. Look at where the phrases start and end. There is a pickup before the beginning of each phrase, and the phrases usually end on beat 3 of a bar. It is very very common in jazz to do something called 'hiding the seams'. Basically it means that phrases almost never start on the first beat and almost never end on the last beat of a bar. This creates a feeling of continuity throughout a song, and makes a piece feel less choppy and mechanical. This is especially important in a blues, because if you don

[335clone]

Thanks Thamiam, I thought you'd forgotten. I dont know the tune, and it's not in my version of the real book (sorry, I'm new to Jazz, but I'm trying). Also, for some reason I lose the right side of the chart when I print your attachment. I can view it OK, it's just a bit to large for some reason. Anyway, I'll make my own chart for it and check it out.

[thamiam]

Check the tune out, it's a real classic.

 

It's in the Real Book Volume II, which is less prevalent than Volume I.

[335clone]

I got my real book from 'a forumite to remain nameless' so I can't complain. I fixed my chart problem, but am a novice at reading st. notation. I know it's asking a lot, but any chance of tabbing the melody line for us musicaly illiterate types? I'm asking around to find a copy of the tune , which will make this a whole lot easier. For now I'll get the chord changes down, then go from there.

 

Thanks again.

[thamiam]

I'm horrible at tabbing, having never done it. Every time I try it ends up being a mess, but maybe somebody else would be able to.

 

Don't worry too much about the melody. The are probably 100 blues charts with the exact same progression. Make up your own melody.

[bob_spez]

I've nver had much luck learning from tab or sheet music either. About the only way I have ever been able to learn a solo is by listening to it over and over and trying it myself. This can easily take many hours for a ten or 15 second solo, but it works. Another thing that has worked for me is using software like Slow Gold (there are free demo versions on the net that work fine) which let me slow down a recorded riff off a CD by 50% which is slow enough to figure out fingering.

[thamiam]

 

Originally posted by bob_spez I've nver had much luck learning from tab or sheet music either. About the only way I have ever been able to learn a solo is by listening to it over and over and trying it myself. This can easily take many hours for a ten or 15 second solo, but it works. Another thing that has worked for me is using software like Slow Gold (there are free demo versions on the net that work fine) which let me slow down a recorded riff off a CD by 50% which is slow enough to figure out fingering.

 

 

This is probably the best way to learn, anyways. Let me give you one tip to make it faster and more permanent. Instead of listening to the music and then trying to play it. Listen and try to sing it. Once you can sing what you are trying to learn, then play what you can sing.

 

It may seem odd at first, but there is a much more direct connection between your ears and your voice than your ears and your fingers.

[evan_02]

yo! here's the melody in tab, you have to figure out the rhythm though

pick up note:

e-

b-

g-

d-3

a-

E-

measure 1

e-------

b-------

g-5-----3-5-3-1

d-6-----5-6-5-3

a------

E-------

bar two:

e-------

b-------

g-3-----1-3-------------

d-5-----3-5-6-3---6---3-6-6-1

a-------------8-6---8---6-8-3-3

E-

measure 3 is space, so measure 4

e-

b-

g-

d-3--1

a-6--3

E-

measure 5

e-

b-

g-

d-

a-3

E-

that repeats twice over different changes...

then on the F it goes:

e-

b-

g-6---4--5

d---------3

a-6---5-

E-

next measure:

e-

b-4--

g-----5--3--5---3

d-5--3--1--3---1--1

a-------------------3

E-

next measure:

e-

b-

g-3

d-1--1

a----3

E-

that whole part repeats twice more...

and then you solo..

sorry if thats unreadable...i tried:) (does this make up for not doing chord of the day;) ?)

[bob_spez]

 

Originally posted by thamiam This is probably the best way to learn, anyways. Let me give you one tip to make it faster and more permanent. Instead of listening to the music and then trying to play it. Listen and try to sing it. Once you can sing what you are trying to learn, then play what you can sing. It may seem odd at first, but there is a much more direct connection between your ears and your voice than your ears and your fingers.

 

 

... I'm not sure I understand how to sing a guitar solo. I don't think my voice would go that high?

 

...

[thamiam]

 

Originally posted by bob_spez ... I'm not sure I understand how to sing a guitar solo. I don't think my voice would go that high? ...

 

 

You can adjust for octave, of course.

 

And I didn't say you have to sing well. God knows I send like an epeleptic warthog when I sing, but it's a matter of getting the pitches in your head, not performing the solo vocally.

[335clone]

Evan_02,

Thanks man! You saved me a big headache. Any reason you moved COTD? Took me quite a while to find it.

[evan_02]

 

Originally posted by 335clone Evan_02, Thanks man! You saved me a big headache. Any reason you moved COTD? Took me quite a while to find it.

 

i moved it to guitarnerd, but i've stopped doing it cause i am lazy as all hell...maybe i'll do a chord of the week or something

[335clone]

Hey Evan,

I was looking at your tab and had a few questions:

Are you sure M3 is space? It looks like M3 starts on line 2 of the chart. If so , that throws your measure numbers off. I think the problem is the first 12 bars cover four lines, and the second 12 bars covers 3 lines. Am I wrong here? I am trying to transpose your tab over to a different sheet and am getting confused between the chart and tab.

 

Thanks,

335clone

[thamiam]

335 is right. The first line is only 2 measures. Remember, most of these charts were written up by booze-soaked college students on NoDoze, so the penmanship can be a little, shall we say, inconsistent.

[evan_02]

the way i did it was the first line of music has the pickup measure and the first three measure...

wait...that 3rd measure isn't part of the song? damn it

[evan_02]

Originally posted by thamiam booze-soaked college students on NoDoze,

thats me! what are you trying to say?

btw- try playing only one part of my tab, it might sound better at first. (i mean the high or the low part)...i think i may have missed some of those measure that only have two notes in them too