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Premier Clinic: Jazz
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Haiku
from John Stowell’s Modern Chord Melody
My vocalist friend Cheryl Hodge has written lyrics to a number of my tunes, and in some cases supplied titles as well. The chords and ornamentations I’m using on this piece suggested an Asian sensibility of tranquility and introspection to Cheryl, hence her title “Haiku.” In this song, I’m using a combination of embellished chords, such as major 9ths and melodic minor inversions, combined with major triads with flatted 9ths in the bass. The progression is a bit unorthodox; as the tune unfolded a few chords at a time, I realized that I wanted to avoid traditional jazz harmonies and cadences such as II-V-Is.
The piece is played rubato throughout, although some of the individual phrases have an internal pulse that exists for a few bars to move that particular section of the tune along. I like to think of rubato playing as containing spontaneous breaths or pauses that happen organically. I enjoy this approach when playing solo as I do here, but it’s also rewarding in a group setting. Learning to “breathe” and feel phrases together in an ensemble without a fixed pulse or meter can be an interesting challenge. With some history together and shared musical goals, it’s possible to take more collective risks together as the level of trust and confidence in your bandmates grows.
As with several pieces in the Modern Chord Melody course, I’ll also play the melody on another guitar tuned a major third lower (C to C, same relative pitches as standard tuning). The lower pitch works better on some tunes than others; the open nature and rubato feel of “Haiku” lend themselves well to this tuning. If you want to experiment with tuning lower, you can also hear and feel a difference with an instrument pitched a whole tone or minor third below concert. Baritone tuning is a fourth below. Pat Metheny has created an interesting sound by combining baritone and Nashville tuning on one instrument, tuning down a fourth but taking several of the high strings up an octave in that register.
Given the availability of good, cheap guitars, you might consider buying an instrument that you can use to experiment with different tunings. Of course, you can try different string gauges as well. Because I have a light touch with my right hand, typical gauges for a jazz set (.012-.052) work fine for me. On “Haiku,” using the lower tuning, I’m aware that the open strings used in the melody are prone to more sustain. In addition to being careful with my right hand to achieve a balanced sound, I’m also occasionally dampening notes.
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