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Post by pinkie on Jul 26, 2015 12:56:44 GMT
Wasn't sure where to post his or what to call it. Mind games, because it relates to that sensitive subject of "imagining it" when listening to music. An example of how the mind works, and how "imagining it" is fundamental to listening to music But, I'll try it as a music theory question. OK - in the music discussion last night the subject of chord theory came up - and one of the keyboard players suggested a tip he learned in New Orleans - to play the chord without the root for a fuller sound. So - how do you do that guys? (I know the answer now, but does anyone else) Anybody come across this idea before? There is a bit of a clue in my dilema about how to categorise this post. He suggests he only uses it for left hand chords or in a band situation where the bass player picks up the root How would you play a C major chord, to sound like a C major chord, and leave out the note C ?  I tried it last night at 2 in the morning, and it works!  |
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Post by ChrisB on Jul 26, 2015 15:06:39 GMT
I wouldn't know a piano even if it was on my foot, but isn't that something that Bill Evans used to do a lot of?
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Post by pinkie on Jul 26, 2015 16:00:59 GMT
I wouldn't know - I haven't spent much time in a pub talking keyboard improvisation techniques with Bill Evans It wasn't being claimed as original - just sharing insights. But it wasn't something I had tried or thought of before I thought we had a few musical types here, who might have had a punt. It isn't exclusive to piano - I can kind of make it work on the guitar For the non-musical a chord is a group of 3 or more notes played together (if for the minute we exclude modern rock "power chords" from the definition - although there's another clue there). The C major chord I suggested (although we were talking F major last night) is a simple triad (3 notes). The notes are the root C, the 3rd (a major 3rd) E and a perfect 5th G - CEG. That makes the sound of the a C chord. The Root defines the pitch, the 3rd the "mood" (minor or major, suspended etc). You can leave out the 3rd and it is still identifiable (the aforementioned power chord). But the root is the sound . Fundamental as far as I was concerned. Having googled Bill Evans and gone a bit wobbly-knee'd with the triad stacking theory, I think it is the same idea. Leaving the theoretical explanation of the derivation aside (which I struggled with last night) the punch-line for "Mind games" is... If you play the 5th from the octave below, and keep the 3rd and 5th in the original octave, you can take out the root. Although in the bit I was reading about Bill Evans just now, it says that is on the basis that in a band situation the bass player will usually be picking up the root for you, it works with solo piano too. Your mind fills in the gap and "imagines" the root to hear the chord. This is based on the idea that you can fill out a chord with repetitions of the R,3,5 in higher and lower octaves. For the non-musicians, if you go to a piano and play C E G in one place, you can add C E G's all over the shop and get a fuller chord. C should stay the lowest note or it becomes an "inversion". But even inversions leave a C in the mix somewhere. This is quite common on the guitar, where the order of the notes tends to get jumbled up a bit because you cant play 2 notes you need on one string at the same time. But missing the root, and leaving it out completely is wierd - but does give a warmer richer sounding chord. It works therefore for the left hand (bass accompaniement) part while the right hand is fiddling about with a melody over the chord. Coming back to playing C E G, if you add the G below the C, and don't play the C, so you have G (gap) E G - it still sounds like a C chord, because your mind "expects" the C note to be there, and so adds it back in. And we think we just hear music with our ears  |
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Post by MartinT on Aug 2, 2015 8:38:40 GMT
Fascinating, I shall try this on Ruth's piano the next time I'm there.
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