A Chord-Melody Methodology for Guitar
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A systematic and easy-to-understand approach to constructing chord-melody for the guitar. The work covers suitable shapes and their usage, situations encountered and how to handle them, permutation exercises, and examples drawn from real-world lead sheets.
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Book preview
A Chord-Melody Methodology for Guitar - Harold Combess
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
THE 'CHRISTMAS TREE'
CHORD STRUCTURES: SHAPES, FINGERINGS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
CHORD FORMS WITH 6TH STRING BASS NOTE
FLATTED 7TH/MELODY ON 3RD STRING
FLATTED 7TH/MELODY ON 2ND STRING
FLATTED 7TH/MELODY ON 1ST STRING
NATURAL 7TH/MELODY ON 3RD STRING
NATURAL 7TH/MELODY ON 2ND STRING
NATURAL 7TH/MELODY ON 1ST STRING
DOUBLE FLAT 7TH (6TH)/MELODY ON 3RD STRING
DOUBLE FLAT 7TH (6TH)/MELODY ON 2ND STRING
DOUBLE FLAT 7TH (6TH)/MELODY ON 1ST STRING
CHORD FORMS WITH 5TH STRING BASS NOTE
FLATTED 7TH/MELODY ON 2ND STRING
FLATTED 7TH/MELODY ON 1ST STRING
NATURAL 7TH/MELODY ON 2ND STRING
NATURAL 7TH/MELODY ON 1ST STRING
DOUBLE FLAT 7TH (6TH)/MELODY ON 2ND STRING
DOUBLE FLAT 7TH (6TH)/MELODY ON 1ST STRING
COMMENTARY
SITUATIONAL EXAMPLES
THE ii-V and vi-ii-V
SECONDARY DOMINANTS AND THEIR TENSIONS
II7 (V OF V)
III7 (V OF vi)
IV7 (V OF bVII)
VI7 (V OF ii)
VII7 (V OF iii)
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DIMINISHED STRUCTURE
CHROMATIC APPROACHES WITH THE DIMINISHED STRUCTURE
SEQUENTIAL MELODIES UTILIZING THE DIMINSHED STRUCTURE
REPEATED TONES: MAJOR TONIC SOUNDS
THE ii-V: MORE EXAMPLES
OMITTING CHORD TONES: EXAMPLES AND GUIDELINES
CONTRARY MOTION BETWEEN BASS AND MELODY
HARMONIZING EXTENDED LINEAR MELODY OVER THE DOMINANT 7TH
THE AUGMENTED SOUND
ARPEGGIOS
REHARMONIZING TRIADIC MELODIES
PERMUTATIONS
EXAMPLES
SECTION 1
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this book is to furnish a simple but effective method
for constructing chord-melody. It is not intended to be the final authority on the subject, but the material within will furnish the reader with a thorough understanding of the concept. Other volumes of work on the subject exist, but here the guitarist will be presented with a structured methodology.
A few pre-requisites must be mentioned here at the outset:
1. Do not use a pick.
Many of the structures used will only be sounded properly if employing the fingers.
2. Chord diagrams are employed rather than true notation. This should help those who do not read music. However, knowledge of where the notes lie on the fingerboard is needed.
3. The reader should have a good understanding of chord spelling. The underlying foundation of the method given here rests on the player's ability to identify chord tones and tensions.
4. Be prepared to deal with non-standard fingerings. Many of the chord shapes presented will of no doubt be familiar to all. The familiar fingerings of these shapes are frequently of little use.
5. You should have an ample supply of material for application of the method. (Any or all volumes of 'The Real Book' would suffice.)
6. With regard to position, be aware that position is determined where the first finger naturally falls.
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THE 'CHRISTMAS TREE'
The entire methodology of this work is founded on this simple principle.
If we visualize our 'Christmas Tree', we can break it into 3 distinct sections:
1. The tree's base/stand. This represents the lowest tone in our chord structure, the bass note. This will often be the root of the chord. It is important to note that the root being sounded may not be the root of the chord given on the lead sheet. Many other volumes of work exist which provide the guitarist with structures other than root in the bass. Here we focus on a few common structures and re-name them as substitutes for the original chord. More on this later.
An important note here about or bass note: It will always appear on either strings 6 or 5.
2. The 'star', or whatever beautiful ornament you wish to visualize, sitting atop our tree. This is our melody. Remember that the guitar is a transposing instrument. Therefore, the melody must be transposed upwards an octave. There are a few instances where this will not be the case, but they are rare indeed.
The tune's melody should always land on strings 1, 2 or 3. If possible, keep the melody of the 2nd string. There will be many scenarios where you have a choice to make. Mapping out chord-melody is very much akin to reading a road map. Where are you going? Is the most obvious route or the easiest one the correct one? Perhaps there's unforeseen 'construction' ahead.
3. Finally, the inner portion of the 'tree'. Here we find the seventh of the chord structure, along with any other 'filler' tones needed. The lowest of these inner tones is always the seventh of the chord (major 7th, flat 7th, or double-flat 7th/6th).
An important construction note: The string between the bass note and the 7th is ALWAYS skipped. The reason for this is to open up the structure, to give some space to the voices. Therefore, if our bass note is on the 6th string, we skip the 5th string and strike our 7th on the 4th.
Other 'filler tones' may be needed to round out the chord. More often than not, the 3rd of the chord will be among these. It is important to sound the 3rd if possible, as this tone gives the chord its 'sex'; is it male or female? (major or minor?).
The 5th of the chord structure is generally omitted, with few exceptions. The 5th in its natural form offers nothing of usefulness to the interior of our 'tree'.
Visualizing our 'tree' once more, how many 'ornaments' (filler tones) should we place in the middle to make it visually (aurally) appealing?
This, of course is subjective. But too many 'ornaments' tend to distract from the overall richness and clarity of our structure. 'Less is more' is a fine adage to keep in mind here.
To sum up:
1. Melody up an octave
2. Bass note on either 6th or 5th string
3. Skip a string from bass note and place 7th
4. Add melody on appropriate string
5. Add appropriate filler tones
What follows in section 2 will be examples of structures and their usage. We will break