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RE: Horace Silver RE: Mathematics, Prime Numbers, & Looping with the EDP



At 9:50 PM -0400 6/21/05, Timothy Mungenast wrote:
>I really like the "Nica's Dream" chord, the so-called major/minor7 (1, 
>flat3, 5, 7).
>~Tim M

>>Wouldn't that be a minor major 7th? A major minor 7th sounds like it
would a dom 7. The minor major 7th is the chord that goes with the
melodic (also called jazz) minor.

>>Edwin

Yes, I believe it is a minor-major 7, or what I like to call the "evil
twin" of the dominant 7 :)  . It is easy to get confused and say
major-minor 7...I usually know what people are trying to say when they
expresss it that way, even if it is reversed.

Maj7 = 1, 3, 5, 7
Min7 = 1, b3, 5, b7
Dom7 = 1, 3, 5, b7
Min-Maj7 = 1, b3, 5, 7

I call the min-Maj 7 chord the evil twin of the dom7 because the 3 and 7
intervals are reversed in terms of what is flatted or natural.

The minor-major 7 chord is also the root chord for jazz melodic minor
harmony and theory, which opens up a most bizarre yet interesting can of
theories.  I've yet to find someone who wrote an entire song using
"strictly" melodic minor harmony, using both the modes AND the
corresponding chords, which are nothing like the chords in traditional
major harmony. It just sounds weird and counter-intuitive.  Just playing
the scale of chords in melodic minor harmony, starting with the min-maj7
as the I chord and moving up sounds whacked out and far removed from
traditional major/relative minor scale harmony, which sounds fairly
intuitive to most musicians.  I usually see the min-maj7 chord used as a
device within traditional system of major/relative minor harmony, like
how sometimes jazzers play "My Funny Valentine," in the first few
measures, switching from min7 to min-maj7...sounds great, fun to
improvise over, etc. Or using the min-maj7 chord. 

One of my favorite articles and explanations is form Mark Sabatella, in
Colorado, in his "Jazz Theory Primer" (excellent, by the way) where he
explains the evolution of the melodic minor scale (sometimes called the
jazz minor scale)...very interesting. Basically, starting from the pure
minor scale, evolving to harmonic minor, and then finally to melodic
minor, all because of a modification of the minor ii-V-I progression to
make it sound better with the resolution points, and the resulting
complementary scale.  I just find this fascinating.  I copied the text
and URL below. I definitely recommend backspacing to the .com and
checking out his Jazz Primer! 

"In classical theory, there are three types of minor scale. The minor
scale we have already discussed, the aeolian mode, is also called the
natural minor or pure minor. The two other minor scales were derived
from it to provide more interesting harmonic and melodic possibilities.
If you construct a ii-V-I progression in a minor key, you will find that
the seventh chord built on the root is a minor seventh chord, and the
seventh chord built on the second step is a half diminished seventh
chord. For example, Am7 and Bm7b5 in the key of A minor. The chord built
on the fifth step of this scale is a minor chord, for example Em7 in A
minor. The resolution of Em7 to Am7 is not as strong as E7 to Am7. Also,
the Am7 does not sound like a tonic; it sounds like it should resolve to
a D chord. By raising the seventh degree of the minor scale by a half
step (that is, raising the G of A minor to G#), these problems are
solved. The chord built on the fifth is now E7, and the seventh chord
built on the root is an A minor triad with a major seventh, often
notated Am-maj7. This creates a much stronger ii-V-i. The resultant
scale, "A, B, C, D, E, F, G#", is called the harmonic minor, since it is
perceived to yield more interesting harmonies than the natural minor.
The seventh degree of a major scale is sometimes called the leading
tone, since it is only a half step below the tonic and leads very well
into it melodically. The seventh degree of the natural minor scale, on
the other hand, is a whole step below the tonic and does not lead nearly
as well into it. Although the harmonic minor scale contains a leading
tone, if you play that scale, you may note that the interval between the
sixth and seventh steps (the F and G# in A harmonic minor) is awkward
melodically. This interval is called an augmented second. Although it
sounds just like a minor third, there are no scale tones between the two
notes. This interval was considered to be dissonant in classical
harmony, In order to rectify this situation, the sixth can be raised a
half step as well (from F to F#) to yield the melodic minor. In
classical theory, this scale is often used ascending only. When
descending, since the G# is not used to lead into the tonic A, the
natural minor is often used instead. Jazz harmony does not normally
distinguish these cases, however. The melodic minor scale "A, B, C, D,
E, F#, G#" is used both when ascending and descending." -
http://www.outsideshore.com/primer/primer/ms-primer-4-3.html

The Primer: http://www.outsideshore.com/primer/primer/index.html  He has
a pretty descent and simplified history of jazz movements too.

Any piano players on the list met Mark? Nice guy. I haven't met him in
person, but we used to correspond a lot via email. 

Kris

-----Original Message-----
From: Edwin Hurwitz [mailto:edwin@indra.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2005 11:31 PM
To: mungenast@earthlink.net; Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Subject: Re: Horace Silver RE: Mathematics, Prime Numbers, & Looping
with the EDP

At 9:50 PM -0400 6/21/05, Timothy Mungenast wrote:
>I really like the "Nica's Dream" chord, the so-called major/minor7 (1, 
>flat3, 5, 7).
>~Tim M


Wouldn't that be a minor major 7th? A major minor 7th sounds like it
would a dom 7. The minor major 7th is the chord that goes with the
melodic (also called jazz) minor.

Edwin
PS What's a "mensural rosalia"? When I googled it, google asked me if I
meant "menstrual rosalia".
-- 

Edwin Hurwitz
Boulder CO
http://www.indra.com/~edwin
http://www.cafemontalban.com Location Recording Services