How Strange The Change
January, 2005
It’s one of the oldest and most functional musical surprises: the simple change from major to minor. This sound startles the ear with a poignant revelation—the clever completion of an artful musical maneuver. Sometimes our ears expect a major sound, and there comes the minor chord, disclosing funk and darkness. In ot
It’s one of the oldest and most functional musical surprises: the simple change from major to minor. This sound startles the ear with a poignant revelation—the clever completion of an artful musical maneuver.
Sometimes our ears expect a major sound, and there comes the minor chord, disclosing funk and darkness. In other progressions, the expected minor chord is replaced with major and we hear the sun rise and we fall in love. It’s all part of the amazing effect of the 3rd, that unpretentious little note in a scale or chord, moving just a bit. Let’s look at some specific examples of this beautiful phenomenon; they come from standard chord progressions to jam-session favorites that every aspiring jazz bassist should know. In each example I have written walking bass lines to outline the harmony.
Ex. 1’s progression recalls the first eight bars of the classic "I'Il Remember April." Notice how the bass line puts the defining chord tones on each measure’s strong beats, one and three. This is the key to playing a clear, logical-sounding bass line: Put important chord tones on beats one and three.
Often, a progression lands on a major chord, which then changes to a minor chord in the next measure. Take a look at the changes in Ex. 2, which suggest Miles Davis’s bop standard “Tune Up.” The Dmaj7 in bars 3 and 4 becomes a Dm7 in bar 5, and the Cmaj7 in bars 7 and 8 becomes a Cm7 in bar 9. This is a typical example of a tonic chord becoming the II chord in the next key center. (Dmaj7 is the I chord in the key of D major, while Dm7 is the II chord in the key of C major.) This type of major-to-minor progression shows up in thousands of standard jazz tunes.
Another blowing and bashing favorite is the standard "Nardis" (Ex. 3). The chord progression begins with an Em7 and has a dark, Phrygian-mode sound. In bar 7, the skies open up and a bright light flashes for just one measure of Emaj7. In bar 8, the Em7 crashes back in, disrupting the brief moment of major-key peacefulness. The change from major to minor is this chord progression’s hook—the defining element.
To effectively outline these types of chord progressions, you should be able to spell out the chord tones. Try experimenting with bass lines that specifically outline the change of minor 3rd to major 3rd, or from major 3rd to minor 3rd. By precisely articulating the chord tones, the listener will be able to hear the chord progression—even without your guitar player comping for you.
Look for compositions that juxtapose the major and minor sounds; there are countless jazz and pop songs that do this. Listen and learn the feeling of the change from major to minor, and you’ll expand your ability to communicate this common musical occurrence. As Cole Porter says in his incredible lyric to "Everytime We Say Goodbye": "There’s no love song finer, but how strange the change from major to minor . . . ."
