how high the moon analysis

8/18/2019 How High the Moon Analysis

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How High The Moon - Part one

How high the moon (1940) by Morgan Lewis, a nice and easy-going jazz standard, with a

catchy melody ! "retty common t#ne in the gy"sy jazz re"ertoire as well $ontem"orary

g#itarist !drien Moignard "lays a good %ersion o& it in that tradition on yo#t#be 'or a #ite

di&&erent %ersion chec o#t Lo#is !rmstrongs bassist !r%ell *haw "lay it here He "lays

both the head and a long solo +ts "retty im"ressi%eMy &a%o#rite %ersion is by *onny *titt and can be &o#nd on the alb#m .How high the moon.

with *onny *titt and 'riends Loo o#t &or a %ery cool and straight-to-the-"oint-intro

*o &irst o& all, why do we chose to learn/"lay the t#nes we do here can be se%eral

reasons2 3o#%e joined a band who "lays it, its a common t#ne "layed at jam sessions,

yo#r teacher #rge yo# to learn it, yo# want to st#dy the theory etc #t + thin the best

reason we can ha%e &or "laying the t#nes we do, is that we lie them his is o&ten the best

moti%ation #t here we go2

'or learning this t#ne (and more or less e%ery jazz standard) the &ollowing list wo#ld be a

good start2

1: Find a good vocal version

5ne yo# really lie and learn the lyrics by heart +t will be easier to remember and yo# get

a more ."ersonal. a""roach to the song +nstead o& j#st learning a chord chart 3o# can

almost always &ind a good %ersion o& the most "o"#lar jazz standards by some o& the old

masters6 7lla 'itzgerald, illie Holiday, 'ran *inatra, !nita 5day, 8at ing $ole etc 'or

&ree %ersions #se yo#t#becom, deezercom or yo#r local library &or e:am"le

2: Finding the sheet.

5& co#rse the best thing wo#ld be to woro#t e%ery note and all harmonies by ear, b#t &or

most o& #s that demands a %ery good ear, a lot o& time and a lot o& hard wor (altho#gh +

dont do#bt it will "ay o& in the end) #t #ntil then yo# can &ind the basic changes in the

;anilla boo + thin this is a good way to start *tart to learn the changes in their most

sim"le &orm2 major, minor, dominant, diminished witho#t too many s#bstit#tions and

e:tensions Later on when yo# now the ndamental changes o& the t#ne, yo# can start

re-harmonizing

3: What is the form and tonality?

Most standards are in !!!, !, !$ or !! &orms

Loo o#t &or which chord the song is ending on +t is o&ten the &irst chord in the t#ne, b#t

not always

onality in this case is < major, and the &orm is ! =here the last eight bars in the

section di&&ers &rom the last eight bars in the ! section

4: Study the changesA: / < / < / / $> / ' / ' / 'm> / b> /

/ 7b / !m>b? @> / / < / !m> @> / m> b> / !m> @> /

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lvAPpVD8K4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzOvJ8wYA1Ihttp://www.ralphpatt.com/Song.htmlhttp://www.ralphpatt.com/Song.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lvAPpVD8K4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzOvJ8wYA1Ihttp://www.ralphpatt.com/Song.html


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B: / < / < / / $> / ' / ' / 'm> / b> /

/ 7b / !m> @> / < / $mA / m> b> / !m> @> / < / (!m> @>) /

! good a""roach is to tae B bars at a time and see what ha""ens2

/ < / < / / $> / ' / ' / 'm> / b> /

onality is < major o bars o& < major, going to one bar o& < minor, to one bar o& $>,

maing a ++-; in ', which leads to the ' major o& the &orth and &i&th bar !gain majorbecomes minor in bar > and mae a ++-; in 7b major ('m>-b>) which leads to the &irst

chord o& the ne:t B bars

*o the tonality changes C times in the &irst B bars2 =e ha%e D bars o& < major, 4 bars o& '

major and D bars o& 7b major !nd tonality is descending in whole-ste"s2 < to ' to 7b

e!t " #ars: / 7b / !m>b? @> / / < / !m> @> / m> b> / !m> @> /

5ne bar o& 7b major, then one bar o& a ++-; in < minor, which leads to one bar o& <minor, then one bar o& the dominant se%enth (the ; chord) o& < major, which leads to one

bar o& < major, one bar o& a ++-; in < major, then a two-bar t#rnaro#nd o& descending ++-;s

in ! major and < major res"ecti%ely his &inish the ! section and leads to the < major in

the &irst bar o& the section

8otice two things

First2 t#rnaro#nds can be %oiced in many di&&erent ways !lternati%ely we co#ld "lay the

last two bars lie this2 / < 7> / !m> @> / a +-;+-++-; "rogression and mae the ++-; in bar Alead to the < chord 5n the other hand the original t#rnaro#nd (m>-b>-!m>-@>) gi%es

yo# a nice descending #ass line2 -b-! (alternati%ely yo# can e%en mae a flat $

su#stitution o& the @>, which then becomes a !b>, gi%ing yo# !b in the bass and

there&ore the base line2 -b-!-!b !nd now the section will start with a < major chord,

and then we will ha%e a < in the bass, and %oilE ! long elegant descending bass line)

Second: when yo# s#bstit#te chords yo# ha%e to be aware o& the melody note +n bar >

the melody note is @, and we donFt want that to clash with the chords we are "laying he

@ note wors with the < chord (the ?th), with 7> (the >th), with the m> (the Crd) and with

the b> (the Crd as well) *o both t#rnaro#nds will woro#t &ine

*o the tonality changes C times2 'rom 7b (bar 1) major to < minor (bar D and C) to <

major (bar 4-A) to ! major (bar >) to < major (bar B) ar > can also be seen as in the ey

o& < major, in my o"inion is red#ndant to say we change tonality, b#t we do it here &or the

sae o& arg#ment he m>-b> co#ld be seen as a ++-; leading to ! minor *trictly

s"eaing the b> belongs to the 7b major scale, b#t here its #sed as a b? s#bstit#tion o&

7>, which can be seen as a s#bstit#tion o& 7m> which is the Ath in the scale o& < major

#t in short, the im"ortant thing is to mae a t#rnaro#nd which leads smoothly bac to the

< chord, witho#t clashing with the melody notes

Lets mo%e on to the section


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5ay, the &irst B bars o& the section is the same as the ! section, so no "roblems here

%ast " #ars: / 7b / !m> @> / < / $mA / m> b> / !m> @> / < / (!m> @>) /

5ne bar o& 7b major, one bar o& a ++-; in < major, which leads to one bar o& < major, going

to a $mA ( +ll get bac to that), to one bar o& m>-b>6 a ++-; in ! major, with the b>being a flat $ su#stitution o& the normal ;-chord, 7> +n bar A the ++-; in < leads Gbac

home to the tonality and end o& the song6 < major

+n the last bar yo# normally "lay a ++-; leading to the beginning o& a new chor#s i& yo#re

not ending the song

*o bac to the $mA chord in bar 4 +n the Iealboo they s#ggest !m>-@> in that bar he

melody notes is !, and $, which is the Ath, the mMaj> and the root o& the $mA chord !ll

notes wors "retty well with that chord +n relation to !m>-@> the notes !, and $ are the

root, the Ath o& !m> and the >th o& @> res"ecti%ely !ll notes wors "retty well too $mAhas the ad%antage o& maing a descending bass line ($--b-!) 5n the other hand the

chord will gi%e #s one bar with a whole new tonality2 he Crd in the $mA chord (7b) will

stic o#t (remember the $mA can also be seen as a !m>b? or '9 witho#t the root)

=ith the !m>-@> as the Iealboo s#ggest, we stay in ey o& < major +& yo#re the only

chordal instr#ment in the gi%en gro#", yo# can do "retty m#ch as yo# lie +ts really a

matter o& taste and what yo# &eel lie ry to mae t#rnaro#nds which smoothly leads bac

to the root chord and donFt clash with the melody notes +t is %ery im"ortant that not only

yo#, b#t also yo#re band mates are s#re o& where yo#re going +n the end it is all abo#t

getting J home K in a good way 'ollow yo#r heart and yo#r ears

$: &ractice the changes 'ith a metronome and(or )lay along 'ith your favourite

versions of the tune. o "ractice with a metronome is maybe hard and sometimes boring,

b#t %ery rewarding laying along with recordings is n and ins"iring

*o, this was the &irst "art 8e:t in "art D + will tal abo#t the melody and im"ro%isation

ideas + lie !nd abo#t $harlie arer and his "iece made o%er the same changes2

5rnithology

Ho"e yo# lied this &irst lesson/g#ide in my blog and learned something, &eel &ree to lea%e

a message

Somewhere there's music / how faint the tune..

+n this article +d lie to share some ideas on how yo# can im"ro%ise o%er the t#ne+m"ro%isation is a big to"ic and there are endless ways o& doing it, #nderstand it and learnit + dont thin theres one right way to learn it, + thin its abo#t &inding o#t what yo# want tosay and how yo# want to do it ! lot o& "eo"le describe good im"ro%isation lie telling astory + thin thats a good way to see it2 o tell a story abo#t something yo# thin is

im"ortant #t be&ore we can tell s#ch a story we need to ha%e the basic tools to e:"ressit + ho"e this article can be a hel" to &ind or de%elo" these tools 7njoy


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&laying chord tones.his is rather sim"le, b#t a %ery e&&ecti%e way o& maing good melodic lines in yo#rim"ro%isation *o lets do the theoretical st#&& &irst and then tal abo#t how we can a""ly it+n the &irst 4 bars o& How high the moon we ha%e &ollowing "rogression2 / < / < / /$> / +n order to "lay chord tones we need to analyse each chord2

* ma+or 2 < (root), (Crd), @ (&i&th) and an e:tension2 normally a ' (Maj>) or a 7 (Ath)

*m,2 < (root), b (minor Crd), @ (?th) and ' (>th)

-,2 $ (root), 7 (Crd), < (?th), b (b>th)

< major is the 1 chord o& the < major scale and $> are the D and ? chords o& the ' major scale res"ecti%ely

< major scale2 th +& we com"are a

with a well see that the root and the ?th are the same in both chords, b#t the

Crd and the >th o& each chord changes

!n e:am"le o& how to a""ly it2=hen yo# go &rom a to the , try to go &rom the note (the Crd o& ) to the

b note (the Crd o& ) *o yo# hit the b note on the &irst meas#re o& Crd bar o& thesong (the ) 3o#ll clearly hear how tonality changes and the shi&t &rom major to minor3o#ll go &rom a sa&e or "retty so#nd to a more sad or sentimental so#nd=hen doing this its a good idea to start sim"le and "ractice in a slow tem"o and thenincrease the tem"o when yo# &eel yo# got it (+ highly recommend this a""roach &ore%erything yo# "ractice) ry to mae a sim"le melody with the chord tones and dont bea&raid o& "a#ses

"th notes and strong and 'ea/ #eatso be aware o& Bth notes and strong and wea beats is a way yo# can create long andelegant lines in yo#r im"ro%isation

'irst Bth notes2 ! bar got 4 beats2 1, D, C, 4 8ow co#nt the &o#r beats b#t with an Nbetween Lie this2 1NDNCN4 =e now ha%e B beats +& yo# "lay a note on each o& the

beats yo#re "laying in Bth notes =e can disting#ish between strong and 'ea/ #eatsamong these B notes =e call them strong beats beca#se we tend to hear the beats 1, D,C, 4 better than the o&& beats (he Ns)

8ow yo# can try to mae lines where yo# )ut the chord tones on the strong beats andnon0chord tones on the wea beats+ will s"ell o#t a line o%er a D-?-1 in ' (-$>-') Iemember we ha%e B notes to "lay &or


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each meas#re

/ B#-$--7-F -'-*-! / B#-- --@--'-*-b? 5& co#rse some wors better than other ry to relate each chord to the <chord and see which notes each ar"eggio contain ! m> ar"eggio will gi%e yo# the notes , @, ' and ! *o i& we relate those notes to a <

major chord well ha%e the C

rd

(), the ?

th

(@), Major > (') and the 9

th

(!) +n other wordsa


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chords the most)Lets loo at an 7m ar"eggio and relate it to the < major chord lie we did be&ore2 7m>

contains the notes 7, ar"eggio)2 b9 chord ! #nstable or shar" so#nd

&auses.

his is a %ery e&&ecti%e way o& maing yo#r "laying more "leasant and laid-bac + thin itsnot o&ten we tal abo#t "a#ses or s"ace in im"ro%isation, we are more concerned o& whatwe wish to "lay than what we not wish to "lay +n my o"inion "a#ses its a way o& "#ttingmore awareness into yo#r m#sic and to listen more+t sho#ld be rather easy to hold "a#ses in o#r "laying, we can j#st sto" #t + thin someare a&raid o& get lost i& theyre not "laying the changes all the time *ome are maybe notcom&ortable with the silence #t theres no need to &ear it +ts lie a good con%ersation*ometimes yo#re saying something s"ontaneo#s, then yo# tae a moment to re&lectabo#t what yo#%e j#st said hen yo# thin abo#t how yo# can e:"ress yo#r sel& the bestway in yo#r ne:t sentence +ts a way o& letting yo#r lines breathe and to mae the

a#dience and the band mates digest yo#r story

6o' to do it:'irst o& all thin abo#t yo# dont ha%e to "lay e%erything yo# can =hen were "laying we


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ha%e all o#r "ersonal %ocab#lary which we #se in di&&erent sit#ations *o when yo#re"laying o%er a certain chord or "assage and yo# start to #se yo#r #s#al trics, try to sto"it Mae a "a#se, listen to the groo%e and see i& some new idea s"ontaneo#s comes tomind and do that instead +ts better than the #s#al lics we more or less mindless normally"#lls o&& his is a good way o& breaing #" o#r #s#al lics and habits'or a sim"le e:ercise to get started, yo# can do lie this2 start a bacing trac with a t#neyo# now well hen start yo#r lines on the second beat o& the bars


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then increase the tem"o when yo# got it lay along yo#r &a%orite recordings o& the t#nesPse bacing tracs he best ones +%e #sed so &ar is by Oamey !ebersold +n his %ol A G!llbird yo#ll &ind 5rnithology and other arer bacing tracs 3o# can also &ind How highthe Moon and a lot o& other good bacing tracs here +& yo#re in to a jazz-mano#che styleo& bacing trac, yo# can #se this one (e aware o& a mistae in the dis"layed chordchanges)*o, loc the door, t#rn o&& the "hone and ic o#t yo#r girl&riend Q &or a while 5r throw o#t

yo#r ; and b#y a metronome !s a &ellow g#itarist once told me ! j#st go &or it #t in allserio#sness6 isolation and &oc#s on only one thing can get yo# %ery &ar, b#t o& co#rse in theright doses + g#ess we all ha%e to &ind o#r own golden mean which wor &or #s

+ll &inish this g#ide to How high the Moon with a Lo#is !rmstrong #ote, which + thine:"resses what its all abo#t2 laying good, honest, swingin m#sic

“There is two kinds of music the good and bad. I play the good kind

- 3es yo# did
http://www.ralphpatt.com/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUiQ8Xz1lns&feature=relatedhttp://www.ralphpatt.com/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUiQ8Xz1lns&feature=related

how high the moon analysis

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