CARAVAN

General discussion . . not critical but I wouldn't mind a little advice anyway for prosperity and to enhance my self taught knowledge of music. hehe!

I am playing this piece (see screen shot).
I have got it sounding pretty damn good if I say so myself.

It is in 2:2 timing . . does this mean two beats to the bar? So have a look at the chord in the second bar F#m/C
Does this mean I should play both these chords in that bar say 1 beat of F#7 followed by one beat of C?
Or does mean I have an option of playing either chord?.
What does Ellington and his crew intend here?

On the second screen shot , . . same again Bm7/F

Thank you good people
Ray

 

Gary

2/2 is where it is counted 1 & 2 &, 1 & 2 & etc.

So the quarter notes you are used to in 4/4 timing are half notes in 2/2.

With both the chords you quote the / means you can play either chord.

At least this is my understanding.

 

Thanks for the quick answer Jim.
Hehe! Ray

 

I have tried it both ways as I explained.
Sounds okay either chord but sounds so much better half a bar for each chord. I was wondering which way is technically correct.
Ray

 

Hey Ray,

I'll have a crack mate - let me know if any of my explanations are confusing.

Time Signatures

2/2: The first "2" denotes how many beats in the bar. The second "2" denotes what kind of beats. In this case, it's half notes, or if you prefer, minims. In other examples, 3/4 would be three quarter notes (crotchets), 6/8 would be six eighth notes (quavers).

So what's the difference between 2/2 and 4/4? From a timing perspective, nothing. However the accents are different. In 2/2 tune, you'd hear two distinct accents or beats in a bar, as opposed to four. More or less - it's a little arbitrary.

Chords

F#m7(b5)/C. OK, let's break this down.

A simple voicing for F#m7 would be the root (F#), the minor third (A), the fifth (C#) and the minor seventh (E).

However you'll notice the (b5) in the notation. This means that instead of a perfect fifth, we should flatten the note one semitone. This leaves us with:

F# A C E

Next, we have to deal with the /C. This means that the above chord should be voiced over the bass note C. So what you could do is play F# A C E in the right hand and C in the left hand. Another option would be to leave out the b5 (C) in the right hand and just play it in the left. Yet another option would be to invert the chord so that you might play it all with your left hand, but have C as the bottom note. Again, you might leave out the root note here to avoid a bit of "mud". Have a crack and try different voicings and see what sounds nice.

You can apply the same principle to Bm7(b5)/F.

Good luck and have fun.

 

Thanks I am doing that.

Your explanation has gone above and beyond. It does all makes sense and I can follow the theory behind it. It is not something I wish to go indepth with. But I really apreciate the time and effort made in your response.

So in my case, playing left hand ACMP. I just play the chord and the let it be.

When I see F#m7(b5) . .I think to myself 'what the F$!@k!' The b5 bit is just plain ridiculous! Even so you explainded it to me that C# becomes C. I do follow that but I think the difference in the way it sounds is miniscule when a whole lot of stuff is going on such as beats and melody and rhythm.

Anyway now I know and whenever I see a (b5) as part of the chord I will always think of you Paul and I will know it is a flattened 5th . ..

btw. When I play a chord I play them as I remember them. My brain just kicks in and the fingers seem to know where to go. Its not like my brain is asking does that one have a semitone flattened or is that one all major keys or whatever. So over the years I have learnt the relevant keys which apply to each and every chord. Not knowing the theory behind them. About 100 plus of the common ones just come to me second nature. Not smart but at least I am loving it. I don't wish to learn music theory at my age.

Many thanks indeed . . Cheers ray

 

Fair enough - as long as you're happy playing what you're playing, the rest is really detail.

I don't think a chord like F#m7(b5)/C is written on that chart with auto accompaniment in mind. This is why it probably seems like overkill to you. I don't really know how ACMP works, but I'm guessing if you voiced the chord C, E, A from bottom to top it would probably sound something like it's intended to.

I'm glad my explanation was able to shed a bit of light, in any case.

 

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