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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