Chromatic etude question
Hi David! I have been checking the first chromatic harmonica study song called No Sweat. I noticed that the roman number in the 9th bar says II and I believe I hear the bass and chords playing an E chord in that blues form. Is the correct chord a Em7b5 or a pure Em chord? It is common to find a II-V-I turnaround in a blues tune outside jazz or it's an uncommon variation used in this particular song? Any popular blues tune using that II chord in the turnaround? Thanks.
Thanks for your detailed response! I studied jazz guitar and I know a little bit about harmony and theory. Coming from playing jazz standards I'm used to hear and play major and minor II-V-I. To be honest, I'm switching to play blues because of harmonica. I know blues with II V in the turnaround section in jazz context but really never came across a II V progression in a rock-blues context. It is good to know that it's common on jump blues progressions! Thanks! Maybe I can translate my II-V-I vocabulary from guitar to harmonica and apply it to these tunes!
Thank you Rob, you nailed it. One practical tip... most harmonica players ignore it and play it as if it were a V-IV-I (which. sounds just fine), though exploring the ii-V-I change can be fun and cool.
Norlo28:
David will get back to you with a compehensive answer to your specific question, but in the meantime some chord nomenclature as used by him and others on this site. Major chords are designated by capital-case Roman numerals (e.g., V7 in key of C = the dominant V chord, e.g., G7), while minor chords use small-case Roman numerals. So in the "No Sweat" chromatic song, that's a minor ii chord, e.g., in key of D, an Em, with no frills (though an Em7b5 could work nicely, as would an Em7.) "Frills," e.g., flatted 7th in a dominant chord, flatted 5th, augmented 5th, etc., when used, will show up in the chord designation.
The ii-V-I or ii7-V7-I is an oft-used turnaround in blues that are in the more major-sounding jump and swing songs you might find. And often found as a repetitious chord sequence in jazz standards. Learning to improvise of that ii7-V7-I progression can be a great skill on the bandstand.
And a reason the ii (minor) works so nicely is becuase it's a cool substitute for the IV. E.g., in key of C, the triads for the ii chord are D, F & A, while for the (major) IV, F, A & C. All from the C-major scale, and both have an F and A in them.
As for the major II chord, that II7-V7-I has a nice old-time jazz or blues sound (probably because, e.g., in key of C, that major II chord is going to have an F# in it, outside of the C scale, rather than the F-natural, which really grabs your ear's attention), used more in the 1920s and 1930s and eventually falling out of fashion in blues. If you listen to tunes recorded by stars like Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Clara Smith, et al, from that era, you'll find a lot of them are trad jazz based, with that iconic IV-#IVdim-I-VI7-II7-V7-I turnaround (frequently with a walkdown from that middle I-chord to the VI7). If you listen to those great blues singers AND to jazz instrumentalists like Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bunk Johnson, etc., you'll find that during the 1920s jazz and blues were pretty much joined at the hip, musically speaking. And during that same period, jug bands like Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers were close cousins, frequently featuring harmonica. All influenced by styles that originated in New Orleans at the end of the 19th Century.
As you go through David's music theory components in the Levels of Achievement system, you'll pick up a lot of cool scale and harmony tools that can really be helpful for listenting, composing and playing, on any instrument.
While most blues players one hears these days in jams or shows stick with three-chord 12, 8 or 16-bar forms (and for good reasons), once in a while someone pulls out an old saw like "Careless Love," "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out," "Summertime," or even "St. Louis Blues," that use chords beyond the standard major or minor one, four and five.
Enjoy.