2 against 3 and moving in fourths
(This post discusses both a Pattern For Jazz and my attempt to codify it in MuseScore.)
I hope that, by now, you have spent some time with Pattern 1. It’s a very cool pattern. As a reminder, this pattern is played when you have
a simple major chord for the harmony of the entire measure
the measure in 4/4
What makes it interesting is that you have
the first half in triplets
the second half in a half note
exclusively chordal tones, which makes the entire measure consonant
simple chromatic motion
As a result, you are counting three against four: the rhythm you play is in three, but the fundamental pulse is in four. This is a really useful skill to have, you can use it to affect the perception of time. You can also use it to change how you reach target or destination notes; quick climbs and plummets accentuate the destination.
This is a lot about Pattern 1. Here’s Pattern 2. What makes 2 interesting?
Pattern 2: MuseScore Format
Pattern 2: iReal Pro Format
Pattern 2 is interesting on its own, but, especially so in sequence with Pattern 1. Jerry Coker doesn’t give these subtitles, they’re from me, and show what I think about them. Jerry Coker lets you figure it out on your own.
Base Harmony
The base harmony moves in fourths for twelve measures, so you will get twelve measures through the circle of fourths. I’ve never heard twelve
This is valuable for the reason I mentioned before, guitar players tend to think in sharps, accordingly, in fifths. Learning to think in fourths makes you think about the same things, differently, but, also, in the same ways that horns players tend to think. They tend to think in flats and fourths, because that’s how their instruments work. This will make it easier for you, as a guitar, bass or piano player, to understand how the prima donna types with horns think.
I have never heard moving through the entire circle in a piece of music, but harmonies in fourths are very common for two or three measures, or even within measures. Learning to hear the fourths is important.
Melodic Pattern
This pattern is a 4/4 measure with the first three beats in ascending and descending duplets, followed by a quarter note. Here’s some of what you can get from this.
If you are so inclined, you can count it like this: [1-and][2-and][3-and][4]. Each set of brackets should be the same length.
Three quarters of the measure are on smaller notes, one quarter is on a longer, sustained note. That means that you will learn to count moving from fast to slow, but, then, as the pattern repeats, back to fast again from slow.
You are training to count duplets, “One-and-Two-and-Three-and…” Two is a more natural subdivision of four than three, it’s not as hard to mentally split a beat into halves as it is into thirds.
But you are still doing three sets of duplets! That means you are still working difficult numerical senses against each other:
Three beats of duplets – two notes per beat, in a group of three beats, which you can call “two against three”
Common time – you are working two against three within a 4/4 measure, so you are counting two against three, within four.
Relationship to Pattern 1
This pattern is similar to Pattern 1, in that it
has one harmony for the entire beat
is entirely consonant
climbs and descends with arpeggiation
ends on a sustained note
This pattern has some distinctions that are important, namely, that
the base harmony is in fourths, not chromatic
the smaller, faster notes take up a larger portion per measure
the longer note is a smaller portion of the total measure
you are counting in two’s, not three’s.
Playing these patterns back to back will force you to develop a very good sense of time. Two against three is going to feel very similar to three against four, it’s going to be agonising to control your hands to play this correctly. Use a metronome.
MuseScore: The Struggle Continues
The score this time is in MuseScore. I struggled with this one because I couldn’t figure out how to get the tempo to change. But here are some improvements:
Four measures per line
Used the transpose method, which preserves the melodic relationships and automatically shifts the accompanying harmony, which is very cool.
The instruments are not helpful. I’d like to be able to save instruments with the following configurations and reuse them, but I haven’t figured it out, yet.
7 string guitar, Van Eps tuning (AEDGBA)
7 string guitar, “heavy metal” tuning (BEADGBA)
7 string guitar, (ADADGAD)
6 string guitar, (DADGAD)
6 string guitar, Open G, (DGDBDG)
6 string guitar, standard tuning (EADBGE)