>>From Reed Kotler:
> That's just a cycle of dominants leading back to Fm7.
(a very interesting and enlightening analysis sniped)
And then I said (obviously without reading previous analysis - I'm not THAT
dumb):
> But if you think of this four bars as C major, then Ab7 can be the result
of
> applying the tritone sub principle to the Dm7, yelding basically 3 bars of
> Dm7 followed by a bar of G7.
> Is this too simple? (most things in life are...)
Damn well too simple. Now, as everyone figured I didn't have a clue. But I
would like to use this opportunity to give myself some basic advice on
harmony analysis:
First, I did the huge mistake of doing the analysis in a hurry. Although
Reed might be able to do it, I obviously can't. It takes time and reflection
to figure out the various hypothesis for chord interpreting, and often,
while leaving a tune alone for a while, a new insight appears when you go
back to it. So don't rush.
Second, I didn't know the tune (or at least the name doesn't ring a bell)
and many times (not that this is the case) you need to be familiar with the
tune in order to understand the feeling the composer wants to transmit and
the appropriate options he makes. So check a recording first.
Third I did another mistake of analyzing a part of the tune isolated from
the rest. A tune (any good one for that matter) has a unity that can't be
broken; I tried to look at those 4 measures independently, disregarding the
sorroundings (actually I was only looking back, so I missed the ahead G7 ->
C7 move that could remind me of the circle of 5ths, thus understanding the
initial subD7=Ab7), and see where that got me.
Finally, check on Reed's wise words:
> (removing the ii chords for a minute)
So one basic thing to do, is to strip the harmony as much as you can,
without loosing the overall picture. First thing to come off are the
cadencial iim. Then realize that many V-I passages have inserted (perhaps
bII7) chords, that are only there to enrich, and can come off too. Then, as
I understood form Coltrane changes, and his approach, many chord
progressions can be resumed to the first and last chords (basically, where's
your starting point and where you're heading). Then you end up with what?
V's and I's really. The I's establish the key center, and the V's conduct
the movement between them.
And that does it. I just wish I gave myself these advice sooner.
But as you see, (and not trying to be zen or something) there's always
something to be gained, from even the dumbest things you send to the list.
Amen
Pedro