Well, I happen to have BossaNova songbook of Brasilian edition
(Almir Chediak) and it shows same chord as Pedro wrote, so I asume
we have same book.
(IMHO)
1) For the first 8 bar, or (entire song), I hear the melody in B
natural minor scale. F# in 5bar is approach note just chromatic
down the G instead of whole tone down.
2) So the basical idea is that the melody itself is written on simple
B minor, and to get the song rich, background is done with many tricks
to make the feel of modurations. (What a beautiful baseline!)
3) bar three has actually melody of G and F#, if back choard Bbo
with melody F#, it's quite "Bbo with tension note F#".
But Bbo itself is kind of F#9. So I think this is simply F#9 with
cromatic baseline of A# approaching to Am.
(Try A#-G-C#-F# with your guitar)
So
(B natural minor -- as notation indicates with two #s)
Bm7 |% | F#7/A# |% | Am6 | % | E7/G# | % |
i | | V7/iiv |% | biiv | % | IV7 | % |
G6(Em7/G)|% | Cmaj7(Em7/C)|% | C#m7 | F#7(b9b13)| Bm(maj7)| (Bm7) |
iv |% | iv | | ii | V7 | i | |
D7/A |% | Abo |% | Gmaj7 | Em7(9) | Bm7 | % |
D7/A |% | C#7/G# |% | Em6/G | F#b13 | Bm7 | % |
Roman notation in minor is somehow difficult to feel, so if I make
it as relative minor of D major ( D as I) it is:
(Bm aeolian as vi, D major as I)
Bm7 | % | F#7/A# | % | Am6 | % | E7/G# | % |
iv | | III7 | % | v | % | II7 | % |
G6 | % | Cmaj7 | % | C#m7 | F#7(b9b13)| Bm(maj7)| (Bm7) |
ii | % | ii | | iiv | III7 | iv | |
D7/A |% | Abo |% | Gmaj7 | Em7(9) | Bm7 | (Bm9) |
I7 | | | | ii9 | ii | iv | |
D7/A |% | C#7/G# |% | Em6/G | F#b13 F#7 | Bm7 | (Bm6) |
I7 | | iiv | | ii | III7 | vi | |
Of course iiv-III7-vi uses harmonic minor scale for voicing.
( but why not use natural minor for melody on it? )
Here I go to my story.
Last summer, I was listning Joan Gilberto's CD in my friend's house,
after midnight. On my way home with bicycle, "Insensatez" was remained
in my head. All the way home, there was great improvised line in my
head, so I took guitar when I came home. I start to play chords
(without seeking songbook, "I felt I knew" how the harmony must sound.
Playing with chord, I sang the line, and... I found my chord
progression goes different direction from Jobim's song, well, then it
is my original, I went on writing the melody fastly, and harmonised
sametime. (really I knew how the next chord must sound. ) And I wrote
the progression like below with title "Begin of Automn":
( Attention!, it is NOT Jobim's "How Insensitive"! )
"Begin of Automn" by Muchan :)
(intro) Bm7 | C#m7b5 | F#7 | Bm7 | Bm6... |
Bm7 | Bm6 | A#o | | Am7 | Am6 | Go | F#7 |
Bm7 | Bm6 | A#o | | Am7 | Am6 | G6 | ||
CM9 | | F7 | | Bm7b5) | E7b13 | Am9 | A7 |
Dm7 | | G7 |(G13)| C#7(b5)| F#7(b13)| Bm9 | Bm ||
(ending) Bm7 | C#m7b5 | F#7 | Bm7 | Bm9 | Bm6... |
That day before going to visit the friend, I was attended to
"violin lesson" of our singer ( 14 years old girl.. future star)
and I thought this melody (not written above ;) can be played on
violin with my Tango like Bossa guitar accompanying at interrude
in the concert, dark stage and spot light on her...
End of my story. Advice on improvisation.
1) Record all the sequence of chords on tape or MIDI sequencer,
and play it back many times, you listening it without any
instrument around you. Don't think about chord progression, don't
think about scales or theory, and feel the theory inside your ears!
Now try to SING a improvised melody on it, again and again untill
you feel you're singing alternate beautiful melody on the chord.
(Solfage like sinfing in "Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol" makes you in the relative
"key center" unconsciously.)
2) I don't like 'incomplete fragmented melody' in improvisation.
(many guitarist just 'jump out' from melody and end it with 'comping
chords' which I personaly feel "melody of a fur seal singing". Au! Au!)
I like the flow of melody without waste or notes and which is complete
beautiful line itself. Of course I can't play such line like
Parker or Tristano all the time, so when I don't have inspiration,
just faking some simple counter melody I can imagin on the chords.
These alternative melodies are product of 'blind singing'. And when
the melody is mistically beautiful to me, I analyse it to know what
devise of theory I used unintentionally.
3) When you don't have good inspiration to improvise, it's a good
idea to (a) stop playing (b) improvise endlessly (2-3 hours) until
you feel really boring of playing on same scales or ideas and start
risking/adventuring/trying some challenging idea. If you're already
on stage there's no choice but keep playing, in this case it's good
idea to (c) change rhythmeical aspect of melody line and wait some
inspiration comes.
4) So, without matematically thinking which scale fit where, but
discover it from inside yourself. And later find what it is. Then
the scale or melodic/harmonic device is of your own, althiough
it may come from somewhere you have once listened.
5) "Jazz musicians" often misunderstand the rhythme of BossaNova,
and so often put accent where true Brasilian Bossa players never
accentuate(IMHO). Bossa/Samba is syncopated polyrhthme of 4/4 and
3/8, smoothly as a natural breathing, it has relaxed point and
tension point as breathing. Accent on relaxed point of its rythme
causes heart attaque on the breathing molody, so the melody dies.
Problematic drummers are often thinking rhythme with their hands,
instead of feeling in abdomen. Here again you should SING the music
listening the true musicians for that.
End of advice.
Hope it helps someone.
muchan