Re: Inversions
CHMACMULLEN@vassar.edu
Mon, 21 Oct 1996 11:47:58 -0500 (EST)
i'm usually a lurker on this list, but i gotta say, i think the study of the
effects inversions have on chord voicings and progressions is at least as
important as the study of chord substitutions and reharmonizations. in fact
an intriguing set of voicings and inc
versions over a tune is generally more
satisfying to a listener over familiar tunes than a reharmonization or a slow
introduction of outside chords. it leaves the compositions basically intact
while introducing new and sometimes strange personal elements to the
compositions. an excellent professor of mine insisted that we begin to
understand inversions as colorations rather than as devices for effective voice
leading, and it's helped not only my composing but my playing to look at them
in that way.
i haven't found very many books with useful discussions of the effects various
chord inversions can have in their context, and i don't think it would be an
unusual or out of line request to deal with chord inversions in the same way we
deal with chord substitutions.
that may not have been exactly the original request, but the original request
could lead us off into some interesting and practical directions and should not
be dismissed offhand.
-charles macmullen
(i apologize for the typos. my mail program doiesn't let me go back and edit.)