Undying love - Checkpoint
Lesson time: (0min 47sec)
Ollie Weston reviews the chord sequence to 'Undying Love' - its AABA form in G major, the recurring II-V-I's and the bridge's move to the relative minor.
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Exploring Jazz Saxophone: Part 2 - Soloing on Songs and Chord Sequences
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Understanding Chord Sequences in "Undying Love"
So hopefully now you're confident reading through chord sequences and identifying familiar patterns.
Form Overview
- Structure: A, A, B, A
- Key: G major (Tonic key)
- Modulations: Look out for lots of II V I's.
Specific Techniques
- E7 Chord:
- I've got a 36 at the end of the first line.
- I'm using my trick of turning the VI chord into a 7.
- This gives us a nice E7 to lead into this A key center.
Bridge Modulation
- The bridge modulates to the relative minor, another familiar tactic used in writing jazz standards.
Practice Tips
- Have a play through the head and start to hear how the melody is aligned with the chords.
- Pay attention to outlining some of these common chord sequences.
About the instructor
Since graduating from the Leeds College of Music (BA Hons) and the Guildhall School of Music (Post Graduate Diploma in Performance), Ollie has built a busy and varied career in music. As a saxophonist he has performed in live and studio settings with artists as diverse as Amy Winehouse, Tim Minchin, Bonobo, Frank Turner, the London Jazz Orchestra, the Hackney Colliery Band, the Ambient Jazz Ensemble and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. He is also the co-leader of the jazz quartet 'Time Is Of The Essence', and composes and arranges material for this and other ensembles. Ollie is active in music education, currently as course leader for the jazz department at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (junior school), where he runs jazz ensembles, big band and theory classes. He has written a series of 'Exploring Jazz' books for Schott Music that are published worldwide and feature on exam syllabuses in the UK. Ollie has also run workshops for Oxford University, Pro Corda Strings and BABSWE, as well as the Guildhall School of Music summer schools. In his Exploring Jazz Saxophone courses, Ollie takes you from getting started right through to soloing confidently over songs and chord sequences, building the improvising skills that put a real jazz player's vocabulary at your fingertips. read more