Music Lesson: Expanding Chord Sequences in "Undying Love"

Introduction

So, our next standard is a song called Undying Love. We will revisit our AABA format and explore ways to expand a chord sequence. This lesson offers more detail and insight into our chord sequences.

Previously, we've treated the A sections in our AABA tunes as identical. Now, I will show you how to create subtle differences, particularly in the endings of the A sections.

Listening Example

Have a listen to these two versions of the A section of Undying Love and notice how the endings of each are slightly different.

Version 1

1, 2, 1, 2, 3...

If you listen to bars 7 and 8, my melody ends like this:

• The ending on that A note in the second bar isn't a chord tone.
• To me, that acts like a question mark or a comma in my musical phrase.
• However, the chords conclude on a very solid I chord.

This creates a mismatch between the direction of the melody and the harmony.

Adjusting the Harmony

To address this, I will delay the arrival of the I chord.

Version 2

Now, have a listen to this second version:

1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4...

Hopefully, you can hear that the chords and the melody align in terms of the direction of travel.

How It's Done

• I've delayed my 2-5-1 progression: A minor to D7 to reach G major.
• This change happens two bars later.

Using a Seventh Chord

To hold up the harmony, I've used a common technique in jazz standards: I put a seventh chord on chord two.

This slightly breaks the rule of chord two being minor, but there is an A7 chord on the second degree of the scale in G major.

• This acts as a delaying tactic or a holding chord, offsetting the arrival of the perfect cadence.

Have one more listen and listen out for that A7 chord: 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4...

Cohesion in A Sections

This approach allows our A sections to function as a more cohesive whole, instead of being distinct blocks of eight bars.

• The first A now flows nicely into the second A section, which has my original ending.
• This time, you'll notice that the melody ends on the root, aligning with the chords to create a satisfying musical full stop at the end of the second A section.

From there, we can explore a new direction into the bridge.

Conclusion

Listen to the head of Undying Love and try to notice the subtle differences between the A sections.

Incidentally, when I reach the last A section of my AABA form, I'll play the second time, which is pretty common. This reinforces the idea of ending with a musical full stop.

Here's the head of Undying Love with slight differences between the A sections.