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The hipster has just demonstrated another sound that I am quite fond of. For a given tonality, (say C dorian), try alternating between three key centres a major third apart, (say C dorian, E dorian, Ab dorian).

This kind of suggests the “Giant Steps” sound, which is:

Ebmaj7 F#7 | Bmaj7 D7 | Gmaj7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 (Descending in major)

Same kind of idea, but ascending in minor…

Cm7 | B7 | Em7 | Eb7alt | Abm7 | G7alt | Cm7

The result is a sound of harmonic dislocation that I find quite pleasing in certain contexts. As ever, its important to judge the correct moment to use and idea, and to try and integrate it into whatever has taken place before and after it.

Rather that thinking in terms of shifting key centres, it is also possible to construct artificial scales out of these symmetrically displaced triads. The combination of Cm, Em and Abm triads yields this interesting scale combination that contains interesting patterns of intervals. Once again, used sparingly, this could be the source of some interesting tonal colours (pianists will have to think about the role of appropriate chord voicings and how they could be used in this context).

C Eb E Gb G Ab B

GEEK MOMENT - this scale is the same if you use C, E and Ab major OR C, E and Ab minor triads…)

The combination of three major triads a maj 3rd apart is also called the augmented scale, and has been described in “The Augmented Scale In Jazz” by Walt Weiskopf and Ramon Ricker.

This opens out a whole new spectrum of harmonic possibilities that were mapped out by Nicolas Slonimsky in “A Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns”. Whilst I am only vaguely familiar with the book itself, I occasionally try to apply some of these ideas when improvising.

I dislike the idea of piano practice as some kind of “keep fit”. The idea of making good music on the piano has nothing to do physical strength. I admit that I cannot play my scales “well” but its just not something that is top of my list of priorities. For this reason, I rarely teach piano technique as such. I am more interested in ergonomics applied to the keyboard. The time is better spent eliminating sources of tension so that the player has more chance to play without the inhibition of ideas through supposed “technical difficulty”.

I also dislike the idea of practicing as “shredding”. Quite simply, as an improvising musician, I never seem to gain anything by doing it. The brain has to learn to freely manipulate these shapes and ideas in real time, not reading them off a page. If you are having trouble “getting the fingers to work” in this cold weather - I would suggest some simple body stretching exercises about 10 minutes before the gig. You will look like an idiot , but it really does help start the blood flow to the arms and fingers and gets the relevant tendons ready for action.

I try to practice “improvising” by experimenting with new ideas and colours in the context of tunes/grooves and trying to get myself into the mindset of flowing improvisation as fast as possible. Sometimes, if there is new material, I work on learning it. Otherwise, I’ll rather be writing some code or something… One thing I do like to do is to practice playing in very slow time over a form, giving me time to try and catch the melodic ideas “in my head” rather than falling into the patterns.

When I refer to six-note-scales, these are basically major scales with the 4th degree (“avoid note”) missing. You will hear these scales a great deal in celtic folk music and a great deal of jazz music from 1970 onwards…

EXAMPLE (mp3)

Eg: C, D, E, G, A, B

GEEK MOMENT - G,A,B,C,D,E - its intervalically symmetrical around the axis of B-C…..? Interesting?

Jazz musicians often play a chromatic passing note on the b5th degree of the scale making an 8-note run (fits the rhythm of the bar better?). This is referred to as the “bebop” scale, by folks who have dark glasses and berets. However, in this day of polished new-age sheen I often want to respect the diatonic purity of the underlying harmony, so I would rather remove a note from my seven note scale scale so that I have an even number of (six) notes.

Six Note Scales (Pdf)

I like the sound of these scales very much, especially when I want to play flowing lines over a very diatonic harmony, for example on a ballad or a folk tune. Not only is the fingering very easy on the piano, but you also have the advantage that it is a lot easier to end on a “strong note” when you need to, compared to conventional seven note scales.

Perhaps “bitonality” is not the best description to use in this context, as true bitonality refers to simultaneous key centres that need not resolve to a common tonality. This, is really just a series of personal observations about using superimposed tonalities to create some more interesting harmonic tensions. Using your imagination, it can be applied to a wide variety of contexts outside the context of II-V-I based harmony, (which is shown in the example as a starting point). I think this kind of study is important in terms of showing that the idea of chord-scale relationships can be extended, (or broken down), thus adding new colours to our harmonic language.

In the following example, the conventional pattern of resolution is broken using superimposed key centres on top of the bass part, which sustains the conventional changes. These have a unique sound quality – play through the example, and experiment with the different superimpositions individually to get a feel for their sound.

(EXAMPLE) Alternate tensions Pdf

Its interesting to see the different ways in which musicians have used some variation of this concept throughout the evolution of the music. Some musicians seem to have quite systematic methods of organising their harmonic spectrum, whilst others try to think in terms of a progression of pure sounds. I often use these as alternate colours on an altered seventh chord, but this could be extended to a concept of superimposed harmonic progressions that diverge and return to a common point of focus.

As a crude example, in the A section of “There is No Greater Love“, we have the changes:

Bb | Eb7 | Ab7 D7 | G7 | C7 | C7 | Cm7 | F7 ||

However whilst the bass outlines this cycle-of-fifths-based progression, there is nothing to stop us superimposing a sequence based on a logic of descending key centers: (Of course it doesn’t fit the tune).

Bb (Gdorian) | Edorian | Ebdorian | Ddorian | Dbdorian | Dbdorian | Cdorian (Cm7) | (F7) ||

LISTEN (mp3)

This sounds quite strong because both sequences are very logical in their motion, both wind up with a Cm7 - F7 motion, (defining the parent key of Bb), but also because the superimposed sequence hints at the possible tritone substitutions of the original progression:

Bb | Em7-A7| Ab7 | Dm7 - G7 | C#m7 (C7alt) | F#7 | Cm7 | F7 ||

Try this…

Bb (Gdorian) | F#dorian | Fdorian | Edorian | Ebdorian | Ddorian | Dbdorian | Cdorian (F7) ||

Does it “work”? You be the judge.

I think this is less a case of playing “outside” the harmony, but more a case of simultaneous harmonic logics. Of course, this calls for an ensemble who are all on the same level of harmonic awareness. For a keyboard player soloing over a bassline, this creates few problems, but for a chordal player comping behind a soloist, there are added complications. Studying the way in which master players work together will suggest some ways in which this kind of musical language is made to work. It is not always necessary for both players to outlining the same changes. After all, this is a spontaneous action, and not something that would be arranged beforehand.

From a musical point of view, I try not restrict myself to either way of thinking as I like to try and make different ideas play off each other in the course of a solo. Also, I find that it is important to strike a balance between working the form (or “excepted” harmonies, and whatever form of harmonic skulduggery one may choose to throw in…) For me, these contrasts and ambiguities really help bring the music to life.

A little game a knocked together in AS2.

There are sounds, so turn your speakers on…

Some more real-life gig quotes to save for a CD cover…

[Punter, to female singer in a bar] - “Oh! I thought you were a tape!”

“Roger Carey’’s 4-piece which included Pete Burden, Nick Peck and the legendary drummer Martin Drew who produced a stunning set… I doubt if there was a better jazz ensemble playing anywhere in the country, (that includes the London Jazz Festival)” - Review of Crowhurst Park Jazz Fest.

“I like the beard… are you doing a Jethro Tull tribute band or something…?” - Neil Francis

“My pants are falling down” - anon (drummer)

This is very simple, but I think it should be included in the Java API.

For example, I think is about time we replaced the generic“module x caused a runtime exception at line XX….” with something a bit more meaningful…

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Random;
/**
* Generates random abuse when the method abuseMe is called
*
* @author (Nick Peck)
* @version (2008)
*/
public class Abuse
{

private ArrayList<String> abuse;
private Random randomGenerator;

/**
* Constructor for objects of class Abuse
*/
public Abuse()
{

abuse = new ArrayList<String>();
randomGenerator = new Random();
}

/**
* abuseMe
*/
public String abuseMe()
{
abuse.add(”You idiot!”);
abuse.add(”You ****head!”);
abuse.add(”You halfwit!”);
abuse.add(”You moron!”);
int index = randomGenerator.nextInt(3);
String response = abuse.get(index);
return response;
}
}

Here the Blagoratory, we also aim to educate and inform you; the general (non-paying) public.

First up, a cockney sing-along about MILK. You have been warned.

(Of course its a tribute to Weebl and Bob).

Music “theory” by definition attempts to deal with the structure and organisation of a very subjective art form in a highly rational manner. Although this provides useful tools for the student, it is essential flawed in that we are not very rational beings, and we instinctively association very different mental and emotional responses with musical “signs” or “symbols” (semiotics). The “conditioning” of these responses varies from person to person, and also cultural or historical factors may further complicate the issue.

To really see things in context, you have to remember that art has a tangiable and intagiable side. One cannot exist without the other, (which doesn’t really become apparent until you start to take the idea of freeform music seriously). By definition, you cannot study the irrational, but by acknowledging that art can exist just beyond the sphere of our imagination, you have effectively opened something a “Pandora’s box” - both in terms of the consequences that it will have for your life, and also on the grounds that you will no longer be able to explain, or justify improvised music purely in terms of a descision-making process.

For these reasons, I don’t think there would be any point in my writing a book on music theory. But I do like the idea of charting an evolution from theory to resources, to dealing with music in an subconscious manner. (Full circle if you will). Experience tells me that I will need many more years “playing” before I attempt such an undertaking! (The often-quoted remake “learn the changes, then forget them springs to mind”).

I am not here to list what or how I practice. There are already good books and teachers out there who will guide you in this direction. I think that it is important that you discover how to do this for yourself, (I have never had any success following other people’s practice methods). From a personal perspective, I am finding that by limiting the time I am exposed to the instrument, as well as taking part in other musical genres outside of jazz, (or even other outside of music), I am approach a gig with a clear mind, free of the distractions and musical “red-herrings” that come with rather “cut off” perspective of the improvised music scene. After a recent gig, one of the audience remarked on how much my playing had evolved over the last year. I was pleased to reply that I had done less practice over the last 12 months than at any time in the last 15 years!

Of course, I am not advocating being lazy. I have spent some very serious time over the years learning a lot musical language, and that combined with hundreds of hours of public gigs over the years gives me the confidence that I’ve always got something to fall back on/start with. I hope that in the future, I may go through more periods of such learning. But right now, I’m more interested in playing music that has the capacity to induce some form of emotional response(s), to deal more with the intangible, to try and bring into the “real world” something that is just beyond the realms of the imagination. For that to happen, I cannot spend too much time trying to rationalise!

I always try to stress the importance of treating theory as a “resource” rather than a means to an end, otherwise the danger is that improvisation becomes an attempt to “fit in all the tricks I know” rather than an attempt at “balanced music making”. Having said that, I see no harm in exploring as many ideas as possible so that the jazz improviser has a rich catalog of resources to drawn upon.

So, in this section of the Blagoratory, I will present some ideas that I hope will help in the development your own musical language. Treat them as starting blocks that may be useful to jump off. I will try to be a neutral as possible and leave it up to you, the creative musician to work out how to adopt them into you language. You may not like some of them, in which case, you can ignore them! Treat your music as a kind of “laboratory”, and concentrate on the things that appeal to you.

Oh, and for christ’s sake, try and keep at least one foot on planet earth!

Developer 1 “I want to get my html layers to stay in exactly the same place in the page layout when I resize the window or change the screen resolution. I have tried XXX but it isn’t working.”

Developer 2 “You should try this. It worked for me.”

Developer 3 “You are all wrong and I am right. If you don’t clean up your act then the XHTML inquisition will catch up with you and burn your puney ases off. Go back to school and learn the rules damn you!”

* * * * *

So to cut a long story short, a good technique is to place the layers within a centered <div>tag.

Download the following zip file which illustrates this in the form of a template you can modify to your ends. The CSS is heavily commented so I hope that saves me having to repeat it all here.

http://www.nickpeck.co.uk/controlling_HTML_layers.zip

…and here is a site I’ve been working on using this layout: