Donna Lee - Melody (explained) & Chords

[@GotYourWallet]

I think I will try playing the chords. Thank you for the breakdown.

[@LotharsGuitarSchool]

You're welcome. Check out my lesson on drop-3 voicings kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKGtnYOqgL6aaLs

[@tomgroene3472]

danke Lothar

[@LotharsGuitarSchool]

;-)

[@crow3043]

Thanks for the video. I'm a bassist but I'm starting to make a harmonic stude of the musics I'm playing, and your way to explain is prety good for me as a begginer in this area!

[@LotharsGuitarSchool]

Thanks - more harmonic analyses to come.

[@jakemcaleer1752]

Hi Lothar, thank you for your video. I am new to the jazz scene and trying to internalize these chord changes and movements while making sense of the structure of the piece as a whole. Would you mind explaining why the Ebm7 to D7 to Db7 to Dbm7 is a reharm and it’s function is to lead back to the AbM7? Thanks

[@LotharsGuitarSchool]

Dear Jake, I am glad you asked. It is my pleasure to answer your questions. Functionally bar 8 - as in many other songs of the previous swing era (e.g. "I Got Rhythm") is the I7 chord going to the subdominant IV chord Db in bar 9. Thus an Ab7 would usually be played. In this case it is reharmonized with a "substitute dominant". Any V7 chord can be substituted with a bII7 chord, since it contains the same tritone - in this case c and f# (respectively g flat) - thus it is called a "substitute dominant". And it is preceded by the IIm7 chord, which is a typical progression in jazz. So the original Ab7 is reharmonized as Ebm7 D7. This is followed by the IV chord Db, then leading to the IVm7 chord Dbm7. This is a typical progression found in many jazz standards (e.g. "I Got Rhythm", "All The Things You Are", etc.) The IVm7 chord has a strong tendency to lead back to the tonic with a chromatic motion, in this case the Dbm7 (d flat, f flat, a flat, c flat) moving to the Abmaj7 (c, e flat, g, b flat). I hope this makes things clearer. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. Best regards Lothar

[@boemanuel1273]

Instablaster

[@DrJoshGuitar]

This is a really nice step by step tutorial! Thank you for posting it! I have been meaning to learn Donna Lee for awhile. I just subscribed to your channel. Feel free to take a look at my channel, I have some jazz lessons and stuff you might like.

[@LotharsGuitarSchool]

Thanks. I subbed yours.