From Lead Sheet to Arrangement - "Star Spangled Banner"

Lesson Description

At the heart of solo jazz piano playing lies the use of spread and rootless voicings. But to truly transform a simple lead sheet into a captivating piece of music involves digging deeper into the jazz player's bag of tricks and employing an array of arranging and reharmonization techniques to develop and intensify the underlying character of the melody and harmony of the tune. Each lesson in this series features a comparison of a fully realized two-handed arrangement of a tune with it's basic lead sheet that will reveal the techniques and devices used to transform the piece from a melody and chord symbols to a finished arrangement.

Here is a jazz arrangement of our national anthem. Incorporating a wide range of reharmonization and arranging devices- substitutions, upper structures, deceptive cadences and non-functional harmony among them- you will no doubt enjoy hearing this familiar melody juxtaposed with the chromatic sounds of the reharmonized chords. 

Preview

Watch this short video for an overview of the content of this course.

Prerequisites

Upper Structure Triads
Solo Jazz Piano
Rootless Voicings with Added Tension

Study Support

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