Musical Harmony Studying Theory Soul Funk Jazz Improvisation Solos Tips Musilosophy

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General concepts of harmony
Musilosophy
www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration
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General concepts of harmony

Harmonics concepts, that is the rules on which music is based are just a
few ones
1. KEY CONCEPT
Every song is based on a main key being often the one. Whats a key?
Why does the ear need a key?
Key is a mix of notes, melodies, chords, accompaniments, based on a
scale of sounds.
The scales on which keys are based are usually the ;Major or the
Minor ones; but the key concept can also be extended to Blues
(speaking for example of C blues key, based on the C blues scale, C
Mixolydian)and to Modal music, which key or more correctly
Mode is based on modal scales (such as Doric mode based on
Doric scale, Phrygian mode based on Phrygian scale and so on)
In western music we use above all 12 Major scales and 12 Minor
scales (otherwise there are different kinds minor scales, for example
the natural one, the harmonic one the melodic one) which
determine as many key.
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In summary, the scales and the chord structure, which results from
them, depend on the main sounds of scale (the tonic one) and on its
harmonic sounds
9 Harmonic sounds are fainter ones which join the main
sound. In other words, every vibrating corpus (for
example a string, an instrument, human body)produces
a frequency or main sound to which more fainter
frequencies are added (the so called harmonic sounds).
The sum of all these frequencies make the sound which
we hear.
For the human ear these rules or physical mechanisms apply. A
sound having 200Hz frequency, for example, is the same sound of a
100 Hz frequency sound but higher (one octave).
In other words the human ear recognizes (same sounds for example)
and
interprets
(one
octave
higher)
the
rules
of
harmonic
sounds, from which scales, tonalities,
chords and music are formed.
9 Leibniz (an XVIII century philosopher used to say that
human ear counts frequencies and their relation
without knowing it.
When a listener loses the sense of key because of the musician s,
composers mistakes or of the singers false noteshe also loses the
musical sense and his listening is put in a critical position.
9 However, we have to note that often, for example in
some forms of jazz, the musician voluntarily destroys
the tonal sense both in a provocative way and in a more
stylistic and expressive one.
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9 We can also note the destruction of the sense of key in

some forms of contemporary classical music, for
example in the dodecaphonic, the serial and the
enigmatic one.
2. RHYTHM CONCEPT
Rhythm is the temporal organization of sounds
Rhythm is the disposition of sounds during time
This disposition or structure must be understandable, that is having a
regularity. But if it is too regular and too simple, it becomes
monotonous and unpleasant
So rhythm must be generally regular, repetitive but varied at the
same time
9 As in every situation, whats repeated too much is
boring, even if it is very pleasant
Rhythm usually has a mathematical formulation, a structure which
repeats itself called tempo being marked to musicians at the
beginning of every song with a fraction. It indicates the organization
of the rhythmic cell of the song, the so called bar.
Tempo can be in two, three and so on. Tempo in two has two main
beats, in three has three main beats. If every beat is divided in two or
four there are simple tempos and there are composed tempos if every
beat is divided in three
Accents are particularly important in the rhythm becouse they point
out a beat instead of another one
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Usually in all musical forms the beats which the human ear tends to
hear less, because of the harmonic or melodic base of the song, are
pointed out. Harmony, melody, accompaniments and almost all parts
of a musical form change or move at the beginning of every bar,
so the ear perceives it clearly ( the so called downbeat), but it tends
to hear the beat after (upbeat) not as well.
So to balance the rhythmic perception of music it is better to

emphasize the faint beats (upbeats) of every bar (playing them
louder). In this way the whole rhythm structure and not only the
downbeats (the first one for example) is heard well.
To generalize this important concept we can say that the upbeat
makes rhythm heard and not the downbeat.
Polyrhytm is a superimposition of two or more different rhythms.
For example superimposing a triple rhythm to a double one and viceversa; or a rhythm in four to a rhythm in three and vice-versa, we
obtain a polyrhythm.
Ethnic, African, Asiatic but also Latin American music are full of
polyrhythm.
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Improvisation
Improvising is composing in real-time
1. HARMONIC FEATURES
There are different ways in improvising more or less similar to the
harmony of the song on which it is made.
In pop and classical music (Mozart, Chopin, and many other ones
also improvised in the days going by) musicians improvise inside
harmony, chords and tonality.
Improvising in Blues is freer ,it is based on the scale or blues

tonality, but much more using chromatisms and ornaments.
In jazz solos there are different degrees of freedom, according to the

Jazz styles.
9 Traditional Jazz (Dixieland) Improvisation is based
above all on the notes of chords and tonalities.
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9 Swing It is based on their chords and tonalities using

major, minor, diminished, pentatonic, blues scales.
9 Be-bop It is based on a frequent use of not chordal
notes (9,11,13 ),
chromatisms, harmonics,
substitutions and particulars (whole tone, diminishedwhole tone scales)
9 Modal Jazz It is based on one or two modes (ancient
scales, not major o minor but for example Doric,
Phrygian)
9 Free-Jazz It is based on extempore interaction
between musicians, often following datum points. In this
style improvising becomes completely free.
Also in funky music there is a frequent use of notes out of chord

and tonality, but without disturbing harmony.
In Ethnic music improvising is based on pentatonic scales or typical

modes of a particular region (for example Arabian or Indian music)
In rock solos are usually inside harmony, change of chords and

tonalities, and often follow pentatonic and blues scales.
2. RHYTHMIC FEATURES
The rhythmic style in improvising suits the song rhythmic.
In Ragtime syncopations, upbeat accents and anticipations are being
used so much..
In Swing (jazz, blues, soul, rock and roll.and so on) a sort of
rhythmic sliding is created. Triplets quarters and eights are played
stressing upbeat notes.
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In Latin and ethnical music improvisations often create polyrhythms,

sincopations, figurations of dotted notes and anticipations.
In Rock and in Pop the shortest solos are rhythmically expressed,
stressing upbeat with many anticipations and syncopations.
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Improvisation techniques
Improvising is just like speaking, composing, singing, meditating
GENERAL CONCEPTS
For a good improvisation (that is harmonic and rhythmic practise) it is
necessary:
To respect the tonal sense of the song and consequently the listener
9 To always have the reference or tonal barycentre of the
song in improvising
That is :
9 Always knowing which is general tonality of the song
and its possible changes during its development
(modulations)
In getting out of the tonality, following determinate
expedients in order not to traumatize the listener
(playing notes out of tonality on upbeat or by passage
and making them solve on the closest tonal notes)
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Stressing upbeats (fainter beats) in order to give rhythmic

thickness and groove
Playing downbeats very quietly

Following chord changes in an exact way
Varying phrasing
Creating catchy melodies, as if they were pop song themes
Giving a correct geometrical and spatial balancing to phrasing: in
other words distributing phrasing on all the instrumental register in a
regular way without exaggerating on a register instead of another one
(in a general meaning)
Thinking of the inner melody symmetry (balancing)
Using all the 12 notes in a suitable way, above all in jazz and in
styles derivating from i
Not repeating already played phrases
Avoiding unnecessary virtuosities
Listening to musicians you are playing with and interacting with
them, with the audience and with yourself
Feeling your emotions and translating them in the improvisation
phrasing
Being as lucid as possible, avoiding drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, coffee
and everything which can distort your natural consciousness
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Not repressing anxiety, ear or other emotions you are feeling

during improvisation, but living them being good or bad.
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Studying music
Music is one of the vastest and most difficult arts
MAIN SUBJECTS
Ear Training
9 Ear training is training the ear with exercises aimed to the
awareness of what we are listening to, developing relative
pitch, absolute pitch, the arrangements and orchestration
analysis, analysis of the frequency balance and of
instruments between themselves..
9 Relative pitch is the ability to recognize sounds with one
or more reference notes.
9 Perfect (absolute) pitch is ability to recognize sound from
their colour.
Reading
9 It is learning to read the score in a fast way, at first sight
(sight reading)
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Theory
9
It is learning solfeggio and above all harmony

knowledge, getting ability of syntactic, formal and
stylistic analysis of every song.
9 Getting the awareness of what is played. for example it is
knowing tonality, chord, understanding how melody or
accompaniment, pedal, progressions, modulations have
built on.
Interpretation
9 Listening executions and famous musicians recordings,
studying a song mechanism well and setting every author
in his stylistic framework.
Improvisation
9
That is getting to learn theory and practise of

improvising. For example transcribing by ear solos or
songs and transposing them in all 12 keys.
Composing
9 That is getting to learn harmony, theory and different
ways of composing.
Arranging
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9 It is studying and analysing in theory but above all in a

direct way by ear, considering the structures and the
orchestration of different musical forms
Singing
9 That is studying vocal basis and using song as a help in
learning all the other instruments.
Sound engineering
9 Studying acoustic and recording rudiments, hard disk
recording knowledge and ability to arrange a live
performance.
Listening
9 That is listening to all musical styles with critical and
analytic sense.
Music history
9 That is getting to learn styles, forms and authors and
above all listening to their music
Something else
9 That is getting to know everything which can enrich
ones own musical culture, such as computing, dancing,
learning science, technology, philosophy, analysing life
style and above all caring about ones own life style.
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Music and technology

Musical development is strictly connected to the technological one.
The modern ear is anatomically the same as the ancient one. However the
way and what is listened to has deeply changed and it is still quickly
changing.
If XVIIIth century musicians such as Bach and Mozart used to write
symphonies, operas, sonatas, choral songs and minuets, being as brilliant
and creative as their forefathers, the contemporary ones write above all
songs, soundtracks, TV jingles, video game music.
Musical styles grow in an exponential way, above all by their fusion.
Funky, disco, dance, pop derive from the fusion between rock and jazz,
which was born from the fusion between African music (blues, gospel,
spiritual, work songs) and the European one.
There are only some short very general and approximate examples of this
big and complicated stylistic development which music has had and still
has nowadays.
Technology is one of the main angles which determines the birth and the
affirmation of a style.
Musicians instruments evolve and change everyday as there is something
starting.
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The same are the ways of listening to music. Until the first years of the
XXth century years (about 100 years ago) live concerts were the only way
of doing it. There were no Dvds, no internet or mp3!
Also in live concerts there was no hi-fi equipment of course. There are
banal considerations, but just a few people are aware of this: in my
opinion, just a few people have thought about what the loss of sound hi-fi
recording, reproduction and diffusion equipment has done.
Lets first examine the stylistic difference between modern and old music
only considering hi-fi technology.
A XIXth Century singer has to depend just on his vocal power, on his
pitch, which was so aimed to his sound power too. Very often a composer
had to resort to choirs, to solid orchestra groups in order to strengthen the
voice and instruments audibility.
The main composers works were usually the ones with many instruments
or singers (symphonies, concerts, opera) for these acoustics reasons too.
Today a singers breathing can be heard kilometres far away, without
considering radio,tv, internet and satellites. A singer today does not need
a XIXth Century pitch of the voice, energy and pulmonary capacity in
order to express his art. His singing, his pitch, his style and his studies
change so consequently.
In the same way many other instruments such as guitar have modified their
language and their orchestral s function. In the past people used to hear
the soft intimate sound of acoustic guitar or lute; now they are used to
hearing aggressiveness and incisiveness of modern guitars.
With electric energy and amplification equipment, the musician has got a
great sound power, unthinkable in the past. So music language, music
message and new styles are developed together with new music kinds such
as rock, pop and many other ones.
Lets now examine the differences in playback means. In the past the only
way of listening to music were concerts. So a composer listened to his
symphonies and operas just during his rehearsals and first performances.
The were only executed in few occasions and only if successful. The best
music divulgation were therefore scores.
Moreover the musician composed using his imagination (such as Mozart,
Beethoven, Verdi) or with his own instrument.
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Nowadays it is so easy to play music within a digital, hard disk recording.

A musician can compose, modify, transpose in any tonality in real time,
use any high quality sound, human voice too, with virtual instruments
(vsti). In other words, any musician has very powerful means and he can
only confine himself in using them with his fantasy and creativity.
The first XXth Century disks have given a basic stylistic turn to music. It
has become a consumers and commercial good, within everyone reach in
every moment. The record market(cd,dvd,mp3)is one of the world largest
business. Selling cds has become much more important than making good
music. This concept and the record company financial rules establish if
music is good or bad. So musician becomes a slave to the market and to
accountants. Making music is now making money. Musicians produce
what is sold and what is fine just in some cases.
Therefore we are losing in music its deepest and purest message which is
still living only in some non commercial music.
Making music is having a job or a commercial activity: many singers seem
to be accountants, other ones dolls or puppets.
It is easy to imagine the consequences. Artists make banal, obvious,
immediately understandable music which is disposable and repetitive.
Many songs are too similar to each other. Musicians do not run stylistic
risks which can cause a contract cancellation. We cannot even say in some
cds there is music but all the same they are selling thousands or millions of
copies.
Popularity, habit to certain sonorities, ignorance, grotesque and at any cost
provoking styles are guiding music development.
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MUSILOSOPHY
Music is the expression of emotions.

Creativity,fantasy and originality are the best ways of express them.
The art of improvisation is the most original and creative language of
music but melody make us remember better the emotions.
Melody and improvisation live together in harmony in the Italian artist
Musilosophy s original Inside Cd, a collection of songs rich in
colours and intense vibrations.
Improvising is just like talking, meditating, composing in real time.
Musilosophy ventures to deepen this magical and spontaneous language
with his album Inside, but without giving up to the pleasure of a nice and
catchy melody.
His favourite instrument is singing, and he is a master of piano and
keyboards.
He also particularly loves both the sound of electric piano and of the
hammond organ then he adores his true Shimmel grand piano, being a
witness of so many emotions.
Soul, funk and blues mix together with the pop melodies and with
instrumental solos of jazz inspiration.
The lyrics concerns love, psychology, music,
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God is love:
Peace in the world!

Musical Harmony Studying Theory Soul Funk Jazz Improvisation Solos Tips Musilosophy

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www.musilosophy.

General concepts of harmony

www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration

General concepts of harmony

www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration

9 We can also note the destruction of the sense of key in

So to balance the rhythmic perception of music it is better to

www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration

Improvising in Blues is freer ,it is based on the scale or blues

In jazz solos there are different degrees of freedom, according to the

www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration

9 Swing It is based on their chords and tonalities using

Also in funky music there is a frequent use of notes out of chord

In Ethnic music improvising is based on pentatonic scales or typical

In rock solos are usually inside harmony, change of chords and

In Latin and ethnical music improvisations often create polyrhythms,

www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration

www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration

Stressing upbeats (fainter beats) in order to give rhythmic

Playing downbeats very quietly

www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration

Not repressing anxiety, ear or other emotions you are feeling

www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration

It is learning solfeggio and above all harmony

That is getting to learn theory and practise of

www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration

9 It is studying and analysing in theory but above all in a

www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration

Music and technology

www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration

Nowadays it is so easy to play music within a digital, hard disk recording.

www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration

Music is the expression of emotions.

www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration

www.musilosophy.com A blend of soul,funk,blues,pop and instrumental solos of jazz inspiration

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