Block chord style and appoggiaturas
I'm practicing block chord style using drop 2 voicing. I'm following the scale patterns in Mark Levine Jazz Piano Book, figure 19-8.
I'm using the tune All of Me for practical application.
In a passage like below where the non-chord tones are all un-accented passing tones it seems clear how to use block chords and use a diminished seventh chord on each non-chord tone...
...this is what I'm trying for block chord harmony.
But when the passage has accented appoggiaturas - especially on the first beat of the bar - I'm not sure if I should harmonize that with a diminished seventh chord...
...the basic description of block chord harmonization says use a diminished seventh on melodic non-chord tones, so I'm trying this...
It sounds OK to me. My only gripe is the part where major F goes to minor Fm. When you take the diminished seventh on non-chord tones literally there is no modal change on the harmony between the two chords. There is no change at all, the chords are the same. I suppose this is a judgement call where I can just say the first chord is F6 and treat the melodic D as a chord tone...
Is this how block chord harmony is supposed to work?
Would this be a good treatment of All of Me?
(2)2 Comments
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With such a prominent D in the melody, I would consider the "real" chords to be F6 and Fm6, in which case D is not an appoggiatura but a chord tone. Then applying the principles of block voicings yields something like your last example:
Having said that, those diminished chords on the downbeat sound intense in a way that may be desirable in the context of a larger interpretation. However, if I were going to choose the diminished voicings, then I would also write diminished chords in the rhythm section parts to match. In other words, I would consider this a slight reharm.
Having said that, the faster you go, the more the harmonic rhythm tends to flatten out. If your arrangement is up tempo (say, faster than about 190 bpm), then you might treat the D as an appoggiatura after all. As with so much in music, the optimal chord voicings will depend on the context.
I agree with @Max that both these D’s should be treated as chord tones over F6 and Fm6 and not appoggiaturas. The durations of these notes are too long to be appoggiaturas in my book. I also think the B over the A7 in your 3rd example should be treated as an A9 with the 9th in the melody for that matter. The Real Book could have been a little more detailed in their chord selection on this tune.
The first two chords in your fifth example work well. The Fo7 chord on beat 4 doesn’t work going to the next downbeat because they’re both Fo7, you have the same chord where there should be a harmonic change. It also won’t work going to an Fm6 because of the A-Ab major to minor changing prematurely on beat 4. Also, because this note is a quarter duration and is followed by both a leap and a harmonic change it is better to harmonize it as some type of F major chord. Here is an idea I think works nicely:
The only difference on beat 4 is staying on the A natural instead of going to an Ab. Hope this is to your liking.
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