[Harp-L] Re: Sound Sample Diminished Whole Tone Scale



David Fairweather wrote:

> I'm listening to your examples as I write this.   Your playing is
exquisite as always, but that
> scale sounds a little too "outside" for my own tastes!  It's kind of
unnerving to my ear.  I guess
> that's good if its the effect you're going for, but a little bit of that
goes a long way!

Thanks David for your reply. And yes, a little bit of that goes a long way.
It's a matter of a good
balance between tention and release, I think. And very often less is better
than more.

Your reply reminded me of a short passage in Mark Levine's book 'The Jazz
Theory'. The chapter
is about the use of dissonance.

I quote (page 38):
"The creative use of dissonance might be a good way to describe the entire
evolution of Western music.
Before the bebop era, most jazz musicians played the 4th of a major chord as
a passing note only.
Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, and other pioneers of bebop
reased the 4th in their
improvising, chord voicings, and original tunes. It's hard to believe now,
but the raised 4th
was a very controversial note during the 1940s. People actually wrote
letters to Down Beat magazine 
about it, saying things like 'the beboppers are ruining our music' and 'jazz
is dead'.".

That's why I like your words "It's kind of unnerving to MY ear.". That way
you don't generalize
and leave a lot of room for others (including the musician himself) to hear
it the way they do or
want to.

Abraços,

Wim
http://www.wimdijkgraaf.com








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