Quartal Harmony

[lycanthrope]

mick goodrick's "the advancing guitarist" is a really great book, written by what seems to be a knowledgable player. HOWEVER, he doesn't introduce his material with context.

ok - he suddenly introduces

QUARTAL HARMONY (fourth voicings)

Three part voicings: P4 + P4 - 5
P4 + TT - 1
TT + P4 - 1

Then he has a list of chord progressions that you have to play and then identify the cycles. Now i have two problems here.

The first is - WTF is all that P4 + P4... im assuming "perfect fourth plus a perfect fourth, minus a 5th" for the first one... but that still makes no sense to me ....

Then, i played through a couple of the chords and tried to identify the cycles with the list of cycles Goodrick spoke of on the previous page. However, it doesn't seem to align with any of the ones listed?

The chords, or triads rather, that i identified were

C F B E A D G C

.... now, how do i know what cycle that is if it doesn't look like any of the ones listed on the previous page? Im quite certain that the chords are correct - i mean most of the triads were inverted, but im pretty sure im right.

now, there's a lot of the Quartal harmony stuff that keeps coming back in the book and he keeps putting a lot of emphasise on it, but i have no idea what it is or what to do with it! Then there's 4 part, 5 part, even 6 part....theres' P4 + Tritone??!
Theres quartal harmony for the major, melodic and harmonic minor... i mean...wtf??? its making me insane because i can't progress with this great book as a result

please help - i would really really really appreciate it.

thanks
yon.

[Stone]

<SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-ansi-language: EN-US">Well, quartal harmony is more rarely used, I can say that it is mainly used in jazz. You can use it whenever you want, it is used when the particular sound of this harmony is needed. Just experiment around it with its sounding. You can even switch between tertial and quartal harmony.

[lycanthrope]

Originally Posted by Stone

<SPAN lang=EN-US style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US"><FONT size=1>Well, quartal harmony is more rarely used, I can say that it is mainly used in jazz. You can use it whenever you want, it is used when the particular sound of this harmony is needed. Just experiment around it with its sounding. You can even switch between tertial and quartal harmony.

argh! but WTF does that mean!
yon.

[Stone]

I reposted my previous post. It was interrputed.

Well, quartal harmony is more rarely used, I can say that it is mainly used in jazz. You can use it whenever you want, it is used when the particular sound of this harmony is needed. Just experiment around it with its sounding. You can even switch between tertial and quartal harmony.
Quartal harmony uses the same principles as tertial harmony, but it is based upon the interval of fourth instead of third. Of course, you can invert the chords just like in tertial harmony. Due to this, sometimes this harmony is called quintal harmony.
You can build up chords using a cycle of fourths.

C E G B D F A C is a cycle of thirds around the major scale, we started and ended on the same note, and it contains all the notes from the natural major scale. For example, you can build up the chord Cmaj7 by leaping a third from the previous note. The interval between the root and the third is a major third, the interval between the third and the fifth is a minor third, the interval between the fifth and the seventh is a major third, and so on…

C F B E A D G C is a cycle of fourths around the major scale and you can built up some chord based upon this interval. For example, C F B. From C to F you have a perfect fourth, from F to B you have a tritone (an augmented fourth). You can add the E and so on. You can invert the chords as usual - first, second and so on inversions. You can omit tones, too.
Yes, of course, you can build up quartal harmony using the same scales as with the tertial harmony, but based upon the interval of fourth. C D E F G Ab Bb is the melodic major scale and you can come up with a chord made of tones C F Bb.

I hope I helped somehow…

[ChrisJ]

Hi Yon,
Basically the diatonic chords born from the major scale are all stacked in 3rds, Ex: CEG. If you look at the intervals you will find that the simple C major triad consists of a maj3 (C-E) and a min3 (E-G).

Mike is just doing the same thing but instead of stacking 3rds he is stacking 4ths, Ex: CFB = p4 (C-F), Aug4 (F-B).

If you make a chord for every note of the major scale you'll get these chords:
1. CFB
2. DGC
3. EAD
4. FBE
5. GCF
6. ADG
7. BEA

What Mike means by P4 + P4 -5 is this: Of the seven chords above, 5 of them (thus the notated -5) are built of the intervals P4 + P4. If you check it out you will find that chord no 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 are so.

P4 + TT is your first chord (P4th + Tritone). There is only one of them thus P4 +TT -1

TT + P5 is number 4.

He continues on by adding one more note to each chord, Ex: CFBE.

Intervals: p4 (C-F), Aug4 (F-B), P4 (B-E).

Hope this clears things up a bit.

[lycanthrope]

hey man

thanks for the reply, it makes perfect sense what you're saying... i still don't really really understand how to use quartal harmony - i mean, because of you i understand its principle, but to use it effectively i guess ill discover in time.


Thanks for the detailed reply though
yon.

[phantom]

lycanthrope,
listen to the chords and you'll hear their special quality. there is not the usual push and pull you hear playing the normal tertial chords. try and i think you'll hear what i mean. ;-)

[ChrisJ]

If I have any advice to give you in regards to quartal harmony it would be this: I would suggest that you become a expert in the more traditional form of harmony first. When you understand, can build and can use all of the more "standard" chords, you can move on to the more abstract forms of harmony such as quartal or even atonal harmony. To get too involved with quartal harmony before you get the other stuff down would be like working on the melodic minor modes before understanding major scale harmony. The Advancing Guitarist is a great book but it is best used when you get bored with standard ideas, use it over your lifetime.

-CJ

[phantom]

sorry to be offtopic... but chris your '60s strat looks gorgious! beautiful!

[ChrisJ]

Thanks Phantom,
I bought it about eight years ago in LA. I think I must have paid about six grand for it back then, which at the time, seemed like way to much money. It's funny because the same quality and year strats are going for about double that now. You can't find them anymore, you know, ones that are mostly original. Mine is a 1960 model. Besides the frets, saddles and the 5-way I put in, it's all original. It's a really great sounding guitar.

If you are interested, this is a clip of a concert of me using the guitar. pretty much run direct through a Marshall 50:
http://chrisjuergensen.com.hosting.d...g_bad_live.WMV

[CaptainCarma]

Hey Chris,

phantom is right, it is a beautiful guitar and it sounds sooo damn good.

I know, I am going even more off topic but, your playing fits damn perfect into the blues-rock genre. wow. I´d like to listen ( watch ) to more of this stuff.
Btw. you never told us about your qualities as a vocalist. great stuff.

[forgottenking2]

I totally agree!! Great performance, very much like SRV. I just love your tone. I've read your articles so I know how much of a mature musician you are, but even then, your playing is very fitting, not overplayed, just right.

Wish I could see one of your performances... ever thought about coming back to the States?

Best Regards,

[ChrisJ]

Thanks guys, appreciate the nice comments.

About singing: I've always believed that more so than the guitar, blues is about singing. I mean, if you think about it, the guitar started out to accompany the singer, and more so than not, the guy singing was playing the guitar. I think that if Stevie Ray only played the guitar and didn't sing, he would not have been as successful as he was. My goal when playing fusion and jazz is to make the guitar the voice of the music but not so with the Blues, my singing and guitar playing are partners.

About going back to the states: not likely for the time being. Right now I'm running the biggest music school in Japan. The school also gives me access to a top notch recording studio with a SSL board and Pro-tools. I recorded my first solo CD there, "Prospects" and have been lucky because the CD sold very well (considering my independent status) around the world. I'll be in again to record another fusion CD and also finish up a blues CD that I'll release next year.

Most of my playing is around Asia for the time being and the only time I play in the states is at the NAMM show in LA every winter. It is likely that I will return to the states but not for a few years yet.

Here is another clip from the same show if you guys are interested:
http://chrisjuergensen.com.hosting.d...hie_solo_1.WMV

This one is 14MB so if you have a good connection check it out, it is clips from the whole show:
http://chrisjuergensen.com.hosting.d...e_in_tokyo.WMV

-CJ

[SeattleRuss]

Wow Chris! Suh-MO KIN'!!!! Great stuff man! I went to Tokyo for the first time back in September of last year with my girlfriend and, of course, I loved every minute of it. When we go next time I'll try to see if you're playing anywhere live and come hang out.

Lycanthrope - on the subject of quartal harmony - to "get" it, I think it will just take some time to listen & digest. You've got to internalize the sounds. If you go to my site, right at the begining there is a Flash movie playing a clip of mine and in the very begining as it's fading in, you can hear some of that kind of harmony right as I begin the solo. It's a sound that takes some getting used to! Good luck!

[ChrisJ]

Thanks Russ! If I'm playing next time you are in Tokyo, I'll get you up on stage for a jamfest.
-CJ

PS: By the way lycanthrope, you may want to check out what Herbie Hancock played on Footprints on the Miles Davis album "Miles Smiles" lots of quartal harmony going on.