Tunes to analyze

Level 2 - Modal Interchange

The songs bundled in this document use Modal Interchange and Secondary Dominants & II-Vs.

You can analyze these songs 'mathematically', but playing the songs and scales on the piano is - of course - recommended.

It is also a good idea to find the melodies of these songs in common Real and Fake Books, and see how they interact with the harmony.

Modal Interchange is often combined with diminished chords, which are the subject of the next Section. Simply leave them blank if you are

not yet familiar with this part of the theory. We do this to keep you curious. You will be sent back to those songs...

Table of Contents

Misty

The example for Modal Interchange, probably one of the most played jazz ballads.

All the things you are

A good song to practice, because it involves many different II-Vs and key centers.

Here's that rainy day

A famous song about weather conditions. Leave the 4th chord blank if you are not yet familiar with tritone substitutions.

For Heavens Sake

A classic tearjerker, with a lot of Modal Interchange constructions.

!""#$%&'"()"*+,-.

1

!

! "" " ##!"!

2 3

!"!"

"#$

"%#

4

!""#

"$"

5

! "" "!"!

6

!"# $"#

1.

7

!"#$"#8

!"# $"#

2.

9$ !""#$

10 % %

!

! "" "11

12

!""#

13

!"!"

"#$%

14

15

! "" " 16

!"#$"17

!""#"$%"

18

!"#!$%!&'(!)'(*'+

$"#!"#

Questions

Make a scale degree analysis of this tune.

Find the appropriate scales for bars 4 and 12.

Bar 15: F7 is followed by Cm7, while you expect it to go to Bb. How can this be justified?

!"#$%"&'"#()**&+,"&+,-(./&0$1&2#"

1

!"

! "" " " ##!"#

2

!""#

3 4

!"!"

"#

5 6

!"!

7

!"

8

!!

! "" " "9

10

!"!"#

11

!"#

12

!""

13

!"!"

"!

14 15

!"#$%

16

!!"#

!

! "" " "17

18

!"#

19

!"

20

!!

21 22

!"#$$"%&

23

!!

24

!"#$

! "" " "25

!"#

26

!"

27

!""#

28

!""

29

!"!

30

!"! "

" #$%

31

! "" " " 32

!"#

33

!""#!$

34 35

!""

36

!"!

Questions

Make a scale degree analysis of this tune. See if you can discover any pattern in the modulations.

!"#$%&'$()*+)'(),)-+$./&.$,&"'0$1&0

1

! " ##!"

2

!"""#$

"

#

3 4

!"! "#$!$

5

!""#!

""

6

!"#$%7

!!"#$%8

!"# $#

1.

! "9

10

!""#

11

!""

12

!"!

13

!"!

14

!"#$%15

!!"#16 $!"#$"%&

2.

! "17

18

!"#$"!

19 20

!"#$#21

!""

22

!"#23

!!"#24

Questions

After rain comes sunshine. That's what this song is all about, in a metaphorical sense of course. Make a scale degree analysis and see how the composer

demonstrates this harmonically. You can try different keys, and draw your conclusions at the end. Harmonically the first two bars might be a little difficult;

leave it partly blank if the subject of Tritone Substitutions is new to you.

Bar 20: If already are familiar with the subject of diminished chords, try to find the appropriate scale for this Abo.

!"#"$%&$"''()%*+,-$+.($/0"-1")23/3-4"

1

! " ## 2

!"#$%&"3

!$"!!

4

!"#$"5

!"!! #"$"

6

! " 7

!""!#$

8

!"#$"

!"#$

9%!"10

!""#$

""% &'&

"!

11

! " 12

!""#$

""%

13

!"!

14

!" "#$%&

15

!"#!"$16

!""#

!"#!$%!&'()!

!"#$"

Questions

This song covers certain dramatic aspects of love. Find out how the composer enhances this harmonically by making a scale degree analysis.

Bars 1 and 3: with which non-chord tone could you maximize the dramatics?

Bars 2, 6 and 8: which scales would you prefer on F#o, Abo and Do?

Bar 9: which scale possibilities do you have on Gbm6?

Bars 13-14: The Fm color is prominent, but what is this Db9 doing there? Also see if you can find a thread, a connecting line in the voice leading.

Do you think Fm has to be explained as a tonic in Fm, or do you think it has to be approached as a III in Db major? Which note makes the difference?