From: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2013 #335 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk Website:http://www.jonimitchell.com Unsubscribe:mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe onlyJMDL Digest Friday, August 30 2013 Volume 2013 : Number 335 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- New Video added to Library: Mini Biography [est86mlm@ameritech.net] Re: Minor chords [shadows and light ] New Library item: Luminato Festival Photographers [TheStaff@JoniMitchell.] Re: los angeles listers tierney sutton tonight [Michael Paz ] Re: Minor chords [Corey Blake ] Minor chords [Dave Blackburn ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2013 11:17:56 -0600 (MDT) From: est86mlm@ameritech.net Subject: New Video added to Library: Mini Biography Title: Mini Biography Biography Channel 2013-8-29 Biography.com released this short biography of Joni on their bio. channel. http://jonimitchell.com/library/video.cfm?id=360 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 09:54:51 -0700 From: shadows and light Subject: Re: Minor chords yes dave, please keep talking. On Wed, Aug 28, 2013 at 8:58 AM, Dave Blackburn wrote: > Yes, indeed it is, Anita. That's the bIII chord borrowed from the parallel > minor key. Good ear. Although the technique is by no means unique to Joni, > she makes good use of it and has done so since track 1, side 1, album 1 of > her career. > > On Aug 28, 2013, at 7:09 AM, Anita wrote: > > > Dave, at the very end of 'A Case of You' , Joni chucks in a really > unexpected chord that throws up a question mark. What is that? Is it the > same thing you're talking about here? > > > > Anita > > > >>> > >>> > >>> On Aug 27, 2013, at 9:37 AM, Corey Blake wrote: > >>> > >>>> Dave, I love this stuff. I'd love to see an ongoing or recurring > series of posts that looks at the music theory behind the magic of Joni's > music. > >>>> > >>>> -Corey ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 14:46:52 -0600 (MDT) From: TheStaff@JoniMitchell.com Subject: New Library item: Luminato Festival Photographers Title: Luminato Festival Photographers Publication: Luminato Festival (blog) Date: 2013.8.0 http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=2677 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 11:58:55 -0500 From: Michael Paz Subject: Re: los angeles listers tierney sutton tonight If i were there I would be in that number Love Paz On Aug 29, 2013, at 11:53 AM, shadows and light wrote: are any of you la lurkers going to tierney sutton's show at vitello's tonight? if so please email me off list. lesli ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 15:25:40 -0700 From: Dave Blackburn Subject: Re: Minor chords Well, since that went over okay, here are some more moments employing chords from the parallel minor/major chord scales ; ideal for your next stump the dinner guests game and sure to result in their prior commitments when you invite them over again: Passion Play "like washing on a LINE" borrowing the minor V chord from Dminor Yvette in English "little bit of instant BLISS" using the bVI chord from Dbminor and moving to the VI chord of Db major., Court and Spark - moves throughout between E major and E minor tonalities. Blue -last chord unexpectedly converts the "expected" Bminor into a B7. Called a Picardie third in traditional music theory. Cotton Avenue - the whole intro is in minor and moves to parallel major when the lyric begins, And many more. These are off the top of my head. Stop me when/if this gets tiresome :-) Dave On Aug 27, 2013, at 10:35 AM, Dave Blackburn wrote: > Ha, Corey! Be careful what you wish for! > > If there are others that might like to read about this stuff I'd be glad to write about some facets of JM's music pertaining to theory and method, and make sure it doesn't get too esoteric. As Jim said there is the Lloyd Whitesell book that gets a bit too exhaustive even for the keen student. Joni's music is often an odd mix of pedestrian and highly original, and the fact that she may not know which was which makes it all the more interesting. I believe she trusted her "feelers" so much that no other guidelines were needed or heeded. > > Dave > > > On Aug 27, 2013, at 9:37 AM, Corey Blake wrote: > >> Dave, I love this stuff. I'd love to see an ongoing or recurring series of posts that looks at the music theory behind the magic of Joni's music. >> >> -Corey ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 10:52:57 -0700 From: Corey Blake Subject: Re: Minor chords I will check that book out, thanks for those that recommended it. I remember when it came out and I seem to remember some comments about being a bit too advanced and dense. But I could be misremembering. Either way, I like how you approach the topic, Dave, so I'm certainly interested in more from you too! - -Corey On Aug 27, 2013, at 10:35 AM, Dave Blackburn wrote: > Ha, Corey! Be careful what you wish for! > > If there are others that might like to read about this stuff I'd be glad to write about some facets of JM's music pertaining to theory and method, and make sure it doesn't get too esoteric. As Jim said there is the Lloyd Whitesell book that gets a bit too exhaustive even for the keen student. Joni's music is often an odd mix of pedestrian and highly original, and the fact that she may not know which was which makes it all the more interesting. I believe she trusted her "feelers" so much that no other guidelines were needed or heeded. > > Dave > > > On Aug 27, 2013, at 9:37 AM, Corey Blake wrote: > >> Dave, I love this stuff. I'd love to see an ongoing or recurring series of posts that looks at the music theory behind the magic of Joni's music. >> >> -Corey ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 07:40:50 -0700 From: Dave Blackburn Subject: Minor chords Jim, and others, comment on Joni's use of minor chords from time to time and the music teacher in me goes "ooh, ooh, ooh!" If I may... What she often employed, like Lennon and McCartney and numerous other songsmiths is the use of the Parallel Minor in the context of a major key song. For example a song in the key of E using chords native (diatonic) to E major could employ an Eminor chord (the parallel minor means the root note is the same but the tonality changes.) This creates a pronounced mood shift. The ear accepts the transition readily as the tonic note has not changed: only the tonality or mood. I Had a King is a good example, as is My Old Man ("He's a dancer in the DA-RK.") The Dawntreader does it the other way - going to the parallel major chord (D) in a song that establishes itself in a minor key (Dmin). McCartney's Michelle and Penny Lane are some more fine examples of the technique. Joni innately understood the emotional pull of certain chords and voicings, for which she is duly praised, and she employed interesting harmony with great taste as she does most things. As we know, her theory knowledge was and maybe still is pretty scant but her ear led her to use techniques like Parallel Minor/Parallel Major interchange because they are effective. She does similar things with rhythm, introducing odd meter bars in the context of even meter compositions, and uneven phrase lengths, but that topic is for another post! Dave ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2013 #335 ********************************* ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here:mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe