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BOTM BotM January 2017 Body & Soul

Unusual key Db, and then up a semitone for the middle eight. The lyrics will help with phrasing. The dots are only the instructions, like painting by numbers. Some stay in the lines and some add lib. Some end up being a bit Salvador Dali. The persistence of memory comes to mind.
 
<snip> they all take so much liberty with the dots that it's only vaguely related...
I'm kinda OK with this tbh, a lot of other things I do in life are similar. As a snowboard instructor I teach people the individual steps to make turns, but as they get more experienced the steps just flow into one. In IT, there's a process called normalisation used to design a database, but really nobody follows it exactly. Following PADI procedures, there's a 5 step process to do on the surface before you descend, but if you do that where there's a current, you'll end up half a mile away from where you want to be...so yeah, learning the rules, then pretty much ignoring them is something I'm quite used to.

@Tiberius you did a good job with it. I can follow the dots with you! 😛
Damn...so I'm not very good at it yet 🙂
 
@saxyjt you might want to download the version I recorded which pretty well follows the dots as provided by Chris. Once you have them down then you can play freely. Ballads offer a wide open opportunity to use your imagination, though most players state the melody fairly closely in the first A section before building their solo.

@Colin the Bear Db is unusual, particularly since the original sheet music is in C! The key of Db however lays well on the horn and allows Bb instruments to use the low Bb at will, as I am pretty sure you know 🙂
 
Just a small point, but the A section is in Eb major in tenor (Bb) key - same key signature as C minor

tbh I think of it as Eb, I know that some people call it C minor. The track I downloaded says it's in D Minor (concert), which I think translates to C minor Tenor...or as some people call it, Eb major.

I'm sure people have a valid reason for calling it one or the other, but I think that's a bit beyond my current level.

**edit
I've read quite a bit on this, and the usual description goes something like 'if it sounds "sad", then it's minor, if it sounds "happy", then it's major'...I'm not really sure that I'd classify this as sad or happy, so is there something else? Major Minor and Medium?
 
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Ok, I just started on part B...am I correct that there are actually zero notes the same? Every note that was flat is now not and every note that was not flat is now sharp? I have to say, that's just perverse. I'm sure it's deliberate for some reason, but I think I can see why my teacher was a bit wary of my trying this.
 
Hmmm! concert Dmin is same key sig as Fmaj one 'b'

The sheets are transposed from Db maj to the right key for Bb and Eb instruments.
They will not work if played over the wrong backing track key.
D minor Concert is Emin for tenor which has one '#' in the key sig.

This is why I create the mp3's and sheets so I know they work together.

The semi tone change for the 'B' section isn't odd, the thing that is odd is the Key sig change, normally the use of accidentals would cover the change, but the home Key being 5b's to 2 #'s it would look untidy and very confusing.

Chris...
 
D minor Concert is Emin for tenor which has one '#' in the key sig

Ok, this is where I'm getting confused. Just dealing with Chris' backing sheets :- The Bb one, part A has 3 flats in the sig, which according to Wikipaedia matches C Minor. Part B has 4 sharps in which Wikipaedia thinks is C# Minor. But you're saying the key is Emin. I'm confused, are you saying that the key sig of the piece has no relationship to the key sig's of part A or part B? Maybe I should just play the notes and worry about key sigs later 🙂
 
Ok, I just started on part B...am I correct that there are actually zero notes the same? Every note that was flat is now not and every note that was not flat is now sharp? I have to say, that's just perverse. I'm sure it's deliberate for some reason, but I think I can see why my teacher was a bit wary of my trying this.

I see that I'm not alone. I guess it gets easier with time as sharps and flats are all kind of exchangeable. 😀

The whole music theory was build by geniuses to test our brain functions! Mine are obviously defective or at least very slow! 😵
 
@Tiberius

No you said, D min translates to C min on tenor, I was just saying D min concert is E min on tenor which has 1 '#'.
Wiki is right 4 #'s is C# min or E maj.

When transposing from concert pitch for Bb instruments go up one tone, eg Db to Eb
When transposing from concert pitch for Eb instruments go to the relative minor of the key and call it major.eg key = Cmaj the minor is Amin. So on an Eb instrument the key will be Amaj, just saves thinking up and down in semitones. It might not be the 'right' way but it works.🙂

So the key sigs on both charts are transposed from concert pitch, in this case 'Db' to the right key sigs for Bb and Eb instruments🙂

Chris..
 
Almost all of the versions for tenor are in the key of Eb major for Bb instruments, with the bridge modulating to E major and then back to Eb major. This is also the case for Coltrane's version, which although he reharmonised the accompaniment he still ended up in Eb major, having modulated in the bridge to E major.

Eb major, key signature three flats - yes it has the same key signature as C minor, but it is definitely a major key.

E major, key signature four sharps, same key signature as C# minor but again a major key. The sheet music of the original version starts in C major, modulates to Db major for four bars, then E major/C# minor for four bars before returning to C major. Strange as it may seem, the jazz changes Chris provided and which just about everybody plays nowadays, are actually simpler than the original, with only one written key change in the bridge.

Having said all that, in the A section, think ii or V going to I (for tenor that is F-7/C7 going to Eb major) and you will be on track.

In the bridge you could think of it as four bars of E major going down to Dmajor for three bars then modulating in the last bar of the bridge to bring you back to F-7 and the key of Eb major.

Again, this is the theory, just play the head over and over to the backing track and your ear will tell you what to do.

All the best, Bill
 
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The Bb one, part A has 3 flats in the sig, which according to Wikipaedia matches C Minor. Part B has 4 sharps in which Wikipaedia thinks is C# Minor.

3 flats is Eb major (or C minor). 4 sharps is E major (or C# minor).

In this ballad, the keys are the major ones. You can ignore minor keys. The tenor version starts in Eb major, then it goes up a semitone into E major, then it returns to Eb. If you play it on tenor sax, that is all you need to think about (and you can also ignore the next paragraphs). Just play the notes.

But the actual sound that a tenor sax makes is a tone lower than what is written, so if someone wants to play along with you on a keyboard or guitar (or even oboe, flute or bassoon), their notes will be written at "concert pitch", which is written a tone lower than the Bb saxophone part. In concert pitch, the key of the piece is Db major (5 flats), then D major (2 sharps), then back to Db.

So if you are a tenor sax player playing this with a keyboard player, your notes will be written in the key of Eb (3 flats) and the keyboard player's notes will be written a tone lower in the key of Db (5 flats). So think yourself lucky. But the keyboard player gets their revenge in the B section, where you have 4 sharps and they only have 2.
 
bflateflat - thanks for posting such a great version. The track Chris posted is a bit faster, your tempo is even more of a ballad. If you want Chris's tracks then PM me and I will check that you can get them.

Thanks again, Bill
 
@Colin the Bear - Don't know about grotty looking, but great sounding on Alto on these two takes! Now we have had several tenor versions and a couple of alto from Colin, any bari or sop players out there ready for posting?

Take your chance to play on one of the all time great ballads. 🙂
 

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