How Insensitive

popnam · Jul 20, 2006

Hi! I have this song from the real book 1, and I need some help with the chord changes in it. It's written on the book:

| Dm7 | - | C#dim7 | - |

| Cm6 | - | G7/B | - |

|Bbmaj7 | - | Ebmaj7 | - |

|Em7b5 | A7b9 | Dm7 | Db13 |

|Cm7 | - | Bdim | - |

|Bbmaj7 | Em7b5 A7| Dm7 | Db7 |

|Cm7 | F7 | Bm7 | E7b9 |

| Bbmaj7 | A7 | Dm7 | - |

Could someone explain me how C#dim leads to Cmi7, and what scales can I use to play over it? And the same on G7/B? ( For me F7 would sound better ) I also don't understand the line before the last ( Cm7 F7, Bm7, E7. ) How F7 goes towards Bm7, or E7 to Bbmaj7? I know that Cm7, F7 is a II - V progresion. It would lead to Bbmaj7, but If I play too altered tones over F7 it sounds so badly.
Please help! 🙁

jlcaton · Jul 20, 2006

I've come across similar scenarios in "Stella by Starlight. I would take notice of the moving lines such as D-C#-C in the first few measures. There are alot of ii-V-I patterns, or at least references in the progression you posteed. You might find the C harmonic minor (arab scale) useful at the part with the Cm6 to G7/B. It reminds me of "A Night in Tunisia". From Bbmaj7 to the A7b9, maybe you can think of it is Bb major and its modes. At the Dm7 to the Db 13, start with the Dm scale, then be aware of the notes that change with the Db 13. I don't have time to talk about anything else. Hopefully someone will correct what I have done if I am wrong, but I don't think I am. hope this helps

popnam · Jul 25, 2006

Thanks for the help, JLCaton! I'll try out what you suggested.

ammo · Oct 6, 2006

I love this song! I play it on guitar, piano, sax and flute, and wish I had enough body parts to play them all at once! I even sing it when nobody else is around (just shy that way).
So, you really have to get used to the melody and try to figure out what the guitar is playing.
The first 2 lines are just the same melody notes the V of Dm as its center: A Bb A Bb A while the bass is descending by semitones:
D C# C B. So Dm is the root, C#dim is really A7b9 (dominant of Dm), Cm13 is a very pretty variation of D7 (tonic 7th) resolving to G9 (or G7add9, with the 3rd in the bass, B). Jobim is the master of these inner voices on the guitar. But F7 wouldn't work there.
So to improvise over this first section , you would use the Dm harmonic scale.
The same scale is used in the second section, which is interesting in that the bass rises D - E - Eb (if you use D as the alternate bass note for the Bb chord) while the inner voices are static in the chord Bb - D - G. Here the tonal center is the G note and the chromatic descending line (with the A7b9) is also one tone lower than in the first line.
This resolves to the Dm (tonic - the melody note is a sus4) and descends by half steps to the 3rd iteration of the theme, which starts with a Cm7sus4.
But think of Cm7 F7 as a pair - the Cm is the dominant of the F so play an F7 scale for this measure. We keep descending to the pair Bm E7. I would play the Bm with a b5 for soloing but it sound so unique with the F# in it... either is cool (that would be a G7 scale over the E7b9).
You don't need altered tones in this tune at all. Just stick to the D harmonic minor.
But no matter how lovely it sounds, if you play this song too much, you will get depressed! The whole melody spans barely a fifth and it keeps descending from start to finish. Like spiraling down, down down a deep dark well. What a shame that such a great composer left us a legacy of such sad music!
...nice avatar, popman!
--
Ammo