The Relationship Between the Melodic-Harmonic Divorce in Blues-Based Rock, The

Home , Drive My Car, Funk 49, Hoochie Coochie Man, Landini cadence, Modal frame

The Relationship Between the Melodic-Harmonic Divorce in Blues-Based Rock, the

Structure of Blue Tonality, and the Blue Tonality Shift

A thesis presented to

the faculty of

the College of Fine Arts of Ohio University

In partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree

Master of Music

Zachary J. Quillen

April 2021

The Relationship Between the Melodic-Harmonic Divorce in Blues-Based Rock, the

Structure of Blue Tonality, and the Blue Tonality Shift

ZACHARY J. QUILLEN

has been approved for

the School of Music

and the College of Fine Arts by

Ciro Scotto

Professor of Music Theory

Matthew R. Shaftel

Dean, College of Fine Arts 3 Abstract

QUILLEN, ZACHARY J., M.M., April 2021, Music Theory

The Relationship Between the Melodic-Harmonic Divorce, the Structure of Blue

Tonality, and the Blue Tonality Shift

Director of Thesis: Ciro Scotto

This thesis proposes an alternative explanation for the melodic-harmonic divorce cited in the blues-based examples from David Temperley’s “The Melodic-Harmonic

‘Divorce’ in Rock” and Drew Nobile’s “Counterpoint in Rock Music: Unpacking the

‘Melodic-Harmonic Divorce.’” To support this argument, I will synthesize, adapt, and expand the work of Gerhard Kubik, Peter Van Der Merwe, Jeff Todd Titon, and Nicholas

Stoia in order to define the basic tenets of blue tonality. I will then contrast those principles with those of Western common practice tonality (Bach to Brahms) in order to develop a system that demonstrates when a blue tonality shift becomes the more appropriate model for a musical passage rather than melodic-harmonic divorce. I will conclude by presenting analyses of the following blues-based songs using the blue tonality shift system:

1. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones

2. “Rockin’ Me Baby” by The Steve Miller Band

3. “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive

4. “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge

5. “Rollin’ & Tumblin” by Muddy Waters

6. “Baby, You Can Drive My Car” by The Beatles 4 Dedication

To the energy that connects us all, thank you for being the God of second chances.

To my mother, Sue, thank you for teaching me to eat with a spoon.

5 Acknowledgments

Dr. Reilly and Dr. Wetzel: Thank you for your patience.

Dr. Scotto: Thank you for your time and counsel.

6 Table of Contents

Page

Abstract ...... 3 Dedication ...... 4 Acknowledgments...... 5 List of Figures ...... 8 Introduction ...... 12 Chapter 1: A Review and Critique of Melodic-Harmonic Divorce ...... 16 1.01 Winkler Observes a Shift in Harmonic Loyalty ...... 16 1.02 Allen Moore Introduces the Term, Divorce ...... 18 1.03 Temperley Introduces “Melodic-Harmonic Divorce” and its Conditions ...... 19 1.04 Nobile Clarifies the Term, Melodic-Harmonic Divorce ...... 22 1.05 Nobile’s Three Types of Melodic-Harmonic Divorce ...... 22 1.06 A Quick Summary of the Concept ...... 30 1.07 The Problem with their Blues-Based Examples/Theoretical Discrepancies ...... 31 1.08 Historical Contextualization of Blues-Based Rock Bands ...... 33 1.09 Some Real Cases and Some Debatable Cases of Melodic-Harmonic Divorce .. 36 1.10 Conclusion ...... 40 Chapter 2: The Structure of Blue Tonality and the 025 Middle-Tonic Ladder-of-Thirds Modal Frame ...... 42 2.01 Introduction ...... 42 2.02 Blue Notes according to Van Der Merwe ...... 42 2.03 Blue Notes vs Blue Harmony ...... 48 2.04 Blue Tonality ...... 49 2.05 Concepts of Blue Tonality Defined ...... 50 2.06 How Blue Tonality Differs from Common Practice Tonality ...... 59 2.07 My Synthetic Approach ...... 102 2.08 Structural Features that Indicate a Blue Tonality Shift ...... 108 Chapter 3: An Analysis of Temperley and Nobile’s Blues-Based Rock Examples Through the Lens of Blue Tonality ...... 110 3.01 Introduction ...... 110 3.02 Analysis of “Jumpin Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones ...... 110 3.03 Analysis of “Rockin’ Me Baby” by The Steve Miller Band ...... 114 7 3.04 Analysis of “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive ...... 118 3.05 Analysis of “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge ...... 121 3.06 Analysis of “Rollin’ & Tumblin’” by Muddy Waters ...... 123 3.07 Analysis of “Baby, You Can Drive My Car” by The Beatles ...... 125 3.08 Conclusion ...... 128 Bibliography ...... 130

8 List of Figures

Page

Figure 1, Diagram illustrating harmonic stratification...... 17 Figure 2, “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin, mm. 13-16 (Winkler’s reduction)...... 17 Figure 3, “Roseland Shuffle” by Count Basie (Winkler’s reduction)...... 17 Figure 4, “Somebody Walkin’ in my House” by Howlin Wolf (Moore’s transcription). 18 Figure 5, “Goin’ Down Slow” by Howlin’ Wolf (Moore’s transcription)...... 18 Figure 6, Common types of non-chord tones...... 19 Figure 7, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones, verse (Temperley’s transcription)...... 20 Figure 8, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones, chorus (Temperley’s transcription)...... 21 Figure 9, “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple, verse (Temperley’s transcription). .... 21 Figure 10, “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple, chorus (Temperley’s transcription). 21 Figure 11, Common practice approach to melodic and harmonic embellishments (Nobile’s figure)...... 23 Figure 12, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones, verse (Nobile’s transcription). 24 Figure 13, “Rock’n’Me” by The Steve Miller Band, verse (Nobile’s transcription and reduction)...... 25 Figure 14, “Rock’n’Me” by The Steve Miller Band, chorus 1 & 2 (Nobile’s transcription)...... 25 Figure 15, “Jane Says” by Jane’s Addiction, verse (Nobile’s transcription)...... 27 Figure 16, “Jane Says” by Jane’s Addiction, bridge (Nobile’s transcription)...... 27 Figure 17, “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen, chorus with popular reharmonizations (Nobile’s transcription)...... 28 Figure 18, “Nowhere Man” by The Beatles, verse (Nobile’s transcription/reduction). ... 29 Figure 19, “You Learn” by Alanis Morissette, chorus (Nobile’s transcription/reduction)...... 30 Figure 20, “Sunday Morning” by Maroon 5, chorus (Nobile’s transcription/reduction). 30 Figure 21, “Rock and Roll Music” by Chuck Berry, verse (Stephenson’s transcription). 33 Figure 22, “Funk #49” by The James Gang, chorus (Hal Leonard transcription) ...... 36 Figure 23, “Still Fighting It” by Ben Folds, verse (Nobile’s transcription)...... 36 Figure 24, “Still Fighting it” by Ben Folds, verse (Nobile’s reduction)...... 37 Figure 25, “The Scientist” by Coldplay, verse (Nobile’s transcription/reduction)...... 38 9 Figure 26, “The Scientist” by Coldplay, verse (Nobile’s reduction)...... 38 Figure 27, “A Hard Day’s Night” by The Beatles, verse (Temperley’s transcription). ... 40 Figure 28, Van Der Merwe’s model for the blues scale...... 43 Figure 29, Van Der Merwe taxonomy of blue notes...... 44 Figure 30, “Tom Rushen Blues” by Charley Patton, blue third (Van Der Merwe transcription)...... 44 Figure 31, “Freight Train Blues” by Clara Smith, blue seventh (Van Der Merwe’s Transcription)...... 45 Figure 32, “Poor Man’s Blues” by Bessie Smith, blue fifth (Van Der Merwe transcription)...... 46 Figure 33, “Got the Blues, Can’t be Satisfied” by Mississippi John Hurt, blue sixth by semitone slur (Van Der Merwe’s transcription)...... 46 Figure 34, “Frankie and Albert,” blue sixth by semitone slur (Van Der Merwe using Scarborough’s transcription)...... 47 Figure 35, “M. and O. Blues” by Willie Brown, blue sixth by vocal glide (Van Der Merwe’s transcription)...... 47 Figure 36, Turnaround riff with level transposition shows blue sixth by semitone slur (Quillen transcription)...... 48 Figure 37, “Get along Home, Cindy” folk song (Van Der Merwe transcription)...... 54 Figure 38, “Alabama Blues” by Three Stripped Gears (Stoia’s transcription)...... 56 Figure 39, Shifting Tonality levels in “Donald MacGillavry” (Van Der Merwe’s transcription)...... 58 Figure 40, Shifting tonality levels in “Arab Tune” (Van Der Merwe’s transcription). .... 58 Figure 41, The boogie-woogie bass as an example of levels (Van Der Merwe’s transcription)...... 62 Figure 42, “Sunshine of Your Love” by Cream, verse riff (MySongBook.com transcription)...... 62 Figure 43, “Heartbreaker” by Led Zeppelin, guitar intro (Hal Leonard transcription). ... 63 Figure 44, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones, chorus (Temperley’s transcription)...... 64 Figure 45, “Centerfold” by J. Geils Band, guitar riff (Nobile’s transcription)...... 65 Figure 46, Jeff Todd Titon’s downhome blues scale...... 69 Figure 47, 12-bar blues in the style of Freddie Green...... 71 Figure 48, Jeff Todd Titon’s early downhome blues mode...... 72 Figure 49, “Prison Bound Blues” by Leroy Carr & Francis ‘Scrapper’ Blackwell (Titon’s transcription)...... 73 10 Figure 50, “Mama ‘T’ain’t Long fo’ Day” by Blind Willie McTell (Titon’s transcription)...... 73 Figure 51, “One Time Blues” by Blind Blake (Titon’s transcription)...... 73 Figure 52, “Dupree Blues” by Willie Walker and Sam Brooks (Titon’s transcription). .. 74 Figure 53, Ben Curry shows balance in the 12-bar blues...... 79 Figure 54, Headlam shows symmetry in the 12-bar form of “Cross Road Blues” by Robert Johnson...... 80 Figure 55, Quillen shows symmetry in the 12-bar blues form...... 81 Figure 56, “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive, intro riff (Hal Leonard’s transcription)...... 84 Figure 57, “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, intro lick...... 85 Figure 58, “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, verse (Quillen transcription)...... 85 Figure 59, “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac, verse (Hal Leonard transcription)...... 86 Figure 60, “Back in Black” by ACDC, intro riff...... 87 Figure 61, “Hoochie Coochie Man” by Muddy Waters, riff...... 88 Figure 62, “Bad to the Bone” by George Thoroughgood...... 88 Figure 63, “T.N.T.” by ACDC, intro riff...... 89 Figure 64, The standard blues scale...... 91 Figure 65, Titon’s downhome blues scale...... 92 Figure 66, “Prison Bound Blues” by Leroy Carr & Francis ‘Scrapper’ Blackwell (Titon’s transcription)...... 92 Figure 67, “Got the Blues, Can’t Be Satisfied” by Mississippi John Hurt (Titon’s transcription)...... 93 Figure 68, “Long Lonesome Blues” by Blind Lemon Jefferson (Titon’s transcription). . 93 Figure 69, “My Black Mama” by Son House (Titon’s transcription)...... 93 Figure 70, “Writin’ Paper Blues” by Blind Willie McTell (Titon’s transcription)...... 93 Figure 71, “Alberta” by Leadbelly (Van Der Merwe’s transcription)...... 94 Figure 72, Blues & major pentatonic composite scale...... 95 Figure 73, B.B. King’s dorian-influenced blues scale...... 97 Figure 74, Kubik’s approach is rooted in partials 4-9...... 98 Figure 75, Kubik’s levels-based composite blues scale...... 99 Figure 76, The tuning of Kutin double-bells (Kubik’s illustration)...... 99 Figure 77, Stoia illustrates voice-leading with hanging/dropping thirds (Stoia’s example)...... 103 11 Figure 78, 025MTL3 approach applied to one level (C)...... 105 Figure 79, 025MTL3 approach on three levels (C, F, and G)...... 106 Figure 80, “John Henry” by Reese Crenshaw (Stoia’s transcription)...... 107 Figure 81, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones, verse & chorus (Quillen transcription)...... 113 Figure 82, “Rock’n’Me” by The Steve Miller Band, verse (Nobile’s transcription and reduction)...... 117 Figure 83, “Rock’n’Me” by The Steve Miller Band, chorus 1 & 2 (Nobile’s transcription)...... 118 Figure 84, “Rockin’ Me Baby” by The Steve Miller Band, blues transition lick...... 118 Figure 85, “Taking Care of Business” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive, verse (Temperley’s transcription)...... 121 Figure 86, “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive, intro guitar lick (MySongbook.com transcription)...... 121 Figure 87, “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive, bridge guitar riff (My Songbook transcription)...... 121 Figure 88, “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge, verse (Temperley’s transcription)...... 123 Figure 89, “Rollin’ & Tumblin’” by Muddy Waters, verse (Temperley’s transcription)...... 125 Figure 90, “Baby You can Drive My Car” by The Beatles, verse & chorus (Temperley’s transcription)...... 128

12 Introduction

The term “melodic-harmonic divorce” has gained traction with rock theorists over the last twenty-five years. It is used as a way to describe pitches which do not adhere to the foreground harmony and also do not resolve traditionally. The term itself poses two problems. First is the assumption that a “divorced” pitch is not related in any way to the underlying harmony, which is generally untrue. Second is the assumption that melody and harmony were inseparable or “married” to begin with. Both assumptions are troublesome, but the real issue is not the name of the concept, but rather its broad stylistic application. While indeed applicable to some types of popular music, the concept of melodic-harmonic divorce is problematic because it assumes a lineage from common practice tonality, which is not present in the blues and blues-based rock examples cited in recent journal articles on the subject. It is generally accepted that rock music evolved from the blues, yet blues music is rarely transcribed or analyzed on its own, so little is known about its actual syntax aside from the fact that it shares some melodic-harmonic structures with the common practice. Since understanding rock requires understanding its predecessor, I have narrowed my analytical focus to early traditional vocal blues and blues-based rock in order to structure my own theoretical model for blue tonality. My research is necessary to the field because rock music scholars are currently leaning heavily on adapted modal and classical theories without taking into account the pervasive influence of blue tonality. My intent is to spur discussion and inspire further research in the music theory community, so that we may begin to address blues and rock music each on its own terms. 13 This thesis proposes an alternative explanation for the melodic-harmonic divorce cited in the blues-based examples from Temperley’s “The Melodic-Harmonic ‘Divorce’ in Rock”1 and Nobile’s “Counterpoint in Rock Music: Unpacking the ‘Melodic-

Harmonic Divorce.’”2 To support this argument, I will synthesize, adapt, and expand the work of Gerhard Kubik,3 Peter Van Der Merwe,4 Jeff Todd Titon,5 and Nicholas Stoia6 in order define the basic tenets of blue tonality. I will then contrast those principles with those of Western common practice tonality (Bach to Brahms) in order to develop a system that demonstrates when a blue tonality shift becomes the more appropriate model for a musical passage rather than melodic-harmonic divorce. I will conclude by presenting analyses of the following blues-based songs using the blue tonality shift system.

1. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones

2. “Rockin’ Me Baby” by The Steve Miller Band

3. “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive

4. “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge

5. “Rollin’ & Tumblin” by Muddy Waters

6. “Baby, You Can Drive My Car” by The Beatles

1 Temperly (2007) 2 Nobile (2015) 3 Kubik (1999) 4 Van Der Merwe (1989) 5 Titon (1977) 6 Stoia (2010) and Stoia (2013) 14 In order to achieve this end, I have dedicated the first chapter to reviewing the concept of melodic-harmonic divorce. I begin with a brief chronological history of the topic starting with Winkler7 and Moore,8 before diving deeper into the types of divorce as described by Temperley and Nobile. After summarizing the idea as a whole, I address some of the flaws inherent in the analytical approach as it pertains to blues-based rock songs. Once this problem has been highlighted, I will shift focus to blue tonality.

Chapter 2 begins by discussing the blue note, as defined by Van Der Merwe.

Then, I explain how a blue note may indicate the presence of blue tonality, following

Weisethaunet9 and Tallmadge.10 Scholars in the field have yet to come to a consensus on the syntax of blue tonality, so I will introduce some unique characteristics of blue tonality as described by Van Der Merwe, Titon, Kubik, and Stoia. After an overview of these new concepts, I will contrast blue tonality with the common practice by showing how, in light of these new features, the two cannot be analyzed through the same lens. The most important way they differ is in the underlying scalar model, which is not a traditional scale. I argue that blue tonality is not structured on the standard hexatonic blues scale, but rather a modal frame of my own creation, following the work of Stoia. I posit that the presence of this modal frame and its harmonic implications allow us to view common practice anomalies such as melodic-harmonic divorce to be more accurately analyzed as a blue tonality shift. Chapter 2 closes by laying out the three conditions under which such a shift has occurred.

7 Winkler (1978) 8 Moore (1995) 9 Weisethaunet (2001) 10 Tallmadge (1984) 15 In chapter 3, I will analyze the examples listed above. In each case, I will highlight how the presence of my blues modal frame and its harmonic underpinnings is a convincing argument for a blue tonality shift.

16 Chapter 1: A Review and Critique of Melodic-Harmonic Divorce

1.01 Winkler Observes a Shift in Harmonic Loyalty

Melodic-harmonic divorce is a concept first discussed—although not explicitly named—by Peter K. Winkler.11 He pointed out the relative independence between the melodies and harmonies in the music of jazz artists such as Scott Joplin and Count Basie.

On this shift in harmonic loyalty, Winkler points to “The Entertainer” example in Figure

2 where the left hand plays a chromatic descending bassline and right hand repeats an ostinato figure around the tonic triad. Winkler notes that blues melodies often hang around 1 and 5 regardless of the harmonies. In “Roseland Shuffle” (Figure 3), Winkler demonstrates that the melody and harmony both take into account the deeper harmonic structure, but the typical hierarchy of melody→accompaniment→background harmony is no longer present. The melody ornaments the background harmony F major, outlining

Fadd6. The harmony is ornamenting the background harmony with upper and lower neighbor tones around the tonic, F. This motion happens alongside the stock figure called the “Sweet Adeline” slide, which is essentially a maximally smooth I – vi – II7 –

V7 – I progression characterized by the chromatic linear motion from 3 – 5 – f5 – 4 – 3. It is often accompanied by 5 – f7 – 6 – f6 – 5, and it can be used as a tag or vamp.

On the behavior of the melody and harmony, Winkler summarizes the idea more succinctly by saying, “What they [the melody and harmony] adhere to at all times is not the foreground of the harmonic structure, but its background.”12 While Winkler’s

11 Winkler (1978) 12 Winkler (1978, p. 18) 17 perspective is focused on jazz and he did not ever actually name the idea, the melodic- harmonic stratification he describes most accurately sums up what occurs during a melodic-harmonic divorce, and it is illustrated in Figure 1. The symbol,  or →, represents harmonic servitude/reference/loyalty.

Common Practice Tonality: melody→ accompaniment →background harmony

Melodic-Harmonic Divorce: melody→ background harmony accompaniment Figure 1, Diagram illustrating harmonic stratification.

Figure 2, “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin, mm. 13-16 (Winkler’s reduction).

Figure 3, “Roseland Shuffle” by Count Basie (Winkler’s reduction). 18 1.02 Allen Moore Introduces the Term, Divorce

The term ‘divorce’ was first used by Allen Moore in 1995 when he tried to explain the f7 /fVII in rock music from a modal perspective.13 In that article14, he briefly mentions the term, divorce, in reference to two Howlin’ Wolf transcriptions in Figures 4 and 5,15 which show blues vocal lines composed of conventional pentatonic/blues figures over conventional blues accompaniment. Moore noted a lack of a leading tone and some

“out” pitches, which are notes not found in the harmony, and therefore described the two tunes as being stratified, following Winkler.16

Figure 4, “Somebody Walkin’ in my House” by Howlin Wolf (Moore’s transcription).

Figure 5, “Goin’ Down Slow” by Howlin’ Wolf (Moore’s transcription).

13 All in all, Moore’s theories on rock are that it is generally modal (relating to one or more of the church modes), so his theory on this blues and blues-based rock is also based in that perspective, but I think his modal approach does not take into account the notion of levels or the ladder-of-thirds—two tenets of Blue Tonality that I will explain more in depth in Chapter 2. 14 See “The So-Called ‘Flattened Seventh’ in Rock” by Moore, 1995 15 Figures 4 and 5 both show standard blues melodic patterns. Neither has leading tones. They are jumping off points to start answering his previously posed question: “…how are cadence and modulation articulated without the use of the leading note?” (Moore, 1995, p. 188) 16 Moore (1995, p. 189) 19 1.03 Temperley Introduces “Melodic-Harmonic Divorce” and its Conditions

While Moore was the first scholar to use the term “divorce” to describe melodic pitches that did not reflect the underlying harmonic structure, he never used the term harmonic-melodic divorce to describe the phenomenon. Temperley coined the term

“melodic-harmonic divorce” in his 2007 article,17 and gave examples found in rock music. He says in his abstract, “A good indicator of melodic-harmonic divorce is cases where non-chord tones in the melody do not resolve by step.”18 In other words, melodic- harmonic divorce is present when there is a non-chord tone in the melody that cannot be accounted for as a traditional melodic embellishment, passing or neighbor notes and their variations.19

Figure 6, Common types of non-chord tones.

Temperley adds that his research has led him to believe that melodic-harmonic divorce happens more often in pentatonic verse melodies.20 His paper addresses the harmonic stratification in tunes across the rock genre, including some examples from blues and blues-based rock songs, and offers his ‘loose-verse/tight-chorus’ model, which

17 Temperley (2007) 18 Temperley (2007, p. 323) 19 See Figure 6. I would argue that anticipation should also be included in what he considers to be “common” type of non-chord tone. 20 Temperley (2007, p. 323) 20 means that the reigns of harmony tend to be looser during verses and tighter during choruses. He cites The Rolling Stones’ classic hit, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” 21 and “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple22 as good examples of the loose-verse/tight-chorus model.

In the example by The Rolling Stones (Figure 7), Temperley finds melodic-harmonic divorce in m. 2 when the Df in the melody occurs over Af5 in the accompaniment without proper resolution. I am unsure why his analysis did not place the Df as part of an

Afsus4 chord, or why it does not account for the tonic pedal in the bass, but he points out that this sort of divorce does not occur in the chorus (see Figure 8), where the only non- chord tones are the short anticipations in the vocal harmonies.

Figure 7, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones, verse (Temperley’s transcription).

21 See Figures 6 and 7. 22 See Figures 8 and 9. 336 David Temperley 21

FigureExample 819., “Jumpin’Rolling Stones, Jack‘Jumpin’ Flash”Jack by Flash’,The Rollingchorus. Stones, chorus (Temperley’s transcription). Table. Some well-known songs reﬂecting the ‘loose-verse / tight-chorus’ model. Song Artist ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ Beatles ‘Drive MyTemperleyCar’ provides another example forBeatles his loose-verse/tight-chorus model with ‘Taxman’ Beatles ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ Rolling Stones the‘Somebody Deep Purpleto Love’ example found in Figure 9. In theJefferson third Airplane measure, Temperley marks the D ‘Born to be Wild’ Steppenwolf in‘Smoke the melodyon the Water’ over F in the accompaniment as anotherDeep Purple instance of divorce. In the chorus ‘Come Together’ Beatles ‘Tumbling Dice’ Rolling Stones (Figure‘Woodstock’ 10), he finds no divorce present. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young ‘We’re an American Band’ Grand Funk Railroad ‘Long Time’ Boston 324 ‘Riding theDavid Storm TemperleyOut’ REO Speedwagon ‘Jungle Love’ Steve Miller Band ‘Back in Black’ AC/ DC ‘Walking on the Moon’ Police ‘F.I.N.E.’ Aerosmith ‘Mr. Brownstone’ Guns N’ Roses ‘Come as you Are’ Nirvana ‘No Excuses’ Alice in Chains ‘Einstein on the Beach’ Counting Crows ‘D’You Know What IMean’ Oasis ‘You Oughta Know’ Alanis Morissette

ExampleFigure 1.9,Deep “Smoke Purple, on‘Smoke the onWater”the Water’, by ﬁrstDeephalf Purpleof ﬁrst verse., verse(This (Temperley and all other transcriptions’s transcription). in the paperThe are factmy thatown, the except verses whereto indicatedthese otherwise. songs reflect Measure a stratified numbers only organisation refer to the passage (with shown.)pentatonic melody), while the choruses reflect a unified organisation, is no coincidence; for this is a very common situationTheinmelodic-harmonicrock songs. The‘divorce’ Table listsin rock a number335of songs in which this same situation occurs. In all of these cases, we find a pentatonic (or predominantly pentatonic) verse melody over a chordal accompaniment, often with some clashes (e.g. non-chord-tones not resolved by step) between the melody and the accompaniment harmonies. In the chorus, the melody and the accompaniment reflect a more tightly coordinated harmonic organisation, with all non-chord-tones properly resolved. This, then, is a particularly favoured strategy for the construction of rock songs; I will call it the ‘loose-verse/ tight-chorus’ (LVTC) model. If I am right that the LVTC model is a common pattern in rock, this raises a further question: what purpose does this strategy serve? I would argue that it conveys

ExampleFigure 102.17.The, Deep“Smoke Who, Purple,‘Baba on‘Smoke the O’Reilly’, Water”on the ﬁrst byWater’,half Deepofchorus.ﬁrst Purpleverse., chorus (Temperley’s transcription). a ‘divorce’ between harmony and melody would mean in the context of the Western musical tradition. I will then examine the ways that this divorce occurs in rock. To anticipate my argument, I will try to show that melodic-harmonic divorce in rock is not a wholesale abandonment of the usual coordination of melody and harmony, but is, rather, a highly constrained departure from that coordination which tends to occur in quite specific ways and conditions.

Melodic-harmonicExample 18. Oasis, ‘D’You divorce:Know What four I Mean’, exampleschorus. Examples 1–4 show four melodies from rock songs. These four songs exemplify certain general points I wish to make about melodic-harmonic divorce in rock. In presentingThe ‘loose-verse/tight-chorus’ these points, it will be helpfulmodelto use another style as a point of reference, namely ‘common-practice’ music – Western art music of the eighteenth and nine- The reader may have noted that almost all of the passages from rock songs discussed teenth centuries. This is not to imply that common-practice music somehow occupies aso‘central’far haveorbeen‘normative’verses. Examplesplace in the17–19 musicalshows universe; the choruses but it for is a three styleofofthemusic songsin whichdiscussed pitch above: organisation‘Smoke hason thebeenWater’,thoroughly ‘D’You studiedKnowandWhatis quite I Mean’, welland understood,‘Jumpin’ soJackit providesFlash’ (the a versesuseful are point shownof comparison.in Examples 1, 4 and 11, respectively). It can be seen that theseThe first choruses point to featurenoteabout quite athe different passages kindin Examplesof pitch organisation1–4 is that they from have their a clearverses. harmonicIn particular, structure. the coordinationBy this I mean between that they melody are dividedand harmony into shortis now segments much whichcloser. areWhereas governed the verseby harmonies. melodies contain The harmonies clear violations are indicatedof ‘stepwise above resolution’, the staff inas ‘lead-sheet’well as sequencesfashion, indicatingof several the consecutiveroot and quality non-chord-tones,of each chord. these Following indications conven-of tion,melodic-harmonic a root-name alone divorce indicates are conspicuously a major triad; a absent root-namein the plus choruses.‘m’ indicates Every a note minoris either a chord-tone of the current chord, or is resolved by step; sequences of several non-chord-tones in a row are likewise avoided. The one exception is the ‘yeah yeah’ phrase in Example 18. As opposed to the ‘stratified’ organisation of the verses discussed earlier, these choruses reflect what we could call a ‘unified’ pitch organisation: both the accompaniment and melody are closely regulated by the harmonic structure. The scalar organisation of these chorus melodies also offers an interesting contrast with their verses. As discussed earlier, the verse melodies of these three songs are all pentatonic. While the chorus melody in Example 18 is pentatonic, the melodies of Examples 17 and 19 clearly are not. Indeed, one might well argue that these sections are not really organised around any scale. The harmonic progressions in Examples 17 and 19 – which, as noted above, govern both melody and accompaniment – do not fit within any diatonic or pentatonic set. In Lerdahl’s terms, arguably, we have just a ‘chordal level’ here with no underlying scalar level at all.12 This in itself is an interesting and common phenomenon in rock; to explore it further, however, would take us too far afield. 22 1.04 Nobile Clarifies the Term, Melodic-Harmonic Divorce

In his voice-leading focused article, “Counterpoint in Rock Music: Unpacking the

‘Melodic-Harmonic Divorce,’” Nobile asks the question: In lieu of traditional counterpoint, what process governs the melodic-harmonic structure of rock music? To answer that question, Nobile proposes three types of divorce, each with its own voice- leading interpretation, which account for the phenomenon.23 He agrees with Temperley’s idea of melodic-harmonic divorce (with some clarifications regarding the term) and that the divorce is most often found in pentatonic-based verse melodies.24 While he does acquiesce to using the budding term, melodic-harmonic divorce, Nobile clarifies it to mean a “stratification of the melodic and accompanimental layers,”25 following Winkler, and not necessarily the “divorce” from the common practice described by Temperley.

The distinction is important here because Nobile acknowledges the stratification pointed out by Winkler but does not go any further. He also questions the assumption that rock came from common-practice tonality, a criticism I share and will explore in Chapter 2.

1.05 Nobile’s Three Types of Melodic-Harmonic Divorce

Nobile defines three types of melodic-harmonic divorce: hierarchy, loop, and syntax. Below is a brief overview of each type coupled with relevant examples.

Hierarchy Divorce

Hierarchy Divorce “…is the most common and occurs when the melody exists at a deeper level of structure than the harmony. In other words, the foreground chords

23 Nobile (2015, p. 189) 24 Nobile (2015, p. 189) 25 Melodic-Harmonic Stratification may actually be a better term for the concept, but arguing that point seems beyond the scope of this paper. 23 participate in embellishments while the melody continues to outline a prolonged harmony.”26

To start, Nobile reviews common practice syntax for melodic and harmonic embellishments, shown in Figure 11. Essentially, the melody and harmony can embellish together. The melody can embellish on its own, while the harmony does not. The harmony, however, does NOT embellish if the melody does not. 27 Nobile says Figure 11

(c) is considered wrong because the pitch C does not resolve after being dissonant with the G7 chord, citing this as a common process which causes hierarchy divorce.28

Figure 11, Common practice approach to melodic and harmonic embellishments (Nobile’s figure).

Nobile cites The Rolling Stones hit, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” as his first example of hierarchy divorce (see Figure 12). The verse harmony embellishes the underlying harmony by alternating between B5 and A5 over a B pedal, and “the melody does not

26 Nobile (2015, p. 189) 27 Nobile (2015, p. 190) 28 Nobile (2015, p. 190) 24 participate in this neighboring motion, remaining on f3 throughout, thus producing an instance of the melodic-harmonic divorce.”29

Nobile’s notation of the vocal inflections on f3 indicates (and I agree) that the pitches start at f3 and go up to B3 (or at least bend up to an indefinite pitch between f3 and n3). Pitch bending—especially in the voice and especially around f3 and f7—is a tenet of blue tonality, which means the common practice tonality underpinnings of melodic-harmonic divorce likely no longer apply. I believe that to be the case, and so it is the basis of my argument, which I will discuss in depth in Chapter 2.

Figure 12, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones, verse (Nobile’s transcription).

Figure 13 is Nobile’s transcription of “Rock’n’Me” by The Steve Miller Band.

Note the same common practice tonality embellishment infraction as in the last example.

29 (Nobile 2015, p. 190) 25 The accompaniment embellishes the underlying harmonies, but the structural notes of the vocal melody are not embellished. In Figure 13, Nobile notes the same issue in the chorus harmonies.

Figure 13, “Rock’n’Me” by The Steve Miller Band, verse (Nobile’s transcription and reduction).

Figure 14, “Rock’n’Me” by The Steve Miller Band, chorus 1 & 2 (Nobile’s transcription). 26

Loop Divorce

Loop Divorce “arises when the harmony contains a ‘chord loop,’ a progression of two to four chords that leads back to its own beginning. The lack of goal-oriented harmonic motion in these songs places the onus on the melody to create formal structure and delineate phrases independently of the underlying chords.”30

Here, Nobile points to the hit “Jane Says” by Jane’s Addiction (Figure 15) as a prime example of loop divorce. The entire verse is just a largely pentatonic vocal line in

D over a repeated two chord progression, G and A.31 Since the chords never change, they become somewhat irrelevant because they are not the source of any forward harmonic motion.32 On the accompaniment, Nobile says that the chord loop functions more as a phrase bookmark than a progression.33 Discounting the chord loop, Nobile looks to melodic phrasing for insight and concludes that the final C# in the vocal line is the only logically delineating cadential marker. He posits that the C# shows an end to the verse and an implied resolution to D that never sounds.34 In Figure 16, Nobile points out the same type of divorce in the bridge, where the vocal melody begins to outline the dominant triad while the accompaniment sounds the same two chords—G and A.35 I do not speculate that this tune is a blues, but I do think it is heavily folk influenced. Van Der

30 Nobile (2015, p. 189) 31 I prefer the term Pendular Harmonies for this, following Van Der Merwe. 32 See my discussion on pendular harmonies in Chapter 2. 33 Nobile (2015, p. 195). The same could be said of the 12-bar blues form. 34 I agree that loop divorce exists here, but this particular example is more indicative of Irish folk music (with its pendular harmonies and pentatonic melodies) than common practice tonality. However, that is a topic for Chapter 2. 35 Please note, in Figure 16, that there is a very clear bend from f3 to n3 in m.2. Also, I hear the three C sharps in m.7 as C half-sharp (B3). 27 Merwe makes a good argument showing how blue elements were intertwined with folk music from the British Isles. Bending does not necessarily mean blues, but it might mean it has blue qualities, and therefore is likely not related to common practice tonality.

Country music, for instance, utilizes bending and sliding throughout the style.

Figure 15, “Jane Says” by Jane’s Addiction, verse (Nobile’s transcription).

Figure 16, “Jane Says” by Jane’s Addiction, bridge (Nobile’s transcription).

To further illustrate his point, Nobile points out a new instance of loop divorce in the music of Carly Rae Jepsen (See Figure 17). He points out that the melody does not even need the same chords underneath it to “work.” Nobile says, “The fact that artists remixing or covering ‘Call Me Maybe’ do not find it necessary to retain the original chord progression suggests that the melody alone contains the core aspects of the song. 28 The harmony is thus not only divorced from the melody but also hierarchically subordinate.”36

Figure 17, “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen, chorus with popular reharmonizations (Nobile’s transcription).

Syntax Divorce

Syntax Divorce “…arises when both melody and harmony participate in a cadence or other structural motion but in incompatible ways—for example, when the IV-I cadence supports 2-1 in the upper voice.”37

To illustrate the third type of divorce, Nobile points to “Nowhere Man” by The

Beatles (See Figure 18). His voice leading reduction38 shows that both the harmony and the melody exhibit “structural motion,”39 but not in the same way. The divorce happens because the melody moves from 2 to 1 while the accompaniment moves from iv to I. His next example, “You Learn” by Alanis Morissette (Figure 19), exhibits the same behavior,

36 Nobile (2015, p. 197) 37 Nobile (2015, p. 189) 38 I see this as a 5-line, not an 8-line, but arguing that is beyond the scope of this paper. 39 Nobile (2015, p. 197) 29 except from a major IV-I instead of iv-I. He also points to “Sunday Morning” by Maroon

5 (Figure 20), but in this example the 3-1 in the melody occurs over V-I in the accompaniment. Again, both the melody and the accompaniment exhibit structural motion, but not in traditionally compatible ways.

If both the melody and accompaniment were embellishing the same underlying framework without respect to each other, it makes sense that each would present different syntactic structures. However, the only reason these examples are problematic is because

Temperley and Nobile assume a common practice lineage.

Figure 18, “Nowhere Man” by The Beatles, verse (Nobile’s transcription/reduction).

Figure 19, “You Learn” by Alanis Morissette, chorus (Nobile’s transcription/reduction).

Figure 20, “Sunday Morning” by Maroon 5, chorus (Nobile’s transcription/reduction).

1.06 A Quick Summary of the Concept

The common practice tonality approach to melody and harmony requires the melody to adhere to the accompaniment harmonies (unless it resolved by step via one of the prescribed non-chord tone treatments). The accompaniment harmonies, then, would 31 adhere to the background harmonic structure.40 This is why, in the common practice, the melody and harmony are thought to be “married.”

In blues, jazz, and some European parlor music of the early 20th century, however, theorists began to notice a change from “married” harmonic behavior toward a less restrictive pairing. The hierarchy that used to be present had changed. There emerged a relative independence between the melody and the accompaniment41—a “melodic- harmonic divorce.” 42 Such melodic independence yielded pitches which could not be explained by traditional non-chord tone rules, so the melody and harmony were thought to be “divorced” rather than married, as they would be in traditional harmony. It was common for jazz and blues melodies not to resolve the leading tone or ignore it altogether. It was also common for the sixth scale degree to be treated as a stable melodic pitch over a tonic triad.43 The harmonies, too, exercised relative independence and were no longer traditional, but rather elaborated and extrapolated versions of the traditional blueprints, especially in blues and folk music.44

1.07 The Problem with their Blues-Based Examples/Theoretical Discrepancies

I cannot speak to the typical practices of parlor musicians, but in blues and straight-ahead jazz music, the practice from my experience is generally for everyone to

40 In Schenkerian analysis, the background structure is typically one long prolongation of I-V-I. 41 Van Der Merwe (1989) 42 Nobile’s paper explains why this is a problematic term. It probably is not what the final term will be yet, but it is a functional working title. This paper, in part, aims to show why the term at least needs refining, but also perhaps renaming. I do not attempt to undertake this here, but the Blue Tonality Shift does outline a possible exception. It looks like harmonic divorce, and it would be, if it were not blue. 43 Van Der Merwe and others have discussed the relative equivalence of 1 and 6 and described the idea as a co-tonic. This is a ladder-of-thirds influence. Essentially, it is built from the middle-tonic ladder-of-thirds. See Chapter 2 for more on this. 44 See Stoia (2013). 32 operate from the same musical blueprint and improvise on a popular stock song form together. This results in each player thinking about the melody and changes, but aurally realizing that framework simultaneously with the other players, each in their own way.

The very nature of the live compositional style of blues music sets the perfect conditions to find melodic-harmonic divorce due to its improvisatory nature, and its prevalence in the genre has been noted by every author who has mentioned the idea,45 so it appears that melodic-harmonic stratification is a prominent feature of the style.

In Figure 21, Temperley takes an opposing stance to Stephenson by considering the Dn consonant despite the underlying harmony and says this not a good example of melodic-harmonic divorce. Temperley favors the explanation that the D naturals can all be explained by stepwise motion. While I understand Temperley’s approach, I agree with

Stephenson because the tune is clearly a blues, or at least strongly influenced by the blues, which has historically strayed from the common practice with its melodic- harmonic stratification. I understand how it might “work” according to traditional non- chord tone rules, but the rock’n’roll music of Chuck Berry still draws direct and tangible lineage from the blues and its rules—not those of common practice tonality. For instance, his most famous songs “Johnny B. Good” and “No Particular Place To Go” are both 12- bar blues tunes.

45 Everett (2004), Moore (1995), Stephenson (2002) 330 David Temperley 33

FigureExample 219. ,Chuck “Rock Berry, and‘Rock Rolland Music” Roll Music’, by Chuck ﬁrst verse. BerryTranscription, verse ( fromStephenson’s Stephenson (2002). transcription).

not entirely agree that unresolved non-chord-tones (for example, the B in m. 1 of Example 4) should be heard as unstable dissonances, either. Rather, I would argue, the listener senses in1.0such8 Historical situations Contextualizationthat the adherence ofofthe Bluesmelody-Basedto the Rockharmony Bandshas temporarily been suspended (and it may partly be the unresolved non-chord-tones that indicateIt was this). not Oncejust artists this is established,like rock’n’rollwe grant icon, a Chuck certain freedomBerry, whoto the weremelody directly within that context, so that non-chord-tones may be left hanging without a strong sense of tension or incompleteness. 7 influencedMy focus by theon blues.stepwise Some resolution of the mostof non-chord-tones famous and prominentas the test rockof melodic- bands have all harmonic independence may seem pedantic. To my mind, however, this is crucial to playeddistinguish blues,the publiclytreatment talkedof non-chord-tones about the blues,in rockand play fromedthat in ofthecommon-practice scene. I will focus this music and other styles. Here I depart somewhat from other treatments of melodic- briefharmonic aside independence, on three bandsin particular—The RollingStephenson’s Stones,(2002). Led Zeppelin,In discussing andthe Creamindepen-—all of whom dence of melody from harmony, Stephenson gives the example of Chuck Berry’s are‘Rock heavilyand Roll influencedMusic’ (see by Exampleclassic blues9), noting artiststhat like‘the Robertlowered Johnson, seventh scaleSon House, degree Willie [D in an E major context] is treated as stable whether the chord is I, IV, or V . . . It is the highest note of the chorus, is repeated often, begins most of the vocal phrases Dixon,(thus requiring Muddy noWaters,preparation), Albert andKing,occurs and onB.B.strong King. beats: Thoseit cannnot are justbe thean mostembel- popular lishment’ (Stephenson 2002, p. 75). I would argue here, however, that this particular namesnote is notcited a good as influences example of byindependence rock musicians between over melody the lastand 50harmony. years in ThemagazinesD’s in such as ‘Rock and Roll Music’ are always resolved stepwise, and could mostly be explained in Guitarquite conventional World and Guitar terms. ForPlayer example,. If thethe RollingD on the Stones,downbeat Led Zepof m.pelin6 (over, andan CreamA are all major harmony) could be considered an appoggiatura. The fact that the D’s are melodic peaks and (in some cases) metrically strong is not decisive; embellishing bluestones- arebased, frequently and so accented much ofby thecontour rest ofand rockmetrical and roll placement was influencedin common-practice by them, then the music as well (for example, every downbeat of the melody in Example 7 is a non- waychord-tone). we analyze The D’srockover musicthe B with harmony a direct(and connectionarguably the toE the harmony blues needsas well) to could change. The structural models need to more accurately reflect the structures of blues music. 34 Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones reportedly got their name from the song “Rolling Stone” from a Muddy Waters record they owned and were outspoken about their love of blues.46

There is video footage of the band when they sat in for a set with Muddy Waters at the

Checkerboard Lounge in 1981.47 They released songs like “Little Red Rooster” (a standard blues) and “Pain in My Heart” (Sam Cooke style rhythm & blues) early on in their career, so the Rolling Stones were at the very least influenced by blues structures and I aim to show this in Chapter 3 with my analysis of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin is another classic example of a band who loved blues, played blues, and understood it well. “Since I’ve Been Loving You” and “I Can’t Quit You Baby” are just two examples of the band performing in the blues style. They covered Willie Dixon,

Sonny Boy Williamson, and Howlin Wolf. “Lemon Song” is their take on “Killin’

Floor.” Honestly, all the Led Zeppelin recordings just sound like a really good blues band who turned up their amps, turned classic blues licks into “riffs,”48 added some more driving rhythms, and broke away stylistically in spots. That sound obviously resonated with people. Temperley and Nobile did not cite any Led Zeppelin as examples of melodic-harmonic divorce, but their music should not be analyzed solely through the lens of common practice tonality either.

46 Jagger (2003) 47 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngAoB5Ja2yc

48 See Headlam via Covach (1998) 35 Cream

Cream, fronted in part by Eric Clapton, also adopted blues structures in the same fashion as Led Zeppelin. Clapton has always been outspoken about his love of blues artists such as Albert King. “Born Under a Bad Sign” (Booker T wrote it, but Albert King had a fantastic version of it), and “Strange Brew,” and “Crossroads Blues” are in the top

10 cream hits, and they are all blues tunes. Headlam’s chapter in Understanding Rock walks us through Cream’s hit rendition of Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads Blues,” and he shows how the accompaniment leans heavily on the repeated guitar riff which is based on a stock blues lick. Headlam is right because I think the majority of classic rock “riffs” are modified blues licks, but to prove such a point would be beyond the scope of this paper.

“Funk 49” by The James Gang, for instance, is a great example of adapting blues licks to be rock riffs (Figure 22).

36 Figure 22, “Funk #49” by The James Gang, chorus (Hal Leonard transcription)

1.09 Some Real Cases and Some Debatable Cases of Melodic-Harmonic Divorce

I do believe there are real (or at least debatable) cases of melodic-harmonic divorce in some of Temperley and Nobile’s examples. Nobile points to “Still Fighting It” by Ben Folds (Figure 23) as one example of hierarchy divorce. When I look at the score and listen to the song, I do not hear blue notes or swing rhythms. I hear classical music with melodic-harmonic stratification. The Ben Folds example is a solid case of melodic- harmonic divorce, because the melodic-harmonic stratification is present, but there are no blue tonality features. It lies firmly within the realm of common practice tonality.

Figure 23, “Still Fighting It” by Ben Folds, verse (Nobile’s transcription).

Note the TSDT harmony and 5-line structure in Nobile’s reduction in Figure 24. It looks much closer to an acceptable Schenkerian reduction than the reductions of his blues 37 examples, so I agree that the lens of common practice tonality—and therefore, the presence of melodic-harmonic divorce—applies here because melody ends on n3 over V7 and offers no matching traditional cadential gesture like 2-1 or n7-1. The melody and accompaniment both exhibit formal gestures, but not in corresponding ways.

Figure 24, “Still Fighting it” by Ben Folds, verse (Nobile’s reduction).

True melodic-harmonic divorce can also be found in the Coldplay tune, “The

Scientist,” shown in Figure 25 in m. 2 when the An in the melody is sounded over Bf harmony in the accompaniment without resolution by step. The tune exhibits TSDT melodic-harmonic structure and does not have blue tonality features. Nobile cites this as an example of Temperley’s loose-verse/tight-chorus model.

Figure 25, “The Scientist” by Coldplay, verse (Nobile’s transcription/reduction).

Figure 26, “The Scientist” by Coldplay, verse (Nobile’s reduction).

39 One of the more debatable cases of melodic-harmonic divorce in Temperley and

Nobile’s examples is the Beatles hit, “A Hard Day’s Night.”49 Many theorists view

Beatles music through the lens of common practice tonality with modal mixture and chromaticism, and I feel Moore, Temperley, and Nobile are in that camp. Temperley cites the D over C harmony in m.1 and the D over F harmony in m. 3 as clear instances of melodic-harmonic divorce, attributing it to being either mixolydian, or an elaboration of

G7, a somewhat stereotypical pattern for rock.50 He then shows that the tagline chorus at m. 9 is strictly regulated by the harmony, citing his loose-verse/tight-chorus model.

This particular piece, however, could also be viewed through the lens of blue tonality. Temperley’s argument for melodic-harmonic divorce is convincing, but it strikes me as more bluegrass influenced, and therefore probably shares at least some tenets of blue tonality. The most notable features which make me question Temperley’s analysis are the prominent f7 in the melody, the juxtaposition of f3 and n3 at the end of the verse, the unresolved leading tone in m. 10, and the initial disregard of the C harmony until the turnaround.

49 Figure 27. 50 Temperley (2007 p. 338) 338 David Temperley

Example 20. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, ‘Woodstock’, second line of chorus. 40

FigureExample 2721., “AThe Hard Beatles, Day’s‘A Hard Night”Day’s Night’,by The ﬁrst Beatlesverse. , verse (Temperley’s transcription).

Stephenson (2002, pp. 75–6) notes, the first part of the A section offers two nice examples of melodic-harmonic independence – the D over the C harmony in the secondT halfhe ofentirem. 1 basisand the of Ddetermining over F major ifin a m.note3 (seeis divorced also Middleton or not relies1972, p.on170). the Incommon scalar terms, one could analyse mm. 1–8 of this melody as ‘Mixolydian’, or simply as practicean elaboration rules forof melodicthe dominant-seventh-harmonic embellishmentG–B–D–F,. Thata typical line of pattern thinking for works early when rock’n’roll.13 From m. 9 onwards, however, the melody seems to be closely regulated abypplyingthe harmony. a theoretical I would and argue historical that this lineage represents froman commonearly, and practicequite subtle, tonality instance to Coldplay.51 of the LTVC model. Even within this short twelve-measure verse-refrain section Applying(harmonically a theoretical based on anda blues historical pattern), lineagewe findfrom a common contrast practice between tonality the first to two Howlin’ four-measure phrases – in which the harmony and melody are relatively independent Wolf– and, thehowever, third phrase, does notin whichbecause a morethe twounified styles pitch do not organisation share the issamefound. underlying Perhaps this expresses the contrast between the individual going it alone in the cruel world of daily work (‘It’s been a hard day’s night, and I’ve been working like a dog’) and the structures.romantic togetherness of the night-time (‘But when I get home to you, I know the things that you do will make me feel all right’). The B section of the song – ‘When I’m home, everything seems to be right’ – also1.10 reflectsConclusion close melodic-harmonic coordination. More generally, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ illustrates how the stratified / unified contrastMelodic can be used-harmonicto convey divorce a shift probably between should unity and be rebrandedindividuality as melodic even within-harmonic a single short section of a song; this possibility is exploited in interesting ways in other stratification,songs as well, butas I the hope realto issueshow isin itsfuture broad work. application, not the term. The concept needs A final, witty, example of the LVTC idea is shown in Example 22 – the Beatles’ ‘Drive my Car’. The verse would seem to be a clear-cut example of melodic-harmonic strdivorceicter parameters– though anto excludeextraordinary blues and one. blues While-based the harmonies rock from ofit, thebecause verse those move two between D major and G major and then to A7 in m. 7, the melody obstinately reiterates styles do not come from common practice tonality, as I will demonstrate in my discussion of blue tonality in Chapter 2. If the divorce is indeed such a prominent feature of the

51 It seems like a good read on the piece, although there might be some folk influence from the British Isles that is unaccounted for, but that could likely be explained modally. 41 blues style and it has influenced so much rock music, I suggest that perhaps what we are really seeing in those blues and blues-based rock examples is not a divorce from common practice tonality, but rather a shift in style altogether.

The classical style best represents the tenets of common practice tonality. It has its own set of common formal schema, harmonic patterns, stock melodic figures/cells, non- chord tone rules, and a particular type of modality. Certainly, the blues style must logically have its own syntax and schema as well, although those rules are not as clearly defined in popular academic literature yet.

42 Chapter 2: The Structure of Blue Tonality and the 025 Middle-Tonic Ladder-of-

Thirds Modal Frame

2.01 Introduction

In Chapter 2, I will outline some concepts necessary for understanding blue tonality, and then I will discuss how blue tonality differs from common practice tonality by focusing on two points of discussion—the non-traditional, non-functional blues harmonies and the blues mode, which is not the blues scale found in most textbooks.52

Building on the research of Van Der Merwe and Stoia, I will then posit my own theory on the structure of the blues mode, which I call the 025 Middle-Tonic Ladder-of-Thirds

Modal Frame. I conclude the chapter by establishing three conditions for a blue tonality shift.

2.02 Blue Notes according to Van Der Merwe

The discussion of blue tonality must necessarily begin with a review of the blue note, which is used most commonly by singers in order to accentuate certain words or particularly important lines of text. Blue notes are responsible for much of the emotive quality of blues music. To begin this discussion, I look to the proposed blues “scale” of

Van Der Merwe, found in Figure 27. His musicological process for creating the model of the scale is really about the existence/identity/pitch inventory of all potential blue notes.

On blue notes, Van Der Merwe has this to say:

52 There are many features of the blues style which might indicate a blue tonality shift has taken place, such as timbre, lyrical content, and syncopation, but for this thesis, I will focus my study on just the elements which obscure the sense of traditional tonality. To me, this means I am looking for anything that obscures the binary matrix of major or minor (flexible 3 and 7) and/or uses non-traditional harmonies.

43 Like the blues in general, the blue notes can mean many things. One quality that they all have in common, however, is that they are flatter than one would expect, classically speaking. But this flatness may take several forms. On the one hand, it may be a microtonal affair of a quarter-tone or so. Here one may speak of neutral intervals, neither major nor minor. On the other hand, the flattening may be by a full semitone—as it must be, of course, on keyboard instruments. It may involve a glide, either upward or downward. Again, this may be a microtonal, almost imperceptible affair, or it may be a slur between notes a semitone apart, so that there is actually not one blue note, but two. A blue note may even be marked by a microtonal shake of a kind common in Oriental music. The degrees of the mode treated in this way are, in order of frequency, the third, seventh, fifth, and sixth.53

C D Ef E F F# G Af A Bf B

1 2 f3 n3 4 #4 5 f6 6 f7 n7 Figure 28, Van Der Merwe’s model for the blues scale.

Though he does not provide a theoretical framework for his model,54 he has collected many relevant transcriptions showing the existence of blue thirds, fifths, sixths and sevenths in the genre—many of which I reference in this thesis. In Figure 29, Van

Der Merwe explains the variety of ways in which “blue notes” are expressed.

Sometimes, it means a note is slightly flattened. Sometimes, it means an explicit minor interval in a major context. Sometimes, it means the exact location of the pitch is not fixed because of a vocal glide. Sometimes, it means that the “blue note” approaches the

“in” note from a semitone below. This is often called a semitone slur or semitone slide.

Not only does the blue note come in a myriad of forms, but it can happen on multiple

53 Van Der Merwe (1989, p. 119) 54 Pinpointing and proving the blues mode or “scale” was not a focus of his research. 44 scale degrees. Van Der Merwe’s order of scale degrees prevalence is 3, 7, 5, and 6.55

Next, I will briefly discuss Van Der Merwe’s examples for each scale degree.

Figure 29, Van Der Merwe taxonomy of blue notes.

Blue Third

The most commonly modified scale degree in the blues is 3. In Figure 30, Charlie

Patton’s blue note shake (semitone slur) on the third, a common vocal ornament, is illustrated by D# grace notes. This is considered a blue note because it presents the f3 directly before every n3.

Figure 30, “Tom Rushen Blues” by Charley Patton, blue third (Van Der Merwe transcription).

55 Van Der Merwe (1989, p. 119) 45 Blue Seventh

In Figure 31, Van Der Merwe shows an example of the second most common blue note, the blue seventh.56 It happens when the f7 from the pickup measure (I7) sounds again in bar 1, while the harmony changes to the V7. At that point, the overall sonority is dominant 7#9.57 This is a blue note because it is minor interval in a major context. It is not just a slide from minor to major because f7 and n7 sound simultaneously.

Figure 31, “Freight Train Blues” by Clara Smith, blue seventh (Van Der Merwe’s Transcription).

Blue Fifth

In Figure 32, we see the third most common blue note, the blue fifth. Bessie

Smith manages to make a blue fifth in 3 ways: vocal ornament, semitone slur, and slight flattening. Her blue note shake on the fifth is between F# and G on the word “Oh.” The

F# on the second syllable of the word “listen” is used as an ornamental lower neighbor to two slightly flattened G naturals on either side (semitone slur and slight flattening).58

56 Notice Van Der Merwe uses the cross-harp key signature of F for his example in C. 57 I will discuss the 7#9 sonority more later in the chapter. 58 This will not make sense now because we have not discussed it yet, but the same pitch re-written as Gf then switches roles to become a dropping third passing tone (G to Ef) via the bottom-tonic ladder-of-thirds before finally arriving at the tonic, C. The point is, that in either use case, the #4/f5 is treated as a neighboring or passing tone. 46

Figure 32, “Poor Man’s Blues” by Bessie Smith, blue fifth (Van Der Merwe transcription).

Blue Sixth

The inclusion of the blue sixth by Van Der Merwe is particularly relevant for me since its importance to the blues is often overlooked. Van Der Merwe places it last in the order of occurrence and I agree. Almost no one accounts for it, but it does exist. In Figure

33, Van Der Merwe illustrates the most common use of the blue sixth via Mississippi

John Hurt. The Af to An on the word “Got” is a semitone slur from f6 to n6 which then leads to 1’, which makes it a blues version of an ascending Landini sixth.

Figure 33, “Got the Blues, Can’t be Satisfied” by Mississippi John Hurt, blue sixth by semitone slur (Van Der Merwe’s transcription).

Here, in Figure 34, the G# to A at the end of the first bar is another semitone slur from #5 to n6. Again, it leads to 1, but this time it is down the octave. I consider this a descending form of the Landini sixth cadence. The same event happens again in the third bar, and then again in the penultimate measure.

Figure 34, “Frankie and Albert,” blue sixth by semitone slur (Van Der Merwe using Scarborough’s transcription).

The blue sixth is frequently implemented with vocal glides leading up to n6 through f6 and B6. Figure 35 shows one example of the common vocal ornament emphasizing the words “lay down ‘cross.” This is almost another descending blues

Landini cadence, but it has been filled in with the fifth and third.

Figure 35, “M. and O. Blues” by Willie Brown, blue sixth by vocal glide (Van Der Merwe’s transcription).

Figure 36 is my own transcription of a popular realization of the turnaround in a typical 12-bar blues (bars 9-12) on guitar. It shows a typical riff transposition from V to

IV. The riff is essentially the f3 ornamenting the n3 before and after the neighboring 48 plagal chord.59 Blues players tend to either avoid the V (per Kubik’s suggestion) or navigate the turnaround by explicitly outlining both the V and the IV chords before arriving back at I (this is more common in mid 20th century blues). Notice the maximally smooth voice leading60 after the arrival of I. The Df in the penultimate chord hints at a tritone substitution, which is indicative of a later hybridized style (more jazz).

Figure 36, Turnaround riff with level transposition shows blue sixth by semitone slur (Quillen transcription).

2.03 Blue Notes vs Blue Harmony

With four different scale degrees being subjected to blue modifications, it almost seems as if the identity of the blues scale is questionable. In his 2001 journal article,

Weisethaunet questions if there even is such a thing as a “blue note.”

My conclusion is: there is no such thing as the blue note, the ‘item’ of musicology. There is no such thing as the ‘blue note’ as a strange or ‘out of tune’ third or seventh (apart from in the theories and ideologies of a few musicologists).61

59 This is also a popular comping riff. 60 Cohn (1996) 61 Weisethaunet (2001, p. 112) 49 I interpret his comment as meaning the concept of the “blue note” is suspect, because it essentially states that blues music is structured from common practice scales and the blue notes are just “out” pitches, explained away.62 This would make sense were it not for the prevalence of such blue pitches. His investigation, like mine, led him to a few half-answers and more questions. To summarize his experience, Weisethaunet says the following:

…most musicological analyses of these styles are still based on an over-simplified idea of harmony: the applied Western major/minor theory concept with the addition of ‘blue elements.’ My argument is that the harmonic foundation of blues, rock, and some jazz styles, in emic terms and performance practice, in fact represents both a totally different conception of harmony to that of the Western functional (tonal) harmony and also represents a different comprehension of dissonance/consonance in music.63

He does not go into great theoretical detail about what exactly this different conception of harmony entails, but his observation mirrors my own—that the blues is definitely not structured like common practice tonality. In lieu of the common practice term “blue note,” he suggests the term “blue harmony,” which differentiates the parental musical structures from those structures that are hard to pinpoint.

2.04 Blue Tonality

In 1984, long before Weisethaunet posed his question, William Tallmadge coined a new term and wrote an article called “Blue Notes and Blue Tonality,” distinguishing between mere pitch play and what he calls blue tonality.64 In his view, sliding, gliding, and bending—“worrying”65 the notes—are definitely bluesy melodic treatments, but they

62 Weisethaunet, like many of us, suspect that it is not about one or two “out” pitches. 63 Weisethaunet (2001, p. 99) 64 Weisethaunet (2001) does not list Tallmadge (1984) in his bibliography. 65 Tallmadge (1984, p. 155) 50 are not necessarily structural, and therefore are labeled pitch play. The primary point of

Tallmadge’s article is to point out that pitch play alone would not indicate blue tonality.

However, he utilizes those microtones to show a whole different style of melodic- harmonic structure, such as arriving at f3 or B3 over a dominant seventh chord at a structural landmark, for example would indicate blue tonality. For the purposes of this thesis, I will agree that the pitch play alone is less structural than an explicit f3/f3 over n3, but with the caveat that pitch play serves more as a signpost or first step to discovering deeper blues structures. Essentially, Tallmadge says that if all three versions of the same scale degree exist in the same piece, it is neither major nor minor, indicating the underlying structure must be different, but like Weisethaunet, he does not explain the details of this different underlying structure.

If it is not common practice tonality, and blue tonality has its own syntax, then what is the structure of the syntax? While research in this area of study is somewhat scarce, there are a few key agreed-upon concepts out there that help illustrate what is known about blue tonality.

2.05 Concepts of Blue Tonality Defined

Flexible Scale Degrees

In blue tonality, scale degrees are not fixed, but flexible, so scale degree 3 can be sounded as f3, n3 or somewhere in between at B3. Mixture scale degrees (n3 and f3) can be sounded simultaneously, as well. All instances are acceptable versions of the third scale degree, though they might serve different functions. There are a few ways to talk about this. When speaking of these types of scale degrees, I prefer the term “flexible” although “elastic” is also acceptable. Titon preferred the term pitch complex, which he 51 used in reference to the microtonal pitch groupings found at scale degrees 3, 5, 7, and 3’

(the 3 in the upper register) from the pitch lexicon of his downhome blues tunes.

Kubik, Van Der Merwe, and others speak of “neutral” scale degrees, where the desired pitch goal is B3, recalled from ancestral pitch memory based on an equiheptatonic scale.66 Origins aside, B3 as a consistent melodic goal is found, but more often in sparsely accompanied solo singer tunes67 and unaccompanied hollers,68 due to the melodic freedom allotted the singer. In more densely accompanied tunes, however, all three versions frequently exist, due to the general pitch awareness of singers being pulled down or up by fixed-pitch accompaniment instruments like piano or fretted guitar (non- slide, minimal bending).69

In 2019, Court Cutting set out to prove that scale degrees in blues were indeed flexible, and that f3 and n3 could be discrete structural pitches, as well as B3. He did this by analyzing the microtones found in his blues sample with a computer to see if the pitches grouped in any consistent way. He found, as he suspected, clusters around n3 and f3, but in his research sample, he also found microtonal clusters around a slightly raised f3 (B3), a slightly lowered #4,70 and a slightly raised f7 (B7), confirming at the very least the existence of some consistent microtonal pitch destinations.71 Surely, it might be

66 An equiheptatonic scale contains 7 pitches equally spaced, each about 171 cents apart. This sort of scalar organization is common in Africa, specifically the lower Zambezi valley and eastern Angola. 67 Examples include call & response one line accompaniment or open fifths rhythmic part. 68 An unaccompanied holler, sometimes called a field blues, is a work song without instrumentation. 69 Some of the back and forth between n3 and f3 strikes me as more of a balancing act to illustrate B3, but to prove such a point is beyond the scope of this thesis. 70 I do not include the microtonal notation here to illustrate a slightly lowered #4, because I do not believe it to be a structure pitch or pitch destination. That discussion comes later in the chapter. 71 Cutting (2019) 52 possible that some of his findings would show someone unable to sing in tune, but since

Titon, Kubik and Van Der Merwe also confirm the existence of these microtonal inflections, it seems to be more intentional.

The scholars above all agree that these flexible scale degrees do exist, so the next logical step is to figure out the nature of the underlying scale because it is likely not a traditional major or minor scale. In order to accommodate the variance in pitches, many suspect the structure may actually be some type of modal frame.

Modal Frame

A particular underlying scale-like structure in the blues has not been defined, but

Van Der Merwe suggests that it is likely some sort of modal frame.72 Despite having offered up his own version of the blues mode from the blue notes he has found (really a pitch inventory) and having speculated alongside Kubik about equiheptatonic scales, Van

Der Merwe himself admits that the blues is not a scale or a mode, in the traditional sense.73 In his book, he discusses the blues mode as follows:

The first and most fundamental thing to explain is the mode. The blues mode is actually a modal frame: that is, a framework of melodically sensitive notes interspersed with less important notes. 74

Van Der Merwe uses the term “modal frame” somewhat interchangeably with

“melodic mode,” and he defines both in the glossary of his book. He defines a modal frame as follows:

A specialized form of mode in which at least some of the notes have a melodic value independent of the harmony [my ital.], acting as floor notes, secondary

72 They also speculate that the frame is related to the ladder-of-thirds, but I will explain that concept next. 73 Church mode. 74 Van Der Merwe (1989, p. 118) 53 tonics, etc (see under melodic mode). The modal frame is distinguished from the note frame by having a specific tonic.75

I believe he is right. However, he does not go on to say which notes were more important or less important—aside from 1 and 5 having highest status, following

Stephenson and Nobile. Van Der Merwe notes that, generally, blue notes are explained as ornaments following the traditional style of the common practice, but I speculate that they could also be clues to a whole different type of tonal structure. Van Der Merwe strongly suggests that we may not have figured out the complete picture:

Many of the typical features of the blues can be removed without destroying the basic, unmistakable quality of bluesiness. We can take away the twelve-bar structure, the typical chords, the bent notes, the shuffling triplet rhythms, the half- speaking vocal quality—in fact we can remove the voice part altogether—and still be left with blues. And when we have eliminated the unessential features, what remains? What is the essence of the blues? All blues tunes have two things in common: one is syncopation, and the other is a mode, which is in fact not merely a mode, but a particular kind of modality, dominating and controlling the whole style in much the same way as a particular kind of tonality dominates the Classical style.76

At this point, what is known about the blues is that its scale degrees can be flexible in a way that is unlike mixture in common practice tonality. Also, the underlying structure is likely a modal frame that gives 1 and 5 the most status, giving them “melodic value independent of the harmony,”77 meaning they are always considered consonant.

What is the nature of this modal frame? Van Der Merwe, Kubik, Stoia, and Curry believe the blues tonal structure is governed by a ladder-of-thirds.

75 Van Der Merwe (1989, p. 321) 76 Van Der Merwe (1989, p. 118) 77 Van Der Merwe (1989, p. 321) 54 Ladder-of-Thirds

Van Der Merwe defines the term, ladder-of-thirds, as “a type of modal frame built around thirds superimposed on one another like a ladder:”78

In short, the blues mode takes the form of a ladder of [neutral] thirds, but it is a flexible ladder that can be extended up or down at will. Sometimes it goes a third above the dominant, and sometimes a third below the tonic. There is nothing to stop it doing both in the same tune (as for instance in ‘Get along Home, Cindy’…). There is also nothing to stop the sixth or seventh of the mode from behaving in two ways during the same tune, now as a passing-note and now as a part of the ladder. Passing-notes in the blues behave much the same as passing- notes in the classical style. It is non-passing-notes which must explain themselves to the ear. In the classical style, they do so by their relationship to the chord prevailing at the moment. In the blues, they do so by their relationship to the mode, which consists essentially of the ladder of third and the tensions within it. That is the basic difference; though, to be absolutely precise, the blues mode does sometimes take account of prevailing harmonies…79

Figure 37, “Get along Home, Cindy” folk song (Van Der Merwe transcription).

78 Van Der Merwe (1989, p.320) 79 Van Der Merwe (1989, p. 125) 55

Figure 37 is an example of a piece constructed using the ladder-of-thirds. The ladder-of-thirds is a flexible melodic framework of neutral thirds (or minor thirds) which can be descending or ascending, and it often outlines a dominant 7th above the root note.

The distinction of melodic dominant 7th is made to assert the linear-based nature of the genre, but in practice, the ladder can be expressed as purely melodic or melodic-plus- harmonic. This is partially why one of the most common consonant sonorities in blues is the dominant 7th (Mm7) chord.

If the blues is based on the ladder, and it can be extended by a minor/neutral third in any direction, that means that the f7 is now considered a consonant member of stable harmony just like the members of the triad would be. If this is the case, traditional common practice harmonic function no longer applies because the dominant 7th is considered a stable sonority, instead of a dissonance. If dominant-tonic resolution is no longer a dissonance priority for the harmony, perhaps the rules for melodic dissonance treatment have changed, as well. In the next section, I will explain a new type of non- chord tone treatment, the hanging/dropping third.

Hanging/Dropping Thirds

One of the key differences between blues and the common practice is the way in which blues musicians treat melodic dissonance. Common practice dictates that melodic non-chord tones must resolve by step. The same is true for melodies in blue tonality, but with one important distinction—the “step” is expanded to include minor thirds, which 56 yields another type of passing tone.80 When these minor thirds resolve down by pentatonic step (a minor third) from above, Van Der Merwe called them dropping thirds.

When they resolve up from below, he called them hanging thirds.

Although dropping/hanging thirds were initially defined by Van Der Merwe,

Stoia most clearly explains the terms in his article “Mode, Harmony, and Dissonance

Treatment in American Folk and Popular Music, c. 1920-1945.” Stoia’s approach leads me to believe this adaptation is permitted in order to accommodate the pentatonic nature of blues melodies.81 In Figure 38, Stoia provides a good example of hanging and dropping thirds (in addition to the prevalence of stepwise neighbor tones) with the tune

“Alabama Blues” by Three Stripped Gears. Though the typical melodic-harmonic relationships are not present in the blues, melody and harmony are still related to some extent in the blues. To understand how, we must discuss the concept of levels.

Figure 38, “Alabama Blues” by Three Stripped Gears (Stoia’s transcription).

80 Stoia (2010) 81 According to Biamonte (2010), Moore’s scale-degree theory and Doll’s harmonic-function theory are the most helpful with understanding chord patterns in rock. 57 Level

Peter Van Der Merwe defines the term level in his glossary as “a temporary modal frame which is contrasted with another at a different pitch.”82 In the text itself, he explains the term in greater detail:

The chords are not quite the same as classical chords, and the movement from one chord to another is not the same as a classical progression. In fact, the very word ‘chord’—or for that matter ‘harmony’—seems a little inappropriate…. What we need is a broader term than merely ‘chord.’ Ethnomusicologists describing similar things in African music have used the terms ‘shifting tonality levels,’ ‘tonal steps,’ and ‘root progressions.’ I propose the simple word ‘level,” precisely because it is so vague and non-committal. Every level is firmly based on a single note, which we can call the ‘foundation note.’ In ‘Donald MacGillavry’, for instance, the foundation notes are A and G.83 On the foundation note it is possible to erect a third (as in the Arab tune),84 a triad (as in ‘Shallow Brown’), or a seventh (as in ‘Donald MacGillavry’). And this third, fifth, or seventh can be heard as either purely melodic or melodic-plus-harmonic. 85 Here, Van Der Merwe uses the word “purely melodic” to mean that the melody performs some sort of linear function without reference to the harmonies. He intends

“melodic-plus-harmonic” to mean that the linear melody is reflected in the harmonic structure.

82 Van Der Merwe (1989, p.320) 83 See Figure 39. 84 See Figure 40. 85 Van Der Merwe (1989, p. 208-209) 58 Figure 39, Shifting Tonality levels in “Donald MacGillavry” (Van Der Merwe’s transcription).

Figure 40, Shifting tonality levels in “Arab Tune” (Van Der Merwe’s transcription).

Basically, level is a root note with the implied melodic-harmonic possibilities of the ladder-of-thirds. The level C, for instance, carries with it two pieces of pitch information. First, C is the foundation note, which makes G an important note as well, because it is the fifth. Second, is that you can extend a ladder-of-thirds up or down from either 1 or 5.86 It is similar to a “chord,” but it is not the same. It could be a chord, but it does not have to be expressed in that way. In fact, it is simpler and more fundamental.

Rather than requiring a minimum of three notes like a triad, a level can be defined by only the root note. Levels are also present in Irish folk music, sea chanties, and other genres, but again, for the purposes of this paper, the focus will be on their use in the blues.

86 This is the kind of structure it would take in order to be a platform for interpretation and improvisation. I speculate that what really organizes the blues is a sort of skeleton key modal frame, like the one I propose later in this chapter. 59 2.06 How Blue Tonality Differs from Common Practice Tonality

The basic tonal structure of the blues is best illustrated by the style’s most popular song form—the 12-bar blues. Its form is as follows: I7-I7-I7-I7-IV7-IV7-I7-I7-V7-IV7-I7-

V7. While it is indeed this structure which dictates the blues modal frame composite

“scale,” it also serves as a good reference point for discussing the two basic tenets of blue tonality, level and ladder, since the two work together to create the underpinnings of blue tonality.

Although the blues style shares common melodic-harmonic structures with common practice tonality, blue tonality uses them in differing, non-traditional, and seemingly incompatible ways. The most notable shared structure is the dominant 7th chord, which is used both as a generally consonant sonority (I7, IV7) and a dominant chord in need of resolution (V7-I), but neither function employs traditional resolutions.

Another shared feature is chromaticism. In any given blues melody, one may commonly find a f3 and a n3, but neither is typically a result of secondary dominants, linear chromaticism, or mode mixture. They are both considered consonant melodic pitches over tonic harmony, often being incorrectly labeled as “blue notes,” when in reality, they originate from the blues modal frame, which will become evident in the discussion below.

At times, Blue Tonality and Common Practice Tonality may appear similar from a taxonomic perspective, but they do not behave in the same way. The next section will highlight those differences. 60 Blue Tonality has Level Shifts, not Chord Changes

In his book, Van Der Merwe explains in depth the nature of level shifts, pointing out that the root and fifth are the most important notes, so open fifths are a common sonority in the blues. He also points out that if the level is realized in the form of a triad or seventh chord, that chord is almost always in root position, further emphasizing the foundation note of the level. Describing level shifts, Van Der Merwe says the following:

Just as a level is more than a mere chord, so the movement from one level to another is more than a mere harmonic progression. The traditional term ‘double tonic’ suggests an actual modulation to a new key, as though the first three bars of ‘Donald MacGillavry’ were in A minor and the next one in G major. This is going too far, but it does give some idea of the abrupt and emphatic nature of the change. To distinguish this change of level, we can talk of ‘shifts’ as opposed to the familiar chord ‘changes’ of the classics. In general, the shift of level is a more basic and primitive matrix than the change of chord. As we have seen, it is found in Celtic, African, and Asian folk music. In the realm of ‘art’ music we find it in the dance music of the Renaissance. Here, as the style gradually shades into the early Baroque, shifts of level give way to changes of chord of the familiar classical kind. With the development of the blues in the twentieth century, we find the opposite process. Here, chord changes gradually become shifts of level. Wherever we find it, the shift of level shows some characteristic features. There is always great emphasis on the foundation note, so that when there are chords, they are almost always in root position. [italics mine] (The only important exceptions to this rule occur in sets of variations.) Next to the root, the fifth of the chord is the most important note; consecutive fifths, far from being banned, are strongly emphasized. This is probably the answer to the famous riddle of why consecutive fifths are prohibited in the classical style: if they were allowed, they would make chord changes sound like [level] shifts.87

In the blues, levels are not treated as related, interlocking cogs in a harmony- driven machine, as they are in common practice tonality. Instead, each realized chord is thought of as an extrapolation of the level and is loosely related—at least in terms of harmonic function—to the other chords in the song. Each level is independent and is

87 Van Der Merwe (1989, p. 209) 61 treated like a miniature one-chord blues. A typical one-chord blues accompaniment in C, for instance, would be a drone or repeated riff outlining the level C as C5, C, C7, or C7#9.

Middleground “chord progressions”—also known as level shifts—are typically just pendular embellishments of the tonic level constituting a chord loop, which tends to function as more of a hypermetric, formal bookmark than anything else.88 Levels in the blues generally shift between the members of the minor pentatonic scale, which are the roots of the chords. The chord progressions are typically made up of I, IV, V, but also fIII and fVII to a lesser degree.

A chord, in common practice tonality, has a fixed identity, function, and content.

A level, in blue tonality, is just a root note with varying localized collections above it.

The global composite of all the levels’ collections best represents blue tonality. Van Der

Merwe illustrates this concept well with Figure 40 by pointing out one of the most obvious examples of level shifts, the boogie-woogie bass line. The 1-n3-5-6-f7-6-5-n3 pattern is transposed exactly on all three levels (I, IV, V) regardless of any over-arching global key. With level shifts, the localized pattern or riff is more important than the global pitch organization. This sort of level transposition creates an overall pitch inventory with flexible f3/n3 and f7/n7, a feature of blue tonality.

88 See Figure 13 “Rock’n’Me” and Figure 15 “Jane Says” for examples of pendular chord progressions. 62 Figure 41, The boogie-woogie bass as an example of levels (Van Der Merwe’s transcription).

In Figure 41, we see the same sort of level shift transposition happening in

“Sunshine of Your Love” by Cream. The 1-1-f7-1-5-f5-4-1’-B3’-1’ riff pattern is transposed exactly from level I to level IV, creating a flexible 3 with F#, Fn, and FB

(n3/f3/B3) and a flexible 6 (n6, f6, B6) with the Bn in the first chords and then A# (Bf) being bent up to BB with the wide vibrato.89

Figure 42, “Sunshine of Your Love” by Cream, verse riff (MySongBook.com transcription).

While generally limited to just I, IV, and V in the blues, levels are not as narrowly restricted in other levels-based music such as blues-based rock. In Figure 42, for instance,

Led Zeppelin does the same type of level I riff transposition. The basic riff opens by

89 Though the example does not show it, there is also a flexible 7 (f7 and n7) with C and C# (when the V comes). 63 creating a flexible scale degree at 7 (f7/B7/n7) with the initial bend from G to A. 90

Instead of moving to IV or V, it is transposed to level II and back.

Figure 43, “Heartbreaker” by Led Zeppelin, guitar intro (Hal Leonard transcription).

Earlier, I said that levels in the blues generally shift between the members of the minor pentatonic scale and that chord progressions are typically made up of I, IV, V, but also fIII and fVII to a lesser degree. I find the same to be true in blues-based rock. Figure

44, the chorus for “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones, illustrates this explicitly.

The verse riff oscillates back and forth between I5 and fVII5 over a tonic pedal in the bass. When the chorus begins, the progression changes to fIII – fVII – IV – I, a sort of

90 You could also argue that there is a flexible degree at 5 (#4/5) with the chromatic line in the riff. Then, when the riff is transposed to level II, the chromatic line ends up creating a flexible 6 (f6/n6). I see the importance of these flexible degrees’ existence as a marker of the style, but as I explain later, I do not see #4 as a structural pitch. 64 double double-plagal progression, with each chord root from the minor pentatonic

91 scale.336 David Temperley

FigureExample 4419., “Jumpin’Rolling Stones, Jack‘Jumpin’ Flash” byJack TheFlash’, Rollingchorus. Stones, chorus (Temperley’s transcription).

Table. Some well-known songs reﬂecting the ‘loose-verse / tight-chorus’ model. Song Artist Another illustration of this is a more straight-ahead rock example from the article ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ Beatles ‘Drive My Car’ Beatles by‘Taxman’ Nobile.92 He references “Centerfold” by J. GeilsBeatles Band as an example of melodic- ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ Rolling Stones ‘Somebody to Love’ Jefferson Airplane harmonic‘Born to be stratification.Wild’ In this case, the happy soundingSteppenwolf major pentatonic riff is over ‘Smoke on the Water’ Deep Purple passing‘Come Together’ harmonies, I – fVII – IV – fVII, which areBeatles considered foreground ‘Tumbling Dice’ Rolling Stones ‘Woodstock’ Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young accompaniment‘We’re an American elaboratingBand’ the underlying I – IVGrand (considered Funk Railroad the structural harmony). ‘Long Time’ Boston ‘Riding the Storm Out’ REO Speedwagon Again,‘Jungle Love’the roots are based on members of the pentatonicSteve Miller set. Band ‘Back in Black’ AC/ DC ‘Walking on the Moon’ Police ‘F.I.N.E.’ Aerosmith ‘Mr. Brownstone’ Guns N’ Roses ‘Come as you Are’ Nirvana ‘No Excuses’ Alice in Chains ‘Einstein on the Beach’ Counting Crows ‘D’You Know What IMean’ Oasis ‘You Oughta Know’ Alanis Morissette

The fact that the verses to these songs reflect a stratified organisation (with 91 Progressions which contain major triads based on minor pentatonic roots (I – fIII – IV – V – fVII) have pentatonic melody), while the choruses reflect a unified organisation, is no coinci- been discussed by Everett (2004) and Biamonte (2010). Everett attributes this sort of chord progression to guitardence; idioms for this likeis basica very minor common pentatonic situation box patterns,in rock parallel songs. bar The chords, Table and lists increased a number amp distortionof whichsongs causesin which minor this chords same to situation sound more occurs. dissonantIn all thanof thesemajor cases,chords.we Biamontefind a pentatonicagrees with (orEverett’s approachpredominantly and adds pentatonic) to it pentatonic verse structural melody rotations over meant a chordal to generate accompaniment, alternative pentatonic often with progressions.some clashes However, (e.g. non-chord-tones the progressions notyielded resolved by thoseby rotationsstep) between do not accurately the melody representand the the progressionsaccompaniment present harmonies. in the style, Inwiththe the chorus, exception the of melody the un-rotatedand the minor accompaniment pentatonic chords, reflect I – fIII – IV –a Vmore – fVII.tightly My view coordinated aligns more harmonic closely with organisation, that of Everett. with all non-chord-tones properly 92resolved. Nobile (2015) This, then, is a particularly favoured strategy for the construction of rock songs; I will call it the ‘loose-verse/ tight-chorus’ (LVTC) model. If I am right that the LVTC model is a common pattern in rock, this raises a further question: what purpose does this strategy serve? I would argue that it conveys 65

Figure 45, “Centerfold” by J. Geils Band, guitar riff (Nobile’s transcription).

To summarize, level shifts are pendular root-position chordal embellishments of the tonic level. They shift between the pillars of the minor pentatonic scale, meaning that the chord roots are generally I, IV, V, but also fIII and fVII to a lesser degree. The range of acceptable consonant sonorities over those root progressions is wider in blue tonality than it is for the common practice. The chordal embellishment options are greater for a few reasons that I will explain in the next section.

Blue Tonality allows a Wider Range of General Consonant Sonorities

Although there is a well-documented history of improvisation in the common practice, there was often a final product in the form of a written score.93 The same cannot be said of the blues. The common stock of schemes that exists is what has been passed down or recorded, and few tunes have been notated accurately, if at all. This leads the artists to re-interpret the same body of tunes in new ways, which often results in chord substitution.94

93 Bach and Mozart, for example, were both known to be accomplished improvisers and even composed inventions/theme & variations for keyboard. It is my opinion that, in a culture of improvisation, there might have been rough transcriptions of certain improvisations, but I imagine not every improvisation was transcribed. Recorded music was not even an option from a technological standpoint until 1860, so someone in Bach’s time would have had to transcribe the performance live. 94 The key difference is that while Mozart may have improvised as a trained musician on a set theme on the piano, he did not have his orchestra improvise. 66 Blues artists improvise as soloists or as an ensemble on stock forms. The language and method of real-time composition for a group of untrained musicians (at least in the classical sense) affords the genre unique features. Since there is no score, the musicians have to rely on schema-based formal communication, improvisatory exploration, and auditory expression cues.95 This is why blues players often infer, assume, and express certain harmonic variations in the accompaniment parts, in lieu of adhering to the official

“chord.”96 The level may be C, but generally it’s thought of as more of a guide or suggestion. In fact, C5, Cadd6, C7, C9, Bb/C, Cadd9, C7#9 would all be viable substitutes, depending on the context. It would depend on what the other lines/improvised melodies are doing.

While common practice tonality treats the triad (a root, third, and perfect fifth such as C E G) as the most basic possible consonant sonority, blue tonality offers more options. I consider the open fifth97 to be the most basic consonant sonority in the blues because it allows for tonal flexibility.98 The most common sonority is the dominant 7th chord (a root, third, perfect fifth, and flat seventh such as C E G Bf), which is basically a ladder-of-thirds extension of the open fifth. That does not mean that a simple triad is not consonant in the blues, but it is used less frequently than the plain fifth or the dominant

7th chord. A dominant 7th chord like C7, for example, would be treated as a tonic, carrying

95 This claim is based on my own experience. 96 This claim is based on my own experience. 97 Open fifths are also known as “power chords.” 98 This is just my opinion, not an official term. I intend tonal flexibility to mean that the melodic mode could be major or minor or somewhere in between. It has not yet been dictated or swayed in anyway by the accompaniment harmonies. This is also a basic assumption of my 025 MTL3 approach, so it is yet proven. 67 with it a general feeling of stasis and stability, because the seventh of the chord requires no resolution as it would in common practice.

While the dominant 7th chord is indeed the standard consonant sonority for accompaniment harmonies, the dominant 7 #9 chord—aka the “Hendrix chord”—more accurately describes the overall consonant sonority (including the melody), because it accounts for a flexible 3 (f3 juxtaposed with n3). This overall sonority is the most common, and the work of Jeff Todd Titon affords us a bit of insight into the dominant

7#9 sonority when we analyze his “downhome blues scale,”99 which is really more of a pitch inventory.

Titon’s downhome blues scale shows why the overall sonority of the blues is the dominant 7#9. Before I explain how, I must first define the descriptor of Titon’s sample selection of “downhome” blues tunes. Titon characterizes “downhome blues” as the solo guitarist/singer “country blues” man, such as Son House or Robert Johnson. He contrasts that image with the Vaudeville/City style of small jazz bands led by female vocalists, like

Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. The songs are largely 12-bar and often sparsely accompanied. The subject matter is often related to feelings such as being downtrodden, forlorn, lost, strange, and traveling. Titon more explicitly defines it here:

In the phrase downhome blues, the word blues indicates both a musical style based on particular sounds and a feeling associated with it; the juxtaposed downhome locates the feeling as a place in the mental landscape of black America.100

99 See Figure 46. 100 Titon (1977, xiv) 68 In his “downhome blues scale” (Figure 46), Titon lists the number of times each pitch occurred over the course of 44 “down home” blues melodies.101 He also grouped each of the flexible scale degrees—f3/B3/n3, f5/B5/n5, f7/B7/n7, and f3’/B3’/n3’—into its own pitch complex (his term). He noted that in the lower register, the n3 is more likely to be heard than any of the other members of the pitch complex. In the higher register, however, the f3 is most likely. He found this to be true even within the confines of a single tune. It is the consistent, simultaneous sounding of both types of 3 which makes the C7#9 sonority a genre norm. Van der Bleik’s article on the use of I7#9 as a general sonority in the music of Jimi Hendrix cites both the work of Titon and Hendrix’s well- known blues background as support. In addition to C5, C7, C, and C7#9, the sonorities

Cadd6 and C9 are also acceptable expressions of the level.102

Those non-traditional level expressions require different voice leading rules, and it is my opinion (from playing and studying many blues tunes) that the voice leading should be maximally smooth, but in the next section I will point out some ways the maximally smooth voice leading of blue tonality differs from the voice-leading of the common practice period.

101 For example, the pitch A happened 156 times and the En in the lower register occurred 201 times over the course of his 44 examples. 102 Certainly, early 20th century composers used such dissonant sonorities without traditional resolutions, but their compositional techniques would not be considered common practice, and therefore, lie outside the scope of this thesis. 69

Figure 46, Jeff Todd Titon’s downhome blues scale.

Blue Tonality has Less Restrictive Voice Leading Rules and a Tendency for

Maximal Smoothness

Parallel fifths and octaves in the common practice (Bach to Brahms) are not allowed in part-writing. The only parallel motion that is allowed is thirds or sixths, so inversion, as a compositional tool, is necessary to adhere to the common practice voice- leading rules. Blue tonality, on the other hand, consistently utilizes consecutive fifths/octaves and unanimously favors root position seventh chords over triads and their inversions—two features common of levels-based music. The standard counterpoint rules do not apply, so inversions are not necessary to facilitate the traditional types of voice leading. Many blues basslines do “walk,”103 so inversion technically happens in blues after beat 1 sometimes, but does not perform the same function, or to the same extent, and almost never on the downbeat as it does in common practice tonality.

In common practice, n7 must resolve to 1, just as 4 must resolve to 3, because the pull of a tritone resolving inward or outward is powerful and polarizing. It is, in fact, what feeds and maintains the dominant-tonic relationship, which lies at the heart of common practice tonality. Parallel tritones can be found in the tunes of the common

103 To “walk” a bassline means to hit the root on the downbeat, but fill the gaps in a scalar fashion. To walk a 2-bar progression from one bar of C7 to a bar of F7, I would play ||:C D Ef E |F A Bf B:|| 70 practice when a section features a chromaticized descending 5th sequence, but that is typically only developmental in nature. In the blues, the basic consonant sonority on each level is the dominant 7th, and since that is normative practice, we often see parallel tritones in the part-writing of the main schema. The standard three-note Freddie Green guitar voicings, shown in Figure 47,104 demonstrate how to navigate basic blues changes by using parallel tritones with maximally smooth voice leading. At no time do the tritones of these dominant 7th chords resolve inward. In fact, they do not resolve at all, nor do they hint at needing to do so.105 The F7 in bar 12 is the only harmony that exhibits dominant 7th chord behavior because it does lead to tonic, but the An does not resolve up to Bf. It goes to Af instead.

The voice leading is less restrictive, and the dominant 7ths do not behave as such.

If the V7 no longer functions harmonically as a traditionally cadential gesture, then is it possible that blue tonality also lacks traditionally cadential melodic gestures? I will discuss this in the next section.

104 https://guitarcontrol.com/jazz/12-bar-jazz-blues-chord-progression-in-the-style-of-freddie-green/ 105 That same feeling and same type of voice leading is what the composers are after with the sequence of descending 5ths progression often used in common practice developmental sections. It is perhaps this forever-dissonant, never-completeness about the blues which lends itself so well to dancing, the genre’s most common function, though this is only my opinion. 71

Figure 47, 12-bar blues in the style of Freddie Green.

Blue Tonality Lacks Traditionally Cadential Melodic Gestures (2-1 and n7-1)

Not only does blue tonality lack traditionally cadential harmonic gestures, but it also lacks one of the most recognizable ones: n7-1. In addition to other insights about blues melodies, Titon’s downhome blues scale (Figure 46 above) also points out the curious lack of n7 (Bn), appearing only 21 times in 44 blues tunes. In fact, he observed that f3 and 6 are penultimate, cadential notes more frequently than n7 is. The n7 is also expressed in the accompaniment instruments as part of the underlying harmony, but 72 melodically it holds almost no weight as a functional leading tone. Titon’s “Early downhome blues mode,” shown in Figure 48, illustrates the behaviors of the pitches in his 44 song sample. He does not show Bn leading to C at all.

Figure 48, Jeff Todd Titon’s early downhome blues mode.

To further illustrate this point, I have included Figures 49-52 from Titon’s book.

In Figures 49 and 50, Bn resolves back down to G and does not go back up to C at all. In

Figures 51 and 52, one could argue that Bn eventually gets to a delayed C, but the argument is weak because the delayed arrival at C does not correspond to a structural point in the text. In both cases, Bn resolves immediately downward toward G, and only arrives at C in the next measure well before any feeling of cadence. In other words, there is a n7 and a 1, but n7 does not resolve directly to 1, as it would in the common practice.106

106 In his article “The So-Called ‘Flattened Seventh’ in Rock,” Moore (1995) offers strong evidence for my assertion that the difference between common practice tonality and rock/blue tonality lies solely in the function or absence of n7. 73

Figure 49, “Prison Bound Blues” by Leroy Carr & Francis ‘Scrapper’ Blackwell (Titon’s transcription).

Figure 50, “Mama ‘T’ain’t Long fo’ Day” by Blind Willie McTell (Titon’s transcription).

Figure 51, “One Time Blues” by Blind Blake (Titon’s transcription). 74

Figure 52, “Dupree Blues” by Willie Walker and Sam Brooks (Titon’s transcription).

Traditionally in the common practice, if we are not hearing n7-8 in the melody, we expect to hear another popular cadential gesture, 2-1. Titon noted that f3 and 6 acted as penultimate cadential notes more often than n7 or 2 did. In fact, his pitch inventory counts only 35 instances of 2 in the lower register and 34 in the higher one. In three out of four of the examples below, there are zero pitches on D. In Figure 50, there are three D naturals, but none are in penultimate cadential positions.107

In Titon’s 44 downhome blues examples, the traditionally cadential melodic behavior of n7 and 2 was just not present. The lack of traditional melodic cadential

107 By considering minor pentatonic leaps as stepwise motion, Stoia (2010) and Biamonte (2010) support Titon’s claim that common practice cadential gestures, like 2-1 and n7-1, are replaced by f3-1 and 6-1 in blue tonality. 75 behavior, of course, also manifests itself harmonically, a point I will discuss in the next section.

Blue Tonality Lacks/Avoids Functional Harmonic Progressions (V7-I)

In common practice tonality, chord progressions are linked by their relationship to the tonic triad, and they follow the standard nested functional tonality pattern: Tonic-

Subdominant-Dominant-Tonic (TSDT). Each chord in a progression gains function as a part of a deeper structural harmonic prolongation. The harmony serves the melody, and melodic-harmonic progressions are typically goal-oriented and directional—usually toward a V7-I cadence. This authentic cadence—with its characteristic voice-leading (4-

3/n7-8/5-1)—dominates the harmonic motion in common practice tonality and gives a feeling of completeness, closure, and, therefore, form.

Blue tonality also exhibits chord progressions (aka level shifts), but they are typically just pendular (back and forth) harmonies related to the tonic level I, rather than following the TSDT pattern outlined above. A non-functional progression like this might be better described as constituting a chord loop, which functions more as a hypermetric bookmark, rather than as part of a cadence-driven, goal-oriented system.

The lack of n7-8 motion supports the argument that dominant 7th chords in the blues are not functional in the same manner as V7-I in common practice tonality. n7 does not go to 1, even when 1 is present because n7 is not considered as a dissonance requiring a voice-leading resolution. This thwarts one of the strongest features of common practice tonality—that cadence driven harmonic progressions most often culminate in an authentic cadence. That is not to say that all common practice tonality is centered solely around 76 those types of progressions, but it does highlight the need for alternative harmonic explanations for blues, where traditional analytical tools may fall short.

Naturally, there is an exception to this rule of authentic cadences. Non-traditional resolutions of dominant 7th chords happen in the common practice, just not as primary focus. Frequently, this sort of developmental motion outlines the circle of fifths, cycling through dominant 7th key areas until the tonal goal is reached, then the tune resumes normal common practice harmonic behavior by returning to an expected key area and theme. This tends to be an exception to the rule, rather than the norm for the common practice.

The series of dominant 7th chords in the blues, however, are not developmental, do not outline the circle of fifths in the same fashion, and do not resolve traditionally which makes this a peculiar use-case. The dominant 7th use that is considered unstable and developmental in the common practice is considered stable and an integral part of the most popular song form in the blues.108

I have discussed how the harmonies of blue tonality are not based in the traditional common practice because they are not governed by TSDT logic. But, like many other theorists, I have yet to pinpoint exactly what governs these blue harmonies.

Developing a working analytical approach to harmonic analysis in blue tonality and laying down the research groundwork for these principles is beyond the scope of this

108 In contrast, the music of Wagner and his contemporaries features unresolved dominant 7th chords as consonant sonorities, rather than tools of developmental sections, but these examples are neither blues nor common practice (Bach to Brahms), so their consideration is beyond the scope of this thesis. 77 thesis, but I can still outline a few progressions which seem to oppose the TSDT nature of common practice progressions.

The 12-Bar Blues Form is Governed by Plagal Motion and Symmetry

As I have shown previously, traditionally cadential melodic-harmonic gestures (2-

1, n7-1, TSDT) are not present in the blues, so it must be true that some other syntactic rules underlie the progression. This brief discussion of the 12-bar blues suggests one possible option: that the harmonic rhythm of the 12-bar blues is based on plagal motion and symmetry, not dominant harmony behavior.

My point regarding non-functional harmonies is especially salient when we look at the last four bars of the 12-bar blues, where the only V7 chords in the form appear.

There are two V chords—the first leading to IV and the second leading to I. Neither V7 chord behaves like a V7 chord in a common practice tonality progression. What does it mean to “behave” like a V7 chord? It means V7 resolves to I at a structurally important point and is accompanied by n7-8/2-1 in the melody and the V7-I motion defines the phrase ending with a cadence.

The V7 in bar 9 does not behave like a V7 from the common practice. It does come at a structurally important point because it is the introduction of a new harmony, but it resolves atypically to IV. Also, it feels more pre-cadential because the real cadence does not occur until after the V7, when the IV resolves to I in bars 10 and 11. The V7 serves to “set up” or make us aware of the punchline, but it does not cadence with the lyrics. Bars 10-11 are the first time there is a lyrical punchline/conclusion and it happens to coincide with a plagal cadence to I, strengthening the suggestion that the style is governed by plagal motion. 78 The V7 in bar 12, likely preceded by a stock turnaround figure, also does not behave like a V7. There is a V7 chord, and indeed it leads back to I. However, in terms of perception, that only serves to signal the end of the repeating form—not to signal the actual cadence of the song.109 One might argue that the final V7 of the turnaround does function as a dominant because it leads back to I, and I agree, to an extent. It functions like a dominant, in that it is followed by I. However, the turnaround V7, though common and stylistically appropriate, is widely considered as optional. If the dominant function were so important in the blues, why would the only V7-I possible be optional? While the dominant 7th sonority may be common in the blues, dominant 7th behavior is not. In the blues, the harmonic motion is typically plagal. Regardless, the issue remains. n7 does not resolve to 8, and nothing lyrically significant happens there. If it is a dominant function, it still does not abide the common practice rules for cadential dominant chord resolution.110

In discussing bars 9-12, Walter Everett offers his explanation. He calls the addition of the IV7 a “softening” of the V7, 111 but I find this answer lacking. Others, such as Ben Curry, view it as just a cycle through the other “dominant,” which, simple though it may be, seems more appropriate, especially if we view the form as symmetrical. For closure in a symmetrical structure, moving to both dominants before returning to I would

109 One commonly cited example of traditional dominant-tonic behavior in the blues is Louis’ Armstrong’s “West End Blues,” in which the introductory trumpet fanfare ends in bar 12 with a climactic 5 over V7 harmony. This is not uncommon in instrumental blues because that genre is more firmly rooted in jazz and, therefore, the common practice. While the formal placement and sense of impending tonal arrival in “West End Blues” do somewhat indicate functional tonality, the trumpet melody still never arrives at 1 on the downbeat I. Instead, the trombone takes over the melody by sounding n3 creating an imperfect authentic cadence split between two voices. Vocal blues tunes rarely mimic this behavior because there is only one main melodic source—the singer. 110 Moore (1995) 111 Everett (2004, MTO paragraph 18) 79 produce the strongest sense of completion. In Figure 52, Curry’s approach reveals that the IV in bar 10 might serve more so as a balancing gesture between levels than it does a typical dominant function.112 This leads me to believe that part of the goal of the last four bars is to recap all the chordal material present in the form.

Figure 53, Ben Curry shows balance in the 12-bar blues.

Support for the argument that the V7 might also be part of a larger balancing gesture comes from an article by David Headlam called “Blues Transformations in the

Music of Cream.” Headlam highlights the symmetry in the 12-bar form of “Crossroad

Blues” by Robert Johnson (later adapted by Cream). Regarding his analysis, shown in

Figure 53, Headlam states the following:

…the harmonic rhythm accelerates through the form, lasting initially four bars (I), then two bars (IV-I), and finally one bar (V-IV; in variants of the twelve bar form the IV chord may be either omitted or only implied), until measures 11-12, which symmetrically reverse the process by expanding back to two bars (I), followed by

112 Curry (2015) 80 a four-bar duration (a formally differentiated I) overlapping into the beginning of the next verse.113

I7 I7 I7 I7 IV7 IV7 I7 I7 V7 IV7 I7 I7

4 bars 2 bars 2 bars 1 bar 1 bar 2 bars

Harmonic Rhythm (measures per chord change): ||: 4-2-2-1-1-2 :|| Figure 54, Headlam shows symmetry in the 12-bar form of “Cross Road Blues” by Robert Johnson.

While I understand Headlam’s approach here, I feel it is too literal. If he is addressing the literal harmonic rhythm of this version of “Crossroad Blues” only, his assessment is accurate, but I would not agree that it shows symmetry. The issue is two- fold. First, the tune is a member of the common stock of song forms in the blues,114 so treating it as if it were a wholly unique composition without regards to standard blues schema (I am referencing the optional turnaround V chord in bar 12) seems to present an incomplete analytical picture. Second, Headlam’s model for symmetry does not line up with the form, and it assumes that the notion of harmonic prolongation does not apply because its traditional Schenkerian use case is not present. Though it would likely trouble Schenker, prolongation, as a generic harmonic principle, can be present in the blues, but it does NOT strictly abide the traditional T-S-D-T harmonic nesting rules, if at all.

113 Headlam (1998, p. 64) 114 Stoia (2013) 81 In his 2013 article, Stoia discussed the way new songs are born from a common stock of schema in the popular music world. His thoughts on the subject are as follows:

Blues and country schemes are musical frameworks that performers and composers consider public resources for making new songs and pieces, and which carry certain predetermined constraints and allowances with respect to the interaction of rhythm, harmony, and melody….Musicians both past and present have relied upon grounds and schemes to set new words, to convey feelings and ideas, and to record new events.115

Stoia also describes the 12-bar blues as having the same form that Headlam uses for “Crossroad Blues,” but he makes the disclaimer that all the song forms are meant to be varied. As he points out above, each blues tune is based on a common framework, so generalizing about the genre’s most popular song form from only one tune could possibly lead to an incomplete analytical picture. Headlam addressed the fact that sometimes the

IV7 chord in bar 10 is substituted with a second bar of V7, but he did not mention the optional classic turnaround figure, which is essentially a chromatic walk-up from I in bar

11 to an accentuated V7 in bar 12. It is this omitted bit which weakens the argument for symmetry. In Figure 55, I posit an alternative analysis of the harmonic rhythm from the

12-bar form, taking into account the implied optional turnaround figure.

I7 I7 I7 I7 IV7 IV7 I7 I7 V7 IV7 I7 V7

4 bars 2 bars 2 bars 4 bars (atypical prolongation of V)

3:2 Harmonic Rhythm (measures per chord change): ||: 4-2-2-4 :|| Figure 55, Quillen shows symmetry in the 12-bar blues form.

115 Stoia (2013, p. 194) 82 If we couple the idea of non-traditional prolongation (nesting but not TSDT) with the turnaround figure as part of the standard formal schema, there is a clearer picture of the formal symmetry and balancing gestures. Even though the harmonic rhythm is nominally interrupted because it is not a literal V7 chord for 4 bars, the symmetry is more obvious, natural, and conforms to the actual song form. I would also argue that the notion of prolongation in the last four bars stays intact even without the final V, due to its frequency as part of the schema. In other words, the tunes that end with V7-IV7-I7-I7 would still be considered balanced even without the explicit V (bar 12) prolongation.

One interesting tidbit about this approach is that the more symmetrical harmonic rhythm could be analyzed as a large scale 3:2 polyrhythm—a common feature of the local syncopation often found in blues. If we look at the chords as separate hands playing a 3:2 polyrhythm, the 3 hand would be hitting on I, IV, and V while the 2 hand would only be hitting on tonic harmony (I). This might provide some insight into why melodic- harmonic stratification is so prevalent in the style, but a more in-depth exploration of this idea is beyond the scope of this paper.

Regardless, Headlam’s analysis does show symmetry, but at the risk of obfuscating the form. Is the harmonic rhythm really symmetrical and balanced if it requires four bars of the following verse to achieve said symmetry? My adapted prolongation approach is more inclusive because it accounts for the structure of a greater number of compositions in the blues repertoire and allows the natural principle of prolongation a wider range of application. Its increased sense of symmetry also reveals a possible 3:2 harmonic polyrhythm, which adds weight to my argument for including the implied turnaround in the harmonic analysis. 83 While there are indeed one or two instances of a V7 chord in the form (depending on the schema variant) and even though there is an implied or explicit prolongation of V7 resolving I, those V7 chords do not act like typical V chords in a traditional cadential sense. As such, they point more towards plagal motion and symmetry, than any dominant-tonic underpinnings. If anything, bars 9-12 of a 12-bar blues are more of a retrogression than a progression, because they do not abide the goal-oriented, TSDT nesting rules associated with typical functional progressions.

The Double Plagal Progression in Rock

Now, I will show how the last four bars of the 12-bar blues form has been adapted and used by rock musicians throughout the years, making it one of the most commonly used blues-based rock progressions. Instead of being thought of as V7-IV7- I7- V7, as it is in blues, this progression’s application in rock is I-fVII-IV-I. In the rock theory world, it is called the double plagal progression. In blues-based rock tunes, such as “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive, one often sees such double plagal motion as an integral part of the composition. In fact, this type of progression allows one to discern which rock songs are blues-based. The double plagal motion is exactly the same as bars

9-12 from a 12-bar blues with turnaround116.

In Figure 13, Nobile labeled the double plagal motion in “Rock’n’Me” as a filled

4 out rebellious version of the V2/IV, but I feel that this is a superimposition of common

4 practice thinking on a different style. A V2/IV would imply that the dominant chord

116 Blues-based rock songs are those whose melodies are structured from the 025MTL3 modal frame and/or harmonies which mimic blues structures. 84 4 functions as such. To function properly, the seventh of a V2/IV would need to resolve from f7 down to 6, but it does not. That is not how double plagal progressions are used.

They are usually root position powerchord-based stock accompaniment figures such as those found in tunes like “Takin’ Care of Business” (see Figure 56). If I adopted the idea

4 th that it were a V2/IV with a non-traditional resolution, the 7 of the secondary dominant would resolve atypically down a fourth. Which model better explains the progression?

4 An atypically resolving V2/IV or the predominance of levels-based plagal motion? I believe it is the latter.

Figure 56, “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive, intro riff (Hal Leonard’s transcription).

The same motion is hinted at here in Figure 57 in the intro lick from “Fortunate

Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The intro lick spells out major chord qualities for each measure and foreshadows double plagal motion. The verse guitar part reduces that to just power chords. 85

Figure 57, “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, intro lick.

The double plagal progression is then sounded explicitly during the verse of

“Fortunate Son” with power chord strumming. Figure 58, below, illustrates this.

G5 F5 C5 G5 Some folks are born made to wave the flag. Ooh they’re red, white, and blue.

G5 F5 C5 G5 And when the band plays “Hail to the Chief,” ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord.

Figure 58, “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, verse (Quillen transcription).

In Figure 59, the “Crossroads” variant of bars 9-12 (V7-IV7-I7-I7) is shown in the double plagal progression of all root position major triads (I-fVII-IV-IV) found in the verse of “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac. Notice that the harmonic rhythm is sped up.

What used to get a full bar only gets a half bar in this example.

Figure 59, “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac, verse (Hal Leonard transcription).

The same sort of harmonic rhythm can be found in the intro to “Back in Black” by

ACDC, shown below in Figure 60. The chords are still root position, but this time, they are open fifths instead of triads.

Due to its general avoidance of functional TSDT motion, the double plagal motion likely points to blue tonality. There are other types of progressions which avoid the V altogether. Their presence in rock leads me to believe they may indicate blue tonality, as well. 87

Figure 60, “Back in Black” by ACDC, intro riff.

The Ax-Fall Progression in Rock

In the hill country and early blues styles, it is common to stay on the same lick, riff or rhythmic pattern for a whole song or section. A brief listen to any hill country blues artist, like R.L. Burnside, will illustrate this point. Sometimes, the accompaniment is quite literally a drone. Sometimes, the concept of the drone is elaborated by simple pendular harmonies—simply alternating between two chords, such as I-fVII-I or I-IV-I.

The progression, I-IV-I, is often elaborated with the passing chord fIII, yielding the ax- fall progression. It is a popular vamping pattern which is as follows: I-IV-fIII-I. The point of this sort of vamping riff is to go somewhere without going anywhere. We find the ax fall progression, or some variant of it throughout rock.

Figure 61 illustrates a slightly modified ax-fall progression in the music of Muddy

Waters (written by Willie Dixon). This particular riff is the verse vamp on I that happens 88 before he moves to the IV. This pattern, or some variant of it, is used throughout the genre.

Figure 61, “Hoochie Coochie Man” by Muddy Waters, riff.

In Figure 62, the ax-fall can be seen in a slightly modified form in “Bad to the

Bone” by George Thoroughgood. This riff is essentially the entire song.

Figure 62, “Bad to the Bone” by George Thoroughgood.

Another modified ax-fall can be found in Figure 63, which features the intro riff from “T.N.T.” by ACDC. The entire verse is I5-fIII5-IV5-fIII5 repeated. When the chorus comes around, they use the same chords as the verse, but adopt the ax-fall feeling more 89 explicitly, progressing more emphatically from IV5-fIII5-I5 on the lyrics “T. N. T.” (once again, no V chord at all). Notice the quarter tone bend on the second Gn in m.2. Just the presence of consistent quartertone bending is a stylistic feature that links the music to blue tonality. Other blue tonality links include the ax-fall progression, the lack of any V chord, and the dominant sonority of open fifths. These connections suggest that ACDC borrowed from the blues significantly.

Just like the sections on the 12-bar and the double plagal progression, the goal of this section is to demonstrate the connection of the ax-fall progression to and its existence in blues-based rock. Like the double plagal progression, the ax-fall progression is one of the ways rock has borrowed from blues, so the presence of either progression often suggests other aspects of blue tonality may be present.

Figure 63, “T.N.T.” by ACDC, intro riff.

Blue Tonality is Structured from a Modal Frame, not a Scale.

This section is a critical examination of a few of the theoretical models of the blues scale. After the review, I present an alternative model. The blues scale models 90 presented in popular theory textbooks,117 method books,118 guitar magazines,119 and in scholarly literature120 are lacking in one of two theoretically relevant ways:

1. The scale model omits pitches present in the melodic-harmonic structures.

2. The scale model gives #4/f5 structural status, despite its non-chord tone status.

My 025 Middle-Tonic Ladder-of-Thirds modal frame, however, more accurately portrays the style, and it does account for the pitches in the melody/harmony, while also putting

#4/f5 in its proper category.

Standard Hexatonic Blues Scale

I begin the reexamination with a commonly taught blues scale, which is defined by Kostka/Payne as the hexatonic scale in Figure 64. While the scale pattern in Figure 64 is not entirely foreign to the blues, it does not provide a complete picture of the style. In other words, simply adding a #4 to a minor pentatonic scale does not account for the pitch class content of blues compositions. The three issues with this approach are that it omits 2/n3/f6/n6/n7, it places #4/f5 as a Structural Pitch, and it does not have the pitch collection to build necessary structural chords.

117 For instance, see Stefan Kostka and Dorothy Payne’s Tonal Harmony for the standard hexatonic blues scale. 118 BB King’s Blues Guitar: A Method by BB King describes playing the blues as a dorian-influenced minor pentatonic scale with bending incorporated. 119 Andy Aledort from Guitar World often features blues guitar lessons recommending that players alternate between the blues scale (or minor pentatonic) and the major pentatonic scale, yielding a composite approach. 120 Kubik’s book Africa and the Blues presents a partials-based model of the blues scale. 91 C Ef F F# G Bf

1 f3 4 #4 5 f7

Figure 64, The standard blues scale.

The first feature of the standard hexatonic blues scale that is problematic is giving structural status to #4/f5. I do agree that blue thirds, sixths, and sevenths can be structural

(blue sixths being the least common), but the blue fifth is not, since #4/f5 is the only pitch in the standard blue scale that is never a chord tone in the standard three-chord 12-bar blues progression. 121 It is not even possible to build more than two chords from just the pitches of the so-called blues “scale,” unless the blues tune calls for only the chords i and fIII, which they rarely, if ever, do. If a blue note is not related to the root, third, fifth or seventh of one of the primary chords (I, IV, or V), then it is likely just an embellishing tone.

Jeff Todd Titon, who found only 43 occurrences of #4/f5 in 44 blues tunes, which supports the concept of #4/f5 functioning as an embellishing tone.122 He does not propose an actual blues scale, but he does call it that. In Figure 65, he offers a very literal pitch collection (inventory, really) from his 44 “downhome” blues tunes.123 The numbers under

121 Coincidentally, #4 is also not a whole step or a minor third away from a root or fifth per my (025) MTL3 approach. 122 See the section called “Blue Tonality allows a Wider Range of General Consonant Sonorities” (p. 66) for a more detailed explanation of Titon’s downhome blues scale. 123 Of particular interest is the absence of any f6 pitches (no Af) in his blues “scale.” Titon’s pitch inventory comes from only the vocal melodies from 44 “downhome” blues melodies—not the accompaniment parts. While it is indeed uncommon (although not unheard of) to find this pitch in blues vocal lines, it is more often present in accompaniment parts. 92 each note represent the number of times each occurred in the vocal melody. He accurately labels the 3 and 7 complexes, and he also includes the #4/f5 complex.

Figure 65, Titon’s downhome blues scale.

While Titon is not asserting that #4/f5 is a structural member of the scale outright, the status given to his “G complex” is suspect, as he has provided plenty of transcriptions where the #4 is used in non-structural ways (passing-tone, neighboring-tone, glides). As his examples suggest, #4 does happen as a common style-specific non-chord tone, but it is not structural, and should not be considered as part of the scale because it is rarely, if ever, a chord tone, as is illustrated by Figures 66-71.

Figure 66, “Prison Bound Blues” by Leroy Carr & Francis ‘Scrapper’ Blackwell (Titon’s transcription).

Figure 67, “Got the Blues, Can’t Be Satisfied” by Mississippi John Hurt (Titon’s transcription).

Figure 68, “Long Lonesome Blues” by Blind Lemon Jefferson (Titon’s transcription).

Figure 69, “My Black Mama” by Son House (Titon’s transcription).

Figure 70, “Writin’ Paper Blues” by Blind Willie McTell (Titon’s transcription).

Figure 71, “Alberta” by Leadbelly (Van Der Merwe’s transcription).

Blues/Major Pentatonic Composite Scale

In the common practice period, pieces/sections are generally major or minor.124

With blues, those lines are blurred. Since the style has both thirds, it seems to be both major and minor (7#9 sonority). What do we call a “scale” that is both major and minor?

124 In the romantic period, mode mixture was fairly common, so some late classical/early romantic era pieces may switch between major or minor, but not necessarily both at the same time, as it occurs in the blues. The sound of the blues is an overall sonority of major/minor, not intermittent mode mixture. Since this study narrows the scope of common practice tonality to be composers from Bach to Brahms, addressing Romantic era mode mixture as a counter argument is beyond the scope of this thesis. 95 Perhaps, the term “composite scale” might come to mind, but even if we use the most popular composite blues scale (shown in Figure 72) by combining the blues scale with the major pentatonic scale—as influential guitar teachers125 often do—it lacks because it omits f6/n7, it places #4/f5 as a structural pitch, and it does not have the pitch collection to build the necessary structural chords.

Blues Scale: Major Pentatonic:

C Ef F F# G Bf C D E G A

1 f3 4 #4 5 f7 1 2 n3 5 6

Composite Blues Scale:

C D Ef E F F# G A Bf

1 2 f3 n3 4 #4 5 6 f7

Figure 72, Blues & major pentatonic composite scale.

First, the composite scale outlined in Figure 72 is three pitches away from being the chromatic scale, and this is especially problematic, because two of those three missing pitches are f6 and n7, which do occur in blues melodies and accompaniment parts. Second, this model gives #4/f5 structural status, even though it is never a chord tone in the standard 12-bar blues progression. As I have demonstrated in the previous section, #4/f5 should be considered a simple passing tone, vocal inflection, or ornament.

125 Andy Aledort has published many lessons in Guitar World, including a few on how to play blues, which he says is best achieved by switching between the blues scale (or minor pentatonic) and the major pentatonic scale. 96 BB King’s Dorian-like Approach

In my research, I came across a blues guitar method book co-written by B.B.

King.126 In it, he discusses gear, articulations, improvisation, and even tips for touring, but the most interesting information to me is when he defines the blues scale.127 The problems with his approach are that it omits 2/n3/f6/n7 and it does not have the pitch collection to build the necessary structural chords. Figure 73 shows his theoretical take on the mode. It is essentially the minor pentatonic scale—1-f3-4-5-f7—but each time the f7 is sounded, it is approached by bending up from n6. This gives the scale a sort of dorian- minus-2 sound/structure.128 In my own experience playing blues, I have found myself working largely out of dorian (with a 2, though) and bending f3 or f7 when necessary, so this resonates with me. It also offers some evidence perhaps into some of Kubik’s idea about the functional interchangeability of n6 and f7.129 I like that he does not include #4 in his scale, but he omits 2 and n3 which is curious, considering both scale degrees are used throughout B.B.’s playing.130 In addition, since f6 and n7 as explicit scale degrees are unaccounted for, the necessary chords for the style cannot be built. The most important take away from this scale model is that when he lays out the scale without #4/f5, he says

126 King (1973) 127 According to the editor of his method book, King also studied Schillinger graphs, although I was unable to locate any other information pertaining to that. 128 If it were dorian, it would at least be symmetrical, which seems to be a theme of blue tonality. 129 Essentially, Kubik noted that acceptable cent values for f7 were so wide sometimes that they included cent values closer to n6. An interesting coincidence is that f7 and n6 are the only two scale degrees which are derived twice on each local level using my 025MTL3 approach. For example, A and Bf happen twice on the Level C (A Bf C D Ef E F G A Bf). 130 One of BB’s signature opening licks involves bending from 2 to n3 (or B3). It is 5-6-1-(2)3 ala “Sweet Little Angel.” In fact, he shows the same shape/structure in multiple scenarios. It is uncertain why he would leave out 2. 97 that the most important blue notes are f3 and f7, but that f5 happens only occasionally, supporting my claim that it should not be given structural status.131 In fact, his examples including #4/f5 showed them in non-chord tone roles.

Figure 73, B.B. King’s dorian-influenced blues scale.

131 King (1973, p. 48) 98 Kubik’s Partials Based Approach

Figure 74, Kubik’s approach is rooted in partials 4-9.

Another approach comes from Gerhard Kubik, who suggests in Figure 74 (above) that the pitches of the blues “scale” are derived from the harmonic series partials 4-9 for level C (C E G Bf C D) and level F (F A C Ef F G).132 Figure 75 shows how combining those yields Kubik’s composite blues scale. Note the flexible 3 and lack of #4. The problems with this model are that it omits f6/n7 and it does not have the pitch collection to build the necessary structural chords.

132 Notice the slightly flattened n3 (386 cents), the very flat f3 (267 cents), and the slightly flattened n6 (884 cents). 99 C D Ef E F G A Bf

1 2 f3 n3 4 5 6 f7

Figure 75, Kubik’s levels-based composite blues scale.

Figure 76, The tuning of Kutin double-bells (Kubik’s illustration).

Essentially, Kubik’s scale is an extended ladder-of-thirds approach based on his observations of two African men playing double bells, illustrated in Figure 75. Each of the bells was tuned in fourths. One was C and G, whilst the other was F and C. From the

Africanist perspective these are said to represent the male and female vocal ranges. His theory takes the composite of those pitches and adds in the level IV transpositions, to create the composite scale above.

He does not include the level V transpositions for two reasons. One is that the

Africanist perspective on music is rooted in natural principles such as duality, balance, and cycles,133 so a third transposition is not possible (he counts only two genders). The other reason is his apt observation that in “in many blues accompanied with Western chords, the progression from tonic to subdominant is taken with ease, but the dominant is often avoided, circumscribed, or totally neglected.”134

133 See Curry (2015) 134 Kubik (1999, p. 142) 100 While I agree that balance and symmetry are paramount to understanding the blues, I do not agree with his overall scale approach because it adopts the principle of level for I and IV, but abandons it for level V. While he is right that the V often seems

“circumscribed,” that is only the case when viewed from a traditional theoretical viewpoint. Perhaps more troubling from an academic stance is that he provides no examples or evidence for this avoidance of the V.135

An interesting aspect of Kubik’s scale model is that he does not include a #4/f5, a position I support. In his book, there is a chapter called “The ‘Flatted Fifth,’” and in it, he suggests one possible explanation for why #4/f5 is found in blues music. His theoretical point of view leans heavily on the overtone series, its just-intoned pitches, and the Africanist musician’s pitch memory, which is how he accounts for the ranges of blue notes.136 He points to the fact that the 11th partial of Level I would be naturally sharp, yielding a slightly lowered #4.137 When the harmony shifts to level IV, that 11th partial from Level I is now replaced by n4. Though it does support my argument that #4/f5 is not structural, Kubik’s partials-based explanation for the existence of #4/f5 in the blues is more complicated and only accounts for the slightly sharpened 4. It does not address how the instances of actual #4/f5 come about.

135 Titon’s “Early downhome blues families” (Titon’s Fig. 76) shows that the most common pitches over the V chord are from the 5 complex and 7 complex (usually G and Bf). It is true that we could attribute those pitches to being part of the level I pitches (avoiding the V), but if we use the (025) middle-tonic ladder-of-thirds approach, those pitches would be a natural result from level V. Blues players only seem to avoid the V, when in reality, they are using common tones shared between levels. 136 See Figure 73. 137 These notes are derived from the harmonic series built on the root note of the level. 101 Conclusion: The Blues is a Modal Frame

At some point, each theoretical model falls short of being the most logical structural scale for the style. Earlier in this chapter, I discussed the proposed blues scales of various theorists, but I did not provide a counter argument for the scale of Van Der

Merwe. I excluded his scale from my discussion (more of a pitch collection really) because his model is the one which closest resembles mine, though we derived our models very differently. Van Der Merwe and I name almost the same pitches, with the exception of #4, because I do not agree that #4 is a structural pitch. I think Van Der

Merwe is right when he asserted that the blues mode is actually a modal frame.138 The blues modal frame is more about level-dependent tone tendencies, popular improvisatory schema, and a specific set of pitches determined by the level. It would be more accommodating of the situational flexibility required by the blues than a standard or composite scale, and it would allow for the sheer number of pitches typically present (or at least possible) in the blues.

Kubik, Van Der Merwe, and Titon all offer theories on the blues “scale” and touch on the idea of a modal frame, but none come as close as Nicholas Stoia did in his study of dissonance treatment in the blues.139 Stoia, however, also does not commit to a particular scale or modal frame, but his research on hanging/dropping thirds provides a firm foundation for my theory about the blues modal frame.

138 Refer to Van Der Merwe’s definition of “modal frame” on page 53. 139 See Stoia (2010) 102 2.07 My Synthetic Approach

For the purposes of this thesis, I will adopt my own theoretical model, the (025) middle-tonic ladder-of-thirds modal frame, as the structural scale for the blues. The most basic structure of my 025 Middle-Tonic Ladder-of-Thirds Modal Frame (which gives 1 and 5 the highest structural status) came about because of what Nobile says at the outset of his paper about the commonality between the three types of melodic-harmonic divorce and the melodic pedal status of 1 and 5:

Allan Moore first referred to this phenomenon as a “divorce” nearly two decades ago, noting its association with blues songs. Several other authors have since discussed the divorce, including Ken Stephenson, who shows that 1 and 5 often act as stable tones even if they are dissonant with the underlying chords, and Peter van der Merwe, who offers a more historical approach that traces the origins of the melodic-harmonic divorce to nineteenth-century Viennese music….All three types have one thing in common: when the melodic-harmonic divorce exists, the melody generally revolves around the tonic triad. This reflects both Stephenson’s claim that 1 and 5 are the most common melodic “pedals” above a changing harmonic backdrop and Temperley’s claim that melodies that are divorced from harmony are generally pentatonic in nature; I would add the possibility of a melodic pedal on 3 to Stephenson’s 1 and 5, and I interpret Temperley’s pentatonic melodies as the tonic triad with embellishing tones. Essentially, this means that the notes of the tonic triad, which are always stable at the deepest structural level, can under certain circumstances act as stable tones even if they are dissonant with the foreground harmonies.140

Almost every author who has published on the subject has mentioned the stability of 1 and 5, so I felt it was imperative the modal frame be built around those two scale degrees. The scholars on blue tonality, such as Van Der Merwe and Kubik, lead me to believe the blues modal frame must also governed by ladder and level. The details of this frame, however, were not crystallized until I read the work of Stoia. In the next section, I

140 Nobile (2015, p. 189) 103 will explain how his studies lead me to creating the most important aspect of my modal frame, the 025 parameter.

Stoia’s Melodic Dissonance Treatment in Blue Tonality and the 025 Middle-Tonic

Ladder-of-Thirds Modal Frame

In his article, Stoia is clear when he describes the ladder, emphasizing that either the bottom note or the middle note may be the tonic. His emphasis on the tonic option

(and the status of 1 and 5) is what gave me the idea to create my frame with the middle- tonic perspective in mind. Stoia says:

Van der Merwe describes stacks of dropping and hanging thirds that create a ‘ladder-of-thirds’ (VDM 120-125)—a mode based on three notes spaced by neutral thirds in which either the lowest or the middle note may be the tonic—but I propose applying his concept specifically to the major tonic triad. The dropping and hanging thirds lie most frequently around 1, the most stable degree of the mode. They also lie frequently around 5, and less often around 3.141

Figure 77, Stoia illustrates voice-leading with hanging/dropping thirds (Stoia’s example).

In Figure 77, Stoia illustrates how the style’s non-chord tone treatment allows for stepwise neighbors, but also hanging/dropping thirds. Figure 77a shows the basic premise of the ladder-of-thirds, which is the idea that the ladder can be extended in either direction when the middle note is the tonic. Figure 77b expands that idea to show the

141 Stoia (2010, paragraph 4) 104 pitch options for hanging and dropping thirds (filled-in note heads) in relation to each stable note of the level (Stoia considers these to be the root and fifth of the triad). Figure

77c aligns with common practice by considering the triad with stepwise neighboring tones (filled-in note heads). Figure 77d shows how A can be viewed as an upper neighbor to G and also as a hanging third to C. Figure 77e shows how Bf, the dropping third of G, is also the lower neighbor to C. From this, we can glean a few things, the most notable of which is the idea that the 3 is indeed flexible in blues because each of the stable pitches of the level (the root and fifth) acts as its own pivoting point for such an

025 middle-tonic ladder-of-thirds142 treatment.

A simpler way of looking at this is as follows. Each structural pitch (the root and the fifth) of the level will act as a pivot point, and therefore, be surrounded symmetrically143 in both directions by a whole step (to account for standard upper/lower neighbor tones of common practice tonality) and a minor third (to account for the middle- tonic ladder-of-thirds from blue tonality). The resultant “scale” for that level is the composite of those pitches.144

142 Hereafter, this may also be abbreviated to 025 MTL3. 143 Figure 78 shows how the 025 modal frame and its inversion, 035, is applied to 1 and 5 symmetrically. 144 Even though the modal frame is not organized like a scale, I will organize it that way because it is familiar. 105 0 2 5 0 2 5 025 on Root & Fifth of Level I (C): A Bf C D Ef E F G A Bf 0 3 5 0 3 5

Scale/Modal composite (for the level): C D Ef E F G A Bf C

Figure 78, 025MTL3 approach applied to one level (C).

This process yields exactly the same composite blues scale that Kubik proposes, and I agree with it, but only for the local level. It does not really work in the overall context of a 12-bar blues as explained earlier. When the root and fifth of all three levels

(I, IV, and V) are each given the 025 treatment, a composite scale can be derived similar to the one that Van Der Merwe proposes, but without the 5 complex.

106 Root Fifth

025 on Root & Fifth of Level I (C): A Bf C D Ef E F G A Bf

Modal composite for the Level I (C): C D Ef E F G A Bf C

025 on Root & Fifth of Level IV (F): D Eb F G Af A Bf C D Ef

Modal composite for the Level IV (F): F G Af A Bf C D Ef F

025 on Root & Fifth of Level V (G): E F G A Bf B C D E F

Modal composite for the Level V (G): G A Bf B C D E F G

Modal composite for the Global Level I: C D Ef E F G Af A Bf B C

1 2 f3 3 4 5 f6 6 f7 7 8

Figure 79, 025MTL3 approach on three levels (C, F, and G).

When discussing non-chord tone melodic dissonance in this thesis, I will refer to this as the 025 Middle-Tonic Ladder-of-Thirds modal frame. Due to hanging and dropping thirds, the interval of a minor third (sometimes a major third, too) counts as stepwise motion, which allows for stepwise pentatonic melodies to be heard as consonant without expectation of traditional resolution. To support that point, Stoia provides an example in Figure 80 with the tune “John Henry” by Reese Crenshaw.

107

Figure 80, “John Henry” by Reese Crenshaw (Stoia’s transcription).

Support for the 025 MTL3 Modal Frame

The 025 MTL3 Modal Frame is a logical alternative model for the blues scale because it excludes #4/f5 as a structural pitch, it includes all common scale degrees, and it has the pitch collection to build the necessary structural chords. It closely resembles Van

Der Merwe’s approach, but does not adopt his #4/f5. It aligns with Kubik’s scale on the local level, but it expands it to include levels I, IV, and V instead of just I and IV. While

Jeff Todd Titon does not note a single occurrence of the f6 in the 44 downhome blues melodies, Van Der Merwe does note several examples.145 He finds them primarily as the blue third of the subdominant146 or as a blue note resolving down to the dominant below.147 What I have presented above is a modal frame—not a blues “scale”—but for the purposes of discussion, a scalar representation is convenient to discuss the pitch collection. Note the lack of the #4. As demonstrated above, it is not that the pitch does

145 Van Der Merwe (1989, p. 128) 146 This is found with levels-based rhythmic comping, which often entails transposing a comping riff to more than one level. If the f7 would slide up to n7 on the V as part of a comping riff, then the f6 would slide up to the n6 on the IV when that riff is transposed. See Figure 36 for an example. 147 The line 8 – f7 – 6 – f6 – 5 happens in the standard blues turnaround figure, as shown in Figure 36. It also happens in the Adeline Slide, which is essentially a maximally smooth I – vi – II7 – V7 – I progression characterized by the chromatic linear motion from 3 – 5 – f5 – 4 – 3. It is often accompanied by 5 – f7 – 6 – f6 – 5. 108 not happen in blues…it is just that it does not happen enough times to be a distinguishing structural pitch. Within the 3 and 7 complexes, each pitch seems to be intentional and structural, occurring frequently and in structurally important points. In Titon’s analysis of

44 blues vocal melodies, he discovered that out of 561 total occurrences of 4, #4/f5, and

5, only 43 of them were #4/f5, yet it is considered to be one of the “blue” notes. n3, however—which has been excluded from the traditional blues scale—occurs 201 times in just the lower register (248 if the upper register is included). Aside from f6 (the lowest occurring pitch of my blues scale according to Titon), the next lowest occurring is actually the n7. I include it because, although it is all but eliminated from the vocal lines, it is often sounded in the accompaniment parts. Also, it supports more firmly the notion of levels. The modal frame I propose treats each level equally. The current model for the traditional blues scale overemphasizes the role of the #4 and virtually ignores the pitch complexes for n3 and n7. I consider the root, fifth, third or seventh of I, IV, and V structural, so it makes the most sense to treat n3, n6, and n7 as structural pitch complexes, because they would be considered the blue thirds of each level in the 12-bar blues form. #4/f5 is not structural because it does not fit those criteria, so it should be treated as a style specific non-chord tone, ornament, or simply expressive pitch play.

2.08 Structural Features that Indicate a Blue Tonality Shift

In Chapter 2, I proposed some concepts necessary to understanding blue tonality.

Following that, I showed how blue tonality differs from common practice tonality by focusing on two points of discussion—the non-traditional, non-functional blues harmonies and the blues mode. Then, building on the research of Van Der Merwe and

Stoia, I created my own model of the structure of the blues mode which I call the 025 109 Middle-Tonic Ladder-of-Thirds Modal Frame. I will now conclude the chapter by listing the three possible conditions under which a blue tonality shift may have occurred. They are as follows:

1. Flexible scale degrees are present (typically n3 and n7). This indicates a different

scale construction than major or minor.

2. Traditional harmonic behavior (TSDT) is absent. Instead, there are non-

functioning root position harmonies built on pentatonic scale steps with an

expanded harmonic vocabulary including typically consonant blues sonorities,

such as open 5th, major, dominant 7th, and dominant 7#9. This is often manifested

in the form of modified blues progressions and/or motivic adaptations to blues

lines (riffs).

3. The scale degrees are fixed, and the accompaniment uses functional harmonic

progressions, but the melodic-harmonic stratification in the melody can be

explained by the 025MTL3 modal frame.

There are many features of the blues style which might indicate a blue tonality shift has taken place, such as timbre, lyrical content, and syncopation. However, for the present study, the focus is on just the elements which obscure the sense of traditional tonality. The goal is a search for anything that obscures the binary matrix of major or minor (flexible 3 and 7), uses non-traditional harmonies, and/or abides the 025 MTL3 modal frame.

110 Chapter 3: An Analysis of Temperley and Nobile’s Blues-Based Rock Examples

Through the Lens of Blue Tonality

3.01 Introduction

In Chapter 3, I will conclude my thesis by providing alternative analyses through the theoretical lens of blue tonality for 6 blues-based tunes used by Temperley and Nobile in their work. The tunes are as follows:

1. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones

2. “Rockin’ Me Baby” by The Steve Miller Band

3. “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive

4. “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge

5. “Rollin’ & Tumblin” by Muddy Waters

6. “Baby, You can Drive My Car” by The Beatles

For each tune, I will discuss the applicable conditions which may indicate a blue tonality shift has occurred, and the evidence to support it.

3.02 Analysis of “Jumpin Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones

Figure 81 (below) is my transcription of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by the Rolling

Stones. This tune meets all three conditions for a blue tonality shift. The 3 is flexible, the harmonies are non-functional, and the melodic-harmonic structure can be explained by the 025 MTL3. This suggests the tune has a blue tonality structural foundation. The analytical observations supporting the claim for blue tonality are listed below:

111 1. Flexible 3

a. Vocal melody is presented both as f3 and B3 (n3) in verse.

b. The vocal melody also contains f3 and n3 the chorus.

2. Non-Functional Harmony

a. The key signature that makes the most sense for this tune (in B) is actually

the cross-harp key148 of E.

b. There are no A#’s (n7) in the song.

c. There is no V chord, or V-I cadence—only plagal and double-plagal. The

avoidance of V is indicative of blue tonality.

d. The riff’s progression is I5-fVII over a I pedal. Moving in seconds

between two chords that do not really progress is classic pendular

harmony. The riff almost seems as if its purpose is to show the sonority,

keep time, and provide syncopation.

e. The chorus progression is fIII-fVII-IV7-I. All the chords are root-position,

major, and each is built on members of the minor pentatonic scale.

f. There are no “real” inversions, except perhaps the C# in the bass in mm. 4

and 6. The bass does “walk” during the chorus, but those notes do not

present as inversions.

148 Cross-harp is a term applied to playing harmonica a fourth up from the written key. If I call a blues in C, a harmonica player will likely choose a harmonica in the cross-harp key of F. 112 g. The consonant sonorities in the tune are the open fifth, major triad,

dominant 7th, and dominant 7#9sus4.149 There are no minor chords.

3. 025MTL3

a. The composite PC of the entire piece outlines Kubik’s blues scale exactly

(B C# D D# E F# G# A B), but more importantly, it coincides with the

025MTL3. In fact, the 025MTL3 treatment is only needed on the tonic

level to yield the PC for the tune (G# A B C# D D# E F# G# A).

b. The riff outlines the B7#9sus4 sonority, especially in the live recordings

when the D is also in the guitar part (Keith). The simultaneous sounding of

f3 and n3 indicates that the underlying structure is a modal frame which

allows for the existence of both types of 3, like the 025MTL3.

149 The guitar riff transcription is shown two ways. One approach is like the recorded version, and the other is like the live version, which outlines the dominant 7#9 sonority. I speculate that the Stones’ prefer the song the way they play it live. 113

Figure 81, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones, verse & chorus (Quillen transcription).

The divorce in question, according to Temperley and Nobile, is the Dn over A5 harmony in measure 15. Temperley talks about the A5 chord as if it is its own harmony. 114 Nobile noted that it is part of a larger prolongation of I due to the repeated tonic pedal. I would argue that the A5 is a part of I, but not as a passing harmony. Instead, I contend that it is part of the larger dominant 7#9sus4 sonority. If the local harmony changes at all, it moves from B5 to B7#9sus4.

Regardless of how the A5 harmony is viewed, melodic-harmonic stratification is a style-appropriate feature of blue tonality and 1 is the most important structural scale degree, so it is essentially considered always consonant along with 5 and, to a lesser degree, 3. This means that the dropping third Dn, and its resolution to B, is also considered consonant with the underlying harmony per Stoia’s non-chord tone logic.

Even if we consider the A5 traditionally like Temperley, the Dn is still within the 025 parameter of the local 5, E. Its resolution to B is also within the 025 parameter of the local 1, A. In his article, Nobile even transcribes the vocal bends from the f3, showing the presence of a neutral 3. I actually hear the last word “rain” as D#, so the pitch destinations for Mick Jagger are actually B3 (via the bend), f3, and finally n3 (via the word “rain”).

The evidence suggests the tune expresses blue tonality, not common practice tonality, which exempts it from the conditions of melodic-harmonic divorce.

3.03 Analysis of “Rockin’ Me Baby” by The Steve Miller Band

Figure 82 shows Nobile’s transcription of “Rockin’ Me Baby” by The Steve

Miller Band. This tune also meets all three conditions for a blue tonality shift. The 3 is flexible, the harmonies are non-functional, and the melodic-harmonic structure can be explained by the 025 MTL3. This means that the tune is structured from blue tonality.

The analytical observations supporting the claim for blue tonality are listed below: 115

1. Flexible 3

a. Vocal melody is presented both as f3 and n3 in the verse and the chorus.

2. Non-Functional Harmony

a. The key signature that makes the most sense for this tune (in B) is actually

the cross-harp key of E.

b. There are no A#’s (n7) in the song.

c. There is no V chord or V-I cadence. Only plagal and double-plagal

cadences are present.

d. All the chords are root-position, major, and each is built on members of

the minor pentatonic scale.

e. The riff’s progression is double plagal (I-fVII5-IV-I), which is a classic

blues adaptation from bars 9-12 in a 12-bar blues. Moving in

seconds/fourths between three chords that do not really progress is classic

pendular harmony behavior, which is also indicative of blue tonality.

f. The consonant sonorities in the tune are the open fifth, major triad, and

dominant 7th. There are no minor chords.

3. 025MTL3

a. The composite PC of the piece outline Kubik’s blues scale exactly (B C#

D D# E F# G# A B), but more importantly, it coincides with the

025MTL3. In fact, the 025MTL3 treatment is only needed on the tonic

level to yield the PC for the tune (G# A B C# D D# E F# G# A). 116 The divorce shown in Figure 82 by Nobile is a clear case of melodic-harmonic stratification, but I would not call it a “divorce.” Every pitch of the vocal line falls into the 025MTL3 of B, so it is clear the melody is elaborating the global level I in blue tonality. The double-plagal progression, as I showed in Chapter 2, is a common elaboration of the global level I in blues-based rock. Both foreground expressions elaborate the background harmony, I, in style appropriate ways and within the modal frame which governs them.

The same is true of the chorus, shown in Figure 83. The double-plagal progression elaborates the global level I in the way it always has. The vocal harmonies ornament the global level I as well, although they do so differently in each chorus. They imply I-IV-IV-I in the first and I-I-IV-I in the second. While I understand Nobile’s inclination to point this out, I do not see it as out of place at all in a blues-based rock tune.

A lot of times, the background harmonies are improvised and even change night to night

(and chorus to chorus). For example, I saw a live recording from 2009 on YouTube, and

The Steve Miller Band adhered to the I-IV-IV-I version for all chorus harmonies.150

Perhaps the biggest blue tonality clue is the structure Temperley and Nobile did not think important enough to mention. The transition lick, shown in Figure 84, is a common blues figure and it also aligns with the 025MTL3, which should be enough to think it might be in blue tonality, but there is more evidence. The placement of this blues lick appears to signal the style change between the contrasting intro riff and the more bluesy verse. The intro is a guitar riff based on plagal motion between B major and E

150 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HFFcz4VS1Q

117 major, but the lyrics do not start until the blues lick transitions us to the verse, where the bluesy double-plagal progression begins. Steve Miller, in this instance, showed that the 3 was flexible by introducing the f3 in the riff directly before singing n3 in the verse.

Temperley and Nobile’s finding of divorce makes sense here because stratification is present, but again, the evidence suggests the tune expresses blue tonality, not common practice tonality, which exempts it from the conditions of melodic-harmonic divorce.

Figure 82, “Rock’n’Me” by The Steve Miller Band, verse (Nobile’s transcription and reduction).

118

Figure 83, “Rock’n’Me” by The Steve Miller Band, chorus 1 & 2 (Nobile’s transcription).

Figure 84, “Rockin’ Me Baby” by The Steve Miller Band, blues transition lick.

3.04 Analysis of “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive

Figure 85 shows Temperley’s transcription of “Takin’ Care of Business” by

Bachman Turner Overdrive. This tune also meets all three conditions for a blue tonality shift. The 3 is flexible, the harmonies are non-functional, and the melodic-harmonic structure can be explained by the 025 MTL3. This means that the tune can be modeled by blue tonality. The analytical observations supporting the claim for blue tonality are listed below:

119 1. Flexible 3

a. Vocal melody starts on f3 but bends up to B3 or n3 on the word “city,”

although Temperley’s transcription does not show it. The singer does this

in other verses, as well.

b. The intro guitar lick shown in Figure 86 shows level transposition and

both versions of 3 before a word was sung.

2. Non-Functional Harmony

a. The key signature that makes the most sense for this tune (in C) is actually

the cross-harp key of F, not C minor, as Temperley does.

b. There are no Bn’s (n7) in the song.

c. There is no V chord or V-I cadence. Only plagal and double-plagal

cadences are present.

d. All the chords are root-position, major, and each is built on members of

the minor pentatonic scale.

e. The riff’s progression is I5-fVII5-IV5-I, aka the double plagal progression,

which is a classic blues adaptation from bars 9-12 in a 12-bar blues.

Moving in seconds/fourths between three chords that do not really go

anywhere is classic pendular harmony behavior, which is also indicative

of blue tonality.

f. The bridge progression shown in Figure 87 is I-IV-fIII-fVII, again

showing plagal motion and symmetry. All are root position. All are major.

All are based on members of the minor pentatonic scale. 120 g. The consonant sonorities in the tune are the open fifth, major triad, and

dominant 7th. There are no minor chords.

3. 025MTL3

a. The composite PC of the piece aligns with my 025MTL3 model.

The issue here is the same as with the Steve Miller example. Temperley took issue with the C and Ef in the vocal line in m. 2 where the double-plagal progression moves to fVII. However, the vocal line and the accompaniment are both elaborating the global level I in line with the 025MTL3, but in different ways. I would call this style- appropriate melodic-harmonic stratification, but not a divorce, because the other features of the tune point to blue tonality. Also, I am unsure why Temperley would opt to notate this tune in C minor. There is not a single minor chord in the tune, let alone a C minor.

The intro guitar lick in Figure 86 on its own should illustrate that not only is the 3 flexible, but it can be transposed to other levels as well, creating a flexible 3 over the local level Bf. This levels-based thinking is typical of blue tonality. Please note that

Figure 86 and Figure 87 are notated in the cross-harp key of F, though the tonic is C, a common indicator of blue tonality. Another key element for me is the bridge harmony.

The I-IV-fIII-fVII progression is pendular, plagal, and symmetrical.

The evidence suggests the tune expresses blue tonality, not common practice tonality, which exempts it from the conditions of melodic-harmonic divorce.

121

Figure 85, “Taking Care of Business” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive, verse (Temperley’s transcription).

Figure 86, “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive, intro guitar lick (MySongbook.com transcription).

Figure 87, “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive, bridge guitar riff (My Songbook transcription).

3.05 Analysis of “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge

Figure 88 shows Temperley’s transcription of “When a Man Loves a Woman” by

Percy Sledge. This tune does not meet all three conditions for a blue tonality shift, but it does meet one. The 3 is fixed. The harmonies are traditional and functional. However, the melodic-harmonic structure of the melody can be explained by the 025 MTL3. I feel this 122 tune is constructed with blue tonality, but represents a hybridization, because the accompaniment is realized more traditionally while the vocal melody is better modeled by blue tonality. The analytical observation supporting the claim for blue tonality are listed below:

1. 025MTL3

a. The composite PC of the piece aligns with my 025MTL3 model.

The instances of divorce Temperley finds in Figure 88 are marked with arrows.

Temperley cites the Bf in m. 2 as melodic-harmonic divorce, but he discounts the tenets of blue tonality. Essentially, in each case, the same issue happens again. The vocal line, aligning with the 025MTL3, elaborates the global level I while the accompaniment does the same, but in a more traditional way. Each Df and Bf is considered consonant with the global level Df. The Bf is also acceptable as an add2 for this chord because it is within the (025) set around the chord level and the tonic level. I see it as blue tonality utilizing melodic-harmonic stratification where the melody aligns with the 025MTL3 and the accompaniment mimics the common practice.151

Once again, the evidence suggests the tune expresses blue tonality, not common practice tonality, which exempts it from the conditions of melodic-harmonic divorce.

151 One could even possibly make a case for the vocal line to be emphasizing a co-tonic between 1 and 6, which would account for each instance, but proving a co-tonic is beyond the scope of this thesis.

123

Figure 88, “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge, verse (Temperley’s transcription).

3.06 Analysis of “Rollin’ & Tumblin’” by Muddy Waters

Figure 89 shows Temperley’s transcription of “Rollin’ & Tumblin’” by Muddy

Waters. This tune also meets all three conditions for a blue tonality shift. The 3 is flexible, the harmonies are non-functional, and the melodic-harmonic structure can be explained by the 025 MTL3. This suggests that the tune is structured and can be modeled by blue tonality. The analytical observations supporting the claim for blue tonality are listed below:

1. Flexible 3

a. The guitar riff incorporates both f3 and n3.

b. Vocal melody stays mostly on f3 over A major harmony, indicating

dominant 7#9 sonority. There is also a n3 leading up to the V, but that

juxtaposition could be interpreted as a secondary dominant.

2. Non-Functional Harmony

a. The key signature that makes the most sense for this tune (in C) is actually

the cross-harp key of D, not A minor, as Temperley does. 124 b. There are no G#’s (n7) in the song.

c. There is no traditional V-I cadence, only the interrupted plagal version

found in bars 9-12. The bar 12 turnaround V is not present in this tune.

d. All the chords are root-position, major, and each is built on members of

the minor pentatonic scale.

e. The riff’s progression is a 12-bar blues without V chord in bar 12: I-I-I-I-

IV-IV-I-I-V-IV-I-I. Temperley actually mislabels the chords in his

transcriptions. I hear a distinct move to IV harmony in bar 10. The extra

bars Temperley notates are accurate, but unnecessary. Adding a few vamp

bars in between parts of the form is not out of place in the blues. Each new

bit of form is generally cued by the voice.

f. The consonant sonorities in the tune are the open fifth, major triad, and

dominant 7th. There are no minor chords.

3. 025MTL3

a. The composite PC of the piece aligns with my 025MTL3 model.

The tune is in blue tonality because it is a 12-bar blues with a dominant 7#9 sonority, and it aligns with my 025MTL3 modal frame. Temperley marks the “divorced” pitch in m. 13, A, in this example with an arrow, but he discounts blue tonality. The “out” pitch, A, is 1. 1 is the most important member of the modal frame and is considered consonant no matter the harmonic context. It is another case of style-appropriate melodic- harmonic stratification, but not a divorce, as that would require a common practice origin.

Once more, the evidence suggests the tune expresses blue tonality, not common practice tonality, which exempts it from the conditions of melodic-harmonic divorce. 125

Figure 89, “Rollin’ & Tumblin’” by Muddy Waters, verse (Temperley’s transcription).

3.07 Analysis of “Baby, You Can Drive My Car” by The Beatles

Figure 90 shows Temperley’s transcription of “Baby, You Can Drive My Car” by

The Beatles. This tune also meets all three conditions for a blue tonality shift. The 3 is flexible, the harmonies are closer to being functional though the melody does not mirror that behavior, and the melodic-harmonic structure can be explained by the 025MTL3.

This means that the tune is structured from blue tonality. The analytical observations supporting the claim for blue tonality are listed below:

1. Flexible 3

a. Vocal melody shows both f3 and n3 in bar 9, when the harmony switches

to Bmi. 126 b. On the line “Baby, I love you,” the presentation of the f7 in the melody

against the n7 in the accompaniment indicates dominant 7#9 sonority. The

dominant 7#9 sonority is also translated to level V, when the harmony is

A7#5#9.

c. In the verse, the guitar riff is major pentatonic, while the vocals avoid the

3 altogether. Obscuring the 3 is sometimes how blues players avoid

choosing, in my opinion. It is partly why sus chords are common in jazz

music.

2. Non-Functional Harmony

a. The key signature that makes the most sense for this tune (in D) might

actually be the cross-harp key of G, not D, as Temperley does.

b. There are no C#’s (n7) in the melody or vocal harmonies.

c. There is no common practice V-I cadence with traditional cadential

gestures. There is a V-I at the end, but with a cadential gesture atypical of

the common practice. The melodic cadential figure is f7-1-f7-f3-f7-1, a

typical blues vocal line.

d. One of the other climactic moments in the tune is the line “Beep Beep

Yeah” over dominant harmony. The melody line goes from f7-1 in a

cadential fashion, and the accompaniment cadences as well, but neither in

the same way.

e. D and G are really D7 and G7. Both are treated as consonant.

f. All the chords are root-position, with the exception of bass runs, but they

do not present as inversions. 127 g. The consonant sonorities in the tune are the major triad, minor triad,

dominant 7th, and dominant 7#9.

3. 025MTL3

a. The composite pitch collection of the piece aligns with my 025MTL3

model.

Temperley cites the repeated G in the verse melody as an interesting instance of divorce and cites the inner voice (C to B) as the harmonic “glue” that makes the repeated

G work. He seems to accept that the harmony is D, but I would argue that D7 is an acceptable substitution to make the C make sense. I understand his point, but I would at the very least edit his chart to read C/D and G7 to reflect blue tonality. This would eliminate the issue entirely, because the C and the G would resolve nicely to G major.

Regardless, the G’s he cites align with the 025MTL3.

In addition, the only glaringly common practice elements present were the V-I cadences in the accompaniment, but the significant melodic cadences placed f7 and/or f3 going to 1, instead of 2-1 or 7-1. Thus, I see those cadences as stratified placing them firmly in blue tonality.

The evidence suggests the tune expresses blue tonality, not common practice tonality, which exempts it from the conditions of melodic-harmonic divorce.

The melodic-harmonic ‘divorce’ in rock 339 128

FigureExample 9022., The“Baby Beatles, You‘Drive canMy DriveCar’, My ﬁrst Car”verse and by chorus.The Beatles, verse & chorus (Temperley’s transcription). a single note, G. The lower vocal line does follow the chords, and to some extent serves to reconcile the upper melody with the harmony (suggesting a Dm11 chord); but the clash between melody and harmony is still striking. In the chorus, the melody breaks out of its solipsistic obsession and joins the3.08ensemble, Conclusion presenting a clear arpeggiation of the Bm7 and G7 harmonies. It is hard to argue that the verse melody signifies ‘individualIn each freedom’ of Temperleyhere (except and perhapsNobile’s freedom blues andto bluesbe obsessive),-based rock but examples,it does I have represent a detachment or conflict between the elements of the ensemble which makes the unity of the chorus all the more satisfying. shownIn thatthis when article, analyzed I have put through forth some the lens general of blue observations tonality, about the melodic pitch organis--harmonic ation in rock music, focusing in particular on the phenomenon of melodic-harmonic “divorce”‘divorce’ or disappears.independence. Indeed, I have melodic suggested-harmonicthat stratificationa good indicator may ofexist,melodic- but not harmonic divorce is cases where non-chord-tones in the melody do not resolve by “step.divorce. Such” unresolvedThe divorce non-chord-tones implies a marriagedo indeed to the occur common frequently practice,in rock which– even I haveif spent we define a ‘step’ in pentatonic rather than diatonic terms; they occur often in relation theto thedurationlocal of harmony, this thesisand explainingsometimes does even notin rulerelation the melodicto the underlying-harmonic landscape tonic of the harmony. Such situations could be said to reflect a ‘stratified’ pitch organisation. Most often, stratified pitch organisation involves a pentatonic melody, and it normally sixoccurs piecesin versesanalyzedof songsin Chapter rather 3than. Instead,choruses. a blue A tonality particularly shift common has occurred situation in each piece. is where the verse of a song features stratified organisation, followed by a chorus which shifts to a ‘unified’ organisation in which both melody and accompaniment 129 In addition, I have offered my scalar model for the underlying structure of the blues in the form of the 025 Middle-Tonic Ladder-of-Thirds modal frame. It is only a theory, but I do believe it accounts for the structural pitch collections of the blues.

My research is particularly useful in the field of rock music theory because it offers an alternative analytical route for blues and blues-based rock which allows theorists to analyze each style on its own terms without relying on modifications and adaptations of theoretical models derived from the common practice.

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