Learn to improvise. 2004-2005. Lesson 09: degrees.
If you use a scale to make triads by skipping every even note, you get
degrees. They are indicated by Roman numbers. E.g. the degrees of the
key of C are:
I = c-e-g = C, II = d-f-a = Dm, III = e-g-b = Em, IV = f-a-c = F,
V = g-b-d = G, VI = a-c-e = Am, VII = b-d-f = Bdim.
Click to hear.
(Also chords with 4 notes made this way are called degrees.)
Click to hear.
The root, subdominant chord and dominant chord often are indicated as
degree I, IV en V because the notation is short.
Sometimes people say a key is determined by its degrees. This is
physically inaccurate. It is like saying a plane is determined by its
points, in stead of by 3 points. A key is physically determined by its
three main chords, the degrees I, IV and V. The other degrees are
deviated from them via the scale. The degrees however belong to the
key. One can work with them which the popular scheme C Am Dm G7
illustrates.
Click to hear.
In the beginning you are inclined to think the key of Am will hold
during the chords Am and Dm. But as long as this key is not confirmed
by E7, the atmosphere is ambiguous. There is no need to go to another
scale than C. In this example the chords Am and Dm belong to the key
of C. Chord Am might be considered as a replacement for chord C and
Dm as one for chord F.
Someone who knows nothing of chords might be able to improvise with
degrees. He only has to learn one chord and shift that. De relationship
between the degrees automatically takes care of a structure.
Chords in order I, II, III, IV, etc.
Degrees in random order.
Hear course member Fred use degrees.
The system of degrees holds for any scale. We will look at the Spanish
gipsy scale as an extra example. The scale has the following notes:
a
bb c# d e f g
Click to hear.
Its degrees are:
I= A-c#-e = A, II = bb-d-f = Bb, III = c#-e-g = C#dim,
IV = d-f-a = Dm,
V = e-g-bb = Edim, VI = f-a-c# = Faug, VII = g-bb-d = Gm.
All these chords may thus be used in that key.
Click to hear.
Degrees may be used to enter a modulation. E.g. if degree II of a key is
equal to degree I of another key it may be a stepping stone:
Modulation of C to Dm: C Dm A7 Dm,
Click to hear.
Other examples:
Modulation of C to Em: C Em B7 Em,
Click to hear.
Modulation of C to Am: C Am E7 Am.
Click to hear.
Modulation between church scales might be seen as degrees, of course.
As the degrees of a key consist exclusively of notes belonging to the
scale, the accompaniment within a key has not necessarily to be
restricted to the degrees I, IV en V, but may be extended to the other
degrees, in order to get more variation. Apart from that the degrees give
the possibility to add a melodic element in case the degrees might be
used neighboring each other. The chords scheme might have something
of an up or down going base line then.
(Sometimes degrees are used to indicate the chords in a scheme, e.g. in
stead of Fm7 one writes IVm7. This way one would be independent of a
key, provided one would start at degree I for the root of every key to
where one modulated. But as this is never the done, this system is
confusing and bad.)
HOMEWORK:
1) Play with degrees.
2) Make the degrees of Am.
(Answer: I = a-c-e = Am, II = b-d-f = Bdim, III = c-e-g# = Caug,
IV = d-f-a = Dm, V = e-g#-b = E, VI = f-a-c = F, VII = g#-b-d =
G#dim.)
Click to hear.
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