"Avoid" notes

RVA

RVA

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I would always hit certain notes when using scales that were technically correct but did not work. I wondered if I was playing it against the wrong portion of a chord progression, or it was only to be used for major or minor, etc. I went looking today and found this helpful explanation, which includes the notes I was struggling with, and some more. It is at least a partial answer. I will not be always avoiding these scale degress, but this will help me understand why they are not working a bit better


Avoid notes.JPG
 
It all depends on context. Even the avoid notes can be used as passing tones as long as they are resolved to a chord tone very quickly. Sometimes the dissonance or tension is useful. For instance if you are switching from a Cmaj7 to a G you could lead into the G with a E, F, G bass run even though the F is an avoid note. You just don’t want to stop or even pause on the avoid notes.
 
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This is good to know--- if I play something WRONG-- I can say no I am playing in Cm(pyramid thing) B3 Ionian scale which has NO AVOIDED NOTES --- meaning EVERY "F"ing note I come up with SHOULD WORK

I LOVE THIS

and it goes back to the belief that jazz is just ALL THE NOTES --- :)
 
eSGEe said:
This is good to know--- if I play something WRONG-- I can say no I am playing in Cm(pyramid thing) B3 Ionian scale which has NO AVOIDED NOTES --- meaning EVERY "F"ing note I come up with SHOULD WORK

I LOVE THIS

and it goes back to the belief that jazz is just ALL THE NOTES --- :)
Click to expand...
When I play Stormy Monday in G I do a chromatic run down the G string from the E at the ninth fret down to the Bb at the third fret to lead into the 4 chord. Bb is the 7 in C7. That’s seven notes with three of them not in the key. Then I play a C arpeggio with a 3 note chromatic run from Bb to C in the middle of it over the 4. The wrong notes are used a lot in jazz.

It’s good to know all this crap but it doesn’t hide the fact that I’m not a great player. All the theory in the world doesn’t beat a good ear, which I lack. :)
 
Yes it’s English. I studied theory for a few years in my teens. Still remember some of it. I was trying to say theory tells you what you played and why it sounded OK but it doesn’t always tell you what to play. Your ears will tell you what to play. My theory of music is way stronger than my feel for music.
 
I did a whole lot of studying in the past. Don't do much but stinker around with arpeggio's and triads now when I 'practice'. For me it seemed to come down to that for every rule there is an exception and for every exception there is a rule type thing. The biggy, to me anyways, seems to be getting used to when the exceptions work and the rule for the exceptions seem to be how long they'll work in a particular phrase type thing - not quite long enough or a hair too long it can sound off. THEN, the really big exception is someone's particular taste for music/sound. Something I think sounds great another person might be like - that sucks dude - lol... Which is ok, it's just music, man...

P.S. Thanks for sharing RVA, another great share...
 
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