Hey guys mDecks Music here and in this video we're going to finish analyzing the harmony in Misty and
hopefully apply some of our new techniques at the end of the video to "There Will Never Be Another
You". Please watch part one first if you haven't done so already. This video will obviously make
much more sense if you do so. I'll put a link in the description down below, or you can click on the
i-Card there. All right so far we've completed more than 70% of the song by just looking at
ii-V-I, primary or secondary. We use the bracket followed by an arrow to find all occurrences of
ii-V-Is within Misty. As you can see, there are quite a few of them. And as we mentioned before,
this is why the 2-5-1 is given a huge priority in all jazz harmony courses. So today we're going to
look at another crucial path used in jazz the 1-6-2-5, or the 3-6-2-5 which usually resolves back to I. But
before we do so ,please do us a favor and hit that like button subscribe and share with your friends.
This kind of stuff really helps us out. We'd really appreciate it. Of course this 3-6-2-5 is an extension
of the 2-5-1. This is quite clear when we work our way backwards from our targets, like we stressed
in the first video in a 2-5-1 the I is targeted by the V which is a perfect 5th away.
The V is in turn targeted by the ii, also a perfect 5th away. To target the two
we can use the chord a perfect fifth away from it, which is the vi. If we take another step
backwards, we'll find the iii is a chord that's a perfect fifth away from the vi. So a 3-6-2-5-1
would be the strongest path that we can take in a major key. In the key of C that would be Em7-
Am7 - Dm7 - G7 to Cmaj7. In Misty's key, the key of Eb major,
that would be Gm7 to Cm7 to Fm7 to Bb7
ending on the I (Ebmaj7.) As we've talked about before the iii chord is a bit
ambiguous. Also it's an upper structure of the I chord. The root third fifth and seventh
of Em7 (E G B E) are the 3rd, 5th, 7th & 9th of Cmaj7.
So, in many songs you often find the I instead of the iii which gives us a 1 6 2 5.
The first example of a 2-5 in Misty can be found in measure 6 ,
Fm7 to Bb7. If we look backwards towards measure 5, we see
a I - vi (Ebmaj7 to Cm7.) So, these two measures are a perfect example of what
we're talking about. A perfect example of a 1 6 2 5. The other two examples of this progression
can be found in the last four measures. And notice how there are two consecutive examples of it here.
This 1-6-2-5 progression is so crucial and fundamental that it's being used to both end
the song and as a turnaround to go back to the beginning. Like we said earlier the 1-6-2-5
is just another take on the 3-6-2-5. Unfortunately for us though
we don't have an example of a 3-6-2-5 in Misty, or do we? "Adam, there's clearly a 3-6-
2-5 in measures 7 and 8. Look, Gm7 C7 Fm7 Bb7!" And
yes, you're right. Sort of. What's actually going on in measures 7 and 8 is a common variation
of a 3-6-2-5 using secondary dominance that tonicize the ii. A ii/ii - V/ii -
ii - V. Let me explain. The biggest red flag ,for me anyways, is this arrow. This indicates to me that
there is a V to I movement going on here. And when you consider that we're dealing with a dominant
chord here: C7, not Cm7. This is not a vi chord. Another interpretation is definitely needed.
"All right! Fine! It's a iii - V/ii - ii - V. Case closed!" Not quite. The fact that we know how
the C7 is now functioning as the V/ii forces us to reinterpret the Gm7,
not as the iii chord--which at first glance in a vacuum is actually a safe assumption-- but
rather as the related ii/ii. So what's going on in measures 7 and 8 is not actually
a 3-6-2-5. It's something way cooler: a ii/ii - V/ii - ii - V. What makes this so
awesome, is that this retains the exact bass movement of the 3-6-2-5 maintaining a fundamental
characteristic of the 3-6-2-5: the bass movement, while simultaneously taking us on a completely different
harmonic journey around the map. "Fine, fine, whatever! The Gm7 is the ii/ii not the iii!
Whatever! It's still a Gm7 at the end of the day. What's the difference?" Great question. The
difference between Gm7 and "Gm7" are actually pretty significant. Why? Because these
two chords are completely different functions, and these two functions are informed by two completely
different chord scales. The differences between these functions has all sorts of implications
as it relates to arranging, chord voicings, and improvisation. Even the melody
is informed by our chord scales. Our Gm7 is actually paired with a G Dorian b2 scale,
not a G Phrygian. And this allows me to consider the E natural as a possibility while improvising,
arranging, or voicing the chord, which I never would have considered if the Gm7 was the iii chord.
Now let's talk about another symbol that you might come across in this book: The headless arrow.
What this symbol basically tells you, is that the chord that you're on is about to turn into a minor
version of itself. You can clearly see what I mean in measures 3 and 4. This Abmaj7
followed by a headless arrow turns into an Abm7. This is a consequence of various commonly
used techniques in jazz, one of which is: borrowing from minor. One we talk about all the time. As it
is in our case in measure 4, here. This Abm7 is being borrowed from Eb major's
parallel minor: Eb minor. When this technique is applied to the iv chord, as it is in measure
4 of Misty, we can reinterpret the iv as the related ii of bVII, creating what's
known as a backdoor 2-5. And this is exactly what happens here in measure 4. A backdoor 2 5
is an alternative route, as opposed to the regular 2-5, that leads you back to the target. So this is
a cool example of, how we borrow it from minor, to create a backdoor 2-5 using the iv to the bVII7,
which wants to resolve to the Imaj7. And as expected this is what happens here in Misty.
The Db7 resolves to the Ebmaj7. This technique will actually be found again
in the last A section, right here. Notice how, in the second ending, we find a simplified version
of this backdoor progression, in which only the bVII is used between the two
Imaj7 chords. This creates a really nice movement on a static I chord. Now let me show
you where we can use this technique in There Will Never Be Another You. In measure 10 we see Ab7
preceded by a iv chord, then resolving to a I. This is the perfect place to implement
this harmonic technique. So let's interpolate a iv in between this IV and this bVII.
So what we're actually doing is this: we're just drawing harmony. No need to concern ourselves
with the chord names. Just the fundamental techniques that are so often used in jazz.
The only decision we really have to make, is where exactly to interpolate this iv chord. Do we
want to put it on the 3rd beat of measure 9, on the first beat of measure 10? thus displacing
the bVII by 2 beats. The truth is either option works. In a strictly harmonic context however, when
being used during the head, you have to consider the implications that the melody is gonna have
on these chords. For example: you might really like the vi on the first beat of measure 10,
but when informed by the melody this chord becomes a ivmmaj7. Or, you could do this.
If you haven't been playing writing or arranging from this perspective, I strongly encourage you to
do so moving forward. Hopefully you can now see how important it is to do this type of analysis.
And fortunately for you we have an entire collection of over 1300 jazz standards, fully analyzed, with roman numerals, and arrows and brackets for you to master these
essential harmonic progressions. Check us out at mDecks.com to learn more.