Major and minor chords look like triangles on the lattice. They are closed loops, which I think contributes to their stable feeling. Up a major third, up a minor third, and down a fifth (due West on the lattice) brings you right back where you started. The intervals interlock, and they are all consonant, reinforcing…
I recorded this today.
I love open mics. I have two favorites in San Francisco that I make every time I’m in town — Hotel Utah on Mondays, and Sacred Grounds on Thursdays. It is in places like Sacred Grounds that the culture begins, where it wells up right from the ground, not manufactured or corporate or in service…
I keep working my way closer to recording in strict just intonation. Here’s one I did today, of my song Breakup Songs. The acoustic guitar is in equal temperament, and the bass and vocals are untempered. I love singing harmony when the fretless bass is playing lattice notes. Sometimes I feel like I’m sliding…
Chords and other collections of notes have consistent, recognizable shapes on the lattice. A major chord is a triangle sitting on its base, a minor chord is a triangle on its point. Yesterday’s post has videos showing these chords. In the songs I know and write, the next most common chords after major and minor…
A chord is a collection of three or more notes sounded at the same time. Arpeggios, in which the notes are sounded one after the other, are considered chords too. Two notes sounded at once are generally called an interval rather than a chord. Chords make patterns on the lattice. A given kind of chord…
I’ve added a store to this site, starting off with the Flying Dream CD. I’m working on several more offerings, will keep you posted! The physical CD features Cher Odum’s beautiful art, on the cover and on the disc. Store
I often have the pleasure of singing at one of Steve Key’s Songwriters At Play showcases. These are held several times a week in San Luis Obispo area. There’s a lot of talent in the county, and Steve books many good traveling acts. These tend to be excellent shows. Brian Jeffrey is one of those…
I want to show you some lattice movies of how I’ve used blue tritones in my own music. Real Girl has several examples. The clearest is a guitar lick in the chorus: That 7b5 is tasty over the bVI chord. For an instant, it makes a “barbershop seventh,” the 7th harmonic of the root. Here…
I have a favorite note. Don’t tell the others. It’s the septimal flat five, or septimal tritone. I call it 7b5 on the lattice. There are many reasons why I love this note. One is that Jimi played it, and he’s my favorite musician of them all. Another is that this note is rarely discussed…