Deconstructing Rhythm Changes
When I started studying jazz, I was told that mastering Rhythm Changes would help me become a better improviser. What I wasn’t told and didn’t realize for a long time is that Rhythm Changes is all over the place, often in disguise!!! But even more so,I learned that it is is the perfect progression to understand how functional harmony works!
In this week’s lesson I strip Rhythm Changes down to its bare minimum chords. And in the process I show you how its very essence consists of a simple progression that is at the core of hundreds of rock and pop tunes you know. With this understanding, I demonstrate various ways of dressing it back up and you’ll learn how many of those simple pop tunes can easily begin to sound like a jazz tune. But even if this is not your goal, you will find that you can use this knowledge in various ways to further your playing of Standards!
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About thirty years ago I took one lesson from a local jazz guitarist in Santa Cruz, California. He showed me some really beautiful re-harmonizations of Rhythm Changes. I learned them, used them, and eventually forgot them. Your re-harmonizations are a really beautiful reminder of how wonderful Rhythm Changes can sound!