Adding The B Section “Georgia”
In this lesson we explore the 8 bar B Section of “Georgia On My Mind”. This tune follows an AABA form and we already have covered the harmony of the A Section so once we know the B Section (also known as the Bridge) we can then play the whole song in its entirety.
Modulating To The Relative Minor
The harmony of the A section is predominantly major and comprised of the diatonic 7th chords from the key of F Major. However, the B Section modulates to the relative minor which is D Minor (explain from foundations course) This is a very common modulation in jazz standards where the A sections are major, and the B section is minor. In bars 23 and 24 we have a 3625 progression in the final 2 bars of the bridge which leads us back to the final A Section.
The B Section Breakdown
The first thing to notice is that again we have the simple D Triad that appears throughout the bridge. Whilst we can add a 7 and other tones to this, but understand that the simple triad voicing will work well.
We play through the bridge with a stride style which helps to establish a steady pulse and groove and sets the foundation for us to pull and push on the phrasing of the melody.
In the next lesson we will put everything together and talk about the A Section variations and how to structure your practice time between the A Section and the Bridge.
Related Lessons
In this lesson we will create the major 251 progression with a left hand stride and rootless voicings exercise and drill.
We will work on our recognition of major 9th, minor 9th, & dominant 13th rootless voicings using a left hand stride drill.
In this lesson we explore how you can navigate over the minor line cliché using bass lines, two-handed chords and left hand voicings.
Practice Tips
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Experiment pulling and pushing on the phrasing the melody so that our playing sounds less rigid.
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Understand the role of the minor line cliche and how we can voice this common progression.
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Allocate lots of your practice time to learning the B Section to bring it up to speed with the A Section that we studied in the last module.
