summertime

[ira]

we did summertime (from porgi and bess) last night. my partner on guitar- me- harmonica and vocals. anyone doit on mando? what chord structure do you use? it was alot of fun.

[Ted Eschliman]

Summertime (http://ralphpatt.com/VB/s37.html)
A cool variation is to do a Van Morrison-ish "Moondance" kind of uptempo bounce to it. Maybe add some Minor 6 chords for that kind of "half diminished" vibe. (i.e. Am6)

[Martin Jonas]

There are two very nice and easy arrangements of Summertime here (http://www.nigelgatherer.com/tunes/tab/tab5/stim1.html) and here (http://www.nigelgatherer.com/tunes/tab/tab5/stim2.html). Both are transcribed by Nigel Gatherer, the first influenced by Jack Tuttle, the second by the Doc Watson/David Grisman version.

Martin

[ira]

thanks guys - all look great. hey ted, what is Em7b5?- sorry i don't know much about music other than noodling and learning from what i see.

thanks,

ira

[Jonathan Reinhardt]

ira - do check out Sam Andrews intro/ending (Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company 1968-9). I began to incorporate this into my version last year and it changed the whole way I looked at/played the whole song. With a few modifications, I got what I was looking for while still keeping that telltale Sam riff.
Am, sometimes Bm.
Back then I thought Big Brother ragged and not highly accomplished. I now think of them as a bit more. It was a time.
If you don't have access to a recording, try to find the video "Janis" - 1974. Most decent video places have it. Old footage of the band in the studio recording Summertime. As well as great footage of her later band efforts.

[Ted Eschliman]

hey ted, what is Em7b5

Here's one way, Ira:
http://members.aol.com/teesch/images/Em7b5.gif
It's almost an Em7 chord, but the "B" (the fifth of Em) is lowered to Bb.
(Sets up the A7 nicely.)

[johnwalser]

Being a broadway nut, I tabbed Summertime and play it often and with great passion. I use an Excel spreadsheet format with dots over the notes indicating timming.
Try it at:
http://home.inreach.com/johnw/summer.htm

And leave it to Ted to come up with a Em7b5. I'm still working on that two finger "C".
John

[Seth Rosen]

There's on a nice version of the tune with Jethro Burns playing with Joe Venuti, Eldon Shamblin and Curley Chalker on the 70s Flying Fish album "S'wonderful"...I've believe it has been reissued on cd

[Brad Weiss]

There 's a nice chord-solo version in the tabledit files at co-mando. Uses those m6 chords to which Ted refers

[ira]

man, do i need to learn some theory. wish i understood the whole so i could break down 6ths, minors, etc... on my own.
thanks for the continued help.

[psann]

John - I always appreciate your tab. It is easy to get the feel of the song from it. It had not dawned on me that you used excel to write it. Your version of Chatanooga Choo Choo, which you sent many months ago is still my favorite piece to play. I will be working on Summertime this week.

Pat


www.perceptionsinwatercolor.com

[ira]

hey ted-one more probably stupid question. if the chord structure you so kindly provided is in Dm, why does it say key of F? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif sorry if this seems like i should know....

thanks and happy fourth.

[johnwalser]

Pat,
I try to just listen to Ella sing this song in my head and follow her lead.
I now have about 125 songs I've tabbed in the Excel format and several hundred more I will try to convert over this next winter. I've started tabbing a lot of things from two new books I bought from the "Jazz Bible Fake Book Series".
One book is "The Swing Era" and the other is "Ragtime and Early Jazz". Both have great material and has made me very popular with the gray haired set (O.K., so I put a little color in my own hair...so what!).
A day without mandolin is like a day without sunshine.
John

[Brad Weiss]

Ira-

Dm is the relative minor for F - so the tune is in D minor, but as there is no key signature for D Minor, the key of F has all of the same notes!

I think that's right... anyone, please feel free to correct me!

[Ted Eschliman]

Yup.
Brad is correct, however, the beauty of jazz, we briefly depart from the tonic (d minor) home key, when we are "spanked" by the F chord, and for one measure, we are in the relative F Major.
The clue is the preceding measure, the Gm7 C7 is the "ii V7" (familiar?) of the key of F major.
You can usually trust your ear in identifying these key centers, but a strong clue will always be a V7 (or dominant) chord, and in this case, the #preceding ii7 chord or Gm7.
Like other genres of Western (European) Music, you listen to strong sense of "new key" and look backwards to see what sets you up for it. Gershwin is great to listen to and analyze, because his music takes you on a harmonic journey, but not so fast and frantic as to shake you up along the way.

[duuuude]

Dang Ted, don't throw that stuff at me before I've had my coffee! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Harrmob]

Ted- While we are on the subject of Em7 b5, I have a question for the masses. #I am trying to learn some of this stuff, and the "chord department" of the cafe suggests that a C9 is the same fingering as a Em7 (b5), which if I am not mistaken is the same thing as E 1/2dim. #I am ultimately hunting the G9 chord (jitterbug waltz). #Can I play the Bm7 (b5) or B 1/2 dim for G9 chord. #G9 is not listed in the Chord Search and I wanted to use the "popular" fingering instead of an invention of my own. #I understand the G9 is adding the 2 note, but is it b7 or just M7 to make it a G9.

[ira]

hhhhhhhhhhuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?
my goodness that was alot of info in your question. please translate???

[Ted Eschliman]

Ted- While we are on the subject of Em7 b5, I have a question for the masses. #I am trying to learn some of this stuff, and the "chord department" of the cafe suggests that a C9 is the same fingering as a Em7 (b5), which if I am not mistaken is the same thing as E 1/2dim.yup! #
I am ultimately hunting the G9 chord (jitterbug waltz). #Can I play the Bm7 (b5) or B 1/2 dim for G9 chord. #
yup!
G9 is not listed in the Chord Search and I wanted to use the "popular" fingering instead of an invention of my own. #I understand the G9 is adding the 2 note
yup! Think of it as adding an A to a G7 chord...
but is it b7 or just M7 to make it a G9.
The G9 will use the minor 7th scale degree; were it a GMaj9, it would imply a M7 or Major 7th scale degree.
Ira, I know this sounds overwhelming, but what in essence is happening here is reducing options, not increasing them. If you know that an X9 chord is the same as the Xm7b5 a 3rd up, thats 12 LESS chords you need to know.
When you understand the relationships, ultimately it's less chords you have to memorize.
G9 = G B D F A
Bm7b5 = B D F A
Notice the two are the same, except you leave off the root G, which likely is voiced in another instrument.
Think of it as liberating, rather than confusing....
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Harrmob]

Thanks Ted. I could have just asked how do you play a G9, but there were several questions there, and it had nothing to do with Summertime, or Em7(b5). To the orig post-I normally play Summertime out of Am, and I have played out Dm before. Just moved everything up a string.

[earthsave]

We used to do Summertime but havent played it in a month or more. We somehow picked it up as a group early on and recorded it twice. It can have a cool feel/groove to it.

[G'DAE]

I love DOC & DAWG's version.

[Martin Jonas]

I love DOC & DAWG's version.
This (http://www.nigelgatherer.com/tunes/tab/tab5/stim2.html) is a transcription of that version (slightly simplified and modified).

Martin

[G'DAE]

Thanks Martin! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif