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Conceptual Jazz
Conceptual Jazz
Date Posted: July 25 2010
Written By: Frank Caruso
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Conceptual Jazz
Different forms of suspensions
By Frank Caruso
In this issue I would like to explore something which pure theoreticians may find controversial. I have opened my understanding and concept of suspensions to include more than just the traditional suspended fourth (sus4). I have chosen to think of any harmonic device that precedes any voice in any chord from a half step above or a half step below as a suspension of the voice it resolves to. This description may seem a bit confusing so let me explain and cite some examples.
We have all been using the sus4 since we learned about it. It is a chord that I love and one of which I never tire. Since I love this sound so much I decided to establish a simple device, which treats major and minor sevenths (maj7 and mi7) with the same interesting types of suspensions. These suspensions are deceptively simple but have much the same effect, which creates complexity, and personally I like using them whenever appropriate.
The first device is simply playing a maj7#5 and bringing it back to a maj7 in the same space where just a maj7 is played. Try it. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that the suspension of maj7 by “sharping” the fifth creates a tension and a rather interesting sound. When playing this as a chord tone pattern I always omit the root in the statement of the chord tone pattern. When playing a scale pattern I use a harmonic major scale, which has the same notes as a harmonic minor using a major third in place of the minor third. This is a very useful scale to incorporate into your playing if you haven’t already done so.
The second device is the use of the major triad a half step below the root of the maj7 chord you are playing. This device has a rather exotic sound, and I find it very interesting. A good example would be to play a B major triad over a Cmaj7 change, then “cooling it out” by returning to the Cmaj7. A good scale to use would be a whole/half diminished scale or an ascending melodic minor with a 4th and #4th.
These are two of my favorite ways of creating a suspension of a maj7.
The next is simply a reminder of a device that every jazz player has used. I didn’t want to omit mentioning it, as I like to be reminded of devices that I may be omitting in my improvisations. I also wanted to share my aural understanding of it as a suspension of a mi7. It is one we have used over and over in playing and writing. It is the mi(maj7) which is “cooled out” once you return to the mi7. The obvious scale used with this is the wonderful ascending melodic minor, which then returns to the natural minor or Dorian scale.
In the next article I will cite some written examples of these and incorporate in another “conceptual jazz” issue: “change of direction is a change of texture.” I have found the change of any idea from ascending to descending or, conversely, descending to ascending dramatically changes the perception of the notes being played. I hope that you find the examples I have just cited as helpful as I have in my quest for interesting sounds and concepts.
Also, I have completed my first book on piano improvisation. It deals with basic approaches to improvising on the piano. The many exercises in the book have the proper fingerings written in. You can contact me at carusopiano@yahoo.com with any questions concerning the book.
About Frank
Frank Caruso is a jazz educator currently on the jazz studies faculties of North Central College and Elmhurst College. Frank also teaches at his private studio. Frank can be reached at carusopiano@yahoo.com.
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