You have seen in the Moving Pair series how a third can invert to a sixth and then move around in much the same way. This means you can harmonise a different note –the top note, which is the one that the ear naturally listens out for.

Cascading Sixths explores harmonising with sixths within a twelve bar chord sequence. Here is the performance video, with the audio and MIDI reference blow.

Casc_6ths_01

Preparing your performance

First, rehearse the dominant scales of the three I, IV, V chords you would expect to hear in a twelve-bar in C.

Casc_6ths_02

The sixths we are selecting for Cascading Sixths are the first four from the root down.

Casc_6ths_03

Use fingers 5-1, 4-1 as shown or finger the sixths 5-1 throughout.

Cascading Sixths skeleton music

These twelve intervals (pairs of notes) are quite enough for a short piece. Here is the Cascading Sixths ‘skeleton music’ – before any syncopation or bass line development.

Casc_6ths_04

The audio and MIDI files for this skeleton music are cut off precisely at bar-end, making them ideal for looping and playing along to – the best practising arrangement.

Adding syncopation

Now work in the basic syncopation. The rhythm used is the same throughout. Absorb the counting written between the staves – learn to say it out loud. Only one line of MS is given – simply apply the same rhythm to all the ‘skeleton music’.

Casc_6ths_05

Transpose!

This ‘simple material with syncopation for show’ type of piece is perfect for practising your transposing. All the module MIDI files transposed into D for you to work with are included in your download and referenced in your workbook.

The three chords/scales you will work with are D7, G7 and A7. Expect the fingering to change with the new F and C sharps. Here are the audio files for you to check your progress. The performance is at the end, after the build-up.

Casc_D_01