When Brian Wilson (Beach Boys) heard ‘Be My Baby’( –the Ronettes) for the first time, he was utterly staggered. He knew harmony very well indeed, but what he had heard in that famous chorus was new, unexpected & wholly surprising to him. He would never forget the moment he heard that song on his car radio.
Here it is: The chorus is the ‘Be My Baby’ refrain.
Essentially it’s a ‘pedal point’
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/448440/pedal-point
I’m not aware of a more modern term, but we hear lots of in in various sorts of music.
One way to think of it is when a note (or notes) bleed into another harmony, producing unexpected results. You could of course figure out the relationship of these notes and give a name to the chord.
But knowing what to call the chord is not that helpful. The effect is entirely dependent upon the musical context. The same harmony from the perspective of a different piece of music will be entirely different. What I am getting at is that the effect of such ‘harmonies’ are not well understood. We can all try out the effect, but is there any documented understanding of how this works really? I’m not aware of any.
It’s a bit like visiting an interesting place, but there are no maps of this place. There are no street signs or road numbers. A surprise can be around any corner.
When Brian Wilson heard Ronnie & the Ronettes that day on the radio in 1963, he experienced something some us can identify with. A spine tingling moment? I think so.
I am working on a guitar solo over a song with lots of chords occurring in quick succession, there are a couple of modes I can switch between to keep it sounding in tune, but no single scale will fit. Furthermore I can’t think fast enough to keep up with the changes as they occur. I’m aware though, that certain notes ‘work’ in there that shouldn’t. They are normally discordant, but somehow work within the framework of this particular composition. Why? I have no idea.
Are any of you writers any wiser about this ‘extra’ dynamic in harmony?
Rudi