Workshop 22 — “There Is No Greater Love”: Major-Key Fluency, ii–V Compression, Secondary Dominants, and Making a Standard Feel Effortless
This workshop is about fluency rather than novelty.
You already know most of the ingredients:
- ii–V–I
- secondary dominants
- turnarounds
- tritone substitution
- chromatic approach tones
- guide-tone lines
Now the goal is:
Can you make all of that feel automatic enough that you stop sounding like you are solving harmony in real time?
We’ll use a common B♭ major framework.
The central lesson is:
Fluency means hearing several bars as one familiar grammatical sentence.
22.1Start with the key centerB♭ major:22.2Play the tonic three waysB♭ D F A22.3Why not always maj7?Maj7 emphasizes:22.4Core major ii–V–IIn B♭:22.5Play only those two voicesNo roots.22.6Add bassLH:22.7Level 1 — melody onlyPlay the melody straight.22.8Level 2 — melody + rootsAdd roots only.22.9Level 3 — shellsNow add one or two guide tones.22.10Melody can complete the shellSuppose F7 is active and melody note = A.22.11Level 4 — identify packetsDo not read the form as:22.12Example packetCm7 → F7 → B♭22.13Another likely type of packetIf you encounter:22.14B♭ major and G minorRelative pair:22.15Why D7 mattersG natural minor would contain:22.16Hear B♭ major → G minorPlay:22.17Level 5 — relative minor packetAm7♭5:22.18Major and minor ii–V comparisonMajor:22.19Level 6 — secondary dominant to iiIn B♭:22.20Compare Gm7 and G7Gm7:22.21Level 7 — secondary dominant to vivi = Gm.22.22Secondary dominants form directional landmarksIn B♭:22.23Level 8 — dominant chainPractice:22.24Make this one phraseDo not play three disconnected dominant chords.22.25Example target strategyG7: B.22.26Level 9 — one note per chordTake an 8-bar section.22.27Level 10 — quarter-note soloNow quarter notes only.22.28Why slow-note practice worksAt faster note density, weak harmonic choices can be hidden by motion.22.29Level 11 — motif-based improvisationChoose a simple cell:22.30Example principleOver B♭ tonic:22.31Level 12 — phrase through the cadenceAvoid:22.32Destination practiceFor each ii–V:22.33Level 13 — think backwardThis is important.22.34Level 14 — chromatic approachesTarget D on B♭:22.35Not every chromatic note requires altered harmonyIf you play A♭ briefly approaching A over F7:22.36Level 15 — enclosureTarget D:22.37Level 16 — passing diminishedTo approach Cm from B♭:22.38Passing diminished voicingB°7:22.39Level 17 — tritone substitutionF7 → B♭22.40But noticeIf you just used:22.41Level 18 — subV cadenceOriginal:22.42Level 19 — backdoor cadenceInto B♭, the borrowed-minor backdoor family can be thought of via the parallel minor environment.22.43Voice leadingE♭m7:22.44Level 20 — minor plagalSimpler borrowed route:22.45Practice borrowed iv in keysC: F → Fm → C.22.46Level 21 — 6→♭6→5 as universal emotional lineIn B♭:22.47Level 22 — melody note determines borrowed chord usabilityIf melody is G over E♭m:22.48Level 23 — top-note voicingWhen comping:22.49This is better than random inversionsInstead of choosing the nearest chord shape blindly:22.50Level 24 — rootless compingCm9:22.51Level 25 — rhythmic compingUse one short rhythm for two bars.22.52Do not play whenever the chord changesThis cannot be emphasized enough.22.53Level 26 — pretend there is a saxophone soloistPlay accompaniment only.22.54Level 27 — solo-piano compingWhen you are both soloist and accompanist:22.55Think orchestral rotationAt any instant, perhaps foreground is:22.56Level 28 — walking bassFor Cm7 → F7:22.57Why B natural before B♭ worksWalking bass does not require every passing note to belong to the current chord.22.58Level 29 — target-next-root thinkingOn beat 1:22.59Level 30 — AABA or sectional form awarenessWhatever precise form/version you're working from, mark the repeated sections.22.60First occurrenceSimple.22.61Second occurrenceSame harmonic map.22.62Bridge/contrastIncrease:22.63Final returnBring back something recognizable from the first statement.22.64Level 31 — one motif through the whole chorusA phrase from the melody can become your solo seed.22.65Level 32 — guide-tone-only accompanimentTry an entire chorus:22.66Then add extensions one at a timeFirst pass: none.22.67Don't start with the finished fancy versionIf you start with:22.68Level 33 — altered dominant before minorD7 → Gm.22.69Compare D7 → Gm and D7♭9 → GmPlain dominant: direct.22.70Level 34 — dominant 13 into majorF13 → B♭.22.71Hear the common noteF13:22.72Level 35 — common-tone improvisationHold D through:22.73Try itPlay bass/chords.22.74Level 36 — two-note improvisationUse only:22.75Level 37 — form-recovery exerciseDeliberately stop playing for two bars.22.76If you get lost, find the macro landmarksDo not desperately identify the current extension.22.77Level 38 — ear drill: secondary dominantPlay G7.22.78Ear drill: relative minorPlay:22.79Ear drill: borrowed ivPlay:22.80Ear drill: tritone substitutePlay:22.81Ear drill: cadence colorsCompare:22.82Arrangement planB♭6/9 → G7 → Cm9 → F13.22.83Ending voicingsE♭maj7:22.84Practice loop A — B♭ ii–V–ICm7 → F7 → B♭.22.85Practice loop B — G minor iiø–V–iAm7♭5 → D7 → Gm.22.86Practice loop C — VI7→iiB♭ → G7 → Cm.22.87Practice loop D — borrowed ivE♭ → E♭m → B♭.22.88Practice loop E — three cadencesNormal:22.89Improvisation challenge 1One chorus:22.90Challenge 2One chorus:22.91Challenge 3At every secondary dominant:22.92Challenge 4One chorus using no scales longer than three consecutive notes.22.93Challenge 5Play 8 bars.•Workshop 22 mini-test1. What is the major ii–V–I in B♭?