Workshop 29 — “Maiden Voyage”: Sus Chords as Stable Harmony, Parallel Planing, Quartal Color, and Hearing Chords Without Major/Minor Labels
Workshop 28 gave us pure modal improvisation.
Now we take another step:
What if even the chord quality itself becomes deliberately ambiguous?
“Maiden Voyage” is a perfect laboratory because much of its harmonic language is built from suspended dominant-type sonorities rather than ordinary major/minor chords.
The challenge is to stop asking:
“Is this major or minor?”
and start hearing:
bass + suspended upper structure + color.
The main lessons are:
- sus chords as stable sonorities
- 7sus4 and 9sus4
- quartal voicings
- parallel chord movement
- planing between tonal centers
- modal improvisation over sus harmony
- keeping a motif coherent while the bass changes
- recognizing when a chord does not need its 3rd
The central lesson is:
Removing the 3rd can create harmonic freedom rather than incompleteness.
29.1Start with the problem created by the 3rdTake G7:29.2Compare these at the pianoPlay:29.3The sus noteRelative to G:29.4Classical suspension versus jazz susIn classical harmony:29.5Level 1 — live inside G7susLH:29.6Add the 9RH:29.7Remove the 5thTry:29.8Level 2 — quartal voicingTry:29.9Why the absence of 3rd mattersIf you add B:29.10Ear drill — sus versus dominantPlay:29.11Level 3 — bass + upper structureNow think in two layers.29.12A sus chord is ideal for modal improvisationBecause it lacks a major/minor 3rd, several pitch collections can fit depending context.29.13Level 4 — five-note improvisationOver G9sus, use only:29.14Why this restriction helpsThose five pitches contain:29.15Level 5 — add ENow add:29.16The 13 does not necessarily resolveAgain, modal logic:29.17Level 6 — upper triad trickOver G bass, play:29.18PlayLH: G.29.19Another upper structureOver G bass:29.20Alternate themBass: G.29.21Level 7 — motif through upper structuresMake motif:29.22Now the important new concept: parallel sus chordsSuppose the bass moves to a new root.29.23Level 8 — direct parallel movementPlay:29.24Why this worksBecause the listener recognizes:29.25This is similar to Workshop 28There we had:29.26Level 9 — transpose the voicing shapeTake:29.27Then practice by larger intervalsG9sus29.28Level 10 — hear root movement independentlyPlay RH sus voicings quietly.29.29Level 11 — common-tone connection between sus chordsSuppose you move:29.30Try minimal-motion voicingG bass: RH C-D-F.29.31This is the opposite of root-position thinkingIf you played every sus chord in root position:29.32Level 12 — voice-leading mapFor every chord change, ask:29.33Level 13 — melody as 9 or 11Sus harmony loves melody notes that would feel “tension-heavy” over conventional major chords.29.34Compare C over G7 and G7susOver G7:29.35This is why chord symbol context mattersA note is not intrinsically consonant or dissonant.29.36Level 14 — improvise around 11Over G7sus:29.37Level 15 — avoid the 3rdOver G7sus, do an entire chorus/vamp without:29.38Why one B matters so muchBecause B instantly changes the harmonic meaning.29.39Level 16 — sus → dominant → resolutionAt an important cadence:29.40This is a large-scale structural toolImagine:29.41Level 17 — stay sus insteadAlternatively:29.42The choice is structuralAsk:29.43Level 18 — quartal compingTake a compact quartal shape.29.44Example rhythmic patternBar 1:29.45Level 19 — move the same voicing rhythmicallyInstead of changing notes, move register.29.46Level 20 — melodic sequence over parallel harmonyCreate motif:29.47Level 21 — do not necessarily transpose the motifAdvanced alternative:29.48Experiment first, label secondHold C.29.49Level 22 — bass ostinato under sus harmonyCreate:29.50Then change bass centerMove the entire ostinato up a semitone or another interval.29.51Level 23 — rhythmic motif as structural glueThis is especially important when chord roots move nonfunctionally.29.52Level 24 — upper voice counterlineHold sus bass.29.53Level 25 — use seconds inside voicingsTry G bass with:29.54Register ruleClusters:29.55Level 26 — spread voicingLH: G-D.29.56Remove one noteUsually better.29.57Level 27 — improvisation with pentatonic subsetsOver G sus, try:29.58Another useful subsetC major pentatonic:29.59Comparemore ♭7/sus-heavy.29.60Level 28 — upper-triad versus pentatonic connectionF major triad: F-A-C.29.61Level 29 — intervallic soloingSus harmony works beautifully with:29.62Level 30 — use the chord voicing as melodic sourceTake notes of your RH voicing:29.63Level 31 — phrase-length disciplineStatic/sus sections create the same danger as “So What”:29.64Level 32 — chord-root change as formal landmarkBecause harmony may remain on one sus root for a while, the next bass-root shift is a major event.29.65Level 33 — direct shift versus prepared shiftG7sus → A♭7sus.29.66Level 34 — reharmonizing a simple melody with sus chordsTake “Happy Birthday” again.29.67This transformation teaches something importantYou are no longer asking:29.68Level 35 — introduce traditional function only at the endMake most of the arrangement modal/sus.29.69Or refuse the cadenceEnd:29.70Three kinds of endingG7sus → G7 → C6/9.29.71Practice loop A — sus stabilityHold G7sus for 4 minutes.29.72Practice loop B — sus versus dominantAlternate:29.73Practice loop C — upper triadsG bass.29.74Practice loop D — quartal shapesG bass.29.75Practice loop E — parallel shift4 bars G sus.29.76Practice loop F — pentatonicsOver G sus:29.77Improvisation challenge 1 — no 3rdOver G sus:29.78Challenge 2 — one B onlyNext four bars:29.79Challenge 3 — motif through planingCreate a three-note motif.29.80Challenge 4 — one common noteChoose C.29.81Challenge 5 — rhythm-only developmentOne sus chord for eight bars.29.82Ear drill — identify the 3rdPlay G7sus.29.83Ear drill — upper structuresG bass.29.84Ear drill — direct planingPlay G7sus.29.85Ear drill — same RH, different bassHold RH:29.86Mini-composition exerciseWrite 16 bars:29.87The important theory upgradeEarlier we had:29.88The 3rd as a switchThis is worth memorizing:29.89This connects many workshopsWorkshop 19:29.90The arranging question to start askingInstead of only:•Workshop 29 mini-test1. What distinguishes G7sus from G7?