BookatlasPiano Rabbit Hole: Improvisation Theory & Practice
9454 / 18210 · Workshop 77 — Playing *Through* Changes Instead of *On* Changes: Harmonic Landmarks, Guide-Tone Networks, Common-Tone Paths, and Hearing the Form Ahead← prev⊞ allnext →

77.98Apply it to “Happy Birthday”

Use the simple harmonic skeleton first.

Hear only:

tonic

departure

dominant

home.

Then add secondary dominants/pass-through harmony without changing your large melodic phrasing.

The exercise is:

can the arrangement become harmonically richer while your mental map remains simple?

That is the goal.