BookatlasPiano Rabbit Hole: Improvisation Theory & Practice
10742 / 18210 · Workshop 88 — Harmonic Memory: How Earlier Chords Change the Meaning of Later Chords, How Repetition Rewrites Function, and How to Make a Listener Hear Long-Range Relationships← prev⊞ allnext →

88.106Apply it to “The Bare Necessities”

Use a comic harmonic callback.

Early:

one absurdly serious diminished/augmented gesture.

Return immediately to simple harmony.

Do not repeat it for a while.

Later:

one little note or bass figure hints at it.

At false ending:

bring back the full “dramatic” gesture.

Now the listener recognizes the joke.

Repetition creates comedic memory.