Bailey’s Walk

Time for a jazz waltz. 

This track alternates bar by bar in D major 7 to C major 7. As with other tracks, chords that alternate one whole step apart sound nice but are not as naturally related as alternating chords a fourth or fifth apart.

Keep in mind that D major has two sharps and C major has no sharps or flats, and unlike alternating seventh chords, alternating major chords allow for fewer common tones. While it may seem intuitive to hit the tonic of the key, be careful not to lean too much on that note bar after bar. Notice how C is used sparingly only at the end of the last phrase of the idea starter below.

The concert notation is below. Click here for Bb instruments and here for Eb instruments. Once open on a desktop computer, click the pop-up and a second time to expand the image.