Customer Reviews

Reharmonization Techniques

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Whether reworking fake book changes that just don't cut it, "recoloring" a chart to adapt to particular instrumentation or just putting your own harmonic stamp on a tune

(and understanding the how's and why's of it), "Reharmonization Techniques" by Randy Felts is an informed, well presented text that will help you construct your own "music toolkit" of

techniques to express yourself through jazz and popular harmony.

While the author doesn't explicitly call for it, I would strongly recommend readers be familiar with basic jazz harmony as used in standard tunes to get the maximum benefit from this book. You don't have to be an arranger or a composer but you

need to understand how jazz harmony "works" functionally in terms of key centers, modulation, use of non-root, passing and chromatic bass notes. You have to first understand how a tune is "harmonized" before you can appreciate how it may be "reharmonized".

The book begins with a chapter on "simple" chord substitution techniques: the author introduces three functional chord families (tonic, subdominant and dominant) and

demonstrates how substituting chords within the same family produces subtle reharmonization that can enhance the melody. The interaction of melody and harmony is explored,

specifically, avoiding unwanted dissonant intervals between melodies and chords.

A wide ranging survey of harmonic techniques is introduced is the succeeding chapters: the use of diatonic chords, tritone substitution, modal interchange. The techniques are described and demonstrated in depth with exercises in "lead sheet" form with chord symbols. The author assumes the player can for the most part derive their own voicings and work with the techniques in their particular instrumental/rhythmic context.

There is a chapter on basic keyboard voicings however for those without such a background.

More "contemporary" techniques such as hybrid chords and what other authors refer to as non-functional chord structures are also dealt with in later chapters.

There is no accompanying recording however the author provides possible answers to the exercises in the back of the book.

Personally I think the lack of a recording is a plus: this is a serious book for developing your own take on the jazz/pop harmonic vocabulary. It assumes you're bringing a sizeable listening background to the table and that you're far enough along in your development to have some sense of style and

taste, if not all the tools to express your thoughts musically. Providing the tools is the goal of this book and it will repay careful study.

It's too easy to buy music books that are too simple or too advanced, or just badly written. This book seemed too basic to me at first. Then, I worried because the explanation of "cadence" was not really standard. However, I plowed trough this book and found all kinds of useful techniques presented in methodical and understandable fashion.

This book is not for beginning musicians. It assumes a degree of knowledge and experience. It would not make sense to learn "reharmonizing" before you know basic harmony. The intended audience is people playing rock, jazz, pop and film music. Because of the use of chords, it is best suited to guitarists and keyboardists. It skews toward jazz standards, but for those wanting to dress up their blues arrangements or sound more sophisticated with their rock chord choices (think "Steely Dan"), there's plenty of material for you too.

The ultimate goal is to enable to reader to take melodies and add chords that are more interesting than the "obvious" choices. Those playing from fake books will benefit the most, especially if they plan out songs in advance. With practice and experience, one can use some of these techniques "on the fly" (e.g. tritone substitution). The techniques in this book also apply to composition, and could be used as blueprints to construct full piano accompaniments or even orchestrations.

I play both rock and standards, plus I write songs. I can use the techniques on my own compositions, plus I can polish my harmonies so that my standards do not all sound like the same song. If you want to take songs you already play and give them chords that make them sound more sophisticated, this book is not a bad place to start.

I am totally in love with this book! It presents the ideas in a clear-cut, easy-to-follow way, and it explains things that once seemed more like rocket science. You can get alot of this same information in a jazz theory book, but this book is great because it puts it all in one place.

Yes, like the excellent review below stated, some basic knowledge of theory is needed, and prior knowledge of jazz chord notation and use of tension notes is helpful. Other than that, this book will give it all. I'll spare you the terminology, because if your eyeballing this book, it's safe to assume you problem don't know what all the terms would mean yet. After you buy this book, though, you will...and you'll have to restrain yourself from abusing the heck out of the tricks this book will teach you. You'll be able to turn "C, Am, F, G" into "C, Em7, F#min7(b5)-F#7, Bmin7(b5)" in no time. You'll be able to look at lead sheets for popular songs and know why specific chords were chosen.

This book is a high-powered, harmonic weapon. Buy it now, you'll be glad you did!

I found every page of "Reharmonization Techniques" to be full of helpful tips to reharmonize any song. The book is written in such a universal wa that anyone can find the techniques it presents useful. The author, Randy Felts, has been a professor of jazz for over 25 years and his expertise is clearly evident from the first page onward. I highly recommend this book.

This book is a pretty useful refresher of things you probably already know. I imagine it coming in handy when a composer is in a bad rut (to the point of having a difficult time reinventing the theme with any harmonic difference). Still, a good read and is likely to force some (very restricted) composers out of "the box".

If you are just learning about Reharmonization/Chord Substituion, you need this book. It starts simple and every chapter gives you a new tool to work with. Plenty of examples show you how it works/how to apply the methods quickly. If you are learning to compose/arrange(espc in a Jazz/Pop/Blues context), this book is a MUST have.

If you are experienced with such theory, this would be a good addition to your reference materials. I think it would be good for a refresher to check now and then to get all the methods back in your head. Plus, if you are teaching this topic, it would be a GREAT text to teach your students from.

You will need to know the following to use this book:

-read sheet music

-understand chord construction/harmony/musical intervals

-understand Diatonic theory for chords/keys

Plus, at $20, it is a steal. Think about how much a college level class on this topic would cost!

I got this book, because I as a songwriter often have to rewrite melodies and harmonies for my songs after having them reviewed, to end up with the best song possible. I have found this book to be a very good tool in that process!

I have never come across a book that is so easy to grasp, and use right off the paper. It is not an intermediate book, but for songwriters with some experience in composing or music students. Still you don't have to have a formal or trained background to find this useful.

I have been DIY studying music composition for years, and have really needed a book like this for a long time. It is a book that is very useful as a supplement to books on music theory, because it makes the theory instantly applicable and useful.

Reharmonization Techniques is a practical book that is easy to understand and make use of, which is somewhat rare to find in this area. Randy Felts have done a wonderful job in creating a practical and inclusive book - highly recommended!

I've only explored about 12 pages of the book and it's made a huge difference in my song writing and comping. The concept of simple substitution is clearly explained and easy to understand if you have a little knowledge of music theory. That alone makes the $20 purchase fee well worth the money.

What an amazing book! This will open your eyes to a whole new world of harmonic possibilities. For intermediate to professor, this tome is THE BEST handbook of tips and ideas for altering any genre and is sure to inspire some fabulous music from all who use it.

This is a very useful tool for song writing. Comprehensive and clearly laying out the reharmonization techniques that a musician need.