Reharmonize Rhythm Changes
The chord progression of George Gershwin's 1930 tune I Got Rhythm, aka Rhythm Changes, is a particularly good candidate for reharmonization. It is a common progression (see Improvising Over Rhythm Changes) that is mostly diatonic; the tune is often played at a fast tempo and fresh chords relieve the monotony of hearing the same progression over and over. It is an infamous “cutting" tune- a vehicle for demonstrating your improvisation skills in a contest to outplay your peers- so being able to demonstrate skill in both improvisation and reharmonization gives you a leg up on your competition. This lesson describes how to use substitute dominants, related ii chords and dominant preparation chords to generate new chords to use to freshen and invigorate this war horse of all war horses.
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