Beginner song of the week No 2

Beginner song of the week No 2

Summertime

Our song this week showcases one of the all time great songwriters, George Gershwin, and illustrates the fact that there can be a number of ways to harmonise a song. The jazz players usually have one way that they consider quintessentially correct (usually that given in the jazz standards bible, the Real Book). But that doesn’t mean that it’s the only way to harmonise the song. The jazz players will probably frown on BOTH of the two different progressions given here. I don’t take much notice. The song sounds just fine with either of these.

The first arrangement will suit complete beginners, although they may have to learn one new chord, the F7. There are two ways to play F7. You can bar the first fret and play an E7 shape, or if bar chords are still a little beyond you it’s possible to play F7 using just the top four strings:

String EADGBE
Fret XX1211

X means don’t play that string.

For the first arrangement, start by setting up a rhythm switching from Am to E7, with two beats (strums) on each chord, and keep that swinging feel going throughout the song.



Summertime (beginner arrangement)

George and Ira Gershwin / DuBose Heyward

[Am] [E7] [Am] [E7]
Summer[Am]time [E7] [Am]
And the [E7]livin' is [Am]eas-[E7]y [Am] [E7]
Fish are [Dm]jumpin' [A7] [Dm]
And the [F7]cotton is [E7]high [F7] [E7]
Oh [E7]your Daddy's [Am]rich [E7] [Am]
And your [E7]mama’s good [Am]look-[E7]in' [Am] [Am]
So [C]hush little [Am]baby,
[F7]do –[E7]on't you [Am]cry [E7][Am]

One of these mornings
You're gonna to rise up singing
Spread your wings
And take to the sky
But till that morning
There's nothin' can harm you
With daddy and mammy standin' by

Use the same chord pattern for the second verse. If you know about bars (lengths of equal time into which a piece of music is divided) you will notice that there are two chords to a bar and that where a chord is repeated (this only happens twice) it goes for a whole bar of four beats. If you really can’t work out where the changes are for the second verse, post a question.

For the intermediate arrangement, which illustrates a more complex harmony incorporating descending bass runs, you will need to learn these chords (don’t be put off if you think you’re not quite intermediate yet; the chords are not particularly difficult):

Am X07555 OR XX7555
Am/G# XX6555 (see “slash chords” below)
Am/G XX5555
Am/F# XX4555
Dm/D XX0231 (we need the open D as the bass note here)
Dm/C X30231
Dm/B X20231
Bb9 X10111
Esus4 X22200 OR 0222000
E7 020100
Gmaj7 XX4433
Cmaj7 332000
Fmaj7 X33210
Bm7b5 X2323X


For this arrangement (below), each chord is played for two beats, with the bass (lowest) note very important in each chord. Where a chord is repeated, play it for another two beats. You can try playing just the bass note on the first beat followed by a strum on the second. If you can play arpeggios they sound wonderful in this arrangement. It’s important to use the chord shapes given above, rather than any alternative shapes you know, to preserve the bass line effect.

“Slash chords” are chords with a particular bass note specified that may or may not be part of the ordinary chord, so for example Am/G# (say “A minor over G sharp” or “A minor slash G sharp”) means play an Am chord with a G# note as the bass note. G# is NOT part of an Am chord but is necessary here as part of the descending bass run.



Summertime (intermediate arrangement)

[Am] [Am/G#] [Am/G] [Am/F#]
Summer[Am]time [Am/G#] [Am/G]
And the [Am/F#]livin' is [Am] ea-[Am/G#]sy [Am/G] [Am/F#]
Fish are [Dm/D]jumpin' [Dm/C] [Dm/B]
And the [Bb9]cotton is [Esus4]high [Esus4] [E7] [E7]
Oh your Daddy's [Am]rich [Am/G#] [Am/G]
And your [Am/F#]mama’s good [Am]look-[Am/G#]in'[Am/G] [Gmaj7]
So [Cmaj7]hush little [Fmaj7]baby,
[Bm7b5]Do-[E7]on't you [Am]cry [Am/G#] [Am/G] [Am/F#]

One of these mornings
You're gonna to rise up singing
Spread your wings
And take to the sky
But till that morning
There's nothin' can harm you
With daddy and mammy standin' by

To end: [Am] [Am/G#] [Am/G] [Am/F#] [Am]


--
Stephen
Byron Bay, Australia
.

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