The Mel Bay :mb: system uses the I, IV, and V7 chord of any given major scale to harmonize it (i, iv, V7 for minor scales) but doesn't really explain how it derives those chords.

This 10 minute video by Tomasso Zillio handily explains how that works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOVJbMipaWY

The Mel Bay system also has exercises for harmonizing a melody with a specific chord in mind (which is how I've been tinkering with St. James Infirmary, since the #leadsheet I've got already has chords) so between those two approaches, all of your bases are covered.

(As for how to harmonize an accidental, or non-chord tone, the instructions are literally "Pick the closest chord inversion you can find and raise or lower the 4th string note to match the note")

It seems simple enough now that I've gotten it through my skull... if I had been able to take another lesson or two with Cynthia Sayer a few summers back, she probably would have covered this.

As mentioned in a previous post, I've challenging myself to learn one new jazz standard per week for the next 60 weeks.*

This week's tune is "After You've Gone" by Henry Creamer & John T. Layton, written in 1918 and now in the #publicdomain.

In case anyone wants to play along, I'll try to be faithful about posting a new lead sheet every Sunday; I figure Saturday is a pretty good "due date" for many people who have the day off, and Sunday's a good day to start working on a new one for the same reason.

Until/Unless I can think of a snappy challenge name and hashtag, I'm going to call it Jazz Tune of the Week (#jazztotw.) The goal is to learn a tune well enough to record an audio or video clip of yourself playing it... whether that's singing, playing the melody, or vamping chords, or laying down a smooth bass line. You don't have to commit to grinding for 60 weeks if you don't want to, dropping in and out is fine.

Please boost! I'm going to do this myself regardless but the more the merrier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlHUqFSDD9A

*60 weeks because I'm working through an arbitrary "standards every jazz banjo player should know" list that has 60 songs on it

#fediversemusic #music #weeklychallenge #jazz #earlyjazz #mastomusic #leadsheet @musicians