From the Anzaghi book - can anyone put this into sentences that I can understand please, as this is just gobbledegook to me?
TIA
TIA
Can anyone translate this to understandable English please?
- Thread starter knobby
- Start date
Ventura
Been here for ages!
well after reading that, now i have "Born to be Wild"
running through my brain
"Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway..."
running through my brain
"Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway..."
Looks like you’re on page 30. Weirdly, he seems to start the discussion in G, then switches to C. He says “the following Exercises in the tonality of G major.” This is confusing because the tonality is actually C. He should have said something like, “In the following exercise with the tonic of C, consider the G major.”
Basically, many tunes resolve by going from the V chord to the I chord. In this case from G to C. He likes the movement of D -> G -> C in the bass notes (not the chords). (D being the fifth of G which is the fifth of C).
So, when the chords go from G to C at the repeat from G to C, and at the 2 Gs plus the C after the repeat sign, he suggests the first G chord uses the D bass notes, the second G chord uses the G bass note, and the C chord uses the C bass note. This causes the bass notes to go D - G - C.
I hope I got this right and it makes sense Knobby. Others will correct me if not!
Basically, many tunes resolve by going from the V chord to the I chord. In this case from G to C. He likes the movement of D -> G -> C in the bass notes (not the chords). (D being the fifth of G which is the fifth of C).
So, when the chords go from G to C at the repeat from G to C, and at the 2 Gs plus the C after the repeat sign, he suggests the first G chord uses the D bass notes, the second G chord uses the G bass note, and the C chord uses the C bass note. This causes the bass notes to go D - G - C.
I hope I got this right and it makes sense Knobby. Others will correct me if not!
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I agree Tom. I didn't read it in depth but it sounds a long winded way of saying that a II-V-I chord progression sounds good 
It's not you Knobby, this is a hellish use of the English language, presumably an archaic Italian book translated by a Victorian civil servant on some sort of spectrum. He's just saying he thinks alternating basses for um-pah music sounds good. I wouldn't give it any further thought and maybe try a book written in plain English! Nice beginner pieces in 'Musical Moments from the Yorkshire Dales' for example, by Harry Hinchcliffe.
I'd just recommend that Knobby start this really cool book of Christmas songs that I could send him???
JudyKimp
Member
I'm sorry, but I just broke out laughing reading that! My guess that he was trying to show that the bass line was following the cycle of fifths! Descending of course!! 
JeffJetton
Prolific poster
I think it's talking about what I call the "flip-flop" bass pattern when I explain it to my students. 
The key to the whole thing is the idea, rooted in Western Classical tradition, that the strongest bass or harmonic movement is down a fifth. For us accordionists, that's also "toward the floor". I like to think of gravity pulling chords and bass notes down toward whatever key the piece is in.
Normally, when you play the standard alternating bass pattern, you play the root of the chord first, then the chord, then the fifth of the chord (the "upstairs" bass note). The overall pattern is root, fifth, root, fifth...
But when the chord in question is the V7 chord (the chord that's "upstairs" from whatever key you're in at the moment), it's common to flip that pattern around, so that you start with the fifth. That is, fifth, root, fifth, root...
If you try playing a bar each of C, G7, then C again, trying both ways, you'll see the reasoning behind it. Without the flip-flop, the G bass repeats when moving from the C to the G7. Worse, when you move back from the G7 to the C, the bass motion is a boring old D to C movement. A resolution of a mere whole step (or major second). Big deal.
But with the flip-flop, there are no repeated bass notes in a row, and that final bass motion, when you resolve the G7 back down to the C, is a cascade of nice, strong, "down a fifth" movements: D to G to C. Ah! Much better. Gravity at work!
The key to the whole thing is the idea, rooted in Western Classical tradition, that the strongest bass or harmonic movement is down a fifth. For us accordionists, that's also "toward the floor". I like to think of gravity pulling chords and bass notes down toward whatever key the piece is in.
Normally, when you play the standard alternating bass pattern, you play the root of the chord first, then the chord, then the fifth of the chord (the "upstairs" bass note). The overall pattern is root, fifth, root, fifth...
But when the chord in question is the V7 chord (the chord that's "upstairs" from whatever key you're in at the moment), it's common to flip that pattern around, so that you start with the fifth. That is, fifth, root, fifth, root...
If you try playing a bar each of C, G7, then C again, trying both ways, you'll see the reasoning behind it. Without the flip-flop, the G bass repeats when moving from the C to the G7. Worse, when you move back from the G7 to the C, the bass motion is a boring old D to C movement. A resolution of a mere whole step (or major second). Big deal.
But with the flip-flop, there are no repeated bass notes in a row, and that final bass motion, when you resolve the G7 back down to the C, is a cascade of nice, strong, "down a fifth" movements: D to G to C. Ah! Much better. Gravity at work!
I think it's talking about what I call the "flip-flop" bass pattern when I explain it to my students.
...
A great explanation! My double bass teacher recommends exactly the same - because if you have that repeated G note moving from G major to C major, it becomes less obvious when the chord change has happened. Particularly important for double bass where you're anchoring the harmony.
Mike t.
Active member
Really? That’s odd, it made Radar Love pop up in my head… been driving all night, my hands wet on the wheel…
murathan
Was a Bassoonist
If there is a good understandable book, nobody will take lessons. Thats where these explanations comes in. Giving information while not giving at the same time so you will need a teacher to explain to you. 
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