Steve Swallow’s Falling Grace is a beautiful and harmonically fascinating composition that offers some wonderful opportunities for exploring both improvisation and chordal playing.
One of the most interesting aspects of this tune is its unusual form, featuring a 14-measure A section and a 10-measure B section. The harmony moves through three distinct tonal centers, creating a sense of constant movement while maintaining a remarkably natural melodic flow.
We’ll also explore an interesting connection between Bach and Pat Metheny through the use of triads with the third in the bass. These simple but powerful harmonic devices create beautiful moments of resolution, such as D/F# resolving to G minor.
Throughout the lesson, I’ll demonstrate a variety of approaches to navigating the changes, developing melodic ideas, and incorporating the tune’s unique harmonic characteristics into your improvisation and chordal playing.
The lesson includes an 18-page PDF featuring chordal and linear examples to help you understand and apply these concepts to your own playing.
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