Auld Lang Syne
Detailed arrangement tutorial of Auld Lang Syne focusing on reharmonization, voicings, and rhythmic reinterpretation.
Lesson Guide
Overview
This lesson examines “Auld Lang Syne” from the Christmas Real Book and shows ways to interpret and enhance its lead sheet. The starting version follows the written chords and melody with mostly root-position close voicings, inversions, and a quarter-note rhythmic grid. The arrangement then explores smoother voice leading, rootless and open voicings, selective chord simplification, upper-structure harmony, altered tensions, and reharmonization. Particular attention is given to the relationship between melody and chord color, including the choice between F6 and Fmaj7 when the melody is F. The rhythmic grid gradually shifts toward eighth notes, and measure 21 introduces a clear melodic and rhythmic reinterpretation. Together, these examples demonstrate how voicing, register, harmonic color, rhythmic layers, and melody can reshape a lead-sheet arrangement while retaining material from the written page.
What You'll Learn
- Identify the third and seventh of a chord as its guide tones.
- Use inversions and open voicings to support smooth voice leading and lower-register clarity.
- Evaluate the choice between a major-7 chord and its 6-chord counterpart according to the melody.
- Apply rootless voicings, chord simplification, upper-structure triads, and altered tensions as arrangement options.
- Recognize the developing shift from a quarter-note grid to an eighth-note grid.
- Reinterpret melodic and rhythmic material while continuing an established rhythmic idea into the next measure.
Key Concepts
Voicing Choices and Voice Leading
Smooth voice leading is an important consideration when choosing voicings. The arrangement uses inversions, broken chords, guide-tone structures, and rootless voicings to connect voices. Rootless voicings can give a bassist freedom, while in a solo arrangement they can add color and a more ambiguous feeling. Open left-hand voicings also permit lower playing while avoiding the muddiness associated with some close intervals; octaves and fifths remain usable farther down the piano.
Chord Color, Simplification, and Substitution
Major-7 chords and their 6-chord counterparts can generally be treated as more or less interchangeable, but the melody must be considered. When the melody is the chord root, the major 7 creates a minor-second dissonance. The arrangement also shows that triads may be the best choice in the right context: Fmaj7/C is reduced to an F triad over C, and Dm7 is reduced to a D minor triad. When the gospel-type effect of IV–sharp-IV diminished–I6/4 is not desired, the sharp-IV diminished chord can be replaced by minor 7 flat 5.
Tensions and Upper-Structure Triads
The rootless C7 voicing E, B-flat, D, and G introduces tension 9, which can generally be added safely in many harmonic contexts. An A-flat triad over B7 produces a B7 sound with a flat 9 and natural 13. An upper-structure triad highlights particular tensions and can make the right hand sound like a separate harmonic entity. Another approach begins with an available or implied natural 9, 11, or 13 and alters it when the harmony permits, especially to intensify dominant tension.
Rhythmic and Melodic Reinterpretation
The arrangement begins with a quarter-note grid, hints at an eighth-note grid by measure 11, and establishes that grid more clearly in later phrases. Measure 21 provides the first clear melodic reinterpretation: the original D becomes F on beats 3 and 4, while material from the first half of the measure is rhythmically reshaped in the second half and continued into the next measure.
Layered Piano Texture
Piano texture can be conceived as rhythmic layers analogous to parts of a drum groove, such as kick, snare, cymbals, and toms. This provides a way to think about different components of the piano texture as distinct rhythmic layers.
Musical Examples
Opening Voicings in Measures 1–4
The opening uses root-position F6 and Dm7, followed by third-inversion Gm7 and second-inversion C7 for smooth voice leading. Measure 3 adds broken chords that create passing tones.
Guide Tones and Rootless F7 in Measure 3
Beat 3 uses a rootless F7 voicing containing E-flat, A, and C. On beat 4, D-sharp and A function as the guide tones in a voicing containing the root and guide tones. Changing the opening F6 to Fmaj7 also creates a lower-voice line from F to E-flat.
Reworking Measures 5–8
B diminished 7 is changed to Bm7b5, voiced with the root, one guide tone, and the flat 5. Fmaj7/C is simplified to an F triad over C, and Dm7 later becomes a D minor triad. Measure 6 uses third-inversion Gm7 and a rootless C7 voicing of E, B-flat, D, and G.
Open Voicing and Upper Structure in Measures 9–11
Measure 9 breaks an open root-fifth-third voicing across the first two beats. By measure 11, the rhythm begins hinting at an eighth-note grid. On beat 4, an A-flat triad over B7 creates a B7 sound with a flat 9 and natural 13, and the phrase ends with B-flat major 7.
Reharmonization in Measures 13–18
Measure 13 again replaces sharp-IV diminished with minor 7 flat 5 and simplifies Fmaj7/C to an F triad over C. Measure 14 adds the first right-hand grace note and replaces ii leading to V with V of V leading to V, creating the feeling of an extended dominant sequence. Measure 18 repeats the ii-to-V-of-V replacement and adds an altered tension on beat 4.
Melodic Reinterpretation in Measure 21
The original melody note D becomes F on beats 3 and 4. Material from the first half of the measure is then reinterpreted rhythmically in the second half, with the rhythmic idea continuing into the next measure.
Also in This Lesson
Continue Learning
4-Note Rootless Voicings Vol.1 directly supports the lesson’s work with rootless harmony, including the four-note C7 voicing E, B-flat, D, and G. The beginner course develops practical closed-position rootless voicings through step-by-step lessons and key-based five-minute workouts, with videos, charts, backing tracks, demo solos, and an importable Mapping Tonal Harmony Pro workout file.
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