Approaches - Escape Notes

Approach Notes  are very well known in  Jazz  where the player uses the concept of   target notes   which are usually   chord-tones   or   tensions   in a chord and then plays notes that   approach   this target note before playing the note.

i.e. In a Cmaj7, the E is a chord-tone (the major 3rd) and it is a desire target note. Before playing the E the player may approach it by playing a   half-step   bellow (D#) and then resolve that D# to E. This is called a   chromatic approach from below  . Approaching all the notes in the Cmaj7 creates a beautiful tension-release pattern where you outline the Cmaj7 and at the same moment you play notes   outside   the scale.

Here’s the example in Tessitura using a simple   step-up pattern   and a   chromatic approach from below  :

These approaches could be  Chromatic from bellow, Chromatic from above, Diatonic from bellow  or  Diatonic from above

And of course we may combine them to create complex approach patterns. i.e.  Chromatic from bellow -> Diatonic from bellow -> Chromatic from above -> Target

Here’s the graphic representation as you find it in Tessitura. The  Target  is the center line. The next two lines outward are the  chromatic from above and bellow  and the dashed lines represent the  diatonic approaches from above and bellow

Double Chromatic

These type of approaches will be shown as two consecutive notes over a  chromatic-line (  orange line in the example)

Note: This  does not mean the note is repeated. It represents a double chromatic approach. i.e. Bb-B-C

In Tessitura we also use the  Escape Note  concept (slightly different from the classical concept of  escape tone  )

Escape Tones  are similar to  approach notes  except we play these  AFTER  the target note. So we get  out of the target  using a chromatic or diatonic note.

Using escape tones you will  leap out of  a target note creating tension that will (hopefully) be released when landing on the next target.

We label escape tones the same way we do with approaches:  Chromatic bellow, Chromatic above, Diatonic bellow  or  Diatonic above

Here’s a simple  Escape tone to Chromatic bellow  over the  Cmaj7  chord

Of course, escape tones combined with approaches create really interesting melodic patterns. Some of these combinations will result in an  Ornament

An  Ornament  is a type of approach where the target is involved in the group of notes. Tessitura also includes several ornaments to choose from, such as neighboring tones and grupettos

Tessitura Pro by  mDecks Music