Lesson plan
Constant structure
In jazz, a constant structure is a chord progression consisting of three or more chords of the same type or quality. Popularized by pianists Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock, the combination of functional and nonfunctional chords provides cohesiveness while producing a free and shifting tonal center. For example, the progression F maj7 –A maj7 –D maj7 –G maj7 –C 13sus4 contains four major seventh chords (and one thirteenth chord), none of which are diatonic to the key of F major except the first. {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c { \clef bass \time 4/4 1_\markup { \concat { \translate #'(-4 . 0) { "C: vi" \raise #1 \small "6" \hspace #6.5 "ii" \hspace #5 "V" \raise #1 \small "6" \hspace #6.5 "I" } } } \bar "|." } } |width=300|caption=A vi–ii–V–I chord progression in C }} In contrast, the vi–ii–V–I or circle progression from classical theory contains four chords of two or three different qualities: major, minor, and possibly a dominant seventh chord; all of which, however, are diatonic to the key. Thus diversity is achieved within a stable and fixed tonal center.
Article summary
In jazz, a constant structure is a chord progression consisting of three or more chords of the same type or quality. Popularized by pianists Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock, the combination of functional and nonfunctional chords provides cohesiveness while producing a free and shifting tonal center. For example, the progression F maj7 –A maj7 –D maj7 –G maj7 –C 13sus4 contains four major seventh chords (and one thirteenth chord), none of which are diatonic to the key of F major except the first. {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c { \clef bass \time 4/4 1_\markup { \concat { \translate #'(-4 . 0) { "C: vi" \raise #1 \small "6" \hspace #6.5 "ii" \hspace #5 "V" \raise #1 \small "6" \hspace #6.5 "I" } } } \bar "|." } } |width=300|caption=A vi–ii–V–I chord progression in C }} In contrast, the vi–ii–V–I or circle progression from classical theory contains four chords of two or three different qualities: major, minor, and possibly a dominant seventh chord; all of which, however, are diatonic to the key. Thus diversity is achieved within a stable and fixed tonal center.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.