Thirds Spell the Chords
Chord tones in thirds
Play along. The recording stays in concert B-flat; the notation follows your instrument.
The music, the voice and the scrolling score slow down together; the pitch stays the same.
Drag A and B (they snap to the bar lines), then press “Loop this section”.
Four bars to a line. It follows the instrument you choose above.
This chorus is here because it shows what the diatonic thirds exercise turns into after years of practice. In bars 4 and 5 the thirds climb the scale one step at a time, D to F, E to G, F to A, G to B, exactly as in the exercise, except that each one is approached from a note just below. That small addition is what makes an exercise sound like a line. In bar 7 the same thirds stack downward and spell the F7 chord, and in bar 9 they stack upward into a diminished chord. Practice diatonic thirds in The Whole Horn until your fingers know them in every key, then listen for the moment in this solo where the exercise disappears and the music takes over.