Somehow I found myself working on a another reharmonization of a Beatles' tune. These Lennon/McCartney pieces are masterpieces as they are, but their gorgeous melodies and strong harmonic identities leave them ripe for a good 'ol reharmonization! I've always loved Blackbird and have been particularly inspired by the Brad Mehldau trio's take on it. Over the years, I've tried time and time again to create a solo piano arrangement of it that worked, but I could never quite get it....until now! What was the trick? I decided to change the key. The original is in the key of G. It never felt or sounded quite right to me on solo piano.
So I played around with the key and settled on Bb. Then the arrangement just sort of fell into place! I love when that happens. Sometimes a simple shift like that will completely change your perspective on a piece. I used some of my favorite harmonic moves -- some modal interchange chords, chromatic bass movement, substitute dominant chords. One of by favorites was the bIImaj7 in place of the V7 chord at the end of the form. In the key of Bb, I replaced the F7 with a BMaj7 -- the melody worked so nicely over this chord substitute I couldn't resist!
I hope you enjoy it. For those who want to explore this further, the lead sheet is available at Gumroad HERE.
Happy shedding!
So I played around with the key and settled on Bb. Then the arrangement just sort of fell into place! I love when that happens. Sometimes a simple shift like that will completely change your perspective on a piece. I used some of my favorite harmonic moves -- some modal interchange chords, chromatic bass movement, substitute dominant chords. One of by favorites was the bIImaj7 in place of the V7 chord at the end of the form. In the key of Bb, I replaced the F7 with a BMaj7 -- the melody worked so nicely over this chord substitute I couldn't resist!
I hope you enjoy it. For those who want to explore this further, the lead sheet is available at Gumroad HERE.
Happy shedding!
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