A Dream of Flying, part 2

Track #9 on handmade, “A Dream of Flying,” was recorded on November 26, 2006.

This is a 12 bar tune; it’s loosely based on a blues progression, but with some interesting twists and turns. (As always, check out this page for a list of my common chord abbreviations.) Here are the changes:

C∆	%	%	%
Bb∆	%	C∆	Bbm7, Eb9
Ab∆	Ab∆/C	G/C, Gb/C	F/C, E/C

The song is sort of normal up until bar 9 — a blues structure having three unusual tonal centers (C major, Bb major, and Ab major).  After bar 9, though, you’re in McCosar territory.  Here’s your guide to the slash chords:

• Ab∆/C sets up the resolution to G/C.  By itself, Ab∆/C is one of the spellings I use for an Aeolian minor chord (one with a pleasant sound, as opposed to Cm7b13).  Here, though, the  pull between the Ab triad and Gb triad is very strong, and it sounds natural.  G/C, by the way, is an odd way of writing Cmaj9 (C D G B) — there’s no 3rd, but like a Thelonious Monk chord, the major chord character is strongly implied by the voicing.
• After this start, the descending triad pattern continues with Gb/C (a form of C7alt), F/C (a simple inversion of the F triad), and E/C (one of those chords I love, a strange voicing for C∆+).

• I like the overall transition from Ab/C (triad a major third down) to E/C (triad a major third up) by the reverse path of descending triads.

• Finally, the E/C resolves to C∆, which you can think of as Em/C (one note difference, and therefore a strong resolution).