Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Harmonic Analysis

Dr. Bob Lawrence (00:32.962)
Welcome to Jazz Piano Skills. I'm Dr. Bob Lawrence. It's time to discover, learn, and play jazz piano. Well, can you believe it? December. Where did this year go? Wow. I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving and are now ready to start a new month, which is always exciting at Jazz Piano Skills. Why? Well, because

A new month means a new tune. It means that we move on. It means that we have a fresh start, right? So important to have these feelings when tackling a discipline like jazz piano. So important, right, to constantly create forward motion. Huge forward motion. You know why? Because forward motion motivates.

And the opposite, unfortunately, is also true. The feeling of running in place, right, like a hamster on a wheel. No forward motion means stagnation and stagnation is the kiss of death to our motivation. And that is why that is why we are intentional about about moving on at Jazz Piano Skills, right? We get every month we move on new tune, new beginning. So here we are December.

A new tune, a new beginning. Another huge reason why we move on is because we want to be able to accurately assess our strengths and our weaknesses as jazz pianists. So we're constantly searching for accurate answers to the all-important question, what jazz piano skills do I have command of and which ones do I, which ones need attention? After all, if we are capable,

If we're capable of successfully answering that question, we have hope. We know exactly what we need to do. We know exactly what we need to practice in order to improve as a jazz pianist. We've spent the past five years tackling essential jazz piano skills. Everything from scales, arpeggios, chord scale relationships, harmonic function, piano, technique, fingerings, improvisation approaches.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (03:01.356)
and so much more all in preparation for tune study, all in preparation for the tune journey that we started back in January. So since the start of the year, we have dissected a new tune every single month. And we've dissected each of these tunes three ways, harmonically, melodically, and improvisationally, right? With the hope

of illuminating our strengths and weaknesses. Wow. How awesome has this year been? So today, new tune went a new month, a new tune and in a few weeks, we'll have an updated assessment of our jazz piano skills. And this month we're exploring. We're exploring one of my favorite personal standards of all time. It's a masterpiece. I'm not kidding. It really is. It's a masterpiece.

written by J. Fred Koots and Haven Gillespie back in 1934. It has a great melody. It's very catchy. It's great. It has great traditional jazz changes and movement. And of course, heartfelt lyrics. I mean, really, Santa Claus is coming to town. Come on, right? It has all that great melody, great changes and heartfelt lyrics. So

today we start as we always do with a harmonic analysis of Santa Claus is coming to town. We're going to check out the form, the chord changes, harmonic function, common progressions, and of course voicings, left-handed shell voicings and two-handed structures. Next week we're going to follow up with a melodic analysis of Santa Claus is coming to town and of course that will involve everything from transcribing the melody by ear

We'll look at fingerings, we'll check out various treatments. And then of course we will enjoy the grand finale, week three of Santa Claus is coming to town with focusing on our improvisation development using quarter and eighth note strings, mathematical and random silence. And of course, as always, some tension. So listen, you know, if you have been a faithful listener for the past five years, right? Fantastic. You are.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (05:29.492)
set to go. And this journey has been, I'm sure it's been illuminating since January to now with your understanding of where you are as a jazz pianist. But, and if you haven't been a faithful listener the past five years, well, it's no big deal. No worries. You know, the tune study that we do every month and the process that we have implemented will actually help you sift through the previous podcast episodes.

and help you prioritize those episodes so that you can begin maximizing your jazz piano skills right now, immediately. So as I always mention, right, it makes no difference whether you are a jazz panel skills vet or if you're jazz panel skills rookie, you're in the right place at the right time to begin a jazz piano journey that will have a profound impact, not only on your jazz piano playing, but a profound impact on your understanding of music.

So I'm thrilled and I hope you are too because you know we have established this year a very systematic approach to tune study which means that we now have what I like to call an assembly line that we can use over and over again with each and every tune that we tackle right and this assembly line means that our learning process will only get faster because our skills

are getting better and stronger. So today we discover possibly the most popular and recognized Christmas song of all time, Santa Claus is Coming to Town. And we're going to learn form, chord changes, harmonic function for Santa Claus is Coming to Town. And we're going to play Santa Claus is Coming to Town using my suggested voicings, my left-handed shells, my two-handed structures. Plus we'll dive into the chord progression and we'll

will discover those common harmonic progressions necessary for ear training development. So as I always like to say, regardless of where you are in your jazz journey, a beginner, an intermediate player, advanced player, or even if you're a seasoned and experienced pro, you're going to find this Jazz Piano Skills podcast lesson exploring Santa Claus is coming to town to be very beneficial.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (07:52.012)
But before we get started, before we jump in, I want to, as I always do, welcome first time listeners to Jazz Piano Skills. And if you are indeed a new listener, if you're new to Jazz Piano Skills, I want to welcome you and I want to invite you to become a Jazz Piano Skills member. Your membership grants you access to the premium content for this podcast episode and for every weekly podcast episode.

And the premium content will help you thoroughly and correctly discover, learn and play the jazz standard and the jazz skills that we are currently exploring. And as the old saying goes, a whole lot more. So for example, as a jazz piano skills member, you have access to the past, current and future educational weekly podcast packets. Now these are the illustrations, lead sheets and play alongs are the backing tracks that I designed and developed.

for every weekly podcast episode to help you get the most out of it. All right. And these podcast packets should be in your hands as you're listening to the episode to get the most out of it. And of course, it should be sitting on your piano as well when practicing. You also have access to a self-paced and sequential jazz piano curriculum, which is loaded with comprehensive courses, all of them containing educational talks. There's interactive learning media.

to help you digest the skills conceptually, video demonstrations of the skills and all 12 keys. You also have a reserved seat in my online weekly master class, which is held every Thursday evening. And if you can't attend, it's no big deal. It's no problem because the master classes are recorded and you can listen to the class whenever and as often as you wish. Very cool. You also have as a Jazz Panel Skills member, you also have access

the online private Jazz Panel Skills community, which hosts a variety of engaging forums. And finally, as a Jazz Panel Skills member, you have unlimited private, personal, and professional educational support whenever and as often as you need it. So all of these amazing perks, these amazing privileges are waiting to help you discover, learn, and play Jazz Piano. So check it all out at JazzPanelsKills.com. And of course, become a member to begin enjoying premium podcast content.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (10:11.308)
course, if you have any questions, once you get to the website, please, by all means, reach out to me. I'm happy to spend some time with you answer your questions, help you in any way that I can. Okay. So now on to the question of the week. Okay, so this week's question comes from Mac Tarrow, Mac Tarrow living in Sydney, Australia. And Mac writes,

I am working on learning the 60 chords as you have outlined in your podcast and courses. So far, so good, but I am finding the inversions challenging. Do you have some tips on how best to approach practice in the inversion so they stick? As always, thanks for your help. I love the weekly podcast and all the resources at Jazz Piano Skills. Well, thanks, Mac. I'm thrilled that

you're enjoying the podcast and jazz panel skills. That makes my day. Now, your question is awesome. It's a great question. The first thing I will say to you is congrats. Congrats on tackling the 60 chords and your commitment to get them under your hands in root position and inversions, right? And the inversions. Without these shapes, without these shapes,

everything else you want to learn in the world of jazz. To be honest, impossible. And this goes for instrumentalists as well, not just pianists. Without a functional command of the 60 chords, 12 major, 12 dominant, 12 minor, 12 half diminished, 12 diminished, Improvisation, which is the melodic representation of harmony, right, is impossible. It's just simply impossible.

So we all need to be devoted to learning these essential sounds and shapes, in root position and inversions, regardless of our instrument, right? Doesn't make any difference. Pianist, sax, trumpet, violin, and so on, right? So with this being said, here are some quick tips to help you, Mack, tackle the 60 chords in inversions.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (12:34.538)
Number one, number one, paper practice. Paper practice. In other words, practicing away from the instrument. We do not talk about this enough, right? I tell students all the time, the best practicing I've done throughout my lifetime, ironically, has always been away from the instrument, right? In preparation for being very productive and successful once I get to the instrument. So,

What I would encourage you to do with these chords and inversions, I would, you know, get your favorite iced tea or beverage or whatever, lay on the sofa, get your comfy in your chair, and start spelling them. Literally start spelling them. C major seven, C-E-G-B, right? F major seven, F-A-C-E, and so on. And not only in root position, but spell them in their inverted positions as well.

So spell C major as E, G, B, C, and G, B, and B, E, G, right? Spell them inverted. There's something very powerful about putting pencil to paper in writing something, making something come to life on paper. There's something very, very powerful about that process in the learning process, okay? That activity within the learning process. So paper practice, cannot stress it enough. You know, I had a teacher

They used to greet me at the front door. Literally, he would, I would be getting out of my car. I'm at the curb and he's yelling from the front porch, a court. He'd be saying F sharp half diminish. And if I could not say F sharp ACE, like as easily as I would, as I could spell my name, he would yell out, wrong. You don't have it. You don't know it. And, and literally he would quiz me every single lesson on my ability.

to spell the chords and their inverted shapes. So tip number one, paper practice. Time away from the instrument, sorting out the data in preparation for success when at the piano, okay? So paper practice number one. Number two, I would practice, begin practicing my chords and inversions grouped by family, what I call chord families.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (14:57.834)
So all of your C chords, C major, C dominant, C minor, C half-diminished, C diminished, all of your F chords, all of your B flat chords, and so on, right? I would practice those families, of course, in root position. So I'd play all five qualities, major, dominant, minor, half-diminished, and diminished in root position. Next time through, play all of them in first inversion. Play all of them in second inversion. Play all of them in third inversion.

right? So I would group my chords by family, and I would focus on practicing those families not just in root position, but intentionally practicing that exercise in first, second, and third inversion as well. Number three, quality practice. I would group my chords by type or quality. So I would put all my 12 major chords together,

all my 12 dominant chords together, minor, half-diminished, and diminished. I would practice moving through my 12 major chords, right, or dominant, minor, half-diminished, and diminished. I would practice moving through the chords using some kind of pattern, whether it be chromatic movement, C major going to D flat major, going to D major, going to E flat major, and so on. Maybe it's circle movement, C major to F major to B flat major to E flat major.

I would use some kind of pattern to move my 12 major chords, move through my 12 major chords or dominant chords, whatever quality I happen to be practicing. And of course, I would do this how? I would do this in root position. I would do it in first inversion, second inversion, third inversion. This is much more challenging than chords by family, so just be patient when you're utilizing this approach.

Okay, the fourth tip, I would practice my chords by key, right, by key. So I would practice the seven chords in the key of C, or the seven chords in the key of F, or the seven chords in the key of B flat. And I would move through each of those chords again in root position, first inversion, second inversion, third inversion. So first,

Dr. Bob Lawrence (17:22.637)
So if I'm in the key of C major, I'd be practicing going from C major to D minor to E minor to F major and so on. In root position and in first, second, and third inversion. Of course, this is not easy because now you have to think within a key and you're thinking of the seven chords within that key. So you have to have some theory understanding here as well. Okay, so okay, so far we've done paper practice, we've done

chord family practice, quality practice, key practice, and number five, I would say progression practice. So practice a progression like two, five, one, which will force you to utilize the inverted shapes. So if you're playing D minor in the key of C, D minor to G7, the C major, if you start that D minor in root position, you're going to be going to that G7,

in second inversion, which resolves to back to C major in first inversion. So when you start practicing 2-5-1 circle movement, it's going to force you to utilize various inversions together. Root position going to third inversion, going back to second inversion, going back to root position, and so forth. Okay, again, another level of complexity to take into consideration here.

These various approaches are so important, right? Family practice, quality practice, key practice, progression practice, because it forces you to look at the data from various perspectives. And the more perspective that you have with the data, the more, the better chance is that it sticks, right? As you mentioned in your question, Mack, you want it to stick. So again, these five tips.

paper practice, chord family practice, quality practice, key practice, and progression practice, right? Side note, isolation practice is so important as well. Don't be afraid to take a single chord, a single chord, whatever it is, and just practice moving through the various shapes of that chord, root position, first, second, third inversion, right? Use a backing track, play it in time, make it musical.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (19:46.9)
and move those shapes around. So do not be afraid to isolate. Also, imagery, pay attention to the imagery of these shapes, right? I found imagery to be very helpful when I was learning the chords and their inversions. You know, being able to see a D flat major as a black, white, black, white combination. D majors being the opposite, white, black, white, black, so forth, right? B flat major, be a black, white, white, white. So

use imagery to your advantage as well. It will help this data stick. Okay. Now, the technology, I would use technology to help as well. So if you're, you know, if you're user of the iReal Pro app or band in the box, some, garage band, whatever software or technology that you're using to help you practice chords, definitely take advantage of that technology.

A tips for how to use technology. If you take, say for instance, iRill Pro app and you have a bunch of standards that are installed in your app, nothing wrong with taking each standard and just pull it up and pretend that each chord that you're looking at is a major chord or is a dominant chord or is a minor chord.

and just ignore what the chord symbol is telling you and just use it as a almost like musical flashcards, right? You're looking at a letter, you're treating it as a major sound. So whatever it is, you play it, you know, you play it as a major chord. So the idea here is you're trying to move through that lead sheet playing every letter that you see, you're trying to play it as a major chord or dominant chord or a minor chord. It's a very, it's a very good way to help you

get a randomization built into your practicing so that you're looking at a random pattern. So your muscle, you can't just rely on a muscle memory of some exercise that you've previously practiced to where you're playing, your hands are playing the muscle memory, but you're not really aware of what it is that you're doing. And you can add a level of complexity to this as well, Mac, by, by, you know, you're reading through

Dr. Bob Lawrence (22:08.766)
lead sheet, you're playing all the chords on that lead sheet as a major sound or dominant or minor. Turn a metronome on where you have a click, right? And so now every click represents a new chord. So click, click, click, and you're going right through grabbing the chords as quickly as you possibly can. Hopefully what you're doing is using inverted shapes. The idea is that you want to be using these inverted shapes to help you

utilize minimum motion, minimum motion. So this is a lot of information very quick. know. So, you know, I will just say this. If you utilize these various tips that I've just mentioned, these various approaches, I guarantee you a tipping point will happen for you when these sounds, these shapes lock in and they will lock in forever. I can't explain it.

But these block shapes and inversions are like reading and writing and balance. Once you learn them, you will always have them. You will not be able to unlearn the 60 chords and inversions, just like you cannot unlearn reading. You cannot unlearn writing. You cannot unlearn balance. Once you have those skills, I can't explain it. They seem to be, you know, I can't remember where I placed my car keys, but I never forget how to read. I never forget how to write.

never forget balance, and I never forget the 60 chords and their inversions. So the time spent wrestling with these block shapes and their inversions is time well spent because it lays the foundation for all that you want to do moving forward in your jazz journey. Without them, you're not moving forward. So congratulations for tackling this. This Skill Mac, it will not let you down. Stick with it.

and they will stick. I promise. If you have additional questions or you need further clarification, let me know. Reach out to me. I'm happy to help and happy to dig deeper with you. So, wow, congrats and good luck and keep the pedal to the metal. You're going to do great. Okay, so let's discover, learn, play jazz piano. Let's discover, learn, play Santa Claus is coming to town.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (24:30.944)
Okay, quick review. Here's my outline for learning any tune, right? Genre makes no difference. Jazz, rock, pop, country, folk, R &B, whatever, right? It makes no difference. Here's how I go about learning a tune. Number one, I listen. I listen to various artists, vocalist, instrumentalist, chorus, pianist, artists from different genres too, not just jazz. I listen to various artists perform the tune. I lock in on form next. want

to decipher what is the form of this tune? Is it A-A-B-A, A-B-A-B, A-B-A-C, right? Every tune has a form. What is it? After I know the form, I turn my attention, I guess because I'm a pianist, I turn my attention to the chords and the voicings. I'm listening for common harmonic movement within the song, like two, five, one, one, four, five, one, six, two, five, and so forth. After I have harmonic movement,

Under my hands, I'll turn my attention to melody. Always learn the melody, but transcribing it. In other words, learning it by ear. I'm not reading it from any fake book or sheet music, right? I learn it by ear. And then finally, after I have the melody, I then like to explore various treatments and of course improvisation. So I listen, determine form, learn my chords and voicings, learn the melody, explore treatments and improvisation.

That's my process for, again, for any tune, regardless of the genre. There's nothing more, nothing less. That's it, right? So this week's harmonic analysis will have us listening, will determine the form of the piece, will learn the chord changes, will look at the common harmonic function found within the piece to help us with our ear training, and of course, we'll look at voicings. All of this for Santa Claus is coming to town.

And then of course, next week, we will focus on the melodic analysis and in two weeks, improvisation. So as always, we're keeping things very structured and very organized. Even if it's a Christmas tune, it makes no difference, right? We want it structured, we want it organized, we want it clean and tidy, right? And it makes no difference. Christmas tune, skill study, tune study, right? It's all the same. Our conceptual understanding

Dr. Bob Lawrence (26:54.154)
of all that we do musically must be this way, right? It must be structured. It must be simple and clean and tidy so that it can be replicated. It can be repeated over and over again. And I've said it many times over the past five years that if your understanding of music or any musical skill is not structured, it's not simple, conceptually, it's not organized, well, then it's unorganized. And then it's confusing.

And if it's unorganized and confusing conceptually upstairs, I guarantee it, you have no shot of executing it in your hands downstairs. Zero. No shot. Therefore, it's absolutely essential that we keep our tune study very structured, very simple, and very replicatable. So the learning agenda or the educational agenda for today is as follows. Number one, we are beginning part one.

of our exploration of Santa Claus is coming to town. Number two, we are going to listen to definitive recording of this great Christmas classic. Number three, we will discuss the form of Santa Claus is coming to town. Number four, we will discover, learn, and play the chord changes for Santa Claus is coming to town. Number five, we will discover, learn, and play the harmonic function for Santa. And number six, we will discover, learn, and play

my suggested voicings for Santa Claus is coming to town. So, wow, you know, we got a lot to get done on this great Christmas standard. So if you are a Jazz Piano Skills member, I want you to just take a few minutes, hit the pause button right now, take a few minutes to download and print your podcast packets. Again, the illustrations, the lead sheets, the play alongs, your membership, of course, grants you access to the premium content.

not only for today's podcast episode, but for every podcast episode. And the educational podcast, as I mentioned earlier, help you get the most out of this podcast lesson and will help you get the most out of your practicing as well. Okay. So now that you have your podcast packets, I want you to grab, of course, as always, your lead sheets. And you should have seven

Dr. Bob Lawrence (29:17.096)
lead sheets in your packet. Seven lead sheets. Let's go through them very quickly. Lead sheet one, you'll see is the diagrams, the form of Santa Claus is coming to town. Lead sheet two identifies the unique chords found within Santa Claus is coming to town. Number three gives you the chord changes, a nice clean lead sheet for Santa. Number four

provides you with the harmonic function for Santa Claus is coming to town. Number five, I highlight the common progressions that I recommend using for ear training purposes to help you identify harmonic movement found in standard after standard after standard. Lead Sheet 6 is where I present

my left hand shell voicings that I use when playing Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and lead sheet seven are the two-handed structures, the two-handed voicings that I use when playing Santa Claus is Coming to Town. So, nice packet of material that we are going to go through today as we begin our journey of learning this great Christmas classic, Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

Okay, so what is the first thing that we need to do when studying and learning a tune? Right, of course, we listen to it. Because listening, in my humble opinion, is probably the most important thing to do. In fact, I can't even begin, I can't even imagine trying to learn a tune without listening to it. And of course, I know we're all very familiar with Santa Claus is Coming to Town. We've all grown up singing this song.

But nevertheless, we want to take an opportunity right now today to listen to this tune. And as I've mentioned before, you know, I turn to vocalists typically first, right? And then I like to turn to instrumentalists. And then of course, I turn my attention to pianists. And I like vocalists first because they usually give me a pretty clean version of the melody to help me learn the melody. But again, we're all familiar with Santa Claus is coming to town. So

Dr. Bob Lawrence (31:34.754)
I don't know if we need somebody to sing it to us for us to recognize the melody of Santa. And so today I'm going to kind of break tradition here. I'm not going to go with an instrumentalist. We're going to check out Santa Claus is Coming to Town, played by the great Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond. This is great recording. this is...

Dave Brubeck, I think like around early 60s. I'm guessing somewhere around 62, 63, somewhere in there. So I want you to grab, as always, your favorite beverage, your cup of coffee or whatever your favorite beverage is. I you to get comfy. I want you to sit back and let's enjoy Mr. Dave Brubeck and Mr. Paul Desmond swinging. Santa Claus is coming to town. Check this out.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (36:00.684)
Yes, indeed. I am now officially, I am now officially in the Christmas spirit. How can you not be right? How can you not be? All right, so now that we've checked out Santa Claus is coming to town, let's explore those lead sheets. So I want you to grab lead sheet one, and let's take a look at the form of Santa Claus is coming to town, which ironically is a very traditional jazz form.

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