What a Difference a Day Makes, Harmonic Analysis

Dr. Bob Lawrence (00:32.929)
Welcome to Jazz Piano Skills. I'm Dr. Bob Lawrence. It's time to discover, learn, and play jazz piano. Well, it's March 4th, 2025, the start of a new month. And the start of a new month at Jazz Piano Skills means we begin studying a new tune. A new tune, but the same thorough, organized, structured, logical, skill-centric approach

approach to learning a tune. Because tunes will demand of you, they'll demand of me, a command of essential jazz piano skills. No way around it. Jazz piano skills that are needed to successfully play tunes. And what are the jazz piano skills that you, that I need to be comfy with conceptually?

And course, physically, well, let's go through the list of essential jazz piano skills. Number one on the list, harmony, right? Your ability, my ability to play the sounds of music using various voicing approaches, blocks, shells, two-handed structures, and our ability to recognize and understand function. We're going to get into that today.

Skill number two, how about melody? Your ability to hear, determine and properly articulate melodies and phrases, which of course requires mature technique, which of course requires good fingerings. How about number three, improvisation? Pretty essential jazz piano skill. It's your ability to correctly determine chord scale relationships.

so that you can play the sounds of music using the correct arpeggios and scales with ascending and descending motion. And how about number four? Rhythm. Your ability to play authentic jazz rhythms is a pretty essential jazz piano skill, which of course is dependent upon your command of the most important skill of all time. And that's time.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (02:58.573)
Right? So jazz piano skills include harmony, melody, improvisation, rhythm. Right? Makes no difference what tune you're going to play. And quite honestly, it makes no difference what genre you're going to play. If you're incapable of executing the essential jazz piano skills that I just mentioned, right? And not only execute them, but execute them with proficiency. Well,

can't do that. You don't have to worry about playing tunes because you can't. And that is why at Jazz Piano Skills, we use tune study to illuminate the skills, right, especially what I like to call the grunt work skills needed to play jazz piano. And then we attack those skills. We start with a new tune every month like we're going to do today in order to gain a new perspective.

of the essential jazz piano skills. Again, different tune, same skills, but a new perspective, a new perspective of essential jazz panel skills through a harmonic analysis, a new perspective of essential jazz panel skills through a melodic analysis, and a new perspective of essential jazz piano skills through improvisation development. And of course, a new perspective through

inclusion of a rhythm challenge each and every week. Right? Most importantly, most importantly, I have mentioned this, I have pounded this home since the beginning of the year. Most importantly, we need to see these essential jazz panel skills, understand these essential jazz panel skills in relationship to the seven facts of music. Facts, facts. I'm going to say it again, facts, seven facts of music.

And of course, what are those seven facts? Number one, music is the production of sound and silence. Sound, of course, being major, dominant, minor, half diminished and diminished. Number two, sound is produced harmonically and melodically. We call these shapes. Number three, when produced harmonically, we are playing chords or voicings. Number four,

Dr. Bob Lawrence (05:24.756)
produced melodically, we are playing scales and arpeggios, melodies. Number five, when playing scales and arpeggios, we are moving in one of two directions. We're either going up or we're coming down. And number six, we camouflage those scales, those arpeggios, with tension or chromaticism, right? Notes outside of the key center.

And finally, number seven, to make all these facts one through six really interesting, we add rhythm. That's it. Those are the seven facts of music and everything we do should be framed by these seven facts. Again, I've stressed this since the start of the year, that if you are unable to see the essential jazz piano skills framed,

framed by the seven facts of music, then there's a very high probability that you're running in place, that you're actually not accomplishing what you think you're accomplishing when practicing. Here at Jazz Piano Skills, right, the goal is to prevent that from happening. We take an essential skill and we examine it harmonically and melodically.

We use it to develop our improvisation and rhythm. We see it and practice it governed by the seven facts of music. And in doing so, we avoid falling into the trap of running in place, being what I call one dimensional with our understanding and application of a skill. Now, with all that being said, we continue our study of harmony, melody, improvisation, and rhythm.

using another classic jazz standard this month. And as always, we're going to begin with our harmonic analysis. So today, today you are going to discover a fantastic standard. One of my, I say it every, I say it every month. It's one of my favorite because it is one of my favorites. This is a classic tune. I love it. Great harmony, great melody, great lyrics.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (07:52.125)
what a difference a day makes. And you're going to learn form, chord changes, harmonic function for what a difference a day makes. And you're going to play what a difference a day makes using my suggested voicings, my shell voicings, my two-handed structures. Plus, we're going to take a look at the common harmonic progressions found within what a difference a day makes for ear training development. Of course,

We're going to have our rhythm challenges today as well to develop our transcribing and comping skills. It's going to be a lot of fun. So as always, regardless of where you are in your jazz journey, as I like to say, whether you're a beginner and intermediate player and advanced player, or even if you're a seasoned and experienced professional, you're going to find this Jazz Piano Skills Podcast lesson.

exploring the fabulous standard, what a difference a day makes to be very beneficial. But before we get started, before we jump in, I want to, as I always do, welcome first time listeners to the Jazz Panel Skills podcast. And if you are a new listener, if you're new to Jazz Panel Skills, I want to welcome you and I want to invite you to become a Jazz Panel Skills member. Your membership helps keep Jazz Panel Skills 100 %

ad free, ad free, all education, no ads. I love it. That's been the goal since day one. So I invite you to become a Jazz Panel Skills member. Your membership will grant you many perks, many benefits. For example, you will gain access to premium podcast content. In other words, you'll get to listen to the entire podcast episode.

The first half of every podcast episode is free for everyone to enjoy. It's where I lay out the educational agenda. We deal with the question of the week and then we explore the lesson rationale. The second half for members only, we dive into the lesson content, we have the demonstrations, and then of course the weekly rhythm assignment is laid out as well. You also, as a Jazz Panel Skills member,

Dr. Bob Lawrence (10:15.625)
have access to the educational podcast packets that I design and develop for every weekly podcast episode. These are the illustrations, the lead sheets, the play alongs, the backing tracks to go along with every podcast episode to help you get the most out of each episode and help to maximize your practicing of the skills as well. You also have access as a Jazz Panel Skills member to the online courses. These are

comprehensive, interactive, self paced and sequential courses, all of them with interactive learning media and video demonstrations as well. Now the master classes that are held every week as a Jazz Panel Skills member, you have a reserve seat. And those master classes are held every Thursday evening, 8pm Central Time. And if you can't make the classes no big deal, your membership grants your access to the video and audio recordings

of these episodes so that you can benefit from the masterclass even if you're not there. You can watch it and rewatch the video as often as you wish. As a Jazz Piano Skills member, you also have access to the online private Jazz Piano Community, which hosts a variety of educational forums, episode specific forums, general jazz forums, and of course, there's tons of member feedback and assistance.

available for you as well. And finally, last but certainly not least, as a Jazz Piano Skills member, you have unlimited educational support, right? Private, personal, professional support, whenever and as often as you need it. There's always several ways to get in touch with me. There's a SpeakPipe widget that you can use that's on the website. It's a web form. Of course, you can always call my office number here at the Dallas School of Music.

Or if you're an old school dude like me, no problem. You can use email. I'll even answer your email. So all of these amazing perks, these privileges are waiting to help you discover, learn, and play jazz piano. So check them all out at jazzpanelskills.com. And of course, become a member and begin enjoying all the benefits and perks that I've just mentioned. Of course, if you get to the website, you're poking around, you have some questions.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (12:40.735)
need some help, do not hesitate to reach out to me. I'm happy to spend some time with you answer any questions you have regarding the Jazz Piano Skills program and help you in any way that I can. Okay, on to the question of the week. This week's question comes from Robin York, living in Prince George, British Columbia. And Robin writes, I am working

learning traditional shell voicings but primarily use block chords when playing. I am trying to figure out how to apply alterations to the block chords. What is the best approach to accomplishing this? I can't figure it out. Thanks. Hey Robin, great question. And the answer is pretty simple. You can't. So stop trying to add alterations to block chords.

not a good effort. Let me explain. I say this because block chords, right, root, third, five and seven or the inversions of root, third, five and seven, right? They are designed to handle the root, third, five and seven of the sound. That's what they're designed to do. They are not designed to handle alterations like

the flat nine or the sharp nine, the sharp 11 flat 13. They're just not right. So just like a hammer is designed to drive in a nail and not to tighten a screw. It's the same thing, right? hammers are great at driving and nails. Not too good for tightening a screw. In other words, right, you have to have the correct tool to get the job done. You have to have and use the correct voicing types.

to handle alterations. So I'm not surprised Robin that you can't figure it out. I think it's fantastic that you're trying. But you're what you're actually trying to do is fit a square peg into a round hole. Right? Now just a side note. This is why I always make a point to mention when speaking about black cords, that they're real value.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (15:06.559)
where they really shine is when improvising because these are the shapes that we utilize to construct and to build our melodic ideas. The block chords, right, are fantastic improvisational shapes. Now, that doesn't mean that you can't use block chords as voicings when playing because you most certainly can and I do it all the time.

However, what I don't do is to try to fit square pegs in the round holes. So I don't try to apply alterations to them. For that, I use the traditional shell voicings that you mentioned that you're working on, right? Which is awesome. The 379, the 735 structures, those shells. But you know what? Even these voicings have some limitations. So for example,

you know, how would you apply a sharp 11 to a 379 voicing?

The answer is you don't. It's a 379 voicing. And nowhere in the description of the 379 voicing do you hear the number 11. So you want to play a sharp 11 sound, I would suggest picking another voicing, right, other than the 379. Again, what you're trying to do in that situation is same thing. You're trying to put a square peg

into a round hole. Now on the other hand, if you want to add a sharp nine sound to your 379 voicing, that's a perfect tool. You have the correct voicing 379. All you have to do is sharp the nine, right? Again, the correct tool for the job. You know, let's let's look at another example. Let's say I want to play

Dr. Bob Lawrence (17:10.763)
a fully altered dominant shell voicing in my left hand when I'm improvising or playing the melody of a tune in my right hand. Well, I won't be able to do that with a block voicing, and I won't be able to do it with a 379 or 735 shell voicing either. I will need a different tool. So let me think.

What about using a contemporary shell built using the interval, right? The contemporary shells, they're all built using the interval of a fourth, like a 369. Now, if I slide this voicing down a half step, 369, slide it down a half step to flat three, flat six, flat nine, then I have a fully altered shape to handle

fully altered dominant sound. So the flat 3 actually functions as a sharp 9. The flat 6 functions as is the sharp 5. And we have the flat 9 on top. Wow, pretty cool, right? Why does this work? Because we had the correct tool to do job correctly. So Robin, is why, this is exactly why

I teach through jazz piano skills for classifications or for types of voicings. I do indeed teach the blocks. I teach traditional shells. I teach contemporary shells and I teach two handed structures. I teach these types of voicings because because we want our toolbox to be equipped with handy tools. Handy tools. The pun is definitely intended, right?

We need handy tools needed to handle the different jobs when playing. Right? Now all this to say, do not try to apply alterations to block voicings. That's what I'm going on a tangent here, but I'm trying to stress the importance of not trying to apply the alterations to your block voicings.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (19:35.303)
It will be like playing the game of twister with your hand. And even if you are successful in twisting your hand into some kind of uncomfortable shape to include the desired alterations that you're looking for, you still have to deal with the sound. You still have to deal with the sound of the voicing. Does it sound good? Odds are it doesn't. Which then, of course, we discover rather quickly when we do this, try to

apply alterations to block voicings, we discover rather quickly that man, even if something is theoretically correct, it doesn't mean that it's good. Right? Our ears are always the final judge. Block voicings with alterations, typically a bad combination. It's typically like oil and water, they do not mix. Now, on the plus side, Robin, and this is a huge plus,

The fact that you are thinking about and exploring altered sounds. Wow, that's fantastic. It tells me that you're on the right track. You are thinking about and studying good and essential information, good and essential jazz piano skills. You are tackling jazz piano skills that you need to have a command of eventually.

which is fabulous. And you should be, you should be thrilled. The only thing I would suggest is to begin tackling, and you already mentioned that you're doing this. So just continue tackling the traditional and contemporary shells. So you can begin to successfully include these gorgeous altered sounds into your playing because you now have the correct tools to do.

job. Great question, Robin. And as always, as always, if further clarification is needed, or you have some additional questions as a result of my long winded answer, then please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I'm happy to dig deeper with you and explore voicings with you anytime. All right, so let's discover, learn and play jazz piano. Let's discover, learn and play. What a difference a day makes.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (22:03.013)
Okay, when studying when learning any tune, I approach it the same way. I go through this little checklist every month.

it's important. I approach learning a tune the same way. And again, genre makes no difference. I don't care whether I'm looking at a jazz composition, rock, pop, country, folk, R &B. I go through the same process. And here's how I go about learning a tune. Number one, of course, listen. I listen to as many artists as I possibly can performing the tune. Vocalist,

instrumentalist, and of course pianist. And I listen to artists from various genres. I don't just stick to jazz. You know, I listen to any artist doing the tune. I want to absorb as much of this tune as I possibly can, soak it in from as many different musicians as I possibly can. Number two, I begin to break the tune apart first and foremost harmonically. I'll look at the form, the changes.

the function, harmonic function, the common movement in the tune. And of course, I'll begin exploring voicings. All of this we're going to do today with what a difference a day makes. I will then look at melodic, the melody. I'll do a melodic analysis. I'll transcribe the melody. I'll transcribe it by ear. I'll poke it out by ear. I'll break that melody apart into phrases.

And then I'll explore playing that melody using various treatments. And I usually zero in on the three standard treatments in jazz, the ballad treatment, the Latin bossa, bossa treatment, or the swing and, you know, the classic traditional swing groove. And then finally, after I have a handle on the harmonic structure of the piece, the melodic structure of the piece, then I begin exploring improvisation.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (24:11.747)
So I'll look at chord scale relationships, arpeggio scale movement through the various sounds, explore tension, all of this to help me begin developing my own orchestration, my own treatment of the tune. So it's a pretty thorough, it's a pretty complete approach, listening, harmony, melody, improvisation.

exactly the roadmap that we follow every month when we tackle a new piece of music. So this week, of course, is our harmonic analysis of what a difference a day makes. And we will be listening, we will be checking out the form, we will be learning the chord changes and the harmonic function of those chord changes. And we'll take a look at the voicings that I suggest using the shell voicings.

for the left hand and of course the two-handed structures as well. Next week we'll tackle melody, we'll do a melodic analysis, and of course in two weeks we will explore some improvisation approaches as well. So the educational agenda for today is as follows. Number one, we are going to listen to definitive recordings of what a difference a day makes.

And number two, we will discuss the form of what a difference a day makes. Number three, we will discover, learn and play the chord changes for this great standard. And number four, we will discover and learn and play the harmonic function of the chord changes found within what a difference a day makes. And number five, we will discover, learn and play my suggested voicings for what a difference a day makes. We'll take a look at the left-hand shell voicings.

as well as two handed structures. Now, if you are a Jazz Panel Skills member, I want you to hit the pause button right now. Take just a few minutes to access and download and of course print your podcast packets, the illustrations, your lead sheets, the play alongs, and again your membership grants you access to these educational materials and of course all the premium content

Dr. Bob Lawrence (26:35.632)
for this podcast as well, which of course includes the podcast packets. And I mentioned every week that you should have these materials, the podcast packets in your hands when listening to the episode to get the most out of it. And of course, you want it, you want this material sitting on your piano when practicing throughout the month of March as we tackle this tune as well. So now that you have your podcast packets, I want you to grab

as always your lead sheets, right? Because this is where we begin. And you should find in your packet, you should find seven lead sheets. Let's walk through them to make sure we have everything in order. Number one, lead sheet one diagrams the form of what a difference a day makes. Now, if you look at lead sheet two, I identify the unique chords found within this standard, the unique chords.

and we will deal with them individually here in a little bit. Number three, lead sheet three, gives you a clean lead sheet, the chord changes for this standard. And lead sheet four, if you take a look at that, it takes chord changes and presents turns the chord changes into harmonic function. And we're going to study that here shortly as well. Lead sheet five highlights the common progressions.

that we will use for ear training development. And then lead sheet six and lead sheet seven are the voicings. Lead sheet six are the left hand shell voicings that I use when playing What A Difference A Day Makes. And then lead sheet seven are the two handed voicings that I use when playing this tune as well. So we got a lot to get through. We got these lead sheets to get through. I want to talk about the illustrations and the play alongs, the backing tracks as well. And then of course we have our rhythm challenge.

to discuss too. So we got, we have a ton to do today. So we need to get busy. Now, typically at this time, I would play a definitive recording of our tune of what a difference a day makes. But again, this year, I've decided to place my listening suggestions in the Jazz Panel Skills Community Forums. And again, there's a couple reasons for this one is I want to be able to suggest more than one recording to check out.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (29:05.443)
And number two, I want to preserve as much time podcast time for educational content. Right. So head over to the community and spend some time listening to the recordings that I have provided links for before we go any further. And you're going to enjoy the selections. Of course, we have the great Dino Washington, which is probably the most definitive recording to check out if you haven't, if you're not already familiar with that selection.

So you'll find that in the forums and then you'll find some other goodies in there as well. So once you've listened to my recommended recordings, I want you to grab your lead sheets. I want you to grab lead sheet one. Let's take a look at the form of what a difference a day makes, which is kind of got a couple little twists pre-standard form, but there are a couple twists. So you will see on lead sheet one.

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