Sweet Lorraine, Harmonic Analysis

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Dr. Bob Lawrence (00:32.43)
Welcome to Jazz Piano Skills. I'm Dr. Bob Lawrence. It's time to discover, learn, and play jazz piano. Well, well, well. Here we are. The start of a new month. January over. February over. Hello, March. It's been a great year so far, right? And now I know we're only a couple months in, but you know what stars fell on Alabama? Embraceable you.

That's a great start. Those are great standards that were fun to dive into. We learned a ton, no doubt about it. But of course we did. We always do. Every tune, harmonic analysis, melodic analysis, improvisation development. In our new segment for this year, solo piano approaches. How can we not learn a ton? Our tune studies, as I like to say, leave no stone unturned.

We always pack a ton into every month, into every tune study. So you know what? Let's do it all over again, but with a new tune. The only difference this month will be the tune. We travel the same path and study the same essential jazz piano skills in the same logical and sequential manner every month, but with a new tune, which provides us a new and fresh perspective.

Again, this is what real study, this is what real practice looks and feels like. We've developed a process and approach, a study system that allows us to experience a huge return on our investment. And you know why? Because we're not running around chasing information. As one of my students expressed this week, this is hilarious. Her jazz study approach,

She said, she said to me her jazz study approach has been similar to her dog's approach to chasing squirrels. Her dog chases a dozen squirrels every single day and never catches one. That's too funny. I told her, said, you know what, it's time to stop chasing squirrels aimlessly and actually accomplish something. Now who, who listening can't relate to this? I know I can. We all can.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (02:58.467)
We chase one trend after another, one fad after the next, one empty promise of a success to the next. But not here at Jazz Piano Skills. Instead, we explore the essential jazz skills, harmonically, melodically, and improvisationally. Skills that require, as I like to put it, some good old fashioned grunt work. And you know what? If you aren't prepared to do some good old fashioned grunt work,

you'll end up chasing squirrels. It's that simple. You'll end up chasing endless trails of information and exert a lot of energy hopping from one bandwagon to the next bandwagon. That of course, all the bandwagons turn out to be the next trend, fad and empty promise. What a bummer. You know what, it's time to stop chasing squirrels.

So here we are, a new month, a new tune, but with the same reliable, tried and true formulaic approach that accomplished jazz musicians have been using for years to successfully develop playing skills, to successfully develop their chops. So today we start a four week study into the timeless jazz standard sweet Lorraine.

Now here's how our four-week study format will unfold. Week one, harmonic analysis. We will look at the form, the unique changes, harmonic function, voicings. Week two, melodic analysis. We'll transcribe that melody for ear training development. We will look at fingerings. We will look at phrases, target notes within the phrases, and of course, various treatments. Week three,

improvisation development always involves chord scale relationships, melodic pathways, motif development, and the development of rhythmic vocabulary. And week four solo piano approaches, our brand new focus for 2026. We look at a variety of approaches to play in solo piano from stride to walking bass lines, harmonic additions and substitution, orchestration,

Dr. Bob Lawrence (05:22.922)
so much more. So what I love about our monthly tune studies here at Jazz Piano Skills is that we're just, we're not just mechanically learning tunes. Anyone can do that. Instead, we're learning the skills necessary for successfully playing jazz piano through the tune and playing them confidently and musically.

whether you're comping, improvising, or sitting alone at the piano telling your very own story. And just as important as what we study, as you all know, it's just as important how we study. One of the things that makes Jazz Piano Skills truly unique, truly special is that we don't guess. We follow a process. We have an agenda. We have a weekly cadence that keeps

us all moving forward with clarity and purpose. Every week at Jazz Piano Skills, every Tuesday, brand new podcast episode is launched. Every Thursday, we gather for a live masterclass on Thursday evening. And every Saturday, a blog written blog recap of our study throughout the week is published as well. You know, this structure, this consistency matters.

Because accomplished jazz musicians, jazz pianists, aren't built by random practice. They're not built by chasing squirrels. They're built by intentional study. And of course, intentional study always begins conceptually. In other words, you better be thinking about music correctly, or else you are already behind the eight ball. You are already defeated in your quest of learning how to play.

before you even get started. Incorrect thinking leads nowhere. Incorrect thinking is a disaster. And what's horrible about incorrect thinking is that you're not even aware of it. It's just silently, it silently keeps you from advancing, from improving, from accomplishing your goals. It's horrible. And I see it all the time. So that is why I take the time

Dr. Bob Lawrence (07:43.968)
in every podcast, every podcast episode to recite the seven facts of music. I know you all know it by now, but you know what? It's that important that we should always go through the seven facts of music. The seven facts of music are the bumper rails that prevent us from thinking incorrectly about music. Because without these seven musical facts, these critical bumper rails, I guarantee it, you're thinking

will evolve into a gigantic, fragmented...

database. And as the old saying goes, garbage in garbage out. It's so true. The seven facts of music allow us to maintain a clean and functional database that governs how we approach our practice every time we sit with our instrument. So let's go through the seven facts. Here they are. Number one, music is the production of sound and silence. Sound, course, being our

Primary sounds, major, dominant, minor, half diminished, diminished. Fact number two, sound is produced one of two ways, harmonically or melodically. Fact number three, when produced harmonically, we are playing chords or we often refer to the chords as voicings. Fact number four, when the sounds are produced melodically, we are playing scales and arpeggios.

Fact number five, when we play scales and arpeggios, we can only move one of two directions up or down. Fact number six, we decorate, we camouflage the fact that we're playing scales and arpeggios with tension or chromaticism, notes that fall outside of the key. And finally, fact number seven, to make facts one through six interesting, to make those facts

Dr. Bob Lawrence (09:49.808)
come to life, we add rhythm. Now, these facts are not simply my opinion. These are musical truths. And once you truly understand them, jazz piano jazz music stops feeling mysterious and starts feeling manageable, logical, achievable, creative. So here we are, it's a new month, a new tune with a clear

proven path forward. As I like to say, it's time to roll up our sleeves, get ready for a little grunt work. It's time to focus. It's time to get busy. It's time to discover, learn and play jazz piano. So today we are going to discover the 1928 standard Suite Lorraine. We are going to learn the form, chord changes, harmonic function for Suite Lorraine.

And we are going to play Suite Lorraine using my suggested voicings. Plus, we're going to take a look at the common harmonic progressions that are found within Suite Lorraine to help us with our ear training development. So as I always like to say, regardless of where you are in your jazz journey, a beginner, an intermediate player, an advanced player, or even if you consider yourself a seasoned and experienced professional, you're going to find this Jazz Panel Skills podcast lesson exploring Suite Lorraine.

be very beneficial. But before we get after it, before we get started, I want to, as I always do, I want to take the time to welcome all of you first time listeners to Jazz Piano Skills. If you're a new listener to the podcast, if you're new to Jazz Piano Skills, welcome, we're glad you're here. And I want to personally invite you to become a Jazz Piano Skills member. Your membership grants you many perks. Number one,

as a Jazz Panel Skills member, get access to premium podcast content, which means you get to listen to the entire podcast episode. The first half of every Jazz Panel Skills podcast episode is free for everyone to enjoy. We deal with the question of the week, lay out the educational agenda and the lesson rationale. The second half of every podcast episode for members only deals specifically with the lesson content, the demonstrations, and of course,

Dr. Bob Lawrence (12:15.93)
the explanation of the podcast packets. These are the educational materials that I design and develop for every weekly podcast episode, the illustrations, the lead sheets, the play alongs. As a Jazz Panel Skills member, you also have access to the online Jazz Panel Skills courses, which are comprehensive, sound based, self paced and sequential. All the courses they're focusing on harmonic, melodic and improvisation development.

As a Jazz Piano Skills member, you also have a reserved seat in the online masterclass that I host every Thursday evening at 8pm Central Time. And I know it's not a great time for everyone. Believe me, I've heard it. However, the masterclasses are recorded so you can watch and rewatch the video of the class at your convenience and as often as you wish. As a Jazz Piano Skills member, you also have access to the private

online jazz piano skills community, which hosts a variety of educational forums. There are episode specific forums, general jazz forums, and a killer listening list that is curated for each and every podcast episode. It's fantastic. The forums are also just a great place to hang out, meet new friends, provide some assistance and help when other members need it, and also get some assistance and help when you need it.

And finally, all Jazz Piano Skills members have access to educational support, private, personal, and professional support. So you know what, all of 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, once you get to the site, if you have some questions, by all means, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I'm happy to help answer any questions that you may have. So check it all out. And of course, become

a Jazz Piano Skills member. One final note, if you are not receiving the Jazz Piano Skills blog every Saturday, please take time to join the Jazz Piano Skills email list, which you can easily do on the homepage of the Jazz Piano Skills website. Every Saturday, I publish a blog that summarizes the podcast episode and the lesson for the week. In writing, it's definitely worth reading to help

Dr. Bob Lawrence (14:38.573)
keep you on track both conceptually and physically. Okay, it's time to get to the question of the week. And this week's question comes from Daniel Whitaker from Toronto, Canada. Daniel's question. Hi, Dr. Lawrence, this is Daniel Whitaker from Toronto, Canada. Great introduction.

I just wanted to say how much I've been enjoying jazz panel skills. Your structured monthly approach has completely changed how I think about learning tunes. The way you break everything down into harmony, melody, improvisation, and solo approaches makes it all feel manageable and connected instead of overwhelming. Well, that's not completely true. I must admit. I must admit it does feel overwhelming at times. He's got to laugh out loud.

Yeah, I get it. True. I hear you frequently use the phrase harmonic function. And I'm not sure I fully understand what that actually means. I understand chord symbols, and I'm familiar with chord scale relationships. But when you say a chord has a specific function, what exactly should I be thinking about? I feel like I'm missing something foundational, and would love some clarity.

Thanks again for everything you do. This program really is making jazz piano fun and organized for me. All right, Daniel. It's a fabulous question. Tremendous. this, and this can be a huge stumbling block harmonic function that is can be a huge stumbling block for everyone. When diving into serious jazz studies. So let me, let me do my best here to

try to explain harmonic function as clearly as I can. Okay, the expression harmonic function. It's one of those phrases that gets thrown around constantly in jazz education. Right, you hear musicians talk, saying things like, well, that's tonic, or that's dominant, that's that's functional harmony, analyze the harmony. But really, does anyone

Dr. Bob Lawrence (16:56.632)
stop and clearly explain what harmonic function actually is. And I think your question, Daniel, is perfect for today since we're about ready to do some harmonic analysis. We're about ready to do some harmonic function. So here's the short answer.

harmonic function describes

what a chord is doing. Not what a chord is called. It's about behavior. It's not just a label, it's not spelling, it's not memorizing, but it's behavior. So in tonal music, and jazz standards absolutely live in the tonal music world, all harmonic motion falls into three primary categories. Tonic,

predominant, dominant. That's how I want you to think about this. The tonic, predominant, dominant. That's it. Everything you play, everything that you're studying lives somewhere inside that gravitational system. Tonic, predominant, dominant. So let's examine each one of those with a little more detail. So let's start with tonic.

I like to think of tonic as the place of rest. Tonic chords feel stable. They feel like home. It's home base. It's the it's if the tune ended there, you wouldn't feel that it needed to go any further. You wouldn't feel it wouldn't feel unresolved is what I'm saying. Tonic is where tension dissolves. Okay.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (18:49.508)
So tonic is home base. It's a place of rest. Predominant. I like to think of it as preparation. Predominant chords create movement away from rest. Right? They lean forward. They prepare for tension. They're setting something up. They are transitional. Right? And what are they setting up?

Where are they leaning forward to? dominant. And I think of dominant as tension. It's where all the tension lives. In fact, I oftentimes kind of say in a smart alec way to students, you know, when I'm explaining this, say it's maybe that's why they call it the dominant chord, right? It's where all

the tension lives. dominant chords create instability. They demand resolution. Right? This this is harmonic gravity. When you hear dominant, your ears expect tonic. Quite honestly, dominant is where all the excitement resides. Right? It's the dominant chord. Now, why does all this matter? Because

Most students memorize chord symbols. Most jazz students, beginning jazz students, memorize chord symbols like this. D minor seven, G dominant seven, C major seven. But harmonically, that progression isn't three separate objects. Instead, it's predominant, going to dominant, going to tonic. That's why this two five one business is so important, right?

They're not three separate parts. D minor seven, G seven, C major seven. D minor seven, predominant, G dominant, dominant, C major, tonic. That's movement. That's direction. Before understanding function, students are always asking, what chord is this? But after understanding function, you know what they ask? What is this chord doing?

Dr. Bob Lawrence (21:15.525)
The question changes everything. So important. But now let me be clear about what harmonic function is not because Daniel, you mentioned this in your question. Harmonic function is not chord scale relationships. This is another very important skill, but it is not the same thing. Harmonic function answers what is this chord doing? Chord scale relationships answer what notes can I use over this chord?

when playing this chord. Do you hear the difference? That's a big difference. I'm going to say that again, harmonic function answers. What is this chord doing? Chord scale relationships answers. What notes can I use when playing this chord improvising? One is about behavior and gravity. And the other is about note selection and improvisation. Right?

So harmonic function is about behavior and gravity, this gravitational pull. And the other is about chord scale relationships, is about note selection and improvisation. One is architectural, the other is navigational. They complement each other, no doubt about it, but they serve very different purposes. And why mixing them, thinking of them as they often are, they're presented like at the same time.

which is very confusing, but why mixing them creates problems. A student, again, a jazz student sees D minor seven G seven C major. And instead of seeing predominant dominant tonic, they immediately think, and many of you are going to say to yourselves, man, I'm guilty. Many of them think D, Dorian, G, Mixolydian, C, Ionian. Now, is that wrong? No.

but it shifts the focus away from harmonic movement and towards chord scale relationships. So if you smush, if you smush these two skills together, you dilute both, you lose tension awareness, gravitational pull, harmonic storytelling, which is really important. And your improvisation becomes vertical instead of linear or directional.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (23:41.54)
function must be understood first and then scale application comes after. And that sequence really matters. And I'm a stickler about this. And I constantly reinforce this with the students that I work with on a day to day and week to week basis. So I'll tell you how important really all this is. That's why we week one of every tune study of every new month always begins right here. It begins

with harmonic analysis before melody before improvisation before solo piano textures and approaches. We have to understand where is home? What creates motion? What creates tension? What resolves tension? That's harmonic function. And once you see it, once you really see it, it's amazing. You can't unsee it. It's like once you

Once you gain balance, learn what balance is, you can't undo balance. Once you see harmonic function, you can't unsee it. So harmonic function is not academic theory. It's actually the physics of music. It explains why chords move like they move. And one other side note, this is why I'm a stickler also on the circle of fifths moves counterclockwise.

not clockwise, counterclockwise, because it explains that circle of fifths, then explains that gravitational pull, right? So harmonic function, home base, right? It explains that gravitational pull, why chords resolve as they do, why a tune feels satisfying. And once you understand what the chords are doing, then the chord symbols stop looking

and things start to become much easier.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (25:46.362)
So I hope that does make it easier for you, Daniel. It's a great question. And I hope, as always, I hope I didn't cause more confusion. But of course, if I did, and if more clarification is needed, please let me know. I'm always happy to dig deeper with you to completely unwrap harmonic function entirely for you. But again, great question. And I'm thrilled that you're part of Jazz Piano Skills. All right.

Let's discover, learn and play jazz piano. Let's discover, learn and play the 1928 Jazz Standard Suite Lorraine. Okay, so all of you jazz piano skills, regular listeners know that we have a way that we approach studying and learning any tune, we approach it the same way. And we stress every week as well that genre really makes no difference. I know it's we focus primarily on jazz here, but

But it really doesn't matter if we were learning a jazz tune or pop tune, country tune, R &B. You know what? We'd go about it same way. Number one, we listen. So important, listening. We want to listen to various artists, amateurs, professionals, vocalists, instrumentalists, pianists. Anyone performing the tune that we're studying, we should want to listen to it and see and experience and hear different

interpretations. And this is why we put so much emphasis on the listening list that is available for every podcast episode in the forums, because listening is that important. You know, after we do our fair share of listening, we then as we're about to do here today, we turn our attention to harmonic analysis, where we look at the form, the changes, function, common movement, voicings, and then

We follow the harmonic analysis with a melodic analysis, which we will do next week. We'll transcribe that melody. We'll look at the phrases. We'll look at target notes with guide tones within the phrases. And of course, explore various treatments of playing that melody. And then following that, we'll dive into improvisation development, where we will look at chord scale relationships. Notice, today we're going to be doing harmonic function.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (28:09.242)
when improvisation rolls around, we like to talk about chord scale relationships at that time. And then of course, after that, we have our solo piano approaches that we have incorporated for this year. anyway, our approach to learning tunes, listening, harmonic analysis, melodic analysis, improvisation development is thorough. And it's a complete approach. So again, this week, we kick it all off.

start of the new month with our harmonic analysis, which we will be doing our listening while we look at the form and learning the chord changes harmonic function and the voicings for Sweet Lorraine. So the educational agenda for today is as follows. Number one, we are going to listen to definitive recordings of Sweet Lorraine. Number two, we will discuss the form of Sweet Lorraine.

Number three, we will discover, learn and play the chord changes for sweet Lorraine. Number four, we will discover, learn and play the harmonic function of sweet Lorraine. Number five, we will discover, learn and play my suggested voicings. We're going be looking at the block voicings, left hand shells, left hand traditional shells, left hand contemporary shells, and of course, two handed structures. So if you are a Jazz Panel Skills member, I want you to hit the

pause button. I want you to take a few minutes right now to access and download print your podcast packets, the educational material that goes along with this episode, the illustrations, the lead sheets and the play alongs and again, your membership grants you access to this content. And so take the time to access it, download and print it. You should have it in your hands when listening to this episode to get the most out of it.

And you absolutely should have the material sitting on your piano when practicing throughout the week. Okay, so now that you have your podcast packets, I want you to grab your lead sheets. We always start with the lead sheets. And you should have eight lead sheets in your packet. Lead sheet one diagrams the form of sweet Lorraine. Lead sheet two identifies the unique chord changes found within sweet Lorraine. Lead sheet three gives you just a clean lead sheet.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (30:28.344)
practice from of Schuytler-Reyn. And then lead sheet four is our harmonic function lead sheet. So important. We'll be going over that here shortly. Lead sheet five highlights the common harmonic, common progressions that we extract, we illuminate and extract for ear training purposes. And then lead sheet six, block voicings, lead sheet seven, shell voicings, lead sheet

eight two-handed voicings. Wow, this is a lot to get through today, so we need to get after this. But before going any further, before we dive in, I just want to encourage you all to take the time to enjoy the listening list that has been assembled and posted in the Jazz Piano Skills forums in the online community. As always, it is an amazing collection of various artists performing the standard we are about to study.

Sweet Lorraine. And as always, Lisa does a fantastic job literally scrubbing the internet to find the best treatments for each and every week. So be sure to take the time tap into this amazing resource. Not only will you enjoy the recordings, but I promise you it will have a very profound, a very profound impact on your musical development and growth as well.

Okay, so let's grab lead sheet one. Let's get started. Let's, let's dive into our harmonic analysis of sweet Lorraine. So lead sheet one deals with the form. So this form of sweet Lorraine is as standard as they come.

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