Gert Town Surprise

(pictured: Wildman John of the Wild Tchoupitoulas 

Indian Gang) 

Gert Town Surprise

by Stuart McNair 

This past Sunday evening here in New Orleans, 

I went to visit a friend, a Mardi Gras Indian, up in 

Gert Town, an African-American neighborhood 

famous for producing great musicians like Allen 

Toussaint and Ellis Marsalis. My friend and I 

were sitting on his porch, and there was a 

birthday party going on next door.

All of the sudden, a group of guys (late teens)

came down the street carrying horns and drums. 

They got organized a block from the party, 

and ripped into a groove. The big bass drum 

was thundering through the neighborhood, 

and people started exploding out of doorways. 

They shimmeyed across their front porches, 

down their stoops, and into the street. Soon 

there were umbrellas in the air, children rolling 

up on little bikes, and moms and dads 

pushing strollers.

The young band marched in and set up shop on a 

grassy spot between the two houses, and friends 

and family surrounded them, taking turns in the 

dancing spotlight. One man was dressed to the 

nines in a suit with a handkerchief that he held in 

one hand as he danced with extreme grace and skill. 

The trumpets and trombone traded solos, while the 

tuba, snare, and bass drum raged onward. 

My friend went inside and put on a giant Indian 

Head Dress that he had created for a past 

Mardi Gras, and he leapt off of his porch and 

danced in the street. Then he went and danced 

with the children in the grass. He did two costume 

changes, for a total of three full length Head Dresses. 

I learned some new Second Line dance moves by 

watching one lady gettin' down in the street. 

I made a conscious decision to not pull out my 

camera, trading a pic for a pure memory, and a 

less intrusive presence. And another little story about 

living in the moment in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Music Theory Tips - Augmented

Stu's Music Theory Tip of the Day.
Today's Topic - Augmented Chords:
"What!?" and "Why!?" 

WHAT!? - An Augmented Chord is
a Triad in which the 5 note is raised
a half-step. Awkward, right? The rest of
the chord is normal, though. In the key of C,
it consists of C, E, and G#. This is the
"Caug", or "C#5" chord. The G# is the
"augmented" aspect of the chord. You'll
see these chords with a 7 and stuff, too,
but we'll get back to that. 

WHY!? - The purpose of the Augmented
Chord, also known as the #5 chord, is
movement. This chord is not cozy. It makes
you want to get on to the next chord!
The augmentation of the 5 creates a tension
which propels the chord UP A FOURTH.
Just like Minor Seven chords, and 9, and 11,
and 13 chords, Augmented chords create
a tension which propels chords upward
by a fourth. 

Augmentation is usually done to Major chords,
and most commonly on the V chord back to
the I. It's not usually done on the I to the IV,
but of course there are exceptions to that.
It can be used on a 6 to the 2, if the 6 is
major, and 2 to 5, if the 2 is Major. 

So in the Key of C, when your chord
progression brings you around to your G,
and it's almost time to go back to the top,
back to the C...the Augmentation of the
G gives more tension drawing us home,
back to the One. That sounded a bit,
spiritual, didn't it? 

In the above situation, the Gaug might
also include a 7, or a 9 (so...1,3,#5,7,9),
etc...these all work together to propel us
upward by a fourth. G7#5, is G7Aug,
which consists of G, B, D#, and F,
which propels us upward by a fourth,
which means going back to the One, C. 

In the Song "Ophelia", by The Band,
it's the Augmented 5, the G7#5, that
gives it that crazy tension over the
"I'd die for you" part. And you know in
"Moondance", how the three hits on
the 5 Chord sound so tense? That's
at Augmented chord. And it's everywhere
in Jazz, Blues, American Songbook, etc. 

So, as in Ophelia, in C, the #5 of the
5 Chord, the D#, draws the ear from the
D to the E, the 3 of the One Chord.
Did you catch that? So you can do a
5 chord, 5aug, then 1, and the #5 creates
a bridge between the 5 of the 5 and
the 3 of the 1. Sometimes you'll just
skip the proper 5, through, and go
straight for the 5aug. When you do
that, the ear can hear the tension,
and naturally wants to go home to the 1. 

In a 1 6 2 5 progression where the 6 is
Major and the 2 is Minor, you could use
the Aug on the 6 back to the 2, and then on
the 5 back to the 1. 

Since the #5 is typically used on Major
chords, in the above example, you
wouldn't use it on the Minor ii going to
the V. In that case, you would use the
opposite approach, the Flat 5, which
serves the same purpose for propelling
Minor chords upwards by a fourth. 

But in Major chords, the Augment is a
strrrreeeetttcchhiiinnnggg of the chord...

itching to shed it's skin
it's not a comfy chord
not a soothing sound
it begs to be resolved
begs to swim ashore
be pulled up the ladder
it says look at me
i can see ahead
four steps
i'm ready
to jump!

poem - a thousand rainbows

sometimes the human
beauty of New Orleans 
just overwhelms, in an 
unphotographable, 
unshareable kind of way. 
it makes the heart explode
right out of one's chest
into a thousand rainbows.

Wild Tchoupitoulas

(originally posted Aug, 30, 2015, to Facebook)

Today, on the ten year anniversary of the Flood, 

I'm honoring the departed by drumming with 

the Wild Tchoupitoulas Indian Gang.

Queen Mercy

Hanging with Queen Mercy, oldest living Indian Queen 

and oldest living Baby Doll in New Orleans. Stu's a lucky man.

Music Theory Tip - the Diminished

Stu's Music Theory Tip o' the Day: 

(disclaimer: this is wordy) 

Flat Five Chords (diminished). 

Why would you ever do something so
odd as to flat, or diminish, or lower, the
the fifth of any chord? Well, most of
the time, a flat five is used on the minor
two chord, on its way to the Five chord,
back to the One. It adds a little tension,
or motion, or depth, to the minor two,
and typically includes the 7, which
adds tension also. 

So, in the key of C: If your chord
progression is C Am7 Dm7 G7
you can flat the five of the Dm7 (the minor
two chord) for extra tension.
If your chord progression
is G Em7 Am7 D7, then you can flat the five
of the Am7, the two chord in G. 

Yes, you can also flat the five of the
other minor chords in the above examples,
which are the "minor six" chords in each
progression. 

Why? Because, basically flatting the
five adds momentum to the movement
UP a FOURTH. It leads the minor chord
even more feverishly toward its jump. 

Flatting the five of Em7 makes it
really eager to go to A. Cmflat5
wants to go to F REALLY bad!
Up that fourth! 

The 7 does the same thing...propels
all chords up a fourth, so you'll see
the flat5 and the 7 together. Maybe
the 9 too, or the 11, or 13, but fear not! 

A 9 or 11 or 13 chord is is just a
seven chord with more energy, more
momentum pulling it up that fourth.
(A 9 Chord inlcudes the 7.
An 11 Chord includes the 9 and 7.
13 Chord includes the 11, 9, and 7)

Now, add the flat five to that family
of chords, the ones that pull you up
that fourth. It's just typically used
on the minor two and six chords
of a progression. (other uses include
using it in a modulation to another key,
but again on a minor chord headed up
a fourth). 

Now, before you ask. Moving from
the One to Four. Major chords.
That's a jump up a fourth. Why not
use it there? Nah. And the Five to the One.
Major chords. Here you can use the
7,9,11,13, but you want to AUGMENT
your five here. 

That's what we'll reveal next time:
that the augmented chord is typically
appropriate, according to the mathematical
laws of our galaxy, as an extra weight
for major chords moving up a fourth,
most commonly the Five back to the One.

the observer

Sometimes when playing these solo piano gigs, 
from the corner of my eye I'll sense someone 
really paying attention...just enthralled, 
hanging on every note. It's often a curvy woman, 
just staring intently. I'll start performing just for 
that person in my mind, and I'll kick it up a notch. 
And they keep on paying attention! Eventually, 
I'll summon some boldness and turn and 
look right at the figure! That's when I realize that 
what I thought was a person is actually a potted plant,
or a vase, or a column, or water pitchers on a table. 
It happens all the time. Been meaning to tell you.