Jonathan Kreisberg - triad triplets lick

Here is my analysis of a nice Jonathan Kreisberg lick on the song "Sweet and Lovely".

Artist - Jonathan Kreisberg

Song - Sweet and Lovely

On the second verse of his solo, beginning at the end of the B section of the tune, Kreisberg plays an interesting lick combining triad arpeggios with a triplet 8th note rhythm.

concept

The arpeggio idea starts on the 5th of the triad and descends in a 5-3-1-5 pattern. This is followed by ascending to the 4 before the 5-3-1-5 descending pattern is repeated again. In total these 9 notes fill 3/4 of a measure. For the first, second and last (C7) measures of the lick, an extra 5-3-1 outline of the arpeggio is used to fill the last beat of the measure.

However, starting at the first Gmi7 the extra beat is ignored, giving a 3/4 over 4/4 feel. This pattern is repeated 4 times to equal 3 measures (i.e. 12 beats).

harmony

Kreisberg uses major and minor triads to outline different chord tones in each measure. The table below shows the type of triad used in the arpeggio, the note the arpeggio starts on in the underlying chord, and the chord tones that the arpeggio outlines.

major triad - b3 of minor - b3-5-7

major triad - b7 of dominant - b7-2-4

minor triad - 5 of dominant - 5-b7-2

minor triad - 6 of dominant - 6-1-3

major triad - b5 of dominant - b5-b7-b1