Passion Dance – McCoy Tyner
Analysis
Principle ideas
The ideas McCoy uses in his solo can be broken up into categories. The
following details these ideas along with numbers corresponding to the solo fragments
given on the previous page where they appear. Some numbers appear in more than
one list as they refer to solo fragments that could fall into more than one category.
In this way I hope to offer an insight into McCoy’s thinking during his solo
and his practice before. By being aware of this it may be possible to develop personal
practice routines that would enable an improviser to use some of McCoy’s ideas in
their music.
Triadic ideas
• Using triads from F mixolydian - the tonic triads of F, Eb and Cm: 1, 2, 7, 10,
12, 13, 17
• Using triads from Gb major – the tonic triads of Ebm and Gb: 11, 16, 20, 21
• Using a triad as a ‘passing chord’ to go from one tonal center to another:
o 15 – Gm minor triad to pass from Amajor to Gbmajor.
o 16 – Em triad to pass from C#ø7 – Gbmajor (Em triad is 3
rd
, 5
th
, 7
th
of
C#ø7)
o 19 – A major triad to pass to the note D (tonal centre is shifting a lot at
this point)
• A sequence using triads descending and ascending in tones: 23
Ideas using 1-2-3-5 (major key) or 1-3-4-5 (minor key) of the scale
• In F: 3, 7
• In Gb: 11, 15
• In D: 22
• In Ebm: 20
Ideas using enclosure of chord tones
• 6, 10, 14, 15, 16, 18
Ideas involving a cadence
• Going into Fmajor:
o 11: from Gb/Ebm => F
o 15: from Gb7 => F
o 16: from C#ø => Gb => F
o 19: from A => Bb7 (=> Db) => F (could be described in other ways)
• Going into other keys
o 18: from Db => G#m => A
Ideas in fourths
• 1, 14 (idea decorating descending fourths), 17 which is continued in 18, 21
which is continued in 22
Sequences and motivic development
• Motive in 4, developed in 5 (rhythmic and phrase shape unity)
• 9
• Motive in 21, continued in 22
• 23
Descending line in steps, split by broken chords underneath
! 13, 20
Long harmonic movement
• 14/15 (E major scale-Gm-Gb7-Fmix)
