“Although ‘Giant Steps’ has 26 chords, there are only 10 key changes, and those 10 key changes involve just three keys – B, G and Eb. Using the dominant’s pentatonic scale of each key centre means you basically have to learn three pentatonic scales to improvise over the tune – F#, D and Bb.
Is Giant Steps 12 Tone?
To conclude: Giant Steps has three tonal centers, functional harmonic motion, and a melody that favors certain pitches over others. Therefore, it is not a 12-tone composition.
What are the instruments played in Giant Steps?
“Giant Steps” was composed and recorded during Coltrane’s 1959 sessions for Atlantic Records, his first for the label. The original recording features Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Paul Chambers on double bass, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and Art Taylor on drums.
How many notes are in the Giant Steps?
There are three of them in “Giant Steps”: B major, G major, and E-flat major. All the notes and chords in the tune come from these three keys. Plenty of jazz tunes use multiple keys.
How many hours a day did John Coltrane practice when he was creating Giant Steps?
Coltrane practiced obsessively, ’25 hours a day’. While on tour, a fellow hotel guest complained about the noise. Coltrane simply removed the saxophone from his mouth and carried on playing in silence. He would practice a single note for hours on end and fall asleep with the horn at his side.
Is Giant Steps tonal?
John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”
The tune “Giant Steps” is probably the most well-known song composed around the ‘Major Third Tonic’ Relationship. The tonal centers are B, G, and Eb. The song moves faster through the changes in the first 8 bars and slower in the next 8.
How do Coltrane changes work?
Coltrane uses the cycle in descending major third tonal transpositions in the opening bars and then ascending ii–V–I progressions separated by a major third in the second section of “Giant Steps”. The second section is basically the inverse of the bridge section described in “Have You Met Miss Jones” above.
What is so special about Giant Steps?
Recorded in 1959 and released in 1960, “Giant Steps” is iconic in part because it contains the first-issued recording of one of Coltrane’s most important compositions, also titled “Giant Steps.” It is also significant because it was Coltrane’s first LP to be released that was comprised solely of his own compositions.
Who played piano on Giant Steps album?
The main takes of Giant Steps, Cousin Mary, Countdown, Spiral, Syeeda’s Song Flute (Tracks 1 through 5) and Mr. P.C. (Track 7) were recorded on May 4, 1959, with the following personnel: John Coltrane: Tenor Sax; Tommy Flanagan: Piano; Paul Chambers: Bass; Art Taylor: Drums.
Who played Giant Steps with John Coltrane?
The “main takes” on Giant Steps (tracks 1-5 plus 7) were recorded by John Coltrane, tenor sax; Tommy Flanagan, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; and Art Taylor, drums. The alternate take of “Giant Steps” (track 8) and “Naima” (track 9) used Cedar Walton and Lex Humphries on piano and drums respectively.
Was Giant Steps improvised?
With Giant Steps, Coltrane began exploiting his prodigious technique in an attempt to communicate expressive, coherent melodies while improvising over a complex, endlessly cycling harmonic structure that rapidly moved through disparate key centers.
What time is Giant Steps in?
Giant Steps is played at 148 Beats Per Minute (Allegro), or 37 Measures/Bars Per Minute. Time Signature: 4/4.
What did Coltrane study?
John studied clarinet and alto saxophone as a youth and then moved to Philadelphia in 1943 and continued his studies at the Ornstein School of Music and the Granoff Studios. He was drafted into the navy in 1945 and played alto sax with a navy band until 1946; he switched to tenor saxophone in 1947.
