MILES DAVIS - "so what" Tablature
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"So What" (Miles Davis)--opening "theme"
=========
-- comp. Miles Davis & Bill Evans (from _Kind_of_Blue_, 1959)
-- guitar arr., tcg, '8?, '94
-- 4/4 // Keys: Dm; Ebm // Allegro
__3__
-- eighth notes (1 &) are "swing" 8ths: closer to 1 & & . . . .
DAH duh
-- what follows is the opening of the tune (after some Debussy-esque
ad-lib piano diddling by Evans), apparently the only pre-composed
part of the song; it's a neat interplay of bluesy bass and quartal
piano chords, both integrated into the following guitar "arrangement":
Form (32-bar): ||: A (8 measures) - A (8) - B (8) - A (8) :||
{pick-up measure} A:: Em7/11 Dm7/11 Em7/11 Dm7/11
-----------------||----------7==---5--|------------------|----------7==---5-|
-----------------||----------8==---6--|------------------|----------8==---6-|
-----------------||o---------7==---5--|------------------|----------7==---5-|
-----------------||o---------7==---5--|------------------|----------7==---5-|
----------5-/7---||--5==-----7==---5--|----------5-/7----|--5-------7==---5-|
--3/5-7-8------8-||-------------------|--3/5-7-8------8--|----5==-----------|
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Em7/11 Dm7/11 Em7/11 Dm7/11
|------------------|---------7==---5--|------------------|----------7==---5-|
|------------------|---------8==---6--|------------------|----------7==---5-|
|------------------|---------7==---5--|------------------|----------7==---5-|
|------------------|---------7==---5--|------------------|----------7==---5-|
|----------5-/7----|-5==-----7==---5--|---5/7--/7--/7-5==|==5==-----7==---5-|
|--3/5-7-8------8--|------------------|------------------|------------------|
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
__________________ __________________
| 1. [repeat A]| 2. [to B->]
|-----------------||------------------|-
|-----------------||------------------|-
|----------------o||------------------|-
|----------------o||------------------|-
|----------5-/7---||----------6-/8----|-
|--3/5-7-8------8-||--4/6-8-9------9--|-
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
B:: Fm7/11 Ebm7/11 Fm7/11 Ebm7/11
|---------8==---6--|------------------|----------8==---6-|------------------|
|---------9==---7--|------------------|----------9==---7-|------------------|
|---------8==---6--|------------------|----------8==---6-|------------------|
|---------8==---6--|------------------|----------8==---6-|------------------|
|-6==-----8==---6--|----------6-/8----|--6-------8==---6-|----------6-/8----|
|------------------|--4/6-8-9------9--|----6==-----------|--4/6-8-9------9--|
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Fm7/11 Ebm7/11 Fm7/11 Ebm7/11 [to A->]
|---------8==---6--|------------------|----------8==---6-|-----------------||
|---------9==---7--|------------------|----------9==---7-|-----------------||
|---------8==---6--|------------------|----------8==---6-|----------------o||
|---------8==---6--|------------------|----------8==---6-|----------------o||
|-6==-----8==---6--|----------6-/8----|--6-------8==---6-|----------5-/7---||
|------------------|--4/6-8-9------9--|----6==-----------|--3/5-7-8------8-||
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
----------------
... rest of tune a free-form improv over the same A-A-B-A 32-bar form: two
8-bar sections ("A-A") of Dm dorian, 8 bars of Ebm dorian ("B"), and 8 more
bars ("A") of Dm dorian. The bass starts "walking," the piano comps/
ad-libs quartal-modal chord voicings, and Miles & the other horn players
take leads in Dm & Ebm Dorian. (Dorian in Dm: d-e-f-g-a-b-c-d; Eb Dorian
a half-step higher). . . . Here's the start of Miles' lead, to give you a
better idea (note that the D dorian scale "fits" whether the chord is Dm7/11
or Em7/11: both consist of notes from this very scale)--
{pick-up} A::
-10=====-||------------------|------------------|------>
---------||------------------|------10-8----10--|-------
---------||--7============---|--10--------------|--7-7===
---------||------------------|------------------|---------
---------||------------------|------------------|----------
---------||------------------|------------------|----------->
3 & 4 & 1 2 3 4 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 &
|
--:--tcg
)
This musical interpretation has been removed due to a legal threat from Moses & Singer LLP,
representing the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) and
The Music Publisher's Association of the United States (MPA).
Unfortunately, these threats are fueled by greed and being masked by a "copyright infringement." They claim tab sites are
"hurting the songwriters," but it's a known fact that the publishing companies garner most of the
revenue. Instead, they would prefer you to purchase the
official MILES DAVIS tablature
which is an option we've always given our users. And due to the highly error-prone nature of tabs on the internet, many choose to go this route.
These companies also do not realize that tablature sites help to promote their artists.
For more information on this onslaught, you can read the
NY Times Article.
We hope one of the larger tablature sites will have the money to fight this. Until then, we urge you all to keep tabbing songs and sharing them in any way you can.
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