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In Part 1, we discussed the essence of the Steely Dan Mu Major chord – a major triad in root position with the 2nd added and voiced alongside the 3rd – and the possible 3-note voicings on the guitar. In the second part, we look at the evolution of the Mu Major concept in the music of Walter Becker and Donald Fagan, and how to apply these ideas to the guitar.
The Steely Dan Mu Major chord evolved in subsequent albums as the music – and the West Coast Studio musicians who performed it – leaned more towards a jazz interpretation of chord changes, where intervals dissonant [major and minor 2nds], slash chords and quarter harmonies abound. Starting with Dr Wu [from the Katy Lied album], the Mu Major concept has broadened to include the minor chord function as well. This approach relies on the bassist to indicate the key [root], because the chord voice replaces the root and / or the 5th with other scale tones [tensions] to add dissonance and richness.
Home At Last, from Aja, is a good example. Although played on the piano on the recording, these 3-note voicings are playable on the guitar. The intro is a minor G in root position on strings 4, 3 and 2, with the 2nd degree [A] replacing the G on chain 4 [can we call this G Mu Minor?]. The 2nd chord, same strings, is an F Mu Major, i.e. a triad of fundamental positions with G replacing F. The other 2 intro chords are an A Mu Minor [same as G Mu Minor, 2 frets higher] and Bb Mu Major [same strings, C D F].
After the intro in G minor, the section towards [“I know this super highway, this bright familiar sun”] starts with an Ebmaj9 chord. This voicing is best described as a slash, Bb / Eb chord, i.e. a B flat major triad with an Eb in the bass. This 4-note voicing can be played on strings 5, 4, 3 and 2 [Eb Bb D F]. The bassist plays Eb. Like the major and minor Mu chords, however, the function of these chords may change if the bassist changes the root. For example, with the bass playing a C root, it becomes a Cmin11 Eb / b3, Bb / b7, D / 9, F / 11]. This voicing is also used in the green earrings, from Royal Scam. From bar 3 with the Bb / Eb, the voicing moves in full steps [Ab/Db, Gb/Cb].
The green earrings also have an example of quartal harmony, occurring during the vamp Am7 which harmonizes the first 8 bars of the verse. These are 3 note voicings stacked in 4th. These voicings have been explored in particular by John Coltrane [McCoy Tyner’s work on Love Supreme, My Favorite Things, Transitions], Miles Davis [the quintet albums with Herbie Hancock], Bill Evans, etc. in the 50s and 60s. The voicing for the Am7, played on strings 3, 2 and 1 is DG C. With the bassist sounds A this voicing sounds like Am11, but with a G in the bass it’s a Gsus4 or G11, F in the bass an F13, etc. Quartal chords are built up in 4th, unlike traditional triad-based harmonies [built in 3rds]. When we reverse these 4th stacked ones, we end uo with mu major and mu minor type voicings. For example, the Am11 voice of the green earrings, when inverted, would be GCD, and, inverted again, CDG, from bottom to top. This creates a second major dissonance between C and D. This interval is the essential characteristic of the major mu sound.
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Source by Pete Foret
