context driven approach to music theory

There was this discussion on
http://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/theory/429-clarify-tensions.html
that started as an argue between extensions and tensions, and ended up with more broad concepts, like musical layers...

In the so-called classical music we have several theoretical systems as well, although I always try to fit them together in the same unified theory. We had the modes of gregorian chant, them we had Middle-age (mostly V -I parallel fifths), baroque, classical, romantic, and 20th century had several systems. I see these as different approaches to a larger theory. For instance, although the nomenclature does not define a theory, the similarities between jazz harmony nomenclature and basso continuo in the baroque period are amazing.I can understand when you talk about different theories, but in my optimistic - maybe utopic - view, I prefer to talk about layers that musician keep adding, over the years.
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like that metaphor. Theory does seem to come in layers. When I learn new concepts (at least new to me), I wind up reshuffling the deck of things I already know with this new information.
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And sometimes these layers seem contradictory. Probably when we started learning guitar, we used those open chords with lots of tonics and fifths. Now we try to avoid them, because they sound bad. That's an example of something that was a rule and is now forbidden. We may see this on different levels, like:-our personal evolution-jazz evolution-the whole music history evolutionI guess we may arrange this paradoxes in our mental model as context-driven approaches. Or in other words, instead of saying "this is wrong", we may say "this is wrong on this context"...

intro of Dewey Square by Rosenwinkel

> Hi guys,>
> Anyone can tell me the chords to the intro of Dewey Square by Rosenwinkel?

Hi,they are as follows:
Emaj13 0x664x
Amaj7(#11) 5x664x
Abmaj7 4x554x
G7(#5) 3x344x
Gb13 2x234x
F7 1x124x
Emaj7 0x214x
Bb13(b5b9) 6x5430

The last chord can be fingered in other ways but I think that's what he uses - the piano plays a more "normal" voicing (containing the 7 that's missing here) but on the guitar we often have to use something like G/Bb or Em/Bb for a large chord like that since we can't have all the notes there.

Hope this helps,
Pete
www.petrikrzywacki.com