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<h1>Arranging Chord Melody for Misty</h1>
<p>"Misty" by Erroll Garner (1954) is one of the most beautiful and most arranged jazz standards. The melody is lyrical with long, sustained notes — ideal for chord melody because you have time to place full voicings underneath each melody note. The harmony is rich: a cycle-of-fifths middle section, chromatic passing chords, and plenty of extended chord colour. Joe Pass's solo arrangement of "Misty" on <em>Virtuoso</em> is the benchmark for guitar chord melody — worth studying bar by bar.</p>

<h2>Form and Key</h2>
<pre>
"Misty" is in E♭ major, AABA form (32 bars).
The melody starts on B♭ — the 5th of E♭ — a comfortable chord tone to start from.

A section (bars 1–8), simplified changes:
| E♭maj7      | Cm7 F7      | B♭m7 E♭7   | A♭maj7      |
| A♭m7 D♭7   | E♭maj7 Cm7  | Fm7  B♭7   | E♭maj7      |

B section (bridge, bars 17–24):
| B♭m7  E♭7  | A♭maj7      | A♭m7  D♭7  | E♭maj7      |
| Fm7   B♭7  | (to A section)
</pre>

<h2>Opening — Bar 1</h2>
<p>The melody begins on B♭ (5th of E♭maj7). This is one of the best melody notes to start with: it's a strong chord tone, easy to put on top of an E♭maj7 voicing, and it resonates well. Garner's original has a rolling stride left hand; the chord melody version simplifies to melody on top, voicing below, bass at the bottom:</p>
<pre>
E♭maj7 with B♭ on top:
  Options: B♭ G E♭    (5th, 3rd, root — three notes, shell-like)
           B♭ G D E♭  (5th, 3rd, 7th, root — four notes, fuller)
           B♭ G D B♭  (drop-2 variant — B♭ on top and in bass for octave effect)

Bass: E♭ (root on bottom string)
</pre>

<h2>The ii-V Pairs</h2>
<p>"Misty" is full of ii-V progressions, both major and minor. Voice leading through them is the core technical challenge:</p>
<pre>
Fm7 → B♭7 → E♭maj7  (ii-V-I in E♭ major):

Guide tone voice leading:
  Fm7:   A♭ (3rd), E♭ (7th)
  B♭7:   D  (3rd), A♭ (7th) ← A♭ is common tone with Fm7's 3rd
  E♭maj7: G  (3rd), D  (7th) ← D is common tone with B♭7's 3rd

Inner voice: E♭→A♭ (stays) → G (moves down half step) = smooth
This falling half step (A♭→G) through the ii-V-I is the characteristic inner motion.
</pre>

<h2>The Bridge — A♭maj7 Moment</h2>
<p>The bridge moves to B♭m7 → E♭7 → A♭maj7 — a ii-V-I in A♭ major. This is a half step below E♭, and it's the harmonic peak of the tune: the A♭maj7 in bar 19 provides a bright, warm contrast after the preceding tension. Voice it fully and let it ring:</p>
<pre>
A♭maj7 with melody note C on top (major 3rd — common melody note here):
  C — E♭ — G — A♭  (M3, 5th, 7th, root — drop-2 variant)
  or C — G — E♭ — A♭  (another drop-2 voicing)

Let the major 7th (G) ring clearly — it distinguishes A♭maj7 from A♭7.
This is the tonic major at the end of the bridge — give it space.
</pre>

<h2>Chromatic Inner Voices</h2>
<p>Joe Pass's arrangement uses descending chromatic inner voice motion through the A sections — the most distinctive feature of his style on this tune. As the melody sustains, an inner voice walks down chromatically under it:</p>
<pre>
Melody: B♭ (held over E♭maj7 into the next chord)
Inner voice motion (below the melody):
  G → G♭ → F → E♭  (descending chromatic passing tones)

This creates motion while the melody is static — the contrapuntal principle.
Even one step of this (G → G♭ as an inner passing note) adds depth.
</pre>

<h2>Guitar Key Considerations</h2>
<p>E♭ major is not the most comfortable guitar key — no open strings to exploit. Many guitarists transpose:</p>
<ul>
  <li><strong>D major (capo 1):</strong> one position up. Open D, A, B strings available. Some resonance, natural voicings.</li>
  <li><strong>F major (capo 3, transposed to D):</strong> or simply play in F major for open strings on string 1 (high E = high E♭ in concert pitch with capo).</li>
  <li><strong>Stay in E♭:</strong> advanced players often prefer this for the full harmonic range without capo. Barre chords are necessary, but the voicings are manageable.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Reharmonisation Highlights</h2>
<pre>
Bar 1 (E♭maj7): → G♭maj7 (♭III — parallel major/minor colour)
                or → Bmaj7 (tritone sub of E♭ — very colourful, use sparingly)

Bar 6 (E♭maj7 Cm7): → E♭maj7 → E♭m7 (parallel minor for brief dark colour)
                     → then resolve to Fm7 B♭7 normally

Bridge A♭maj7: → A♭m7 D♭7 A♭maj7 (expand with a ii-V before the tonic)
</pre>

<h2>References</h2>
<ul>
  <li>Pass — <em>Virtuoso</em> (1973) — contains the definitive guitar chord melody version</li>
  <li>Garner — original 1954 recording shows the tune's character and feel</li>
  <li><a href="https://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions-0/misty.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jazzstandards.com — Misty ↗</a></li>
</ul>
