Small Fry - Frank Loesser-Hoagy Carmichael

Looking for chart - Small Fry - Frank Loesser & Hoagy Carmichael

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jVbpb1W9Pbg

Another Reminder, be sure to
Carefully follow these instructions
https://www.irealb.com/forums/showth...-Request-Songs

Go ahead and write our an iRp chart using this resource, then post it here.

https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title...music/19425522

:))BOB

"Small Fry" is a song by Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser from the 1938 film "Sing You Sinners." It has a straightforward 32-bar AABA structure. The harmony, by itself, is not particularly adventurous, but the way it interacts with the melody has one item of special interest.

My chord chart follows the standard chord changes with one exception: in the fifth measure of the "A" section, the standard changes are Eb and Eb7 (in the chart's key of Eb) but I used a tritone substitution for the Eb7 chord, which is an A9#11 chord. The reason for this is that the melody note (an Eb or its enharmonic equivalent D#) is itself the #11 of A. The next note in the melody, the first note of the sixth measure, is a D, which is the #11 of the next chord, an Ab9. Thus, the two melody notes descend by a minor second, and the two chords also descend by a minor second. I liked the parallelism and so made the substitution.

A lead sheet for "Small Fry" can be found in some older fakebooks and can be readily found on the web.

My chart has a tag coda which is present in the original song.

I hope the chart will prove useful to you.

Small Fry - Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Loesser

Thank you Keith!
:))BOB
https://www.irealb.com/forums/showth...1-Can-YOU-Help

Nice Chart of a cute tune, Keith.

Since the melody under Ab9 falls on D, why not call Ab9#11, thus paralleling the A9#11?

Cheers,
Jer

Hi Jer,

I thought about doing just that but since the melody wanders about, I decided to keep it simple and just call it an Ab9. The D automatically makes it a #11 chord anyway.

I hope you are doing well in the Mexican mountains.

Regards,

Keith

P.S. There is a cute 1939 cartoon built around this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzec-9ODSTc that all might enjoy.

Thanks for the charts and the tips
GG

Hi GG,

You're welcome. I'm always happy to satisfy a request when I can. Because you mentioned the tips, I'll submit another.

What is a pianist (or guitarist) to do when he sees an A9#11 chord in a chord chart. An average Joe or Jane might simplify it because he hasn't the experience to correctly handle it and instead just play an A7 chord. I would suggest voicing it, from the bottom up, with the 3rd, 7th, 9th, and #11 on top. For a pianist, the right thumb on a C#, 2nd finger on a G, the 3rd finger on a B, and the 5th finger on a D# (=Eb, the melody note). This is an open voicing with an attractive sound, containing the necessary 3rd and 7th inside and the #11 sticking out on top. The next chord, an Ab9#11, can be easily played by moving down by a half-step. By putting the 3rd finger on the Bb, the 4th and 5th fingers are free to play the melody.

Jerry's post brings up an important issue: what belongs in a chord chart submitted to the forums? Should the chart be written for maximum legibility, especially if the chart is to be read on a small screen, like my iPhone 7? Should it be bare-bones, so that a beginner can play the chords without a struggle or improvise over the changes without getting hung up in chord extensions? Should it be more sophisticated, so that a melody player or singer can use it as an effective backing track? Should it reflect the way a real jazz musician conceives of the song? As someone whose charts are among the best and most elegant posted to the forums, I'm sure he has considered these issues.

When I wrote the chord chart for "Small Fry," I had several aims in mind. I wanted to quickly respond to GG's request, in case he (or are you a she?) needed it right away. I wanted a chart that was readable and easy on the eyes. I didn't know how he wanted to use it or his level of musical experience or knowledge. However, it had to be accurate and reflect the harmonic structure of the tune. Let's face it, we're dealing with a composition by Carmichael and Loesser, two of the twentieth century's great song composers, and the chart should have the sophistication that the song deserves. Thus, I tempered justice with mercy and submitted the chart found above.

A more sophisticated and I think more accurate version of "Small Fry" follows this paragraph. It contains additional chords with extensions. Note the ii-V-i in the second measure, fourth line (and similar instances) which is the way that many would automatically play, even if it weren't written in the chord chart. Note the tritone sub at the end of the first ending; the melody note is the root of the V7, which means that it is the #11 of the tritone sub, just as it was in the fifth measure of the A section. While the chart is more accurate and the backing track sounds better, it sacrifices easy readability and might confuse someone with less knowledge. Is this chart better? For whom? When is "better the enemy of good?"

Small Fry (v2) - Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Loesser

Finally, here is a third version that might reflect the way I'd actually play it. Note the additional color tones in some chords. In addition, there is yet another tritone sub, this one in the second measure, fourth line. It fills in a four-note descending bassline and sounds good, at least to me. I is also no more difficult to play than the second chart: the Db9#11 contains the same notes in the right hand (F, Cb, Eb, and G) as the G7#5 (F, B, D#, and G) and is voiced exactly the same. The chart creates a nice backing track. However, it sacrifices even more readability. One might argue it creates a straight jacket for an improviser over the changes because of all of the extensions. Is it a better chord chart than either of the other two? For whom might it be better?

Small Fry (v3) - Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Loesser

So GG, which do you like best? Which is more useful to you and how will you use it? Please let us know.

Regards,
Keith

THAT is why these are song discussion threads!
It's all about helping each other along our various musical paths.
We're all in this together

Keith, thanks for a great post
:))BOB

Bloody cool stuff. Thanks. I’ll work on them all. That will keep me busy for a while. I’ll do this on my own. I’ll share the simple charts with a group of ukulele players I play harp with on a regular basis, but I’ll keep the more involved ones for myself at the piano.
Gregg Glaser
(GG)

Nice work, Keith.

Like your last version, I also add a lot of passing chords when playing. I generally don't need to see altered chords in a chart, as I alter them as I go along. But for comping, if I'm not familiar with a melody and have only the changes, the alterations and subs keep me from conflicting with the head, as I don't like to have to comp just vanilla chords.

Cheers,
Jer