Since major-minor interchange, also known as mixture, is something that I've written about previously, I'll give only a brief definition today. (By the way, I can't really avoid there being some overlap of subject matter between various posts. I'll try to minimize it, or at the least, add something new when it does happen.) Basically, a key centers around one note - known as the tonic. But several types of scales can be built on it. When a piece employs two scales, one major and one minor, we use the terms above. OK, for the next couple of days, I'd like to turn your attention to some very different songs that employ the concept to remarkable effect.

Today's piece is "I Love Paris" by Cole Porter. This song provides perhaps the clearest example of the technique that I've heard, simply because the first half of the song is in minor and the second half (which begins after "... when it sizzles") is in major, at which point it feels as if the sun has broken through the clouds. Porter used major-minor interchange in many of his greatest songs, including "Night and Day", "What Is This Thing Called Love?", and "All of You". (Ella Fitzgerald's versions on Sings the Cole Porter Songbook are highly recommended.) His masterful use of mixture is one of the reasons that his songs have been played so frequently (and continue to be) by the greatest artists in jazz. Tomorrow: a song by a rock group that has also inspired numerous jazz cover versions.