At Sixes and Sevens

This week, the world lost the legendary Burt Bacharach.  He composed, arranged and produced hundreds of songs, winning multiple Grammys and Academy Awards. Some of us grew up on his music, and find his collaborations with lyricist Hal David to be 'chicken soup for our soul.'  He was on my mind this week, as I played my harp in the hallways and at the bedside for patients -- his timeless "What the World Needs Now" came out of my fingers as I thought of him. What a positive response it earned, from staff and patients alike.

I simplified my bedside version, using repetition of the A part of his tune, replacing the more complicated B section with a simple improvisation that (I think) makes it useful for CCMs, uplifting for patients, and easy to remember for beginning harpers. Here's an audio tutorial I'm sharing with the students on my roster, or for other CTMs to enjoy. It's a rough recording, so you are getting it straight off my harp, as I try to explain the structure of my bedside improvisation of 

What the World Needs Now is Love. 

I'm calling this "At Sixes and Sevens" because the chords I use are two minor seven chords (Bm7 and Em7), and two major sixes (C6 and D6). I've distilled the tune down to make it easy to remember and fun to play, but kept it true to Bacharach's characteristic chord progressions that reflect his love of jazz harmony. Set your harp levers to the key of G and...

Enjoy!