Analyzing the Coltrane Changes
John Coltrane’s 1960 Album ‘Giant Steps’ is monumental in the Jazz world, so much so that the
sensational title track has become a right of passage for Jazz musicians to improvise on in all
12 keys. The song’s chord progression, now known as the Coltrane Changes, has become
infamous for its apparent polytonality. However this is false, the progression as seen below, is
simply a wildly modulating sequence II V I’s that move in some chromatic mediants. This
analysis solely focuses on the Coltrane Changes.
However, Coltrane wasn’t the first to write harmony in this way. Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la
Nuit, a suite of solo piano works composed in 1908 features a similar sequence of harmony as
seen above.
Franz Liszt in his monumental Sonata in B minor S.178, uses a similar technique of chromatic
mediants half a century earlier in 1854 in the above sequence. After a climb from a I to a V, Liszt
uses a minor chromatic mediant to change to a quasi F major tonality. It’s important to note that
in this context, the tonalities are mostly redundant, as these harmonies are mostly used for color
(Damschroder Structural Levels : A Key to Liszt’s Chromatic Art) Though, the structural devices
used here are essentially the same as Coltrane’s.
The Coltrane Changes are based around three main tonalities that are constantly modulated
through. B major, G major and E flat major. These form a triangle on the circle of fifths and are
separated by major thirds.
In this main cycle of the Coltrane changes there are 10 total key changes across our three main
keys, and only nine unique chords that only hold three unique functions. The main motif is of
four minims followed by a semibreve that travels as follows : Maj3rd ↓ min3rd ↓ Maj3rd ↓ min3rd
↑, harmonized by a simple I-V-I-V-I, though in different keys. For the purposes of this paper, this
motif will be referred to as the ‘Step-Down’ due to its general downward trajectory.
Interlaced with the Step Down motif is a similar yet distinct motif of two minims followed by
semibreve. This motif is much less consistent than the Step Down, the distance between notes
isn’t wholly consistent across the various instances, but the general contour remains the same
along with the fact that the motif appears in only one key signature at a time. The interval in the
first two minims ranges from a unison in bar twelve and fourteen and a major second in bar four.
The jump ranges from a minor third in bar thirteen to a perfect fourth in bars five, nine and
eleven. For the purposes of this paper, this motif will be referred to as the ‘Step-Up’, due to its
generally upward trajectory.
The Step Down motif is only used twice, between the two, the Step Up can be heard, technically
in its entirety, but the last note acts as the beginning of the second Step Down a major third
below the first, continuing the pattern of moving around not by the fifth, but by the third.
Following is a sequence of Step Ups in ascending major thirds, up until the penultimate iteration
that climbs up a minor third and down a semitone, ending up on an F# that leads back to the
beginning both melodically and harmonically with a perfect authentic V-I in the key of B major.
The song is rapid at 300 BPM, and along with rapid semiquavers in the drums, a hurried
atmosphere is created. The walking bassline of Paul Chambers moves even when Coltrane’s
Saxaphone rests on a Semi-Breve, adding to the restless feeling. What really sells this emotion
is the Piano solo of Tommy Flannigan, which he improvised after seeing the chords for the first
time mere hours before. The result is a halted improvisation that really shows how much
Flannigan struggles with the changes in comparison to Coltrane, who comes in right after with a
barrage of demisemiquavers. Analysing the bassline and solo however, is outside the scope of
this analysis.
‘Giant Steps’ is not only a piece for virtuosos to show off their superior ability, it was and still is
highly influential, with Modern Drummer Hall of Famer Dennis Chambers playing renditions of it
live. ‘Giant Steps’ represents a kind of musical crystalisation, taking the simplest building blocks
of a genre and stacking them up until the tower of complexity breaks the stratosphere
(Gilbert-Cross John Coltrane - Giant Steps (atlantic records): Album review).
Variations on the Coltrane Changes
To conclude my study of this piece, I have written a set of 6 variations for solo piano based on
an original theme built around the Coltrane Changes and the motifs described above. It begins
as a chorale and continues to introduce more figuration and diminution while strictly adhering to
the Coltrane Changes harmonically and metrically.
Citations
Damschroder, David Allen. “Structural Levels: A Key to Liszt’s Chromatic Art.” College Music Symposium,
College Music Symposium , 1 Oct. 1987,
symposium.music.org/27/item/2018-structural-levels-a-key-to-liszts-chromatic-art.html.
Gilbert-Cross, Richard. “John Coltrane - Giant Steps (Atlantic Records): Album Review.” Best of Jazz, 22
Aug. 2023, bestofjazz.org/john-coltrane-giant-steps/.
