Homage To Joni Mitchell -- A Strange Boy

How to improvise on suspended chord progression and never resolve that suspended feeling

I adore Joni Mitchell’s music. It is beatific, top to bottom, and it is also incredibly original, innovative, unique. Her guitar playing is also outstanding, absolutely one of a kind.

Today, I tried to riff off some of Joni’s ‘unresolved’ suspended chord harmonies heard on her song “A Strange Boy” (one of my favourite songs, by the way).

In one interview Joni relayed her experiences when she was playing with Wayne Shorter, who is one of the most progressive jazz musicians. Wayne explained to Joni that she cannot lead from one suspended chord to the next suspended chord. The harmonic movement must get resolved, instead of just hanging up in the air. But Joni replied that, as a woman, that’s how her life is — going from one unresolved situation to the next unresolved situation.

So now, today, I tried to capture that woman-like feeling of going from one unresolved feeling to the next unresolved feeling. I tried to create that ambiguous feel on my guitar. You be the judge if I managed to unresolve you.