Definition: Mixture is the use of chords from a parallel key (i.e., parallel major, minor, or mode) in a piece of music.
Dream a Little Dream of Me (1931) by Fabian Andre, Wilbur Schwandt, Gus Kahn
A song that has some examples of mixture is “Dream a Little Dream of Me” (1931) by Fabian Andre (1910-1960) and Wilbur Schwandt (1904-1998) with lyrics by Gus Kahn (1886-1941). It is a popular jazz standard with many, many covers; one of the most famous covers is by The Mamas & the Papas in 1968.
The version from 1931 recorded by the Ozzie Nelson Orchestra can be heard below:
and the chords for this version can be seen here:
https://chordify.net/chords/ozzie-nelson-orchestra-dream-a-little-dream-of-me-1931-edmundusrex
Another version of the chords for this song is shown below. This version includes some cases of mixture.
Analyzing all the diatonic chords we get the analysis below. The chords in the shaded blocks are not diatonic to the key of the piece (G major in this case).
The Eb7 chord in measure 2 is a major-minor seventh chord or a dominant seventh chord; it is not a dominant in the key of G, and it is not a secondary dominant since it does not resolve down a fifth to and Ab chord like it would if it were a secondary dominant. Therefore, it should be analyzed as a bVI7 chord (going to V7), and considered an example of mixture.
In measure 6, there is an Am7(b5) to an F9 chord. The first chord (A-C-Eb-G) is a half diminished seventh chord built on the 2nd scale degree. This half-diminished ii chord is borrowed from the parallel minor and is another case of mixture.
We would analyze the F chord in measure 6 as a bVII chord in the key of G major, yet another case of mixture.
Therefore, the full analysis of this version is as below:
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