Bebop Redux
2
WHILE THERE ARE PLENTY of great guitarists to draw inspi- ration from, sometimes it’s re- freshing to go to other sources for ideas. For example, the late alto saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker was one of the most brilliant im- provisers in jazz history. Why not mine Parker’s solos for a few new concepts? Ex. 1a’s Bb7 lick was one of Parker’s pet phrases. Notice that even though the line contains the chord’s b9 (Cb, respelled enhar- monically as Bn) and #9 (C#), it doesn’t convey an “altered domi- nant” tonality. That’s because the tension notes are used merely in passing— as chromatic lower neighbors to scale tones C and D, respectively. Extrapolating from Parker’s line, I came up with Ex. 1b—a four-measure line that can work in most any style. Ex. 2a is another Bird line, with the harmony this time being an Eb7-Ab (V7-I) change. As in Ex. 1a, this lick incorporates the domi- nant-7th chord’s b9 (En) the #9 (F#), though this time they’re not used as passing tones. Instead, they’re coupled in a triplet flourish (bar 1, ============== T A B & 4 4 b b b b n # 3 b E 7(IV7) A (I) b b 5 8 8 6 9 9 7 8 6 5 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 3 1 j 3 = ================================ T A B & 4 4 b b # J b J œ e b 3 w 3 3 1 2 1 2 3 2 1 1 2 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 4 B 7 b 8 7 9 10 8 11 12 10 12 11 11 14 13 13 15 15 15 15 12 14 14 j 3 = n ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (15) 3 3 (11) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ex. 2a Ex. 1b =========== T A B & 4 4 b b n # B 7 b 2 2 1 3 3 1 1 2 8 7 9 10 8 11 12 10 j 3 = Ex. 1a Bebop Redux BY CHRIS MOOD ====================== T A B & 4 4 b b b b J e n e b b n n # b 3 œ . 1 1 4 ( ) 3 2 1 1 E 7(V7) b 12 14 15 14 16 16 (17) 14 15 17 17 14 14 16 15 14 13 B R j 3 = 3 A (I) b 3 Ex. 2b
description
Bebop Redux
Transcript of Bebop Redux
WHILE THERE ARE PLENTYof great guitarists to draw inspi-ration from, sometimes it’s re-freshing to go to other sources for
ideas. For example, the late altosaxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parkerwas one of the most brilliant im-provisers in jazz history. Why not
mine Parker’s solos for a few newconcepts?
Ex. 1a’s Bb7 lick was one ofParker’s pet phrases. Notice thateven though the line contains thechord’s b9 (Cb, respelled enhar-monically as Bn) and #9 (C#), itdoesn’t convey an “altered domi-nant” tonality. That’s because thetension notes are used merely inpassing— as chromatic lowerneighbors to scale tones C and D,respectively. Extrapolating fromParker’s line, I came up with Ex.1b—a four-measure line that canwork in most any style.
Ex. 2a is another Bird line, withthe harmony this time being anEb7-Ab (V7-I) change. As in Ex. 1a,this lick incorporates the domi-nant-7th chord’s b9 (En) the #9 (F#),though this time they’re not usedas passing tones. Instead, they’recoupled in a triplet flourish (bar 1,
==============TAB
& 44bbbb ö ö ö ö ön ö# ö3
öb ö öE 7(IV7) A (I)bb
5 8 8 6 9 9
7 8 6 5
1 1 3 3 3 1 1 3 1
ö ö ö öj3 =
================================TAB
& 44bb ö ö ö ö ö# ö ö ö ö ä öJb ä öJ ú e ö ö ö öb ö ö ö ö3
w3 3
1 2 1
2 3
2 1 1 2 3 3 2 2 1
1 1 4 B 7b
8 7
9 10 8
11 12 10 12
11 11 14 13 13 15 15
15 15 12 14 14
ö ö ö öj3 =
ön~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(15)
3 3
(11)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ex. 2a
Ex. 1b
===========TAB
& 44bb ö ö ön ö ö ö# ö öB 7b2 2 1 3 3 1 1 2
8 7
9 10 8
11 12 10
ö ö ö öj3 =
Ex. 1a
Bebop ReduxB Y C H R I S M O O D
======================TAB
& 44bbbb öJ en ö ö eb öb öön ö ön ö# ö öb ö ö3
ö ö ú .1 1 4 ( )
3 2 1
1
E 7(V7)b
12 14 15 14 16 16 (17) 14
15 17 17
14 14 16
15 14 13
B R
ö ö ö öj3 =
3
A (I)b3
Ex. 2b
JASON FOWLER, OF TORONTO,Canada, is February’s lick maven. “Iadapted this lick from Villa-Lobos’ arpeg-gio study ‘Etude No. 2,’ he says. “Learningthe etude got me thinking of ways to in-
corporate some of the composer’s ideasinto my lead playing. The first half is atwo-octave Am arpeggio with passing-tone Bs between the As and Cs—implyingAm9—and Ds added in bar 2 (suggesting
Am11). Bars 3 and 4 wind things downwith a bluesy, Mark Knopfler-style de-scending phrase.” Use the p-i-m-a indi-cations to play this month’s lick finger-style, or flatpick it if you like. g
=================================TAB
& 44 ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ö ú .AmFast
1 1 2 3 2 1 4 1 2
2 1
1 4 1
1 3
1 4 2
p m m i
i p m m i
i i m m
i p i
i m m
7 7
7
8
9 9
10
10 10 7 8 7
8 7 5
8 5 5
7 5 4
7 5 7 7 0
3 ö öb ö
3
9 8
4 3
4
K N O P F L E R V I A V I L L A - L O B O S
L i c k o f t h e M o n t h
Send us your candidate for Lick of the Month(preferably notated and on cassette), along witha brief explanation of why it’s cool and how toplay it. If we select your offering, you’ll get a funky
custom T-shirt that’s available only to Lick of theMonth club members. Mail your entry to Lick ofthe Month, Guitar Player, 2800 Campus Dr., SanMateo, CA 94403. Include your name, address,
and phone number. Materials won’t be returned,and please don’t call the office to check the statusof your submission. You’ll get your shirt if yourlick is chosen.
beat three) that winds backdown through the chord’s b7(Db) to ultimately resolve on the3 of the tonic chord (C, againstthe Ab chord). Following Parker’slead, I crafted Ex. 2b, which usesthe same ascent but begins asan eighth-note pickup. Other
changes include guitaristic half-step slides (bar 1, beats one andtwo) and a bluesy bend-and-re-lease move (bar 1, beat two). Re-member, this isn’t the only vari-ation that can be spun from theoriginal, it’s just a line that Ifound and liked. Take time to
experiment and discover yourown Bird-like phrases.
If you’ve never heard Char-lie Parker, treat yourself to TheLegendary Dial Masters [JazzClassics] or any best-of package,and be prepared for a flashflood of bebop inspiration. g
Chris Mood is a graduate ofUniversity of the Arts inPhiladelphia. He is a guitar in-structor at the Academy of Com-munity Music in Fort Washing-ton, Pennsylvania, and a gui-tarist with the Len FennessyBand.
