Charlie Parker recorded a number of solos on the chord progression to ‘What Is This Thing Called Love’. On two of these performances, a 1952 studio version of ‘What Is This Thing’ with a big band and a live 1953 version of ‘Hot House’ (a Tadd Dameron tune which uses the same changes), Parker takes two different solos, but he can be heard working with some of the same material in both. I would suggest that these two performances are different stages of a work that was constantly in progress, although not necessarily progressing in a linear way toward a single ideal of perfection. Billy Taylor’s various versions of his tune I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free, discussed in another post, are another example of this kind of process. (The tradition of revising one’s own solo is perhaps a modern extension of the older jazz tradition of revising a solo by another player which I explored in my post ‘Oh, Play That Thing!’. So far as I know, although Parker studied the solos of Lester Young, he never performed any of them.) The more I listen to these solos, the more I think Parker was on a journey of ceaseless exploration rather than a quest for some kind of musical mountaintop, and so the most interesting question is not ‘which solo was better?’, but ‘how did Parker’s musical journey evolve over the course of these two solos?’. When I compare the two versions I am fascinated by how Parker used a number of the same concepts and patterns in both of them, and yet never sounded repetitive. (This reminds me that while playing a Bird transcription accurately can sound good, it is not in his spirit of constant creativity.)
One of the licks that Parker uses in both these solos is what I call the ‘seven down to the third’ scale. This name comes from the scale approach that Barry Harris teaches to the minor ii-V progression. As shown below, the minor ii-V progression has the same ascending-fourth/descending fifth root motion as the major ii-V progressions discussed in the last post, but the ii chord is a minor 7 flat five (rather than simply a minor seventh) and the V chord, in simplest version of the progression, is a dominant seven flat nine chord (rather than simply a dominant). Barry’s approach to the minor ii-V, like many of his other teaching concepts, is based on the ‘seventh scale’ (a.k.a. the mixolydian scale). Rather than assigning two different scales to the two chords of the minor ii-V, as many improvisation methods do, Barry uses a ‘seven up and down’ pattern with a seventh scale starting a major third below the root of the ii chord (or a minor third above the root of the V chord).
This scale choice has multiple benefits: for one, it is a pitch collection which is consonant with the m7b5 chord but avoids accenting its root. Also, when the ‘seven down’ half of the scale is ended on the note a half step above the scale’s root, it outlines a fully diminished chord that functions as a rootless voicing of the V chord.
In my class we call this scale ‘E flat 7 up and down to the 3rd of C’. Building off of this admittedly lengthy name, I call the second half of this scale the ‘7 down to the 3rd’ scale. (In my class, we practice minor ii-V-i patterns in which this descending scale is preceded by patterns that use what we call the ‘locrian pentascale’, which can be thought of as the third to the seventh degrees of the seventh scale from a major third below the root, or scale steps seven through four of the major scale beginning a half step above the root. These patterns can be heard on the first phrase of each A section in this scale outline of ‘What Is This Thing Called Love’.
Parker uses the ‘seven down to the 3rd’ scale in both his ‘What Is This’ and ‘Hot House’ solos to outline the C7b9 chord in measure 10, but where the 1952 solo stretches the scale over the course of two measures, the 1953 solo flies through it at the end of a fast series of 16th notes. Where the ’52 solo is more shorter and more playable, the ’53 solo is more virtuosic. The later solo goes on longer, but is more frenetic, as though Parker feels that he’s running out of time. In the transcription below, I’ve placed Parker’s two solos in two adjacent staves to highlight the way he reuses no less than five melodic ideas (the one mentioned above and those mentioned below the transcription) and yet ends up with two completely different solos. (A side note: The more I look at Parker’s composed and improvised melodic lines from this contrapuntal view, the more I notice him consciously or subconsciously creating a countermelody to an earlier line on the same changes, either one of his own compositions or a popular song. Look, for instance, at how the later solo counters the melodic motion of the earlier one in mm. 3, 7-8 and 14-15.)
In the ’53 solo, Parker begins the first A with the same four-note motive that he used in the last A in the earlier solo (m. 25), which gives the impression that he is picking up where he left in ’52, almost as though no time had elapsed. The second phrase of the ’53 solo (m.3) also uses a phrase from the ’52 solo, this time moving a lick originally used in the second A (at beat 4 of m. 11) into the first A section. Both solos use the same five-note motive on both the Ab7 and G7 chords at the end of the bridge, but enclose them in different phrases and place them at different points in the bar. Measure 26 is the only time both solos use the same lick at the same time, a quote from the Bizet opera ‘Carmen’.
I first heard of Barry Harris from Yusef Lateef, whose improvisation class I took at Hampshire College in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. On the first day of class, Yusef identified himself as one of Barry’s students by saying something like: ‘I’m just going to show you what Barry Harris showed me’. Since then, I’ve sought out Barry’s playing and teaching more and more over the years and found him a perennial source of musical wisdom.
As with the work of other bop masters, I’ve found that I can return to Barry’s recordings over and over and learn something new each time. I spent a while in the early 2000s transcribing the great tunes and arrangements from Barry’s album Luminescence, andover the last five years or so I have been I checking out At the Jazz Workshop. Released a year after Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue brought the extended, floating harmonies pioneered by Ahmad Jamal and Bill Evans to a mass audience, At The Jazz Workshop pays no heed to the modal style but rather reflects Harris’ devotion to the more frequently modulating, obstacle-course harmonies of the bebop period. The album demonstrates how Harris was continuing to successfully evolve the melodic language of bebop, and the bebop concept of group interaction, at a time when many players had started to explore other sources of melodic invention and other concepts of ensemble playing. It is also a great example of how mid-20th century jazz repertoire created variety through a combination of popular tunes from the first half of the century (Don’t Blame Me, Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby), bop standards (Moose The Mooche, Woody N’You), and the blues (Barry’s original Morning Coffee).
At the Jazz Workshop is not built on arrangements as detailed as those of the Ahmad Jamal trio of the same era, nor does it go in the direction of the greater freedom for rhythm section players pioneered in the John Coltrane and Bill Evans group of that era; it is built instead on the model of the Bud Powell trios. In this format, the focus is on piano improvisation, with bass solos and trading between piano and drums used regularly to vary the return to the head statement. This format requires a rhythm section which, like any great pair of comedians or policemen, can keep a relentless pace without rushing and can respond immediately to sudden developments. Sam Jones and Louis Hayes, already veterans by the time of this album, achieve the same kind of tenacious unity as Max Roach and George Duvivier on the Bud Powell sides.
At TheJazz Workshop contains great examples of a number of important improvisational concepts, among them Barry’s approach to the minor ii-V progression. Barry can be heard using the ‘seven down to the third’ scale in a couple of places on At The Jazz Workshop. In the last A section on the third chorus of his Woody N’You solo, he navigates all three of the minor ii-V progressions with this scale. As the whole chorus is a great model of left hand-right hand conversation on a tune with an active harmonic rhythm, I have included my transcription of the whole chorus here.
In his solo on take 2 of ‘Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby’ from At The Jazz Workshop, Harris repeatedly uses a phrase ending in the ‘seven down to the third of’ scale to navigate the recurring Gm7b5-C7b9 change. Like Parker in the two solos above, Harris makes this motive sound different each time he recycles it by giving it a different rhythmic placement each time. Here is the phrase as it would apply to a two bar minor ii-V. (Harris uses this lick by double timing it, i.e., playing it in 16th notes over a single bar near the end of the phrase that starts at 1:20 on the recording.)
I encourage readers to leave a comment of any kind, but I particularly encourage comments mentioning (and perhaps including a link to) a favorite improvised solo on a tune involving minor ii-V or ii-V-i progressions, or examples of a lick being creatively re-used by a improviser, either within one solo or across multiple solos.
I gave in.
I have Alan Kingstone's book for the chords, and Roni Ben-Hur's book 'Talk Jazz' for the lines.
At the moment, I'm not sure or too concerned about practical applications - I'm just trying to memorise the first few pages of each.
Chords - I love the sound of the Drop 2 chord scales. Enjoying getting them under the fingers, and moving them around. Have transposed them to a couple of keys. Haven't yet started on the Drop 3.
Lines - just memorising the first four of the descending major scales with added half steps, and likewise for the Dom 7 scales. But they are not scales in the normal sense, that you would improvise within. They seem more like a lick, usually descending. But, as I said, I'm just getting them under the fingers first. I'm trying them in different octaves and positions, working out the fingerings. The ten-note scales are fun to play.
Once I'm more relaxed and comfortable with them, and further along in the books, I'll be looking to use what I'm learning in pieces.
Anyone else using these books? I've seen some older threads here, but wondered if people stayed the course.
CD Included
Hi Alan,
Just received a copy of your book. I have been fascinated by this method. You have laid it out so beautifully and I am going to work on it. I have had the opportunity to play with Barry a few times over the years. He is truly a master and as you well know he was the first cat to teach jazz in a logical way. I remember Pat Martino telling me about his diminished approach way back in the ’70s. He and Barry have been very successful with the diminished approach. Great work and may I bug you with a question or two along the way? Thank you for this book. Great work!!!
Vic Juris
Vic Juris
About
Studying the concepts put forth in this book will not teach you a set of hip sounding voicings. You won’t come out sounding like everyone else – and that’s the good news!
What you will find herein are the structural components, as mapped out and developed by jazz giant Barry Harris, that will guide and aid you on your own personal road to discovery. Imagine, a system for learning jazz harmony that actually embraces the concept of improvisation.
As I see it, there are two paths for a chord player to go down. Either one becomes a “hitter” or, one becomes a “mover”. The “hitter” sits up and works out a couple of beautiful sounding voicings for each kind of chord (or worse, learns someone else’s from a method book) – and from that point on, plays them exactly the same way. These vertical groups of notes are “hit” or “struck” on the instrument – with no thought to creating movement. The “mover” on the other hand, understands that chords come from scales and thereby learns to approach chording in a more fluid fashion. As well, one realizes that the interesting spots in music, whether you are comping, harmonizing a melody or writing an arrangement, are the places in between the chord symbols. In fact, I prefer to think – movement-to-movement – as opposed to chord to chord. When was the last time you listened to the symphony, for instance, and said oh yeah, Am7b5 – D7. It’s not that the classical folks don’t play chords, they just know something about getting from one to the next in an unobvious manner. Suddenly the musical ceiling gets raised and points us back to the purpose behind this book.
Having had the pleasure of seeing Alan grow musically over the past 20 years, I am delighted that his insightfulness and hard work have found their way into a form that others can benefit from. I am confident that guitarists everywhere who are fortunate enough to pick up this book will thank him again, and again.
Howard Rees
About Barry Harris
“I guess you could say Barry Harris is one of the very last of the bebop purists that we have on piano. He is a living and brilliant extension of Bud Powell.”
Walter Bishop Jr.
Walter Bishop Jr.
“I’ve always thought that if Charlie Parker had played piano, he would sound exactly like Barry Harris. Or is it the other way around? In any case, Barry’s sense of time, motion and rhythm is absolutely impeccable.”
Benny Golson
Benny Golson
“A list of Harris’ graduates reads like a Who’s Who of Jazz; among them are Paul Chambers, Curtis Fuller, Joe Henderson, Lonnie Hillyer, Yusef Lateef, Hugh Lawson, Kirk Lightsey, Charles McPherson, and Doug Watkins.”
The Barry Harris Approach To Improvised Lines & Harmony Pdf
“Harris’ (method) is unique in both its emphasis and detail, for it teaches students precisely how to transform the (basic theoretical) elements into credible phrases and focuses as much upon the creative processes of improvisation as upon its products, effectively clarifying the relationship between theory and performance practice in the jazz tradition.”
“Harris’ theory is an expansive generative method. It encourages musicians to create original phrases based, in part, on the cross-fertilization of rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic models embodied in the rules Harris promulgates.”
Excerpts from ‘Thinking in Jazz’, by Paul F. Berliner, University of Chicago Press 1994
Testimonials
Musician Testimonials
“Barry’s Workshop Video is a valuable educational tool for anyone interested in the inner workings of modern jazz.”
Kenny Burrell
Kenny Burrell
“A fine workshop for striving pianists and serious students who want to play modern harmonies in the style of Charlie Parker.”
Tommy Flanagan
Tommy Flanagan
“This package offers information that hasn’t been given before. It is a very practical and organized way of looking at chord movement applied to the areas of accompaniment, arranging and composition. An excellent orchestration tool.”
Jimmy Heath
Jimmy Heath
“The Barry Harris Workshop Video is an outstanding educational package which provides a wealth of material for students, teachers and musicians alike.”
Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean
“Barry’s video will, without question, help anyone who is seriously interested in gaining a knowledge of the art of improvisation.”
Ed Thigpen
Ed Thigpen
“A ray of sunlight in jazz educational products.”
Michael Weiss
Michael Weiss
“This effectively conceived instructional package puts the spotlight on master pianist Barry Harris…Harris’ lucid master class is enhanced by a clearly written ‘Workbook’ compiled by Howard Rees. Harris’ concepts are fully notated and keyed to the video for further enhancement. In all, there are invaluable ‘tools’ that serious-minded players and critics will return to time and again.”
Chuck Berg, JazzTimes Magazine
Chuck Berg, JazzTimes Magazine
“…there is something of interest in this video for most everyone…the set is intended for [those] who are unable to personally study with a master jazz teacher. Warmly recommended.”
Shirley Klett, Cadence Magazine
Shirley Klett, Cadence Magazine
Customer Testimonials
“I just received mine about a week ago, and I am thrilled with it. I am fifty years old and a pro pianist, and (Barry) talks about and demonstrates an approach that for me is already changing my playing. I watched all the dvds through several times (which really helps to see his over-all approach) before I began using the dvds with the workbook. I am still on the first page of the workouts but I already have a very different perception and skill that is popping out. This is one of the best investments I have ever made!!!!”
“If you are interested in bop purchase it.
Barry Harris is a great pianist and a great educator.”
Barry Harris is a great pianist and a great educator.”
“I’ve read every book I could find on bop (Levine, Baker, Coker etc) and even took some private lessons. I managed to pick up some understanding and some skill for improv, but I was left with more questions than answers and after some years of playing I felt like I was in a rut. Now this is where Barry walks in, takes me by the hand and says “Here is what you do”.
“The power of this video is Barry the teacher, he was there when bop was born, and it is evident when you watch him teaching and playing that he knows exactly what this is all about, and he knows exactly how to pass what he knows on to you. Working with this less than two weeks, the exciting part has been watching how much is already creeping into my playing. I am climbing out of old perspectives and into new ones. This video was the grail I had been looking for !!! If you even have the thought that this method sounds interesting, don’t hesitate, “Buy It “.
Hi Howard,
“I got all the materials in the mail several days ago. They are excellent. I have been studying these methods for some time using the information from your articles and whatever else I could find on the web. These videos really fill in the gaps of my knowledge.”
“I got all the materials in the mail several days ago. They are excellent. I have been studying these methods for some time using the information from your articles and whatever else I could find on the web. These videos really fill in the gaps of my knowledge.”
“I guess you could say Barry Harris is one of the very last of the bebop purists that we have on piano. He is a living and brilliant extension of Bud Powell.”
Walter Bishop Jr.
Walter Bishop Jr.
“I’ve always thought that if Charlie Parker had played piano, he would sound exactly like Barry Harris. Or is it the other way around? In any case, Barry’s sense of time, motion and rhythm is absolutely impeccable.”
Benny Golson
Benny Golson
“A list of Harris’ graduates reads like a Who’s Who of Jazz; among them are Paul Chambers, Curtis Fuller, Joe Henderson, Lonnie Hillyer, Yusef Lateef, Hugh Lawson, Kirk Lightsey, Charles McPherson, and Doug Watkins.”
“Harris’ (method) is unique in both its emphasis and detail, for it teaches students precisely how to transform the (basic theoretical) elements into credible phrases and focuses as much upon the creative processes of improvisation as upon its products, effectively clarifying the relationship between theory and performance practice in the jazz tradition.”
“Harris’ theory is an expansive generative method. It encourages musicians to create original phrases based, in part, on the cross-fertilization of rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic models embodied in the rules Harris promulgates.”
Excerpts from ‘Thinking in Jazz’, by Paul F. Berliner, University of Chicago Press 1994
Introduction
- CD Tracks
- Acknowledgments
- Disclaimer
- Dr. Barry Harris
- The Guitar in Jazz
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 Drop Voicings & Scales
- 1.1 Voicings
- 1.2 The Scales
- 1.3 The Voicings Charted
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 Movement
- 2.1 The Organic Diminished Chord
- 2.2 The Diminished Scale
- 2.3 Sisters and Brothers
- 2.4 Using the Scales
- 2.5 The Sixth on the Fifth
- 2.6 Movement
- 2.7 Major to Minor to Minor with Sixth in the Bass
- 2.8 Playing with your ‘Sisters and Brothers’
- 2.9 Monk Moves
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 Borrowing
- 3.1 Borrowing Through Sixth Diminished Scales
- 3.2 Surrounding
- 3.3 Borrowing on the Diminished Scale
Chapter 4 & 5
Chapter 4 Practicing the Scales
- 4.1 Single Notes
- 4.2 Thirds
- 4.3 Sixths
- 4.4 Tenths
- 4.5 Four Note Chords in Tenths
- 4.6 Expand and Contract
- 4.7 Long – Short
Chapter 5 Like Someone In Love
Appendix & Afterword
Appendix
- Seventh Diminished Drop 2
- Seventh Flat Five Diminished Drop 2
- Seventh Diminished Drop 3
- Seventh Flat Five Diminished Drop 3
- Major Sixth Diminished Drop 2&4
- Minor Sixth Diminished Drop 2&4
- Seventh Diminished Drop 2&4
- Seventh Flat Five Diminished Drop 2&4
- Major Sixth Diminished Drop 2&3
- Minor Sixth Diminished Drop 2&3
- Seventh Diminished Drop 2&3
- Seventh Flat Five Diminished Drop 2&3
- Partial Chords
- Double Note Chords
After Word
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Uploaded on Jul 28, 2018
More information on jazz pianist Barry Harris's approach to jazz harmony available here:
https://www.freejazzlessons.com/barry-harris/
Biographical information on Harris available at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Harris#Theoretical_concepts
https://www.freejazzlessons.com/barry-harris/
Biographical information on Harris available at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Harris#Theoretical_concepts
Pages | 1 |
Duration | 00:18 |
Measures | 8 |
Key signature | natural |
Parts | 1 |
Part names | Guitar |
Privacy | Everyone can see this score |
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Perhaps you’ve read or heard about bebop scales before – they’ve been mentioned in passing on LJS in the past. But where do bebop scales come from, and how can they be used in the practice room and in practical playing situations? In this post, I’ll hopefully shine some light on where these useful scales come from and how you can incorporate them into your practice routine, compositions, and improvisations.
Where do bebop scales come from?
This is a complicated question, but I can try to provide a basic framework for understanding the history and derivation of bebop scales.
Many different backstories and explanations are circulating about where bebop scales come from, but in general, the narratives seem to have some common themes. Bebop scales appear to have emerged as a theoretical concept in the first few decades after the emergence of bebop as a distinct jazz style, which occurred around the time of the Second World War in the late 1930s/early 1940s. Pioneering jazz pedagogues David Baker and Barry Harris are the two musicians most commonly credited with the development of the concepts surrounding bebop scales.
It is important to note that the notion of bebop scales is a concept that arose after bebop had already emerged as a distinct style of jazz. As is often the case with theoretical constructs, the theory arose and was codified after the practice was well established. To my knowledge, there isn’t much evidence that the idea of “bebop scales” existed when Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Christian, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, and the other legendary musical pioneers were developing the unique new style of jazz which we now call bebop. Instead, bebop scales were theorized after the fact as a way to explain common melodic gestures that recur frequently in bebop-style melodies and improvised solos.
Bebop solos notably feature a lot of chromatic or non-diatonic notes – meaning pitches that music theorists can’t easily explain by simply referring to the traditional 7-note scales such as the major scale (the Ionian mode) and the modes derived from it (such as the Dorian and Mixolydian modes). So scholars, theorists, jazz musicians, and jazz pedagogues have developed theoretical paradigms, such as systematized bebop scales, in order to facilitate studying, learning, and talking about bebop musical vocabulary.
What is the theoretical derivation of bebop scales?
There are many different ways to think about how bebop scales are derived. Here’s the simplest and most direct explanation: you can generate bebop scales by adding strategically placed passing tones to common scales and modes from traditional Western music theory, including the standard diatonic or “church modes” derived from the major scale.
Bebop scales are essentially major, minor, and dominant scales with one or more added “passing tones,” which are extra “chromatic” or “non-diatonic” notes. It is important to note that in theory and in practice, bebop scales are generally thought of as descending scales, meaning they make the most sense, sound the best, and are most often used when playing descending stepwise melodies.
What are some examples of bebop scales?
Let’s first look at the major bebop scale.
The major bebop scale is essentially a major scale (also called the Ionian mode) with an added passing tone: the b6. For example, in the key of C major, you’d add a G# (or Ab) as an additional scale tone (a chromatic or non-diatonic passing tone) between the 5th and 6th degrees of the scale (in this case, G and A). Here it is:
Another way to think of a major bebop scale (which apparently comes from Barry Harris) is that it is derived from combining a major sixth chord with a diminished seventh chord a whole step above. For example, combine Cmaj6 with D(dim.) to get the C-major bebop scale:
Another common bebop scale is the dominant seventh (or Mixolydian) bebop scale.
This scale is generated by adding a passing tone between the flatted-seventh scale degree and the root. In the key of C for example, the dominant V7 chord is G7, so add an F# (or Gb) as a chromatic passing tone between the G and the F:
The dominant seventh bebop scale is also useful over diatonically paired minor chords when you’re playing II-V-I’s. You can play one scale over both the II- and the V7 chords. In other words, just treat the II- chord like a V7 chord in the same key, which works since both modes come from the same parent scale and therefore comprise the same pitches. For example, D Dorian minor (D-7) and G Mixolydian (G7) have the same notes, as both are derived from their “parent scale” – C major. Here’s an example where the G7 bebop scale is used over both the D-7 and G7 chords in a ii-V-I in C major:
Even though you can simply use the dominant seventh bebop scale over II- chords, some people also talk about minor bebop scales as a distinct category of bebop scales as well. Here are a few examples of the various versions of “minor bebop scales” that are in circulation in the jazz world:
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How can you use bebop scales?
Barry Harris Half Step Rules
As the name suggests, bebop scales are particularly useful for generating melodic vocabulary in a bebop context, but they can be deployed while improvising in other jazz styles and non-jazz settings as well, as long as it’s stylistically, expressively, and aesthetically appropriate. Bebop scales also provide an excellent system that allows you to incorporate more chromaticism in your playing.
Additionally, using bebop scales allows you to think about scales rather than just individual chords while improvising. In other words, bebop scales can help you to start think more melodically as opposed to harmonically. Although arpeggiating chords and outlining harmonic guide-tones are useful approaches all aspiring jazz musicians should master, it will give you even more ideas and greater flexibility as an improviser if you master bebop scales as well.
Another reason bebop scales are especially useful is that they can allow you to systematically control which part of the beat chord tones fall on when playing a stepwise melody. Since most scales derived from the Western modes have 7 notes before repeating the tonic pitch, they are rhythmically asymmetrical when played as stepwise 8th note lines. Practically, this means that if you play a descending 7-note scale in 8th notes, the chord tones associated with that scale will not always fall on the downbeats. By adding a passing tone to a scale, you now have an 8-note scale, which is rhythmically symmetrical – meaning you can play the scale ascending or descending in 8th notes as a stepwise melody and have all the chord tones line up with the downbeats. By making all the chord tones land on downbeats, you will be able to clearly communicate the harmonic progression of a tune without arpeggiating chords, since the ear tends to place more importance on notes that fall on rhythmically strong beats.
Here’s an example of what I mean:
Finally, in addition to bebop scales with one passing tone, you can build on this concept and add two more passing tones to the dominant seventh bebop scale. The flatted third and flatted second are also used often as passing tones – the flatted third gives the scale a “bluesy” quality and the flatted second implies a diminished or dominant 7th (b9) sonority, both of which are highly characteristic of the bebop style. Here’s the bebop scale with three passing tones:
Here are a few examples of bebop scales in action over the II-V-I progression:
*The bracketed notes marked with the asterisk (*) are a “chromatic surrounding tone” gesture – you can read my guide-tone post to learn more about surrounding tones
So what’s next?
Now that you have a basic framework for understanding bebop scales, I hope you feel empowered and inspired to start using them!
It’s important to remember that bebop scales, like any other scales or musical systems, are just theoretical building blocks to help you conceptualize, learn, and internalize jazz vocabulary. Bebop scales are great tools, but as with anything else, be aware that there’s always risk that using the scales will become counterproductive if you overuse them or use them in a stiff, dry, or mechanical way.
As you practice bebop scales, think of them as just another tool in your toolkit as you develop your ears and your arsenal of melodic vocabulary. Don’t forget to vary your melodic vocabulary and expand your musical palette as much as you possibly can while listening, practicing, improvising, and composing. And as you practice bebop scales, always try to come up with strong melodic statements based on the scales as opposed to mechanically plugging the scales into your solos.
Don’t fall into the trap of playing music as if you’re trying to solve a jazz math equation. Instead, treat your music as an emotionally expressive and communicative art form. As you practice, improvise, and create solos and compositions, try to remember to explore and vary the other elements of music as well, such as rhythm, dynamics, timbre, structure/form, and range.
All that being said, here are some ideas to get you started as you explore bebop scales:
Practice and sing bebop scales in all twelve keys.
Practice them in ascending and descending form, but with greater emphasis on descending form. Also, try playing them over as wide a range on your instrument as possible.Try writing out an entire chorus using only 8th notes in stepwise motion.
Pick a tune and make it your goal to write out one chorus of a “solo.” Try to only use bebop scales and write descending melodies in stepwise motion (you can leap up a melodic 7th when necessary to avoid any range issues), and focus on trying to make chord tones fall on the beat.Write a bebop contrafact using bebop scales.
Pick an existing set of chord changes from a jazz standard or bebop tune you like and compose a new original melody over the existing changes using bebop scales as an inspiration for melodic material.Invent II-V-I lines using bebop scales and practice them in all twelve keys.
Again, focus on descending stepwise melodies with chord tones falling on strong beats. You can use my lines above as inspiration and a model or guide to get you started, but your lines don’t have to be like mine!Try using bebop scales in your solos on gigs and at jam sessions.
After practicing bebop scales in the practice room, try hearing them in your head and applying them while improvising when it’s musically appropriate to do so. The trick is to avoid mechanically regurgitating the scales, because that just makes your solo sound like a dry intellectual exercise. Instead, try to use fragments of the scales as melodic material, and try to imagine melodies based on the bebop scales that sound good and express what you want to communicate emotionally with the music.
As a relative beginner, I am still confused about how to use these scales, but this really helps point me in the right direction and get a few steps down the road. I appreciate it!