 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: wjk
Date: 2002-07-14 16:53
Having just spent the morning with my mouth wide open in awe listening to a Charlie Parker CD, the following questions occurred to me. Can one conceive of bebop lines as blues scales (flatted thirds, fifths, and sevenths) with added passing tones? (ie, blues scales with added chromaticism). Did guys like Parker think this way when playing their lines. Can one play bebop modally? (as in Miles Davis "Kind of Blue") Did Coltrane and Adderly think of their lines modally?
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-07-14 17:23
wjk wrote:
>
> Did guys
> like Parker think this way when playing their lines. Can one
> play bebop modally? (as in Miles Davis "Kind of Blue") Did
> Coltrane and Adderly think of their lines modally?
A little background on me - I played jazz bass professionally for some number of years.
In general the answers to all your questions on a technical level are: No. They didn't think (or at least the professionals I played with, and I include myself) in music theory terms, though the technical terms could be applied, I guess. We mostly listen to others, said "that's cool", and used it (somethimes the same way, sometimes modified) in our own renditions.
Analysis of the changes and lines comes "after the fact". If someone was playing in D Dorian mode, we didn't think "that's D Dorian". We went to our instruments, figured out the line, figured out the harmonies & changes that would accent the line, and then practice, practice, practice. The "figuring out part" wasn't all that hard because we'd listen to tons of records and live performances of other people and would go back and try and play them by ear.
You hear the line in your head, you figure out where they're going, and you try and be there when they are. It's kind of a game. It takes a good ear, a bunch of reasonably good players, and time together to do it. Along with more practice - together, not apart - than most people ever realize.
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-07-15 05:55
I don't know of any improvizational players who analyze what they play to any great extent, WJK. Maybe, initially, to get the patterns and such down (rehearsal/jam time) but not after that. They may know gobs of theory and stuff (and practice their scales, etc.) but usually use that to scrutinize other player's stuff, not their own. They're too busy playing/inventing to get hung up on picking it apart. Their interest centers around improvement.
Some people just have incredible musical memories, can see/hear and play what they conceptualize instantly and blend with everyone else. Like Mark, most working musicians, past and present, listen to tons of other players' stuff as well as their own inventions; internalize, adapt and play, not analyze, the (bleep) out of it
Yeah... lots and lots of playing/practicing together. Even the greats Read bios and autobios - they Live it.
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Author: William
Date: 2002-07-15 15:21
Analysis is (artistic) paralysis. If you want ot be a "formula player" then analyze and "play by the rules." To offer something that is a new, fresh and exciting musical experiance (psychological rule of thumb for pleasure), then you need to be willing (and able) to break the conventional harmonic (and rhythmic) rules and "play outside the chord" with inovative flare and abandon. Like Jamie Abersold (author of many play-along CDs) says, "learn the changes for technical proficiency and then think of then as "feelings" rather than absolutes." Learn the "licks" and then play from your soul. Like Duke Ellington says, "If it sounds good, it is good." And the more inovative--or "fresh"--the sound, the better it is.
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Author: ken
Date: 2002-07-16 00:36
Wjk, Bird is about as good as it gets. If you haven’t already, please invest in a Charlie Parker Ominbook for a closer look at his transcribed solos (essential jazz repertoire in the tradition of the Rose 32-40 and Uhl I&2). The players who build their skills/interpretation strictly by a method book, scales, patterns, licks and mode memorization sound like it…they play “lifeless theory” and not interesting to listen to at all. Converesly, the best jazz innovators create original and powerful melodies based on "communication". They successfully shape melodies "simple to complex" and play longer, connective lines targeted to and arriving at a specific chord within the progression. The nature of the beast: traditional harmonic structure in a “modal” tune is made up of melody over a complex rhythmic background whereas a “bebop” tune is just the opposite, a complex melody fashioned over a rhythmically straightforward background (e.g. “’Round Midnight” and “Donna Lee”). Also, bebop tunes by design have faster harmonic rhythm and changes occurring every two beats rather than a standard tune that changes every bar or two.
To answer your question technically, if you're playing a classic bebop tune, "Confirmation" with a basic I-VI-II-V cadence or that is in a blues form the answer is YES...you can always get away with squeezing a chromatic scale almost anywhere. There are infinite choices but may I suggest creating more tension or divertissement, raising the 3rd with a tritone substitution: maj 3rd, #5, flat 7. Actually, the progression you’re describing in a practical application is four distinct concepts rolled into one. 1) Chord substitution, 2) Reharmonization 3) Sideslipping 4) Embellishment. For instance, implementing a chromatic scale as a passing tone is universal and works well, (I've used it often when ascending/modulating to a sharp key or descending to a flat key) but it might sound even more interesting and provoke an emotional response playing chromatic -3rds or maj 4ths (whole steps) into the next change or key (e.g. D-7 8ths in 3rds: d natural, b natural, d flat, b flat, c natural, a natural, b natural, a flat, b flat, g natural, a natural, g flat, a flat, f natural, g natural, e natural).
We ALL are blessed by our talents, playing/listening to music and improvising that naturally appeals to us: by ear, by influence, by education, by instinct, by individual taste and culture. Theory, fundamentals, practice, sacrifice and selfless dedication to the task are requisite to great jazz improvisation; but a true, sincere jazz musician brings all of these elements together and plays what they feel and what comes from their heart and soul. That is the ultimate test and measure of a great jazz musician, one who endures and never quits. v/r KEN
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