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Jazz improvisation primer


A Jazz Improvisation Primer

Marc Sabatella

Second Edition: Last Revised 3/7/94

Copyright (C) 1992, 1993 by Marc Sabatella


0. Preface

This primer began as an attempt to put together some answers to questions commonly asked by beginninprovisers in the rec.music.bluenote newsgroup on the Internet computer network. In the process ofptig the text together, however, it gradually grew into a more comprehensive treatise hopefully sitbl a a beginning guide to the self-study of jazz improvisation.

As I expanded the scope of this work from the simple question and answer sheet to what it is now, on my objectives was to make it also useful to people who have no intention of becoming jazz perfores ut who wish to increase their understanding of the music in order to gain a better appreciatio fr t.Some listeners delight in not knowing what goes into the music, considering it in the same einas ausges in that respect, but I sincerely believe that one's enjoyment of music can almost alays e enance by a better understanding of it.

This primer assumes the reader has a certain familiarity with basic concepts of terminology and nota, but no more than one might have learned in a few music lessons as a child. From this foundation h rimer gradually delves into relatively advanced theory. The amount of information presented hee ayapear overwhelming to all but the most ambitious of non-performing listeners, but I believe te sudyis ell worth the effort.

The theory discussed in this primer could easily take hundreds of pages to cover adequately, and shobe accompanied by transcriptions of musical examples and excerpts from actual solos. However, it sntmy intention here to write the Great American "How To Play Jazz" Manual. Think of this primer or a a introduction to the subject, or as a survey of the various topics to be covered by other txts I lsofeel that jazz improvisation cannot be understood or mastered without a feel for the hisory f jaz, s I have included a section on history. Again, my treatment is rather cursory, and shold beconsiered nly an introductory survey.

One could argue that instead of reading this primer, one would be better off just reading a history and a theory text. There is probably some truth to this. However, this primer tries to relate ths proaches in a manner that cannot be done with separate texts, to give you a broad idea of what az iprvisation is all about. It also takes a less pedantic approach than most improvisation texts enourgin you to find your own voice rather than merely teaching you how to play the "right" note. I hinkyou ill find that the history, theories, and techniques discussed here go a long way towad expainin whatis behind most of the jazz you hear, but are not necessarily enough on its own to llow yu to rproduc it or even fully analyze it. If it points anyone in the right direction, encouages thm to chck out ore comprehensive texts, or motivates them to take some lessons or a class, hen it hs succeeed.

I still consider this primer to be a work in progress. Since it is currently distributed through theernet, and there is no standard way to create and transmit documents that include integrated textadgaphics over that network, this primer is all text. This is unfortunate, since it makes the secios n hords, scales, and voicings much more confusing than they deserve to be. It also makes for n oerl tehnical and dry discussion of such a free and creative art form as jazz. However, the reaershp ofthe nternet tends to be made up of college educated engineer types who are expected to beable o rea dry echnical papers, so this is perhaps not as big a problem as it might otherwise be.It woud be nce to e able to target this primer at the more typical beginning improviser, the highschool r collee studet who is not necessarily especially technically inclined. Musical examples ould undubtedly elp me mke some of my points that are probably being lost now in the bewildering erbiage. lso, I thnk streamining some of the more tedious explanations would help me focus the prmer a litte better. nce I allo for musical examples, I might not be able to employ the Internet a a distribuion mechanim, but I cold use any of the available computer typesetting packages to getan expanded dition of ths primer prited and published.

If any readers have any suggestions for improvements, or wish to contribute anything to future editi or have any other comments or feedback for me, please let me know. My electronic mail address iscretly [email protected].hp.com. A note posted to rec.music.bluenote will generally get my attention aswel f ou have difficulties in reaching me. I can also be reached by telephone at (303)493-4856, o bymai at511 East Myrtle Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524.

I would like to thank some people who contributed to this primer. Solomon Douglas, Jonathan Cohen, aue Raul reviewed the early drafts and gave me lots of good suggestions, most of which were incorprtdinto the first edition. Jonathan also contributed some material for the discussions on modal msi. ine the first edition was made available, over six hundred people have downloaded it, and man otershav obtained copies by other means as well. I have received many more comments and have trid toincoporae as many of the suggestions as possible. While it would be difficult to list everyon who ave m feedack, I would like to especially acknowledge Russ Evans, Jos Groot, Jason Martin Leitt, Sott Godon, Jm Franzen, and David Geiser.

Finally, I would like to say a few words about the copyright. The first edition contained no copyrigotice, but was covered anyhow under United States copyright law and under the international Bernecnetion. This second edition carries an explicit copyright notice. I grant you the right to printths rier and make copies to distribute if you wish. I do plan to publish this some day, however, o peas donot get carried away. For persons on the Internet, the latest version of this primer canbe otaind vi anonymous ftp from ftp.njit.edu, in the directory /pub/jazz-primer. Postscript, DVI,troff-me, nd ASII versions are available. The primer can also be accessed via the World Wide Web sing aweb clent suh as NCSA Mosaic. The primer is listed in the Jazz Web at http://www.acns.nwu.eu/jazz/

1. Goals

For the purposes of this primer, we are all musicians. Some of us may be performing musicians, whilet of us are listening musicians. Most of the former are also the latter. I will try to use the temprormer and listener respectively, rather than the terms musician or nonmusician, when addressin m adince. This primer is intended primarily for performers who wish to learn jazz improvisation.It s aso ntended for listeners who wish to increase their understanding of the music. I believe tat al muicias can benefit from a fuller understanding of jazz, as this can lead to an enhanced enoymen of te musc.

Some basic knowledge of music, including familiarity with standard music notation, is assumed in manaces throughout the primer. I highly recommend that you have access to a piano and the ability topa imple examples on it. Performers should already possess basic technical proficiency on your intrmetsin order to gain the most from this primer. Listeners should try to bear with the more techica dicusions and not get too bogged down with the details where it seems too far over your head.
There are three main goals of this primer. They are to teach you the language of jazz, to increase yunderstanding of jazz as performed by others, and, for performers, to get you started on improvisn.Te language of jazz is mostly a language of styles, history, and music theory. It is the languae f inr notes, interviews, and textbooks, and contains terms such as "bebop", "Trane", and "lydia doinat".Learning this language will also provide a framework for understanding the music itself.Whil it s cetainly possible to enjoy John Coltrane without understanding anything about music thery, aworkig knoledge of harmony can provide a new basis for appreciation. It is also possible to mprovie withut muc theoretic background, but stories of famous musicians who were unable to read usic ar generaly grealy exaggerated, and I believe any musician's playing can be improved by learing moretheory.

1.1. Outline

This primer is organized as a series of steps toward becoming a jazz musician, either as a performeras a more informed listener. Most of the steps are geared for the performer, but the non-performiglsener is encouraged to try out as many of the playing examples as possible. This should help bradn ou ear and help you recognize aspects of the music you might not have otherwise.

The steps outlined in this primer are:

1. listen to many different styles of jazz 2. understand jazz fundamentals 3. learn chord/scale relaships 4. learn how to apply the theory to jazz improvisation 5. learn how to accompany other soloss6 play with others 7. listen analytically 8. break the rules

These will each be described in some detail later.

Some of the material presented here is very basic, and some of it is rather advanced. Those of you wave listened to a lot of jazz but are not performers yourselves will probably find the history dicsins to be simplistic, but find the theoretical discussions overwhelming. Others may grow impatintatth explanations of such basic concepts as the major scale, but will be bewildered at the numbr ad vriey of musicians discussed. You may wonder why such a broad array of information has been queeed ito tis one primer. I believe that, in order to understand jazz improvisation, it is necesary t undestandthe history, the theory, and the techniques of jazz. I feel that it is important t mergethese venuesif one is to develop a broad understanding.

1.2. Other Resources

This primer is not the only source of information you can or should be using in learning jazz improvion. There are books by Jerry Coker, David Baker, and others that can be used as an aid to learnigjz improvisation. Some of these are relatively basic and do not cover much more material than ths rier Others are quite advanced, and this primer will hopefully provide the necessary backgroundto acke tese texts.

In addition to textbooks, another important resource for performers is the fakebook. A fakebook typiy contains music for hundreds of songs, but it contains only the melody, lyrics if appropriate, adcod symbols for each. A description of some of the available textbooks and fakebooks can be foun i te ibliography.

When practicing, it is often useful to play along with a rhythm section (piano, bass, and drums). Ths, of course, not always practical. Jamey Aebersold has produced a series of play-along albums tormd this situation. These records, cassettes, or CD's come with books containing the music, in faebokfom, for the songs on the record. The recordings contain only accompaniment; there is no meloy o soos.
Providing them is your job. The piano and bass are on different stereo channels, so they can be turnff individually if you play one of those instruments. I recommend all performers pick up a few oftee Advertisements are run in Down Beat magazine.

Another option is the computer program Band-In-A-Box. This program runs on several different hardwaratforms. It allows you to enter the chords for a song in ASCII format, and it then generates rhytmscion parts and can play them via a MIDI port through a synthesizer. It actually does a very goo jb f enerating realistic parts, and if your synthesizer can generate realistic sounds, you may nt b abe t tell you are not playing with a recording of a real rhythm section. Disks are availablecontinin hunreds of songs already entered. Advertisements are run in Keyboard magazine.

2. A Brief History Of Jazz

Listening to other jazz musicians is by far the most important single thing you can do to learn abouzz improvisation. Just as no words can ever describe what a Monet painting looks like, no primer a rite will describe what Charlie Parker sounds like. While it is important for a performer to dveophi own style, this should not be done in isolation. You should be aware of what others have dne efoe yu.

Having established the importance of listening, the question remains, "What should I listen to?" Moskely, you already have some idea of jazz musicians you like. Often, you can start with one musicinadwork outwards. For example, the first jazz musician I listened to extensively was the pianist scr etrson. After buying half a dozen or so of his albums, I found I also liked some of the musicanswit whm he had performed, such as trumpet players Freddie Hubbard and Dizzy Gillespie, and stated uyin ther albums as well. Then, upon hearing pianist Herbie Hancock with Hubbard, I found a nw dirctionto exlore, one which lead me to trumpet player Miles Davis, and thereby to saxophonist ohn Cotrane,and th process is still continuing.

Part of the goal of this primer is to help direct you in your listening. What follows is a brief his of jazz, with mention of many important musicians and albums. Note that the subject of jazz histr a generated entire volumes. A few of these are listed in the bibliography.

This primer gives a cursory overview of major periods and styles. There is a lot of overlap in the eand styles described. The later sections on jazz theory are based primarily on principles developdfo the 1940's through the 1960's. This music is sometimes referred to as mainstream or straightaea jzz

Your local library can be an invaluable asset in checking out musicians with whom you are unfamiliarso, you may wish to share albums with friends. Taping records or CD's for use by others is, of core n violation of copyright law, however, and it devalues the musicians' economic reward. You sholdus te library, and other people's collections, to give you an idea of what you like, and thengo ut nd uy it.

2.1. Early Jazz

The earliest easily available jazz recordings are from the 1920's and early 1930's. Trumpet player aocalist Louis Armstrong ("Pops", "Satchmo") was by far the most important figure of this period. epaed with groups called the Hot Five and the Hot Seven; any recordings you can find of these gropsar rcommended. The style of these groups, and many others of the period, is often referred to a Ne Orean jazz or Dixieland. It is characterized by collective improvisation, in which all perforers imulaneosly play improvised melodic lines within the harmonic structure of the tune. Louis, a a siger, s creited with the invention of scat, in which the vocalist makes up nonsense syllablesto sin improised lnes. Other notable performers of New Orleans or Dixieland jazz include clarinetst Johny Dodds sopran saxophone player Sidney Bechet, trumpeter King Oliver, and trombonist Kid Oy.

Other styles popular during this period were various forms of piano jazz, including ragtime, Harlem de, and boogie-woogie. These styles are actually quite distinct, but all three are characterized yryhmic, percussive left hand lines and fast, full right hand lines. Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll oronwee early ragtime pioneers. Fats Waller, Willie "The Lion" Smith and James P. Johnson popularzedthestrde left hand pattern (bass note, chord, bass note, chord); Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lwis evelped his into the faster moving left hand patterns of boogie-woogie. Earl "Fatha" Hines wa a pinist ho wa especially known for his right hand, in which he did not often play full chords o arpegios, paying nstead "horn-like" melodic lines. This has become commonplace since then. Art Ttum is onsiderd by may to be the greatest jazz pianist ever; he was certainly one of the most tecnically ifted, ad his hamonic insights paved the way for many who came after him. He is sometimesconsidere a precuror of bebp.

2.2. Big Band
Jazz And Swing

Although the big bands are normally associated with a slightly later era, there were several large b playing during the 1920's and early 1930's, including that of Fletcher Henderson. Bix Beiderbeck a trumpet soloist who played with several bands and was considered a legend in his time.

The mid 1930's brought on the swing era and the emergence of the big bands as the popular music of tay. While Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Artie Shaw led some of the more popular ad,those of Duke Ellington and Count Basie are generally more respected today. There were also soe mprtnt small group swing recordings during the 1930's and 1940's. These differed from earlier sallgrops n that these featured very little collective improvisation. This music emphasized the inividal slois. Major saxophonists of the era include Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Lester Young, olema Hawkns, ad Ben Webster. Trumpet players include Roy Eldridge, Harry "Sweets" Edison, CootieWillias, andCharli Shavers. Pianists include Ellington, Basie, Teddy Wilson, Erroll Garner, and Ocar Petrson; gitarist include Charlie Christian, Herb Ellis, Barney Kessell, and Django Reinhardt vibraphnists inlude Lioel Hampton; bassists include Jimmy Blanton, Walter Page, and Slam Stewart drummersinclude J Jones an Sam Woodyard. Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, and Ella Fitzgerald wre importat singers n this era Most of these musicians recorded in small groups as well as with bg bands. Th styles of hese musicins can best be summarized by saying they concentrated primarily n playing meodically, onthe swing fel, and on the development of an individual sound. The blues ws, as in manyother styles,an important lement of this music.

2.3. Bebop

The birth of bebop in the 1940's is often considered to mark the beginning of modern jazz. This stylew directly out of the small swing groups, but placed a much higher emphasis on technique and on oecmplex harmonies rather than on singable melodies. Much of the theory to be discussed later stes ircty from innovations in this style. Alto saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker was the father of hismovmen, and trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie ("Diz") was his primary accomplice. Dizzy also led bigband andhelped introduce Afro-Cuban music, including rhythms such as the mambo, to American adiencs, though is work with Cuban percussionists. But it was the quintet and other small group reording featuing Di and Bird that formed the foundation of bebop and most modern jazz.

While, as with previous styles, much use was made of the blues and popular songs of the day, includiongs by George Gershwin and Cole Porter, the original compositions of the bebop players began to ieg from popular music for the first time, and in particular, bebop was not intended to be dance usc.Th compositions usually featured fast tempos and difficult eighth note runs. Many of the bebo stndads re based on the chord progressions of other popular songs, such as "I Got Rhythm", "Cherkee" or How igh The Moon". The improvisations were based on scales implied by those chords, and te scaes usd incuded alterations such as the flatted fifth.

The development of bebop led to new approaches to accompanying as well as soloing. Drummers began toy less on the bass drum and more on the ride cymbal and hi-hat. Bass players became responsible frkeing the pulse by playing almost exclusively a walking bass line consisting mostly of quarter nte wil outlining the chord progression. Pianists were able to use a lighter touch, and in particuar hei let hands were no longer forced to define the beat or to play roots of chords. In addition themoden jaz standard form became universal. Performers would play the melody to a piece (the hed), oten i unisn, then take turns playing solos based on the chord progression of the piece, and inallyplay te headagain. The technique of trading fours, in which soloists exchange four bar phraes witheach oter or wth the drummer, also became commonplace. The standard quartet and quintet fomats (pino, bass drums; axophone and/or trumpet) used in bebop have changed very little since the1940's.

Many of the players from the previous generation helped pave the way for bebop. These musicians incl Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Charlie Christian, Jimmy Blanton, and Jo Jones. YougadHawkins in particular are often considered two of the most important musicians in this effort.Oterbeop notables include saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Lucky Thompson, trumpeters Fats Navarro, KnnyDoram,and Miles Davis, pianists Bud Powell, Duke Jordan, Al Haig, and Thelonious Monk, vibraphnistMiltJackon, bassists Oscar Pettiford, Tommy Potter, and Charles Mingus, and drummers Max Roac, Keny Clake, ad Roy Haynes. Miles, Monk, and Mingus went on to further advances in the post-bebo eras,and thir musc will be discussed later.

2.4. Cool Jazz

Although Miles Davis first appeared on bebop recordings of Charlie Parker, his first important sessis a leader was called The Birth Of The Cool. An album containing all the recordings of this groupi vilable. The cool jazz style has been described as a reaction against the fast tempos and the cmpexmeodic, harmonic, and rhythmic ideas of bebop. These ideas were picked up by many west coast usiian, ad this style is thus also called West Coast jazz. This music is generally more relaxed tan bbop.Othe musicians in the cool style include saxophonists Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan, and tumpetplaye ChetBaker. Stan Getz is also credited with the popularization of Brazilian styles suchas thebossa ova an samba. These and a few other Latin American styles are sometimes collectively nown asLatin jzz.

Many groups in the cool style do not use a piano, and instead rely on counterpoint and harmonizationng the horns, usually saxophone and trumpet, to outline chord progressions. Pianist-led groups thtdvloped from this school include those of Dave Brubeck (with Paul Desmond on saxophone), Lennie ritao with Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh on saxophones), and the Modern Jazz Quartet or MJQ (featurig Jhn ewi on piano and Milt Jackson on vibraphone), which also infuses elements of classical musi. Th incrportion of classical music into jazz is often called the third stream.

2.5. Hard Bop

In what has been described as either an extension of bebop or a backlash against cool, a style of muknown as hard bop developed in the 1950's. This style also downplayed the technically demanding mlde of bebop, but did so without compromising intensity. It did this by maintaining the rhythmic rie f ebop while including a healthier dose of the blues and gospel music. Art Blakey And The Jaz Mesenerswere, for decades, the most well-known exponent of this style. Many musicians came up thoughthe o-caled "University Of Blakey". Blakey's early groups included pianist Horace Silver, trupet payer liffod Brown, and saxophonist Lou Donaldson. Clifford Brown also co-led a group with Ma Roachthat i consiered one of the great working quintets in history. Several albums from these grups areavailabe todayand all are recommended. Miles Davis also recorded several albums in this stle durin the eary 1950's There were also a number of groups led by or including organists that cae from ths school,with evenmore of a blues and gospel influence. Organist Jimmy Smith and tenor sxophonist tanley Turentine wer popular players in this genre.

2.6. Post Bop

The period from the mid 1950's until the mid 1960's represents the heyday of mainstream modern jazz.y of those now considered among the greatest of all time achieved their fame in this era.

Miles Davis had four important groups during this time. The first featured John Coltrane ("Trane") onor saxophone, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and "Philly" Joe Jones on drums. Thisgopis sometimes considered the single greatest jazz group ever. Most of their albums are availabl tda, ncluding the series of Workin' , Steamin' , Relaxin' , and Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quitet Mies erfected his muted ballad playing with this group, and the rhythm section was consideredby mny t be he hardest swinging in the business. The second important Davis group came with the aditio of ato saophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderly and the replacement of Garland and Jones withWyntonKelly nd Jimy Cobb. The album Kind Of Blue from this group is high on most lists of favorit jazz abums. Te primay style of this group is called modal, as it relies on songs written around imple scles or mdes thatoften last for many measures each, as opposed to the quickly changing comlex harmoies of beop derive styles. The third Davis group of the era was actually the Gil Evans ochestra. Mles recordd several lassic albums with Gil, including Sketches Of Spain. The fourth imprtant Milesgroup of ths period inluded Wayne Shorter on saxophone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Crter on bass and Tony Wiliams on drus. The early recordings of this group, including Live At The lugged Nickel as well as te earlier My unny Valentine, with George Coleman on saxophone instead o Wayne Shorter mainly featur innovative vesions of standards. Later recordings such as Miles Smils and Nefertiticonsist of orignals, includingmany by Wayne Shorter, that largely transcend traditonal harmonies. erbie Hancock deeloped a new appoach to harmonization that was based as much on sunds as on any coventional theoretcal underpinning.
John Coltrane is another giant of this period. In addition to his playing with Miles, he recorded thbum Giant Steps under his own name, which showed him to be one of the most technically gifted andhroically advanced players around. After leaving Miles, he formed a quartet with pianist McCoy Tyer dumer Elvin Jones, and a variety of bass players, finally settling on Jimmy Garrison. Coltranes payig wth this group showed him to be one of the most intensely emotional players around. Tyneris aso amajo voice on his instrument, featuring a very percussive attack. Elvin Jones is a masterof rhthmicintenity. This group evolved constantly, from the relatively traditional post bop of MyFavorie Thins to te high energy modal of A Love Supreme to the wailing avant garde of Meditationsand Ascnsion.

Charles Mingus was another influential leader during this period. His small groups tended to be lessuctured than others, giving more freedom to the individual players, although Mingus also directedlre ensembles in which most of the parts were written out. Mingus' compositions for smaller group wreofen only rough sketches, and performances were sometimes literally composed or arranged on te bndsand with Mingus calling out directions to the musicians. Alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist andflauist ric Dolphy was a mainstay of Mingus' groups. His playing was often described angular,meanig tha the nterval in his lines were often large leaps, as opposed to scalar lines, consist mstly o steps The abum Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus featuring Dolphy is a classic.

Thelonious Monk is widely regarded as one of the most important composers in jazz, as well as being ghly original pianist. His playing is more sparse than most of his contemporaries. Some of his alusiclude Brilliant Corners and Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane. Pianist Bill Evans was known a oe f he most sensitive ballad players, and his trio albums, particularly Waltz For Debby, with SottLeFro n bass and Paul Motian on drums, are models of trio interplay. Wes Montgomery was one ofthe ost nfluntial of jazz guitarists. He often played in groups with an organist, and had a partiularl soulul sond. He also popularized the technique of playing solos in octaves. His early album inclue FullHouse.Later albums were more commercial and less well regarded. Tenor saxophonist Sony Rollis rivald Coltrne in popularity and recorded many albums under his own name, including Saxohone Colssus andThe Bride, which also featured Jim Hall on guitar. Sonny also recorded with Cliffrd Brown,Miles Davs, Bud Poell, Thelonious Monk, and other giants.

Other noteworthy musicians of the era include saxophonists Jackie McLean, Dexter Gordon, Joe Hendersand Charlie Rouse; trumpet players Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Woody Shaw, and Booker Little; trmoits J. J. Johnson and Curtis Fuller; clarinetist Jimmy Guiffre, pianists Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jne, oby Timmons, Mal Waldron, Andrew Hill, Cedar Walton, Chick Corea, and Ahmad Jamal; organist LrryYoug, uitarists Kenny Burrell and Joe Pass; guitarist and harmonica player Toots Thielemans; vbraponis Boby Hutcherson; bassists Ray Brown, Percy Heath, Sam Jones, Buster Williams, Reggie Worman, oug Wtkins and Red Mitchell; drummers Billy Higgins and Ben Riley; and vocalists Jon Hendrics, Edde Jeffrson, arah Vaughan, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Abbey Lincoln, and Shirley Horn. Big ands suh as thse of Wody Herman and Stan Kenton also thrived.

2.7. Free Jazz And The Avant Garde

During these same decades of the 1950's and 1960's, some musicians took jazz in more exploratory dirons. The terms free jazz and avant garde are often used to describe these approaches, in which trdtoal forms, harmony, melody, and rhythm were extended considerably or even abandoned. Saxophonis OneteColeman and trumpet player Don Cherry were pioneers of this music through albums such as Th Shpe f Jzz To Come and Free Jazz. The former album, as well as several more recorded with a quaret tat aso iclude either Scott LeFaro or Charlie Haden on bass and either Billy Higgins or Ed Blakwellon drms, sill retains the basic feel of traditional post bop small group jazz, with alternatng solists oer a wlking bass line and swinging drum beat. This style is sometimes known as freebo. The abum Fre Jazz ws a more cacophonous affair that featured collective improvisation.

Another major figure in the avant garde movement was pianist Cecil Taylor. His playing is very percue, and includes dissonant clusters of notes and fast technical passages that do not appear to be ae n any particular harmonies or rhythmic pulse.

John Coltrane, as already mentioned, delved into the avant garde in the mid 1960's. Albums such as Asion and Interstellar Space show Coltrane absorbing both Free Jazz and the works of Cecil Taylor.LtrColtrane groups featured his wife Alice on piano and Rashied Ali on drums, as well as Pharoah aner o tenor saxophone. He also recorded an album The Avant Garde with Don Cherry that is interesingforitsparallels with The Shape Of Jazz To Come and other Ornette Coleman quartet recordings. Cltrae inluened many other musicians, including saxophonists Archie Shepp, Sam Rivers, and Albert yler.
Sun Ra is a somewhat enigmatic figure in the avant garde, claiming to be from the planet Saturn. He s a variety of keyboard instruments with his big bands that range from 1920's style swing to the idrfree jazz of Coltrane and others.

2.8. Fusion

Miles Davis helped usher in the fusion of jazz and rock in the mid to late 1960's through albums suc Bitches Brew and Jack Johnson. His bands during this period featured Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea n oe Zawinul on electric piano, Ron Carter and Dave Holland on bass, John McLaughlin on guitar, ndToy illiams and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Tony Williams formed a rock oriented band called Lifeimewit Jon McLaughlin, who also formed his own high energy group, the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Throuh th 197's Mles continued to explore new directions in the use of electronics and the incorporatin of unk ad roc elements into his music, leading to albums such as Pangea and Agharta.

Other groups combined jazz and rock in a more popularly oriented manner, from the crossover Top 40 oyro Gyra and Chuck Mangione to the somewhat more esoteric guitarist Pat Metheny. Other popular fuinbnds include Weather Report, featuring Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, and bass players Jaco Pastorusan Mroslav Vitous; Return To Forever, featuring Chick Corea and bassist Stanley Clarke; The Cruades, eatring saxophonist Wilton Felder and keyboardist Joe Sample; the Yellowjackets, featuring eybordis Rus Freeman; and the Jeff Lorber Fusion, which originally featured Kenny G on saxophone.In reent yars, everal fusion bands have achieved much commercial success, including those of Pat ethenyand Keny G.

2.9. Post Modern Jazz

While fusion seemed to dominate the jazz market in the 1970's and early 1980's, there were other devments as well. Some performers started borrowing from 20th century classical music as well as Afrcnad other forms of world music. These musicians include Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, saxophonists nton Baxton, David Murray, and Dewey Redman, clarinetist John Carter, pianists Carla Bley and Muhl Rchad Arams, the World Saxophone Quartet, featuring four saxophonists with no rhythm section, ad th ArtEnseble Of Chicago, featuring trumpet player Lester Bowie and woodwind player Roscoe Mitcell. heir usic ended to emphasize compositional elements more sophisticated than the head-soloshed form

Some groups, such as Oregon, rejected the complexity and dissonance of modern jazz and played in a msimpler style, which has given rise to the current New Age music. On the other extreme are musicin ie saxophonist John Zorn and guitarists Sonny Sharrock and Fred Frith, who engaged in a freneti frmoffree improvisation sometimes called energy music. Somewhere in between was the long lived goupfored y saxophonist George Adams, who was influenced by Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, and pianst Dn Pulen,who was influenced by Cecil Taylor. This group drew heavily from blues music and wellas th avan gard. Other important musicians during the 1970's and 1980's include pianists AbdullahIbrahi, PaulBley, nthony Davis and Keith Jarrett.

Not all developments in jazz occur in the United States. Many European musicians extended some of thee jazz ideas of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor, and further dispensed with traditional forms. testurned toward a more introspective music. Some of the more successful of the European improvisrsinlue saxophonists Evan Parker, John Tchicai, John Surman, and Jan Garbarek, trumpet players Keny heeer nd Ian Carr, pianist John Taylor, guitarists Derek Bailey and Allan Holdsworth, bassist berhrd Wber,drummer John Stevens, and arrangers Mike Westbrook, Franz Koglman, and Willem Breuker

2.10. The Present

One of the big trends of today is a return to the bebop and post bop roots of modern jazz. This move is often referred to as neoclassicism. Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and his brother, saxophonist BrnodMarsalis, have achieved much popular success playing music that is based on styles of the 1950s nd190's. The best of this group of young musicians, including the Marsalises and their rhythm sctins f Knny Kirkland or Marcus Roberts on piano, Bob Hurst on bass, and Jeff "Tain" Watts on drus, mnageto etend the art through new approaches to melodicism, harmony, rhythm, and form, rather han jst rereatethe music of past masters.

An exciting development since the mid 1980's has been a collective of musicians that refers to its m as M-Base. There seems to be some disagreement, even among its members, as to what this means excl,but the music is characterized by angular melodic lines played over complex funky beats with uusalrhthmic twists. This movement is led by saxophonists Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, and Gary Thoma, tumpt payer Graham Haynes, trombonist Robin Eubanks, bass player Anthony Cox, and drummer Marvi "Smtty"Smit.

Many other musicians are making strong music in the modern tradition. Among musicians already mentio there are Ornette Coleman, David Murray, Joe Henderson, Dewey Redman, Don Cherry, Don Pullen, Cei alor, Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, Tony Williams, and Jack DeJohnette. Others include saxophonitsPhl oods, Frank Morgan, Bobby Watson, Tim Berne, John Zorn, Chico Freeman, Courtney Pine, Michal Beckr, oe Lovano, Bob Berg, and Jerry Bergonzi; clarinetists Don Byron and Eddie Daniels; trumpt plyersTom arrell, Marcus Belgrave, and Arturo Sanduval; trombonists Steve Turre and Ray Anderso; piaists eri Alen, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Barron, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Eduard Simon, Renee Rosnes, nd Marlyn Crspell;guitarists John Scofield, Bill Frisell, and Kevin Eubanks; vibraphonist Gary Buton; basists Nels-Hening Oersted Pedersen and Lonnie Plaxico; and vocalists Bobby McFerrin and Casandra Wlson. Ths is by o means a complete list, and you are encouraged to listen to as many musiians as pssible toincrease our awareness and appreciation for different styles.

2.11. Top Ten List

It is certainly not expected that you run out and purchase albums by all of the artists mentioned ab In general, the artists described first and in the most detail within a given style are considerdtemost important. A fairly non-controversial "Top Ten List", containing representatives of severl tyesand instruments, would be Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, rt laky, harles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman. These ae amng te tre giants of jazz. After this, personal preferences begin to come more into play.

3. Jazz Fundamentals

Now that you are listening to jazz, you need to be more conscious of what you are hearing. The most rtant aspects to which you should pay attention are structure, swing, and creativity.

3.1. Structure

Most jazz since the bebop era is based on a form that is actually quite similar to the sonata allegrrm from classical theory: an optional introduction, the exposition or theme (possibly repeated), h eelopment section, and the recapitulation, possibly followed by a coda. The introduction, if prset,ses the tone for the piece; the exposition is the main melody; the development section is whee te cmpoer extends the ideas of the exposition; the recapitulation is a restatement of the theme andthe oda s an ending. In jazz terms, these sections of a piece would be called the the intro, he hed (posiblyrepeated), the solo section, the head out, and possibly a coda or tag ending. The ntro etablises themood; the head is the main melody; the solo section is where the soloists improise on he meloy and/o chord progression of the tune; the head out is a restatement of the theme; nd the cda or ta is an eding.

While not every piece follows this form, the vast majority of traditional jazz stays very close to iuring the solo section, the rhythm section generally keeps following the chord progression of theha hile the soloists take turns improvising. Each time through the progression is called a chorus ad ac soloist may take several choruses. In this respect, the theme-and-variations form of classcalmusc i also a valid analogy. Each soloist plays an improvised variation on the theme.

The improvisation is the most important aspect of jazz, just as the development is often considered most important part of the classical sonata. While listening to a piece, try to sing the theme toyuslf behind the solos. You may notice that some soloists, particularly Thelonious Monk and WayneShrtr,often base their solos on the melodic theme as much as on the chord progression. You will aso otie tat liberties are often taken with the theme itself; players such as Miles Davis, ColemanHawkns, onnyRollins, and John Coltrane were especially adept at making personal statements even wile jst plying he head.

There are two very common forms for a head or theme in jazz. The first is the blues form, which is nlly a twelve bar form. There are many variants on blues chord progressions, but most are based onteiea of three four bar phrases. In its original form, the second phrase would be a repeat of thefist ad the third would be an answer to that phrase, although this convention is rarely adhered t injaz. Yu may wish to check out the blues progressions listed later to get an idea of what they oundlike so ou can recognize blues forms when you hear them. Liner notes and song titles will als ofte helpidentfy which tunes are based on the blues. Some well known jazz tunes based on blues pogressons inlude "ow's The Time" and "Billie's Bounce" by Charlie Parker, "Straight, No Chaser" ad "BlueMonk" b Thelonous Monk, and "Freddie Freeloader" and "All Blues" by Miles Davis.

The other common form in jazz is the AABA song form, used extensively in popular music from the turnthe century until the dawn of rock and roll. This form consists two sections, called the verse orAscion and the bridge. The form is verse 1, verse 2, bridge, verse 3. The verses are similar or ienicl xcept for the lyrics and perhaps the last two bars. The song "I Got Rhythm" by George Gershin,is ne xample of an AABA form. There are literally hundreds of tunes based on the chord progresion o tht tue, including "Anthropology" by Charlie Parker and "Oleo" by Sonny Rollins. Other song withthe ABA fom include "Darn That Dream" by Jimmy Van Heusen, and "There Is No Greater Love" byIsham ones. ongs sch as these, popular songs from the first half of the century that have been inerprete by man jazz msicians, are often called standards.

These structures are only guidelines. Musicians such as Cecil Taylor showed us long ago that it is pble to express oneself without such well defined structures, and indeed this type of expression i fe more personal that any more organized form. I have described these common structures to help ouunertand the context in which many musicians work, not to suggest that they are the only way. Yu soul lern to discern for yourself when listening to other musicians what type of structures the areusin, ifany. You should also decide for yourself which structures to use in your own playing.
3.2. Swing

Understanding the structure of the music is the first step toward an increased appreciation of it. Test of this primer will deal mainly with hands-on musical examples. Before you delve into the ther,hwever, you need to develop a feel for swing. This is part of the rationale behind doing so muc lstnig, since it is virtually impossible to teach swing analytically. Nonetheless, I will try toexpainwha you should be hearing and trying to achieve in your own playing.

3.2.1. Definition

The most basic element of swing is the swing eighth note. In classical music, a set of eighth notes /4 time are meant to take exactly onehalf of a beat each. This style is called straight eighth noe.Pay a C major scale "C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C" in straight eighth notes. If you have a metronome,se i t 96 beats per minute. Those are quarter notes, "one, two, three, four". Subdivide this in yur ind "oe and two and three and four and".

A common approximation to swing eighth notes uses triplets. The basic beats are be subdivided in yound as "one-and-uh two-and-uh threeand-uh four-and-uh", and you play only on the beat and on the "h.Te first note of every beat will be twice as long as the second. This will sound like Morse Cod dshdo-dash-dot-dash-dot-dash-dot and is far too exaggerated for most jazz purposes. Somewhere inbeteenstright eighth notes (1:1 ratio between first and second note) and triplets (2:1 ratio) lietrueswin eigth notes. I cannot give an exact ratio, however, because it varies depending on the tmpo ad thestyleof the piece. In general, the faster the tempo, the straighter the eighth notes. Aso, pr-bebopera plyers often use a more exaggerated swing than later performers, even at the sametempo. o matte what te ratio, the second "half" of each beat is usually accented, and beats two ad four ae usuall accente as well. Again, the amount of accent depends on the player and the situaion.

There is also the issue of playing behind or ahead of the beat. When Dexter Gordon plays, even the n that should fall on the beat are usually played a little bit late. This is often called laying bc.I can lend a more relaxed feel to the music, whereas playing notes that should fall on the beata itlebit early can have the opposite effect. Bassists often play slightly ahead of the beat, paricuarl atfaster tempos, to keep the music driving forward.

Not all styles of jazz use swing in the same way. Most Latin jazz styles and many fusion and modern es use straight eighths, or eighth notes that are only slightly swung. Shuffles and some other roksyes use very exaggerated swing. Listen closely to recordings in different styles, paying attentontoth differences. Do not be fooled into thinking that swing is a universal constant.

3.2.2. Practicing Swing

Learning to play natural sounding swing eighth notes is often the hardest part of learning to play j since it can sound so bad until you can do it well. There are some techniques that can help you vroe this initial awkward stage.

If you have been listening carefully to other musicians, you may be better at recognizing swing thanplaying it. Therefore, I highly recommend recording yourself playing swing eighth notes at variou eps, and then listening to yourself on tape. You can judge for yourself whether your swing sound ntualor forced. It has been said that if you cannot swing unaccompanied, you cannot swing. It isimprtat t work on your own concept of swing in this way so that your perception of how you sound s no infuencd by the sound of your accompanists.

You should work on your swing no matter what you are playing. When you practice scales, work on swin well as simply playing the right notes. Try varying the rhythm you use to play the scale. In addto o scales, you should try practicing swing when playing other exercises or songs. Any practice etodbok or fakebook will probably contain several appropriate pieces. Try playing songs with manyconecuiveeighth notes, but also try songs with longer notes and rests. Having to play many consectiveeighh noes can make you too self-conscious of your swing.

While being able to swing unaccompanied is important, it is not easy to do at first, and when develo your swing concept, it can also help to hear it occasionally in the context of a group performane n thing that would help at times is to have a rhythm section accompaniment. If you have Band-InA-ox yu can program it to play endless choruses of C major, and then you can practice playing or mprvisng n your C major scale while working on your swing. Aebersold records can provide accompanmentas wll, ut be aware that most of the tunes have many chord changes and are too complex to usefor tis pupose.There are a few suitable tracks, however, such as some of those on Volumes 1, 16, 1, 24,and 54 whichare geared toward beginners. The books included with these, especially the firs four, lso conain som useful instructional material.

If you have a partner, or a tape recorder, or a sequencer (computer hardware and/or software to recond play back on a synthesizer) you can create do-it-yourself accompaniment. The basic components fasing drum beat are the ride pattern and the hi-hat pattern. The ride cymbal pattern, at its mos bsi, s "1, 2 and, 3, 4 and"; or, phonetically, "ding ding-a ding ding-a". The eighth notes on 2 nd shuldbe swung, of course. The hi-hat is closed (with the foot pedal) on 2 and 4. Walking bassline canbe cnstructed by following a few simple rules. First, play quarter notes. Second, keep thm in he tw octaes below middle C. Third, play only notes from the scale on which you are working.Fourth most otes sould be only a step away from the previous note, although occasional leaps are cceptabe. For nstance a C major bass line might consist of "C, D, E, F, G, E, F, G, A, B, A, G, F E, D, B C". Youwill nee a lot of patience to create your own accompaniment with a tape recorder,since youwill wantto recordmany measures so you do not have to keep rewinding the tape when improising late. A sequener will alow you to set up loops, so you can record only a few measures and hve them repat endlessl.

3.3. Creativity

The most important aspect of improvisation is creativity. This is the most vital concept for an imprer to understand. The goal is to hear something interesting in your head and be able to play it imdaely. Your understanding of music fundamentals is one ally in this endeavor. It can help you inerre te sounds you hear in your head by relating them to sounds you know and understand. Your tecnicl pofiiency on your instrument is another ally. It can help you accurately execute what you coceiv. Inpiraion, however, is what enables you to hear interesting ideas to begin with. That creatve sprk iswhat istinguishes the true artist from the mere craftsman. While no primer can show youhow tobe cretive, can try to shed a little light on creativity as it pertains to improvisation.

3.3.1. The Creative Process

Trumpet player Clark Terry summarizes the creative process as "imitate, assimilate, innovate". Liste to other musicians can give you ideas you may wish to develop further, and being able to successul uplicate what they are doing is one step toward being able to express yourself. Next, you mustunertad why the things you are playing sound the way they do, so that when you want to create a prtiula sond, you will know how to achieve it. The theory presented in the following sections can elp ou sructre your thoughts, and can also help you identify the sounds you hear. However, analytc proessesare a aid to the creative process, not a replacement for it. Two analogies, one with laguage nd onewith mthematics, should help make this clear.

When you began to speak, you learned at first by listening to others and imitating them. Gradually, became aware of grammar, and eventually the grammar was codified for you in English classes. Yourvcblary has probably been growing ever since you spoke your first word. In both writing and convesaio, our tools are your knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, and appropriate subject matter. To wrie o sa anthing interesting, however, you must have a certain amount of inspiration. It is not suficiet tomerey string together grammatically correct phrases of words. What you have to say is genrallymore mportnt than how you say it, although proper use of the language can help to get your pint acoss. Smilarl, in music, knowledge of theory and fundamentals are the tools of composition ad improisation but inpiration plays the most important role in determining your success. It is no enough o merelyplay the"right" notes; you must also play interesting music. Jazz improvisation i often liened to "elling a tory", and, like a good story, should be well structured and also convy somethin interestig to the lstener.

In mathematics, creativity can often be crucial as well. Learning the various axioms, formulas, and tions normally does not tell you how to solve a particular word problem, integrate a certain funcin r prove a new theorem. Some ingenuity is required to be able to apply your knowledge to the prblm t and. Often, knowing how similar problems have been solved in the past can give you an idea f wereto tart, and experience working with a particular type of problem can help direct you. In al bu thesimpest of math problems, however, some original thinking is required. Similarly, in jazz yourfamilaritywith the works of other musicians can help you get started, and your knowledge of heory an hel direc you, but in order to be a successful improviser, you will need to be creative.Just aslong coumns ofnumbers are not particularly interesting, even if they add up correctly, neiher is a improviation tht consists of nothing but scales and patterns based on those scales.

Your listening experience, your knowledge of music theory, and experimentation on your instrument wiefine the musical context in which you are able to express yourself. You should continually striv oepand that context by listening to many different musicians, analyzing what you hear, and practcig s uch as possible. Still, the final ingredient, the inspiration, you will have to find on you ow.

3.3.2. Playing

You should by now, if you have not already, be starting to improvise. You should start the same way began to practice swing: alone and unaccompanied at first, with a tape recorder if possible, and hnwth some sort of rhythm section accompaniment. Again, Band-In-A-Box, Aebersold records, or do-i-yurel accompaniment will be invaluable.

For your first attempts at improvisation, pick a key with which you are comfortable and then start tay whatever comes into your head. Invent little melodies that use mainly notes from the selected cl.Do not try to fill all available space with notes. Instead, concentrate on hearing a short phrseinyor head, and then try to play that phrase. Do not worry if this means there are breaks of seera seond or more between phrases. Miles Davis used this style of phrasing all the time.

At some point while improvising in a given key, try playing notes that are not in that key. Playing s that are not in the current key is sometimes called playing outside. You will find that in manycss it sounds very natural, while in other cases, it sounds dissonant, or harsh. The later sectios n hery may help you understand why this is so, but your ear is the ultimate judge. When you finllyrunoutof ideas in one key, you may wish to switch to another. You may also wish to try improviing ithot an key center at all. I believe this should be just as natural as improvising within a ey,

Transcribing solos played by other musicians is one way to get some ideas of what to play. You can ene the structure of the solo, see how they use the various chord/scale relationships discussed lae nthis primer, and try to apply what you learn to your own playing. One of the best solos for a egnnr o study is Miles Davis' solo on "So What" from the album Kind Of Blue. The chord structure s smpl: sxteen bars of D minor, followed by 8 bars of Eb minor, and then 8 bars of D minor again.Mile' lies ae easy enough to transcribe note for note. The theory sections below will help you unerstad theframeork in which Miles was working, but transcribing his solo will help you see what h was ding wihin tht framework.

Another way to get ideas for soloing is by using patterns, or short phrases that you have practiced rehand and know will fit the chord changes at a particular point. In general, improvising is muchmr han simply stringing together patterns, but pattern practicing can be a good way to develop yor ecniue as well as your ear, particularly if you practice your patterns in all twelve keys. Ther ar seera books, including Jerry Coker's Patterns For Jazz, that give some useful patterns.

A technique used often in the bebop era and since is quoting, or using a recognizable phrase from anr composition or well-known recorded improvisation as part of one's own improvisation. This is alosmtimes called interpolation. You may have noticed this taking place in solos you have heard. Threisusally some humor value in quoting, particularly if the interpolated work is something silly ike"Po Gos The Weasel".

The most important obstacles for a beginning improviser to overcome are his or her own inhibitions. irst, when practicing improvisation by yourself, you may feel you have no idea what to play. Onceyuhve reached the point where you feel comfortable in the practice room and decide it is time to la wthother musicians, you may feel selfconscious about playing in front of your peers. Finally, henyoucanplay with other musicians in private, you may feel nervous when you first perform in pubic. hav no iracle cures for these problems. I can only suggest you play as much as possible at ech stge, ad coninually push yourself to take chances.

4. Chord/Scale Relationships

Most improvisation in mainstream jazz is based on chord progressions. The chord progression is the snce of chords that harmonizes the melody. Usually each chord lasts a measure; sometimes two, someie nly half. A fakebook will give the symbol representing a particular chord above the correspondngpontin the melody.

Even more important than the actual chords, however, are the scales implied by those chords. An imprer, when playing over a D minor chord, whose symbol is Dm, will normally play lines built from noe nthe D dorian scale. This section documents the various chords and associated scales used in jaz.Failarity with note names and locations is assumed.

If your aim is to become a jazz performer, you should practice improvising lines based on all the sc presented here, and in all twelve keys. Otherwise, you may stick to just one key per scale, but o huld still practice improvising over each chord/scale relationship in order to better recognizethirsonds.

4.1. Basic Theory

This section reviews the concepts of intervals, scales, keys, and chords from classical theory. Thosaders with basic classical theory training should be able to skip this section if they wish.

4.1.1. Intervals

There are twelve different notes in traditional music: C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A,Bb, and B. After the B comes the C an octave higher than the first C, and this cycle continues. Ti euence is called the chromatic scale. Each step in this scale is called a half step or semitone Te ntrval between two notes is defined by the number of half steps between them. Two notes a hal stp aart like C and C#, define a minor second. Notes that are two half steps apart, like C and D defne amajo second. This is also called a whole step. Expanding by half steps, the remaining intrvalsare te minr third, major third, perfect fourth, tritone, perfect fifth, minor sixth, major sxth, mnor seenth, ajor seventh, and finally, the octave. Most of these intervals have other names as wel. For eample, tritone is sometimes called an augmented fourth if the spelling of the note in the nterval ppears t describe a fourth. For example, the tritone interval from C to F# is caled an augented fouth, becaue the interval from C to F is a perfect fourth. Conversely, if the speling of th notes in he interva appears to describe a fifth, then the tritone is sometimes called diminishedfifth. For xample, thetritone interval from C to Gb, which is actually the same as theinterval fro C to F#, iscalled a dimnished fifth, because the interval from C to G is a perfect ffth. In generl, if any majr, minor, or erfect interval is expanded by a half step by changing an ccidental (theflat or sharp ndication on te note) the resultant interval is called augmented, andif it is reduce by a half stepby changing an ccidental, the resultant interval is called diminishd.

4.1.2. Major And Minor Scales

All scales are simply subsets of the chromatic scale. Most scales have 7 different notes, although shave 5, 6, or 8. The simplest scale, which will be used as an example for the discussion of chord,i he C major scale, which is "C, D, E, F, G, A, B". A major scale is defined by the intervals bewen hee notes: "W W H W W W (H)", where "W" indicates a whole step and "H" a half. Thus, a G majo scle s ", A, B, C, D, E, F#", with a half step leading to the G that would start the next octave

The scale consisting of the same notes as the C major scale, but starting on A ("A, B, C, D, E, F, Gs the A minor scale. This is called the relative minor of C major, since it is a minor scale buil rmthe same notes. The relative minor of any major scale is formed by playing the same notes starin o te sixth note of the major scale. Thus, t he relative minor of G major is E minor.

A piece that is based on a particular scale is said to be in the key of that scale. For instance, a e based on the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and B is said to be in the key of either C major or A mino.Techord progression of the piece may distinguish between the two. Similarly, a piece based on th nte G A, B, C, D, E, and F# is either in G major or E minor. If the word "major" or "minor" is oittd, majr" is assumed. The collection of flat and sharp notes in a scale defines the key signatue ofthe ssocated key. Thus, the key signature of G major is F#.

You should try playing various major and minor scales. You may wish to write out the notes for each,buy a book like Dan Haerle's Scales For Jazz Improvisation, which contains many scales already wrte ut for you. The more complex scales described below should be written out and practiced as wel. isenrs should try enough of each scale to become familiar with the sound. In many cases, just oe ky wll uffice. Performers should practice each scale in all twelve keys over the entire range o ther intrumnts until they have complete mastery over all of them. However, do not become so boggd dow in te varous scales that you become frustrated and never advance to the next sections on aplying he thery. Yo should start on the applications once you have some command of the dorian, mixlydian,lydian,and locian modes discussed below.

4.1.3. Chords

A chord is a set of notes, usually played at the same time, that form a particular harmonic relation with each other. The most basic chord is the triad. A triad, as the name implies, is composed oftrenotes, separated by intervals of a third. For instance, the notes C, E, and G played together omrie C major triad. It is so called because the three notes come from the beginning of the C maor cal. Te interval from C to E is a major third, and from E to G a minor third. These intervals efin a mjor riad. A G major triad is composed of G, B, and D; other major triads are constructed imilaly.

The notes A, C, and E comprise an A minor triad, so called because the notes come from the beginningthe A minor scale. The interval from A to C is a minor third, and from C to E a major third. Thes nevals define a minor triad. An E minor triad is composed of E, G, and B; other minor triads arecostuced similarly.

The two other types of triads are the diminished triad and the augmented triad. A diminished triad ike a minor triad, but the major third on top is reduced to a minor third. Thus, an A diminished tidwuld be formed by changing the E in an A minor triad to an Eb. An augmented triad is like a majr rid,but the minor third on top is increased to a major triad. Thus, a C augmented triad would b fomedby hanging the G in a C major triad to a G#. Note that a diminished triad can be formed fro thre noes o the major scale; for example, B, D, and F from C major. However, there are no naturaly ocurrin augmnted triads in the major or minor scales.

A triad can be extended by adding more thirds on top. For instance, if you take the C major triad ("G"), and add B, you have a major seventh chord (Cmaj7 or CM7), so called because the notes come fo h C major scale. Similarly, if you take an A minor triad ("A C E"), and add G, you have a minorseenh hord (Am7 or A-7), so called because the notes come from the A minor scale. The most commontyp ofsevnth chord in classical harmony, however, is the dominant seventh, which is obtained by adinga mior sventh to the major triad built on the fifth note of the major scale, also called the ominat. Fo instnce, in the key of C major, the fifth note is G, so a G major triad (G B D) with asevent added(F) isa dominant seventh chord (G7).

These three types of seventh chords have a very important relationship to each other. In any major kfor example, C, the chord built on the second step of the scale is a minor seventh chord; the chodbit on the fifth step of the scale is a dominant seventh chord; and the seventh chord built on te oo o the scale, also called the tonic, is a major seventh chord. Roman numerals are often used o idicte cale degrees, with capital letters indicating major triads and their sevenths, and lowercaselettrs idicating minor triads and their sevenths. The sequence Dm7G7Cmaj7 in the key of C canthus e repesentd as ii-VI. This is a very common chord progression in jazz, and is discussed in mch detil latr. Themotion of roots in this progression is upwards by perfect fourth, or, equivalenly, dowward byperfectfifth. This is one of the strongest resolutions in classical harmony as well

Sevenths can also be added to diminished triads or augmented triads. In the case of a diminished trithe third added can either be a minor third, which creates a fully diminished seventh (for exampl,ACEb Gb, or Adim) or a major third, which creates a half diminished seventh (for example, B D F , r m75). A minor third can be added to an augmented triad, although this is a very rarely used cordtha dos not have a standard name in classical theory. Adding a major third to an augmented trid wold ceatea seventh chord in name only, since added note is a duplicate an octave higher of theroot lowes note of the chord. For example, C E G# C. Technically, the seventh is a B# instead of C, bu in moern tuing systems these are the same note. Two notes that have different names but th same ptch, lie B# an C or F# and Gb, are called enharmonic. Classical theory is usually very picy about he corret enharmnic spelling of a chord, but in jazz, the most convenient spelling is oftn used.

More extensions to all types of seventh chords can be created by adding more thirds. For instance, t major seventh chord (C E G B) can be extended into a C major ninth by adding D. These further exesos, and alterations formed by raising or lowering them by a half step, are the trademarks of jaz aron, and are discussed in sections below. While there is an almost infinite variety of possibl chrds mot chords commonly used in jazz can be classified as either major chords, minor chords, dminat chrds,or half diminished chords. Fully diminished chords and augmented chords are used as wll, bt as ill b seen, they are often used as substitutes for one of these four basic types of chods.

4.1.4. The Circle Of Fifths

The interval of a perfect fifth is significant in many ways in music theory. Many people use a deviclled the circle of fifths to illustrate this significance. Picture a circle in which the circumfeec as been divided into twelve equal parts, much like the face of a clock. Put the letter C at th tp f he circle, and then label the other points clockwise G, D, A, E, B, F#/Gb, C#/Db, G#/Ab, D#Eb,A#/b, nd F. The interval between any two adjacent notes is a perfect fifth. Note that each not of he cromaic scale is included exactly once in the circle.

One application of the circle of fifths is in determining key signatures. The key of C major has no ps or flats. As you move clockwise around the circle, each new key signature adds one sharp. For xml, G major has one sharp (F#); D major has two (F# and C#); A major has three (F#, C#, and G#);E ajr as four (F#, C#, G#, and D#); and so forth. Also note that the sharps added at each step thmsevestrae the circle of fifths, starting with F# (added in G major), then C# (in D), then G# (inA), hen # (i E), and so forth. Conversely, if you trace the circle counterclockwise, the key signturesadd fats. or example, F major has one flat (Bb); Bb major has two (Bb and Eb); Eb major has hree (b, Eb,and Ab; and so forth. The flats added at each step also trace the circle of fifths, sarting ith Bb added i F major), then Eb (in Bb), then Ab (in Eb), and so forth.

The circle of fifths can also define scales. Any set of seven consecutive notes can be arranged to fa major scale. Any set of five consecutive notes can be arranged to form a pentatonic scale, whic sdscussed later.

If the labels on the circle of fifths are considered as chord names, they show root movement downwar perfect fifth when read counterclockwise. This root movement has already been observed to be oneo h strongest resolutions there is, especially in the context of a ii-VI chord progression. For eamle aii-V-I progression in F is Gm7C7F, and the names of these three chords can be read off the irce o fiths. One can also find the note a tritone away from a given note by simply looking diamericaly arossthe circle. For example, a tritone away from G is Db, and these are directly across fom eah othr. Ths can be useful in performing tritone substitutions, discussed later.

4.2. Major Scale Harmony

A large part of jazz harmony is based on the major scale. As discussed earlier, every major scale harelative minor that is formed by playing the same sequence of notes but starting on the sixth ste fte scale. In fact, a scale can be formed using the sequence of notes from a major scale startin o ay tep of the scale. These scales are called modes of the scale. The major scale itself is caled he onin mode. The sixth mode, the relative minor, is called the aeolian mode. The names of thee moes, s wel as the others discussed below, come from ancient Greece, although the names are rumred t havebeen ixed up in translation long ago. While the Greek modes are mainly only of historicl inteest inclassial theory, they are fundamental to jazz.

4.2.1. Major Scale

The major scale, or ionian mode, should be quite familiar by now. It is associated with major seventords. In the key of C, for example, the C major seventh chord, notated Cmaj7 (or C with a little rage next to it, or sometimes CM7), is "C E G B", and these notes outline the C major scale. If amesue n a piece of music is harmonized with a Cmaj7 chord, then the C major scale is one approprite cal touse when improvising. The only note in this scale that sounds bad when played against a maj7chor is he fourth note, F. You may wish to convince yourself of this by going to a piano and layin Cmaj in yur left hand while playing various notes from the C major scale in your right. Thefourthof themajor s often called an avoid note over a major seventh chord. This does not mean youare notallowedto everplay F over a Cmaj7, of course, but you should be conscious of the dissonanteffect i produce.

The chord obtained by adding another third on top ("C E G B D") would be called a Cmaj9, and it implthe same scale. Adding another third on top would yield "C, E, G, B, D, F", and this chord would ecled a Cmaj11. Because of the dissonant nature of the F in this context, however, neither this cor, orthe Cmaj13 chord obtained by adding an additional third (A), are used very much.

4.2.2. Dorian Mode

The dorian mode is built on the second step of the major scale, using the same notes. For example, t dorian scale is built from the notes of the C major scale, starting on D, and consists of "D, E,F ,A, B, C". The dorian mode is a lot like minor scale, but the sixth step is raised a half step.Tht s,the D minor scale would have a Bb while the dorian has a B. Because it is so similar to theminr sale it is natural to play this scale over a minor seventh chord. In fact, it is used more oten han he mnor scale itself. If you go to a piano and play a Dm7 chord ("D F A C") in your left and, nd ply nots from the D dorian and D minor scales in your right, you will probably find that he doran mod sound better, because the B is less dissonant against the Dm7 than the Bb is. If youuse thedorian ode ove a minor seventh chord, there are no notes to avoid.

Like the major seventh chord, you can add more thirds to the minor seventh chord to obtain Dm9, Dm11d Dm13. These chords still imply the same dorian mode. If you use the natural minor scale, the threnchord contains the note Bb, which is somewhat dissonant in this context. This chord is seldom se, utwhen it is called for, it is often notated Dm7b6, and is one of the few exceptions to the rle hatmos chords are written in terms of odd numbered extensions above the seventh. This rule coms frm th fac that chords are traditionally built by stacking thirds. The notation Dm6 is sometime as asynonm forDm13 when the B natural is explicitly meant.

4.2.3. Phrygian Mode

The third mode of the major scale is called the phrygian mode. In the key of C, a phrygian scale is t on E, and consists of "E, F, G, A, B, C, D". This scale, like the dorian mode, is also similar oteminor scale, except that the second step in the phrygian mode is lowered by a half step. That s,anE inor scale would have an F# while the phrygian has an F. If you try playing the phrygian scle vera mnor seventh chord, you will probably find it more dissonant than the minor scale, becaus of he lwere second. The phrygian mode is used occasionally over a minor seventh chord, although ften he chrd iswritten as m7b9 as a hint to the improviser that the phrygian scale is to be used.There re cerain oter situations in which the phrygian scale sounds good. One is over a dominant sventh cord wit a suspnded fourth (see mixolydian mode, below) and a lowered ninth, notated susb9.Another s over aparticulr chord that I will simply call a phrygian chord. A phrygian chord in E wuld be "EF A B D".When the hrygian mode is played over this type of chord, the result is a somewht Spanish ound, partcularly ifyou add a G# to the scale, yielding what is sometimes called the Spnish phrygin scale. Seeral Chick orea tunes, including "La Fiesta", and much of the music from Mies Davis' Sktches Of Span feature ths sound extensively.

4.2.4. Lydian Mode

The fourth mode of the major scale is the lydian mode. In the key of C, a lydian scale is built on Fd consists of "F, G, A, B, C, D, E". This scale is like the major scale except that it contains arie fourth step. That is, an F major scale would contain a Bb while the lydian contains a B. Sinc te outh step of the major scale is an avoid note over a major seventh chord, this scale gives th imrovseran alternative. While the raised fourth might sound a little unusual at first, you shoul fin tha it s in general preferable to the natural fourth of the major scale. When the symbol Cma7 appars, ou hae a choice between the major and lydian scales. Often, if the lydian mode is speciicallyintendd, thesymbol Cmaj7#11 will appear instead. Recall that Cmaj11 contains an F as the elventh; maj7#11denotesthat this note should be raised by a half step.

4.2.5. Mixolydian Mode

The fifth mode of the major scale is the mixolydian mode. In the key of C, a mixolydian scale is buin G, and consists of "G, A, B, C, D, E, F". This scale is like the major scale except that the seet tep is lowered a half step. That is, a G major scale would contain an F# while the mixolydian onais n F. Since the seventh chord built on the fifth degree of the major scale is a dominant sevnth itis atural to play lines based on the mixolydian mode over a dominant seventh chord. For insance theG miolydian scale might be used over a G7 chord.

As with the major scale over a major seventh chord, the fourth step of the scale (C in the case of Golydian) is somewhat of an avoid note over a dominant seventh chord. However, there is a chord caldasuspended chord, notated Gsus, Gsus4, G7sus, G7sus4, F/G, Dm7/G, or G11 over which there are n aoi ntes in the G mixolydian mode. The notation F/G indicates an F major triad over the single nte inthebass. The term "suspension" comes from classical harmony and refers to the temporary delyingof te thrd in a dominant chord by first playing the fourth before resolving it to the third. n jaz, howver, he fourth often is never resolved. The suspended chord consists of the root, fourt, fift, and suallythe seventh as well. Herbie Hancock's tune "Maiden Voyage" consists solely of uresolve suspened chors. 4.2.6. Minor Scale

The aeolian mode, or minor scale, has already been discussed. It can be played over a minor seventh d, although the dorian or phrygian modes are used more often. It is most often played over a m7b6cod

4.2.7. Locrian Mode

The seventh and final mode of the major scale is the locrian mode. In the key of C, a locrian scale uilt on B, and consists of "B, C, D, E, F, G, A". The seventh chord built on this scale ("B D F A)i half diminished seventh chord, Bm7b5. This symbol comes from the fact that this chord is simiartoa m7, except that the fifth is lowered by a half step. The classical symbol for this chord isa crcl wih a "/" through it. The locrian scale can be used over a half diminished (also called a inorseve fla five) chord, but the second step is somewhat dissonant and is sometimes considered a avoi note

4.3. Melodic Minor Harmony

In classical theory, there are three types of minor scale. The minor scale we have already discussede aeolian mode, is also called the natural minor or pure minor. The two other minor scales were drvdfrom it to provide more interesting harmonic and melodic possibilities. If you construct a ii--Iprgrssion in a minor key, you will find that the seventh chord built on the root is a minor sevnthchod, nd the seventh chord built on the second step is a half diminished seventh chord. For exmple Am7and m7b5 in the key of A minor. The chord built on the fifth step of this scale is a mino chor, forexampe Em7 in A minor. The resolution of Em7 to Am7 is not as strong as E7 to Am7. Also the A7 doesnot sond like a tonic; it sounds like it should resolve to a D chord. By raising the eventh egree o the mior scale by a half step (that is, raising the G of A minor to G#), these prolems aresolved. he chordbuilt on the fifth is now E7, and the seventh chord built on the root is n A minortriad wit a major eventh, often notated Am-maj7. This creates a much stronger ii-V-i. Th resultantscale, "A,B, C, D, E F, G#", is called the harmonic minor, since it is perceived to yied more inteesting harmnies than te natural minor.

The seventh degree of a major scale is sometimes called the leading tone, since it is only a half stelow the tonic and leads very well into it melodically. The seventh degree of the natural minor sae n the other hand, is a whole step below the tonic and does not lead nearly as well into it. Alhoghth harmonic minor scale contains a leading tone, if you play that scale, you may note that th inervl btween the sixth and seventh steps (the F and G# in A harmonic minor) is awkward melodicaly. his nteral is called an augmented second. Although it sounds just like a minor third, there ae no cale ones etween the two notes. This interval was considered to be dissonant in classical hamony, n orde to retify this situation, the sixth can be raised a half step as well (from F to F#)to yiel the meodic mior. In classical theory, this scale is often used ascending only. When desceding, sice the G is not sed to lead into the tonic A, the natural minor is often used instead. Jaz harmonydoes not ormally dstinguish these cases, however. The melodic minor scale "A, B, C, D, E F#, G#" i used bothwhen ascening and descending.

Both the harmonic and melodic minors outline a m-maj7 i chord, for example Am-maj7 ("A C E G#") in Aor. Either of the harmonic or melodic minor scales can be used on this chord. The melodic minor i loused on chords marked simply m6, although, as was noted earlier, this symbol can also imply th drin ode. Several of the modes of the melodic minor scale yield particularly interesting harmonis ad ae cmmonly played in jazz. These scales are not commonly described in classical theory, so teir amesare ess standardized than the modes of the major scale.

4.3.1. Phrygian #6

There is no common term for the second mode of the melodic minor scale. The second mode of A melodicor is "B, C, D, E, F#, G#, A". This scale is similar to the phrygian mode except that it has a rasdsxth. For this reason it can be called phrygian #6, although that name is not by any means stanar. t s most often used as a substitute for the phrygian mode.

4.3.2. Lydian Augmented

The third mode of the melodic minor scale is known as the lydian augmented scale. In A melodic minorlydian augmented scale is built on C and consists of "C, D, E, F#, G#, A, B". This scale containsa umented major seventh chord "C E G# B". There is no standard symbol for this chord, but Cmaj7#5isusd ccasionally, as is Cmaj7-aug or Cmaj7+. When this chord is called for, the lydian augmentedscae i anappropriate choice. The maj7#5 chord is mostly used as a substitute for an ordinary majo sevnth.
4.3.3. Lydian Dominant

The fourth mode of the melodic minor scale is often called the lydian dominant or the lydian b7. If construct it, you should see why. In A melodic minor, a lydian dominant scale is built on D and cnit of "D, E, F#, G#, A, B, C". This scale resembles the D major scale "D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#" bu wthtw alterations: the raised fourth characteristic of the lydian mode, and the lowered seventh harcteistc of the mixolydian mode. The mixolydian mode was described as a possible scale choice t useovera doinant seventh chord, but the fourth step was an avoid note. The lydian dominant scaledoes ot cotain his avoid note. As with the lydian scale and the raised fourth over a major sevent chord the ldian dminant may sound unusual at first, but it is generally more interesting than th mixolyian whe playedover a dominant seventh.
This particular sound, the raised fourth over a dominant seventh chord, was widely used in the beboa, and earned the early bebop musicians a lot of criticism for their use of such non-traditional ons This sound was also the genesis of the Thelonious Monk composition "Raise Four", which prominnty eaures the raised fourth in the melody. The use of this scale is often explicitly indicated b th sybolD7#11. Bebop musicians often called this a flatted fifth, writing the chord symbol as D75, athouh ths normally implies the diminished scale, which is discussed later.

4.3.4. Fifth Mode

The fifth mode of the melodic minor scale has no common name, and is normally used only over the V c in a minor key ii-V-i progression. This usage will be discussed later.

4.3.5. Locrian #2

The sixth mode of the melodic minor is often called locrian #2, since it is actually the locrian modth a raised second step. For example, the F# locrian mode is based on G major and consists of "F# ,A B, C, D, E", but the F# locrian #2 scale is based on A melodic minor and consists of "F#, G#,A,B,C,D, E". Since the second step of the locrian mode is an avoid note over a m7b5 chord, the loria #2scae is often used instead. This scale is also sometimes called the half diminished scale.

4.3.6. Altered Scale

The seventh mode of the melodic minor scale is often called the diminished whole tone scale, becausecombines elements of the diminished and whole tone scales discussed later. Another name for this cl s the altered scale. To see why, recall the introductory discussion on chords. Chords are consrute b stacking thirds. Triads consisting of three notes were discussed, as were seventh chords cnsitin offour notes. In the key of C, G7 is the dominant seventh chord. It contains a root (G), athir (B) a ffth (D), and a seventh (F). If we add another third on top, A, we have a ninth chord 9. Ifwe ad anoter third, C, we have an eleventh chord G11. The C is the fourth of the scale, and s normlly anavoid ote. This symbol is normally used only when the fourth is explicitly required, s in a uspende chord.If we then add another third, E, we have a thirteenth chord G13. The C is nomally omtted fro this chrd. Another third would bring us back to G.

This chord can be altered by raising or lowering individual notes by a half step. The root, third, aeventh are not normally altered, since they are in large part what define the chord. A change to n fthese destroys the dominant feel of the chord. The raised eleventh has already been discussed.Th ohe interesting alterations are to the fifth and the ninth. For a G7 chord, this means the lowredor latfifth (Db), the raised or sharp fifth (D#), the lowered or flat ninth (Ab), and the raisd orshar ninh (A#).

So now let us return to the so-called altered scale. A G altered scale can be built from Ab melodic r, and consists of "G, Ab, Bb/A#, Cb/B, Db, Eb/D#, F". First note that this scale contains G, B, n ,the root, third, and seventh of the G7 chord. The rest of the notes, Ab, Bb, Db, and Eb, are rspctvey, the flatted ninth, the raised ninth, the flatted fifth, and the raised fifth. In other wrds al th possible alterations in a ninth chord are included in this scale. The chord implied by his caleis oten notated simply G7alt, although G7#9#5 is used as well, as is G7#9. The b9 and b5 ymbol are ot nomally used in this context, despite being present in the scale, because they implythe diinishe scalewhich is discussed later.

The sound of the altered scale and the chord it implies is much more complex than any other dominantenth chord/scale so far presented, and it is one of the most important sounds in post bop jazz. Yumywish to spend more time on this scale to get used to it. Try going to a piano and playing the oo, hid, and seventh in your left hand while playing the altered scale, and lines based on it, inyou riht.You may use this scale even when the chord appears to be an ordinary dominant seventh, bt yo shold d so cautiously in a group setting, because other members of the group may be playing ixolyian o lydin dominant sounds, and your altered scale will sound dissonant against them. This s not ecessaily wrng, but you should be conscious of the effect produced.

4.4. Symmetric Scales

When a mode of given scale produces the same type of scale as the original, the scale is said to be etric. Several of the important scales used by jazz musicians are symmetric. For instance, the choai scale is symmetric, in that every single mode of it is another chromatic scale. In this case,threisreally only one unique chromatic scale; all others are just modes of it. In general, if N mdesof gien scale produce the same type of scale (including the first mode, the original scale itelf) the thee are only 12/N different scales of that type.

One thing to watch out for in the scales discussed in this section is that they seem to lend themselto playing patterns, and sometimes it is difficult to avoid sounding cliched when using these scae.Wen you have several measures of a given chord, a common technique is to play a short figure inth asoiated scale and repeat it transposed to several different positions. For instance, a possibe ptten i C major would be "C, D, E, G". This pattern could be repeated several times starting atdiffrentposiions, perhaps as "D, E, F, A" or "E, F, G, B". For some reason, many of the scales lited blow ivite his type of approach, and it is easy to end up with with a few cliches you use evey timeyou ar confrnted with these scales. Always be conscious of this. You should not feel that ascale i dictatng to yu what you can or should play.

4.4.1. Whole Tone Scale

A particularly easy scale is the whole tone scale, so called because all the steps in the scale are e steps. A C whole tone scale consists of "C, D, E, F#, G#, Bb". It has only six notes, and all sxo ts modes (including itself) form whole tone scales. There are thus only 12/6 or 2 different whletoe cales. The other one is "Db, Eb, F, G, A, B".

Since the first, third, and fifth degrees of this scale form an augmented triad, this scale can be bayed over augmented chords. This scale also contains the note that would be the seventh in a domiatcord (that is, Bb in a C7). The chord implied by this scale is written either as C7aug, Caug, C+,C+ o C7#5.

4.4.2. The Diminished Scales

Another symmetric scale is the diminished scale. This scale is also called the whole step half step e, or the half step whole step scale, because it is constructed from alternating half and whole ses whole step half step (abbreviated WH) scale on C consists of "C, D, D#, F, F#, G#, A, B"; a hlfstp hole step (abbreviated
HW) scale consists of "C, Db, Eb, E, F#, G, A, Bb". These scales each contain eight notes. Note than addition to the original scale, the third, fifth, and seventh modes of either a WH or HW scale i dition to the first mode) form another WH or HW scale, so there are only 12/4 or 3 different diinshd cales of each type. Also, note that the WH diminished scale is just the second mode of the W dminshe scale, so that in fact, there are only three distinct diminished scales in all. The WH nd H verionsof this scale are used in different situations, however.

The HW diminished scale outlines a dominant seventh chord with a lowered ninth and fifth. For exampl7b9b5 is "C E Gb Bb Db" and these notes, as well as the sixth, the natural fifth and the raised nnh re all present in the C HW diminished scale. The HW scale is thus a good choice to use over doinntseenth b9b5 chords. John Coltrane used this sound a lot.

This scale is very similar to the altered scale, which you may recall is also called the diminished e tone scale. The C altered scale contains the first five notes of the C HW diminished scale and h at four (overlapping the E and F#) of the C whole tone scale. Since both scales contain loweredfith ad lowered and raised ninths, they are sometimes used interchangeably over dominant seventh hors. ry oing to a piano and practicing both scales in your right hand over the root, third, and evenh inyourleft. They sound very similar. Many fakebooks are inconsistent in using the symbols at, #9 b9, 5, #95, and b9b5. The lesson here is, you will have to depend on your ears and common snse toguide ou in he use of these two scales.

The WH diminished scale outlines a fully diminished seventh chord and is thus used over diminished cs. For instance, the C WH diminished scale "C, D, D#, F, F#, G#, A, B" can be played over Cdim orCi7 The classical symbol for diminished, a small circle, is sometimes used as well. Note that thi sal i the same as the D#, F#, and A WH diminished scales, and in fact Cdim7, D#dim7, F#dim7, andAdi7 ae al inversions of the same chord. They may be used interchangeably.

More importantly, this scale is also the same the D, F, G#, and B HW diminished scales. These scales associated with their respective b9b5 dominant chords. The C, Eb, F#, and A diminished chords ar hsoften used as chord substitutions for the associated dominant chords, and vice versa. In most laeswhre you see a diminished chord, you can substitute one of the related dominant chords. One prtiulaly ommon chord progression is Cmaj7| C#dim| Dm7. The C#dim chord here implies the C# HW dimnishd scle, hich is the same as the C, Eb, F#, and A WH diminished scale. In this case, the A7b9b chor can e subtituted for the C#dim chord. Not only do A7b9b5 and C#dim share the same scale, bu the Adominat chor also resolves well to the D minor chord. Any of the scales associated with A dminant hords, uch as mixolydian, A lydian dominant, A altered, or A blues, can thus be played ovr the C#im chordin this ontext.

4.5. Pentatonic Scales

There are a group of five note scales known collectively as pentatonic scales. Intervals in a traditl pentatonic scale are normally limited to whole steps and minor thirds. Many performers use thes eaively simple scales to good effect, including McCoy Tyner and Woody Shaw. The two basic pentatni sals are the major pentatonic scale and the minor pentatonic scale. A C major pentatonic scaleis C, , E G, A", and a C minor pentatonic scale "C, Eb, F, G, Bb". Note that the C minor pentatonc scle i actally the fifth mode of an Eb major pentatonic scale. Other modes of the pentatonic scles ae use as wll, such as "C, D, F, G, Bb", which is the second mode of the Bb major pentatonic cale. his scle canbe called the suspended pentatonic scale, although this usage is by no means stndard.

As their names imply, the major, minor, and suspended pentatonic scales can be used over major, minond suspended chords respectively. For instance, the C major pentatonic scale can be used over Cma7 oetimes this chord is written C6 to imply more strongly that the major pentatonic scale is to b ued Te C minor pentatonic scale can be used over Cm7. The C suspended pentatonic chord can be usd oer C7us chord.

Other five note scales are used occasionally as well. For instance, the scale "E, F, A, B, D" is theditional Japanese "in sen scale". It can be used as a substitute for the E phrygian mode (note iti at defines the E phrygian chord) to impart an Asian flavor to the music. Useful variations of tisscleinclude the second mode, "F, A, B, D, E", which can be used over a Fmaj7#11 chord; the fourh mde,"B,D, E, F, A", which can be used over a Bm7b5 chord; and the fifth mode, "D, E, F, A, B", hichcan e usd over a Dm6 chord. Since there are relatively few notes in a pentatonic scale, one pntatoic scle ca often be used over several different chords with no real avoid notes. For instanc, the majorpentatnic scale "C, D, E, G, A" could be used over Cmaj7, C7, D7sus, Dm7, Em7b6, Fmaj, G7sus Gm7, o Am7.

4.6. Derived Scales

The scales in this section are mostly derived from chord progressions rather than specific chords. Fhe most part, they can be used as bridges between chords, allowing you to play either the same orvr losely related scales over two or more different chords. This is sometimes called harmonic genraiztin.

4.6.1. The Blues Scale

The blues scale is often the first scale, after the major scale, taught to beginning improvisers, an in some cases the only other scale they ever learn. This scale supposedly has its roots in AfricnAeican music dating back to the days of slavery, but the exact origins of its modern incarnationar uknwn. The C blues scale consists of "C, Eb, F, F#, G, Bb". The second degree of this scale, wichis he latted third of the minor scale, is called a blue note. In vocal music, it is often sungsomeherebetwen an Eb and an E. In instrumental music, various techniques are employed to achieve he sae effct, sch as stretching the string while playing an Eb on a stringed instrument, lipping own anE on awind istrument, or striking both the Eb and E simultaneously on a keyboard instrument The fltted seenth an fifth are also sometimes called blue notes, and are not always sung or playd exactl on the otated ptch. Variations on the blues scale that include the natural third, fifth,or sevent can be ued as wel. Also, note that if the flatted fifth is omitted, the resultant scaleis the minr pentatonc scale. Te minor pentatonic scale can thus be used as a substitute for the bues scale, nd vice vera.

The beauty of the blues scale is that it can be played over an entire blues progression with no realid notes. If you try playing lines based on this usage, for instance, a C blues scale over a C7 cod ou get instant positive feedback, since almost everything you can do sounds good. This unfortuatlyleds many players to overuse the scale, and to run out of interesting ideas quickly. There ar ony s may phrases (licks) that can be played over a six note scale, and most of them have alread bee plaed tousands of times by now. This is not to say you should never use the blues scale; on he cotrary it i vitally important to jazz. But do not become so enamored of the easy gratificatio it ca yieldthat yu practice blues licks over and over rather than expand your harmonic vocabular.

The language metaphor is a good one. It is hard to say interesting things with a limited vocabulary.en players like Count Basie are offered as examples of musicians who manage to make a lot out of ite, but there is a difference between saying few words because you are choosing them carefully,an syig few words because you have nothing to say or because your vocabulary is too limited to exres yor toughts. This advice transcends the blues scale, of course.

It is not always necessary to vary the harmonic content of your playing if you are sufficiently crea with other aspects. One way to introduce added interest when using the blues scale is to use anyseil effects at your disposal to vary your sound. This can include honking and screaming for saxohoiss,growling for brass players, or using clusters on the piano.

4.6.2. Minor Scales

The harmonic minor scale is sometimes played over m-maj7 chords. Its modes have no common names, andy are rarely used by jazz musicians except as bridges over a ii-V-i chord progression. For exampl,cnider the chord progression Bm7b5| E7alt| Am-maj7|. An A harmonic minor scale can be played ove al hre of these chords, instead of the traditional B locrian, E altered, and A melodic minor scaes.Anoherway of saying this is that the second mode can be played over a m7b5 chord, and that thefift mod canbe used over an altered dominant chord. Even when you are not using the harmonic mino scal overan enire progression, you may wish to use its fifth mode over the V chord in a minor ke ii-V- progrssion.The advantage of using this scale in this example is that it differs from the Blocrianand A mlodic mnor scales by only one note each. The disadvantage is that the root of the sale is a avoid nte in ths context.

The melodic minor can be used in this same way; its fifth mode can be used over the V chord in a ii-progression to keep some commonality between the scales used. Note however that the second mode o h melodic minor is not an ideal choice over the Bm7b5 chord, because this scale has F# instead f . hi is the only difference between the harmonic and melodic minor scales. Your choice of whethr t us th fifth mode of the harmonic or melodic minor scales over a dominant seventh chord may patialy deend n the key of the tune. If F# is in the key signature, then the melodic minor may soun morediatoic. Yu may choose that scale if this is the sound you are trying to achieve, or the haronic mnor ifyou ar trying to avoid sounding diatonic. Conversely, if F# is not in the key signatue, thenthe haronic mior may sound more diatonic. Another issue to consider is which of these scals is cloer to th scale yu are using on the preceding or following chord. Depending on the sound yu are tryng to acheve, you ay wish to choose the scale that has either more or fewer notes in comon with th surroundig scales.

4.6.3. Bebop Scales

The major bebop scale is a major scale with an added raised fifth or lowered sixth. The C major beboale is "C, D, E, F, G, G#, A, B". This scale can be used over major seventh or major seventh augmne hords. The C major bebop scale can also be used as a bridge between chords in a progression lie ma7|Bm7b5E7| Am|; that is, the same scale can be played over the entire progression. Another wa oflooingat this is to say that we are playing the C major bebop scale itself over the Cmaj7 chor, plyingits ighth mode over the Bm7b5 chord, playing its third mode over the E7 chord, and playin its event modeover the Am chord. These modes closely resembly the major, locrian, altered and mior scaes resectivey. Note that we are using the C major bebop scale over a ii-V-i progression in minor.In geneal, we an use the major bebop scale in any given key over a ii-V-i progression in te relatie minor o that ky.

Other bebop scales include the dominant bebop scale, which is similar to the mixolydian mode but wit additional major seventh. The C dominant bebop scale is thus "C, D, E, F, G, A, Bb, B". This scaecnbe used over dominant seventh chords. The major seventh is not really an avoid note if you useitasa assing tone between the C and Bb. It also serves as the raised fourth in the Fmaj7 chord tht i lielyto follow the C7 chord. There is also the minor bebop scale, which is a dorian scale wit an ddedraisd third. The C minor bebop scale is thus "C, D, Eb, E, F, G, A, Bb". This scale can b usedover inor eventh chords, and is often used in minor key blues progressions to give more of adominat seveth fee to the chords.

4.6.4. Synthetic Scales

The blues and bebop scales are sometimes called synthetic scales, because they do not fit in well wilassical theory and appear to have been invented to fit a particular situation. In general, any nme f synthetic scales can be constructed using just intervals of minor, major, and augmented secods Yu ay wish to try experimenting with developing your own scales and looking for opportunities o ue tem.
4.7. Chord/Scale Chart

The accompanying chart lists the most commonly occurring chords in jazz harmony along with the scalermally associated with each. The chords are grouped into the four basic categories of major, mino,dmnant, and half diminished. In a pinch, any scale from any chord in any one of these categoriesca b ued for any other chord in that category. There is an additional category for miscellaneous hors a th end. There are many more possible scales and chords. However, these are the most importnt oes i traitional jazz harmony.

5. Applying The Theory To Improvisation

The basis of traditional forms of improvisation is to create spontaneously and play melodies that arilt on the basic chord progression of the song. At the most basic levels, the notes you choose fo orimprovisation are partially dictated by the scale associated with each chord. This is called payngchnges. More advanced forms of improvisation give the performer more melodic and harmonic fredom eiherby

reducing the number of chord changes, or by making the chords progressions more ambiguous in tonalito the point of eliminating these structures entirely. These approaches are discussed separately blw

Pianists, guitarists, or other instrumentalists who accompany themselves while improvising should rehe section on accompanying along with this section and try to apply both sets of concepts at oncewe mprovising.

Chord Scale

C major, C lydian, C major bebop Cmaj7, Cmaj9, C6, C C major pentatonic, G major pentatonic

Cmaj7#11 C lydian, B in sen

C dorian, C minor bebop, C minor pentatonic Cm7, Cm9, Cm11, Cm F major pentatonic, Bb major pentatoEb major bebop, C blues, C minor

C dorian, C melodic minor, C minor pentatonic, Cm6, Cm F major pentatonic, Bb major pentatoni minor bebop, Eb major bebop, D in sen

Cm-maj7 C melodic minor, C harmonic minor, Eb major bebop

Cm7b6 C minor, Ab major pentatonic

Cm7b9 C phrygian, C phrygian #6

C mixolydian, C lydian dominant, C dominant bebop, C7, C9, C13, C C blues, C major pentatonic

C7sus, Csus, C11 C mixolydian Bb/C, Gm7/C C suspended pentatonic, F major pentatonic

C7#11, C7 C lydian dominant

C7alt, C7#9#5, C7#9 C altered, F harmonic minor, F melodic minor

C7b9b5, C7b9 C HW diminished, F harmonic minor, F melodic minor

C7aug, C7+, C7#5 C whole tone

Cm7b5 C locrian #2, C locrian

Cdim7 C WH diminished

C phrygian, C phrygian #6, C Spanish phrygian Cphryg C in sen

Cmaj7#5 C lydian augmented, C major bebop

C7susb9 C phrygian #6, C phrygian

5.1. Melodic Development

One of your prime concerns should be playing melodically. This does not necessarily mean playing prey, but there should be some sense of continuity to your lines, and they should be interesting in hmeves. You should also be conscious of the rhythmic and harmonic development of your improvisatins Iinlude these concepts in the term "melodic development". This is hard to teach, and is probaby te apec of improvisation that requires the most creativity. Anyone can learn chord/scale relatinshis; i is hat you do with this knowledge that determines how you sound. Hal Crook's book How ToImproise hs a lt of information on melodic development, especially on rhythmic variation, geared oward he intrmediae player, while George Russell's The Lydian Chromatic Concept Of Tonal Organizaion ForImproviation ad David Liebman's A Chromatic Approach To Jazz Harmony And Melody contain adanced an very tehnical dscussions on harmonic development.

5.1.1. Pacing

You should be aware of the contour of your solo. A common way to structure a solo is based on the moof telling a story. You start simply, build through a series of smaller peaks to a climax, and thncm to a concluding phrase. This works well in most situations. However, you may wish to vary fro tisfomat occasionally. You can decide to start more strongly to introduce your solo, or you may ishto inih right at the climax and forego the denoument. You may wish to keep the entire solo at lowintesitylevel to convey a lazy feel, although you probably don't want to bore the listeners, ither You ay wih to keep the intensity level at a controlled simmer. Much like a standup comic woking aroom, ou maywant to alter your strategies as you assess the mood of the audience. You shoul striveto be i contro of the emotional response you generate in your listeners.

There are some common devices that can be used in structuring your solo. One of the most important ipetition. After a soloist plays a phrase, he often repeats it, or a variation of it. Often the phae r a variation of it, is played three times before moving on to something else. The variation mgh b t transpose the phrase, or to alter key notes within it to conform to a new chord/scale. Thevaratin mght consist simply of starting the phrase at a different point in the measure, such as o bea thre intead of on beat two. The phrase itself may be altered rhythmically, either by playingit fater o slowr. Related to the idea of repetition is the concept of call and response. Rather tan repat theoriginl phrase, you can consider the phrase as a question or call, and follow it up wth an aswer orrespons. This is the musical analogue to asking, "did you go to the store today?", nd then espondin "yes, Iwent to the store today".

On most instruments, you can increase intensity by playing louder, higher, and faster; playing softeower, and slower usually reduces intensity. Playing simple rhythms such as quarter notes and eighhnts where the accents fall on the beats is usually less intense than playing more complex rhythm schassyncopated rhythms, where most accents fall off the beat. A hemiola is a particular type ofrhyhmi deice where one meter is superimposed on another. An example of this is the use of quarternotetripets hen playing in 4/4 time.

One long held note can also generate intensity on most instruments, although pianists may have to usills or rollings octaves to achieve this type of sustain. A single note or short lick repeated ovradover can generate a similar sort of intensity. You have to use your judgement in deciding how uc i eough.

5.1.2. Phrase Construction

The relationships between chords and scales should not be seen as limiting or determining your choic notes. They are merely an aid, a way to help you relate ideas you may have to fingerings on yourisrment. Your ideas should not be dictated by the scales, however. Note that very few jazz singer ue caes extensively; they generally are able to translate an idea more directly into their voice. Fr tis eason, instrumentalists should practice improvisation by singing, in addition to practicng teir nstrments. No matter how untrained your voice may be, it is more natural to you than yourinstrment,so yo may find you are able to develop ideas better by singing them than by attempting o playthem. ingersalso are usually limited in their ability to sing complex harmonic ideas, howevr, becase theydo not ave well-practiced fingerings to fall back on. Scale theory can indeed be a ource ofideas; jst make ure it is not your only source.

Try playing scalar lines that are based mostly on steps, angular lines that are based mostly on leaps well as lines that combine these approaches. In addition to being concerned over your choice ofnts you try to vary the rhythmic content of your ideas. Beginning improvisers often unwittingly payalos all their phrases with just a few underlying rhythms. Try playing lines that are based mosly n hlf otes and quarter notes, lines that are based mostly on eighth notes and triplets, as wel as inesthatcombine the two approaches.

5.2. Playing Changes

Once you have some idea of the association between chord symbols and scales, and how to develop a mec line, you can start improvising over chord progressions. In performance situations, the rhythm eto will be outlining the chord progressions in tempo, while you play improvised lines based on te sscited scales. Often the chords will change every measure, and you must keep changing scales t kep u. Hwever, you should not think one chord at a time. You should be trying to construct linesthatleadfromone chord to the next.

The third and seventh of each chord are the notes that most define the sound of the chord. If you emize these notes in your improvisation, it will help guarantee that your lines will accurately impytechanges. Conversely, if you emphasize the other scale tones, it can add a harmonic richness toth suns. You are also free to use notes not in the scale at all. Bebop players often use a devicecaled he nclosure, in which a target note is preceded by notes a half step above and below. This s reatedto te idea of a passing tone, except in the enclosure, the chromaticism is used to emphasze ordelaya paricular note rather than to connect two other notes. Other non-scale tones can be ued as ou seefit.

While there are many possible chord progressions, there are a few basic building blocks that account many of the chord changes you will see. If you become familiar with these basics, you will be welo our way to being able to play over any set of changes that might come your way. Performers sholdprctce the chord progressions described below in all twelve keys to gain the most fluency. You ay ishto ry out some specific patterns on these progressions, but more importantly, you should siply xploe may different ideas on each progression in each key so you will be comfortable truly imrovisng onthem,rather than just playing the licks with which you are comfortable in that key. Youshouldexperient wih different approaches and learn how to tailor your note choices for a given chrd typein a gien sitution for the sound you are trying to achieve.

In addition to reading about these concepts you should try to listen specifically for these techniqueing applied by other musicians. The most popular jazz musicians of the 1950's make a good startigpit. These include Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly At eper, Red Garland, Hank Jones, Herb Ellis, Joe Pass, Paul Chambers, and Ray Brown. Any albumsfro tht tme period featuring one or more of these musicians are recommended for learning about plyingchanes.

5.2.1. ii-V

The most important chord progression in jazz is the ii-V, which may or may not resolve to I. Most tuwill have ii-V progressions in several different keys sprinkled throughout. For example, considertecord progression Cmaj7| Dm7G7| Em7| A7| Dm7| G7| Cmaj7. There are three ii-V progressions here.Ba to orms a ii-V in the key of C, although there is no actual C (I) chord in bar three. Bars thre trouh fve form a ii-V-I in the key of D minor, and bars five through seven form a ii-V-I in C aain.Ther aremany devices that can be used when playing over ii-V progressions. Some of these are escried beow.

5.2.1.1. Major Keys

In a major key, the ii-V-I progression consists of a minor seventh chord, a dominant seventh chord, a major seventh chord. The first scale choices you learned for these chords are dorian, mixolydia,admajor. In the key of C, the chords are Dm7G7Cmaj7, and the associated scales would thus be D drin,G ixolydian, and C major. As you may have noticed, these are all modes of the same C major scle.Thu whn you see a ii-V progression in a major key, you can play the major scale of the I chordfor he wole rogression. This makes it somewhat easier to construct lines that lead from one chordto th next or tanscend the individual chords. This type of progression, where the scales associatd witheach o the cords are all modes of each other, is called a diatonic progression. While diatoic progessionsare eas to play over, they can quickly become boring, since you are playing the sam seven ntes for n extendd period of time. You can add a little variety by using one of the other cales assciated wih each chrd, such as D minor, G dominant bebop, C lydian.

The most common way to add interest to a ii-V progression is to alter the dominant (V) chord. Often alteration will already be specified for you, but even when it is not, you generally have the fredmt add alterations to dominant chords. It helps if the soloist and the accompanists are playing hesae lterations, but this is not always practical when improvising unless your accompanist has icreibl eas and can hear the alterations you are making, and in any case it is not actually all tht imortat.

In the key of C, you might replace the G7 chord with a G7#11, a G7alt, a G7b9b5, or a G7+ chord, allwhich still fulfill the dominant function in C but imply different scales. For instance, if you cos 7#11, the progression then becomes D dorian, G lydian dominant, C major.

Another possible alteration to the dominant is called the tritone substitution. This means replacing dominant chord with a dominant seventh chord a tritone away. In the key of C, this would mean relcn the G7 with a Db7. This may seem a strange thing to do, but there are some very good reasons hyitwoks. The third and seventh of a chord are the two most important notes in defining the soundandfuntio of the chord. If you look at a Db7 chord, you will see it contains Db, F, Ab, and B, whch ae repectvely the b5, 7, b9, and 3 of a G7 chord. The third and seventh of the G7 chord (B andF) beome te sevnth and third of the Db7 chord. Thus, Db7 is very similar to a G7b9b5 chord in soud and unctio. Furtermore, the melodic resolution of Db to C in the bass is very strong, functionig almos as a pssing tne.

Once you have made the chord substitution, you can then play any scale associated with the Db7 chordr instance yielding a progression of D dorian, Db mixolydian, C major. Using a scale other than mxldan will yield some surprising things. Try a Db lydian dominant scale, which implies a Db7#11 cor fr he substitute dominant. Does this look or sound familiar? It should, because the Db lydian omiantandG altered scales are both modes of the same Ab melodic minor scale. When you play lines asedon D lydan dominant, you are playing lines that are also compatible with G altered. Conversel, Db ltere and lydian dominant are both modes of the same D melodic minor scale, and can be usedintercangeaby. Furhermore, the Db and G HW diminished scales are identical, as are the respectivewhole tne scals. Thes are other reasons the tritone substitution works so well.

5.2.1.2. Minor Keys

ii-V progressions in a minor key generally do not suffer the problem of sounding too diatonic. Since harmonic minor is normally used to generate chord progressions in a minor key, a ii-V progressio nAminor might consist of Bm7b5E7| Am-maj7. If we try to build a ninth chord from the E7, we see hetht he F natural in the key of A harmonic minor generates an E7b9 chord. Without any special aleraion, tis progression could imply B locrian, E HW diminished, and A melodic minor. These scalesare uffiienty rich that further alterations are not necessary.

However, most of the same techniques from major keys can be used in a minor key as well. We can use melodic or harmonic minor scales from the i chord, or the major bebop scale from its relative majr vr the entire progression. We can use a different variation of the E7 chord such as E7alt or E7, r ve E7sus; we can make a tritone substitution to yield Bb7; and so on. We can also substitute or he i cords, for example using the locrian #2 scale, or replacing the Bm7b5 with an ordinary Bm chod, were he F# comes from the key of A melodic rather than A harmonic minor. If we were to mak a nith chrd, te C natural in the key of A melodic minor generates a Bm7b9 chord, which implies aB phryian scle. Wecan even replace the ii Bm chord with a II B7 chord, especially a B7alt chord, hich cotains te D natral from the Bm chord. We can also alter the i chord, replacing it with a siple Am7 hord, an using ay of the various possible scales associated with that chord such as A minr, A phryian, A mior pentatnic, and so on.

5.2.2. Blues

The term "blues" is somewhat overloaded, describing a general style of music and a more specific caty of chord progressions, as well as its colloquial meaning of a particular mood, as in the phrase"'egot the blues". The blues as a style has a rich history that is beyond the scope of this prime. hebaic twelve bar blues form was mentioned earlier. In its original form, still played often inroc an R& music, only three chords are used: the I chord, the IV chord, and the V chord. The basi blus prgresion is "I | I | I | I | IV | IV | I | I | V | IV | I | I |", which, in the key of F, ieldsF| F|F| F|Bb| Bb| F| F| C| Bb| F| F|. The chords are usually all played as dominant seventh hords,althouh theyare not actually functioning as dominant chords in that they do not resolve to tonic.The F bues scae can be played over this entire progression. While the blues progression ca be playd in anykey, themost popular keys among jazz musicians seem to be F, Bb, and Eb, whereas ock musicans oftenprefer E,A, D, or G. This has a lot to do with the way instruments are tuned. Ppular jazzinstrument such as te trumpet and the various members of the saxophone family are usualy tuned in b or Eb, mening that te notated ``C'' played on these instruments actually sounds likea Bb or Eb rspectively. usic writtenfor these instruments is therefore transposed. The fingeringsfor the instrments favors laying in thekey of C, which is actually Bb or Eb, depending on the insrument. Guitar tend to dominte rock music,and guitars are tuned to favor the keys containing shars.

Playing the blues scale over the basic three chord blues progression in a jazz setting gets old veryckly. Starting around the swing era, and most notably in the bebop era, musicians began to make adtos to this simple formula. One common adaptation of the blues progression, which is still consierd hestandard for jazz jam sessions, is F7| Bb7| F7| F7| Bb7| Bb7| F7| D7alt| Gm7| C7| F7| C7|. hisproresion offers a wider range of scale possibilities than does the basic three chord blues. Fr exmple bar 8 and 9 form a V-i in G minor, and bars 9-11 form a ii-V-I in F.

The idea of adding ii-V's to the blues progression yields more variations. For example, consider F7|| F7| Cm7F7| Bb7| Bdim| F7| Am7b5D7alt| Gm7| C7alt| F7D7alt| Gm7C7alt|. This particular progressini specially common in bebop and later styles. Note the substitution of a Bb ii-V-I in bars 4-5, Gmiorii-V-i in bars 8-9, and a G minor V-i in bars 11-12. Also note the diminished chord in bar . Tis imiished chord is serving as a substitute for the dominant seventh, since both Bdim and Bb79 shre te sae Bb HW (B WH) diminished scale. This same substitution can be made for the second haf of ar 2.
Other variations can be made using tritone substitutions. For example, Ab7 can be played instead of t in the second half of bar 8. You can also change the qualities of the chords, for instance replcn hat Ab7 with an Abm7. Another common substitution is A7alt for the F7 in bar 11. This substituio wrk because the chords share several notes, including the tonic, F, and because the A7alt form pat o a minor II-V-i progression with the D7alt and Gm7 that follow.

Charlie Parker carried these types of substitutions to an extreme in "Blues For Alice". The chord prssion in that tune is Fmaj7| Em7b5A7b9| Dm7G7| Cm7F7| Bb7| Bbm7Eb7| Am7D7| Abm7Db7| Gm7| C7| FmajDat Gm7C7|. This uses most of the techniques described above. You may wish to play with this progesio fr a while.

5.2.3. Rhythm Changes

The George Gershwin song "I Got Rhythm" is the source for one of the most popular chord progressionsthe bebop era, second only to the blues progression. This form is often called simply rhythm chane.A with the blues progression, there are many possible variations on rhythm changes. Most tunes asd n hythm changes are played in the key of Bb, and are played at very fast tempos, often well oer 00 eat per minute. These songs have a 32 bar AABA form based on the chord progression: Bbmaj7G| CmF7| bmajG7| Cm7F7| Fm7Bb7| Ebmaj7Ab7| Dm7G7| Cm7F7|| Bbmaj7G7| Cm7F7| Bbmaj7G7| Cm7F7| Fm7Bb7 Ebma7Ab7|Cm7F7 Bbmaj7|| Am7| D7| Dm7| G7| Gm7| C7| Cm7| F7|| Bbmaj7G7| Cm7F7| Bbmaj7G7| Cm7F7| F7Bb7| bmaj7A7| Cm77| Bbmaj7||.

This progression contains many ii-V progressions. Any of the standard alterations described under iirogressions above can be used when playing rhythm changes. Many tunes contain slight alterations oti basic progression, especially in the last four measures of the A sections. Some of the commonalertins are to replace the second chord G7 with a diminished chord Bdim, or to replace the fifthchod Bmaj with Dm7. The former substitution has already been described under the diminished scale Thelattr relaces a I chord with a iii chord, which has three of four notes in common, and the repectie scaes difer by only one note. Furthermore, the Dm7 and following G7 form a ii-V in C minor so ths is a especally strong substitution harmonically.

The important characteristics of rhythm changes are the repeated I-VIii-V (or substitutes) in the fifour bars of the A sections, and the basic tonality movements by fifths in the bridge, leading bakt he original tonic in the last A section. If you intend to become an improvising musician, you holdbeome fluent in the basic rhythm changes, particularly in the key of Bb, and become familiar iththeparicular variations associated with specific tunes. This is also a good opportunity to tryout hat ou hve learned about ii-V's, and to work on your up tempo playing.

5.2.4. Coltrane Changes

John Coltrane, through original compositions such as "Giant Steps" and "Countdown" on the album Gianeps, and arrangements of standards such as "But Not For Me" on the album My Favorite Things, becaekon for using a particularly complex progression that is often called the Coltrane changes, althug h ws not the first or only musician to make use of it.

The primary characteristic of Coltrane changes is tonality movement by major thirds. The progression"Giant Steps" is Bmaj7D7| Gmaj7Bb7| Ebmaj7| Am7D7| Gmaj7Bb7| Ebmaj7F#7| Bmaj7| Fm7Bb7| Ebmaj7| AmD|Gaj7| C#m7F#7| Bmaj7| Fm7Bb7| Ebmaj7| C#m7F#7|. The first key center here is B, then G, then Eb ad t ontinues to cycle through these three keys, which are a major third apart.

Coltrane was able to develop this idea in many ways. For example, he used it as a substitute for an nary ii-V progression. The progression to "Countdown" is loosely based on that to the Miles Daviscmoition "Tune-up". The latter tune begins with the four measure progression Em7| A7| Dmaj7| Dmaj, hih s a vanilla ii-V-I progression in D major. The first four bars of "Countdown" are Em7F7| Bbaj7b7|bma7A7| Dmaj7. Coltrane starts with the same ii chord, and then modulates to the dominant svent chod on half step higher. From there, he launches into the cycle of major thirds, going fromthe ky of b to b and finally back to D. The next four bars of the tune are identical harmonically excep they re basd on a ii-V in the key of C; the next four bars are the same in the key of Bb.

Soloing over Coltrane changes can be challenging, since the apparent key center changes so often. Yonnot simply play a single diatonic scale across several measures. The tunes are usually played atfs empos, and it is also easy to fall into the trap of playing nothing but arpeggios outlining th cors.You must try to be especially conscious of playing melodically when soloing over a progresson s cmplx as the Coltrane changes.

5.3. Modal Improvisation

A typical modal tune may have only two or three chords, and each may last 8 or even 16 measures. In sense, modal playing is much easier than playing changes, since it does not require your brain tod smuch fast computation to constantly change scales. In another sense, however, it is more challngng snce you cannot merely string together rehearsed ii-V licks, nor can you rely on clever scal us an chrd substitution to cover up basic problems thinking melodically.

Some music is often considered modal even though it follows traditional chord progressions such as tlues. The concept of modality has as much to do with what is done with the harmony as with its raeo hange. In bebop derived styles, a soloist may sustain interest by his choice of notes over thehamoy,including dissonances, tensions, and releases. For example, bebop players often enjoyed endng hraes n the raised fourth over a dominant chord, just for the effect that one note had. When sloin ove modl music, there is less emphasis on harmonic choices, and more on melodic development.The bllad Blue n Green" from Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue has as much harmonic motion as many other unes, nd thechordsthemselves are relatively complex chords such as Bbma7#11 or A7alt. Yet the sols on ths trackdo not xploit the harmony; instead they focus on melodicism of individual phrases. ebop impovisers ay emphaize the chordal extensions in their solos, whereas modal improvisers tendto emphasze basic hord note. Bebop players are often more inclined to fill up all spaces with nots to compltely defin the harmoy, whereas modal players are more likely to use rhythmic space as amelodic strcturing eleent. Both aproaches are valid, but it is important to understand the differnces betweenthem.

The Miles Davis tune "So What" on the album Kind Of Blue is the classic example of a modal tune. It ows a basic AABA structure, where the A section consists of the D dorian mode, and the B section osss of the Eb dorian mode. This yields 16 consecutive bars of D dorian at the beginning of each hous 2 counting the last 8 of the previous chorus. You may find yourself running out of ideas quiklyif ou imit yourself to just the seven notes in the D dorian scale, but that is the challenge. ou cnnotrelyon the consciously hip sound of an F# over a C7 chord; you must play melodically withthe ntes yu aregiven.

You are not completely restricted to the notes of the scale, however. As with ii-V progressions, there some devices that you can use in a modal setting to add tension. One of the most popular of suhdvces is called sideslipping. Over a D dorian background, try playing lines based on Db or Eb scle fr measure or two. This dissonance creates a tension, which you can release by returning to te oigial cale. You can also use chromatic passing tones. For instance, over a D dorian scale, youmigh tryplayng "G, G#, A", where the G# is a passing tone.

You can also vary the scale used. For instance, instead of D dorian, try a D natural minor, or a D m pentatonic, for a few measures. You can also use alternate a tonic chord with the dominant sevenhcod in that key. For example, the chord associated with D dorian is Dm7. If you treat that as a cor, he V7 chord is A7. So you can use lines from any of the scales associated with A7, A7b9b5, 7al, o oter A dominant seventh chords, at points in your improvisation. This will create a kind o tenion hat ou can resolve by returning to the original D dorian scale.

For the most part, however, you should try to stick to the modal philosophy when playing modal tunesd concentrate on being as melodic as possible with the basic chord and scale tones. Pentatonic sclsae an especially appropriate choice in modal playing, since they narrow your choices to only fie ots nstead of seven, and further force you to think about using space and playing melodically. siila sond is achieved by playing lines built from the interval of a fourth. This is called quaral hrmon. Itis particularly effective in modal tunes with few chord changes, although these typesof lies ca be ued in other situations as well.

5.4. Chromaticism

Bebop styles were characterized above as exploiting the harmonies by choosing scales with a lot of c tones, whereas modal playing was characterized as emphasizing the basic chord tones. Both of theeapoaches still use chord/scale relationships in the traditional manner of choosing a scale that mpie te sound of the chord to some degree, and playing mostly within that scale. Another approachis o mintin the sense of chord progressions but play lines that lie largely outside the associate scaes. his s sometimes called chromaticism. Eric Dolphy used this approach when playing with Chales Mngus nd onsome of his own albums such as Live At The Five Spot and Last Date. Woody Shaw andSteve olemanare alo chromatic players.

You have by now probably played some outside notes, say an Ab against a Cmaj7 chord, possibly by acct. These notes may sound wrong when played in the context of an otherwise inside melody. By playigamlody derived from a scale, you establish a particular sound, and one wrong note will sound outofplce However, when playing a melody that lies mostly outside the scale, the same notes may fit n mch orelogically. That is to say, non-scale tones used melodically can often sound consonant (te oposit of issonant).

The aforementioned musicians often play very angular melodic lines, meaning they consist of large orsual intervals and change direction often rather than being primarily stepwise and scalelike. Thi fe seems to establish a sound in which wrong notes sound perfectly natural. Interestingly, the opoit aproach works as well: lines that contain a lot of half steps often sound right even though heyconistof many wrong notes. These lines are sometimes called chromatic.

You can continue to use your knowledge of chord/scale relationships when playing chromatically. For ple, you know that a Db lydian scale is not normally an appropriate choice to play over a Cmaj7 cod nd you probably have some idea why. These same wrong notes, however, if used melodically over hechrd create a sound that is not all that dissonant and has a harmonic richness that is very modrn ouning In fact, even simple melodic ideas like arpeggios and scales can sound complex in this ontet.

You can practice these ideas with Aebersold albums, or Band-In-A-Box, or your fellow musicians, alth you should be prepared for some strange looks. It has been said that there are no wrong notes, ol rng resolutions. This certainly explains why passing tones and enclosures sound consonant, but felitstill places too high a value on playing the notes suggested by the standard chord/scale reatinshps.I would restate this; the only wrong notes are notes you didn't intend to play. Any noteyou lay s riht if it is in a meaningful context and it does not sound like an accident. There is ven vlue i makig mistakes. The trick is in forming a coherent whole.

5.5. Non-tonal Improvisation

The terms pan-tonal, non-tonal, and atonal all describe the blurring or elimination of traditional tity. The distinction between these terms is not always clear, so I will use most general of these nnonal", to describe music that has no specific key center, or over which standard chord/scale rlaioshps do not always apply.

Although non-tonal music may appear to have chord progressions, the individual chords are often chosor their overall sound rather than for their resolutions. Any chord from any key is likely to be sdi it has the right sound. For example, many of the tunes on Miles' albums E.S.P., Nefertiti, MiesSmle, and Sorcerer have no specific key centers, nor do they contain many traditional ii-V's tht wuldindcate temporary key centers. Many of the chords are relatively complex, for example Abmaj#5, nd ech cord is chosen for its individual sound, not because the previous chord resolves to itnaturlly o becase it resolves to the next chord. A traditional functional analysis of the harmony(that s, anayzing hords in terms of their relationship to the key) is not always the best way to pproachthis sot of muic.

You may wish to treat this music modally, and let the chords themselves dictate the scale choices. Yhould be careful in doing this, however. Many of the standard chord/scale relationships were estalse with traditional resolutions in mind. Your phrases may seem random and disconnected if you blndy hage scales according to the chord progression in non-tonal music. You should be prepared to rea th chrd/scale relationships more loosely than you would when simply playing changes.

In tonal music, alterations to a chord are often considered merely color tones that do not affect thsic function of a chord, and improvisers are free to make their own alterations to the basic chor.Frexample, a G7b9 chord is likely to be a dominant chord, resolving to Cmaj7. Any other chord tht eresthis function, such as G7#11, or even a tritone substitution like Db7, can be used instead ithut adially changing how the phrase is perceived, so tonal improvisers will often make this sor or ltertionfreely, either explicitly, or implicitly by their scales choices. In non-tonal music,howevr, a hord s often specifically called for because of its unique sound, and not because of ho it fuctionsin a pogression. The same G7b9 chord may have been chosen because of the particular dssonanc of theG againt the Ab, or because that happened to be the most convenient way to spell th chord vicing th compose intended (a voicing is simply a way of specifying the particular notes t be playe for a gien chord) Changing this chord to G7#11 may change the sound of the chord more rdically thn substituing an othrwise unrelated chord that has the same G/Ab dissonance, such as Abaj7, or onethat may bevoiced simiarly, such as E7#9. You may find scale choices associated with tese chords t be more appopriate subsitutions than ones based on the traditional dominant functionof G7b9.

The real intent of non-tonal music, however, is to free you from the specifics of chord/scale relatiips and allow you to concentrate on the sounds themselves. The lines you play need not be analyze ntrms of their relationships to the notated chords, but may instead be thought of in terms of ho teyfi the sound of the phrase at that point. If the chord in a given measure is a maj7#5 chord, henyoushold hear the sound of that chord, and feel free to play any lines that imply that sound. his s asmuchan emotional implication as a rational one. For me, that particular chord has an open quesionin, soud that I associate with wide intervals and the use of rhythmic space. I would probbly ted to pay lins that reflect this feeling, regardless of the actual notes involved. Furthermoe, the ound ofthat chrd may also be affected by its context in the piece itself. For instance, a hord plaed for to measur in a ballad may sound entirely differently from the same chord used as a accent i a drivin up-tempopiece. Chord scale relationships may still help define which notes ten to be mor or less dssonant aginst a given chord, but you should try organize your thinking alonglines of sonds, and us the chord/cale relationships only as tools to help you achieve the desiredsounds. Evenin tonal musc, of course chord/scale relationships can be considered as tools, and on could claim he goal is alays to represnt sounds. However, you may find tunes with many ii-V's inthem tend to "ound" the samein this respec. Non-tonal music was created to provide a more varied alette of sound, to encourage hinking along tese lines. As with chromaticism in tonal music, you an deliberately lay lines that cntradict the soud of the chord, if that is the effect you desire.The important thig is that you pereive a non-tonal hord progression as a recipe of sounds over whch you improvise, ot as a specific pttern of chord reslutions.

5.6. Free Improvisation

The next of level of freedom in improvisation is to eliminate chords entirely. Depending on how far are willing to go, you can also dispense with traditional melody, rhythm, timbre, or form. There r ay different approaches to free playing, but by its very nature, there are no rules. Instead oftehnca details, examples of other musicians will be used for the most part.

Many of Ornette Coleman's compositions have no chords at all. Most of his freebop quartet recordingsh Don Cherry for Atlantic fall into this category. The head consists of a melody only, and the soo r variations on the melody or on the feel of the piece in general, not on any chord progression Fr hemost part, these recordings still show a very melodic approach and are accessible to many lsteers A alking bass line and 4/4 swing drum beat are constant throughout, and the forms are the tandrd had-slos-head forms.

Ornette's album Free Jazz, featuring a double quartet including Eric Dolphy and Freddie Hubbard, is dedly different. Here Ornette is not only putting aside traditional concepts of harmony, but alsoo eody. There is no definable head to the one performance that comprises this album, and the imprviaton are less melodic than on the quartet albums. The double quartet also experiments with formon hisalbm, often having several improvisers playing at once. This idea is as old as jazz itself,but as lrgel forgotten with the advent of the swing era. The free players' idea of collective impovisaion i muchless structured that the dixieland players', and the results are more cacophonous.
John Coltrane made similar advances late in his career, in albums such as "Ascension". Coltrane alsoerimented with rhythm, especially in albums like "Interstellar Space" that do not feature any defnbepulse. Both Coleman and Coltrane, as well as musicians influenced by them such as Archie Sheppan Abet Ayler, also experimented with timbre, finding new ways to get sounds out of their instrumnts evn t the extent of playing instruments on which they had little or no training, as Ornette dd wih th trupet and the violin.

Cecil Taylor plays the piano in a completely free manner, utilizing it as much as a percussion instrt as a melodic or chordal instrument. His performances generally do not contain any traditional hroi, melodic, or rhythmic structuring elements. He creates his own structures. When playing free usc n solo setting, you have complete freedom to change the directions of the music at any time,andareaccuntable only to yourself. You can change tempo, you can play without tempo, you can varythe ntenity f your performance as you see fit. When playing music with no set form in a group seting, ommuncatio becomes especially important, because there is no automatic frame of reference tokeep eeryonetogethr. Cecil Taylor does play in a group setting as well, and other groups such as he Art nsembleOf Chicgo are known for this type of freedom.

It is hard to analyze these styles of music in terms we are accustomed to using. The music must reac on an emotional level in order to be successful, and each person's emotions may be affected diffrnl. It often seems to be that the more free the music, the more intensely personal the statement Yu il need to decide for yourself how far you are willing to go in your own playing, as well as n yur wn istening. You should also be aware that this type of music is often more fun to play tha to iste to or many people. The challenge of the communication and the excitement of the free excange f ides arethings that some listeners are unable to appreciate. This a gentle way of saying tat you expermentaton may alienate some of your original audience. However, there are audiences tht do apreciatethis muic. You should not be discouraged from playing as freely as you desire.

6. Accompanying

Accompanying, or comping as pianists often call it, is a vital skill for rhythm section players, bec they usually spend more time comping than soloing. An understanding of accompanying is also useflfrother instrumentalists, because it can foster better musical communication between the soloistan te ccompanists. Pianists are in the unique position of providing much of their own accompanimet, hic alows especially tight interaction. Some of the musical devices used by accompanists can aso b adated o be used more directly in solos by any instrumentalist.

6.1. Chordal Instruments

The main concerns for polyphonic instruments, or instruments that can easily play more than one notetime, such as piano, organ, guitar, and the various mallet instruments, are voicing chords, reharoiig, and playing rhythms.

6.1.1. Chord Voicings

In jazz, when the music calls for a Cmaj7 chord, this almost never implies a pianist should play "C B". Usually, the pianist will choose some other way of playing the chord, even if it is simply anivrion of the basic root position chord. There have been entire books written on the subject of cor vicngs. The discussion here only scratches at the surface of the possibilities. I have looselycatgorzedthe voicings described here as 3/7 voicings, quartal voicings, polychord voicings, closeposiion nd dop voicings, and other scale based voicings.

6.1.1.1. 3/7 Voicings

It is somewhat of a shame that the most common type of voicing used by most pianists since the 1950's no well established name. I have seen these type of voicings called Category A and Category B viig, Bill Evans voicings, or simply left hand voicings. Because they are based on the third and svethofthe associated chord, I call them 3/7 voicings.

The basis of these voicings is that they contain both the third and seventh of the chord, usually wit least one or two other notes as well, and either the third or the seventh is at the bottom. Becuete third and the seventh are the most important notes that define the quality of a chord, theseruesalost always produce good sounding results. Also, these voicings can automatically produce god viceleaing, meaning that when they are used in a chord progression, there is very little movemet beweenvoicngs. Often, the same notes can be preserved from one voicing to the next, or at most,a not may ave t move by step.

For instance, consider a ii-V-I progression in C major. The chords are Dm7, G7, and Cmaj7. The simplform of the 3/7 voicing on this progression would be to play the Dm7 as "F C", the G7 as "F B", adteCmaj7 as "E B". Note that in the first chord, the third is at the bottom; in the second chord,th sveth is at the bottom; in the third chord, the third is at the bottom. Also note that, when mvin frm oe voicing to the next, only one note changes; the other notes stay constant. This is an mporant harateristic of 3/7 voicings: when they are used in a ii-V-I progression, or any progresson inwhichroot ovement is by fourth or fifth, you alternate between the third and the seventh at he botom. Ananalogus set of voicings is obtained by starting with the seventh at the bottom: "C F, "B F" "B E".
Normally, you would use more than just the third and seventh. Often, the added notes are the sixth (hirteenth) and ninth. For example, the C major ii-V-I could be played as "F C E", "F B E", "E B D,o s "F A C E", "F A B E", "E A B D". The added notes are all sixths or ninths, except for a fift i te irst chord of the second example. When playing these four note voicings on guitar, any adde noes illusually be added above the third and the seventh, or else your voicing may end up contaiing everl smll intervals, which is usually possible to play only with difficult hand contortions.Thus,the Cmajorii-V-I might be played with four note voicings on guitar as "F C E A", "F B E A", E B D ".

Note that none of these voicings contain the roots of their respective chords. It is assumed that thss player will play the root at some time. In the absence of a bassist, pianists will often play h ot in their left hand on the first beat, and then one of these voicings on the second or third eas.Acually, you can often get away with not playing the root at all; in many situations, the earantciptesthe chord progression and provides the proper context for the voicing even without the rot. t isnot orbidden to play the roots in these voicings, but it is neither required nor necessarly beter t do s.

These basic voicings can be modified in several ways. Sometimes, you may wish to omit either the thir the seventh. Often, a minor of major chord that is serving as a tonic will be voiced with the tid ixth, and ninth, and these voicings might be interspersed with regular 3/7 voicings. Also, voiins it the fifth or some other note at the bottom can be interspersed with true 3/7 voicings. Thi miht onefor any of several reasons. For one thing, when played on the piano, note the voicings dscried tus fr all tend to slide down the keyboard as the roots resolve downward by fifth. The noral rage fo thes voicings is in the two octaves from the C below middle C on the piano to the C abve midle C. s the oicings settle downward, they will start to sound muddy, at which time you migh want t jump u. For istance, if you have ended up on a Dm7 as "C F A B" below middle C, and need o resolv to G7 ad then Caj7, you might want to play these two chords as "D F G B" and "E A B D" rspectivel to move he voicin upward while preserving good voice leading. Also, roots do not alwaysmove by fiths; in a rogressionsuch a Cmaj7 to A7, you might want to voice this as "G B C E" to "GB C# F#" topreserve god voice leaing.

One thing to note about these voicings in the context of a diatonic iiV-I is that, because the chordply modes of the same scale (D dorian is the same as G mixolydian is the same as C major), a give ocng can sometimes be ambiguous. For example, "F A B E" might be either a Dm7 with the seventh oited o a G7. In the context of a modal tune like "So What", it clearly defines the Dm7 or D doria sond.In he context of a ii-V progression, it probably sounds more like a G7. You can use this amiguiy toyouradvantage by making one voicing stretch over several chords. This technique is especilly ueful hen aplied to the more general scale based voicings discussed later.

Another thing you can do with 3/7 voicings is alter them with raised or lowered fifths or ninths. Fostance, if the G7 chord is altered to a G7b9 chord, then it might be voiced as "F Ab B E". In genrl he notes in the voicing should come from the scale implied by the chord.

These voicings are well suited on the piano for playing in the left hand while the right hand is sol. They can also be played with two hands, or with all strings on a guitar, by adding more notes. hspovides a fuller sound when accompanying other soloists. One way to add more notes is to choosea ot fom the scale not already in the basic voicing and play it in octaves above the basic voicin. Fr istace, on piano, for Dm7 with "F A C E" in the left hand, you might play "D D" or "G G" in he rght.In gneral, it is a good idea to avoid doubling notes in voicings, since the fullest soundis usally chievd by playing as many different notes as possible, but the right hand octave soundsgood i this ontext The note a fourth or fifth above the bottom of the octave can often be added a well. or examle, wit the same left hand as before, you might play "D G D" or "G D G" in the righ hand.

The 3/7 voicings are perhaps the most important family of voicings, and many variations are possibleu should try to practice many permutations of each in many different keys.

6.1.1.2. Quartal Voicings

A style of voicing made popular by McCoy Tyner is based on the interval of the fourth. This type of ing is used most often in modal music. To construct a quartal voicing, simply take any note in th cl associated with the chord, and add the note a fourth above, and a fourth above that. Use perfctforts or augmented fourths depending on which note is in the scale. For instance, quartal voicigs or m7 re "C F Bb", "D G C", "Eb A D" (note the augmented fourth), "F Bb Eb", "G C F", "A D G",and Bb E A".This type of voicing seems to work especially well for minor chords (dorian mode), ordominnt chrds were a suspended or pentatonic sound is being used.

These voicings are even more ambiguous, in that a given three note quartal voicing can sound like a ing for any number of different chords. There is nothing wrong with this. However, if you wish torifrce the particular chord/scale you are playing, one way to do this is to move the voicing aroud hescle in parallel motion. If there are eight beats of a given chord, you may play one of thesevoiing fo the first few beats, then move it up a step for a few more beats. The technique of altenatig th voiing with the root in the bass, or the root and fifth, works well here, too. On a longCm 7 hord,for istance, you might play "C G" on the first beat, then play some quartal voicings inparalll motin for he duration of the chord.

As with the 3/7 voicings, these voicings are convenient left hand voicings on the piano or three or string voicings on the guitar They can also be made into two handed or five or six string voicinsb tacking more fourths, fifths or octaves on top. For instance, the Cm7 chord can be voiced as " GC"inthe left hand and "F Bb Eb" in the right, or "Eb A D" in the left and "G C G" in the right.Thetun "S What" from the album Kind Of Blue used voicings consisting of three fourths and a majorthir. Ona Dm chord, the voicings used were "E A D G B" and "D G C F A".

6.1.1.3. Polychord And Upper Structure Voicings

The basis of a polychord voicing is to play two different chords at the same time, such as one in thft hand and one in the right on a piano. The relationship between the two chords determines the qaiyof the resultant chord. These are always two handed voicings on a piano, or five or six stringvocigson the guitar. They produce a very rich, complex sound compared to the voicings presented s fa. Te smplest style of polychord voicing is to play two triads; for instance, a C major triad i thelefthandon a piano, and a D major triad in the right. This will be notated D/C. This notationis ovrloadd in hat it is usually interpreted as meaning a D triad over the single note C in the bss; itis notalwaysclear when a polychord is intended. Polychords are seldom explicitly called forin writen musi, so thre is no standard way to notate them. You must normally find your own opportnities t play poychords.
If you take all the notes in this D/C voicing and lay them in a row, you will see that this describether the C lydian or C lydian dominant scales. Therefore, this voicing can be used over any chordfrwich those scales are appropriate. If you experiment with other triads over a C major triad, yo wllfid several combinations that sound good and describe well known scales. However, many of thee cmbiatins involve doubled notes, which can be avoided as described below. Among the polychords hat o no invlve doubled notes are Gb/C, which produces a C HW diminished scale, Bb/C, which produes a mixoydianscale, Dm/C, which produces a C major or C mixolydian scale, Ebm/C, which producesa C HWdiminihed scle, F#m/C, which also produces a C HW diminished scale, and Bm/C, which produce a C lyian scae. Thes polychords may be used as voicings for any chords that fit the correspondin scales.
You may have noticed that Db/C, Abm/C, Bbm/C, and B/C also involve no doubled notes and sound very iesting, although they do not obviously describe any standard scales. There are no rules for when hs olychords may be played as voicings. When your ear becomes accustomed to the particular nuance ad isonances of each, you may find situations in which you can use them. For example, the last plycordlised, B/C, sounds good when used as a substitute for Cmaj7, particularly in the context ofa iiV-I rogrssion, and especially at the end of a song. You may resolve it to a normal Cmaj7 voicng ifyou wsh.

You can construct similar polychords with a minor triad at the bottom. Db/Cm produces a C phrygian s; F/Cm produces a C dorian scale; Fm/Cm produces a C minor scale; A/Cm produces a C HW diminishedsae Bb/Cm produces a C dorian scale; and Bbm/Cm produces a C phrygian scale. In addition, D/Cm prduesaninteresting, bluesy sounding scale.

I mentioned before the desire to avoid doubled notes. One way to construct polychords that avoid dou notes is to replace the triad at the bottom with either the third and seventh, the root and sevet,o the root and third of a dominant chord. Voicings constructed in this fashion are also called ppr trctures. They always imply some sort of dominant chord.

For example, there are several possible C7 upper structures. A Dbm triad over "C Bb" yields a C7b9b5rd. A D triad over "E Bb" yields a C7#11 chord. An Eb triad over "C E" yields a C7#9 chord. An F#tidover "C E" yields a C7b9b5 chord. An F#m triad over "E Bb" yields a C7b9b5 chord. An Ab triad ve " B" yields a C7#9#5 chord. An A triad over "C Bb" yields a C7b9 chord. You will find it takesa lt o prctice to become familiar enough with these voicings to be able to play them on demand. Yu ma wis to hoose a few tunes and plan ahead of time where you will use these voicings. It is wel wort the ffort The richness and variety introduced by these voicings can add a lot to your harmoic vocbulary

6.1.1.4. Close Position And Drop Voicings

The simplest voicing for a four note chord is the close position voicing, in which all the notes in chord are arranged as close together as possible. For example, a C7 chord might be voiced in clos oiion as "C E G Bb". This is referred to as root position, since the root, C, is at the bottom. hechrdmight also be voiced in close position as "E G Bb C", which is also called the first inverson,sine te bottom note has been inverted to the top. The second inversion is "G Bb C E" and the tird Bb CE G"

A drop voicing is created from a close position voicing by dropping one of the notes down an octave.the second note from the top is dropped, the voicing is called a drop 2 voicing; if the third not rmthe top is dropped, the voicing is called a drop 3 voicing. For a C7 chord in root position, " EG b" the corresponding drop 2 voicing is "G C E Bb". The second note from the top, G, has been roped ownan octave. The corresponding drop 3 voicing would be "E C G Bb". Drop 2 and drop 3 voicigs cn beconsructed from any of the inversions of the chord as well. On the piano, the dropped not mustnormaly beplayed in the left hand, so these are almost always two handed voicings. The interals inthese oicing make them perfectly suited for guitar.

Close position and drop voicings are effective when used to harmonize a melody, particularly in a soetting. Each melody note may be harmonized by a different drop voicing, with the melody note on tp inists and guitarists often use this type of approach in their own solos. A phrase in which evey ot i accompanied by close position or drop voicings is said to be harmonized with block chords.RedGarand Dave Brubeck, and Wes Montgomery all regularly played block chord solos.

6.1.1.5. Other Scale Based Voicings

There are other logical ways of constructing voicings; too many to describe individually here. Most oaches are similar in that they they associate a scale with each chord and construct the voicing rmntes in that scale. By using a scale approach, you can devise your own patterns for voicings. Fr nsane, a second with a third stacked on top is a somewhat dissonant but not too cluttered soundtha may panists use extensively. For a chord such as Fmaj7, you can apply this format at any posiion n th assciated F lydian or F major scale. Since the F major scale contains an avoid note (Bb)in ths conext, ne would normally opt for the lydian scale and the B natural, so that none of the eneratd voicngs wold contain any avoid notes. The particular pattern described above yields "F G ", "G AC", "A D", "BC E", "C D F", "D E G", and "E F A" over the F lydian scale. Most of these vicings ae very abiguous,in the sense that they do not readily identify the chord. As with the 3/7and quartl voicing, however you will find that the presence of a bass player, or just the contextof the chod progresson being payed, will allow almost any combination of notes from a given scaleto make an cceptable vicing for te associated chord.

You may wish to experiment with different patterns and different scales to see if you can find any vngs you particularly like. Often, the goal is not to find a voicing that completely describes a gvncord, but rather to find a voicing that conveys a particular sound without seriously corruptingth cor. You may find that at a given point in the music, you may wish to hear the characteristic uthrit ofa perfect fifth, or the characteristic dissonance of a minor ninth or of a cluster of seeralnote a scond apart, but without the characteristic wrong note sound of a completely random seectio of ntes. hinking of the associated scale and putting your sound into that context gives youa logial andreliabe way to get the sound you want without compromising the harmony.

6.1.2. Reharmonizing

An accompanist may occasionally reharmonize a chord progression to sustain interest, introduce contr or create tension. This involves replacing some of the written or expected chords with other unepce chords. Substitutions such as the tritone substitution are one type of reharmonization.

Some musicians spend a lot of time trying different reharmonizations when working on a tune. Howeverless they tell the soloist what they doing beforehand, many of the reharmonizations they may comeu ih are not suitable for use in accompanying, since the soloist will be playing from a differentse o canges. There are some simple reharmonizations that can be used without disturbing the soloit to mch.The tritone substitution is one example; at any time a dominant seventh chord is called or, he acompnist may substitute the dominant seventh chord a tritone away. This creates exactly te sam typeof tesion that is created when the soloist performs the substitution. Another simple rearmoniation s to cange the chord quality. That is, play a D7alt in place of a Dm, and so forth.

Another common reharmonization is to replace a dominant chord with a iiV progression. This was alreaemonstrated when discussing the blues progression; one of the progressions replaced the F7 chord nbr4 with a Cm7F7. This is especially common at the end of a phrase, leading to the tonic at the tat f he next phrase. Most of the scale choices the soloist may have been using over the F7 chordwil alo wrk over the Cm7 chord, so this reharmonization doesn't usually create too much tension. his echnque an be combined with the tritone substitution to create a more complex reharmonization Rathr tha replce the V with a ii-V, first replace the V with its tritone substitution, and then eplacethat wth a i-V. For example, in bar 4 of the F blues, first replace the F7 with B7, and the replac that wth F#m77.

Another type of reharmonization involves the use of alternation.
Rather than play several measures of a given chord, the accompanist may alternate between it and thord a half step above or below, or a dominant chord a fifth below. For instance, on a G7 chord, yumgt alternate between G7 and Ab7, or between G7 and F#7, or between G7 and D7. This is especiall cmmn n rock based styles, where the alternation is performed in rhythm. If the alternation is pefored eguarly, such as throughout an entire chorus, or even the whole tune, the soloist should beableto pck u on it and control the amount of tension produced by playing along with the reharmoniationor byplayig against it. That is, the soloist can lessen the tension by changing scales as yo chang chord, or icrease tension by keeping to the original scale.

6.1.3. Comping Rhythms

Once you have decided what notes you want to play, you must decide when to play them. You do not wan simply play whole notes or half notes; your accompanying generally should be rhythmically interetn,although not distracting to the soloist or listener.

There are few guidelines that can be given for playing comping rhythms. Because there is very littleory to fall back on, the first piece of advice I can give is to listen to other accompanists. Toootnwe tend to ignore everyone but the soloist anyhow. Be sure to choose albums that have solo insruenalsts other than the accompanist on them. Pianists to listen to include Bud Powell, Theloniou Mok, orae Silver, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Herbie Hancock, and McCoy Tyner. Pianists should als lisen t guiarists and mallet players; often the constraints of those instruments can lead to ides youmightnot hve thought of otherwise.

Guitarists should listen to pianists, but also to guitarists such as Herb Ellis, Joe Pass, and Wes Momery. Often, guitarists work in tandem with pianists, and their style when there is a pianist integoup may differ from how they play when they are the only chordal accompanists. For instance, smegutaists play only short chords on every beat if there is a pianist providing most of the rhythic nteest Others will lay out (stop playing) entirely. For this reason, it is especially importan to iste to uitarists in several different types of settings.

You should also listen to recordings that do not have any chordal accompaniment, such as any of seveGerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, or even Ornette Coleman quartet albums. Try to play along with these.Ti ill often be difficult, since the music was recorded with the knowledge that there was no choralacomaniment, so the soloist and other accompanists generally left little room for a piano or gutar Prctiing accompanying in this type of situation can help you avoid over-playing. Most beginnig acompaists like many beginning soloists, tend to play too much. Just as space can be an effectie too whil solong, it can be even more so when accompanying. Let the soloist work with only the bssist nd drumer fo a few measures, or longer, every so often. Laying out and leaving the soloist ith no hordal ccompanment is sometimes called strolling. McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, and Thelonius Monk ften lai out forentire solos.

Sometimes it helps to imagine yourself as a background part in a big band arrangement. When you are ortable with a particular chord progression, and no longer are having to concentrate fully just o lyng the "right" notes, you can concentrate on the rhythmic and even melodic content of your comin. isen to the horn backings in some big band recordings, such as those of Count Basie, to see hw mlodc acompaniment can be.

Certain styles of music call for particular rhythmic patterns. For instance, many forms of music befthe bebop era used the stride left hand pattern, which consists of alternating a bass note on oneadtree with a chord voicing on two and four. Many rock based styles also depend on rhythmic pattens ote specific to the individual song. While the Brazilian derived styles such as the bossa novaandsama, s played by most jazz musicians, do not have well-defined comping patterns, other Latin azz tyle, paticularly the Afro-Cuban forms sometimes collectively referred to as salsa, use a twomeasue repatingmotif called a montuno. A typical rhythmic pattern is "and-of-one, andof-two, and-f-thre, and-f-four one, two, and-of-two, and-of-three, and-of-four". These two measures may be reersed i the unerlyingdrum pattern (see below) is reversed as well. A full description of the roleof the pano in Ltin jazzand other styles is beyond the scope of this primer. A good discussion ca be foundin Mark Lvine's Th Jazz Piano Book.

The most important aspect of accompanying in most styles is to communicate with the soloist. There aeveral forms this communication can take. For instance, there is call and response, in which you setally try to echo back or answer what the soloist has played. This is particularly effective ifth slost seems to be playing short, simple phrases, with pauses between them. If the soloist is wrkig o a epeated rhythmic motif, you can often anticipate the echo and actually play right along ith he slois. Sometimes you can also lead the soloist in directions he might not have tried otherise. or intance you might start a repeated rhythmic motif, which might encourage the soloist to eho you Some oloist like this type of aggressive comping, and others do not. You will have to workout wit each sloist hw far you may take him.

6.2. Bass

The function of the bass in a traditional rhythm section is somewhat different than that of a chordastrument. Like a pianist, a bassist must normally outline the chord changes, but the bass usuallyepaizes the roots, thirds, and fifths rather than any extensions or alterations. In traditional jzzfoms the bass player also has a very important role as a timekeeper; as much as a drummer, if nt mre o. hat is why bass players so often play walking bass lines that consist almost exclusivelyof qarte nots or rhythms that strongly emphasize the beat.

In this respect, learning to play bass lines is often easier than learning to solo or play voicings. do not have to worry much about what rhythms to play, and your note choices are more limited as el hen you listen to great bass players like Ray Brown or Paul Chambers, you will see that a larg prtoftheir playing is quarter notes and scale based lines.

When a pianist plays in a solo setting, he must often provide his own bass line accompaniment, so pits should learn how to construct good bass lines as well.

6.2.1. Walking Bass Lines

There are some simple guidelines you can use to produce good sounding bass lines. First, you generalhould play the root of the chord on the first beat of that chord. The previous beat should be a nt tep away. For instance, if the chord F7 appears on beat "one" of a measure, then you would noraly la F on that beat. You would normally play E, Eb, G, or Gb on the last beat of the previous masue, epeding on the chord. If the chord was C7, then you might play either E or G, since they ar in he asocited mixolydian scale. Or, you might think HW diminished or altered scale for the C7 ad pla the b or b. The Gb is also the root of the dominant chord a tritone away, which has alreadybeen dscribe as a ood substitution, so Gb makes a particularly good choice. The note does not necssarilyhave tobe justfiable in the context of the chord; it can be thought of as a passing tone t reach te first eat (thedownbeat) of the next measure.

These first two guidelines take care of two beats for each chord. In some tunes, such as any song baon the rhythm changes, that is all you get for most chords, so your bass line can be almost compltl etermined by the chord progression. Of course, you will probably want to vary your lines. You reno rquired to play the root on the one, nor are you required to approach it by step. Remember, hes ar ony guidelines to get you started.

If you have more than two beats to fill for a particular chord, one way to fill the remaining beats o simply choose notes from any associated scale in mostly stepwise motion. For instance, if your hr rogression is C7 to F7, and you have already decided to play "C, x, x, Gb" for the C7 chord, tenyo cn fill in the x's with D and E, implying the lydian dominant scale, or Bb and Ab, implying he lteed cale. Either of these choices might also imply the whole tone scale. Another popular patern ouldbe ", D, Eb, E", where the Eb is used as passing tone between the D and the E. You will pobabl discver oher patterns that you will tend to use a lot. Playing patterns is generally frowne upon hen sooing, here you are expected to be as creative as possible. When accompanying, however patters, likethose gven for voicings, can be an effective way to outline the harmony consistentl. As a bss playe, you ar expected to play virtually every beat of every measure for the entire pice. It isusually mre importnt to be solid and dependable than to be as inventive as possible.

6.2.2. Pedal Point

The term pedal point, often shortened to simply pedal, refers to a bass line that stays on one note a changing harmony. Certain songs, such as John Coltrane's "Naima", from the album "Giant Steps" r ritten with explicit pedal point, either with the notation "Eb pedal" over the first four measre, r hrough the notation of the chords as Dbma7/Eb| Ebm7| Amaj7#11/EbGmaj7#11/Eb| Abmaj7/Eb. Whe yo se a ong explicitly call for pedal point, that is usually an indication to stop walking and istea pla onl whole notes.

You can also find your own opportunities to use pedal point. In a ii-VI progression, the fifth can o be used as a pedal note. For example, you can play G under the progression Dm7| G7| Cmaj7, or jutudr the first two bars. Under the Dm7 chord, the G in the bass makes the chord function as a G7ss hod.The resolution to the G7 chord then mimics the traditional classical use of suspensions, whch lwas rsolve in this manner. This is also commonly done in progressions that alternate between he i andthe , as in Dm7| G7| Dm7| G7| Dm7| G7| Dm7| G7.

6.2.3. Counterpoint

Scott LeFaro started a small revolution in jazz bass playing in the early 1960's through his use of terpoint. His bass lines had almost as much rhythmic and melodic interest as the melody or solo h a ccompanying. This can be distracting to some soloists, and to some audiences, but many find th efet xciting.

One opportunity to use counterpoint is in ballads or medium tempo swing tunes where the melody has lnotes or rests. One of the most famous examples of Scott LeFaro's counterpoint is on the version f"oar" recorded by Bill Evans, Scott LeFaro, and Paul Motian on the album Sunday At The Village Vngar. he melody is mostly quarter notes, with whole notes at the end of each phrase. Scott plays ongnots wile the melody is moving, and moving parts where the melody is staying still.

Bob Hurst has a different approach to counterpoint. Rather than playing lines that sustain their ownodic or rhythmic interest, he plays lines that create rhythmic tension in their interaction with h et. One technique he uses often is playing six notes against four beats, or two quarter note trpltspe measure. It sounds like he is playing in three while the rest of the band is in four. Thistyp ofrhyhmic counterpoint is difficult to sustain for any length of time, and may confuse inexpeiencd muicias.

When experimenting with counterpoint, remember your role is usually still that of an accompanist. Yooal is to support the musicians you are accompanying. If they are being thrown off by the resultatcmlexity, or are producing enough rhythmic tension on their own, then this may not be a good tecniuetouse. You will have to use your own judgement to decide when the music will benefit from theuseof ounerpoint.

6.2.4. Other Bass Patterns

The techniques described above are applicable to most styles of jazz. Some particular styles impose r own particular requirements on the bassist, however. A two-beat or half-time feel means playingol n beats one and three in 4/4 time. A two-beat feel is often used on the head for standards. Whn lain in 3/4 time, you may either play walking lines or just play on the first beat of each measre.Man ofthe Latin Jazz styles use a simple pattern usually based on alternating roots and fifths Theboss nov, a Brazilian derived style, uses the root on "one" and the fifth on "three", with aneight notepicku on the "and-of-two" and either another pickup on the "and-of-four" or a quarter nte on four".The saba, another Brazilian derived style, is similar, but is played with a double-tie feel,meaningit souns as if the basic beat is twice as fast as it really is. The root is played n "one" nd "thre" while he fifth is played on "two" and "four", with a sixteenth note pickup befoe each bet. The mabo and oter Cuban derived styles use the rhythm "and-of-two, four". The latter eat is tie over to te "one" ofthe following measure.

A full description of all the different styles is beyond the scope of this primer. There are a few b that can help you in constructing patterns for various styles; one such book is Essential StylesFrTe Drummer And Bassist. For now, all I can do is repeat Clark Terry's advice, "imitate, assimilte inoate". Listen to as many different styles as you can and learn from what you hear.

6.3. Drums

As with the bassist, one of the roles of the drummer in traditional forms of jazz is to play a steadat in the style of the song. By steady, I mean with regards to tempo, and do not mean to imply thtyushould not be creative and vary your patterns. I cannot shed much light on the specifics of drm ecniues, but I can describe some basic patterns and styles, and give you some hints on other asect oftherole of the drummer.

The basic 4/4 swing beat consists of two components: the ride pattern and the hi-hat pattern. The fuental ride pattern is the "1, 2 and, 3, 4 and" or "ding ding-a ding ding-a" pattern played on therd ymbal with swung eighth notes. The hi-hat is normally closed sharply on "two" and "four". Thisiswht ost simple drum machines will play when the "swing" setting is selected. This pattern is apropiat fo many jazz songs, especially medium or up-tempo standards or bebop tunes. Slower songs lke bllad oftn call for the use of brushes on the snare drum rather than sticks on the cymbals as he man patern. here are a few books that can help you in constructing patterns for other styles; ne suc book s Essetial Styles For The Drummer And Bassist. The most important of the styles you my be exected t play ae described below.

The basic shuffle beat consists of eighth notes on the ride cymbal and possibly snare. The second anurth beats are usually more strongly emphasized as well. The basic jazz waltz or 3/4 swing patter ossts of "one, two, and-of-two, three" or "ding ding-a ding" on the ride cymbal, with the hi-haton"to" Other variations include using the hihat on "two" and "three", or on all three beats; addig te sareon the "and-of-two" or on the "and-of-one" and on "three".

Three forms of Latin jazz you should be able to play include the bossa nova, the samba, and the mambhe essence of most forms of Latin jazz is the clave, which is a type of rhythmic pattern. The basccae is two measures long, and consists of "one, and-of-two, four; two, three". There is also an frca cave or Rumba clave in which the third note is played on the "and-of-four" rather than on th bet. he ossa nova uses a variation of the basic clave in which the last note falls on the "and-o-thre" rtherthan on the beat. These clave patterns can also be inverted, meaning the two measuresare sapped The lave would usually be played as hits on the rim of the snare on a traditional drumset, athoughit is ften not played explicitly by the drummer at all, in which case an auxiliary pecussionst may lay it.
The clave is supplemented with other patterns on other drums. The bass drum may play on "one" and "t" with eighth note pickups. The hi-hat is closed on "two" and "four". Other patterns may be playe nacymbal or on a cowbell. Typical mambo patterns include "one, two, three, andof-three, and-of-fur oe,two, and-of-two, and-of-three, and-of-four" or "one, two, three, and-of-three; one, and-of-ne,andof-wo, and-ofthree, four". A simple pattern consisting of "two, four, and-of-four" is playe on he sare im and the mounted tom instead of a clave. Bossa novas may use a pattern consisting o straght eghth otes on the ride cymbal. Sambas have a double-time feel. The cymbal pattern is usully staight ighth otes, and is often played on a closed hi-hat. The snare drum may be simply hit n "four instea of plaing the clave.

Certain compositions, such as Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder" or Tony Williams' "Sister Cheryl", have ue drum patterns that are indelibly associated with the particular song. Listening to recordings fasng to be performed before trying to play it is probably more helpful for drummers than for anyotermuicians, since fakebooks generally do not provide many hints for the drummer.

A good drummer will not simply play the same pattern over and over for an entire song. For one thingu may vary the pattern, perhaps by playing only quarter notes on the ride cymbal, or occasionallyvrig the rhythm to "ding-a ding ding-a ding". Or, you could play the hi-hat on every beat. You ma asowat to use the other drums, such as the toms, as part of your basic beat for a song. Tony Wiliam isa mster at varying his patterns in this way.

Often, a drummer will play a simple two-beat during the head, and switch to straight four for the so One of the easiest ways to change the feel of a piece is to simply switch cymbals for the ride pten for instance when there is a change in soloist, or to mark the bridge of a song. Marking the or o atune is another important role of the drummer. Most typical song forms have 4 or 8 bar phraes.At he nd of each phrase, the drummer often plays a more complex pattern or fill to lead into te net phase.Another tactic is to change the basic beat from phrase to phrase. As a drummer, you sould lwaysbe coscious of the form of the song, and know where any breaks, special introductions, r coda are. ou shold be able to sing to the melody to yourself during solos if necessary, so thatyou canoutlinethe for for the soloist. This will help the soloist keep his place, by allowing himto recogize whenyou havereached the bridge, for example. Also, the soloist is usually structuringhis own prases alog the lins of the original form. By adhering to that form yourself, you will usally be suporting th developmet of his ideas. Art Blakey is a master of playing the form and supprting soloits in this ay.

During a solo, an instrumentalist may leave deliberate breaks in his phrases. As with the pianist anssist, the drummer may decide to fill those spaces with some sort of answering phrase or counterryh.Drummers may also create tension through the use of polyrhythm, which is two or more differentrhths uperimposed on each other; for instance, three against four. A drummer can either try to ply to dffeent rhythms himself, or work with the bassist or another accompanist, or the soloist, tocreae a olyrythm between them. As with the use of counterpoint in bass lines, however, you need t balace th desie for rhythmic variation with the realization that clutter or chaos can result if ou go oo far

Since everyone depends on the drummer to keep acc t decide what to play. It helps if everyone in theup has access to the same fakebooks. That way, when a person calls out a tune, you can be reasonal ue everyone will have it in their books. The New Real Book by Chuck Sher is recommended, since t s valable in transposed versions for most wind instruments, and contains a good variety of tune. Yu my wsh to agree in advance on the tunes to be worked on, so everyone has the chance to familariz theselvs with the changes.

Although it is not necessary to designate a leader for a group, it does help if there is someone to se songs, decide on the order of soloists, pick a tempo, count the song off, and generally keep tig oving along. It is not essential that this person be the best musician in the group, but it shul b smeone with some leadership or organizational skills.

7.1.1. Beginnings

Once you have selected a song to play, you need to keep in mind the things we have observed about foNormally, the group would play the melody first. While learning a song, you may decide to have evroeplay it in unison, but you should eventually give each performer a chance to play a head by hisef,toallow everyone to work on making a personal statement even while simply playing the melody.In erfrmace situations, it is also usually more interesting for the listener to hear a melody intrpreed b oneindividual, rather than stated in unison. This is particularly true for ballads. Fastbop tnes ae norally played in unison, however.

For songs with 32 bar forms, the head is usually played only once. For blues tunes or other shorter s, it is often played twice. The melodies of many songs end on the second to last measure of the om or instance, Clifford Brown's twelve bar blues "Sandu" ends on the first beat of the eleventh eaur. sually the rhythm section stops playing for the last two bars of the form to allow the firs soois anunaccompanied two measure lead in, or solo break. In some tunes, such as John Coltrane's"Momnt'sNotie", this break is traditionally observed on every chorus, but usually it is done onlyas a ead i to te first solo, or at most as a lead in to each solo.

7.1.2. Middles

Once you are into your solo, you are largely on your own, although you should listen to what everyonse is doing around you, feeding off what they are playing, and leading them with your own playing hsis your chance to apply the techniques you have learned so far. Think melodically. Take chance. av fn!

I have said several times that a solo should tell a story. This means it should have a clear exposit development, climax, and release. If you were to chart the intensity level of a good solo, you wudoten find that it starts at a low level and slowly builds to a climax, after which it tapers of qiclyto lead into the next soloist or whatever else comes next. Beginners often have difficulty eciinghowmany choruses to play. This is something that varies for each performer. Charlie Parker ormaly tok oly one or two in recordings, although this was partially because of the limitations o the 8 RPMforma. John Coltrane often took dozens of choruses, particularly in live performances. hen thre aremany sloists, you probably should try to keep it on the short side, to keep everyone lse fro gettin bored.In any case, when you are approaching the end of your solo, you should somehw conveythis fac to the ther musicians so they can decide who goes next, or whether they want to rade four, or takethe head ut.

If you intend to trade fours after the last solo, someone usually indicates this by holding out fourgers where everyone can see them. Usually, you will go through the soloists in the same order in hc hey originally played, giving them four measures each. The bass player is often skipped; sometme te ianist is as well. Often, the drummer will take four measures in between each of the other olosts Moe so than during the original solos, the intensity of the four bar phrases will usually e ata cosistntly high level, and the soloists should try to develop and build upon each other's ieas. his ccle my be repeatedly as long as is desired; someone will usually tap their head to indiate whn to rturn t the head.

7.1.3. Endings

The endings of songs are, without question, the most difficult to keep together. When you have playegiven song several times with the same group of people, you may have planned and rehearsed ending.Btwhen playing a song for the first time with a particular group, chaos almost always results atth ed.There are a few standard tricks you can use to end songs, however. Once you are familiar wih te bsicendings, then all it takes is one person to act as leader to get everyone to follow alon.

The easiest ending, used in fast bebop tunes, is to simply cut the tune off short after the last nothis works for rhythm changes tunes such as "Oleo", and other bop forms such as "Donna Lee". As a aiton, you may wish to hold the last note out. Or, you may cut the last note short, but then repet t ndhold it out after a few beats rest. This is done especially on 32 bar forms in which the meodyend onthe first beat of measure 31. This note is cut short, but then repeated and held on the irstbeatof masure 32, or as an anticipation on the fourth beat or on the "and" of the fourth beatof mesure 1.

Another ending commonly used on ballads and slow swing songs is the ritardando. Simply slow down ovee last two or three measures, and end on the last note of the melody, which may be held out as loga esired. A variation on this technique is to stop on the second to last note, or on any note ner heen that falls on the penultimate chord, and have one soloist play an unaccompanied cadenza, sgnaingtherest of the band to rejoin him for the last note.

When playing medium tempo or faster tunes, a popular ending is to play the last several bars three t before the last note. In a 32 bar form in which the last note is the first beat of measure 31, yuwud play the form through the end of measure 30, then play measures 29 and 30 again, and then one or, efore finally playing measure 31. This can be combined with the ritardando or the cadenza aproche, o the last note can simply be played short.

Another approach is the III-VI-ii-V turnaround. If the song ends with a ii-V-I cadence in the last fbars, then you can replace the final I chord with the four bar progression III-VI-ii-V, which mayb eeated several times. For instance, in the key of F, if the song ends Gm7| C7| F| F, then you cn epac this with Gm7| C7| A7alt| D7alt| Gm7| C7| A7alt| D7alt| Gm7| C7| You can also use tritone ubsituionon any of the dominant chords. In addition, you can use the I chord F instead of the A7at chrd. ou my continue this chord progression as long as you like, soloing or collectively improvsing n topof it This is called a vamp. The song is finally ended with a I chord, usually precededby fratic had wavig to ensure that everyone ends together.

Another popular ending is sometimes called the Duke Ellington ending, because it is associated with ngements of tunes like "Take The A Train" that were written by Duke or performed by his band. Thi nig assumes the song ends on the first beat of the second to last measure of the form, that the as cor is a I chord, and that the last note is the root of that chord. Assuming the piece in in Cmajr, ou imply replace the last two measures with "C, E, F, F#, G, A, B, C", where the second not is sixh beow the first, not a third above. If you try to play this line, I think you will recogize te intnded hythm, so I will not try to notate it.

7.2. Dealing With Problems

You should be prepared for any number of things to go wrong. If you lose your place in the form, or e that someone else has lost theirs, do not panic. If you have become lost, stop playing for a litewile to see if you can hear where everyone else is. This should not be too difficult if you arefailarwith the song and the other musicians are reasonably secure about their own places. Someonewhois ureof where they are may wish to call out changes, or shout out "BRIDGE!" or "TOP!" at the pproriat tims, to get things back on track. If one person is clearly in the wrong place, and everone ese issure f where that person is, they can attempt to move over to match the out of place peformer but tis is ifficult to coordinate. Also, it is better to try to correct the person who is ut of sep thanto haveeveryone be out of step together, because ideally, you want the form to contnue uninerrupted

Another thing that can go wrong is an unintended tempo change. Some people tend to rush, some tend tag. Sometimes the interaction between two musicians with good time may cause the tempo to shift. o ntance, if a pianist and bassist both play behind the beat, this may make the tempo appear to dag ad he drummer may slow down to not appear ahead of them. If you are convinced the tempo is movng,youmaywish to try to conduct a few measures to right the tempo. A metronome can help keep you ones, bu plaing with a metronome will usually be hopelessly frustrating, because it is virtually mpossble t keepa group synchronized with one. For one thing, it is often difficult to hear a metrnome wen sevral peple are playing. For another, it is difficult to get everyone in the group to ajust atthe sam time ad in the same way should the group collectively get ahead or fall behind. Noetheless practicng with metronome can be a useful way to solidify your concept of time. One partcularly sdistic bad directo I know used to start us off with a metronome, turn the volume down afer a few masures, thn turn it ack up a minute or so later to see if we had drifted.

8. Listening Analytically

Now that you have some idea of what it takes to play jazz, you should have a much more critical ear. will be less likely to be impressed with mere technical facility, and can listen for melodic, hamnc and rhythmic sophistication. On the other hand, if the music still reaches you emotionally, d nt ory that it does not seem particularly adventurous when scrutinized closely. Do not let your nalsisof he theoretical aspects of music interfere with your reaction on an emotional level. The heortica knoledge should be a tool to help you understand music you might not have otherwise apprciate; it houldnot detract from your enjoyment of any music.

As a performer, now that you have some idea of the things a jazz musician is expected to do, you canten to the great ones and learn from them. You can listen to the early Bill Evans trios and see eape of interplay within a rhythm section, and try to develop ears as big as theirs. You can liste t Telnious Monk and analyze the way he used dissonance and syncopation, and see if you can achiee te sme ffects. You can listen to the emotional outbursts of John Coltrane or Cecil Taylor and epandyourconcpt of how directly you can express yourself.

9. Breaking The Rules

Charles Ives was a composer who wrote music that was considered avant garde in its day. His father imored to have taught him, "you must learn the rules first so that you will know how to break them.Ti is especially true in music like jazz, where you are constantly expected to be creative. Follwig herules all the time would lead to predictable and boring music. Paying no attention whatsoevr t th rues could easily lead to music that was ultimately boring in its randomness.

There are many rules and conventions that have been presented here. There are no criminal penalties ciated with breaking any of them, however. You should experiment as much as possible to find new aso doing things. The rules of harmony presented here form a framework, but it is not a rigid one Ihae lready suggested that the manner in which you utilize these rules will shape how you sound.Howyoubrek the rules will similarly help define your own style. Experimenting with the rules of hrmon is ust he beginning of individuality, however. Look for other non-traditional ways to expres yourelf. ry hiting the piano keys with your fist. Try overblowing your saxophone. Try removing te firs valveslide n your trumpet. There are an infinite number of possible things you can do withyour intrument

Also, expand your listening to include other types of music such as classical or reggae, and see if can learn from them and apply those lessons to whatever you play. It is severely limiting to thin htall jazz music should consist of 32 bar songs, walking bass lines, swing ride cymbal patterns,an hadsolos-head forms. The world does not beat in four-four time.

10. Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

My personal experience with other books on jazz improvisation is limited; my ears have been my best hers. Here is a listing of some of the books with which I am somewhat familiar, or which have bee eomended to me. Most of the instructional books and legal fakebooks are available at any well-stckd usc store, or can be ordered through Jamey Aebersold. The ordering information can be found i hi ad inDown Beat magazine.

10.1. Fakebooks

Chuck Sher, The New Real Book, Sher Music. This is probably the most popular legal jazz fakebook arotoday, and perhaps the best in terms of broadness of selection, accuracy, and readability. Many o h ost commonly played tunes from other popular fakebooks are included here. It is available in B ad b ditions for transposing instruments, and like all of Chuck Sher's books, it contains lyricswhee aproriate. It contains standards like "Darn That Dream", jazz classics like Sonny Rollins' "leo" andsomecontemporary pieces such as Michael Brecker's "Nothing Personal". It also contains soe popsongslike oberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly". Because of its diversity, it does not contain s muchstraigtaheadjazz as most of the other books listed here, and therefore, while this book is till hihly recmmended you may need to find something else to supplement it to fill out the selecton of manstream azz.

Chuck Sher, The New Real Book Volume 2, Sher Music. This is a good companion to the first volume, sithere is no overlap, and this book adds a good helping of classic jazz from the 1950's and 1960's nlding several tunes each by John Coltrane and Horace Silver. There are also arrangements of comle mden compositions by Michael Brecker and others, as well as a few standards. It is available i BbandEb ersions.

Chuck Sher, The World's Greatest Fakebook, Sher Music. This was Chuck's first fakebook, but it was ns well received as The New Real Book since it contains even fewer jazz standards. It still makes odcompanion to his other books.

Herb Wong, The Ultimate Jazz Fakebook, Hal Leonard Publishing. This has hundreds of tunes in it, butprinted in very small typeset to fit them all in, and as a result is very hard to read. Many of tesns are old Tin Pan Alley songs not commonly played any more, so the selection of true jazz stanars s ot as broad as it looks at first. It is available in Bb and Eb editions, and contains lyric.

The Real Book. This was the standard for many years. It contains a broad selection of standards and classics, and indeed helped define those terms over the last couple of decades. There are many err n this book, and many of the recordings I hear of tunes from this book over the last twenty yersduliate these errors, which shows that the Real Book has been a primary source of tunes for man prfesionl musicians. It is only recently that The New Real Book has begun to supplant it. The orgina Rea Boo is not legal, however, since the authors did not obtain copyright permission for theseleced sogs, ad they do not pay royalties to the copyright owners. For the most part, the originl authrs do ot mak any money themselves from this book; most people obtain copies by photocopyinga frien's copy or fro someone who photocopies the books and sells them at a small profit under th counter If you an find copy, and your conscience does not bother you too much, it is worth pickng up. Thre are vesions in b and Eb, and also a vocal version. There are several slightly differet editions with the acific Coat Edition and the Fifth Edition being most common. Being of questioable origin it is hardto tell howthese differences evolved, or what exactly the differences are btween them, ut be forewaned that notall copies will contain exactly the same set of tunes.

The Real Book Volume 2. This book, like the original, is illegal. It is not nearly as popular as thest volume, but it does contain a lot classic jazz.

Spaces Bebop Jazz. This book is actually available in several forms, none of which are legal as far know. The one I have is spiral bound and is printed on standard sized paper, although the music tefis printed small. I have also seen it printed on half size paper and separated into two or thre olme. It contains mostly songs from the swing, bebop and cool eras.

Think Of One. I have no idea where this book came from, but someone apparently decided Thelonious MoWayne Shorter, and Horace Silver were shortchanged in the original Real Book and produced this rahrsoppily transcribed book that is equally illegal and consists almost exclusively of tunes not i te ea Book, many by the aforementioned composers. Very few people seem to know of this book, whih i to ba, because there are a lot of wonderful compositions here that are not in any other fakebok Ive eer sen.

10.2. Instructional Books

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of books on practice methods, theory, and analysis methods out th I've only seen a handful of them, and no good, holistic, general purpose introduction to improviain which is why I wrote this primer. The comments below vary in amount of detail included. Preditaly Ihave more to say about the books with which I am more familiar, while the ones with one senenc sumares are, for the most part, books that I have never seen but that have been recommended t me.
The books below are listed in the following general order: background material; basic, intermediate, advanced general instruction; instrument specific instruction; and composing/arranging.

Jerry Coker, How To Practice Jazz. This is not so much how-to book as a how-to-learn book. It has maractice tips, as the name implies, as well as many pointers to other books, mostly by David Bakero oer himself, that contain more specific information on improvisation.

Jerry Coker, Listening To Jazz. This book is a good introduction to jazz from a listener's perspectiThere is discussion of history, the roles of the various instruments, various styles and forms ofjz ompositions and performances. There is a straightforward discussion of common techniques and dvies Cker also walks the listener through several famous recordings, pointing out how particular echiqus o devices he has described are used. Since most of the available theory texts do a poor jb ofputtng teir instruction into a broad context, this volume is recommended as a companion to whteverotherbegining or intermediate method books you may read.

Dan Haerle, The Jazz Language. This book is concerned with the theory and terminology used in jazz, is not necessarily organized as a howto book.

Jerry Coker et al, Patterns For Jazz. This book presents a series of patterns based on particular ch and scales, and has you practice them in all keys. The patterns are related to specific chord prgesons.

Dan Haerle, Scales For Jazz Improvisation. This book lists most of the scales used by jazz musicians writes them out for practice purposes. It is useful if you wish to see all the scales in one plae u really does not contain that much information that cannot be found in most of the basic or ineredat instructional texts, or in this primer, for that matter.

Jerry Coker, Improvising Jazz; David Baker, Jazz Improvisation. These are probably the most widely uintroductory texts on improvisation. Coker and Baker are among the most respected authorities on azpdagogy. They write from similar perspectives. The emphasis in both of these texts is on basic cae hery and melodic devices.

Mark Boling, The Jazz Theory Workbook. This is primarily a beginning and intermediate text.

Scott Reeves, Creative Jazz Improvisation. This book has been recommended as one of the most useful s on improvisation. Like this primer, it places an emphasis on historical context, rather than sipypesenting the theory.

David Baker, How To Play Bebop. This actually consists of three volumes that are mostly dedicated toeloping the melodic line. The bebop scales are emphasized.

Hal Crook, How To Improvise. This is an intermediate to advanced level text in that it assumes some ledge of scale theory. It stresses the use of harmonic and rhythmic devices in melodic developmen.
Steve Schenker, Jazz Theory. This is an intermediate to advanced text.

Jerry Coker, Complete Method For Improvisation; David Baker, Advanced Improvisation. These are more nced versions of their introductory texts.

Walt Weiskopf and Ramon Ricker, Coltrane: A Players Guide To His Harmony. This is an entire book deded to the Coltrane changes.

Gary Campbell, Expansions. This intermediate to advanced text goes through various scales, includinge rather esoteric ones, and shows how to construct lines that take advantage of them over specifi hrs. It assumes familiarity with the basic scales described in this primer.

John Mehegan, Jazz Improvisation. This is a series of several volumes published in the 1960's. At thme, they were considered quite comprehensive, but they contain very little information on developet ince that time, or even on advances that were being made at that time, like the Coltrane substtuios nd quartal harmonies.

George Russell, The Lydian Chromatic Concept Of Tonal Organization For Improvisation. This is an advd theory text that describes some unique applications of scale theory to improvisation. It uses sm nsual scales, and shows how to construct complex chromatic melodic lines using these scales as bsi. he process is rather involved, and involves the use of a slide-rule-like device for associaingscaes ith chords. It was considered a landmark when it first came out in the 1960's, although he teoris neer really gained widespread usage except among a relatively small group of musicians,perhas becuse tey are so complex.

David Liebman, A Chromatic Approach To Jazz Harmony And Melody. This is a thorough discussion of mel chromaticism and what I have called non-tonal music. It contains many examples of lines from recre olos by John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, and other modern players.

David Baker, The Jazz Style Of . This is a series that include volumes on Miles Davis, John Coltranennonball Adderly, Sonny Rollins, Fats Navarro, and Clifford Brown. Each volume includes a brief borpy and summary of the musical style of the subject. Several transcribed solos and analyses of temmae p the bulk of each volume.

Martin Mann, Jazz Improvisation For The Classical Pianist. This is an introduction to jazz improvisa aimed at the musician accustomed to a structured approach to learning. There is a lot of emphasi nsales and exercises.

Mark Levine, The Jazz Piano Book. This is the most complete book I have ever seen for jazz pianists.covers scales, voicings, comping, and other topics also discussed in this primer, but it is able og nto greater depth. It contains many useful musical examples, which makes it much more readable I asocontains a very good discussion of Latin jazz, including information that is of use to bassstsanddrumers. However, it does have its shortcomings. It glosses over the blues, not even listin theblue scae or describing a blues progression except in passing. Also, while it does attempt toput sme ofits cntent into a broad context of history and playing situations, this is done in a soewhat aphazad mannr.

Dan Haerle, Jazz Improvisation For Keyboard Players. This was my favorite book on jazz piano until Le's came along a few years ago. Although it claims to flow logically from the beginner level to teavnced level, most of the information is really oriented toward the intermediate. It is not, to e,asenertaining as Levine's book, and it does an even less convincing job of putting its instructon ntoconext. It is available either as three separate volumes (Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced or s a omplte set.

Dan Haerle, Jazz/Rock Voicings For The Contemporary Keyboard Player. Most of the information here islicated in his book on keyboard improvisation, or in Levine's, but there is some value in having vrting you wanted to know about voicings all laid out in detail in one place. However, it really oe nt over as wide a variety of voicings as one might expect for a book dedicated to that purpose

Frank Mantooth, Voicings. The emphasis on this book is on voicings one would use when comping, as opd to voicings one might use when soloing. Most attention is given to quartal and other more conteprr voicings. It also has more explanatory material than Haerle's book on voicings.

Garrison Fewell, Jazz Improvisation. This is fairly broad text that covers some basic chord/scale th, chord progression analysis, and construction of melodic lines. It contains many examples, and atmt to explain why the examples sound good. It is geared toward guitarists, but its methods can b apledto any instrument, as they are not concerned with techniques specific to the guitar, such a vocins, icking, or fretting.

Paul Lucas, Jazz Chording For The Rock/Blues Guitarist. This book is intended for the musician who k how to play the guitar, but is familiar only with the five common open string chords used in roc ui (C, A, G, E, and D). Other common jazz chords are then presented as variations on these pattens Smemore advanced material on voice leading, chord substitution, quartal harmonies, polychords,andscaes s included as well.

Joe Pass and Bill Thrasher, Joe Pass Guitar Style. This book covers harmony and applications to impration, including chord construction, voicing, substitution, and voice leading.

Steve Houghton and Tom Warrington, Essential Styles For The Drummer And Bassist. This book is a recif basic patterns for 30 styles of music, from pop to funk to reggae to Latin to jazz. It includesaC.
Peter Erskine, Drum Concepts And Techniques. This book explains the basics of drum set technique.

Frank Malabe and Frank Weiner, Afro-Cuban Rhythms For The Drum Set. This book describes the various can and Latin American percussion styles and how to play them on the drum set.

Ed Thigpen, The Sound Of Brushes. This book explores techniques of brushwork for drummers.

Andy Laverne, Handbook Of Chord Substitutions. This book, useful for pianists and arrangers, discussarious ways to reharmonize songs. The substitutions are much more advanced than the tritone and Clrn ii-V types discussed in this primer.

P. Rinzler, Jazz Arranging And Performance Practice: A Guide For Small Ensembles. This book is gearere toward group performance than individual improvisation.

David Baker, Arranging And Composing. The emphasis is on arranging for small groups, from trios to gs with four or five horns.

10.3. History And Biography

As with the instructional literature, my knowledge of the history and biography literature is also led. The following books are listed roughly from the more general to the more specific.

Bill Crow, Jazz Anecdotes. This book contains short stories told by and about jazz musicians.

Nat Hentoff, Jazz Is, The Jazz Life, Hear Me Talkin' To Ya. Nat Hentoff is a noted jazz historian anitic. These books include stories from his personal experience and anecdotes told to him by othermscans.

Brian Case, Stan Britt, and Chrissie Murray, The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Jazz. This boontains short biographies and discographies of hundreds of musicians.

Joachim Berendt, The Jazz Book: From Ragtime to Fusion and Beyond. This book organizes its discussioy decade, by instrument, and by major musicians and groups. Each section can be read independentl.
Ian Carr, The Essential Jazz Companion. This covers the history of jazz throughout the 20th century,cussing many artists and styles, and describing specific recordings. Carr has also written biograhe f Miles Davis and Keith Jarrett.

James Lincoln Collier, The Making Of Jazz. This is an in-depth survey of jazz history.

Frank Tirro, A History Of Jazz. This is a relatively technical survey of jazz history.

Gunther Schuller, Early Jazz, The Swing Era. These books by noted historian, critic, and composer Scer are considerably more detailed than most, as they are more focused on specific periods. There a emore volumes in this series as well.

Richard Hadlock, Jazz Masters Of The . There are volumes in this series for different decades. Each ains biographies of twenty or so major musicians of the era.

Leonard Feather, Inside Bebop. Feather wrote this book to try to explain bebop to skeptics back in tays when the music was new and controversial.

Valerie Wilmer, Jazz People. This book contains interviews with various legends of the 1950's and 19.

Valerie Wilmer, As Serious As Your Life. This book concentrates on the avant garde and new music of subsequent decades. It is highly political in nature.

Ross Russell, Bird Lives. This is an anecdotal biography of Charlie Parker.

Gary Giddens, Celebrating Bird. This book contains many photographs.

Dizzy Gillespie, To Be Or Not To Bop. This is Dizzy's autobiography.

J.C. Thomas, Chasin' The Trane. This is an anecdotal biography of John Coltrane.

Miles Davis and Quincy Troupe, Miles. This is a colorful historical perspective by the man who was pps the most influential jazz musician ever, with a career marked by innovations spanning almost hl entury. However, be forewarned that the language is often crude.

Charles Mingus, Beneath The Underdog. Mingus' biography is even cruder than Miles', and is less inteing as a historical document, except in as much as it documents Mingus' sexual history.

Graham Lock, Forces In Motion. Lock provides a fascination insight into the music and philosophy of ony Braxton.

James Lincoln Collier, The Making Of Jazz. This is an in-depth survey of jazz history.

Frank Tirro, A History Of Jazz. This is a relatively technical survey of jazz history.

Gunther Schuller, Early Jazz, The Swing Era. These books by noted historian, critic, and composer Scer are considerably more detailed than most, as they are more focused on specific periods. There a emore volumes in this series as well.

Richard Hadlock, Jazz Masters Of The . There are volumes in this series for different decades. Each ains biographies of twenty or so major musicians of the era.

Leonard Feather, Inside Bebop. Feather wrote this book to try to explain bebop to skeptics back in tays when the music was new and controversial.

Valerie Wilmer, Jazz People. This book contains interviews with various legends of the 1950's and 19.

Valerie Wilmer, As Serious As Your Life. This book concentrates on the avant garde and new music of subsequent decades. It is highly political in nature.

Ross Russell, Bird Lives. This is an anecdotal biography of Charlie Parker.

Gary Giddens, Celebrating, substitution, and voice leading.

Chuck Sher, The Improvisor's Bass Method. This book starts with the most basic instruction on playine bass, including fingering charts and how to read music, and progresses to conventional jazz musctery with applications to playing the bass. It also contains several transcribed bass lines and ols y ell-known bass players such as Scott LeFaro, Charles Mingus, Paul Chambers, Ron Carter, andothrs.
Steve Houghton and Tom Warrington, Essential Styles For The Drummer And Bassist. This book is a recif basic patterns for 30 styles of music, from pop to funk to reggae to Latin to jazz. It includesaC.
Peter Erskine, Drum Concepts And Techniques. This book explains the basics of drum set technique.

Frank Malabe and Frank Weiner, Afro-Cuban Rhythms For The Drum Set. This book describes the various can and Latin American percussion styles and how to play them on the drum set.

Ed Thigpen, The Sound Of Brushes. This book explores techniques of brushwork for drummers.

Andy Laverne, Handbook Of Chord Substitutions. This book, useful for pianists and arrangers, discussarious ways to reharmonize songs. The substitutions are much more advanced than the tritone and Clrn ii-V types discussed in this primer.

P. Rinzler, Jazz Arranging And Performance Practice: A Guide For Small Ensembles. This book is gearere toward group performance than individual improvisation.

David Baker, Arranging And Composing. The emphasis is on arranging for small groups, from trios to gs with four or five horns.

11. Appendix B: Annotated Discography

The best readily available jazz discography of which I am aware is the Penguin Guide To Jazz On CompDisc, which contains listings and reviews of virtually all jazz albums that were in print in the al 990's. The book was edited in the United Kingdom, and there is a slight European avant garde san t te ratings, but it is still the most complete, accurate, and generally useful discography ofalltyps o jazz available to the general public.

The following discography is included to supplement the history discussion. Many of the specific art and albums mentioned there are listed here, with a brief description of each. The albums listed r rm my personal collection, and are listed in roughly chronological order, organized by style. Ihae rid to include mainly albums that I know are readily available, especially those that have ben rissed n CD.

11.1. Basic Recommendations

I encourage you to check out any album mentioned more than once by name in the text of this primer. e albums include Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue and John Coltrane's Giant Steps. These two albums illutaemany of the ideas and techniques discussed in this primer, and are considered among the most ipotat azz albums of all time.

To supplement these classic albums, you should consider some recordings by the remainder of the musis in the "Top Ten List". Most of Louis Armstrong's important recordings were made before the adveto he LP, so any album of his you buy today is probably a compilation. Look for something that cotansreordings made in the 1920's with the Hot Five or the Hot Seven. Duke Ellington led one of th gratet bg bands ever, but also made many recordings in small group settings. Look for recordingsthatfeatre Cotie Williams, Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, or Jimmy Blanton. Billie Holiday's voice dvelopd andchangd over her career; you may wish to check out something from early and late in her ife. Carlie arker' greatest and most influential recordings were as the leader of a quartet or quntet; tere arehundred of compilations to choose from.

Art Blakey was the first musician on this list to record extensively in the LP format. Any of the al by the Jazz Messengers from the late 1950's or early 1960's, such as Moanin' or Ugetsu, are goodcocs. The quintessential Charles Mingus album is Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus, which fetuesErc Dolphy. For Thelonious Monk, the compilations on Blue Note are excellent, as are albums fom he 950s and 1960's such as Brilliant Corners and Monk's Dream. For Ornette Coleman, try one ofthe arlyquaret albums like The Shape Of Jazz To Come, and when you are feeling braver, Free Jazz.Ornete als lead a fusion oriented group called Prime Time; you may wish to check out some of thei album as wel.

Miles Davis can hardly be fairly represented by only Kind Of Blue; you should also consider The Birt The Cool, Miles Smiles, Sketches Of Spain, and Bitches Brew at the very least, as they representvr ifferent periods in his career, all of them innovative. Similarly, John Coltrane is not sufficenlyreresented by only Giant Steps; you should supplement this with something from the classic qurte lie ALove Supreme, and, if you are feeling adventurous, one of the later albums such as Ascenion.
11.2. Listing

Louis Armstrong, The Louis Armstrong Story, Columbia several volumes, including records with the Hote and the Hot Seven, as well as recordings with Earl Hines and others

Art Tatum, The Complete Capitol Recordings, Capitol solo and trio recordings

Bix Beiderbecke, Bix Beiderbecke, Columbia several volumes, including recordings with various big ba
Duke Ellington, Duke Ellington, Laserlight a sampler including recordings from the 1930's through th60's, featuring Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams, Ben Webster, and Paul Gonsalves

Errol Garner, Concert By The Sea, Columbia this was for a long time the best selling jazz album everarlie Parker, Bebop & Bird, Hipsville/Rhino several volumes, including sessions with Bud Powell, FsNvarro, Miles Davis, J.J. Johnson, Art Blakey, and Max Roach

Charlie Parker, The Quintet, Debut/OJC a famous live concert with Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charlingus, and Max Roach

Bud Powell, The Amazing Bud Powell, Blue Note trio and small group recordings with Fats Navarro and y Rollins

Thelonious Monk, The Best Of Thelonious Monk, Blue Note early boppish recordings

Miles Davis, The Complete Birth Of The Cool, Capitol nine piece group with Lee Konitz, J.J. Johnson,ry Mulligan, and John Lewis

Lennie Tristano, Wow, Jazz a sextet with Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh

Dave Brubeck, Time Out, Columbia featuring Paul Desmond and "Take Five"

Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers, A Night At Birdland, Blue Note featuring Horace Silver and CliffBrown

Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers, Moanin', Blue Note featuring Lee Morgan and Bobby Timmons

Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers, Ugetsu, Milestone featuring Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, and is Fuller

Clifford Brown, Study In Brown, EmArcy the quintet with Max Roach

Horace Silver, The Best Of Horace Silver, Applause several of his most well-known compositions

Miles Davis, Walkin', Prestige one of Miles' favorite albums; hard bop with J.J. Johnson and Horace er

Lee Morgan, The Sidewinder, Blue Note hard bop

Miles Davis, Workin' With The Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige the first great quintet with John ColtraRed Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones

Miles Davis, Kind Of Blue, Columbia the quintessential modal album, with John Coltrane, Cannonball Aly, Bill Evans, and Wynton Kelly

Miles Davis, Complete Concert 1964, Columbia the forerunner to the second great quintet, with Georgeeman, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, playing standards

Miles Davis, Miles Smiles, Columbia the second great quintet with Wayne Shorter, at its peak

Miles Davis, Sketches Of Spain, Columbia with the Gil Evans Orchestra

John Coltrane, Soul Trane, Prestige one of Coltrane's favorites of his early albums, with Red Garland Philly Jo Jones

John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic the album that established Coltrane as one of the most importanprovisers of his day

John Coltrane, My Favorite Things, Atlantic the forerunner to his long lived quartet with McCoy Tyned Elvin Jones

John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, Impulse the crowning modal achievement of the quartet

Charles Mingus, Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus, Candid the classic album with Eric Dolphy

Charles Mingus, Mingus Ah Um, Columbia contains his most well-known compositions

Charles Mingus, Let My Children Hear Music, Columbia supposedly Mingus' favorite of his own albums; music arranged for a large ensemble

Thelonious Monk, Monk's Music, Riverside with John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, and others

Thelonious Monk, Monk's Dream, Columbia his long-lived quartet with Charlie Rouse

Bill Evans, Sunday At The Village Vanguard, Waltz For Debby, Riverside available as a combined set; ve recording from the trio with Scott LeFaro and Paul Motian

Wes Montgomery, Full House, Riverside an early hard boppish recording

Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige one of his most popular albums

Sonny Rollins, The Bridge, RCA with Jim Hall

Chick Corea, Inner Space, Atlantic an album of mostly straightahead jazz with Woody Shaw

Herbie Hancock, Maiden Voyage, Blue Note modal, non-tonal, and avant garde compositions with Freddiebard, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams

Wayne Shorter, Speak No Evil, Blue Note some of his best compositions, with Freddie Hubbard and Herbancock

VSOP, The Quintet, Columbia live recording with Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron er, and Tony Williams

Eric Dolphy, Eric Dolphy At The Five Spot, Prestige with Booker Little and Mal Waldron

Eric Dolphy, Out To Lunch, Blue Note influential avant garde recording

Andrew Hill, Point Of Departure, Blue Note with Eric Dolphy and Joe Henderson

Max Roach, The Max Roach Trio Featuring The Legendary Hassan, Atlantic Hassan Ibn Ali is a little knpianist who combines aspects of Thelonious Monk, Cecil Taylor, and Don Pullen; this is his only konrcording, and is highly recommended

Ornette Coleman, The Shape Of Jazz To Come, Atlantic one of his best freebop quartet albums

Ornette Coleman, Free Jazz, Atlantic a collective free improvisation with Don Cherry, Freddie Hubbarnd Eric Dolphy

John Coltrane, New Thing At Newport, Impulse live concert; half of this album is the Archie Shepp qut

John Coltrane, Interstellar Space, Impulse free duets with Rashied Ali

John Coltrane, Ascension, Impulse free large ensemble improvisation

Albert Ayler, Witches & Devils, Freedom avant garde

Pharoah Sanders, Live, Theresa similar in style to Coltrane's A Love Supreme, but more free

Cecil Taylor, Jazz Advance, Blue Note relatively straightahead music, including some standards, but Taylor's sense of harmonic freedom

Cecil Taylor, For Olim, Soul Note free solo piano

Cecil Taylor, Spring Of Two Blue J's, Unit Core free group improvisation

Sun Ra, Out There A Minute, Restless/BlastFirst avant garde big band

Miles Davis, Bitches Brew, Columbia early, relatively free fusion with Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul, JohLaughlin

Mahavishnu Orchestra, Inner Mounting Flame, Columbia heavy rock oriented fusion with John McLaughlinny Williams' Lifetime, Emergency, Polydor heavy rock oriented fusion with John McLaughlin

Herbie Hancock, Headhunters, Columbia funk oriented fusion

Weather Report, Heavy Weather, Columbia pop oriented fusion with Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Jaco Paius

Chick Corea and Return To Forever, Light As A Feather, Polydor Latin oriented fusion with Stanley Cl and vocalist Flora Purim

Pat Metheny, Bright Size Life, ECM esoteric fusion with Jaco Pastorius

Steps Ahead, Modern Times, Elektra Musician tight modern fusion with Michael Brecker

Miles Davis, You're Under Arrest, Columbia funkier modern fusion

Ornette Coleman and Prime Time, Virgin Beauty, Portrait free modern fusion

Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Nice Guys, ECM post modern jazz, world music, and freebop with Lester Bowie Roscoe Mitchell

World Saxophone Quartet, Dances And Ballads, Elektra Nonesuch a capella (unaccompanied) saxophone qut with David Murray

David Murray, New Life, Black Saint octet with Hugh Ragin on trumpet

Anthony Braxton, Composition 98, hat ART a post modern suite featuring Marilyn Crispell, Hugh Ragin, Ray Anderson

John Carter, Castles Of Ghana, Gramavision a suite of post modern compositions

Willem Breuker, Bob's Gallery, BVHaast avant garde big band

Don Pullen / George Adams Quartet, Don't Lose Control, Soul Note blues oriented post modern jazz

Improvised Music New York 1981, MU energy music with Derek Bailey, Sonny Sharrock, Fred Frith, and JZorn

Oregon, 45th Parallel, Portrait New Age pioneers

Paul Bley, Floater, Savoy harmonically liberated trio doing compositions by Paul and Carla Bley as was Ornette Coleman

Abdullah Ibrahim, African Dawn, Enja solo piano with South African influences

Keith Jarrett, Mysteries, Impulse quartet with Dewey Redman doing relatively free post bop with worlsic influences

Wynton Marsalis, Think Of One, Columbia adventurous neoclassic quintet with Branford Marsalis, Kennykland, and Jeff Watts

Wynton Marsalis, Marsalis Standard Time, Columbia standards with rhythmic twists, featuring Marcus Rts

Branford Marsalis, Crazy People Music, Columbia adventurous neoclassic quartet with Kenny Kirkland aeff Watts

Steve Coleman, Motherland Pulse, JMT acoustic M-Base

Steve Coleman, Drop Kick, Novus electric M-Base

Gary Thomas, The Kold Kage, JMT electric M-Base

Cassandra Wilson, Jump World, JMT vocal and electric M-Base with Steve Coleman, Gary Thomas, and Greby

Dave Holland, Extensions, ECM mostly acoustic modern quartet with Steve Coleman, Kevin Eubanks, and in "Smitty" Smith

Tim Berne, Pace Yourself, JMT frenetic post modern jazz

Michael Brecker, Michael Brecker, Impulse modern acoustic and electric post bop

Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, Geri Allen, Etudes, Soul Note modern acoustic post bop

Steve Lacy, Live At Sweet Basil, Novus modern acoustic post bop

Phil Woods, Heaven, Blackhawk post bop with Tom Harrell

Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Discovery, Blue Note post bop with Cuban influences

Don Byron, Tuskegee Experiments, Elektra Nonesuch post modern, post bop

Don Pullen, Kele Mou Bana, Blue Note post modern with world music and blues influences

David Murray, Shakill's Warrior, DIW post modern blues with Don Pullen on organ

12. Appendix C: Jazz Standards

The following tunes are among those most commonly played by jazz musicians. I have made an attempt ttegorize them based on how they are usually played. Most of the compositions are by jazz musician,ecpt for the ones marked "standard".

You should try to become familiar with as many of these tunes as possible. Most of them can be foundthe Real Book or in Chuck Sher's books.

All Blues blues, modal
All Of Me standard
All The Things You Are standard
Anthropology rhythm changes, swing
Au Privave blues, swing
Autumn Leaves standard
Beautiful Love standard
Beauty And The Beast rock
Billie's Bounce blues, swing
Black Orpheus Latin
Blue Bossa Latin
Blue In Green ballad, modal
Blue Monk blues, swing
Blue Train blues, swing
Blues For Alice blues, swing
Bluesette 3/4, swing
Body And Soul ballad, standard
C Jam Blues blues, swing
Caravan Latin, swing
Ceora Latin
Cherokee swing
Confirmation swing
Darn That Dream ballad, standard
Desafinado Latin
Dolphin Dance modal, non-tonal
Donna Lee swing
Don't Get Around Much Anymore swing
E.S.P non-tonal
A Foggy Day standard
Footprints 3/4, blues, modal
Freddie Freeloader blues, modal
Freedom Jazz Dance non-tonal
Four swing
Giant Steps swing
The Girl From Ipanema Latin
Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat ballad, swing
Have You Met Miss Jones standard
I Mean You swing
I Remember Clifford ballad, swing
I Thought About You standard
If I Were A Bell standard
Impressions modal
In A Sentimental Mood ballad, swing
In Walked Bud swing
Joy Spring swing
Just Friends standard
Killer Joe swing
Lady Bird swing
Lullaby Of Birdland swing
Mr. P.C. blues, swing
Maiden Voyage modal
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy rock
Misty ballad, standard
Moment's Notice swing
My Favorite Things 3/4, modal, standard
My Funny Valentine ballad, standard
My Romance standard
Naima ballad, modal
A Night In Tunisia Latin, swing
Nica's Dream Latin, swing
Nostalgia In Times Square swing
Now's The Time blues, swing
Oleo rhythm changes, swing
On Green Dolphin Street Latin, swing, standard
Ornithology swing
Recorda Me Latin
Red Clay rock
Round Midnight ballad, swing
St. Thomas Latin
Satin Doll swing
Scrapple From The Apple swing
The Sidewinder blues, swing
So What modal
Solar swing
Some Day My Prince Will Come 3/4, standard
Song For My Father Latin
Speak No Evil modal, non-tonal
Stella By Starlight standard
Stolen Moments blues, modal
Straight, No Chaser blues, swing
Sugar swing
Summertime standard
Take Five 5/4, modal
Take The "A" Train swing
There Is No Greater Love standard
There Will Never be Another You standard
Up Jumped Spring 3/4, swing
Waltz For Debby 3/4, swing
Wave Latin
Well, You Needn't swing
When I Fall In Love ballad, standard
Yardbird Suite swing

 
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