Lesson with Franzman

So, when will we continue?

Originally Posted by Franzman

So, when will we continue?

Soon. I'm in the middle of an apartment hunt, and school starting, so I'll be a little slow for a few days.

Originally Posted by Franzman

What about other scales?... I'm kinda curious about the Bebop scale ...

So, we've got a handle on major & minor scales/modes/chords. Cool.

Bebop scales are an invention by (duh) the beboppers...and here's why: The whole thing of bop is 'running changes'. Up, down, left, right - arpeggios, guide tones, alterations and extensions, tri-tone subs...it's all just running changes. Now, when you see a Dominant chord, and should you choose to play the descending mixolydian mode, it doesn't line up properly.

[I don't have access to finale & internet at the same time...so we're lacking visual aids this time]

8th notes being the boppers choice:

C Bb A G F E D C
1  + 2 + 3 + 4 +

See?! All the strong beats have non-chord tones on them. Sucky! By Adding a single quick passing note, we can fix this.

C B Bb A G F E D C
1 +  2 + 3 + 4 + 1

Nice!!

Going down is when the coolness is so apparent. Either way, the extra note plops the root right down on 1 of the next bar, setting you up nicely for the next chord.

Bebop Dominant: C D E F G A Bb [ B] C
Bebop Dorian: C D Eb [E] F G A Bb C
Bebop Major: C D E F G [Ab] A B C

The added notes are simply to help it flow better and shouldn't really sound or be accented...

So all you do is add a chromatic note? Simple. I thought it was much more complicated than that.

I think that we should move onto (or rather, move back) melodic construction and such, because just knowing the scales and modes won't do it for me (i'm just too dumb I guess ). I want to know how I can use this knowledge and put em into composition and arrangement (and ofcourse in Improvisation, because what is improvisation without somesort of melodic logic/thought behind it?). ^^ Do you follow?

Originally Posted by Franzman

I think that we should move onto melodic construction and such... I want to know how I can use this knowledge and put em into composition and arrangement (and of course in Improvisation, because what is improvisation without somesort of melodic logic/thought behind it?)

Okay...

What you need to do is be aware of two parts of all this. Chords and scales. Chords and chord-tones are what sound good, and let listeners know you know what you're doing. Scales are good for connecting everything together; again, so you sound like you know what you're doing.

Attached is a leadsheet for the Kern/Hammerstein tune 'All The Things You Are'.

Now, chord tones - a good way to organize yourself melodically is with 'target notes'. It may be at the end of a 4 measure phrase, in the middle of an 8th-note run, or at some main tonal shift in the tune. The point is, to have a clear goal in sight, and a clear way to get there.

Guide Tones (not sure if I mentioned these here): are the third and seventh of a chord. These notes make up the meat & potatoes of the chord. 1 and 5 are merely filler, and have little to do with defining the chord; 9, 11, 13 are simply color. The 3rd defines major/minor. 7th, dominant/otherwise.

A cool thing about 3rds and 7ths appears when you analyze the ii-V7-I progression. Looking at All The Things, measures 2-4.

Bbmin7 ... Eb7 ... AbMaj7.

We all know the construction of 7th chords, right?

Start on the 3rd of Bbmin7: Db.
What's the next logical choice, for Eb7? Db. (7th)
And for AbMaj7? C (3rd)

Flows nicely: Db, Db, C.

Works the other way too

7th of Bbmin7: Ab
3rd of Eb7: G
7th of AbMaj7: G

Alternating 3rds and 7ths makes a nicely contoured line: works beautifully for backgrounds. These work well for target notes in improvisation.

Quickie assignment: For each chord, pick a single note, find a line that flows nicely through the changes. Avoid 1 if at all possible...5 is okay...3rd or 7th preferable.

(spoiler) ...in 4-measure phrases:
C Db Db C | C B B-B |
Bb Ab Ab G | G F# F#-F# | G F# F#-F#||
A A G#-G# | Ab Ab G G
F E Eb D | Db Db C-C ||

Another one:
Ab Ab G G | F F E-E |
Eb Eb D D | C C B-B | C C B-B ||
E D# D# E | Eb Db Db C |
C B Bb A | Ab G G-G ||


Dunno how it sounds as a whole, but it goes to show that a simple line can be found to weave through the changes. Looking at the melody for All The Things you'll notice that it uses (for the most part) 3rds of the chord. Neat, eh?!

Now, what to do is to pick one of these notes as a target, and utilize scales/modes to aproach and unify them.

SO: looking at the tune, can you identify the parent major (or minor) scale for each chord?

....aaaaaaand.....GO!

Ok, I'm ready to resume this.
Here's my take on guide tones to this song: (sorry if I'm a pain in the ass with my way of writing)

Chord | Parent Major Scale

F-7: Eb Major
Ab

Bb-7: Ab Major
Ab

Eb7: Ab Major
Bb

AbMaj7: Ab Major:
C

DbMaj7: Db Major
B

G7: C Major
B

Cmaj7: C Major
E

C-7: Bb Major
Eb

F-7: Eb Major
Eb

Bb7: Db Major
F

EbMaj7: Eb Major
G

AbMaj7: Ab Major
G

D7: G Major
A

Gmaj7: G Major
B

A-7: G Major
C

D7: G major
C

Gmaj7: G Major
F#

F#-7: E Major
A

B7: E Major
D

Emaj7: E Major
D#

C+7: C# Major
Eb

F-7: G Major
Eb

Bb7: Db Major
F

EbMaj7: Eb Major
G

AbMaj7: Ab Major
G

DbMaj7: Db Major
Ab

Db-7: B Major
C

C-7: Bb Major
Eb

Bdim7: B Whole-Half Scale
D

Bb-7: Ab Major
D

Eb7: Ab Major
Db

Abmaj7: Ab Major
C

Good, the concept is solid...but you might also think about the line, and smoothing it out. Think of them like Bach, and four-part-harmony. You always want the smoothest and most logical line... generally. So, somethings to think about:

Originally Posted by Franzman

F-7:
Ab

Bb-7
Ab

Eb7:
Bb

AbMaj7:
C

DbMaj7:
B ...maybe stay with the C

G7:
B

Cmaj7:
E (bit of a jump here, but it does set you up nicely for the descending line...)

C-7:
Eb

F-7:
Eb

Bb7:
F (...which you abandoned here. Could have gone to D, and kept that going....then to D again, C, C, B....)

EbMaj7:
G

AbMaj7:
G

D7:
A

Gmaj7:
B

A-7:
C

D7:
C

Gmaj7:
F#

F#-7:
A

B7:
D (D#)

Emaj7:
D#

C+7:
Eb (A tricky one....E-natural)

F-7:
Eb

Bb7:
F

EbMaj7:
G

AbMaj7:
G

DbMaj7:
Ab

Db-7:
C

C-7:
Eb

Bdim7:
D

Bb-7:
D (Db)

Eb7:
Db

Abmaj7:
C

Generally, it's quite nice and would probably work well. Do you want to try and play it? (Check your PMs) If you want to , play it and see...it'll give you a good idea of what works and what doesn't.

God, i tried playing whole notes over this and some things sounded out-right horrible. I think I'll have to reevaluate my choices. :p

Originally Posted by Franzman

God, i tried playing whole notes over this and some things sounded out-right horrible. I think I'll have to reevaluate my choices. :p

There you go...

Essentially, what you're doing is writing a melody (a shitty, boring one), and some melodies are stronger than others. Take what sounded bad, and tweak it a bit, feeling out the best resolutions and contours...

...

Hello again. I need some advise on range improvement and support strengthening. I'm having serious trouble with my range above G4 and my lead 'bone chair position now demands Bb4's and possibly even a C5 from me. =/

So a bit of solid tips from you would be gold worth.