Lesson with Jordan

Jazz...


Where to begin... Jordan!? What do you know about:

Chords?
Scales & modes?

Lemme know!

well... it's hard to say. a lot

I recently went to a jazz festival in Kincardine, Ontario. (Canada). I was taught by Canadian jazz greats, like Alex Dean, Mike Malone and Dave McMurdo (with whom I am taking a jazz composition course on the 7th of September). this was a crazy good experience, that left me wanting more. I received a very big compliment, also, from Dave, after my first solo there, over a G blues progression :

" I hate the clarinet. the only time I like it is when Phil Nimmons plays it, and even then it's just ok. that was pretty damn good, for a clarinet."

anyhow, I digress. I received a lesson from Alex Dean about bop. I have always enjoyed bop solos, and I have always loved that sound, the sound that seems just like random 16th runs, just pulled out of nowhere to the untrained ear. I never knew what it was called until now, and I really want to continue to learn it.

I will say this : I love composition, and I want to compose jazz stuff. I've gotten a start, in fact you've even commented on one of mine, and that's fine. eventually, it would be cool to learn various composition techs, but seeing as I will be learning from Mike Malone and Dave McMurdo in a week and a half, I think that I would instead, like you to talk to me about bop, when to use it, over what chords, and how to put together a solo with it. I know that it's fairly general. but, why don't we start with the basics, and work up. a lot of it will be re-iteration for me, but that's good.

so, in summary, bop basics. what it is, what scales to use it on, and how to put together a cohesive solo. starting with the beginners' guide. thanks in advance!

Cool. Dave McMurdo is a killing writer of straight-ahead charts...and all those T.O. cats can play their asses off. Where are you working with them - a workshop or school setting?

Anyway...to approach improv in a boppish sense, you need to maintain a sense of melody, harmony, and forward motion. It's tough to outline harmony whilst being melodic, with energy. SO, you need a clear idea of where you're going, and how you're gonna get there.

First - know the tune. Cold. Inside and out. Know the melody; know the form; know the changes; know the words (?! ...yeah). There's kind of two aspects to improvisation: Linear, and vertical.

Linear is exactly that - thinking in a lateral motion, melodically, aiming two bars, 8 bars, a whole chorus, 4 choruses down the line.

Vertical is a more traditional approach - thinking in chord-tones and target notes.

Incorporating both aspects is key; maintaining a good line while nailing the changes...

Okay...the abridged chord/scale stuff:

Bop and most swing-based jazz-type music centres around a key. ii-V-I (see Autumn Leaves) or I-vi-ii-V-I (Oleo). You can use the same scale over chunks of the form.

Gmin7 // C7 // FMaj7

Gmin7 = Dorian = 2nd mode of F Major
C7 = Mixolydian = 5th mode of F Major
FMaj7 = Ionian = 1st mode of F Major

No problem!

I - Ionian - Maj7
ii - Dorian - min7
iii - Phrygian - min7(b9)
IV - Lydian - Maj7(#11)
V - Mixolydian - 7
vi - Aeolian - min7(b6)
vii - Locrian - ø7 [ min7(b5) ]

Does this make sense? Here's a bit more depth in this thread.

Another thing to be aware of is each chord and its notes:

Gmin7 = G Bb D F
C7 = C E G Bb
FMaj7 = F A C E

Hugely important notes: 3rd and 7th. Find a tune with ii-V's...watch the 3rds or 7ths ...Oooh neat!

They flow...nicely. See above, our ii-V in F. 3rd of Gmin (Bb) , 7th of C7 (Bb), 3rd of FMaj (A). Beautiful. 7th of Gmin (F), 3rd of C7 (E), 7th or FMaj (E) ...again, smooooth.

Does this make sense?! Lemme know. If so, we can move onwards and upwards!!

I think for the most part this is clear, but let me re-iterate in my own words to see whether I'm just under a delusion of knowledge.

the song is in C. I encounter this chord : Cmaj7(#11). upon seeing that, I start to solo in the lydian mode, which in this case just means playing C major starting on F. is that about right?

also, upon seeing this chord, I do various fancy things. then, Dmin7 comes up, and I play around, ending the bar on an c, and then going down to an Bb at the beginning of the next bar, which works because the next chord is G, and this is a ii-IV progression. is this kinda right? or are there some holes?

also, I was in a sort of workshop setting with those guys. Alex Dean did master classes in the Morning, we broke for lunch, and then I went to my ensemble, which did a bunch of tunes. Mike and Dave lead the ensemble. repeat this every day for a week. it was awesome. it was done in a highschool, though... so it's combination

Originally Posted by Jordan

...I encounter this chord : Cmaj7(#11). upon seeing that, I start to solo in the lydian mode, which in this case just means playing C major starting on F. is that about right?

Almost. CMaj7(#11) does indeed indicate the lydian mode, but it would be C Lydian, not F; meaning the 4th mode of G-Major. Whichever root you have for the chord, is the root/tonic of your mode.

Try this: What's the parent major-scale of these modes?

• Ab Dorian
• F Mixolydian
• Eb Phrygian
• G Lydian
• D Aeolian

What mode is indicated by these chord symbols?

• Fmin7
• G7
• Aø7
• EbMaj7(#11)
• Cmin7(b6)

:: You need to recognize what mode is being implied, and what parent scale to use.

Originally Posted by Jordan

...Dmin7 comes up, and I play around, ending the bar on an C, and then going down to an Bb at the beginning of the next bar, which works because the next chord is G, and this is a ii-IV progression. is this kinda right? or are there some holes?

Again, close. If the G chord is G7 (dominant), there'd be a B-natural rather than a Bb.

Dmin7 - ii - D F A C
G7 - V - G B D F
CMaj7 - I - C E G B

Guide tone line 1 = C, B, B. (7, 3, 7)
Guide tone line 2 = F, F, E. (3, 7,3)

Make sense?

HEY - do you own a realbook? Aebersolds?

alrighty, here we go.

* Ab Dorian = GbMaj
* F Mixolydian = BbMaj

* Eb Phrygian = BMaj.. and I think that it should actually be D# Phyrgian, no? because BMaj is cited using sharps, not flats?

* G Lydian = DMaj
* D Aeolian = FMaj

and the other set :

* Fmin7 = dorian
* G7 = mixolydian
* Aø7 = Locrian
* EbMaj7(#11) = lydian
* Cmin7(b6) = aeolian

just for reference, I didn't look at your second post until afterwards for clarification.. and it seems that (the bottom set anyhow) is all right. I will admit that I had to look for the last one, but I have all the others down.

also, about the ii-IV thing I suggested earlier, I was thinking G minor for some reason. I understand that concept, it was just a little blip.

and no, I don't own either of the last 2 things you said.

Everything looks good, I'll clarify oine point:

Originally Posted by Jordan

* Eb Phrygian = BMaj.. and I think that it should actually be D# Phyrgian, no? because BMaj is cited using sharps, not flats?

Eb Phrygian is technically derived from Cb Maj. Same thing as D# Phryg and B Maj, but different.

Either way, looks like you're solid. No realbook? Do you have leadsheets for tunes or anything? I'll lay some on you when we get into it...

well, what's a realbook, hook me up. I have some lead sheets, yea, but you probably have better ones, seeing as you are university for it.

and yea, I was thinking that it should be Cb to go along with it.. but then I thought he wouldn't be that arrogant Cb? who uses that? (and don't answer every famous composer plus blah, blah blah...)

Originally Posted by Jordan

well, what's a realbook, hook me up. I have some lead sheets

a Realbook (or fakebook) is just a collection of leadsheets and tunes. When necessary, I'll post pdfs of tunes we'll look at for changes and such.

Originally Posted by Jordan

...and yea, I was thinking that it should be Cb to go along with it.. but then I thought he wouldn't be that arrogant Cb? who uses that?

alright, so I know about modes. what's next? let's keep going, I like what you're doing so far.