these 2 videos will make a significant difference to your playing! enjoy!


A quick summary.

lets take KEY of C major
CDEFGAB

our chords
HOME--
-----
ACEG,CEGB,EGBD

dominant--
--------------
GBDF,BDFA,DFAC,FACE

We are going to use the Bebop dominant scale when playing lines in order on a dom chord
the chord tones fall on the "on" beat the non-chord tones fall on the swung shuffle beat or "off" beat.
this linear pattern is played descending. lets try it out for G7 ( 'on' beat in red)

G F# F E D C B A G

that is descending from the root.
now lets descend from the 3rd

B A G F# F E D C B

next from the 5th

D C B A G F# F E D

next from the 7th

F E D C B A G F# F

this gives us an ability to have a linear line always match the correct pattern of having our chord tones land on the on beat and the non chord tones land on the "off" beat.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Part II

adding in arpeggios.

in the KEY of C major, we have 4 chords that are consonant with the dominant function. (these 4 are incompatible with tonic .)
-------------------
G7 ----------GBDF
Bmin7flat5- BDFA
Dmin7------ DFAC
Fmaj7------ FACE
--------------------

this means that we can arpeggio these chords and combine with our bebop descending scales.

here is a line (red is "on" beat)

FACE DFAC B A G F# F E D C B D F A G F# F E D C B A G B D F E long ring out for C major

 

Last edited: Jun 1, 2018

Thank you! This is great!

 

Lets examine some of the ways we can add variety in while using the bebop scale and arpeggios mixed.


-----------------
Red is "on" beat (make the Black note last shorter duration than red note.)

Start from F and ascend

F A C E

Now lets add in the Dmin7 or DFAC next , but start on the F or 3rd of Dmin7

F A C E F

okay ,now we descend to D

F A C E F D

Next we descend to A the 5th of Dmin7

F A C E F D A

Next we descend to F (where we began earlier)

F A C E F D A F

Next we ascend to B to begin outlining the Bmin7flat5 BDFA

F A C E F D A F B

Now we ascend adding in the DFA 3rd, 5th, 7th, of Bmin7flat5 BDFA

F A C E F D A F B D F A


Now for the finish we are descending to G note, and playing the descending G7 bebop scale.

F A C E F D A F B D F A G F# F E D C B A G

 

Next lets see how we can make a whole looping pattern that can repeat ( in same spot or octave higher or lower each time)

we just have to take the beginning portion of what we had last time.

F A C E F D A F

Now we are going to make same shape out of the Bmin7flat5 going to G7

B D F A B G D B

our first section is outlining Fmaj7 to Dmin7
our second section is outlining Bmin7flat5 to G7

Next we connect the 2 patterns

F A C E F D A F B D F A B G D B

this gives us an ability to loop , or repeat in ascending or descending octaves.

 

Next we are going to take this last pattern and make one looping repeating pattern for all 7 chords in C major

FACEFDAFBDFABGDB
Fmaj7 to Dmin7 to Bdim to G7
EGBDECGEACEGAFCA
Emin7 Cmaj7 Amin7 Fmaj7
DFACDBFDGBDFGEBG
Dmin7 Bdim G7 Emin7
CEGBCAECFACEFDAF
Cmaj7 Amin7 Fmaj7 Dmin7
BDFABGDBEGBDECGE
Bdim G7 Emin7 Cmaj7
ACEGAFCADFACDBFD
Amin7 Fmaj7 Dmin7 Bdim
GBDFGEBGCEGBCAEC
G7 Emin7 Cmaj7 Amin7

this shows us a master progression
one large pattern we can start anywhere and repeat any portion of it or repeat the whole pattern.

GBDFGEBGCEGBCAEC
G7 Emin7 Cmaj7 Amin7
FACEFDAFBDFABGDB
Fmaj7 to Dmin7 to Bdim to G7
EGBDECGEACEGAFCA
Emin7 Cmaj7 Amin7 Fmaj7
DFACDBFDGBDFGEBG
Dmin7 Bdim G7 Emin7
CEGBCAECFACEFDAF
Cmaj7 Amin7 Fmaj7 Dmin7
BDFABGDBEGBDECGE
Bdim G7 Emin7 Cmaj7
ACEGAFCADFACDBFD
Amin7 Fmaj7 Dmin7 Bdim

 

We can travel note by note in 2 ways

STEPWISE which is traveling small amounts from semi-tone to tone (traveling diatonic scale or bebop scale)
LEAPS which is any larger than distance of a tone, all the way to octave and larger.

We seen that STEPWISE we have using the Dominant bebop scale descending.
we can also travel through the diatonic scale this way from our root, 3rd,5th or 7th of G7

We seen that we can use arpeggios to expand the distance of traveling the notes so to introduce variety and more audibly express the chord function in our foundation .

We have the ability to use grace notes a semi-tome below our chord tone on the swung beat as well.
this adds another layer of detail.

Next we can add "button-hooks" or "enclosures) which means a scale tone above down to leading tone below, then arriving on the chord tone.

This allows us to add in more instances of triplets to sometimes change the duration of our notes.
----------------------


Note duration.

normally we have swung eight notes
take a triplet 123 123 123 123
we simply make the 1 or first note last the length of 1 and 2 counts, than have the 2nd note the 3 is.

this gives us
1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3

Our first note becomes longer than our 2nd note. our second note is the length of the 3rd note of a triplet.

one thing to note about shuffle or "swing"

when you get up to high tempos you must make the notes slightly more square or even you will see this when playing yourself.


So our main rhythm is swing 8th notes.
this is our foundation of note durations, (2 main note duration as foundation)

Now ,just like how we talked about STEPWISE vs LEAPS as the way to mix up the distances of our notes traveling.

It is also just as important to have variety in the length of time each note lasts for. ( it sounds corny to have only swung 8th notes.)

Our first addition to variety in note duration is the triplet where we actually derived the swing to begin with

we can add it in in different areas, but note that we have to have the notes correctly match the on or off beat as we have talked about before.
-------

Lets start by examining a simple line constructed with already discussed techniques, which Begins with a structure of
Fmaj7 to DMin7 (red is the on beat black is the shorter note swing beat shuffle)

FACEDFAC

lets add in a Triplet in the intro of it by adding in a leading tone

EFACEDFAC

so because a triplet and a swing pair notes equal the same duration (123=12)
Anytime we are wanting to add a triplet to a swing 8th note pattern

it is an addition of 1 extra note. (make sure they are the right note also)

those three blue notes = same amount of time as the AC that follow it.

lets repeat this pattern
EFACE

the first portion
EFA
takes up the same amount of time as the second portion
CE

loop this now

EFACE EFACE EFACE EFACE

you should feel comfortable with the steady flow of 123,1-2 123,1-2,123,1-2,123,1-2

Next lets take our little part
EFACE

and make is a sextuplet ( 2 combined triplets)

remember whenever adding triplet to a swing 8th notes you just need an additional note.
but remember we want our chord tones to always be on the "on" beat.

GEFACED

what we are doing here, is turning the intro from a leading tone into a button-hook or enclosure by adding a note one scale tone above our root.

G down to E up to F as one triplet

than the 3rd A 5th C 7th E ACE as the second triplet

finally we travel down to our D note the new root of Dmin7 and here we switch to swing 8th notes like this

GEFACEDFAC



So for our note durations so far we have the foundational 8th note swing, next a triplet so speed up and add occasional extra note.
Next note duration is to cut down slower to Quarter note, this makes every note played a chord tone and there are no "off" beats

(note this is the speed of the bass instrument laying down the foundation)
quarter notes are the chord tone foundation of the music.

so 1234 =( 1 2 )

Lets take our very last pattern we used.

GEFACEDFAC

we will add in upper A then C quarter notes to the intro of the melody

ACGEFACEDFAC

now for the finishing touches, we will put a descending G7 bebop scale starting on the B note

ACGEFACEDFACBAGF#FEDCB

 

Last edited: Jun 1, 2018

For our note durations ,we have talked about our standard 8th note swing

next the triplet ( fills in to be 123,123 instead of 1-21-2)
and the quarter note ( all notes on the beat like the steady baseline)

we also have the half note and whole note, where at times you can have a note ring out for a long time so to have more varitey and impact in the sound. for instance

lets make a tiny line of swing 8th notes using what we have covered.based on a G7

our first note is going to be a half note on the 5th or D

next lets jump up to A down to F# up to G as a enclosure and triplet

next up to a B on the beat up to D (off beat) up to F then slide down to E

then down to A up to C (off beat) up to E down to D (off beat)

down to B up to C (on the off beat)
-----------
here is the whole thing


D,AF#GBDFEACEDBC then end on a E half note

 

Last edited: Jun 1, 2018

@MMJ2017 I am preparing a word file, which will be converted to pdf from the material you posted here. I will share it when it is completed.

 

Lets now look at a simple aspect of scale tones

check out this melody (structure is G7 add9 GBDFA)

F E D C B G A

extending it

F E D C B G A G F D E D C A B F E long note C maj7

Structure is (G7add9 GBDFA, to Cmaj7)

 

@MMJ2017 I was thinking of going to take some music theory classes at the local college but with your posts I much rather use the money for equipment. Thanks for your posts.

 

Grab new version in later posts

Spoiler: Changelog

Added some material myself
Youtube videos are embedded in docx file, and you can watch videos in the word.
I added the pdf file just if anyone wants to print, and it does not have videos in it!

Please add useful material to this book.

Spoiler: For adding embedded youtube video

insert this code into VideoOnline button in Word (replace changethis with youtube video ID and paste it into embeded video bar):

Code:

<iframe class="videoContainer__video" width="1366" height="768" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/changethis?modestbranding=1&autoplay=1&controls=1&fs=0&rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

@MMJ2017 Edit your valuable information and style or organization if necessary.

 

Last edited: Jun 6, 2018

@MMJ2017 would I ask you to spend some time for analyzing the scores note-by-note (not chord by chord) instead of making structures for improvisation?

Improvisation based on structures is an excellent approach that helps people to make music fast but making music fast is not the all that the composer needs.

If you've taken a look at the classical scores, you'd see that the Mr. analyzer scrutinizes them so carefully and note by note than applying reason based on improvisational techniques.

 

The Bebop scales.
----------------

We talked about the Dominant Bebop scale a bit earlier and looked at some ways to use it.

We also have a Bebop scale for the iimin7, and the Imaj7
After that we have more available chromatic notes to add to the 3 bebop scales in order to have chord tones land on the beat and non-chord tones on the "off" beat.

Let's start off with the Bebop scale for the iimin7 chord.

In Cmajor this is Dmin7 DFAC

we start with the Dorian mode DEFGABC

we then add the C# to get,

DEFGABCC#
Now like discussed before we use these scales mostly Descending
This will give us

D C# C B A G F E D

(note:make your red note twice as long in duration then the black note to create SWING)


Lets add in a Fmaj7 to DMin7 arpeggio in the intro of the line.

F A C E D F A C D C# C B A G F E D

------------------------------------------------


Next up we have the Bebop scale that belongs to the Imaj7 chord.

in Key of C major this is Cma7 CEGB

it uses the Ionian mode

CDEFGAB

we add a #5th to create a major Bebop scale.
CDEFGG#ABC

Like before we use it Descending mostly

CBAG#GFEDC

Lets Add a Emin7 to Cmaj7 Arpeggio to the intro of this line

EGBDCEGBCBAG#GFEDC

We have now seen the 3 important Bebop scales to use.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Next we have the ability to expand upon these Bebop scales to add more chromatics so that we have more variety to use at our disposal.
Let's start ff with our Dmoninant7 Bebop scale for G7

we add in the F#

GABCDEFF#G

Descending this gives us

G F# F E D C B A G

If we add in the arpeggios Bmin7flat to G7 to the intro we get

BDFAGBDFG F# F E D C B A G


we can add in a A# and a G# to our bebop scale watch

G F#F E D C B A# A G# G
You can see this gives us an additional note A on our chord tones which land on the "on" beat in red

this creates the structure of G9 GBDFA

This gives us more options for our lines regarding note distances when dealing with STEPWISE vs LEAPS while changing notes.

It also gives us a way to have more detail when playing faster tempos.


Let's look at the added chromatic notes available for the Major Bebop scale in C amjor KEY

CDEFGG#AB

we can add in the D# and C# watch how it comes out when descending

CBAG#GFED#DC#C

You can see we have an additional D note as a chord tone on the "on" beat in red

this makes our structure for this line a CMaj9 CEGBD


We have now expanded our Bebop scales to include extra chromatics and giving us more tonal options and variety when playing.


---------------------------------




Lets now take a structure of Dmin9 to G9 to Cmaj9 DFACE,GBDFA,CEGBD)

We will use arpeggios ascending, Bebop scales with added chromatics Descending like we just discussed in order to see this in action.


FACEDFACDC#CBAGFEDFBA

BDFAGBDFGF#FEDCBA#AG#

EGBDCEGBCBAG#GFED#DC#

 

Lets now take a look at one of the advantages of our extended Bebop scales with extra chromatic notes.

Let's say we are Descending a bebop scale from root on the G7

GF#FEDCBAG

this works well ,because we have our 8 notes that match up correctly for the swing 8th notes.

But we have traveled from G to G again we ended up a octave lower than we started.

Sometimes we do not want to travel this far even though we want 8 note pattern and we want to descend.

let's look at our extended G7 Bebop scale with chromatics descending

GF#FEDCBA#AG#G

here we have the extra added notes of A# and G#

IF we wanted an 8 note pattern we can break it up different ways based on the chord tones of the G7

lets say we want 8 note descending pattern from B

BA#AG#GF#FED

interesting we got a string of notes more bunched up together and ending on a D note a chord tone of G7

lets try same thing but from D

DCBA#AG#GF#F

interesting again we get a pattern that lines right up with a chord tone at the end

how about from F our 7th

FEDCBA#AG#G

very cool we ended right on our root

so adding in these extra chromatic notes gives us a way to have more control over the distance of the notes we are traveling
we can travel octave to ocatve in 8 notes with the standard bebop scales

and with the extended bebop scales we can travel chord tone to chord tone with notes closer together

This can come in handy when playing faster or when wanting to add in triplets and faster note durations

 

dont forget to use the ignore button friends.......if a disease is not acknowledged sometimes it just poof!!! disappears

 

"Playing fast with the notes to fill the track without comparing the different combinations carefully is the ignorance", said Foster.

 

Now we are going to explore more connections in lines.

lets stay in C major for simplicity

and a foundation of
Dmin9 DFACE and go to G9 GBDFA to Cmaj9 CEGBD



We will start with an enclosure around the D

so E C# D

Then ascend to the F

E C# D F

Now go right into an enclosure of the G to begin the G9

so A F# G

Then ascend to the B up to D

A F# G B D

here is the whole line so far

E C# D F A F# G B D

Now ascend up to E and finally descend to land on long C note.

E C# D F A F# G B D E C



Now finally we are going to modify to make the first 6 notes a sextuplet

E C# D F A F# G B D E C long ring out