Bebop Improv Concepts

Hans Fahling

U.S. $17,
Euro 18,-
Copyright © 2001 by Hans Fahling.
All Rights Reserved. Berlin, Germany

1
About the Author

Hans Fahling began studying music on his own at the age of 15. In 1990, he
moved to Los Angeles to attend the Musicians Institute (M.I.), where he studied
Jazz Theory and Improvisation with Scott Henderson, Joe Diorio, and Sid
Jacobs, a.o.. He completed the MI degree and later his Bachelor degree (Cornish
College of the Arts, Seattle) with highest honors.

In addition to recording with Northwest projects like the Seattle Hip-Hop act
The Sharpshooters and providing his guitar skills to such legendary bands as
Cornell Gunther's The Original Coasters, Fahling has been working and
recording with the mentors he studied with at Cornish: The 1997 release "Before
Tomorrow" (CD) features Julian Priester as special guest artist and was produced
by Jim Knapp, who also had an important influence on the development of
Hans' talents in composition. His latest CD, Hamburg - Port Of Call
(OriginRecords), was released with a performance at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, in
September 2000, and has been a massive compositional endeavor - a
collaboration with NW painter, Patrick Haskett, with support from SAS Airlines
and many more American and European sponsors.
Currently writing for, and working with his American and German quartets, he is
expanding his HansFahlingWorkshops by establishing programs in Hamburg
and Berlin, Germany, adding to the already up and running workshop series at
the Seattle Drum School in Seattle, WA. His other book is called Composition
Workshop.

2
Contents

CHAPTER 1 1. Four Basic Chord Types 5

2. Chord Tones on Jazz Blues 6

CHAPTER 2 1. Jazz Cadences I : ii-V-I 9

2. Chord Tones on "Tune Up" 10

CHAPTER 3 1. Melodic Development 13

2. Schematic Variations 14

CHAPTER 4 1. Jazz Cadences II: ii-V-i minor key 16

2. Chord Tones on “What is this Thing Called Love” 18

CHAPTER 5 1. Chromaticism 20

CHAPTER 6 1. Substituting the I-chord 23

2. Substitution of the V-chord 24

CHAPTER 7 1. Substitution of the Altered Dominant 26

CHAPTER 8 1. Jazz Cadences III: Turnarounds 28

2. Rhythm Changes 29

CHAPTER 9 1. All- key Workouts 32

2. Repertoire 35

CHAPTER 10 1. Bebop on Modal Tunes 37

CHAPTER 11 1. Sequences Applied 42

2. Blues Lines Applied 44

APPENDIX Lesson Spread Sheet 46

CD Content guide 47

3
Introduction

Bebop Improv Concepts introduces you to the layout of your instrument through
methods in which a bebop musician traditionally learns to play Bebop. When
compared to other instructional books, Bebop Improv Concepts distinguishes itself as
a book that gives the learning player the tools of how to learn, not just what to learn! It
reflects the thought processes and learned impulses that a bebop musician takes
to ever greater speed and perfected accessibility – a requirement for
improvisation itself, based on musicians responding spontaneously and
immediately to every note around them. This book is intended for intermediate
and advanced players, since the study of it requires knowledge of basic music
theory, improvisation with scales, and the structure of chords.

After having studied the basics of this layout and made second nature to yourself
by steady practice and application, Bebop Improv Concepts will become a guide to
fostering these skills in a way that is congruent with how jazz greats have used
them in a musical and bebop-typical fashion. This will take studying further
extensions of the basic layout as well as learning solos, in other words, learning
traditional ways of application that have made this music – jazz – what it has
become to this day.

When studying this vast musical approach to your instrument, it is vital to

understand what it means to learn correctly and efficiently; jazz pianist/educator
Kenny Werner considers Positive Practice the fashion in which a new musical
element is learned fully before its practice can be replaced with the practice of
more material. The following Three Step Technique is essential to positively
making something new a part of your musical entity – to make it second nature:

• Logging an exercise refers to the very beginnings of learning a new musical

motive, idea, or concept; in this respect, every little nuance needs to be
played extremely slowly on your instrument – much like logging data on a
computer or a program. Mental visualization is a really helpful technique
here.
• Once the musical motive, idea, or concept is programmed (or logged) into your
nervous system, repetition is the key to fostering it to the point of it
becoming second nature to you; an average of eighteen days of repetition –
once a day at least – is needed for this to happen.
• The last step of this learning mechanism is the application of the acquired
skill in a musical context; again, this process of applying needs to be repeated
over quite a long period of time.

When attacking a new musical motive, idea, or concept, commit yourself to

taking it’s learning curve through all three steps of practicing – logging,
repetition, application; be patient by knowing that this process will work, and the
new element will become part of you – it will become second nature. With time,
it will get easier and faster for you to learn in this way. Eventually, it will become
quite effortless and addicting as a process, simply because you are developing this
technique just like any other skill. Again, be patient and persistent.

At the end of this book you will find a Lesson Spread Sheet (LSS). It can be used for
keeping track of what is being worked on and keeping structure in your workout.

4
 CHAPTER 1
1 Four Basic Chord Types

To be able to communicate in this language called Jazz, we have to define the

building blocks of harmony. Any seventh chord consists of the root (R), a third
(3), a fifth (5), and a seventh (7). For each of the following chord types, the value
of the chord depends on the interval relationship of its chord tones; for each
example, the formula of chord tones is illustrated by the types (perfect, major,
minor, diminished, or augmented) of partials of the chord in the upper row.
Below, the distance between the chord tones is indicated by major and minor
thirds.

Major 7th chords: R Ma3 P5 Ma7

(Ma3) (mi3) (Ma3)

PRACTICE (also see Exercises section) all twelve Maj7 chords (Cmaj7, Fmaj7,
Bbmaj7, etc.), each stretching over the complete register of your instrument as
illustrated in the example above. Apply the same practice concept to the
following 3 categories.

Dominant 7th chords: R Ma3 P5 mi7

(Ma3) (mi3) (mi3)

5
Minor 7th chords: R mi3 P5 Mi7
(mi3) (Ma3) (mi3)

Minor 7th b5 chords: R mi3 dim5 mi7

(mi3) (mi3) (Ma3)

2. Chord Tones on Jazz Blues

The musical system below shows the analysis of changes to the most common
version of the jazz blues form. This scheme can be applied to any key and is
played especially on jam sessions for just about nine out of ten blues tunes. In the
following sections, and exercises therein, you will learn to know this structure and
improve your skills on it, and all songs to come, in the concepts and fashions
prescribed in this book.

Jazz Blues Form

6
This chord structure is reflected in the next example; "Billie's Bounce" was
written by Charlie Parker and is a bop classic. LEARN & MEMORIZE this
melody and the changes before going on to the next exercises.

NOTE: This version of the head is slightly different from Bird's original
composition. It is taken from a George Benson/Herbie Hancock/Ron
Carter/Billy Cobham recording; this phenomenon of variation is very common
in the jazz world and reflects the tradition of putting one's own spin on things.
However, everyone studying this type of music should do the research and
definitely know the original composition.

7
 Exercises

The previous two sections already brought up the element of practicing certain
ideas, forms, concepts, etc.. Let's bring some structure into this;
CD track 2
illustration
1) On part 1. (Four Basic Chord Types) you are asked to learn and practice
all twelve maj7th chords, all twelve dominant 7th chords, etc...Well, this
is meant to be approached in a timely manner: Start with the dominant
7th chords only, namely the chords F7, Bb7, D7, and C7.
Go at your own pace; it is better to simplify your practice, if you feel that
you can't absorb all the information. The chunk might be simply too big,
or too many. The CD illustration track demonstrates how a chordal instrument
should approach this exercise. The chord voicingdoesn’thavetobeplayedandwould,
of course, be impossible for horn players.

2) Once these four chords begin to catch on in your playing, do the same
with a Gm7 chord (more minor chords later)

Before going on to the next exercise, you should spend several days of steady
practice on exercises 1) & 2), if not one to even two weeks, or more.

CD track 3 The exercise “One Direction Per Bar”

illustration
3) Map out the form of the Jazz Blues (F concert) by playing "one
direction per bar"; meaning: For F7 play the arpeggio ascendingly (the
whole register of instrument/position), then Bb7 descendingly, then (two
bars of) F7 asc. and desc., continuing through the rest of the form in this
manner. It is a good idea to invert this exercise; this entails to start
downwards with the F7, the the other direction for the Bb7 chord etc.
Also listen to CD Track 3.

4) After several days of letting this sink in through steady practice, work
out & practice: Play "continuous eighth or quarter notes" consisting of
chord tones only and connecting to the next chord by using the closest
available chord-tone…see example below. This exercise needs to be
played excruciatingly slowly at first. Once you are comfortable on this,
use the play-along track.
CD track 4
illustration

Remember: The line above is not to be memorized, but is rather an

illustration of the concept which needs to be figured out by applying the
instructions to the changes. Play the line just to get a better idea of the
concept.

CD track 5 & 6
F-Blues play-along
Slow (5) and fast (6)

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CHAPTER 2
1. Jazz Cadences I : major II-V-I

So-called "tonal" compositions are predominantly made up of typical jazz

cadences. The most common of those encountered is the II-V-I cadence. Since
this structure is encountered in many songs played in jazz, almost all jazz
musicians practice their understanding and skills on this structure in all keys.
Those skills can be drawn from for improvisation on all the tunes that use this
type of cadence. Here is a II-V-I in D major:

Exercises

By now, the basic chord tone practice of Chapter 1 should be smooth for F7,
Bb7, D7, C7, as well as Gm7. To continue on this foundation practice,

1) Figure out & practice the remaining eight dominant chords (for some
instruments, like guitar, this would apply more to different positions),
beginning with A7;

1 b) Figure out & practice the remaining minor 7th arpeggios, beginning
with Em7.

1 c) Figure out & practice all twelve Major 7th arpeggios, beginning with
Dmaj7.

Before going on to the next set of exercises, one should have a good start on
Em7, A7, and Dmaj7 arpeggios. Once that is the case, devise a plan to attack the
remaining dominant, minor, and major arpeggios as well as the following:

2) Map out the form of the D-major II-V-I (concert key) by playing "one
direction per bar"; follow the directions of exercise three of the previous
chapter.

3) Once comfortable with that, start on the roots invertedly, meaning:

Start on the highest root for the Em7 chord and play descendingly and,
accordingly, invert the direction for each chord opposite to the first
exercise's directions.

4) The last exercise on this topic will be to play "continuous 1/4 or 1/8
notes" over the II-V-I progression. This is similar to the last exercise of
Chapter 1. It is very helpful to create a play-along practice track for this
exercise. Eventually, use the random keys play-along on the CD (track
19)

9
2. Chord Tones on "Tune Up"

It is now time again to apply the knowledge and skills already acquired on a song.
"Tune Up" features a set of II-V-I's that descend in major seconds. Let's start by
learning/memorizing the melody for this song:

Exercises

When analyzing this song structure, it quickly becomes apparent that knowing II-
V-I cadences really well will greatly simplify improvising on this song. Let's
approach this concept in progressive steps.

After memorizing the melody for "Tune Up" and exercising your skills on its first
four bars, go on to the next:

10
 1. Take the second 4-bar phrase ( II-V-I in C-major) through the same
four practice steps from above.

2. Take the third 4-bar phrase (II-V-I in Bb-major) through the same
motions once you have spent a few days on the previous two
phrases.

All in all, these were the three main building blocks of this song. There's one
exception, however, with the fourth phrase:

3. As a (*)special cadence, this should also be taken through the same

motions as the other segments.

When the song is broken down into its harmonic phrases (four bars each), it will
look like this:

II-V-I in D major II-V-I in C major II-V-I in Bb major Special cadence (*)

II-V-I in D major II-V-I in C major II-V-I in Bb major II-V-I in D major

11
 4. In practice, assemble the song in its entire length by, once again,
practicing "one direction per measure" as described in CHAPTER 1.
CD track 7 & 8
“Tune Up” play-along
Slow (7) and fast (8)

5. Play "continuous chord tones" on the whole song; use quarter notes for a
couple of weeks before going on to eighth notes. Once again, this should
be done extremely slowly at first, starting

a) without time
b) with metronome, slowly increasing speed over weeks
c) with practice track.

12
 CHAPTER 3

1. Melodic Development

After having worked out all these mechanically practiced concepts, we can use
these now as foundations for musical playing. We will create musical phrases on
familiar song structures, using musical building blocks that we have elaborated on
up to this point.

Let's take a musical idea (melodic motif) and develop it melodically over an F-
blues structure:

This motif uses mostly notes that belong to the underlying chord. The objective
is to create a musical pattern - let's call it a scheme - and develop the motif along
its lines:

statement of motif ---------- repetition ---------- repetition and

resolution

The continuation of this scheme could then look like this:

CD track 9
illustration

13
2. Schematic Variations

There are, of course, variations in the design of a scheme, and one can be very
creative on that level. For example, a scheme can be altered at just about any
point of the sequence:

statement of motif ---------- variation -----motif----- variation and

resolution

or

statement of motif ---------- repetition ---------- variation

or

statement of motif ----- repetition ----- repetition ---- repetition and

resolution

The following is an excerpt from a Grant Green solo on a Bb-Blues (“Blues For
Willarene”, from the album Grant Green – Grant’s First Stand):

14
The next example is the beginning of a piano solo by Victor Feldman on
“Summertime”:

Exercises

Analyze and play the two excerpts above.

1) Write out the schemes of melodic development used, or rather

created.
2) Over a play-along track, or conventional record, improvise and
exercise the “scheme”; start with the most basic version as described
in the beginning of this chapter, and, once comfortable with it, start
experimenting with altering the schematic form.
3) Listen to jazz greats and realize how they use motivic development;
also note how they use this concept to play over bar lines , specifically,
by stretching or shortening the segments of the schematic forms
with the effect that their melodic phrases don’t always reflect the
harmonic phrases (sections) of the song structure.

15
 CHAPTER 4

1. Jazz Cadences II: minor key II-V-I

The most typical cadence in jazz for minor keys is also a II-V-I. To illustrate the
background for this, we’ll compare the musical harmonic systems of major and
minor and then analyze.

C-major

When harmonizing the steps of the major scale, as shown above, we have a
sequence of chords that consists of the Four Basic Chord Types. When looking at
the relative scale, A-minor, we will encounter the same set of chords, but with
another order and one slight modification.

A-minor

By taking step VI of the major key and calling it step I, the chord sequence for A-
minor is the result. With closer scrutiny one will notice that step V of A-minor (iii
in C-major) has been transformed from its original form by being changed into a
dominant seventh chord. This change of the E minor seventh chord into an E
dominant seventh chord simulates the resolution point from V (dominant!!) to I
by creating the leading tone (in this case G#).

16
 Now that we know the background of a minor II-V-I, we will cultivate and
apply it on the instrument just as we did – and still should be doing – with its
equivalent in major.

Exercises

By now, the basic chord tone practice of Chapters 1 and 2 should be smooth for
F7, Bb7, D7, C7, G7, A7, Gm7, Em7, Cm7, Dm7, Dmaj7, Bbmaj7, and Ebmaj7.
To continue on this foundation practice,

1) figure out & practice the remaining six dominant chords (for some
instruments, like guitar, this would apply more to different positions);

1 b) figure out & practice the remaining minor 7th arpeggios, beginning
with Fm7;

1 c) figure out & practice all twelve minor 7th b5 (half-diminished) arpeg-
gios, beginning with Gm7b5.

Before going on to the next set of exercises, one should have a good start on
Gm7b5, C7, Fm7 arpeggios. Once that is the case, devise a plan to attack the
remaining dominant, minor, half-diminished and major arpeggios as well as the
following:

CD track 10
Play-along

2) Map out the form of the F-minor II-V-I (concert key). As illustrated
above, by playing "one direction per bar"; meaning: For Gm7b5 play the
arpeggio ascendingly (the whole register of instrument/position), then
C7 descendingly, etc. This again is similar to exercises in previous
chapters.

3) Once comfortable with that, start on the roots invertedly – as

illustrated in previous chapters..

4) The last exercise on this topic will be to play "continuous quarter or

eighth notes" over the II-V-I progression. This is similar to the last
exercise of Chapter 1. It is very helpful to create a play-along practice
track for this exercise. Use the random key play-along tracks on the CD for
practicing once you are comfortable.

17
2. Chord Tones on “What is this Thing Called Love”

Once your practice on minor II-V-I progressions becomes comfortable,

application on a song form becomes necessary. “What is this Thing Called Love” is
perfectly suited at this point in time, since it harbors minor as well as major II-V-
I cadences. Here it is:

18
Once again you will notice how your foundation practice and acquired skills will
pay off when it comes to learning the changes on this song. The only new section
is the second four bar phrase: A minor II-V-I in C (concert), but notice how the
resolution I-chord, C, is major!

19
 Exercises

Start with learning and memorizing the melody; at this point, try to either call out
the root of each chord as the melody progresses, or visualize in your mind the
same process (this applies especially to horn players, as they can’t play the melody
and speak coherently at the same time). After a few days of getting comfortable
at this, go on to the following:

CD track 11
Play-along

1. In the now familiar way, practice playing the second four bar phrase,
as shown above, by going through the following steps:

• One direction per bar

• Inverted directions
• Continuous connections

CD track 12
Play-along
2. Take now the whole form of “What is this Thing Called Love” and follow
the same steps through the complete form, always making sure to spend
several days on the first process (One direction per measure) before
adding the second (Invert directions) and third (Continuous
connections) to your practice.

3. With a play-along track practice Continuous connections as well as

improvising on the song; the latter element can, and should, be at some
point structured by the elements of motivic development, as
illustrated in CHAPTER 3.

CHAPTER 5
1. Chromaticism

20
 So far, we have elaborated on establishing the skeletons of songs and cadences by
defining harmonic structures through laying out their chord tones exclusively.
With this solid foundation it is now quite easy to fill in the “in-between notes”;
by doing this, we will arrive quite often at scales and other characteristics that you
probably already know, or at least have heard of – e.g. major/minor scales,
modes, blues scales, melodic and harmonic minor tonality. However, the angle of
these concepts will be quite different and unique.

The definitions and applications of these above-mentioned devices will be the

main elements of the remaining curriculum of this course. Let’s start with adding
passing tones to the familiar dominant 7th arpeggio shape:

CD track 13
illustration

With chord tones you are able to truly reflect the sound of the changes in a tune.
The notes in-between give you options as to how to color your lines. Notice how
the chord tones (boxed) fall on the strong beats (1, 2, 3 ,4 ) and the passing tones
on the weak beats; also, the passing tones in this ascending line approach the
chord tones by half steps, practically functioning as leading tones to the chord
tones.

Check out how a non-altered dominant chord is played descendingly:

CD track 14
illustration

Here, the ear perceives downward movement in a different way: Melodic

resolution through half steps works for upward movement but most the time not
for the other direction. The passing tones are taken from the F-mixolydian
th
scale (add major 7 ), with the result also being called the dominant bebop
scale.
The same can be done with a minor seventh chord:

21
The most common choice for the downward movement is the use of the
th
Dorian scale (add major 7 ) as illustrated above. In some circumstances,
the following scales [with differences to dorian indicated] need to be used:

•
th
Aeolian (add major 7 ) [step 6 is minor]
•
th
Phrygian (add major 7 ) [steps 2 and 6 are minor]
• Melodic Minor [a special case that will be discussed in the
following]

A minor7thb5 chord can be considered a II-chord in minor as well as the sixth

step in the melodic minor harmonic system. First, let’s start with the familiar half-
step approach for the upward movement:

The following example shows the use of the F Locrian scale (add major 7th):

22
 The next in turn illustrates the same idea using the F Super-Locrian scale (add
major 7th), which is the sixth mode of the Ab melodic minor scale:

CD track 15
All four chord types
illustration

Exercises

Let’s again bring structure into the way of learning this vast material. This will
happen on cadence examples as well as song structures. We will once again
deconstruct the jazz blues form (Ch. 1) to apply chromaticism to its building
blocks. This will, however, be stretched out over the next few chapters, since the
up-coming material to be covered is necessary to fully reconstruct the song in the
concept of using passing tones. So, this unit will cover only dominant and minor
shapes.

1. Let’s take the non-altered dominant chords from the F-blues form:
F7, Bb7, and C7; work out and practice the chromatic way of playing
(as illustrated above) on these three chords in all registers/positions
on your instrument.

2. Once you have progressed in your practice past level one (logging)
on the three dominant shapes, do the same to Gm7.

3. When you are comfortable with automatically using chromaticism on

these forms, try applying those four chords when improvising on an
F-Blues; this could happen over a play-along, with a metronome, in
duet with a friend, or in a jam/rehearsal.

CHAPTER 6

23
1. Substituting the I-chord

When analyzing major-scale harmonic structures and re-harmonizations thereof,

you will find that I-chords can easily be replaced by their relative III- and VI-
chords. All three chords belong to the tonic region of their key center, while the
chords built on steps II and IV belong to the subdominant region and the ones on
steps V and VII to the dominant region. Compare the following:

When inverting the VI-chord, you will find the result to be a C6 chord.
Accordingly, the relative III-chord would act like a rootless Cmaj9. When
improvising on major II-V-I cadences, therefore, it will sound fine to play the
notes of the VI-chord every time the progression gets to the I-chord.

Exercises

1. In line with the major II-V-I, as explained in CHAPTER 2,

substitute the I-chord with the VI-chord – eventually, practice this
concept in all 12 keys; example in the key of F major:

24
 2. Add passing tones to each chord of exercise 1. and practice in similar
fashion.

Note: To stay in line with the Three Step Technique, make sure to log the new
concepts for a few days first, then repeat them for several days (this will be one
of the last reminders of this technique; acquire the habit of doing this for every
new thing!!), and start practicing in continuous quarter or eighth notes before you
apply these well practiced skills as follows:

3. Take „Tune Up“, the bridge of „What Is This Thing Called Love“,
or any tune desired that features major II-V-I cadences and play
along with a recording of it using the approaches of exercises 1
and 2. A more generic, but very valuable tool, is a Jamey Aebersold
play-along (such as the volume „cycles” or Volume 1). Also, go back to the
previous CD practice tracks and practice substitutions wherever possible.

2. Substitution of the V-chord

According to the derivative explained in CHAPTER 1, the V-chord of any major

key is member of the dominant region which also includes the chord built on the
7th step of the scale. Non-altered dominant chords can, therefore, be substituted
with their relative minor seventh b5 chord as follows:

Exercises

The resulting sound in the example above is that of a rootless Bb 9 chord.

Another way of thinking about this is to start a minor seventh b5 chord on the third of
the dominant.

1) Similar to Chapter 1 practice 1, play over a major II-V-I creating the

following substitutions: II-VII-I, as well as II-VII-VI.

2) For both substitution schemes above – and after several days or weeks
of practice – add passing tones and make them extremely slow as well as
fast connecting exercises. Utilize play-along tracks.

3) Within a jazz blues form (Example Bb-Blues; next page) substitute all
non-altered dominant chords with their relative minor b5 chords as
illustrated:

25
Note: Step up on this exercise slowly! Start on just replacing the I-chord
while keeping the rest of the chords basic; then add the substitution of the
IV-chord etc.. You get the idea!
Also, at first, only use chord tones. Once comfortable with that, add passing
tones. Play along with tracks and eventually incorporate the use of blues
scales in a mix with the chord and passing tone approaches.

26
CHAPTER 7
Substitution of the Altered Dominant

Altered dominant chords appear predominantly in minor progressions. When

considered to be part of the melodic minor tonality, a substitute chord can be
taken from the following series, and a lot of cool, outside sounding lines can be
created:

As a general rule for melodic minor tonality, any chord of this harmonic system
can be substituted by any one of the other six steps. This, as you can imagine,
could keep you busy for years, if you decide to explore all possibilities. Artists
like Bill Evans, who was one of the pioneers in this technique and became a
profound innovator in jazz, George Benson, and many others, have changed the
sound of the art form over the years. In this way they paved the road for which
ever ones of the possible melodic minor transformations to establish themselves
in the evolution of improvisation.
For example, let’s take the substitution with the sixth step (Fm7b5) for the
Altered Dominant on the seventh (G) of the melodic minor system:

Again, we are replacing a dominant chord with a half-diminished chord; this time,
however, the b7 of the dominant becomes the root of the other. The true
difference between the two chords, as you will notice when examining the
enharmonic spelling, is the b9 (Ab).

27
 Exercises

For a minor II-V-I, the substitution-practice will look like this:

1) Practice this modified cadence exercise in similar fashion to the

previous units, staying true to the process of going through the three
steps: One direction per measure, Invert directions, and
Continuous connections.

When adding passing tones to this substitution, the notes of the corresponding
melodic minor scale1 need to be used for the descending fashion, example
G7alt/Fm7b5 – add the note [E] (the bebop natural 7th of Fm7b5) to Ab melodic minor:

2) In the jazz blues form, substitute the VI 7 chord in measure 8 with

the Minor b5 chord starting on it’s seventh (in the key of Bb:
Fm7b5 for G7alt). Practice until it’s up to speed and practice along
to a track; work it out in all 12 keys (more on this concept in coming
chapters) over the months.

3) Practice minor II-V-I substitutions in the context of „What is this

Thing Called Love“. Eventually, play along with CD track 10,
working these substitutions into your playing. In time, do this with
all songs that you learn.

1
Note: a common melodic minor transformation for non-altered dominant chords would be to consider it to
be based on step IV of the tonality: Eb7(13) would be replaceable by Gm7b5 (the sixth step in the
melodic minor mode). That is in fact the minor b5 chord starting on the b7th of the tri-tone sub (A7 alt)
of Eb.

28
CHAPTER 8

1. Jazz Cadences III: Turnarounds

Turnarounds are cadences in jazz, and other musical styles, that are used at
various parts of songs. Most often in jazz, a I-VI-II-V cadence – the most
common turnaround – is used at the end of sections or at the end of a complete
form to get harmonically back to the beginning of either instances. An example
of this type of use is the song “Bye Bye Blackbird”; below, the last eight bars of the
song illustrate how a turnaround is used to harmonically resolve back to the
beginning of the song, in this case the chord F (I):

Oftentimes, this very cadence is used as a reoccurring building block of a song.

As already illustrated on “Bye Bye Blackbird”, the most basic form of such a I-VI-
II-V turnaround looks like this:

A great example of how this turnaround phrase is used as a building block of the
changes is the first eight bars of George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” (next page).

29
2. Rhythm Changes

Bebop celebrates the use of the form of “I Got Rhythm” with many applications
of it for variations of the changes and heads, calling it Rhythm Changes. Below
is the example “Oleo” by Sonny Rollins; notice how the bridge uses what’s called
the classic bebop bridge changes – four dominant chords moving with the cycle of
fifths.

30
 What defines a turnaround?

There are many variations on the chords of a turnaround as well as the changes
of Rhythm Changes. Looking at the original application on “I Got Rhythm”, the
VI-chord is minor and, therefore, creates a simple key center with Cm7 (ii), F7
(V), and Bb (I) in Bb-major. As you know, Bb and Gm7 are from the same
harmonic region – tonic – and hence interchangeable; this fact makes this
cadence very similar to the [I –] ii – V – I progression. In more modern bebop,
the VI-chord and sometimes the II-chord are changed into secondary dominants,
with the created leading tones adding a certain spice and tension.

When playing over such a progression, one has the choice of ignoring the
dominant quality of the VI-chord, or playing right on it with many options.

Exercises

1. In the key of Bb (concert), map out on your instrument the

following chords:

CD track 16

Play-along

2. Once comfortable with that, practice connecting in time,

eventually chromatically as well.

When the first two exercises start to sink in, add the following concepts:

3. Isolate bars 5 and 6 of section A, a II-V-I in Eb, and practice in

familiar fashion: One direction per measure, Invert
directions, and Continuous connections.

4. Improvise over the A section, eight bars, going, if necessary,

through the familiar three practice stages.
CD track 17
Play-along

31
 5. Isolate the B section, the “Bebop bridge”, and again apply the
practice steps.

6. Improvise on the whole form once the practice stages above

become easy. Use bebop lines and blues scales2: Bb-major blues
(below) over the first four bars, Bb-minor blues (below) over bars
five and six; think of the concepts of melodic development and the
use of chromaticism for resolving phrases.
CD track 18
Play-along

7. Transcribe a solo on “Rhythm Changes”.

2
There are several good sources for studying Rhythm Changes; e.g., Jamey Aebersold’s book on the subject,
Vol. 47 “Rhythm” is a great supplement to my predominantly chromatic approach.

32
 CHAPTER 9
1. All- key Workouts

Up to this point, we have picked keys for cadence-practices in line with the song
examples used for illustration and application. Most jazz musicians, however,
practice their skills on typical cadences not just in the keys of the songs they most
frequently play – aside from the probability that they know such a high number
of songs, so that all keys for every cadence type have most likely been covered in
such a way. But they additionally practice those cadences in an isolated manner in
all twelve keys.

Conclusively, you should now assess how much and how intensely you have
covered the practice of cadences in line with this book so far; then devise a plan
on how to use the practice charts and tracks provided in this chapter. You should
start with the cadence used most often – II-V-I in major and minor – and
practice the following random key progressions3. Use chord tones at first, then
add passing tones when comfortable. Additionally, there are many more
possibilities of practice applications such as practicing certain lines, or
substitutions, etc..

Attack each of the listed cadence types similarly, and design a plan to combine
this practice with the study of repertoire.

CD track 19
Random major ii-V-I progressions:
Play-along

33
CD track 20
Random minor ii-V-I progressions:
Play-along

CD track 21
Random turnaround progressions:
Play-along

3
Again, Jamey Aebersold’s volumes are a great resource here: His book Vol. 16 “Turnarounds Cycles & II/V’s”

34
CD track 22
Bb-Blues:
Play-along

CD track 23
Eb-Blues:
Play-along

CD track 24
C-Blues:
Play-along

offers a vast amount of play-along progressions.

35
CD track 25
C minor Blues:
Play-along

CD track 26
F minor Blues:
Play-along

2. Repertoire

Due to the time and effort put into foundation practice in the previous chapters,
the study of repertoire is now so very much simpler in terms of improvisation.
Once a list of songs is analyzed with specific sub-categories in mind – reflective
of the building blocks covered in that foundation practice – a plan of attack to
repertoire study becomes easy to structure.
Tonal songs are made up of the typical cadences – major & minor II-V-
Is and turnarounds. Rhythm Changes and most Bebop Standards belong to this group
but receives its own category due to its popularity as a form, while most ballads
are at home in this idiom. Blues songs have been covered extensively as its own
category, while some tonal elements are present here as well. All twelve keys
should be a priority, as well as the minor versions of this form. Modal tunes, to
be covered in the next chapter, deserve their very own category.
Latin tunes put yet another spin on harmony, but when analyzed in terms
of improvisation they are evidently based on the familiar jazz cadences. The
category Jazz Standards refers predominantly to songs from the “Great American
Songbook” – songs from musicals, shows and the American cultural tradition;
again, most of these are characterized by tonal and blues harmony.

36
37
CHAPTER 10
Bebop on Modal Tunes

When looking at modal tunes like “So What”, “Impressions”, or “Maiden

Voyage” we encounter long stretches of static one-chord structures and probably
wonder how the changes-rich concepts of the previous chapters fit into this
environment. On the example “Impressions” (J. Coltrane) we will illustrate, and
exercise on, three approaches of improvisation: 1. Basic Modes and Sequences, 2.
Bebop Modes, 3. Superimposing Changes. This will make modal tunes vibrant and
intricate vehicles of improvisation.

38
 1. The most basic approach here is the use of modes, in this case D-Dorian and
Eb-Dorian. The structure of “Impressions” is AABA; that is twice eight bars of
Dm7 (Dorian), then eight bars of Ebm7 (Dorian), and once more eight bars of
Dm7 (Dorian).

There’s a variety of melodic ideas within the scales that have turned out to be
classic building blocks of improvisation, namely by creating a pattern-playing
approach4: A melodic idea can be repeated in upward or downward movement
within the diatonic Dorian system, as the following example illustrates:

CD track 27
Illustration

Diatonic thirds are another example:

2. To come back to chromaticism and the main theme of this book, adding one
note (major seventh) to the Dorian scale gets us back to CHAPTER 5, namely
the minor bebop scale:

Notice how both up and down the notes are the same, unlike what was describes previously in
Chapter 5. Both ways are equally valid.

4
The book „Patterns for Saxophone“ by Oliver Nelson is just one piece of literature on this subject to be
recommended.

39
 The most striking difference here becomes the control over metric placement of chord
tones within the scale. This concept of adding the chromatic note – bebop tone, if
you will – between the minor seventh and the root can be applied just as
effectively to Phrygian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian, resulting in various
bebop scales. Since there can be no additional note between the seventh and the
root of both Ionian (natural major) and Lydian, we substitute, as described in
Chapter 6, the Dorian and Aeolian bebop scales.

Having redefined modes in the bebop context, pattern playing becomes a slightly
different affair now. Let’s scroll all the way back to Chapter 1 - the four basic
chord types - and variations in lines based on their structures. You must realize
that there are countless possibilities, while only a few will be listed in this book.
It will be a life-long project to collect ideas from transcriptions and other sources.

The following sequence is a descending phrase on a Dm7 chord, based on the

passing tone concept that approaches every chord tone by a half step from
below:

CD track 28
Illustration

A practice approach to this would be to learn this sequence in all positions

/registers, eventually for all 12 possible minor chords. Then, combine the
familiar ascending concept with the new, as illustrated below:

CD track 29
Illustration

3. To make modal tunes even more interesting harmonically, let’s modify the
changes – but superficially; see next page.

40
41
What happens here is the superimposing of tonal cadences, with the root chord (Dm7
or Ebm7) being one of the chords in the cadence; notice, however, that the two
turnaround inserts differ in that the one in line two is based upon the substitution
of Fmaj7 for Dm7, using the root chord Dm7 practically as a I-chord. The
inserted turnaround cadence in line three utilizes Ebm7 as the II-chord.

A lot of experimenting is necessary to figure out what works best. The advantage
is mainly the recycling of well-practiced structures. You’ve spent hours and hours on
“playing cadences” as automatic motor skills. So this concept of superimposing is
just a tiny step further. Transcribe the masters and figure out what has worked
best for them; and have fun!

42
CHAPTER 11

1. Sequences Applied

When working out sequences of the kind elaborated on in the previous chapter,
you are laying the foundations that enable you to play any line or idea – after
enough years of practice and sequences learned – anywhere on your instrument
and at almost any tempo; listen for this ability in John Coltrane’s playing and
realize that this man spent years of his life practicing 6 to 16 hours daily. The sky
is the limit! However, don’t be overwhelmed by this seemingly impossible task;
music can be made with this approach to your instrument at any level of progress
you have made.

If you have come to this point already, in fact, you own the ability to be
incredibly musical and virtuosic at the same time. Think of Miles Davis‘ sound:
He didn’t have nearly the facility on the instrument that Coltrane had, but he was
a master of improvisation nonetheless.

Any new bebop sequences, and most concepts, need to be taken through the
familiar motions explained in the previous chapter. Then, they need to be
applied in improvisation through the following progressions and exercises.

♦ PRACTICE 1: Apply the new sequence over a major II-V-I (fully

substituted) playing
1. continuous notes extremely slowly, connecting to
the closest available note of the new change,
2. (when ready) continuous notes swiftly – medium to
very fast – ignoring mistakes while trying to connect to
as many closest available notes as possible; it is
important to get the flow going and to be extremely
relaxed and non-judging. It is important to continue
both exercises (1. and 2.).

♦ PRACTICE 2: Apply the new sequence over a minor II-V-I (fully

substituted) playing

1. continuous notes extremely slowly, connecting to

the closest available note of the new change,
2. (when ready) continuous notes swiftly – medium to
very fast – ignoring mistakes while trying to connect to
as many closest available notes…same concept as in
practice 1 above.

43
♦ PRACTICE 3: Apply the new sequence over fully substituted turnarounds
(Ex. below) playing
1. continuous notes extremely slowly, connecting to
the closest available note of the new change,
2. (when ready) continuous notes swiftly – medium to
very fast – similar to above.

Example in F-major:

Note: All exercises above need to eventually be practiced in all keys!!

♦ PRACTICE 4: Apply the new sequence over fully substituted jazz blues
forms, playing

1. continuous notes extremely slowly, connecting to

the closest available note of the new change,
2. (when ready) continuous notes swiftly – medium to
very fast – once again in the familiar manner.

♦ PRACTICE 5: Finally, apply the new sequence over as many songs in your
repertoire as possible in the above-described fashion which by now should
be second nature to you as a way of practicing. Use play-along tracks
whenever possible, and you‘ll start to notice how the line is creeping into
your playing increasingly and more naturally.

44
 2. Blues Lines Applied

Chromaticism itself, as elaborated on in this book, can sound like a study in

correctness! When listening to good players, you will almost always hear elements
of the blues. As a tool rooted in tradition and musical evolution, the Blues is very
much connected to the listener’s ear and can be used just about anywhere, if
done so carefully.

The following illustrates how the intricacies of bebop can add a new spin to the
use of a Blues idiom and spice up your playing with another important element:
Soul. Here is a beautiful line over a Bb7 chord:

CD track 30
Illustration

Here is the same line over a Bb6/9 chord (a functioning I-chord):

CD track 31
Illustration

Once again, the same line over a II-V-I in Bb-major:

CD track 32
Illustration

45
 Same thing on a Gm7 chord:

From almost any starting point of a minor II-V-I:

CD track 33
Illustration

By working Blues lines into the building-block cadences, it becomes almost a

game to then work them into complete song improvisation. Use the practice
guidelines of the “Sequences Applied” section in this chapter to make this
happen determinedly, and also remember that all those great lines can be found
in the great music library of jazz recordings – probably in your own collection.

Thank you for staying with this course on “Bebop Improvisation Concepts” and
for doing yourself a big favor.

Hans Fahling

46
 List your practice activities for each of your categories; indicate, where applicable, key, tempo, and
LSS level (logging, repeating, or applying – where applicable) of practice. You can use a spacial
arrangement of this table for keeping track of you progress:
------------------

Logging repeating applying

Chord
tones

Chord +
passing
tones
Major
II-V-I
Chord tones
Major
II-V-I
Passing tones
Minor
II-V-I
Chord tones
Minor
II-V-I
passing tones
Blues
Chord tones

Blues
Passing
Tones
Turnaround
(I-VI-II-V)
chord tones
Turnaround
(I-VI-II-V)
pass. tones
„Tune Up“

„What Is
This Thing
Called
Love“

47
CD Content Layout

All the music notation of this book needs to be read in concert key.
Transpositions must be undertaken by students of instruments in different keys
(Bb, Eb, etc…) by themselves - a skill that these students should be familiar with
from playing with differently tuned instruments in ensemble settings.

Track 1 “Tuning Notes”

Track 2 “Four Chords_Illustration”
Track 3 “One Direction Per Bar – F-Blues_illustration”
Track 4 “Continuous Chord Tones - F-Blues_illustration”
Track 5 “F-Blues_play-along track SLOW”
Track 6 “F-Blues_play-along track MED/FAST”
Track 7 “Tune Up_play-along track SLOW”
Track 8 “Tune Up_play-along track MED/FAST”
Track 9 “Melodic Development_illustration”
Track 10 “II-V-I in G Minor Key_play-along track”
Track 11 “Minor/Major II-V-I_ play-along track”
Track 12 “What Is This Thing Called Love_ play-along track”
Track 13 “F7 Chromatic Line_illustration”
Track 14 “F7 Chromatic Descending Line_illustration”
Track 15 “All Four Chord Types Chromatic Lines_illustration”
Track 16 “Turnaround in Bb major_ play-along track”
Track 17 “Rhythm Changes A Section_ play-along track”
Track 18 “Rhythm Changes Form_ play-along track”
Track 19 “Random Keys II-V-I in Major_ play-along track”
Track 20 “Random Keys II-V-I in Minor_ play-along track”
Track 21 “Random Keys Turnarounds_ play-along track”
Track 22 “Bb-Blues_ play-along track”
Track 23 “Eb-Blues_ play-along track”
Track 24 “C-Blues_ play-along track”
Track 25 “C Minor Blues_ play-along track”
Track 26 “F Minor Blues_ play-along track”
Track 27 “Groups of Four – Sequence_illustration”
Track 28 “Chromatic Sequence_illustration”
Track 29 “Chromatic Sequence 2_illustration”
Track 30 “Blues Line_illustration”
Track 31 “Blues Line Applied_illustration”
Track 32 “Blues Line Applied _illustration”
Track 33 “Blues Line Applied _illustration”

48