Improvisational Patterns

[Thaumaturge]

This is probably a question for Simon at Jazzwise but assistance from anyone would be welcome.
I recently bought (from Jazzwize) David Baker's Improvisational Patterns - The Bebop Era Vol. 1. I think I understand the explanation of additional half step in the scale on page 5 and I started working on the patterns on page 6 (as recommended at the bottom of page 5) until I came to line 5 on page 7. Suddenly from 1 additional half step other half steps have been introduced and I don't understand why. Can you please explain what is happening (as simply as possible please).
Colin

 

[Linky Lee]

I don't know the exercise my self.

A few guesses for you to explore.

1. it's in a new key or mode?
2. it's now minor instead of major so the half step comes in a different place?
3. it's a harmonic minor so the half step is different on the way up to the way down?
4. They are just other 'passing notes' (don't occur on the beat, or if they do a weak one).
5. There is a chord substitution implied because of an alternate scale being played over the chord meaning the extra note is somewhere else?

Hope you can understand some of that and can look into it yourself. It should be a good learning process to analyse it like that.

 

[Simon]

Hi Thaumaturge

Yep - line 5 p7. So we're in C. It starts on an E (a chord tone) drops chromatically to C (a chord tone), goes back up to E (a chord tone), does this again, then descends from E down the C major bebop scale to E and then back up.

Notice the number of times I typed 'chord tone' - this is the only important point about bebop lines. Chord tones are on downbeats (1...2...3...4...)

Hope this helps (of course if it doesn't, I know a book or two that will... 😉

Simon

Thaumaturge wrote:
This is probably a question for Simon at Jazzwise but assistance from anyone would be welcome.
I recently bought (from Jazzwize) David Baker's Improvisational Patterns - The Bebop Era Vol. 1. I think I understand the explanation of additional half step in the scale on page 5 and I started working on the patterns on page 6 (as recommended at the bottom of page 5) until I came to line 5 on page 7. Suddenly from 1 additional half step other half steps have been introduced and I don't understand why. Can you please explain what is happening (as simply as possible please).
Colin

 

[Thaumaturge]

Thanks, Simon.

I'll work at it this weekend and see if I can make sense of it. I didn't expect it to be easy (there's no challenge if it is) but it is necessary to understand what is going on in order to play the patterns in other keys by ear.

Colin