Practice

Material

Chord Scales

8th notes
1 up to 7
7 down to 1
3 up to 9
9 down to 3
5 up to 11 (resolve natural 11 on major and dominant chords up to 5 or down to 3)
11 down to 5

16th notes
1 up to 9
9 down to 1
3 up to 11 (resolve nat. 11 on major/dominant chords up to 5 or down to 3, 4-5-3
melodic figure)
11 down to 3
5 up to 13 (resolve b13 on minor chords down to 5, b13-b7-5 melodic figure)
13 down to 5

Chord Tones

1,3,5,7,9,11,13

• Play any rhythm one note per measure
Use #11 on major and dominant chords and natural 13 on minor chords
Play natural 11 on major and dominant chords but resolve 11-5-3, or 11-3.

Major: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, #11, 13
Dominant: 1, 3, 5, b7, 9, #11, 13 unless chart states b9 or b13
Minor 7b5: 1, b3, b5, b7, b9 or 9, 11, 13
Diminished 7: 1, b3, b5, bb7(6), 7, 9, 11 or b13. Play a diminished chord down a half
step from root.

• Play combinations of two chord tones (42 combinations)
13-11 11-13 9-13 7-13 5-13 3-13 1-13
13-9 11-9 9-11 7-11 5-11 3-11 1-11
13-7 11-7 9-7 7-9 5-9 3-9 1-9
13-5 11-5 9-5 7-5 5-7 3-7 1-7
13-3 11-3 9-3 7-3 5-3 3-5 1-5
13-1 11-1 9-1 7-1 5-1 3-1 1-3

3 and 7 is considered a guide tone line that defines the basic 7th chord quality
Use combinations of 3, 4, and 5, etc. tones.

Approach Notes – encircle chords tones from below and above

• Chromatic from below
• Scale from above
• Chromatic from below and scale from above
• Scale from above and chromatic from below

Start on the beat or off the beat.
Practice on different chord tones, use different approach devices.

Tag Notes – approach notes with a note(s) added after the approach

• Use 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 tag notes

Two note approach devices –

• Double chromatic from below
• Double chromatic from above

Add tag notes to double approach devices

Three note approach devices –

• Double chromatic from below to scale from above
• Double chromatic from above to chromatic from below
• Double scale from above to chromatic from below
• Scale from above to double chromatic from below
• Chromatic approach from below to double chromatic from above

Four note approach devices –

• Double chromatic from below to double chromatic from above
• Double chromatic from above to double chromatic from above

Five note approach devices –

• Double chromatic from below to double chromatic from above to chromatic
from below

Voice Leading

• Weave simple lines from a selected chord tone to the same chord tone type in
the next measure.
This helps spell out the chord, Bebop players outline the 3rd and 7th
• Voice lead each chord tone
• Voice lead each note in the scale
Create a descending or ascending line that follows the scale
First play all whole notes, then use more notes to embellish the basic scale line.
• Voice lead in 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, or 5ths

Limited Range Playing

• Select an interval and play within that range, as the chords and keys change alter
the notes within the chosen interval range to fit the chord or key.

Wide Range Playing

• Create lines over an octave in range

Upper Structure triads – (9, 11, 13)

• Major and Dominant chords – 9, #11, 13
• Minor chords – 9, 11, 13
• Minor 7b5 – 9, 11, b13 or b9, 11, 13
• Dominant 7b9 – b9, #11, 13

Start on different tensions and create different permutations
Find common tones as chords change

Anticipation Chords and Delaying Resolutions

• Play a bar of 3 beats and a bar of 5 beats – anticipating the next chord one beat
early on beat 4. Anticipate every other chord
• Play a bar of 2 beats and a bar of 6 beats – anticipating the next chord two beats
early on beat 3. Anticipate every other chord
• Play a bar of 1 beat and a bar of 7 beats – anticipating the next chord three beats
early on beat 2. Anticipate every other chord

Delay resolution –

ii | V | I | I

Keep playing altered V chord over the first bar of the I chord.


Factors that influence your playing

1. What you listen to
2. What you practice
3. Who you play with



Scale Sequences

• 1234 (­2nd -­2nd -­2nd) descending or ascending the scale in seconds or thirds.
• 4321 (¯2nd -¯2nd -¯2nd) descending or ascending the scale in seconds or thirds.
• 1327 (­3rd -¯2nd -¯3rd) descending or ascending the scale in seconds or thirds.
• 1713 (¯m2nd -­m2nd -­3rd) descending or ascending the scale in seconds or
thirds.
This figure is a lower chromatic neighbor tone figure followed by an ascending
diatonic third.
• 7164 (­m2nd -¯3rd -¯3rd) descending or ascending the scale in seconds or thirds.
This figure is a diatonic triad with a half step leading to the first chord tone.

Use different rhythms, use thinning and only play a couple notes of the figure.
Play the 4-note sequence in 8ths, 16ths, triplets, sextuplets, quintuplets and
septuplets.

Drop the last note of the 4-note sequence to create a 3-note pattern.

Create a 5-note sequence by adding a note to the 4-note sequence.
• 71643 (­m2nd -¯3rd -¯3rd -¯2nd) descending or ascending the scale in seconds or
thirds.

Create a 6-note sequence by dropping the last two notes of every other sequenced
figure.
Create a 7-note sequence by dropping the last note of every other sequenced figure.

Combine different sequences together to create longer lines. Take the sequence
patterns and string them together with the use of different rhythms and thinning.

Chord Substitutions for the Chord

Substitutes for the chord – Tritone substitution, ¯Maj3rd, or ­m3rd.

• Over Dominant chords use tritone substitution – use Mixolydian (123456b7) or
Lydian Dominant (123#456b7) scale from root of tritone substitute. Implies
altered dominant sound. You can use the substitute beginning on the iim7 to
anticipate the V7 chord.
• Over Dominant chord use a dominant substitution ¯Maj3rd – ex. over C7 use
Ab7b13 to create an altered dominant sound for C7. Use Mixolydian b6
(12345b6b7) from root of Dominant chord ¯Maj3rd (Super Locrian
 1b2b33#4#5b7 from root of original Dominant chord). You don’t have to use
b13, you could keep natural 13 for the substitute chord.
• Over Dominant chord use a Dominant substitution ­m3rd – This adds a b9 and
b13 to the original Dominant chord. Use 1b23456b7 ­m3rd starting from the
substituted Dominant chord root. 1b2b335b6b7 from original Dominant chord
root.
• Over the iim7 use a minor 7 chord a tritone away, ¯Maj3rd, or ­m3rd from the
original chord root along with the accompanying Dominant substitute.


Chord Substitutions against the Chord

Substitutes against the chord – ­m2nd, ¯m2nd, or ­M3rd.

List of all Substitutions – Tritone, ¯Maj3rd, ­m3rd, ­M3rd, ,­m2nd, ¯m2nd from the
written chord.

Embellishment Techniques

• Create a guide tone melody in half notes and whole notes, either based on the
original melody or one you create.
• Add Passing tones, neighbor tones, double neighbors and chromatic
embellishments in order.
• Apply the techniques freely.

-Add passing tones. Between 3rds, use diatonic passing note. For 2nds use a
chromatic passing tone.
-Add diatonic lower neighbors and then diatonic upper neighbors.
-Add chromatic lower neighbors and then chromatic upper neighbors.
-Add double neighbor figures, start with upper diatonic neighbor and chromatic
lower neighbor. You can also use a lower neighbor then upper neighbor figure and
vary which note is chromatic or diatonic.
-Add chromatic embellishments. Approach the target note with two chromatic tones
from above and one chromatic tone from below, or one chromatic tone from above
and two chromatic tones from below. Practice the major scale with chromatic
embellishments. Scale degrees 3 and 4 have a diatonic half step above, use the figure
with half step above and two chromatic notes below target tone. All the rest of the
scale tones have a diatonic whole step above the target.
For the minor scale, scale degree 2 and 5 have a diatonic half step above.

Rhythm Subdivision Techniques

Ta = quarter note (1 subdivision)
Ta Ka = eighth notes (2 subdivisions)
Ta Ki Ta = triplets (3 subdivisions)
Ta Ka Di Mi = sixteenth notes (4 subdivisions)
Ta Di Ki Na Thum or Ta Di Gi Na Thum = quintuplet (5 subdivisions)
Ta Ki Ta Ta Ki Ta = sextuplets (6 subdivisions)
Ta Ka Di Mi Ta Ki Ta = septuplets (7 subdivisions)
Ta Ka Di Mi Ta Ka Di Mi or Ta Ka Di Mi Ta Ka Jo No = thirty-second notes (8
subdivisions)
Ta Ki Ta Ta Ki Ta Ta Ki Ta = nonuplets (9 subdivisions)

Thum is used to mark the end of a phrase.

Ta Ki Ta + Ta Din Gi Na Thum = 3 + 5 (8)
Ta Ki Ta + Ta Din Gi Na Thum + Ta Ka Di Mi Ta Ki Ta = 3 + 5 + 7 (15)
Ta Din Gi Na Thum + Ta Din Gi Na Thum + Ta Ka Di Mi Ta Ki Ta = 5 + 5 + 7 (17)
Ta Din Gi Na Thum + Ta Ki Ta + Ta Ki Ta + Ta Din Gi Na Thum = 5 + 3 + 3 + 5 (16)