RhythmicVocabulary
FromFundamentalsofJazzImprovisation:WhatEverybodyThinksYouAlreadyKnow
Dr.MarkWatkins
DirectorofJazzStudiesBrighamYoungUniversity–Idaho
©2010byMarkWatkinsMaterialshereinareprovidedforpersonaluse.Nopartmaybereproducedwithout
writtenpermissionfromtheauthor.
RhythmandArticulationAnalysisofCharlieParker’sImprovisation
DataisbasedonananalysisofthefollowingCharlieParkersolos: AnthropologyBluesforAliceConfirmationDeweySquare
DonnaLeeMoosetheMoocheNow’stheTime
OrnithologyScrapplefromtheAppleYardbirdSuite
Percentagesaregivenforsomeconceptsforthefollowingreasons:‐ToknowhowoftenParkertendstouseacertaindevice.‐Toknowhowimportantspecificmusicalelementsarewhenemulatinghisstyle.‐Toknowwhichtendenciestopracticefirst;toprioritizetheincorporationofperformancetraits.Eighth‐noteArticulationFoundational1/8th‐notearticulationstyle:Tongueupbeat,slurtodownbeat.Anthropology,m.34‐39
Confirmation,m.66‐69
DeweySquare,m.36‐39
DonnaLee,m.64‐67
DonnaLee,m.69‐74
Now’stheTime,m.76‐81
Ornithology,m.47‐49
YardbirdSuite,m.44‐49
Exception,rareoccurrence:Tonguedsequential1/8ths.YardbirdSuite,m.36‐40
PhraseEndings
Fourprinciplecategoriesortypes:1. ShortUpBeat(bebop)2. LongUpBeat(do‐dah)3. ShortdownBeat(bop)4. LongDownBeat(dah)Bebop(shortupbeat):24%.Tonguingthelasttwonotesismostcommon.DeweySquare,m.36‐39(descending,penultimatenotetongued,common)
Confirmation,m.72‐73(ascending,infrequent)
DonnaLee,m.82‐84(penultimatenoteapproachedbyslur,lesscommon)
Do‐dahordo‐wah(longupbeat):30%‐Thereisafairlyequaldispersalofupanddownwith“do‐dah”beingfourtimesmorecommon.‐All“do‐wah”examplesinthesampletranscriptionsaredescending,mostbystep.
‐Oftenwithterminalvibrato.‐Airrelease.Anthropology,m.6‐7(ascending)
Confirmation,m.80‐84(ascending)
DeweySquare,m.56‐59(descending)
MoosetheMooche,m.49‐50(do‐wah,descendingslur)
Anthropology,m.34‐39(do‐wah,descendingstep)
Bop(shortdownbeat,tongue‐stop):10%ScrapplefromtheApple,m.35‐36
Dah(longdownbeat):7%Often1/4or1/2‐notetongued,airrelease,withterminalvibrato.‐Oftenwithterminalvibrato.‐Airrelease.Anthropology,m.44‐48
Other(slur,fall,gliss,bend,scoop,air1/4,air1/8):29%DeweySquare,m.27‐29(slur)
ScrapplefromtheApple,m.37‐40(fall)
DeweySquare,m.30‐32(gliss)
Anthropology,m.61‐65(bend)
Anthropology,m.57‐58(scoop)
ScrapplefromtheApple,m.41‐42(air1/4)
BluesforAlice,m.33‐36(air1/8)
PhraseBeginningsUpbeat1/8th‐note(alltypes):37%‐37%doesnotsuggestthatallotherbeginningsaredownbeats.‐Othertypesnotcountedinthispercentageincludesustainedsyncopatedentrance,flam,gliss,and
ghostednotes.Upbeat1/8th‐notefollowedby1/8ths:21%Anthropology,m.2‐4
Upbeat1/8th‐notefollowedbytriplet:13%‐Slurfrom1/8th‐notethroughtriplet‐Tonguetopnote‐Occasionallyslurintotopnote(rare)
DonnaLee,m.61‐67(ascending)
Anthropology,17‐20(descending)
Upbeat1/8th‐notefollowedbyturn:3%BluesforAlice,m.41‐44
Downbeat1/8th‐note(alltypes):14%Downbeat1/8th‐notefollowedby1/8ths:12%ScrapplefromtheApple,m.51‐58
Downbeat1/8th‐notefollowedbytwo1/16ths:2%Confirmation,m.69‐71
Anthropology,m.14‐16
Flam:11%‐Descendingdiatonicmostcommon:5%.‐Alternativesincludechromaticandascending.Confirmation,m.49‐52
MoosetheMooche,m.51‐55
HeldSyncopation:9%Now’stheTime,m.84‐89
ScrapplefromtheApple,m.47‐49
Gliss:8%Confirmation,m.36‐37
Downbeat1/4‐note:4%Ornithology,m.31‐33
Triplet:3%Anthropology,m.1‐2
Gracenote:4%,appliedtoabovevariations14%accountedforbylesscommonchoicessuchasaturnorghostednoteandbyroundingoff
abovepercentages.ContourNotes‐Standard/foundationalarticulation:Tonguedupbeatsslurredtodownbeats.‐Melodiccontournotesareusuallyhigherinpitchthantheirsurroundingnotes.‐Contournotescanbeonupbeatsordownbeats.‐Whentonguingadownbeatpitchthenotethatprecedesthetonguednoteisapproachedbyslur,
ghosted,orhalf‐tongued(tongueoncornerofreedcoveringsurfaceunderthetip,lightlyandallowingthecontinuationoftone,somewhatmuffled).
‐Occasionally(butrarely)thenotethatprecedesadownbeataccentislegatotongued.Exampleoftheprincipleofmelodiccontour:Confirmation,m.45‐49
DeweySquare,m.43‐50
BluesforAlice,m.28‐32(tongueddownbeatprecededbytonguednote)
QuarterNoteArticulation
Short:MoosetheMooche,m.49‐50
Anthropology,m.33‐34
Long:MoosetheMooche,m.57‐58
Anthropology,m.41‐43
Eighth‐Quarter‐Eighth1/4long:‐Fairlyevendistributionoflong1/4andshort1/4.‐Appliedwhenascendingto1/4byskip,descendingon1/8th(sometimesghosted),and
ascendingtoresolve.Confirmation,m.85‐91
1/4short:‐Sometimesnotatedastwo1/8ths,1/8rest,followedbyan1/8th.
‐Commonwhencontourotherthan(andsometimesincluding)theabove.‐Createsatotallydifferentmelodicconceptthanlong1/4version.Anthropology,m.61‐65
Confirmation,m.32‐35
YardbirdSuite,m.60‐64
Triplets
Ascending(notincludingphrasebeginnings),even:15%DonnaLee,m.82‐84
Descending(notphrasebeginnings),even:3%DeweySquare,m.43‐50
Horizontal:16%1/4+two1/6ths:9%Oftenwrittenasatriplet.Anthropology,m.14‐16(m.14couldhavebeenwrittenasatriplet.Measure15tripletismoreeven.)
Confirmation,m.45‐49
Even:5%Confirmation,m.57‐59
Dotted1/8th‐1/16th‐1/8th:3%Writtenasatripletor1/8th+two1/6ths.BluesforAlice,m.24‐25
Quarternote:uncommon,pullsmomentumbackBluesforAlice,m.33‐36
TripletPairsAscendingorascendinganddescending:3%Confirmation,m.60‐65(ascending)
Anthropology,m.21‐25(ascending/descending)
Ascending/Horizontal(even):DeweySquare,m.51‐55
Ascendingeven+1/8thandtwo1/16ths:BluesforAlice,m.16‐19
Anthropology,m.57‐60
Now’stheTime,m.71
Descending/Horizontal:MoosetheMooche,m.67‐69
Turns‐Allturnscontainahorizontal1/16th‐notetripletfollowedbyan1/8th(regardlessofnotation,
theyarethesame).‐Theaboverhythm(fillingonebeat)isslurred.‐Theintervalanddirectionmovingfromthetripletisusuallydownbystepbutcanbeaskipor
stepineitherdirection.‐Resolutiontothefollowingbeatisalsousuallybystepbutcanbeaskiporstepineither
direction,contrary(oppositedirection)orcontinuous(samedirection).‐Turnsareslurredbuttheonsetandexitarticulationscanbeeithertonguedorslurred.‐49%proceeddownbystepoutofthetripletanddownbysteptothenextbeat(m.87and88).Turnnotation:‐Themostaccuratenotationforajazzturnisa1/16th‐notetripletfollowedbyan1/8th.‐Whenconsideringthe1/8th‐notetripletsubdivisionoftheswingfeelinjazz,otherrhythmsare
lesssuccessful.‐Listeningtoajazzturnsloweddownonerevealsthelastturn1/8thusuallyliningupwiththelast
tripletsubdivision1/8th.
Triplet1/8th‐notewithtripletsubdivision(swing)
1/8thandthree1/16ths
Three1/16thsand1/8(correct),places1/8thonlasttripletsubdivision.
Four1/16ths
Confirmation,m.85‐91
DoubleTime‐Onlyselectedcontournotesaretongued.‐Othernotesslurred.‐Subdivisionbecomesstraight.Anthropology,m.44‐45
BluesforAlice,m.26‐27
Confirmation,m.42‐44
DoubleTonguingBluesforAlice,m.20‐24
Now’stheTime,m.44‐46
GhostedNotes
‐Impliedbutnotsoundedorbarelyaudible.‐Generallybelowtheirsurroundingnotes.Ornithology,m.47‐49
Glissandos‐Nonearebent,allfingeredwithdistinctsoundingnotes.‐Mostareascending(doublethosedescending).Now’stheTime,m.49‐51
GraceNotesNow’stheTime,m.53‐56
GrowlsBluesforAlice,m.39‐41
Half‐Tongue
‐Tongueheldtocornerofreedwhileblowing,dampenstone.‐Oftenonupbeat1/8th‐notethatprecedesadownbeataccent(butnotexclusively).‐Createsasmoothlinebecausethetongueisonthereedforonenoteandoffforthenextthus
eliminatingpossibleexcessivemotion,whichcansometimescauselinestobechoppy.‐Ahalf‐tonguednoteissofterallowingadownbeattonguingtoavoidtheharshnessandpossible
separationoftwotonguednotesinarow.
DonnaLee,m.92‐95
Now’stheTime,m.28‐32
RepeatedNotes‐Notcommon.‐Usuallyatthebeginningofphraseswhenused.DeweySquare,m.33‐35(endofphrase,uncommon;oncein10solos)
MoosetheMooche,m.64‐67
YardbirdSuite,m.65‐68
Rests=Rhythm‐Restswithinaphraserepresentrhythms‐Blowthroughthenoteswithmelodicconnection‐RestsdonotrepresenttheseparationofmelodicelementsAnthropology,1‐2
Confirmation,m.38‐41
Scoops‐Deliberate,notanaccidentalbyproductofpoorcontrol‐StylesuggestlessfrequentusethanmanyyoungstudentsevidenceBluesforAlice,m.45‐47
SyncopationsOrnithology,m.40‐46
Vibrato(Terminal)
‐Awide,briefvibratoattheendofanote’sduration.‐Almostalwayspresentonnotesofsufficientlengthattheendsofphrases.‐Airrelease.DonnaLee,m.31‐33
BasicArticulationSwingSubdivisionThedownbeatcomprisesthefirsttwothirdsofatripletwhiletheupbeatcarriesthelastthirdofatriplet.
TheFundamentalArticulationPlayamajorscaleallslurred,withastraightsubdivision,applyingconstantair,withfulltoneonallnotes.Connectioniskey.Upbeatsanddownbeatsshouldhaveequalvolume.
Addtheswingsubdivisionbutmaintainallotheraspects.Jazzisalegatostyle.Lightly,legato,articulatetheupbeatnote.Thisisachieveddifferentlyasperinstrument.Brass,excepttrombone,andwoodwindsusealightcontact.Trombonesplaceaslightlyheavierarticulationontheupbeatnotes.Rhythminstrumentscanplayallslurredorwithaslightaccentonupbeatnotes.Brass(excepttrombone)andWoodwinds:
Trombone:
Rhythm1:
Rhythm2:
Thisfoundationalarticulationunderliesjazzphrasing.CharlieParkeronlyusedthisstylepurelyabout25%ofthetimebutitinfluencedhowheplayedotherarticulationsand.Itisinterestingtoexperimentwithotherfoundationalarticulationpatterns.Essentially,therearefourchoices:
1. Thefoundationalstyleasdescribed.2. Itsexactopposite:tongue(orslightlyaccent)downbeatsandslurtotheupbeat.3. Tongue(orslightlyseparate)allnotes.4. Allslurred.
Certainly,jazzmusiciansuseallofthesearticulations.However,onlythefirstwillcreateastylefamiliartousasjazz.Withinthiscontextthereisagreatamountofvariationamongstplayers.PhraseEndingsTherearefourfundamentalphraseendingsamidstmanypossibilities.Theyare:
1. Shortupbeat2. Shortdownbeat3. Longupbeat4. Longdownbeat
Boththeshortupbeatandtheshortdownbeatcarrythe“be‐bop”element.Thebeginningandtheendofthelastnotemustbetonguedorstoppedsomewhatabruptlydependingonone’sinstrument.Theresultantsoundisreminiscentof“be‐bop.”The“be‐bop”endingcanbeapproachedinseveralways,sometimesdictatedbytempo.Shortupbeat:
Shortdownbeat:
Thelongorsustainedupbeathasa“du‐dah”or“du‐wah”sound.Itisseldomlongerthanadottedquarterinlengthandmightendwithaterminalvibrato.Longupbeat:
Thelongorsustaineddownbeatisseldomlongerthanahalfnoteandusuallyendswithaterminalvibrato.Longdownbeat:
TheBasie‐ismTheCountBasiestyleisoftenthoughtofastheepitomeofhardswingingjazz.Often,thedownbeatofthewindplayersisslightlybehindthatofhisrhythmsection.Theupbeatscanfallanywherebetweenthetriplettothedottedeighthsixteenth.Oneofthemostsignificantaspectsofhisstyleinvolvestheendsofphrases.Hisbandoftenheldthesecondtolastnoteextralong,closertoadottedeighth,layingthelastupbeatnotealmostonthenextbeat.
PracticingThefundamentalarticulationwillgarnermuchrepetitionifappliedtoscalestudy.Phraseendingsarebestappliedtopatternsthatrequirethem.Takingsuchapatternthrough12keysisexcellentpractice.NotationThefollowingpagecontainsjazzarticulationsymbolsascodifiedbytheInternationalAssociationforJazzEducation(unfortunatelynowdefunct).AnaccompanyingCDisavailabletohearthesoundrepresentedbythesymbols.
JazzArticulationSymbols
Syllables
RhythmBlocksMostrhythmsusedinjazzcanbeanalyzedaccordingtoeightfundamentalrhythmswiththreemodifications:rests,ties,andtriplets.Ameasurein4/f4timeisnotatedintwohalves.TheRhythmBlocksystemofrhythmicidentificationworkswithahalfmeasure.1‐noterhythm
2‐noterhythms
3‐noterhythms
4‐noterhythm
Modifications
Example1:CharlieParkerConfirmation
Example2:SonnyRollinsOleo
DoubleTimeDoubletimeRhythmBlocksworkwiththebeatasopposedtothehalfmeasure.1‐note
2‐note
3‐note
4‐note
Modifications
Example:CharlieParkerK.C.Blues
ConsiderationsThefirstsectionbelowdemonstrateshowtheRhythmBlocksmightbearticulated.ThereisaCDavailableforauralexample.TheConsiderationsexplorepossiblevariations,adaptations,and“considerations”fortheimplementationofRhythmBlocksintoimprovisation.Fundamentals1‐noterhythm
2‐noterhythm
3‐noterhythm
4‐noterhythm
Consideration1CombineRhythmBlocksbyRest:Thefirstmeasureremainsintactiffollowedbyarest.Thesecondrhythmcontainsarestsubstitute.
Consideration2CombineRhythmBlocksbySlur:Useaslurtoconnecteighthnotes.
Consideration3ContourNotes:Slurtothenotethatprecedesamelodiccontournote(accentedortonguednote).Oftenthenotethatprecedesatongued(accented)downbeatwillbehalf‐tongued;rhythminstrumentsmightghostthenote.
Keepthesepointsinmind:
1. Jazzisalegatostyle.2. Accentsamidstalegatostandardcreateinterest.3. Highmelodiccontournotes,noteshigherthanthosesurroundingthem,oftenreceive
accentregardlessofdownbeatorupbeatplacement.4. Ghostednotes(usuallylowerthannotesaroundthem),usedwithdiscretion,cancreate
interest(parenthesis=ghostednotes).5. Slur(half‐tongue)thenotethatprecedesadownbeattonguednote(Parker).
Example:CharlieParkerYardbirdSuite,mm.9‐14
Consideration4RhythmicDisplacement:Startrhythmsonabeatotherthanone.
Consideration5Pick‐upNote:Addaneighthnotebeforearhythm.
Consideration6Substitutions:Rests,triplets,andties.
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