The Jazz Sax & Improvisation Blog of Saxophonist Bobby Stern - bobbysternjazz.com

Funkman's D-Lite - Contortion, Distortion & 7#9 (Maj / min)

8/14/2014

Funkman's D-Lite - Contortion, Distortion
& 7#9 (Maj / Min)

Dr. Funkman Whosen-Evernitiz

The dominant 7th chord is probably the most flexible harmonic device in Western music, both in it's functionality as well as its note choices.

Theoretically speaking, all you need is a tritone and 9 of the 10 remaining notes of the the chromatic scale, excluding (again, theoretically speaking) only the Maj. 7th (which works great as a passing tone, etc.), and you're good to go.

Think I'm lyin'?

Using D7 as an example for this post, let's build a chromatic scale and label each note's function (notes in italics are the altered tensions):

D=root; Eb=b9; E=9; F=#9; F#=3; G=sus4(11); Ab(G#)=b5(#11); A=5; Bb(A#)=b13(#5); B=13; C=7; C#=Maj7.

Only the last note C#, the Maj7 in this case, gets uninvited to the party, but it usually "passes" by via the backdoor, anyway.

Count 'em up. That's 11 out of 12 legit (and 12 out of 12 if we sneak that Maj7 in there).

Is that flexible or what?

251 Measure Relay - ii-V7-i Penta b6 Speed & Agility Exercise

8/6/2014

251 Measure Relay - ii-V7-i Penta b6
Speed & Agility Exercise

Coming on the heels of last week's post, this speed & agility exercise starts out with the same Pentatonic b6 configuration, this time over a 4 bar minor ii-V7-i cadence; using a different Penta b6 for each chord; albeit from a common tone.

As with the previous exercise, this one is designed not only for speed & agility; but also to sharpen your ears and your brain; and to facilitate, ultimately, the ability to start an idea from any note

Once again, memorization through the 12 keys is the goal here.

As with previous exercises here dealing with the Melodic Minor ii-V7-i progression, a different Melodic Minor scale is related to each of the three chords.

The derived b6 pentatonics from these three unique Melodic Minor scales have a single common tone between them, and it is from this "X-Centric" vantage point that we will begin our exploration.

NOT Olympics - Pentatonic b6 Speed & Agility Exercise

7/31/2014

NOT Olympics - Pentatonic b6
Speed & Agility Exercise

The playing of music, in it's purest form, isn't often looked upon as a truly competitive human activity.

As with athletics, a musician ultimately measures growth and progress against one's own accomplishments, just as a runner or long jumper might; constantly trying to better the quality of his or her performance.

For the contemporary improvising musician, technical facility on one's instrument makes it possible to express more complex and challenging musical ideas, and is a necessary requirement to do so.

In both disciplines, speed and agility, not only physical, but mental as well, are important acquired skills, obtained through many hours of focused practice` and training, which enhance and augment any innate, natural ability or talent.

Korner Karnataka #5 - Take A Ride on the "South Indian Line"

6/27/2014

All Aboard!
Take A Ride on the "South Indian Line"

"People get ready, there's a train a-comin''. Don't need no ticket, just get on board " - Curtis Mayfield

(...and If you actually get to where you're goin' in one piece. you'd better thank the Lord!)

The exercise here is a page from my personal workbook (as is most of the stuff I post, I guess).

In order to kill two birds with one stone, I thought I'd create` these lines for myself as a method to get closer and more personal with this odd meter Carnatic composition "South Indian Line", and post them here, to share with my fellow masochists.

Like A New Pair of Blues Shoes - More X-Centric Gonzatonic b2s

5/29/2014

Hey everybody, I'm back!

Did ya miss me?!

I know, I know!

I've been doing some shopping, and I picked up this badass pair of kicks which I'll be sportin' whilst I shed these "Slick Licks That Stick!"

(OK, so they're not really my shoes!)

This X-Centric Gonzatonic b2 exercise download, based on Shape #5 from tenor master Jerry Bergonzi's great book, Vol. 2 - Pentatonics (Advance Music), is the inverted form of an exercise contained in an earlier post, and the explanations can be found there.

Keep 'em spit shined & polished and they'll carry you far!

Two's the News - X-Centric Gonzatonic Pentatonic b2s

4/10/2014

Say it fast, but practice it slow.

As described in a previous post, which could be well worth checking out, the Pentatonic b2 scale is basically a Major Pentatonic scale with the second degree flatted (C Maj. Penta = C-D-E-G-A to C Penta b2 = C-Db-E-G-A).

Lowering the 2nd degree a half step creates some important new interval relationships; mainly, the interval of a Maj. 3rd (min 6th) between the 2nd & 5th scale degrees (Db (C#) & A), as well as the tritone created between steps 2 & 4 (Db & G).

So, what's it all mean, Mr. Natch'l?

Descending the Spiral Staircase - More Altered Pentatonics

3/20/2014

Surprise! Another ii-V7-i exercise dealing with altered pentatonics.

Can't get enough, huh? Me, too!

I mean, why practice this stuff? Why practice scales, patterns, etc.

In fact, why practice.......period!?

I expect there might be different answers depending on the skill level and intentions of the player.

As for myself, and players like me who have been doing this for a while, it's about making new connections (musically, not necessarily politically or professionally), creating new pathways, growing new synapses, etc.

In other words, trying to get away from playing the S.O.S.

As I mentioned on my home page, the more you learn, the more the universe seems to expand exponentially, whereby, instead of feeling larger within it, you realize how little you really know.

The great part about that is: There will always be something interesting and challenging to learn, and get this:

YOU WILL NEVER RUN OUT OF THINGS TO PRACTICE!

Softly - The First 8, Part 2

3/10/2014

Softly as in a Swarm of Flying Marshmallows

This exercise works together with the post from 02/25/2014, and the basic explanations can be found there.

What we've done here, basically, is omitted 2 of the notes from each of the original Melodic Minor scales (D Melodic Minor, omit G & C#, and Bb Meodic Minor, omit Bb & Eb), thereby creating 2 altered pentatonics.

For the D min tonic chord, we'll use a D pentatonic b3 (D-E-F-A-B), which has a more "obvoius" tonic sound than our other MM choice, the pentatonic b6, which is what we'll use for the A7alt dominant chord (F pentatonic b6 = Bb Melodic Minor = F-G-A-C-Db). The D min pentatonic supplies us with a good old Dmin6 9 sound, while the fore mentioned F pentatonic b6 gives us an A7 #9b13, and includes the tritone C#(Db) & G.

As in the previous exercise, both scales are played alternately in a single direction, each measure beginning on the next available scale tone.

Note: Measure 4 of Line 4 should be labeled as an A7alt chord.

Download PDF
Treble Clef Bass Clef

B. Stern

Kissin' Cousins - 1-2-5, Pentatonics & P4ths

7/16/2013

1-2-5s (027 Trichords) everywhere! I'm seein' 'em in my sleep!

This time it's 1-2-5 and it's dear cousins, Pentatonic and Perfect 4th (P4th), that gets our attention.

The notes of a Maj. pentatonic scale are formed by two 1-2-5 patterns a whole tone apart (C-D-G + D-E-A = C-D-E-G-A).

The close relationship to these 1-2-5 patterns and the pentatonic scale, as well as the pentatonic scale and the interval of a perfect fourth (E-A-D-G-C) is a somewhat obvious one.

A 1-2-5 pattern contains at least one P4th, and in it's first inversion (D-G-C) contains those final two consecutive P4ths.

Inspired from "A Study in Fourths" by Walter Bishop, jr.

3/6/2013

Here's an exercise inspired, for the most part, by the late, great pianist Walter Bishop, jr., from his book, "A Study in Fourths", published in 1976 and now, unfortunately, out of print.

I was fortunate enough to have bought this book from Mr. Bishop personally in the late 1970's or early '80s, after seeing him perform. I seem to remember him autographing it for me, but the book contains no autograph. Either I had asked him, but there was no pen available or he used invisible ink (or I was............never mind!).

*I remember now. As I had several copies of the book, I inadvertently lent or gave the autographed copy away to a student without checking. Careless maybe, but I know I wasn't trippin'.

It is said that Woody Shaw practiced out of this book, and maybe he did. But it is well documented that he played the way he did (using lines comprised of 4ths, not common on trumpet), long before this book appeared in 1976.

Jazz Improvisation - Slick Licks That Stick! - Intervalic ii-V7 Pattern

12/28/2012

SLICK LICKS THAT STICK! - An Intervallic ii-V7 Pattern

Here's a nice little fourth / pentatonic type intervalic ii-V7 pattern, a la Woody Shaw, that slipped into my fingers the other day as I was doing my saxophonic due diligence.

A quick analysis of the first line reveals that on beats 3 & 4 and 1 & 2 of measures one & two respectively, there's a brief tonality shift into B Major, or one half step below the target key, C.

Beats 3 & 4 of measure two are an altered four note grouping, relative to the dominant (G7), leading back to the targeted tonic chord C minor (or Major).

There are a bunch of ways you could reharmonize this line, superimpose it over different key centers, etc., but I haven't messed with that so far.

In any case, it's a cool device for momentarily steppin' "out", and then slidin' back "in".

Have fun!

Here's a pdf to download, in all 12 keys.

B.Stern

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