The Jazz Sax & Improvisation Blog of Saxophonist Bobby Stern

Mostly 4ths in a line over a very common Chord Progression

2/28/2025

Mostly 4ths
in a line over a very common Chord Progression

For the improviser, the ability to introduce the interval of a Perfect 4th (P4ths) into one's melodic lines is a useful alternative to basic scale running or chordal arpeggios in 3rds (horizontal vs. vertical).

Utilizing 4ths is a time tested option that will "modernize" one's lines - although it's been a staple choice for improvisers since the early 1960s.

It's also helpful to understand the intrinsic relationship between P4ths, the Pentatonic Scale, the 027 Trichord, as well as the Major Scale matrix itself.

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Augmentation Station: An Augmented Scale Sequence

9/27/2024

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Augmentation Station:
An Augmented Scale Sequence

Here's a nifty little exercise, featuring the still somewhat mysterious and enigmatic Augmented Scale.

The Augmented Scale is a six-note symmetrical scale with its interval scheme alternating between augmented and minor 2nds before repeating at the octave (F-G#-A-C-Db-E in F). This interval setup can be flipped to form what's known as the "Inverted Augmented Scale" (F-Gb-A-Bb-C#-D), meaning that 2 different scales can be generated from the same note.

Because the Augmented Triad splits the 12-tone chromatic scale into three equal parts, there are really only four unique transpositions of the Augmented Scale.

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The Fix is In - Broken Maj 9 Chords in 5ths, Major 3rds Cycle

8/29/2024

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The Fix is In:
Broken Maj 9 Chords in 5ths, Major 3rds Cycle

You've probably heard the saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

If a "working musician" is not working, he or she might be "going broke", but if we're talking about one who's dedicated - working or not - the decision may be to "go for broke" in reaching musical and professional goals.

In music terminology - which applies to the subject of this post - it ain't "broke" but "broken" in the sense of being disconnected or detached - as in a broken chord.

So if your chords are broken and you're in a fix, but you're fixin' to fix it, then fixate on the next few paragraphs, so that it might become a fixture of your daily practice routine.

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A Snakey, Serpentine Warm-Up!

7/30/2024

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A Snakey, Serpentine Warm-Up!

While attempting to learn and assimilate any new skill, it's almost always more effective to take in smaller bits of information at a time. A phrase or melodic line, for example, might be broken up into smaller chunks for better digestion.

In this post, we'll take a look at an ascending, snake-like sequence that also functions as an excellent warm-up exercise.

Based on a simple, repeating 4-note cell, it winds its way chromatically in ascending, serpentine fashion.

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Major/ minor: A Diminished/ Blues Scale Hex-0-Tonic

6/23/2023

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Major / minor:
A Diminished/ Blues Scale Hex-0-Tonic

"Bubble, bubble; toil and trouble!"..., Oh yeah!

Regardless of which witch stirs the pot, the makings of great solo improvisation isn't about magic - even when the results do seem magical.

The "toil and trouble" part of it comes down to the consistency of - and attitude towards - one´s own practice regimen. The "toil" ceases to be "trouble", as positive results begin to manifest.

Since there actually is a method to this magic, one spellbinding, tried and true device for your bag of tricks is the use of Triad Pairs. This involves two mutually exclusive triads (no common tones between them) and their inversions - which in turn forms a 6-note (Hexatonic) scale.

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Straight Ahead - Elements of an 027 Line

2/24/2023

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Straight Ahead - Elements of an 027 Line

Here's a nice, neat little 4-bar melodic line made up of overlapping two, three, four and five-note cells (depending on how you look at them).

Perfect 4ths, 027 Trichords, sus2 & sus4 combinations and Pentatonic structures, are all in evidence here.

Aside from the fact that the line itself sounds and works well as an "in-out-in" option over a ii-V7-I cadence, it's worth checking out how the aforementioned elements combine and overlap.

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A Whole Lotta Sole - Giant Steps 027, sus2, sus4, 125

1/13/2023

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A Whole Lotta Sole!
Giant Steps 027 - sus2, sus4, 1-2-5

Sus2, sus4, 027, 1-2-5?? These are all ways of expressing the same thing; namely a 3-note, non-triadic configuration - or trichord - containing the intervals of a Major 2nd and a Perfect 4th in its prime form (root position).

Exploring these configurations and using them in your melodic lines - both improvised and composed - can help take one "out of the ordinary path", to quote John Coltrane, as he referred to his own then revolutionary use of the Descending Major 3rds Cycle (aka "Coltrane Changes"), which gave birth to a number of his challenging compositions, the best known being "Giant Steps".

Using "Giant Steps" chord changes, I composed a one-chorus (16-bar) etude, featuring the aforementioned trichord as a basis for the solo melodic line.

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The SUPER 4 - A 4-Note Swiss Army Knife

7/27/2022

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New Shortbook™ : "The SUPER 4"
A 4-Note Swiss Army Knife For Improvisers

The “Super 4” is a collection of four tetratonic (4-note) structures, bound together by a consistent set of intervals and their inversions, resulting in a handy, streamlined tool with which to create colorful melodic lines over multiple chord types, while at the same time avoiding some of the more time-worn cliches.

Originating from a set of well known piano voicings, these structures form a quartet of unique 4-note “scales”. Due in large part to the presence of the intervals of a minor 2nd and tritone, they offer a good deal of “bite”.

This harmonic and melodic tension was first fully appreciated by such innovators as Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, et al in the early 1960s and beyond.

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Vamp Like a Champ! - ii-V-iii-VI Arpeggiated Sequence

5/26/2022

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Vamp Like a Champ!
ii-V-iii-VI Arpeggiated Sequence

Let's talk about vamps... and no, I don't mean those nocturnal, pointy-tooth bloodsucker types from Transylvania.

In musical terms, a vamp can be defined as a repeating harmonic or rhythmic sequence, of usually two, four or eight bars. It can be based on a single harmony, a bass riff, or on a series of chord changes.

Vamps are everywhere these days, and have been for a good while. Listen to any contemporary charted pop tune and chances are the bulk of the tune is based on a vamp of some sort. Traditionally, a vamp might function as a song's intro. In our case, it functions as an improvisational vehicle often found at the end of a solo, or at the end of a standard tune, as well.

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Get an Angle on "The Eternal Triangle" Bridge

2/24/2022

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Take it to the Bridge...
Getting an Angle on "The Eternal Triangle"

Ok, folks! Are you ready to take it to the bridge? Brooklyn? GW? Golden Gate? London Bridge?

Nope. I'm talking about the "The Eternal Triangle" bridge - from the classic Dizzy Gillespie album "Sonny Side Up" - featuring both Theodore "Sonny" Rollins and Edward "Sonny" Stitt (the tune's composer). Two Samurai swordsmen battling it out on the bridge (the whole tune actually) with tenor saxophones as their musical swords of choice. And then, of course - there's Dizzy! Not to be forsaken!

Despite the high winds created by the tune's rapid tempo, crossing this bridge might not be as treacherous as it might initially seem.

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Some Fresh Air for Your Practice Routine!

1/19/2022

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Some Fresh Air for Your Practice Routine!
Rhythmically Displaced Intervallic Pentatonics (say wha...?!)

Practicing exercises can sometimes be a tedious task. Most often, the end goal is to reach a degree of technical fluency in the areas covered by the particular exercise. However, there's more to it than that.

The real reason we practice in the first place, as improvising musicians especially, is to ultimately obtain the split-second facility to make musical choices - and to make them musically. This requires not only the ability to hear and execute the "right" notes at the right time (melody), but also the innate feel for creating balanced and coherent rhythmic statements (phrasing).

Let's take a look at a few simple ways we can turn a potentially monotonous exercise into something more listenable.

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Playin' the Numbers - A Pentatonic Shape in 12/8

9/24/2021

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Playin' the Numbers - A Pentatonic Shape in 12/8

As the oft quoted Thelonious Sphere Monk once remarked, "All musicians are subconsciously mathematicians!"

It's no secret that in the known universe, the relationship between music and numbers is intrinsically woven.

In order to make sense of it all - pitches, intervals, chords, scales (modes) and cadences - have all been organized by number into groups, sets, etc. For example, Major Scale steps 1-3-5 might represent a Major triad in traditional harmony, whereas in Set Class Theory, 037 might be designated as a Major or minor triad; while 013, 026 & 027 all represent non-triadic 3-note "pitch collections".

Rhythms are grouped into repeating cycles - 4/4, 6/8, 7/4, etc. in various ways, across many different cultures.

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Oh 2 Slick Blues - For the Socially Distanced

4/28/2020

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"Oh 2 Slick Blues" - A 12 Bar Blues for the Socially Distanced

Greetings from the distance, fellow distancers!

As a matter of survival, and depending on location, the requirements for self-isolation in this current crisis continue. For better or worse, it gives one the opportunity, on many different levels, to get to know one's self a little better.

While far from being the most urgent of concerns for many of us right now, from a strictly musical place (and this blog is all about music), that could mean honing-in on material that we may not have yet mastered, or that is less than familiar.

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0 1 3 Calling...Super Augmented!

11/29/2019

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0 1 3 Calling...Super Augmented!
An Introduction to the 013 Trichord & Super Augmented Scale

The scale in the title of this latest Shortbook™ was originally referred to as "Super Augmented" in a previous blog post from several years ago.

Among other names, it's been identified primarily as the inverse of Messaen's 3rd mode of limited transposition, as well as "Tcherepnin Nonatonic Mode 1", "Genus Chromaticum", and "Augmented Nine".

I'll still go with "Super Augmented", however, since among other aspects of its scalar construction, it contains two overlapping 6-note Augmented Scales, linked by a common Augmented triad.

"Pretty super!", I'd say. It also contains a trio of 013 Trichords, a Major 3rd apart - forming a 9-note (nonetonic) scale.

"But..what", you ask "is an 013 Trichord?" Or - better yet - what is a trichord, period?

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Your Daily Bread - 100% Whole Tone

5/29/2019

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Your Daily Bread - "100% Whole Tone"

OK, let's put a bit o' butter on the subject, shall we?

This month's Shortbook™ "100% Whole Tone" explores some of the improvisational possibilities and applications of the somewhat ignored and under appreciated Whole Tone Scale.

The Whole Tone Scale, as you may know, is a symmetrical, hexatonic (6 note) scale in which the intervallic distance between each of its inherent tones is that of a Major 2nd, or whole tone. Its layout is palindromic, meaning that its interval makeup is the same ascending as it is descending, regardless of its starting note, or "root".

Because of it's lack of certain basic intervals derived from the natural overtone series, such as the perfect 4th & 5th, the Whole Tone Scale has a somewhat ethereal quality, but could be seen as being melodically and harmonically limited or even boring to some degree.

However, it might also be compared to the two Knights on a chessboard - unique, quirky and extremely effective when used properly - especially in tandem with each other.

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Fourtitude - "Fourtification" for Improvisation

11/22/2018

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F o u r t i t u d e
"Fourtification" for Improvisation

This month's Shortbook™, "Fourtitude" (I know, fortitude) explores various methods of utilizing the interval of a Perfect 4th (C & F) in pairs to create captivating and original melodic lines and sequences.

Becoming an important part of the improviser's toolbox in the early 1960's - most notably through innovations by pianist McCoy Tyner and others - mastery of the Perfect 4th (P4th) remains an essential and challenging skill set for the present day improviser.
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In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, harmony based on fourths, known as Quartal Harmony, had been introduced via the symphonic works of several renowned European classical composers; namely Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Bella Bartok, being a few of the most prominent.

As mentioned, the focus of "Fourtitude" is the combining of Perfect 4th pairs to create lines that weave seamlessly in, out and through the underlying harmonic structure; but before we get to the good stuff, let's take a look at what makes a Perfect 4th so "perfect" in the first place.

Shall we?

UPDATE: "Fourtitude" has been combined with "Lines in 4ths: The iii-VI-ii-V-I Progression" as a single 98 page pdf volume "Fourtitude + Lines in 4ths: iii-VI-ii-V7"

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Double Harmonic Major - An Ancient Futuristic Melodic Source

9/21/2018

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Double Harmonic Major
An Ancient Futuristic Melodic Source

Throughout history, the scale known theoretically as Double Harmonic Major (aka Byzantine Scale, Melakarta #15, Ionian b2 b6), has been a prominent ingredient in numerous musical cultures around the world.

This scale (and its modes) is the Western equivalent of an early tone collection that is indigenous to Greece, Turkey and the Balkans, as well as North Africa & India, where in the south (Karnataka), it's the first scale (Melakarta) taught to young Carnatic music students.

Because of its unique interval make-up, consisting of four Augmented 2nds, as well as its resulting "Eastern" flavor (to Western ears, at least), it has remained a challenge to harmonize in the normal fashion, as many of the usual harmonic cadences and resolutions are not available or functional within its scale system. At the same time, it remains as a largely untapped source of inspiration and material for the improviser and composer willing to investigate and experiment.

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Shortbook of The Month: "C H R O M A T I X" - A New Ear's Resolution

1/20/2018

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Shortbook™ of the Month: "C H R O M A T I X"
A New Ear's Resolution

As the initial Shortbook™ of 2018, "Chromatix", as the title suggests, focuses on the technique and improvisational usage of chromaticism (referring, of course, to the 12 note Chromatic Scale).

It provides a window into the myriad combinations of lines and sequences that can be constructed with the close intervals of a minor and Major 2nd, as well as min. & Maj 3rds.

As a result, "Chromatix" is first and foremost, a collection of 50 technical exercises, designed to get into the "cracks and crevices" of your fingering technique - regardless of your chosen instrument.

Chromaticism (from the Greek word chrōmatikos - meaning "multicolored"), has been a part of the improviser's palette since Louis Armstrong introduced it in his early recorded solos from the 1920's.

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Mostly 4ths in a line over a very common Chord Progression

Augmentation Station: An Augmented Scale Sequence

The Fix is In - Broken Maj 9 Chords in 5ths, Major 3rds Cycle

A Snakey, Serpentine Warm-Up!

Major/ minor: A Diminished/ Blues Scale Hex-0-Tonic

Straight Ahead - Elements of an 027 Line

A Whole Lotta Sole - Giant Steps 027, sus2, sus4, 125

The SUPER 4 - A 4-Note Swiss Army Knife

Vamp Like a Champ! - ii-V-iii-VI Arpeggiated Sequence

Get an Angle on "The Eternal Triangle" Bridge

Some Fresh Air for Your Practice Routine!

Playin' the Numbers - A Pentatonic Shape in 12/8

Oh 2 Slick Blues - For the Socially Distanced

0 1 3 Calling...Super Augmented!

Your Daily Bread - 100% Whole Tone

Fourtitude - "Fourtification" for Improvisation

Double Harmonic Major - An Ancient Futuristic Melodic Source

Shortbook of The Month: "C H R O M A T I X" - A New Ear's Resolution

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