Jerry Bergonzi
Chapter IX
Peter McNeany
September 5/2023
CONCEPT:
Chapter IX
Four Note Groupings
Major: 5 6 7 9
Minor: 5 7 8 9
DEVELOPING FOUR NOTE GROUPINGS CONCEPT
5 – 6 – 7 – 9 on a major chord
5 – 7 – 8 – 9 on a minor chord
REPERTORY
MEMORIZE LADY BIRD
Basic Melody and Harmony
- Improvise using 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 / 1- 3 – 4 – 5 permutations.
2. When you feel comfortable with the previous exercise improvise using 5 – 6 – 7 – 9 / 5 – 7 – 8 – 9 permutations.
To apply the permutations read the score if necessary. If you lose control, stop playing, listen, and play the basic melody or harmony (you already know them by memory).
Improvisation is not just about sounds, but about the silence between sounds. It is in the rests where we process what we have just played and prepare what follows. Silent one, two, three, or as many bars as you want, even a full chorus! In the imagination the basic melody and harmony will always be playing and a very effective strategy to improvise is to maintain an active dialogue with them.
PRINT and PLAY Chet Baker’s improvisation with the recording
Other Improvisation resources
- Use the principal scale of the key.
- Use Guide-Tones.
Guide tones are those chord tones which are responsible for creating a chord’s essential harmonic quality or sonority. They are the 3rd, 7th, and altered 5th of a conventional 4-part 7th chord.
More information about Guide Tones
How To Improvise Hal Crook, Pg.48
