Trying to find new ways to get into composition or looking for ways to adapt the jazz language you're learning? Take a look at some things I've recently been working on.
I've been taking some of Charlie Parker's heads and re-working them. Bebop heads have strong rhythmic feel and direction so here I've taken the rhythm of 'Blues For Alice' but chosen my own notes. I'm looking to find new ways through the harmony that I might not usually play while using the rhythmic ideas Parker wrote.
I took this concept with a focus of improving my altissimo and increasing larger intervals in my playing. Check it out, then try writing your own!
Some concepts could include;
- Range and intervals
- Using certain colours over chords
- Reharmonisation
Download a pdf here - Blues inspired by Alice
Manipulating Parker language by translation
While experimenting choosing my own notes to Blues For Alice I was reminded of a great way you can increase the usability of language you might have already learnt.
Translating phrases through chord tones.
I've taken some of my favourite phrases from the original Blues For Alice melody and translated the note choices onto different chord tones.
Here's the original phrase, which starts on the 7th of the C#-7 chord.
Now the phrase is translated down to the next set of chord tones, now starting on the 5th of the C#-7 chord.
Translated to start on the 3rd of C#-7.
Translated to start on the I of C#-7.
Now I can play a variation of the original phrase through any of the chord tones of bars 2-4! This is a great way to make sure you know lots of different routes through the changes.
To be able to put the above phrases into any key, it is a good idea to visualise your direction through the chord tones so you know what notes to aim for. Here are the chord tone directions for the above phrases. If you can think of these in any key it will make it much easier to 'fill in the dots' using the shape of the different phrases above.
Here's some other phrase translations from the original Blues For Alice melody.
Download a pdf of the phrase translations here
Manipulating Parker language into 5/4 time
With the addition of enclosures, passing tones and some creative lenience this is a fun composition task, check out how I've adapted the original Blues For Alice melody in 5/4 time signature.
Download a pdf of Blues For Alice in 5/4 here
Manipulating 5/4 Parker language, changing the resolution points
This is a technique to adapt 4/4 ideas and phrases into odd time signatures.
Practicing these kind of exercises will mean when it comes to improvising in 5/4. you'll have a mental toolkit of how to adapt your ideas and phrases to work in the time signature.
Here is the original phrase in 4/4, bars 2-4.
Now in 5/4, I've imagined a 3:2 clave for this first example. Therefore the chords fall on beat 1 and beat 4, so with enclosures and creative lenience I've adapted where the resolutions fall to match this.
This time I've changed the clave to a 2:3 feel, the chords landing on beat 1 and beat 3, so the resolution points have shifted.
This time I've split the 5/4 bar in half, imagining two sets of 5 quavers fitting into each bar. The resolution lands at the start of each group of 5 (except where the resolution is anticipated for the B-7 chord.)
Manipulating 5/4 Parker language by translation
Here's some ideas similar to earlier in this post using translation, this time taking the first 5/4 phrase with a 3:2 clave and translating it through different chord tones.
Check out a PDF of all these 5/4 exercise ideas here.
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