Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter! My aim with these is to provide some resources to help you practice, including adding a free 8vbebop etude. This month’s etude is on the classic Jerome Kern standard "All the Things You Are". I'm linking one of the most famous performances of this by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, on top of Bird and Diz's amazing playing, check out Slam Stewart's bow and singing.
This etude is packed (almost too packed) with vocabulary, and I aim to highlight how using simple shapes in the melodic minor scale one half step up from the root of a V7 chord can create a very recognizable "Altered" sound! I also tried to continue using melodic development through the piece, and worked to create a singing, almost limerick-like, melodic development. Using sequencing and syncopation can create a playful rhythmic feeling for the melody.
Dig This!
This month's Dig This is a new passion project for me, namely Charlie Parker's solo on Cherokee. This early recording of Bird has it all, rhythm, melody, harmony, swing, phrasing, you name it! Instead of analyzing the mess out of it, I'll just let you listen and see for yourself!