The Major's Bass Boot Camp - Session 35

[Major-Minor]

The Major's Bass Boot Camp - Session 35

"Rhythm Changes"

I remember many years ago, on one of the first jazz gigs I ever did, the bandleader called a tune I didn't know (one of many I didn't know !) and when I informed him of my unfamiliarity with said tune, he just said "Oh this one is easy - it's just Rhythm Changes." I was none the wiser !! The pianist quickly talked me through the sequence and somehow I got through it.

Over the years I have found that the knowledge of this chord sequence has been most helpful, as there are many jazz standards based on it, albeit sometimes somewhat loosely.

Recently I suggested to a student of mine (Hi Steve !) that he should know "Rhythm Changes" before doing his first foray into the jazz gig world, and this made me think maybe I should do a Boot Camp Session on this subject. So here it is ! It's far from being an exhaustive study of the subject - rather it is an easy introduction. Hopefully it will give you an overview of the ways this basically very simple sequence can be put to good use in a jazz setting.

There's an old Gershwin tune called "I Got Rhythm" - you may know it.
Jazzers found that the chord sequence of this tune was an ideal vehicle for jazz improvisation. But rather than use the original tune (which was getting rather cliched), many musicians wrote their own, keeping the original chords or in some cases making subtle (or not so subtle !) variations.

The key of Bb is pretty much standard for any Rhythm Changes tune and everything in this session will be in this key.

The "form" of this sequence is AABA, 8 bars of each section, making a total of 32 bars. In other words, we get two 8 bar sections (AA) that are the same (apart from the last bar of each) followed by a middle 8 ( B ) and then the A section again.
This means that, if we play the sequence around many times, as we do, we end up with 3 A sections side by side (the last A section of one sequence followed by the first 2 A sections of the next). It's quite common for the band to get a little lost during the improvisation, wondering where the B section comes ! It helps to keep thinking of it as a 32 bar sequence, keeping tabs on just exactly where you are in the form.

The defining feature of Rhythm Changes is the middle 8 ( section B ). The A sections can vary hugely in harmonic content (substitutions) but are always clearly in the tonic key (Bb). But the B section is nearly always D7 G7 C7 F7 (2 bars of each).

Some well known jazz tunes that use the "Rhythm Changes" sequence: (there are many more)
Oleo (Sonny Rollins)
Anthropology (Charlie Parke / Dizzy Gillespie)
Rhythm-A-Ning (Thelonious Monk)
Straighten Up And Fly Right (Nat King Cole)
Lester Leaps In (Lester Young)
Meet The Flintstones (Hoyt Curtin)

All the following examples are in an easy "4 to the bar" style (often referred to simply as "4's"). You can add your own skips and rakes when you feel comfortable with the lines.

MBBC35a
[attachment=80021:MBBC35a.pdf]
[attachment=80026:MBBC35a.mp3]
Version 1
A nice slow tempo to play along with. I've included the "I Got Rhythm " melody in this version only, just to show you where this all started.
First 8 bars use just the root notes of each chord.
From bar 9 onwards, we start to walk a little using other notes from each chord plus some "passing notes".
For this example, I've kept to very simple chords, pretty much as per the original song.
You can see how the first 16 bars are all clearly in Bb Major. Then in bar 17 we jump to D7 followed by a cycle of fifths - D7 G7 C7 F7.
Then in bar 25 we are back to Bb Major to the end.
In the original "I Got Rhythm", there is a melodic tag which extends the sequence by 2 more bars, but for our purposes here, we are sticking to the 32 bar form, which is the normal length for any "Rhythm Changes" tune.

MBBC35b
[attachment=80022:MBBC35b.pdf]
[attachment=80027:MBBC35b.mp3]
Version 2
Each version will be a little faster than the previous one.

There are so many different ways of varying the chord sequence, I can only present you with a few common possibilities.
The first thing I've changed in this version is the chord in bar 5 which was a Bb in version 1 and here is a D minor 7.
Changing this chord effectively makes it feel like a 4 bar phrase rather than two 2 bar phrases.
The chord of Dm7 (D F A C) is closely related to the Bb major chord (Bb D F). If you were to add a Bb under a Dm7, you have a Bb major 9 chord (Bb D F A C).

Bars 5 to 8 (inclusive) of each A section, are where most substitutions take place. Here you can see a fairly common version.
Look at bars 6 and 14, the second half of each. The first is an Ebm6 chord, the second is Cm7b5. These chords comprise exactly the same notes (Eb,Gb,Bb,C) but with different notes taken as the root note. So these chord names are interchangeable depending on which root note you choose.


MBBC35c
[attachment=80023:MBBC35c.pdf]
[attachment=80028:MBBC35c.mp3]
Version 3

Some more chordal variations. Note the E diminished chord in bar 6 for instance.
And I've added a few more "passing" notes here and there.

MBBC35d
[attachment=80024:MBBC35d.pdf]
[attachment=80029:MBBC35d.mp3]
Version 4
OK, I agree with you, I've overdone the substitutions a bit on this one ! There are flat 5's, flat 9's, and 13ths all over the place. Perhaps a bit over the top and not entirely tasteful, but I wanted you to hear just how different these kind of chords chords can make the music sound. They bring a dirty edge to the harmony which creates a lot of tension (tension being a GOOD thing ! )

MBBC35e
[attachment=80025:MBBC35e.pdf]
[attachment=80030:MBBC35e.mp3]
Version 5

For this version only, there is a 2 bar drum count on the mp3, as the tempo is quite swift.
In the final 2 bars, note the use of a "pedal" F. This note is common to both chords (Bb and F).


The Major

Edited May 16, 2011 by Major-Minor

[Bilbo]

Just to illustrate the importance of this piece of work, here is an additional, non-comprehensive list of rhythm changes tunes (some with variations but you get the idea):

Allen's Alley - Denzel Best
Boppin' A Riff - Bud Powell (?)
Calling Dr. Jazz - Fats Navarro
Celerity - Charlie Parker
Crazyology - Charlie Parker
C.T.A. - Jimmy Heath
Dexterity - Charlie Parker
Dizzy Atmosphere - Dizzy Gillespie (I assume)
Eternal Triangle - Sonny Stitt
Everything's Cool -
Fat Girl - Fats Navarro
Fingers - Thad Jones
Five Guys Names Moe
Good Bait - Tadd Dameron
Goin' To Minton's - Fats Navarro
Hollerin' and Screamin' - Fats Navarro
I'm An Errand Boy For Rhythm - Nat Cole
Jumpin' At The Woodside - Count Basie
Kim - Charlie Parker
Lemon Drop - George Wallington
Little Pixie II - Thad Jones
Merry Go Round - Duke Ellington
Moose The Mooche - Charlie Parker
Move - Denzil Best
No Moe - Sonny Rollins
An Oscar For Treadwell - Charlie Parker
Passport - Charlie Parker
Professor Bop - Babs Gonsalez
Red Cross - Charlie Parker
Room 608 - Horace Silver
Salt Peanuts - Dizzy Gillespie
The Serpent - John Lewis
Serpent's Tooth - Miles Davis
Steeplechase - Charlie Parker
The Theme - Miles Davis
Tip TOe - Thad Jones
Thriving From A Riff - Charlie Parker
Turnpike - J.J. Johnson?
Webb City - Bud Powell?
Wee - Denzil Best

The list goes on and on and on and includes me (I have tried writing several 'rhythm changes tunes, as will have almost every jazz composer in the world)

[Dad3353]

Many thanks, Major. Clearly explained, excellent ressources. Very useful.

[SlackAlice]

Wonderful stuff! Many thanks for this Major. It's all very much appreciated!

Angie

[stevie]

[quote name='Major-Minor' post='1232799' date='May 16 2011, 10:34 AM']For this version only, there is a 2 bar drum count on the mp3, as the tempo is quite swift.[/quote]

You're not kidding. How anybody can read that fast is beyond me.

[Major-Minor]

[quote name='stevie' post='1234011' date='May 17 2011, 10:03 AM']You're not kidding. How anybody can read that fast is beyond me.[/quote]
Stevie - it's just all down to familiarity. Just like reading a book. If you know the language you are reading in, the shapes of the words become familiar and you no longer have to think about each word. Same with music. The more you do it, the less you actually have to think about each note. Also, after a while you start to recognise the patterns in the music. The same phrases or lines crop up time and time again and you learn to take in a bar at a time or more. Then when you are really proficient, you start to "read ahead" ie you are looking a bar or 2 ahead of the notes you are currently playing. This is what "sight reading" is !

By the way - the fastest example here would be easy sight reading for any seasoned pro ! We are expected to accurately read far more complex music than this at sight.

The Major

[steve]

Great stuff Pete, I'm going to get stuck into this over the next couple of days

Edited May 18, 2011 by steve

[Major-Minor]

[quote name='steve' post='1235045' date='May 17 2011, 10:57 PM']Great stuff Pete, I'm going to get stuck into this over the next couple of days[/quote]
Steve - bear in mind that the examples here are just the basic notes you might play with these chord changes. Try adding in some of the things we discussed at the last lesson, like skips, left hand pizz and triplet rakes, to bring the part alive.

[steve]

[quote name='Major-Minor' post='1236695' date='May 19 2011, 10:04 AM']Steve - bear in mind that the examples here are just the basic notes you might play with these chord changes. Try adding in some of the things we discussed at the last lesson, like skips, left hand pizz and triplet rakes, to bring the part alive.[/quote]

Will do, cheers