Please re-read my post, I think you will not disagree so much with it when
you read it closely. I am trying to cut down on the length of my posts. If
I wrote every possible scenario for this theory it would be a very long post,
they are already quite long as is.
>It is not the simplest way, it is THE ONLY way. It is impossible to add
another
tone to the mixolydian scale in such a way, that the R,3,5 and 7 fall on the
down beat. <
You are misinterpreting my use of the word simple, if I had used the words
"simplest way to THINK OF THIS SCALE is to put the major seventh between the
root and b7th" I might have been more clear. Also there are other ways to
rhythmically place the notes so as to get the desired effect of the chord
tones on the strong beats, if the root is played as a quarter note and the
rest of the mixolydian scale is played as eighth notes the chord tones all
fall in the same places as they would in the bebop scale. This is often what
earlier players in the swing era would do to get the chord tones to fall on
the beat and is one reason why some of their lines sound less continuous
eighth notes than bebop lines.
>>when played in eighth notes descending from its root starting on the one
will
>>end with its root on the one of the next measure. <<
>No. This results in a scale which when played in eighth notes descending OR
>ascending from a chord tone, will end on the same chord tone in the next
>measure at the same place where the scale started.<
Yes it does work in both directions, you are right, I have always noticed
when transcribing that the amount of times the bebop scale is used descending
is far more frequent than ascending. This is the reason I chose to write
about it in the descending terms only. By not mentioning the ascending I was
not intending to deny its existence, I was just trying to use the descending
as my example.
>> Ending on the one of the
>> next measure is rhythmically important because it allows the next octave
to
>> start in the rhythmically same place as the previous octave.
>Why is this important? Why should it be important to start (which is
actually
>continue) at rhythmically the same place as the previous octave?
It is important for a two octave nonstop continuation of the scale in eighth
notes. This allows the player to play a more flowing nonstop line than just
the mixolydian alone would produce, as I mentioned in my earlier post by
stating:
>>Rhythmically the mixolydian scale when played in eighth
>>notes descending ends on the "and of 4" in the first measure which gives
the
>>line a clipped feel, it doesn't have the perpetual motion feel of the bebop
>>scale.
>> When you try to
>> play the basic mixolydian scale over the same amount of bars (as the bebop
scale) you get a
>> situation where the chord tones start falling on the "ands" and the line
is
>> weaker harmonically.
>Because the diatonic scales are 7 note construction, they don't fit very
well
in a context with (rhythmically) 8 pulses.<
That was my point, the chromatic eighth note of the bebop scale was added to
the diatonic seven note scale for rhythmic reasons.
>All these aspects are also in the David Baker book, mentioned above so you
don't need the Barry Harris method for this.<
I mentioned the Barry Harris video method because it is about much more than
just the bebop scale. It is a great jazz pianist sitting at the piano and
with a rhythm section to put his concepts into practice. If you have a
chance it is well worth checking out. I have found that books like Mark
Levine's and David Baker's
are good for reference (I have both of them in my library) but do not help
in learning music nearly as much as being able to hear and see a person
explaining a concept and then playing it. His method also covers other
topics of interest to jazz players like warmup exercises and chord soloing.
>What do you mean with 'taking the randomness out of them'? Do you mean, you
have control over the usage of chromaticism or don't you use chromaticism
randomly?<
Random chromaticism in my usage means disorganized or unfocused use of
chromatics with no specific intent for their use. A player like Mike Stern
who has good control of his chromaticism can add them at will to create
interesting long lines and textures to his ideas; a player who doesn't have
control of his chromatics can sound unsure of himself and weaken his lines
with them. Good control of chromatic notes is pretty important to the
creation of smooth double-time lines like Pat Martino plays (and he
definitely has control over his chromatic usage).
In the final analysis you should not think so much about the "Bebop Scale"
anyway. I have yet to find a musician out playing in public who bases their
playing on this scale, it is just one of many tools to draw upon. I often
find that many student musicians become dependant on a method to show them
the way, remember that most methods have rules which you have to follow and
a lot of good music falls outside of these rules. Jazz is a music which
historically evolved through people rewriting or flat out ignoring all the
rules that they felt constricted by, experimenting with new sounds and not
trying to conform to a "classical" model that came before them has been the
motivation of many of the now legendary jazz performers.
Brian Oates