At 10:39 PM 3/6/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Wouldn't you agree, Reed, that Charlie Parker used the harmonic minor scale
>extensively in minor keys, and the melodic seldom if never? I've always
>felt that sometimes what could be analyzed as an exotic scale is really only
>an original use of nonharmonic tones...
>
>>>
I'm not a Charlie Parker expert but....
I definitely don't think that the melodic minor scale was a big part
of what he was doing in the context of a minor key.
He seems to me to be essentially trying to play in one key as
long as possible.
His source of non key notes were basically:
1) notes a half step below an approached note.
2) alterations on a dominant chord, i.e. b9, #9, b5, #5
3) chord tones that directly conflict with a note in the key.
I.e. a an Eb7 chord in the key of F is going to need a Db note
and maybe an Eb note (with both it becomes the 4th mode of the
Bb melodic minor scale).
I don't see him playing the 9 against a m7b5 chord because b9 is
an avoid note. He is going to be play the b9 and maybe not lean
on it for a whole bar but he's not going to raise it a half step.
So let's ignore the (1) and (2) I mentioned above for the moment.
So then, lets say he is playing in F.
And then the chords move to Em7b7 A7 | Dm ...
Okay so we are basically in Dm there.
Well Em7b5 is in the key of F so he is probably going to just keep
playing in F.
What about the A7 chord?
Well he can still just play in F. There is no need to play a C# since
the C is just the b9 of A7.
However if he chooses to play play the C# (something he often would do),
then we have the D harmonic minor scale.
Now when he comes to the Dm, he is more likely to play a Bb than
a B. Once again because he chooses to try and stay in F and maybe
he plays a C# making it a D harmonic minor scale.
Of course added to this, Bird often outlines chords as do many
players.
And there you have it.
Bird in a nutshell.
That's about it.
That's one of the reasons why I'm not a great book writer.
Nobody will buy a one page book which offers a detailed practical
analysis of Charlie Parkers playing.
reed
>
>
>
Reed Kotler
reed@justjazz.com
http://www.justjazz.com