Transform Oscar Peterson and Chick

Corea piano improvisation through

Autumn Leaves into Jazz Pedagogy

ABSTRACT

Jazz education needs to be improved in Hong Kong in terms of both

quantity and quality. This study gives jazz instructors a

demonstration of teaching jazz in an effective way. By using a

numbering system, transcriptions and tables of analysis, students,

especially beginners, will gain a clear and organized material for

practice. Oscar Peterson and Chick Corea are chosen to be examples

in this study. Since jazz theory cannot be heard, music analysis is

necessary to jazz study in order to avoid missing musical

information while listening to CDs. The result gives abundant

materials for students to practice and they will be able to learn

different styles of jazz musicians. This method can motivate them to

do music analysis and transcription by themselves, which can

strengthen students’ musicianship and allow them to gain fulfillment

from their jazz practice.

BACKGROUND

This paper helps jazz instructors to have a brief idea on how they

could prepare for a series of jazz lessons by analyzing the works of

jazz musicians. By referring to this analysis, it is hoped that

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instructors will have more confidence in their jazz education

method. Moreover, students will be able to extract useful

information which can help in their practice, performance, further

education and even composing their own music.

Jazz is not popular in Hong Kong. Aitken (2007) stated that he had

put a big effort on introducing jazz music to mainland China, and

Hong Kong was one of his stations during this trip. In September

2006, he conducted a jazz concert in Hong Kong that featured Hong

Kong international schools’ jazz ensembles. “Jazz education in Hong

Kong is lackluster” (Chung, 2012). More jazz educators are needed

in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the methodology of teaching jazz

instruments is also significant since jazz education is quite new in

Hong Kong. Music analysis is very important in the jazz learning

process. Brewer (2011) pointed out that music analysis has been

known as a critical learning process. A brief image of the

characterizations of a particular jazz musician is also significant.

Instructors have responsibilities to give an introduction of music

analysis to their students. After discussions on several jazz

musicians, students will have a clear idea on their preference of

characteristic and musical language. At the same time, instructors

will be more able to lead their students on a sturdy jazz learning

journey.

THE NEED FOR THIS STUDY

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Jazz musicians listen to plenty of music recordings and video

recordings to seek for improvement in their musical languages and

improvisations. In addition to improving the sense of hearing, the

ability to look at transcriptions and music analysis is also important.

This visual process should be completed after students listen to CDs

and before they start practicing their instrument.

Music analysis is needed to avoid the missing information while

listening to CDs. In this process, musical sound is transformed into a

written language. In this way, instructors and students will be more

able to read the music in a theoretical approach. Instructors can also

present music information more accurately.

For those beginners and intermediate students who lack abilities to

make transcriptions and music analyses by themselves, these

musical analyses will be critical resources.

LIMITATION OF THIS STUDY

Oscar Peterson and Chick Corea are chosen as demonstration in this

study because of their different styles of improvisation. In fact, any

musician can be used as the target for analysis. It is necessary for

instructors to choose appropriate musicians to analyze with

students by considering students’ characteristics and learning

approach.

Piano is not the only instrument that can be used, but it is the most

common form of music instrument that students will come across. It

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is possible for all instrumental instructors to teach with these

methods.

There will be only one solo analysis for each musician for

demonstration purpose. Instructors may decide to do a complete

version of a CD recording or a live recording for more detailed

materials.

Autumn Leaves is chosen because it is the song recorded by the two

target pianists.

THE TWO PIANISTS

Oscar Emmanuel Peterson

In the year of 1925, Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was born in Canada.

As a well-known jazz pianist, a critical influence on little Peterson

started from his father Daniel Peterson and his sister Daisy Peterson.

Being Peterson’s first music teacher, his father taught him trumpet

while he was in five but unfortunately he stopped two years later

due to the bout of tuberculosis. After the disease, Peterson turned

all his focus on piano playing. He studied piano with his sister. Later

on, he had an opportunity to study with a Hungarian pianist called

Paul de Marky, who was himself the disciple of a disciple of Franz

Liszt. Peterson had a steady classical piano technique and on top of

these piano lessons, he started learning ragtime music, especially

the Boogie-Woogie piano style.

He absorbed a lot of different musical styles into his jazz music. The

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most representable influence was the music from Art Tatum after he

had heard his father playing Tatum’s work Tiger Rag. Peterson was

not only influenced by the modern time musicians (Universal Music

Group, 2012). Instead, he insisted on playing baroque music,

especially the Prelude and Fugue composed by Johann Sebastian

Bach. As a teacher, Peterson did not stop asking his students to play

the Well-Tempered-Clavier when he was teaching in the Advanced

School of Contemporary Music in Toronto and the York University.

His career started from joining a jazz project which was held by

Norman Granz. The project gave Peterson an opportunity to perform

as a jazz pianist through radios, concerts, jazz clubs etc. Peterson

commenced the wonderful journey and met a lot of jazz musicians

and composers in his further career including his idol Art Tatum and

as a brilliant musician and teacher himself, he influenced many jazz

musicians and committed his whole life to jazz music and jazz

education. He died in December 2007.

Armondo Anthony Chick Corea

Chick Corea was born in Massachusetts in the U.S.A. in 1941. Like

Oscar Peterson, Corea’s father was also a trumpet player and

apparently was one of the first inspiring musicians to the little

Corea.

Corea learnt piano on his own when he was just four by exploring

and composing music in his own sound. He listened to jazz

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musicians such as Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Horace Silver and

Dizzy Gillespie. He learnt plenty of musical elements and put them

into his music and this made him start doing concerts when he was

just in high school.

Corea developed a brilliant jazz piano technique during his

childhood and he decided to ask for further musical education. After

a critical influence by taking private lessons with a concert pianist

Salvatore Sullo when Corea was eight, he determined to study music

at the Columbia University and also the Juilliard School. Eventually,

he quit both schools due to some unsatisfactory causes.

Corea started his career in the early 60s. He had an opportunity to

attend a professional performance with great jazz musicians such as

Cab Calloway, Herbie Mann, Mongo Santamaria, Blue Mitchell and

Williw Bobo. Corea released his first album Tones for Joan’s Bones

when he was 25 years old. He started to present to the public his

musical language emphasizing the Latin and swing music style he

had invented (Wikipedia, 2012).

Corea participated in an innovative organization called Avant Garde.

During the three-year period, he tried to create new music elements

and at the same time, he explored jazz fusion and input Latin jazz

elements into his music. One of the most representable pieces

called Spain was one of the very famous tunes composed by Core in

1972. This tune was played and recorded by many different jazz

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musicians and even Corea himself recorded his tune in various

versions as well.

Corea’s music influenced the style of jazz rock fusion and he also

input lots of pentatonic elements into his music. He was one of the

jazz musicians advocated making sound effect on instruments, as

some classical musicians such as John Cage did. He made special

sound by putting his left hand fingers on the piano strings while the

right hand playing on the same note. Corea regularly used these

techniques to create rhythmic patterns or other new elements to

create his own music and due to his creativity in music making, he

became one of the best jazz pianists and musicians in the present

day.

METHOD

Autumn Leaves is chosen to be used to compare the different

improvisation approaches between Oscar Peterson and Chick Coera,

presenting the two piano transcriptions on how and what the two

musicians are doing in the same piece according to the jazz

standard.

By exploring the improvisation of these two pianists, their licks, note

patterns, scales, motives and jazz theories were transcribed. This

analysis helps students have a brief idea on how these two jazz

pianists sound like and how they approach their music. At the same

time, students can taste their music in the analysis. After reading

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the scores and table in a systematic way, students will have an idea

on how different pianists improvised.

The tables below show what musical elements are happening in

each bar of the works of the two jazz pianists. The aim of this

analysis is to focus on the findings of how the great musicians

recorded their own CD recording.

Numbering system

The scale of chords will be presented by numbering system.

Take an example on the chord “C minor 7 th” , the scale and notes of

“C minor 7th” are

C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb, C’. These notes will be represented by 1, 2, b3,

4, 5, 6, b7, 1’ respectively.

Scales degree of chord qualities

Minor 7th (Dorian) 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7, 1’

Major 7th (Ionian)
Minor 7 b5 (Locrian)
th
Dominant 7th (Mixolydian)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1’
1, b2, b3, 4, b5, b6, b7, 1’
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 b7, 1’

Scales

Blues scale 1, b3, 4, #4, 5, b7, 1’

Octatonic scale 1, 2 ,b3, 4, b5, b6, 6,b7, 1’

Applications
Licks, four note patterns, and other materials can be applied

elsewhere with the same chord quality. For example, materials in a

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C minor 7th chord can be applied into all minor chords.

FINDINGS

Oscar Peterson recording from London House Chicago 1962

Bar Chord Oscar Peterson

no. and (first solo)

quality
1(A) C Minor 7th  licks (b3’,5,b7,7,2’,1’)

 Four note pattern (2,b3,5,b7)

2 F Dominant  Three note pattern (4, #5, 6)

7th
3 Bb Major 7th Dominant 7th arpeggios (Descending) build

up on the (1) of the chord.

4 Eb Major 7th Minor 7th Arpeggio (Ascending) build up on

the (2) of the chord.

5 A Minor 7 b5  Locrian scale (Descending) starting on
th

(b5)

 Licks (4,2,b3,3,4)

 Four note pattern (4,b5,b7,b2)

6 D Dominant  Licks (6,b7,2,4,6,b6,3,1,7,b7)

7th
7 G Minor 7th  Four note pattern (2’,1’,5,b3)

 Four note pattern (1,6,1,5,1)

8 G Minor 7 th
Blue scales (Ascending) starting on (1)
9(A) C Minor 7th  Four note pattern (5,4,2,b3)
10 F Dominant Blues scale starting on (4)

7th
11 Bb Major 7th Blues scale beginning starting on (1)
12 Eb Major 7th Major Arpeggios (Ascending) starting on (3)

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 (3,5,1’,3’,5’)
13 A Minor 7 th
Pentatonic scale (Ascending) build up on the

b5 (b5) of the chord.

 Licks (2,4,b3,2,b3)
14 D Dominant  Licks (b7,2,3,4,6,b6)

7th
15 G Minor 7th Blues scale starting on (1)
16 G Minor 7th Blue scale (Ascending) build up on the (6) of

the chord and starting on (b7)

17(B) A Minor 7 th
 Four note Pattern (b2,b3,b2,b7)

b5  Four note Pattern (b6,b7,b6,4)

18 D Dominant (4) Blues scale (Descending) build up on the

7th (4) of the chord and starting on (b3)

19 G Minor 7th (6) Blue scale build up on the (6) of the

chord starting on (1)

20 G Minor 7 th
Parallel major arpeggios (Ascending) starting

on (1)
21 C Minor 7th  Licks (5,7,2,1)

Minor arpeggios and scale (Descending)

starting on (1)
22 F Dominant  blues scale/licks build up on the (2) of

7th the chord (b7’,1’,1,b3,5,#4,4)

Chromatic scale (Descending)

23 Bb Major 7th  blues scale/licks build up on the (6) of

the chord (#4,5,b7,b2’,1’,b7,b3’)

24 Eb Major 7 th
Minor arpeggios (Ascending) build up on the

(6) of the chord

25(B) A Minor 7th Chromatic Materials

b5 Pentatonic scale (Descending) build up on

the (b5) of the chord

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26 D Dominant Mixolydian scale (Descending) starting on (1)

7th
27 G Minor 7th Minor arpeggios (Descending) build up on (7)

of the chord
28 G Minor 7 th
 four note pattern (2,b3,5,b7)
29 A Minor 7th Pentatonic scale (Descending) build up on

b5 the (b5) of the chord and starting on (b5)

30 D Dominant  Licks (6,1’,717,b7)

7th
31 G Minor 7th Blues scale build up on the (6) of the chord
32 G Minor 7 th
 Blues scale/licks build up on the (6) of

the chord

(b3,#4,5, b7,6)

Chick Corea Recording form the Album Rendezvous in New York

Bar Chord Chick Corea

no. quality (first solo)

97(A) C Minor 7th  Arpeggios on (9,13,11)

 Replace the b5, and b6, into the normal

5 and 6 when playing the dorian scale.

The scale becomes

(1,2,b3,4,b5,b6,b7,1).
98 F Dominant 4,5,b7 are chosen to play on

7th  Chromatic motive starting on (3)

99 Bb Major 7th  Chromatic pattern (Descending) with two

notes per group

100 Eb Major 7 th
 Chromatic pattern (Descending) with two

notes per group

101 A Minor 7th Starting on b5 and keep creating the

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 b5 chromatic motive (Descending)
102 D Dominant Keep creating a chromatic pattern

7th (Descending) with two notes per group.

103 G Minor 7th Chromatic Scale (Descending) starting on

(b3)
104 G Minor 7th N/A
105(A) C Minor 7th  Minor 7th arpeggios (Ascending) starting

on (5)

 Four note pattern (1,2,b3,4)

106 F Dominant  Licks (b2,3,6,b3)

7th
107 Bb Major 7th Chromatic pattern (Descending) with two

notes per group starting on (b7)

108 Eb Major 7th Chromatic pattern (Descending) with two

notes per group

109 A Minor 7 th
Chromatic pattern (Descending) with two

b5 notes per group

110 D Dominant Chromatic scale (Descending) starting on

7th (2).
111 G Minor 7 th
 Four note pattern (b3,5,2,5)

Minor arpeggios starting on (1)

112 G Minor 7th  Licks (4’,b3’,1’,5,4,#4)
113B) A Minor 7th N/A

b5
114 D Dominant  Three note pattern (b7,1,b2) starting on

7th (1)
115 G Minor 7 th
 Three note pattern (4,5,b6)

 Three note pattern (4,6,7)

116 G Minor 7 th
 Three note pattern (4,6,7)
117 C Minor 7th  Three note pattern (7,4’,5’)
118 F Dominant  Three note pattern (7,2,b3)

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 7th
119 Bb Major 7th  Three note pattern (5,7,1)
120 Eb Major 7th  Three note pattern (2,#4,5)

 Three note pattern (3,5,6)

121(B) A Minor 7th  Three note pattern (b7,2,b3)

b5
122 D Dominant  Three note pattern (b5,b7,7)

7th
123 G Minor 7th  Melodic pattern (4,b3,2,4,1,2,b3)
124 G Minor 7 th
 Four note pattern (#4,5,b6,5)

 Four note pattern (#5,6,2’,6)

125 A Minor 7th  Four note pattern (6,4,b5,b2)

b5 Chromatic scale (Descending) starting on

(b7)
126 D Dominant b2,1,b7,b6 are chosen to play with

7th
127 G Minor 7th N/A
128 G Minor 7th  Octatonic scale patterns

(1,2,b3,4,b5,b6,6,7)

DISCUSSION/IMPLICATION

Instrumental jazz pedagogy

The findings above explore the differences of two jazz musicians.

Apparently, Chick Corea comfortably used plenty of note patterns

rather than playing licks during his improvisations. Additionally, we

also discovered jazz music theory and knowledge inside musicians’

mind. Jazz instructors will be able to inspire students by initiating

them through the information in the music analysis. Musical phrases

are equally explored in the music analysis. Students will confidently

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learn musical phrases and phrase structures by searching the

analysis table and also the transcriptions. They can also improve the

creation of building climax through the whole piece.

Teaching with analysis table has another significant advantage.

Students will understand the benefits of transcription and analysis.

Students will be motivated to transcribe and analyze by themselves

in further learning and at the same time, they strengthen their

musicianship and patience.

Due to the abundance of materials presented in the tables, students

can improve their creativity by combining and choosing different

elements into their own musical language.

Improvisations

Licks, note patterns, scales and theories are clearly written in the

analysis table. Students never lack resources in their practice

process. As a result, they are given more different combination to

create their music rather than simply listening to CD recordings.

Students will have a clear target on choosing a particular musician

or instrumentalist to learn from. They will be able to learn jazz

improvisation, which is relatively difficult for beginners, in a more

effective process and it will be easier for them to gain fulfillment.

Further jazz education

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Students educated in this method will be well-organized jazz

musicians. They will be able to identify the sound and recognize the

musician through their ears in a more sensitive way. This ability will

be very useful when they become teachers someday. They will also

be capable of playing like any musician they like in the lesson

through their instrumental demonstrations. This ability will help

them to teach the new generations.

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References

Aitken, D. (2007). IAJE NEWS: Jazz Debuting Across China. Jazz Education Journal.
40. 2-3.

Brewer, P. (2011). A Brief Analysis of Ira Sullivan’s Creative Method on “Portrait Of

Sal La Rosa” (1976). Current research in Jazz. Volume 3.

Chung, H. (2012). Reaffirmed Jazz aficionado. Tuesday, April 10, 2012. Retrieved
from http://henrychung.blogspot.com/

Hal Lenoard Corporation. (2004). The real Book (6th ed.). Milwaukee: Hal Leonard
Corporation.

Universal Music Group. (2012). Oscar Peterson Biography. Retrieved from

www.oscarpeterson.com/bio/

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2012). Chick Corea. Retrieved from

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/chick_Corea

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