Bebopvocabulary

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The Bebop Vocabulary
By Howie Shear
© 2005 Howie Shear

Published by Pocket People Music
www.howieshear.com
Available at: www.WenslowShearJAZZ.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise – without prior permission of the author or
publishers, except for the brief inclusion of brief quotations in a
review.
Credits
Music Copyist - Michael Farkas
Editors – Michael Farkas, Denise Petski, Howie Shear
Page 1
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Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 5
Using the Major 7 on the ii and the Bebop-Dominant on the ii and V7 ........................................8
Incorporating the flat 9 on the dominant 7 chord ........................................................................11
Incorporating the sharp 9 on the dominant chord.......................................................................... 14
Using the flat and sharp 9 on the dominant chord ....................................................................... 17
Back to the minor, or " ii" chord .................................................................................................... 20
Back to the dominant chord: The use of the flat 13....................................................................... 23
The sharp 11 on the dominant chord ..............................................................................................26
The natural extensions ............................................................................................................... 29
Summary of chapters 1 - 7 ............................................................................................................ 29
Section 2 Overview....................................................................................................................... 30
Expanding your musical sentences...............................................................................................31
Expanding your musical sentences using the natural and flat 9 on the dominant chord ............ 34
Expanding your musical sentences using the sharp 9 on the dominant chord .............................. 37
Non-harmonic tones, or colors, on the minor chord ....................................................................40
Expanding your musical sentences usingthe sharp and flat 9 on the dominant chord ................. 43
Expanding your musical sentences incorporatingthe flat 13 on the dominant chord ...................46
Expanding your musical sentences incorporating The sharp 11 on the dominant chord ................ 49
your musical sentences through the I chord ............................................................................... 52
Summary of chapters 8-15............................................................................................................ .56
Section 3 Overview ....................................................................................................................... 57
The iii-VI7-ii-V7 progression......................................................................................................... 58
The iii-VI7-ii-V7 progression in shorter form .............................................................................. 61
Modal Applications: Expanding the musical sentence even further.............................................64
Another approach to modal playing ............................................................................................... 67
The other important turnaround................................................................................................... 71
A chordal approach ....................................................................................................................... 75
Less often used chord qualities: The altered major 7th............................................................... 78
The bebop vocabulary of the minor 2-5-1 ( ii¯7-V7-I )progression ................................................. 82
The dominant flat 5 or raised 11th ................................................................................................. 85
Summary of chapters 16-24 ......................................................................................................... .88
Conclusion................................................................................................................................... 89
BebopVocabularyRev4a.doc Page 3
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Introduction
Jazz is a language. That is what I was told when I first began my journey into the
world of jazz improvisation. I didn’t quite fully understand what that meant, nor
did I give it a lot of thought. Maybe because I was so consumed with practicing
my scales and outlining chord changes.
After much time doing this sort of practicing, I started to transcribe solos from
various trumpet players. I learned to play the solos along with the soloist on the
recording and after a while I sounded exactly like the soloist.
But I wanted to speak Jazz without imitating. I then realized what my teacher
meant when he told me that Jazz is a language. At that moment I began to look
at the lines that the soloist played, and tried to understand how they were related
to the chord changes.
From here I realized that these individual lines which eventually would comprise
an entire solo, were actually musical sentences, paragraphs, and ultimately
compositions. From here I realized that now I must not worry about learning
entire solos, but some of the musical sentences which made up the composition.
I then transposed the sentences into various keys. Eventually I realized that it
was time to learn long sentences. These I also learned from various artists who
incorporated longer sentences in their solos. At this point an amazing transition
took place. The thousands of musical sentences that I had committed to memory
were becoming difficult to remember. But what did come out of my trumpet were
variations of the sentences; my own way of speaking this beautiful language of
Jazz.
An analogy that I like to use is that of a small child who periodically receives from
his teacher new words to learn. After a while his vocabulary becomes
increasingly larger and creative.
My experience from teaching many years is that many students aren’t skilled in
the art of transcribing, nor that they do not have the time that it takes. So I wrote
this book, a book that can instantly help the jazz improviser, beginning to
advanced, to build an extensive vocabulary.
The following course of study offers hundreds, and potentially thousands, of

musical sentences, showing how to incorporate all of the various extensions of
the minor and dominant chords, as well as the language used on a modal
approach. This book will save the student thousands of hours of transcribing time
with all of the benefits of transcribing.
Page 5
This book concentrates on the bebop vocabulary as spoken by Jazz artists from
the bebop and hard bop eras.
If you would like to learn more of the Jazz theory and harmony as it pertains to
Jazz improvisation, I would recommend my first book, “Jazz Improvisation –
Simplified” (www.howieshear.com)
-Howie Shear
Page 6
Section 1 Overview
Chapter 1 Using the major 7 on the ii and the bebop-dominant on the ii and v7
Chapter 2 Incorporating the flat 9 on the dominant 7 chord
Chapter 3 Incorporating the sharp 9 on the dominant chord
Chapter 4 Using the flat and sharp 9 on the dominant chord
Chapter 5 Back to the minor, or ii, chord
Chapter 6 Back to the dominant chord: The use of the flat 13
Chapter 7 The sharp 11 on the dominant chord
The material covered in Section 1 will help you to understand the

value and importance with regards to the extensions, or colors, of the
Bebop vocabulary, as they relate to both the minor 7 and dominant 7
chords.
I present these extensions or colors, in short musical sentences; one

measure of the minor 7 (ii7) chord, and one measure of the
dominant 7 (V7) chord.
As you progress through this section, I discuss more in depth the

extensions or colors of chords, and how one should approach
thinking of them.
As we move on through the following sections, the musical sentences

will become longer and include all of the extensions or colors
discussed in Section 1.
Page 7
Section 1 Chapter 1
Using the Major 7 on the ii and the

Bebop-Dominant on the ii and V7
The following musical examples incorporate the major 7 on the ii

chords. This particular note not only typifies the Bebop “sound”, but
is also integral to the Bebop vocabulary, which was, and still is used
by jazz musicians such as Clifford Brown, Charlie Parker, Randy
Brecker, Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman, Bud Powell, John
Coltrane, and Freddie Hubbard. This note functions in various ways,
as noted below, and shown in the examples.
1) An embellishing note, which embellishes the root.

2) A tension note, giving a brief moment of instability.
3) A color note, sounding a different kind of color from the diatonic
colors surrounding it. This note can also be used on the V7
chord, giving another color.
The following examples also incorporate the bebop-dominant scale

on either the ii and/or the V7.
This scale is a nine note scale that came into prominence with the
beginning of the bebop era (circa 1946). It contains both the major 7
and the minor 7 of the dominant chord. This scale is also integral to
the bebop vocabulary used by jazz musicians past and present.
The major 7 and the bebop dominant scale are circled in the following
examples.
Note: If you would like to learn more about the bebop-dominant

scale, refer to my book “Jazz Improvisation – Simplified”.
Page 8
Section 1 Chapter 1
Page 9
Section 1 Chapter 1
Page 10
Section 1 Chapter 2
Incorporating the flat 9 on

the dominant 7 chord
When using extensions on the dominant chord, such as ninths,

elevenths, and thirteenths, think of them as colors in the same way as
a painter would when painting. This will help you to become aware of
the color of the notes from the brightest to the darkest. Then, and
only then will you start improvising in a way that will express your true
feelings and emotions at that time. This will allow you to move away
from thinking of these extensions in a purely theoretical way.
The extension we are going to look at in this chapter is the flat 9 on

the dominant chord. Everybody sees, or in this case, hears colors in
different ways. Some may hear the flat 9 as a bright or lighter color,
while some may hear it as a dark and somber color.
When practicing the following examples, decide for yourself how this
color makes you feel so that when you are improvising, you can
express your true emotions.
Page 11
Section 1 Chapter 2
Page 12
Section 1 Chapter 2
Page 13
Section 1 Chapter 3
Incorporating the sharp 9

on the dominant chord
While practicing the following example, notice how the sharp 9 has an
entirely different color, or sonority, to it than the flat 9 in Chapter 2.
As you did when you utilized the flat 9, you must decide for yourself
how the color of the sharp 9 makes you feel. The different extensions
will have different sonorities for each player who plays them, and will
emote different colors and feelings for all as well.
In some of the following examples notice the interplay between the

sharp 9 and the major 3rd of the chord. Notice the color change
between the two notes. Try to hear and see those two colors as you
are practicing and eventually improvising.
Page 14
Section 1 Chapter 3
Page 15
Section 1 Chapter 3
Page 16
Section 1 Chapter 4
Using the flat and sharp 9

on the dominant chord
When using both the flat and sharp 9 on the dominant chord, whether
resolving from one to the other or using them separately within the
same measure, notice how the use of color changes compared with
using only the flat 9 without the sharp nine, or visa-versa.
As you use the flat and sharp 9 of the dominant chord within the
same jazz line or sentence, you will now begin to understand more
about the interplay between and among the brighter and darker
colors. These colors should be played according to how you, the
improviser, are feeling. There is no difference in regard with that of a
visual artist.
Notice that in some examples the sharp 9 is immediately preceded by

the major 3rd of the chord. This color change was established by the
early bebop and post bop musicians as in integral part of the bebop
vocabulary. One could look at the relationship of these two notes
(major 3rd and sharp 9) as a juxtaposition between the major and
minor 3rds of the chord if one looks at the sharp 9 as the flatted third
and not the sharp 9.
Page 17
Section 1 Chapter 4
Page 18
Section 1 Chapter 4
Page 19
Section 1 Chapter 5
Back to the minor, or " ii" chord

Chapter 1 dealt with the major 7th on the minor chord along with the
bebop-dominant scale. In this chapter I am going to discuss the use
of non-harmonic tones on the minor chord.
A non-harmonic tone is a tone or note that is not diatonic to the tonic

key. For example, an Ab is a non-harmonic tone when played over a
Gmin7 chord. This is because the Gmin7 chord is diatonic to the key
of F major, and there is no Ab in the key of F major. If you are
unclear as to why the Gmin7 is diatonic and belongs to the F major,
you can refer to my book “Jazz Improvisation – Simplified”.”.
The following examples of the ii7-V7-I lines will be incorporating the

following non-harmonic tones over Gmin7 (Ab, Eb, Db). The F# and
the Bb were discussed in Chapter 1. The F# as the major 7 on the
minor chord and the B natural as part of the bebop-dominant scale
over the Gmin7 and the C7 chord. If you recall from Chapters 2 and 3
we used the Db and Eb respectively over the C7 chord. The notes that
are called non-harmonic tones on the minor7 chord are extensions on
the dominant chord. Being called an extension, one could hold these
notes out, as opposed to playing the non-harmonic extensions over
the minor7 chord, in which case you would not want to hold them out.
If you studied music theory in high school or college, you would see
these non-harmonic tones on the minor7 and/or dominant chord.
These non-harmonic tones are given names such as appoggiaturas,
escape tones, upper or lower neighbors, and passing tones, to name
a few. In jazz, we just call them non-harmonic tones when played
over the minor7 chord, and upper extensions when played over the
dominant chord.
These non-harmonic tones are very important for two reasons:

1) They are notes which create a brief moment of tension, which is very
important to consider with the release. You may have already heard
about the importance of tension and release.
2) These non-harmonic tones are the colors of music. They are the blues,
reds, greens, and purples added to a black and white painting, which
only uses harmonic tones.
Page 20
Section 1 Chapter 5
Page 21
Section 1 Chapter 5
Page 22
Section 1 Chapter 6
Back to the dominant chord:

The use of the flat 13
In this chapter I have written out the ii7-V7-I lines utilizing the flat 13
on the dominant chord (on C7 it will be the Ab note). I will
demonstrate various ways of resolving this note so that the cadence
to the I chord is very strong. You will see the flat 13 used along with
the flat 9 and sharp 9 (discussed in chapters 2 and 3 respectively).
As with previous extensions we have discussed, listen to the colors of

the notes, as well as learning its application. As I’ve said before,
when one is improvising, one is painting an emotional picture and one
cannot convey one’s true emotions without the appropriate colors.
This is when, and only when, the art form is pure.
If you remember from Chapter 5, the Ab note, which is the flat 13 over
the C7, was used as a non-harmonic tone over the ii7 (Gmin7). When
used over the dominant 7 chord, it is considered an extension. And
as I said previously, as an extension it can be held out for however
long the dominant chord is held out. It cannot be held out on the
minor 7 chord. This holds true with all of the non-harmonic tones
discussed in Chapter 5.
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Section 1 Chapter 6
Page 24
Section 1 Chapter 6
Page 25
Section 1 Chapter 7
The sharp 11 on the dominant chord
By now you should be familiar with the flat 9, sharp 9, and flat 13 on
the dominant chord, as well as the colors that these notes convey.
Again, these colors may be different for each individual player.
The new color discussed in this chapter is that of the sharp 11. Some
may find this color brighter than the others we discussed, while some
may find it darker.
You Decide
If you look and listen closely to the sharp 11 (F# on the C7 chord), it is
the same as the major 7 on the minor 7 chord (refer back to
Chapter 1). This extension is used as a springboard to other notes
when used on the minor 7 chord. But on the dominant chord, it is
also used as an extension and has an entirely different color.
One feature of this extension is that it can be used over the dominant
chord in the manner similar to that used over the minor 7 chord.
Try playing the lines from the minor 7 chord over the dominant chord
(See Chapter 1) and you will see that it works great!.
In some of the following examples I have incorporated the sharp 11

along with the sharp and flat 9. These three extensions are affiliated
with a scale known as the dominant-diminished scale, to name one.
Later I will discuss another scale which also includes these three
extensions or colors.
If you would like to learn more about the dominant-diminished scale,

refer to chapter 27 in my book “Jazz Improvisation – Simplified”
Page 26
Section 1 Chapter 7
Page 27
Section 1 Chapter 7
Page 28
Section 1 Summary
The natural extensions
Natural 9, natural 11, and natural 13 are also important colors of both
the minor 7 and dominant 7 chords. These extensions are diatonic to
the I chord, and have been used in the musical sentences of jazz
musicians from the beginning of traditional jazz.
If you look at the musical sentences from Chapter 1, you will see
these extensions used on minor 7 and dominant 7 chords. I didn’t
dedicate a separate chapter for these extensions or colors.
Summary of chapters 1 - 7
x The major 7 on the minor chord is one of the colors which defines
the bebop vocabulary. It can also be used as a springboard to the
root of the minor 7 chord (Chapter 1)
x The bebop dominant scale is a scale which is integral to the bebop
vocabulary. It can be used on the minor 7 and/or the dominant 7
chord (Chapter 1)
x The flat 9, sharp 9, flat 13, and sharp 11 are important colors on
the dominant 7 chord, and define the extensions or colors which
had started being used in the beginning of the bebop period, and
are continued to be used today (Chapters 2, 3, 4, 6, 7)
x These notes are considered the extensions of the dominant 7
chord and can be used on the minor 7 chord as non-harmonic
tones. They can also be used as the notes which cause a brief
moment of tension, and convey different colors than when they are
used on the dominant 7 chord. These notes can be held out on
the dominant 7 chord, but should not be held out on the minor 7
chord (Chapter 5)
Page 29
Section 2 Overview
Section 2 Overview
Chapter 8 Expanding your musical sentences

Chapter 9 Expanding your musical sentences using
the natural and flat 9 on the dominant chord
the sharp 9 on the dominant chord
Chapter 11 Non-harmonic tones, or colors, on the minor chord
the sharp and flat 9 on the dominant chord
Chapter 13 Expanding your musical sentences incorporating
the flat 13 on the dominant chord
Chapter 14 Expanding your musical sentences incorporating
Chapter 15 Expanding your musical sentences through the I chord
In this section you will explore a lot of the extensions, or, colors
presented in Section 1, but presented in longer musical sentences.
Now there will be two measures of the minor 7 chord as well as two
measures of the dominant 7 chord.
Learning these sentences will help you “speak” the bebop vocabulary
at a higher level.
Don’t think that you have to always use longer sentences in your
solos. It should be like speaking a language.
Sometimes you speak in long sentences, and sometimes you speak

in short sentences.
Page 30
Section 2 Chapter 8
Expanding your musical sentences
The following examples are ones that utilize the major 7 on the minor
chord and the notes of the bebop-dominant scale used on both the
minor 7 and the dominant 7 chords as in Chapter 1. But now the
musical sentences are longer. This will help navigate more smoothly
if the chords are more than one measure a piece; in this case,
spanning two measures each.
As I stated in my book “Jazz Improvisation – Simplified”, the ii7 and

V7 can be interchanged and the notes one chooses to play are
borrowed from the diatonic I chord on a major ii7-V7-I, and the
diatonic I chord on the minor iiø-V7+-i. With this being said, in the
musical sentences written out in this chapter, the player could
substitute the lines over the dominant chord and play them over the
minor 7 chord and visa-versa. It works great!
This gives you more sentences to learn and colors to absorb.
Page 31
Section 2 Chapter 8
Page 32
Section 2 Chapter 8
Page 33
Section 2 Chapter 9
Expanding your musical sentences using

the natural and flat 9 on the dominant chord
As in Chapter 8, this chapter deals with longer musical sentences
than in section 1; again 2 measures for minor 7 and the dominant 7
chords.
Also as in section 1 Chapter 2, the use of the flat 9 on the dominant

chord will be ever-present. But this time I will also incorporate the
natural 9.
When playing these musical sentences, listen to the difference of the

two colors between the flat and natural 9’s. Be very aware of these
two very different colors, for you will want to choose the appropriate
timbres and colors when painting your musical picture.
As I wrote in my book “Jazz Improvisation – Simplified”, when the

piano player plays extensions over the 7th, it forces the improviser to
play the colors of the piano player. It is best to tell the piano player
not to play any extensions or colors above the 7th allowing you, the
improviser, to paint the colors you wish.
At this point the piano player will hear the colors you are using and
then compliment them with the chords he or she is playing.
This allows the soloist to play both the natural and flat 9’s on the
dominant chord. If the piano player was playing the natural 9 color on
the dominant chord, it would sound a bit strange to hear the flat 9,
and visa-versa.
It is best to have the piano player leave the chord open above the 7th.
Later I will mix more colors as I did with the natural and flat 9’s.
Page 34
Section 2 Chapter 9
Page 35
Section 2 Chapter 9
Page 36
Section 2 Chapter 10

As in chapter 9, the musical sentences continue to be expanded to
two measures per chord. Also as in chapter 3, I am incorporating the
sharp 9. But this time I’m including the natural 9 with it.
Again, listen to the color difference between these two 9ths. Pay
attention to the way the two colors make you feel. This will ultimately
guide you in your improvisation.
Understanding the various colors, their applications, and the effect

they have on you as a soloist, will play an important role in your
development.
Another way of looking at the sharp 9 of a dominant chord, other than

as a sharp 9, is to see it as the flat 3rd of the chord (Eb on C7). Having
this note as the flat 3rd and not the sharp 9 allows you to incorporate
the blues sound in your solos. The simple reason for this is that the
flat 3rd is an integral note, or color, in the blues scale; a scale that will
be introduced later in the book.
This flat 3rd sounds bluesier when held out as opposed to being
played for an 8th of a beat. It also sounds very bluesy when
alternating with the major 3rd of the chord.
This changing of color from flat 3rd to the major 3rd is in much African
singing and continued to be an integral part of African-American
music, both vocally and instrumentally. This has held true ever since
the West African Diaspora into slavery when many slaves were
constantly singing and playing blues music.
This sound eventually found its way into jazz, which grew out of the
blues.
Some of the following musical sentences will demonstrate this sound

and color change.
Page 37
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Page 39
Non-harmonic tones, or colors,

on the minor chord
In this chapter, as in Chapter 5, the musical sentences are going to

incorporate non-harmonic tones on the minor chord as passing tones,
neighbor tones, appoggiaturas, and escape tones.
These non-harmonic tones are now going to be incorporated into

longer musical sentences.
The following musical sentences will also incorporate these non-

harmonic tones on the dominant chord, only now they are considered
extensions (Flat 9’s, sharp 9’s, flat 13s, sharp 11s).
Page 40
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Page 42

the sharp and flat 9 on the dominant chord
As in chapter 4, the dominant chord will incorporate the flat and

sharp 9. But now the musical sentences will be expanded.
When expanding the chord values, it is wise to be more creative with

chromaticism. I find that this allows the improviser to depart from
diatonicism more often, which can be more interesting when more
time is spent on one chord.
Later on in the book, the chord values will be extended even further
and you will be better able to understand this.
In the following examples, I will use more chromaticism, along with

the flat and sharp 9’s on the dominant chord than I did in chapter 4.
Page 43
Page 44
Page 45
Expanding your musical sentences incorporating

the flat 13 on the dominant chord
As in Chapter 6, I will demonstrate various ways of using the flat 13

on the dominant chord, as well as different ways of resolving it.
The following examples will also include the flat and sharp 9’s.
These extensions of the dominant chord are also going to appear on

the minor 7 chord. But here, as I stated in previous chapters, when
the extensions of the dominant chords are used on the minor 7 chord,
they must be resolved quickly.
Notice that the treatment of the flat 13 on the dominant 7 chord is

used frequently in the context of an augmented chord. In this case
the Ab is used with the root (C) and the 3rd (E), thus sounding the
augmented triad (C, E, Ab). This is a common use of the flat 13 by
many jazz musicians who speak the bebop language.
The flat 13 can also be used as the flat 3rd blues note of the key it is
resolving to. In this case, the Ab over the C7 can be used as the flat
3rd of the tonic key of F major. Experiment with that sound in your
soloing and while playing the following examples.
Page 46
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Page 48
Expanding your musical sentences incorporating

The sharp 11 on the dominant chord
As in Chapter 7, the sharp 11 will be present on the dominant chord

(F#). Also as in Chapter 7, the F# note will be present on the minor 7
chord, now called the major 7th on the minor chord.
If you look at all of the musical examples, the major 7th on the minor
chord is ever-present. It is a color which is integral to the bebop
vocabulary, and should be used if one desires to speak it correctly.
Some of the following examples will incorporate the sharp 11 in the

context of the dominant-diminished scale, as well as the altered-
dominant scale, each of which contain the sharp 11. If you are not
familiar with these two scales, refer to my book “Jazz Improvisation –
Simplified”.
Other examples in this chapter will incorporate the sharp 11 as a non-

harmonic tone, and not in the context of one of these two scales.
In the following examples, the two scales mentioned will either

appear in their entirety or partially. The dominant-diminished and the
altered-dominant scales are scales that became prolific with the
soloists of the hard-bop era and beyond, as compared to the original
boppers.
Page 49
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Page 51
your musical sentences through the I chord
I have found from analyzing and listening to many solos over the
years that it is common for a soloist, from beginning to advanced, to
stop their musical sentences when they arrive at the I (i) chord.
This is not wrong or bad, but playing in this manner;

x Doesn’t allow the soloist to play at the highest level.
x Doesn’t allow soloists to play the longer lines they may want.
x Doesn’t allow the soloist to phrase the way they might want.
Just because the harmonic progression (ii7-V7-I) is arriving at the I

chord doesn’t mean the soloist must also arrive and put a period at
the end of his sentence.
A wonderful way to extend ones musical sentences and phrases is to

continue playing through the I chord. Remember that the ii7, V7, and I
chords are all the same. They are all derived from the I chord.
Up until now, all of the musical examples have been stopping with the
arrival of the I chord, and up until now, you’ve been practicing that
way. This is a reason that many soloists play like that.
Now in this chapter the musical sentences will be going through the I
chord and not stopping there as we have been doing in previous
exercises.
I have also noticed that when soloists DO continue playing through

the I chord they do nothing more than outline the chord. Harmonically
this is boring and colorless. They do this because, other than outline
it, they do not know what to do with the I chord.
One thing you want to keep in mind when you arrive at the I chord is
that you can treat it in the same manner as you have treated the ii7
and V7. Remember, they are the same.
Page 52
In the following examples you will see that when the I chord arrives
we can play the C bebop-dominant scale, as used over the ii and/or
V7 in Chapter 1.
We can also play the same exact notes that we used on the ii or V7 in
the same line. This also includes all of the non-harmonic tones.
Another method is to play through the I chord for the first two beats,
and then resolve to the I chord on beat 3. This is a very common
technique used by the advanced soloists.
There are many instances where the I chord will be 2 measures long.
One option is to continue the idea of superimposition over both
measures of the I chord.
Another option is to resolve on the second measure of the I chord.

One tune in which you will find this is “There Will Never Be Another
You”. Another example would be “Stella by Starlight”.
Page 53
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Page 55
Section 2 Summary
Summary of chapters 8-15
x Remember, the musical sentences one chooses to play over the ii7
chord are interchangeable with the musical sentences one
chooses to play over the V7 chord.
x Allow yourself to paint with the colors you choose and not so much
what the piano player dictates. You are the soloist at this point.
x The sharp 9 on the dominant chord can also function as the bluesy
flat 7th of the new key. (see pages 38 and 39, staves 6,9,12,and 15
respectively)
x Extensions of the dominant chord which convey beautiful colors
may not convey the same color quality when played over the ii7
chord.
x The flat 13 on the dominant chord can be used as the bluesy flat
3rd of the new key (pages 47 and 48, staves 2 and 9)
x Practice playing through the I chord as to give more flow to your
sentences and to not be as predictable.
Page 56
Section 3
Section 3 Overview
7 7
Chapter 16 The iii-VI -ii-V progression.
Chapter 17 The iii-VI7-ii-V7 progression in shorter form.
Chapter 18 Modal Applications: Expanding the musical sentence even further.
Chapter 19 Another approach to modal playing.
Chapter 20 The other important turnaround.
Chapter 21 A chordal approach.
Chapter 22 Less often used chord qualities: The altered major 7th.
Chapter 23 The bebop vocabulary of the minor 2-5-1 ( iiø7-V7-I )progression.
Chapter 24 The dominant flat 5 or raised 11th .
The musical sentences you will encounter in this section will be an

important part of your jazz education. It will strongly affect your ability
to speak the bebop language articulately and cohesively.
You will see musical sentences spoken over the two most widely
used turnarounds in Jazz;
x iii-VI7-ii-V7-I
x vi7-II7-ii7-V7-I.
You will also see musical sentences which are based in a chordal
approach, as opposed to a scalar one.
This section also addresses a couple of ways of approaching modal

playing.
And finally, this section addresses some lesser used chord qualities,
such as the major 7th with a raised 5th ( )
th
and a dominant chord with a flatted 5 ( ).
By a lesser used chord I mean that these chords, while still present in
many bebop and hard bop progressions, are not as frequently seen
as the standard minor 7 to the dominant chord progression.
The lesser seen chords became more present as jazz evolved.
Page 57
The iii-VI7-ii-V7 progression

This chord progression is an extremely common one used in a vast
array of standards, jazz standards, and bebop tunes. One might see
this progression at the beginning of a tune, the middle of a tune, or at
the end of a tune.
A common term for this type of chord progression is a Turnaround.

This is one of two common turnarounds used in jazz. We will see the
other one in a later chapter.
This progression could also look like : I- VI7- ii- V7. Notice that the I
chord is substituted for the iii chord. This is a common substitution in
classical music, and it is no different when used in a jazz context.
For example, if we were to substitute a C major chord (I) for the iii
chord in C (e minor)there is no difference except there is no C in an
e minor chord.
Another way this turnaround progression could be seen would be :

iiiø7- VI+7- ii- V7.
Notice that the iii chord is half diminished, and the VI chord is
altered. For example, it would look like: Aø7- D+7- Gmin7- C7.
I’ve noticed that most of the time the iii chord will be half diminished.
This is because the iii-VI proceeds the minor chord so it is a
minor 2-5 progression to the minor chord. (Aø7- D+7- Gmin7).
For a more in depth understanding of this, refer to my book “Jazz

Improvisation – Simplified”.
If one looks at the progression in this manner, one could see that it is
two separate 2-5 progressions:
Aø7- D+7- Gmin7 then Gmin7 - C7
then
iiiø7- VI+7 ii - V7
The following musical examples will show the 3 ways I have

mentioned: iii7- VI+7- ii - V7
I – VI+7- ii - V7
iiiø7- VI+7- ii- V7
Page 58
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The iii-VI7-ii-V7 progression

in shorter form
Sometimes this turnaround is in a shorter form than one measure for

each chord as shown in the previous chapter (Chapter 16). Another
way of seeing it would be 2 beats apiece for each chord. The
following musical sentences will demonstrate this.
Notice that in the first seven examples the first chord, or the iii7 chord,
is Amin7 and that the next eight examples, the iii7 chord is
Aø7(min7(b5)). The I chord (Fmaj7) wasn’t used for the first chord as
was done in the previous chapter (16).
But remember that the I chord and the iii chord are interchangeable
(Fmaj7 and Amin7). So anytime you see the progression
Fmaj7- - Gmin7- C7
you can substitute the Amin7 chord for the Fmaj7.
Also as was stated in Chapter 16, sometimes the iii7 chord will be half
diminished, that is min7(b5)(ø7). The last eight examples show this.
For further understanding of the min7(b5) chord, please refer to my

book “Jazz Improvisation – Simplified”.
Page 61
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Page 63
Modal Applications: Expanding the musical

sentence even further
The musical sentences in this chapter are designed to specifically
show you, the improviser, how to explore longer musical ideas within
the confines of a slower moving harmony; in this case, one chord for
4 measures. This same concept will be explored even further in later
chapters.
Notice that in the following examples, there is a Dmin7 chord for the
entire 4 measures. There are a few approaches that one can take
while soloing over a modal progression. The improviser can take a
melodic approach using many notes, or a minimalist approach using
few notes.
Another approach one can take is the same bebop approach one
would take while playing faster moving harmony, such as a
continuation of 2-5-1 progressions.
Listen to “Kind of Blue” by Miles Davis and you will hear both Miles’
melodic concept, as well as his use of minimalism dominate his solo.
On the other hand, you will hear the extensive use of the bebop
vocabulary of Cannonball Adderley dominate his solo. Both work!
In the following examples, I have incorporated the major 7 on the

minor chord, as well as the bebop-dominant scale profoundly, as I did
in the very first chapter of this book. Along with the major 7 and
bebop-dominant scale, I’ve incorporated a few other non-harmonic
tones as demonstrated in earlier chapters.
Note: These lines also work over the V7 (G7) if it follows the ii7
(Dmin7) as well as the I (Cmaj7) if it follows. The reason for this is that
the ii7, V7, and I chords can be treated as the same as one another.
These lines can fit over G7 for 4 measures, or even Cmaj7 for 4
measures, or any combination of them.
Page 64
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Another approach to modal playing
As in Chapter 18, this chapter also addresses the modal aspect of

improvising. But in this chapter we explore the concept of
superimposing one chord over another. This approach adds
additional colors to a slow moving harmony that you might like in
alternation with the approach in chapter 18 or on its own.
As well as the new choice in colors, there is a certain amount of

tension created with using the superimposition technique.
The simple, yet very effective approach used in this chapter is to

superimpose the altered-dominant chord over the minor 7th at various
points, and then resolving to the minor 7th chord. By doing so, you will
hear the extremely strong resolutions, as well as the deeply rich
colors.
If this is a bit unclear, allow me to explain a little further. If we see a

Dmin7 chord for 4 measures we can superimpose its altered-
dominant chord in its place (A7+). In this case, the 5 chord of Dmin is
A7+. The following examples should help you to fully understand this.
Page 67
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The other important turnaround

In Chapter 16, I discussed the iiiø7- VI+7- ii- V7 turnaround. This
chapter deals with another very important and much used turnaround;
that is the vi7- II7- ii7- V7 turnaround.
If you look closely at this turnaround the 6 chord would be minor, and
not dominant, as was the case with the turnaround in Chapter 16.
This minor 6 chord is followed by the 2 chord of the key, but in this
instance, the 2 chord is dominant, and not minor, as it usually would
be.
This dominant 2 chord usually has a sharp 11 associated with it.

Here the dominant 2 chord turns into and is followed by the minor 2
chord, which is followed by the 5 chord, and usually resolves to the 1
chord. It looks like this;
Dmin7-G7(#11)-Gmin7-C7-F
Again, this turnaround is quite common in many of the tunes you

already know and/or will be learning. Some tunes will contain both
turnarounds discussed in this book, while some tunes only contain 1.
Rarely will you find a tune without either.
NOTE: Sometimes the dominant 2 chord can span two measures,

omitting the minor 6 chord that usually proceeds it, but plays the
same as if it were there.
A good example of this is in measures 13 and 14 of a tune titled

“There Will Never Be Another You”. There you have the F7(+11) chord
for 2 measures instead of the Cmin7 chord preceding it for a
measure. It should be treated the same way. Look at the following
examples for clarification.
NOTE: You will see from the following examples that it is not
imperative that the 11th degree always has to be raised. It can also
be natural (speaking of the dominant 2 chord)
Page 71
You will notice that in the following musical sentences I have

incorporated many of the same colors that were used in past
chapters, such as:
x The major 7 on the minor 7 chord
x The sharp 11 on the dominant chord
x The bebop-dominant scale on both the minor and dominant chord
x The flat 9, sharp 9, and flat 13 on the dominant chord
Page 72
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Page 74
A chordal approach
Up until now all of the musical sentences presented have been of a
linear nature. By this, I mean scalar, a relatively smooth up and down
approach. I like to refer to this approach as symmetrical. The
opposite of this approach would be angular. This approach will have
a heavy concentration of skips between notes, with each of these
skips being wider in nature.
This chapter explores more of a chordal approach than in prior

chapters, with some symmetry thrown in. The chordal approach is not
quite as skippy as a true angular approach, but will give you an idea
of the kinds of contours an angular approach will offer.
If you would like to listen to someone who offers a symmetrical

approach, I suggest you listen to Clifford Brown and J.J. Johnson. To
listen to someone with a symmetrical approach with much chordal
activity, I would recommend Freddie Hubbard and John Coltrane. For
someone who takes on an angular approach, check out trumpet
player Kenny Wheeler.
The following musical sentences will be over a iii7- VI7- ii7- V7- I
(3-6-2-5-1) turnaround. You can compare these musical sentences
with the more symmetrical ones in chapter 16. Although there is
some chordal activity in chapter 16, there is quite a bit more in this
chapter.
The following musical sentences contain many of the same colors

found in the examples from prior chapters.
Page 75
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Page 77
Less often used chord qualities:

The altered major 7th
This chapter may clear things up with regards to a lesser used chord;
the altered major 7 chord or the major seven chord with a raised fifth.
This chord looks like .
There are different ways of approaching this chord, depending on

how comfortable you are with each approach.
One approach is to think of it as the 3rd degree, or step, of some

melodic minor scale. In this case, the Bb chord is the third step of the
G melodic minor scale. If we look at the notes in said scale we have
G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F#, and G.
Looking at these notes in relation to the chord we have the
th th) th th rd
6 (or 13 , the major 7 , the root, the 9 , the 3 , the sharp 11(E), the
raised 5th (F#), and the 13th again. Many times this chord will
accompany the sharp 11 without actually showing it with the chord,
but it is not necessary to play it. If you wish to play the corresponding
melodic minor scale then you will play the sharp 11.
Another approach to the major 7 raised 5 chord is to think of its

relative minor chord; again the G minor chord, and play the musical
sentences I have written out over the Gmin7 all through this book.
You see, many of the beboppers didn’t know they were playing the
3rd degree of melodic minor when seeing the altered major 7th chord.
The academicians drew this rule when analyzing what the beboppers
were playing. What I have been writing out for you is the vocabulary
the beboppers were speaking without giving you a bunch of rules.
If you have been playing, hearing, and assimilating these musical

sentences along the way then you already know what to play over the
altered major 7th chord.
Page 78
For example, look at the very first chapter. Every note, with one
exception (the B natural) over Gmin7 and C7, are in fact the notes of
the G melodic minor scale. Sometimes the F natural is used as a
passing tone, which is perfectly fine, as is the B natural.
So as you can see, if you think of the 3rd degree as melodic minor or
use the musical sentences you’ve been learning throughout the
course of this book, it amounts to the same thing, so you never really
have to think of the altered major 7th chord as the 3rd degree of
melodic minor; just think of the altered major 7th chord and play the
corresponding musical sentences you’ve been learning.
For example: = Gmin7 | C7 |
The major 7 on the minor 7th chord (F# on Gmin), a note stressed in
the musical sentences throughout the book, is in fact the raised 5th of
the altered major 7th chord.
Don’t be so concerned with playing the raised 5th at all times just
because the chord has it as one of its notes. As you can see from the
Gmin7 | C7 lines, the C bebop-dominant scales works just great, as
this scale does not have the raised 5th (F#) of the . If you
th th
want to use the 5 (F#) or the raised 5 on this case, look at chapter
7.
This chapter incorporates the sharp 11 of the dominant chord, which

is the F#, or the raised 5th of the . As you can see, it is also
th
the major 7 degree of the Gminor chord.
The following examples will make it even clearer.
Look closely at the notes and you can see that they are almost all
derived from the G melodic minor scale. But the lines are extremely
similar to the 2-5-1 lines to the key of F major;
Gmin7-C7-F
Page 79
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Page 81
The bebop vocabulary of the

minor 2-5-1 ( ii¯7-V7-I )progression
As I stated in my book, “Jazz Improvisation – Simplified”, whatever
one can play on a major 2-5-1 progression, one can play the exact
same thing on the minor 2-5-1 progression to its relative minor key.
For example, if one plays a musical sentence over Gmin7-C7-F, then

one can play the same exact sentence over Eø7 - - Dm because
the key of D minor is the relative minor key to F major. This will
always work!
Look at the musical sentences throughout the book and analyze the
notes in relation to Eø7 - - Dm. You will see the relationship. With
this said, you never have to learn minor 2-5-1 lines. Just learn the
major 2-5-1 lines I’ve written out, or ones you learn on your own, and
play them over the minor 2-5-1 progression over the relative minor
key.
Even though you have plenty of musical sentences to choose from, I

have written out 15 minor 2-5-1 sentences for this chapter. They will
be on the Eø7 – A7+ - Dm progression which is the progression to the
relative minor key of F major so prevalent in this book.
I am using the notes of the altered-dominant scale over the dominant

chord. The notes of this scale offers the flat and sharp 9’s, the flat 13,
and the sharp 11.
Notice the use of the C bebop-dominant scale. If the C Bebop-

dominant scale can be used for Gmin7-C7-F, then it can be used on
Eø7-A+7-Dm, since D minor is the relative minor of F major. This is
consistent throughout all of the 12 keys.
Page 82
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The dominant flat 5 or raised 11th

The dominant chord with a flatted 5th, which looks like this, ,
takes on a different characteristic than the more straight ahead
dominant chords you have already seen in this book. Usually when
we see this particular chord it will be the 2 chord of the key that you
are in, and unlike the other 2 chords you have seen, this 2 chord is
dominant and not minor.
This dominant 2 chord then usually turns to a minor 2 chord, and then
is followed by the 5 and 1.
For example, if you are in the key of F, the dominant 2 chord will be
, followed by Gmin7-C7-F. This progression is the turnaround
covered in Chapter 20.
If you look at “Take the A Train” you will see this progression:
D7b5-Dmin7-G7-C
You might also see this particular dominant flat 5 chord in a modal
context that spans several measures at a time, and it may never
resolve to the minor 2 chord.
The following musical sentences will demonstrate the dominant flat 5

chord in a modal setting.
NOTE: Many times you may see this particular chord with a raised, or
sharp 11. Just remember that it should be approached in the manner
as if it was the dominant flat 5.
ALSO NOTE: There are neither resolutions of flat and sharp 9’s, nor
are there typical resolutions of the flat 13 as seen in previous
chapters dealing with the dominant chords. You will however, see
some flat and sharp 9’s and flat 13’s. In these cases, they will be
taking on the role as non-harmonic tones used as passing or
neighboring tones.
Page 85
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Page 87
Summary of chapters 16-24
x Be familiar with progressions called Turnarounds, and the

vocabulary spoken when playing a turnaround, for they will be
forever present in your Jazz repertoire.
x Various approaches to modal playing;
o Melodic-minimalist
o Bebop vocabulary
o Superimposing of other chord changes.
x Two contours of lines;
o Symmetrical
o Chordal (more angular)
x The vocabulary one uses on a major 2-5-1 progression can also
be used on the minor 2-5-1 progression to the relative minor key of
the major 2-5-1.
Page 88
Conclusion
The Jazz vocabulary is one that is unlike the lexicons of the spoken languages.
That is, it is endless. Don’t ever feel that you have run out of vocabulary. Try to
speak as fluently as possible in all keys.
This course addresses the Jazz vocabulary of bebop through hard bop. This is
the vocabulary from which the more modern Jazz vocabularies are derived.
At some point you might want to learn more modern dialects of the language
presented in this book. At that point notice the similarities and differences.
Page 89

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The following course of study offers hundreds, and potentially thousands, of

The material covered in Section 1 will help you to understand the

I present these extensions or colors, in short musical sentences; one

As you progress through this section, I discuss more in depth the

As we move on through the following sections, the musical sentences

Using the Major 7 on the ii and the

The following musical examples incorporate the major 7 on the ii

1) An embellishing note, which embellishes the root.

The following examples also incorporate the bebop-dominant scale

Note: If you would like to learn more about the bebop-dominant

Incorporating the flat 9 on

When using extensions on the dominant chord, such as ninths,

The extension we are going to look at in this chapter is the flat 9 on

Incorporating the sharp 9

In some of the following examples notice the interplay between the

Using the flat and sharp 9

Notice that in some examples the sharp 9 is immediately preceded by

Back to the minor, or " ii" chord

A non-harmonic tone is a tone or note that is not diatonic to the tonic

The following examples of the ii7-V7-I lines will be incorporating the

These non-harmonic tones are very important for two reasons:

Back to the dominant chord:

As with previous extensions we have discussed, listen to the colors of

The sharp 11 on the dominant chord

In some of the following examples I have incorporated the sharp 11

If you would like to learn more about the dominant-diminished scale,

The natural extensions

Chapter 8 Expanding your musical sentences

Sometimes you speak in long sentences, and sometimes you speak

Expanding your musical sentences

As I stated in my book “Jazz Improvisation – Simplified”, the ii7 and

This gives you more sentences to learn and colors to absorb.

Expanding your musical sentences using

Also as in section 1 Chapter 2, the use of the flat 9 on the dominant

When playing these musical sentences, listen to the difference of the

As I wrote in my book “Jazz Improvisation – Simplified”, when the

Expanding your musical sentences using

Understanding the various colors, their applications, and the effect

Another way of looking at the sharp 9 of a dominant chord, other than

Some of the following musical sentences will demonstrate this sound

Non-harmonic tones, or colors,

In this chapter, as in Chapter 5, the musical sentences are going to

These non-harmonic tones are now going to be incorporated into

The following musical sentences will also incorporate these non-

Expanding your musical sentences using

As in chapter 4, the dominant chord will incorporate the flat and

When expanding the chord values, it is wise to be more creative with

In the following examples, I will use more chromaticism, along with

Expanding your musical sentences incorporating

As in Chapter 6, I will demonstrate various ways of using the flat 13

These extensions of the dominant chord are also going to appear on

Notice that the treatment of the flat 13 on the dominant 7 chord is

Expanding your musical sentences incorporating

As in Chapter 7, the sharp 11 will be present on the dominant chord

Some of the following examples will incorporate the sharp 11 in the

Other examples in this chapter will incorporate the sharp 11 as a non-

In the following examples, the two scales mentioned will either

your musical sentences through the I chord

This is not wrong or bad, but playing in this manner;