Rhythm Changes

[Roger Harper]

Hey,

I am struggling a bit with Rhythm Changes. The tunes are moving so fast about all I can manage is playing roots, except on the bridge. I'm keeping up but it is not very interesting. Any suggestions on how to adapt or some good tunes/artists to listen to?

Thanks,
Roger

[jazz+bass]

Do these in this order:

• Practice rhythm changes really slowly for a while. This will help get the sound of the changes in your ear, which will allow you navigate through them when brought up to speed.
  
• Transpose the changes to different keys. It would be best to do all 12, but try to learn them in at least a couple. Pick a dim7th chord and learn the changes in each key (eg: key of Bb, Db, E, G) or a aug triad (eg: key of Bb, D, F#). This way you are playing in drastically different keys, so the guiding force is the sound of the changes, which you should know after following step one.
  
• Transcribe your favorite bassist walking over rhythm changes. This is the hardest step, but the most beneficial. I'm not going to tell you what to transcribe, because I believe that destroys it's affect on creating your own voice based on what personally moves you, but you can't go wrong with a classic like "Oleo" from Miles Davis' album "Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet." Paul Chambers walks a few choruses without drums, so it is easier to hear.

Don't just learn what notes he is playing and stop there. If you analyze the lines he is playing to figure out how he navigated through the changes you will learn much more.


Hope this helps

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Remember that the A section rhythm changes is really just 8 bars of turnaround material in Bb (with a V/IV going to Eb for a second thrown in for contrast, as in the blues). It's a good idea to know several of these formulaic harmonizations/reharms of this section, i.e.

Bb...G-...C-...F7...Bb...G-...C-...F7...Bb7...Eb...C-...F7

Bb...Bo7...C-...C#o7...D-...G7...C-...F7...F-..Bb7..Eb..Eo7..Bb/F...G7...C-...F7

Bb...G7...C-...F7...D-...G7...C-...F7...F-...Bb7...Eb...Ab7...D-...G7...C-...F7


When most people play rhythm changes, all of the above and lots of other possibilities are implied to those who know/hear them. The key to understanding this is to understand that it's (A section) all really Bb, and there are lots of ways to dress that up. You can also strip it down and walk:

Bb...........................(Bb7).........Bb

or even

F7................................................ .................(Bb)



For now, probably best to add one thing at a time - it's a lifelong process, and it takes as long as it takes.

[Phil Smith]

Originally Posted by Roger Harper

Hey,

I am struggling a bit with Rhythm Changes. The tunes are moving so fast about all I can manage is playing roots, except on the bridge. I'm keeping up but it is not very interesting. Any suggestions on how to adapt or some good tunes/artists to listen to?

Thanks,
Roger

Playing just the roots "solidly" is something that you will be able to use when the tempos get really quick and is a challenge in it's own right.

Having the changes in your head and under your fingers is critical when playing fast, you should work on being able to play root-root, root-3rd, root-5th, rooth-7th, root-octave, half step below root-root, half step above root-root, these are just some of the "primitives" that you should be able to execute at any tempo.

[Jack Clark]

Say, Phil-

I checked out that website you have in your signature, and it looks great. But I can't get it to print out the sheets properly. No matter what I try, all I get is tight paragraphs with all of the cord symbols in them, one after the other. I don't get any staff sheets at all. Is there a trick to it? (Couldn't find any help on the website itself.)

Thanks,

Jack

[Edit]: Nevermind, Phil. I found the message board, which had a comment indicating that the sheets don't print out at all, but are intended for on-screen viewing only. Thanks.

[Dave Irwin]

Couple more options:
1. Play up or down some scales and look for inversions of each change
Keep in mind 2's and 5's can be interchangable

2. If it's really fast, you can get away with playing almost anything in the root key but use this sparingly and work on getting back to the 1 at the top of each A section.

3. If you're soloist needs help playing outside start on the minor 6th and go up in forths every 2 beats. You can run this as short as 4 bars or as long as you can stand it.
There are a few points in the form where it will dump out right on the 1
(maybe better to try this at a rehersal rather than a gig if your band mates don't have a sense of humor)

There are many choices for paying rhythm changes once you are comfortable with the chord relationships.
Good luck,
Dave