Beginner Bebop

[Judah Yumul]

Hello guys. I've just recently signed up to Talkbass. I'm 14 years old and have been learning the bass for about a year now but have progressed a lot. My tastes are a lot in progressive gospel, gospel shout, and of course, jazz.

I have been self-taught the entire time, so it is very hard for me to learn jazz, especially bebop jazz. I've progressed a lot in gospel because there are a lot of musicians in my church that teach me. But I'm still not perfect at it. So far - I've learned a few jazz progressions but never a jazz standard because it's very hard for me to get the resources online.

So I talked to our guitarist in our church, who happens to have been playing guitar for 10 years! He told me that bebop was developed by bored people who wanted to play jazz a different way. He said that bebop was strongly built over jazz chords and that scales could be put over those chords.

So I'm wondering what bebop song I could try to learn. I really want to get better at this. It would be great if you could provide a chord chart with that song as well. I'm also wondering what scales would be important to learn for bebop jazz. And just any general information/history for bebop jazz would be greatly appreciated!

PS. I'm not really the type of guys who knows a lot of great jazz artists.

 

[markjsmithbass]

This is not something any of us can cover in one reply. But you might get some tips and ideas on how to proceed. A lot of it depends on how well you can already play and how much experience and harmony knowledge you already have. If I were you I'd start with the basics and concentrate on learning your chord tones REALLY, REALLY well. Learn about chord construction and chord progression. Analyse as many jazz standard progressions as you can.

I don't know how well you can play walking basslines but that's going to be a prerequisite. Learn how to walk before you can run. Walking is the same as soloing but with a more restricted, driving rhythm. You improvise walking lines so it gives you a solid foundation in how chord tones, scales and chromatic notes are all related. Those chromatics are really important when it comes to soloing in a bebop style.

Get a Real Book and the Charlie Parker Omnibook. There are apps that are useful like the irealb app and you can also buy books with backing tracks like the Aebersold series. A great way to get some mileage out of a single standard is to practice the following:
1) Walk through the progression
2) Learn the melody
3) Learn the chords on bass
4) Solo through the progression
Try practicing each of these with backing tracks or even just a metronome set to a click on 2 & 4.

As far as bebop goes you're going to have to listen to A LOT of it in order to get a feel for the phrasing. Charlie Parker is a good start. The Charlie Parker Omnibook is available in bass clef so you can follow along and learn the heads and solos. I guarantee that a large percentage of the jazz players on TB have that book.

Learn the heads of tunes like Donna Lee, Blues For Alice, Now's The Time etc. etc. Then analyse the melodies. Learn where the chord tones are and how the other notes relate to them. Also look for extensions of the chords like the 9th, 11th, 13th. And another tip: look for superimposed arpeggios that outline those extensions.

Hopefully that should help a little.

 

[El Spearo]

Great reply Mark, thanks! I am also in the quest to become a jazz player, and man it's a hard road. I have a teacher, and we focus on theory. In my own practice sessions, I practise a lot of walking, over and over again to get the progression into my head. My teacher also makes me learn the head of the standard we are focusing on, and then gets me to play the head, walk and then solo. Rinse and repeat. I am slowly seeing progress (after 3 years at it!)

Best of luck OP, I wish I had started as young as you! (well I did, but on a different instrument)

 

[Judah Yumul]

Wow, thank you so much Mark! So far, I've only started opening my eyes to gospel walking basslines just this month. My bass mentor (who is a bassist in our church) never really taught me how to play old-fashioned gospel basslines, but just tonight I figured out you can use a 6-2-5 to get to a 5-chord, then a 2-5-1 to get to a 1-chord. The thing was I always thought gospel was hard to play because of the fast tempos, when in fact they just seemed that way because of the fast tempo and the common progressions. I also learn a little bit of shout, which is a form of walking as well - but I don't know if that's the type of walking you're talking about. My guess is that you're talking about hitting the chord tones in a sequential order with the rhythm?

Again, thanks for your help! Your videos have been very supportive!

 

[wrench45us]

there are many more resources for learning jazz walking bass that bebop jazz bass which could be considered an evolution out of walking bass -- trickier chord progressions, more key changes, but there's a reason bebop players built a lot on top of jazz standards

There's a series of 'Walking in the Footsteps of ...' Sam Jones, Doug Watkins, Paul Chambers -- I think the Sam Jones book has a nice transcription of 'Ladybird' you may want to spend some time with

to understand bebop you need to understand bebop scales -- which are kind of a codified scales based on 8 beats to a bar that the lead utilize

you may also want to spend some time with

Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony (Jazz Book): Bert Ligon: 0073999729023: Amazon.com: Books

Mr Ligon and his students have spent a lot of time analyzing typical jazz lead lines. IMHO this is an important book if you want to understand how lead players are getting from ii V I using bebop scales. And it's pretty easy to understand and kind of fun. And useful if you want to play bass lines under these sorts of lead lines.

and bear in mind that bebop evolved because some very skilled and technical players wanted to move things along in a way that not every player could follow. They wanted separation.
My opinion is they played some really nice lines that would be even nicer if they slowed down. That 'Ladybird' transcription is a good example.
You can't run before you crawl and walk, but anything you learn along the way can be applied just about anywhere.

 

[Spin Doctor]

The fact that you are only 14 and asking really good questions tells me you are probably going to be a great player. Just keep asking questions and finding answers.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

Yes, did not sound like a 14 year old.....

I'm now 80 and music has been a good friend for a long time now. It is a journey that can last a lifetime.

Have fun along the way.

 

[markjsmithbass]

I agree. I wish I'd been asking questions like that at the age of 14.