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10. All The Things You Can Do


Before Step 10, here's a review of all the steps so far, in case you have missed any of the earlier stages:

1. Listen to Jazz Recordings
2. Ear training
3. Start with the Blues

4. Imitating Your Heroes
5. Memorising 10 Songs
6. Practising Right

7. Learn the Theory
8. Building a Vocabulary
9. Keyboard Skills



At the Beginning
Memorising tunes is a very important habit to get into. If you know the melody and can arpeggiate your way through the chord changes of songs, you will find the world of music will open up to you and you will have more time to concentrate on expression, ensemble playing and 'telling a story' rather than the mechanics of the tune itself.

At Step 3 'Master the Blues' you were introduced to one of the most common chord progressions ('song forms') in music: the blues progression. At its most basic it could be:
C7|F7|C7|C7| F7|F7|C7|C7| G7|F7|C7|G7

However you have probably heard (and played) many tunes more than 12-bars in length.

32-bar songs - I Got Rhythm
A common jazz song form is the 32-bar AABA - a good example being 'I Got Rhythm'. This is a very important tune to learn as it unlocks many other songs which use the same or similar chord progressions. 'I Got Rhythm' is known as a 'contrafact', which means that new melodies have been written over the same original changes:

The first 8-bars ('A')
|| Bb Gm | Cm F7 | Bb Gm | Cm F7 | Bb Bb7 | Eb Ab7 | Cm F7 | Bb ||

The second 8-bars ('A' again)
|| Bb Gm | Cm F7 | Bb Gm | Cm F7 | Bb Bb7 | Eb Ab7 | Cm F7 | Bb ||

The third 8-bars ('B')
D7 | D7 | G7 | G7 | C7 | C7 | F7 | F7

The fourth and final 8-bars ('A' for the last time)
|| Bb Gm | Cm F7 | Bb Gm | Cm F7 | Bb Bb7 | Eb Ab7 | Cm F7 | Bb ||

There are hundreds of tunes based on these chords, including Cotton Tail, Anthropology, Moose the Mooche, Salt Peanuts, Oleo, Seven Come Eleven, Eternal Triangle ... making I Got Rhythm ('Rhythm Changes') possibly the most famous contrafact example in jazz.

Dig deep into Rhythm Changes
There are a number of good resources for getting into Rhythm Changes which help you to breakdown the tune and woodshed the chords, plus substitute different scales to give it fresh sound:

JA047C Jamey Aebersold volume 47: I Got Rhythm
Analysis and instructions on how to play 'rhythm changes', including pentatonic and diminished scale useage, with slow to medium tempo playalong tracks

IT164/5C Bruce Gertz: Let's Play Rhythm
Fresh, in-depth study of the timeless song form 'Rhythm Changes'. Available for Bb/Eb and bass instruments. Book/CD.

IT005T David Baker: How to Play Bebop Volume 3
Good source of rhythm change bebop phrases and a review of many contrafacts. Book.


Other contrafacts
Other jazz 'contrafacts' and the tunes that share similar chord changes (plus links to Aebersold Playalongs that have the tunes):

Sweet Georgia Brown - chords used in Dig, Bright Mississippi
Indiana - Donna Lee

How High the Moon - chords used in Ornithology, Satellite
Out of Nowhere - chords feature in She Rote, Casbah, Nostalgia

Honeysuckle Rose - A section used in Scrapple from the Apple
All the Things You Are - chords used in Bird of Paradise, Thingin, Prince Albert

Whispering - chords used in Groovin High
Cherokee - chords used in Koko


Giant Steps
Another important tune to look at is Giant Steps, made famous by tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. The changes are based on a specific formula (a cycle of descending major thirds) which gives a distinctive, angular sound. Occasionally, in a reversal of the contrafact idea, the chord progression of Giant Steps is superimposed under an existing melody.

Jamey Aebersold volume 68: Giant Steps - Standards In All Keys
Includes All the Things You Are, reharmonised using Giant Steps changes.

Jamey Aebersold volume 75: Countdown to Giant Steps
Step-by-step method for practising Giant Steps changes.

Walt Weiskopf: Giant Steps - A Player's Guide
A useful examination of patterns and cycles that explains how to tackle 'making the changes' when playing Giant Steps.


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Warning - danger of becoming seriously knowledgeable about song forms follows
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Conrad Cork's 'Harmony with Lego Bricks' is a unique method that helps musicians (and keen listeners alike) to navigate their way through the sounds and changes of dozens of jazz tunes. The approach is based on helping the reader to build his/her own collection of recordings and at the same time, identifying and labelling typical cadences with codenames that will be associated with one (or several) of the tunes.

The sequel, John Elliott's 'Insights in Jazz' , picks up where Lego Bricks leaves off and offers visual 'roadmaps' of hundreds of tunes, audio samples so you can hear the 'bricks' that make up a tune as well as more insghts into patterns that once you know them, will make listening to music much more enjoyable and interesting.