Bippity BE booo dop Dop BEBOP

When I first started playing saxophone, I always had this image of Charlie Parker in my mind. I really didn't know anything about "Bird", as he was nicknamed, but for some reason, I viewed him as some kind of figure as the ultimate saxophonist to aspire to. Maybe it was just because my brother was named "Charlie".

They called him the "Bird".

But I think that not just for me, but for even non-saxophonists as well, Charlie "Bird" Parker is pretty common. He's really an iconic figure in general, and his famous solos and improvisations are incredibly impressionable. When I was listening the Charlie Parker, one of the first things that I noticed was how fast he could play. Although I've had my fair share of virtuoso pieces in the past, I can tell you that they didn't call him the "Bird" for nothing. My teacher let me borrow his edition of the "Omnibook", which is basically a transcription of all of Parker's improvised solos. And just by looking at some of these solos, you can tell that they really weren't meant to be written out. 

Like... this:

Please note that Parker IMPROVISED this while playing at 208 bpm.
just a little fast

However, after a little background study, I realized that the radical irregularity of the music that I was looking at was actually intentional. Parker played a style of jazz known as Bebop. Bebop was developed from about 1940-1945, and was actually a reaction to the Swing-Era, as a rejection of the musical characteristics of big band swing. While the jazz of the Swing-Era was played in large dance halls as tightly arranged performances, Bebop musicians thrived in bars and clubs. Bop music strayed away from the "mainstream" Swing-Era jazz, and was pursued mostly by young and new musicians.

What I found to be the most stark difference between Bebop and Swing was simply the degree of informality that was captured in bop music. In a nearly opposite fashion to Swing, bop was full of irregular phrasing, more spontaneous melodies (larger, stronger intervals), and new, unconventional harmonies.

Bebop music is performed in small ensembles consisting of usually percussion, string bass, and melodic instruments, such as saxophone and trumpet. The smaller format allowed for a lot more freedom and a stronger focus on solos - which was quite enjoyable for me. Perhaps the two most famous Bebop performers known today are Charlie Parker and John Birks (Dizzy) Gillepse. 

So of course I tried some of Bird's solos - I've recorded myself playing the beginnings of perhaps his most well-known standard:

Confirmation:

Some major things I had to consider while playing Bebop:

 - Syncopation and Irregular Accents - in non-musical terms, emphasizing notes in places where it sounds unexpected. This was really interesting to hear withe involvement of the drummer as well, in Bebop, the drummer would often "drop bombs". While in swing, the rhythm section was simply there to keep time, in Bebop the drummer would also contribute his own accents and add to the rhythmic variety of the composition.

 - Extended Chord Tones - while the 3rd, 5th, and 7th notes of the scale were already commonly used by Swing musicians in order to create chords and melodies, Bebop musicians integrated the use of the 9th, 11th, and 13th notes to create more unusual, "modern" harmonies. The chords used were more complex and added a lot more dissonance, or conflict, in the sound.

 - Crispness. Most bop tunes were played at a fast tempo that brought a lot of energy and vitality of the music. Also, in addition to the exposure of the solo instrument, a lot of bebop musicians, including Charlie Parker, utilized a sharper, edgier tone. 

Overall, I think that I may have enjoyed listening to Swing music a bit more than Bebop. With the much more "danceable" melodies and rhythms of Swing, it find Swing-Era jazz to be simpler, more easy-going, and less demanding to listen to than Bebop. However, I'm definitely not repelled from Bebop - it's certainly intriguing, fun, and the epitome of a "jam session".

Readings and Resources!
1. More from Jim Scully of California State University - http://www.csub.edu/~jscully/teaching/documents/105lectures/8bebop1.pdf
2. More recordings everywhere - Spotify, Youtube
3. Paul Williamson - great explanations of common scales and modulations for bebop saxophone: http://digitalpill.tv/Content/2011/06/sax-lesson-bebop-scales-paul-williamson/
4. Thanks to my sax teacher for providing the "Omnibook".