Art and Design Review, 2017, 5, 222-229

http://www.scirp.org/journal/adr
ISSN Online: 2332-2004
ISSN Print: 2332-1997

The Art of Improvising: The Be-Bop Language

and the Major Seventh Chords

Carmine Cataldo

Jazz Pianist and Composer, PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Battipaglia, SA, Italy

How to cite this paper: Cataldo, C. (2017). Abstract

The Art of Improvising: The Be-Bop Lan-
guage and the Major Seventh Chords. Art This article represents the third part of a simple and intuitive method,
and Design Review, 5, 222-229. finalized to “speaking”, almost immediately, the Be-Bop language, without
https://doi.org/10.4236/adr.2017.54018
possessing any particular jazz background. We herein exclusively discuss the
Received: September 19, 2017 improvisation techniques regarding the Major Seventh Chords. Starting from
Accepted: October 16, 2017 a specific extended “sentence”, built around the Major Triad, we show how we
Published: October 19, 2017 can instantly deduce further sentences, how to modify them, by cutting and
adding “words”, and how to effectively combine them. Moreover, we briefly
Copyright © 2017 by author and
Scientific Research Publishing Inc.
explain how to deal with Tonicizations and ordinary Jazz Turnarounds.
This work is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution International Keywords
License (CC BY 4.0).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Jazz Improvisation, Be-Bop, Fast Learning, Triads, Major Seventh Chords
Open Access

1. Introduction
We herein exclusively deal with the major seventh chord, starting from a fun-
damental extended “sentence”, built around the major triad, which immediately
gives birth to three further sentences. The sentences so obtained can be easily
cut, modified, by using new “words” (Wise, 1983) and extensions, and then
combined. As elsewhere discussed (Cataldo, 2017a, 2017b), the peculiarity of the
method lies fundamentally in the fact that the attention of the improviser is fo-
cused on triads.

2. The Method
2.1. The Fundamental “Sentence”
We here in will deal with a Cmaj7 chord. Obviously, the method should be prac-
ticed and mastered in all 12 keys.
Although it is anything but a novelty (Wise, 1983), we will carry out the whole

DOI: 10.4236/adr.2017.54018 Oct. 19, 2017 222 Art and Design Review
 C. Cataldo

discussion in terms of sentences and words.

Before starting, it is worth underlining how the only required background
consists in the mere knowledge of triads.
The fundamental sentence we have to start from is shown in following Staff:

(1)

In Staff (1), like in all the staves in this paper, the chordal notes (meant as the
notes that constitute the triad) are highlighted in red.
The particular time signature (3/4) in Staff (1), chosen exclusively for the sake
of convenience, is related to the “odd periodicity” of the sentence. On this sub-
ject, it is worth underlining how the sentence in question could have been equi-
valently written in 6/4 time, so as to emphasize its periodic behavior.

2.2. Learning to “See” the Major Triad

The fundamental sentence can be evidently played starting from each of the
chordal notes, by means of a simple translation.
It is essential to underline that, in playing both the sentence we have just ex-
amined and the ones that will arise from it, the musician must focus his/her at-
tention “exclusively” on the major triad and its inversions (in case of transla-
tion).
From the pattern shown in Staff (1), exploiting the translation and carrying
out a banal cutting, we immediately deduce the three following sentences:

(2)

(3)

(4)

All the anacruses are clearly optional.

Although the topic is not herein properly addressed, we highlight how the
sentences in Staves (2), (3), and (4) lend themselves to several metric displace-
ments.
At this point, it is worth practicing the following exercise based upon the ma-
jor triad and the ascending (chromatic) approach

(5)

By means of a simple metric displacement, from the previous exercise, we can

deduce the following:

(6)

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C. Cataldo

From Staves (2), (3), and (4), the latter considered with a metric displacement,
exploiting the previous exercise we deduce the three following sentences:

(7)

(8)

(9)

At this point, we can already start to combine the sentences deduced, so as to

obtain something more complex (Baker, 1988a, 1988b, 1988c, 1988d; Wise,
1983).
For example, from Staves (6) and (8), the latter extended as shown in Staff (1),
we can easily deduce the underlying long sentence:

(10)

Let’s now practice the following pattern based upon the mixed approach con-
cept:

(11)

The previous sentence allows the musician to sound very “chromatic”.

Obviously, coherently with what highlighted at the beginning of this section,
in performing the exercise in Staff (11), the improviser must focus his/her atten-
tion “exclusively” on the major triad.
We can clearly continue to mix the sentences, now with an additional ingre-
dient.
For example, from Staff (3), extended as shown in Staff (1), and Staff (11),
transposed an octave higher, we obtain:

(12)

Let’s now consider the following new “word” based upon the mixed approach
concept like the one in Staff (11), but built, in this case, considering an ascending
motion:

(13)

Exploiting the word just considered, we can obtain a great deal of new sen-
tences.
For example, from Staff (2), transposed an octave lower and stopped at the
fifth, Staff (11), and Staff (13), we obtain:

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 C. Cataldo

(14)

Let’s now consider another new “word”, nothing but a very short “back and
forth” chromatic bridge between the fifth and the (major) sixth:

(15)

From Staff (7), considered without the anacrusis and stopped at the fifth, by
exploiting the new word just obtained, we deduce the following sentence:

(16)

The previous sentence allows us to modify the fundamental one. In the fol-
lowing Staff an alternative version of the fundamental sentence, now with an
“even periodicity”, is shown.

(17)

Following a line of reasoning that at this point should be clear, the sentence in
Staff (17) can be exploited in order to deduce a great deal of further sentences.

2.3. Introducing the (Major) Seventh

Let’s consider the following new word, that simply consists in a descending
chromatic bridge between the major seventh (depicted in green) and the fifth:

(18)

From Staves (2) and (18), the first considered without the anacrusis and
stopped at the fifth, we immediately obtain:

(19)

If we consider the “back and forth” version of the chromatic bridge in Staff
(18), from Staff (19) we obtain a new long sentence extended along two consecu-
tive octaves. This sentence, shown in the underlying Staff, gives birth to three
further sentences, omitted for brevity, that can be progressively modified in the
usual way.

(20)

From Staff (14), by carrying out a simple cutting and exploiting the “back and
forth” chromatic bridge between the fifth and the seventh, we have:

(21)

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C. Cataldo

From Staff (13), exploiting the sentence shown in Staff (20), we obtain:

(22)

From Staff (16) exploiting, once again, the sentence shown in Staff (20), we
have:

(23)

2.4. Introducing the Ninth

Let’s now consider the two following new words, extremely similar to each oth-
er, that simply consist in a descending chromatic bridge between the ninth and
the major seventh, both depicted in green:

(24)

(25)

Obviously, the second of the above-mentioned words simply emphasizes the

root. Exploiting Staff (18), from Staves (24) and (25) we obtain, respectively, the
two following short sentences:

(26)

(27)

At this point, it is very easy to obtain a multitude of new sentences, whose

length and complexity basically depend on the capability of cutting and com-
bining.
For example, from Staves (19) and (27), the first transposed an octave lower
and stopped at the fifth, we immediately obtain the following short sentence:

(28)

Just to provide a further example, from Staves (17) and (28), exploiting the
“back and forth” chromatic bridge between the fifth and the seventh, we easily
obtain:

(29)

It is worth highlighting how the sentence in Staff (28) can be slightly modified
as follows (Garland, 1999; Kelly, 2013; Parker, 1978; Powell, 1998, 2002):

(30)

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 C. Cataldo

Bearing in mind that, according to the so-called diatonic substitutions

(D’Errico, 2017), each majors seventh chord can be replaced by the minor se-
venth one “placed” a major third higher (and by the minor seventh one “placed”
a minor third lower), we can now consider the following extremely simple new
word:

(31)

From Staves (30) and (31), we deduce the following interesting Be-Bop “loop”:

(32)

From the loop shown in Staff (32), by means of simple translations, we in-
stantly obtain the following four sentences:

(33)

(34)

(35)

(36)

2.5. Tonicizations and Turnarounds

The major seventh chords can be tonicized (D’Errico, 2017; Dobbins, 2010; Le-
vine, 2009). The procedure is practically indispensable when the chord remains
the same for a certain number of bars.
For example, Cmaj7 can be followed and/or preceded by G7, sometimes con-
sidered with the flat ninth, so as to legitimize a “diminished substitution” (Park-
er, 1978).
One of the strong points of the method consists in the fact that all the sen-
tences we have deduced (and all the ones that may be further deduced by fol-
lowing the line of reasoning herein exploited) are perfectly suitable for tonicized
major chords, no matter where the tonicization actually takes place, and ordi-
nary turnarounds.
If we consider, for example, the sentence in Staff (2), we easily realize how it
can be played on the following progressions: [Cmaj7|G7|Cmaj7], [Cmaj7|D–7
G7|Cmaj7], [Cmaj7 A–7|D–7 G7|Cmaj7].

(37)

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C. Cataldo

(38)

(39)

Similarly, if we examine the sentence in Staff (33), we easily realize how it can
be played on the same harmonic progressions we have just considered:

(40)

(41)

(42)

For the sake of brevity, the suitability of the sentences in case of harmonic
substitutions, such as the secondary dominant ones, is not herein addressed.

3. Brief Conclusion
As elsewhere underlined (Cataldo, 2017a, 2017b), this method constitutes noth-
ing but a simplified introduction to the Be-Bop language. Nonetheless, all the
sentences herein deduced, net of possible “enrichments” (Cataldo, 2017a) and
combinations with “public domain” patterns (Coker et al., 1982; Nelson, 2010),
can be easily found by examining well-known solo transcriptions (Garland,
1999; Kelly, 2013; Parker, 1978; Powell, 1998, 2002).
The fundamental peculiarity of the method, once again, consists in the fact
that the attention of the improviser, whose jazz background can be very mini-
mal, is fundamentally focused on triads: basically, there is no need to have any
further knowledge in order to start playing Be-Bop. Suffice it to consider that, in
introducing the seventh and the ninth, the improviser can also refer to the major
triad placed a perfect fifth higher (with respect to the root of the chord on which
he/she is improvising).
Obviously, the knowledge of harmony and the capability of mastering several
effective scales (hexatonic, such as the whole-tone scale, heptatonic, such as the
super-Locrian, octatonic, such as the halftone-tone), as well as very popular pat-
terns, allow the musician, beyond any doubt, to further enrich his/her language
and, above all, to play with reasonable consciousness (D’Errico, 2015).

Acknowledgements
This paper is dedicated to my father, Antonio Cataldo, who unexpectedly passed

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 C. Cataldo

away on the 11th of June 2016.

I would like to thank my friends Francesco D’Errico, Giulio Martino, and
Sandro Deidda, excellent Italian jazz musicians and esteemed teachers at the
Conservatory of Salerno, for their precious suggestions.

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