AND THE OCTOPHONIC SCALE WAS BORN

 

Introduction

Bebop language is essentially tonal music: its goal is to melodically express in the clearest possible way the underlying harmony, up to the point that in you listen to a bopper improvised line without any kind of background (piano, bass, other polyphonic instruments) you will nevertheless perfectly perceive what chord is implied.

I am strongly convinced that this was the natural and consequent development of the New Orleans - Swing era, when, as already pointed out elsewhere, improvisation was essentially made using chord tones, short connecting scale fragments, sparse chromaticism and, of course, the blues scale.

What boppers worthy of their name added to the recipe was a much greater focus on tension and resolution, achieved using devices like enclosures, pivoting, tritone substitutions, extensive use of 9hs, elevenths, 13ths and altered notes (#5, b13, b9 and #9) – along with instrumental virtuosity, flamboyant rhythmic approach and deep, fresh chords substitutions.

The seven notes scale

Well, let’s get down to basic business: chord tones on the downbeats. Let’s play a normal major scale, to octaves in a row, and let’s notice one thing: what happens if you play a normal seven notes scale?

We can clearly see that, after a few notes, non-chord tones start to appear on downbeats (in green chord tones, in red non chord tones). Unluckily, it doesn’t work: no fit for high speed, devilish bebop lines.

And the octophonic scale was born

So, what was the logical solution concocted by bop musicians? Very simple: if an asymmetrical scale doesn’t do the business, let’s make it symmetrical!

How? Again, very easy: let’s add an extra chromatic note somewhere, between the fifth and the sixth grade for example.

How is the scale built and how does it work:

Perfectly fine now, isn't it?

The “Baker-Harris querelle”

If you surf the jazz related web resources, you’ll become immediately aware of a rather heated discussion about the relationship (better the lack of relationship) between the “bebop scale” concept sponsored by David Baker and the “major 6^th diminished scale” by Barry Harris: two identical scales made inserting he b6 between the fifth and the sixth.

At a first sight, you can – and maybe you’d not be wrong – that this is a completely moot point, just one of those things which happens when the respect for our musical idols transforms itself in a sort of football fan-style behavior combined with hooliganism and gang warfare; probably true, but there are some subtle points that, if correctly understood, could bring at least a spark of light on this vexata quaestio.

In my humble opinion, the two key differences between these two scales lies on where they come from and where they are headed to.

Point one: while the Baker’s bebop scale in a merely melodic device, the Barry Harris concept comes the harmonic idea of building a major sixth over each chord tone and a diminished chord on the other tones (of course we need to bear in mind that we have to consider both chords in the fundamental state or in one of their possible inversions), so its starting point is much more harmonic than purely melodic.

Point two: while Baker’s approach works substantially as a monolithic backbone to help the improviser to keep his lines on track while developing enclosures, pivoting, changes of directions etcetera, Barry’s one serves to goals, one melodic and the other harmonic:

• To allow the improviser to make use of the so called "rules" (together, of course, with all the aforementioned devices)
• But more importantly to create the framework to develop his famous "harmonic movements"

More on this in a further post.

The octophonic scales

Major 6th diminished - on major chords

 

Dominant 7 - on dominant chords

     

Minor 6th diminished - on minor tonic and m7b5 chords

 

 7b5 diminished - on dominant altered chords