THE TRIPARTITE PHRASE (SHORT POST)

 

I already told you that day when I was at the airport on a business trip, and I had a long time to go before catching my flight home: had already drunk all the beers I could, I was sleepless, nothing to read, nothing to do…in short I didn't know what to do. 

I then started to think about a couple of things that, although I had always known, I had always so to speak "snubbed": the fact that sometimes the problem in writing a good bebop sentence is knowing how to start it and how, and when, to finish it. 

Having posed the problem in these terms, the solution was simple and obvious: it was necessary to structure the study of the sentence into these very three moments.

Applying this method to the study of the solos of the greats, I discovered some really interesting things: 

1. A phrase almost always begins with a note of the underlying chord (I, III, V, 7, sometimes rarely 9 and 11 or even V, 9 and 13 altered in the case of altered chords) played on the downbeat
2. This initial “key” note can be preceded by various embellishments (simple, double or multiple appoggiaturas, simple or complex chromatic bypasses, etc.), but the important, fundamental thing is that the phrase begins converging on a note of the chord played on the downbeat (there are obviously many exceptions, but to learn how to construct a phrase that doesn't limp it's better to initially stick to the rule) 
3. The development of the phrase is played on some basic concepts (which must be approached and studied separately): 
• play the notes of the chord on the downbeat, but judiciously insert some tensions (appoggiatura, chromatic bypasses) that “move” the notes of the chord on the upbeat for an instant without overdoing it and immediately returning to the note of the chord on the downbeat 
• alternate scales, arpeggios and clusters 
• know how to invert the direction
• know how to move without hesitation from one harmony to another in the middle of the phrase 
4. The conclusion of the phrase must be desired, strong, determined: when the development of a phrase is exhausted, one must avoid beating around the bush and letting the phrase die out haphazardly. This goal is achieved by practicing on rather short and simple phrases, focusing more on the strength of the conclusion than on the beauty of the development
5. The conclusion is usually on a note of the chord but often played on the weak beat as well as the strong one
6. The concluding note can be preceded by various embellishments (appoggiatura, chromatic bypasses)

In essence, the trick is to break the phrase into its three moments (beginning, development and conclusion) and practice individually and specifically on each element (and also on the sub-elements, such as inverting the direction, alternating scales and arpeggios etc.) and after a bit of study like this, try to put it all together.

That day I realised I have found a very personal, novel way to develop a structured approach to jazz improvisation - a method that doesn’t substitute the classical one, made of listening, transcribing and learning from masters, but that can help to understand why masters did what they did.

I also remembered that the word analysis comes from the Greek ἀνάλυσις, meaning “to break down, to resolve into its elements”, and that it is easier - especially for beginners - to tackle little, simple bits of information rather than weighty and complex concepts.

So, the concept of “tripartite phrase” will be the backbone of my proposal to you as a jazz improvisation method.