Bebop lines: approaches, enclosures, the bebop scale

You can target guide tones. Now you need to build beautiful eighth-note lines that lead to them, like bebop saxophonists and pianists. Their secret: chord tones fall on the beats, and non-chord notes (chromatic, passing) sit between the beats to set them off.

1. The chromatic approach note

Any chord tone can be preceded by a note a half step below (or above). The tension of the foreign note resolves instantly: the ear hears an elegant slide, not a mistake. Example: to land on A (the 9th of G7), play G♯ just before.

2. The enclosure

You surround the target: a note above, a note below, then the target. Typically: the diatonic note above, the chromatic note below, then the target on the beat. To target E: F – D♯ – E. To target G: A – F♯ – G.

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=100
K:C
"Cmaj7" f ^d e2 d ^d e2 | ^F A G2 z4 |]

3. A complete line over a ii–V–I

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=120
K:C
"Dm7" D F A c e d c A | "G7" B d f a ^g a f ^d | "Cmaj7" e4 z4 |]

Let's analyse: bar 1, a rising Dm7 arpeggio up to the 9th (E), then a descent. Bar 2, a G7 arpeggio (B D F A), a chromatic approach G♯ → A, then an F – D♯ enclosure resolving to E, the third of Cmaj7, on the first beat of bar 3.

4. The bebop scale

The problem: a 7-note scale played in eighth notes doesn't fall regularly on chord tones. Bebop musicians added a chromatic passing note to get 8 notes: the scale then lines up perfectly. The dominant bebop scale on G7: G F♯ F E D C B A (descending, with F♯ between the root and the 7th). Starting from G on a beat, each beat falls on G, F, D, B: the chord tones!

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=120
K:C
"G7" g ^f =f e d c B A | "C" G4 z4 |]

Exercise: building and playing lines

Use the jazz track in C, at a slow tempo to start.

1. Targets. On each chord, choose a target note (3rd or 7th) that you will play on beat one.
2. Simple approach. Precede each target with a single chromatic note below, on the "and" of beat 4.
3. Enclosure. Replace the approach with a three-note enclosure (above, chromatic below, target).
4. Filling in. Between targets, fill with a chord arpeggio or the descending bebop scale.
5. Real phrases. Finally, leave room to breathe: a two-bar line, one bar of silence. The best boppers breathe as much as they play.