{"id":16295,"date":"2023-01-24T18:13:54","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T17:13:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/?p=16295"},"modified":"2026-04-16T17:57:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T15:57:14","slug":"billies-bounce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/billies-bounce\/","title":{"rendered":"Billie’s Bounce"},"content":{"rendered":"

Billie’s Bounce, one of the most iconic jazz standards from the bebop era, was written by Charlie Parker in 1945 and is one of his most famous songs. In this in-depth tutorial, you will learn about the melody and bebop language used in this classic tune.<\/p>\n

\"Charlie<\/p>\n

The original recording included Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Dizzy Gillespie (piano !), Curley Russell (bass), and Max Roach (drums).<\/p>\n

The story goes that Billie’s Bounce was named after Billie Holiday, but actually refers to Billie Miller, who was the secretary for Charlie Parker’s agent, Billy Shaw. That’s a lot of Billies!<\/p>\n

In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn to play the melody of Billie’s Bounce in two octaves. Practicing it will help you understand jazz phrasing and get comfortable with syncopation.<\/p>\n

The melody uses syncopated rhythms, the F blues scale, chromatic approach notes, and enclosures. You will learn more about these features in the melodic analysis later in this lesson.<\/p>\n

Billie’s Bounce follows a 12-bar bebop blues form in the key of F.<\/p>\n

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Download the PDF, GP files, and backing track with JGO+<\/strong> (click here to join<\/a> or\u00a0log in<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Dowload<\/a><\/p>\n

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Recommended listening:<\/strong><\/p>\n