What is a jazz pattern?

[harpwood_gr]

I think I already know, just to be sure...What is the definition of jazz pattern? Is the same thing as the term "lick" or something completely different (eg exersice)?

[henryrobinett]

Of the top of my head: a jazz pattern is a sequence of notes that outline a sound, a concept, a PHRASE, a ii - V - I melodic phrase, a chord. Sometimes a pattern is something that creates an outside modal or free sound. For me it's a phrase (pattern) that opens the door for THAT concept. They are very often 4 note phrases. Sometimes chromatic, sometimes diatonic.

People who love study and play bebop or Coltrane derived music, or more obviously blues, rely on patterns to get them there and back. But I think patterns are to be learned to be forgotten. Not that you should ever be pattern free. But that you will adjust to playing and creating through that concept and won't rely on a play by numbers approach. But if you want to PLAY THAT style, you must play by numbers, i.e. patterns, at least in the beginning, or the middle as was my case. That's the quickest way to sound legit.

But then again sometimes they're just exercises based on scales or arpeggios that may or may not be intended to be used melodically, but rather for technical reasons.

[pkirk]

I think I already know, just to be sure...What is the definition of jazz pattern? Is the same thing as the term "lick" or something completely different (eg exersice)?

There isn't one correct answer to your question, probably "lick" is close. Often "pattern" refers to some combinatorial or arithmetic sequence of notes, which can be called on while you improvise, but might have an internal logic that doesnt (necessarily) match the underlying harmony or rhythm. Simple examples include things like diminished or augmented scales. A more complicated example might be to play major triads moving in minor thirds, eg CEG EbGBb GbBbDb etc. You can make up infinitely many of these. there are also rhythmic versions as opposed to melodic versions. The idea is that the ear hears the structure, so it makes sense even if it conflicts with the underlying harmony. Of course this has nothing intrinsically to do with Jazz, but its one of the million ideas improvisors use.

[harpwood_gr]

Thank you for your anwsers

More or less I knew it. Just wanted to be sure...

[TH]

Good answers from henryfobinett and pkirk. It's true that there are many answers to this question, and to a degree, how one might answer this says a lot about how you conceive of a solo.
A pattern is a shorthand device that allows a soloist to think of a group of notes as a constructive unit. It might be a set of approach notes to a chord tone (a staple of the bebop vocabulary) or an arpeggiated set of chord tones, or a specific set of intervallic or even mathematically derived notes superimposed over or outside of a given harmonic structure. This is one of the things I meant when I said it determines or defines you as a soloist.
Diatonically, you can take sequences, or even a motif that came from a melodic germ within a lyric line, and once repeated or transposed over a new chordal context, it will create a pattern that is recognized for its peculiar repetition. In more modern language, a pattern can be established by the ordering of notes or even a logical and shifting harmonic orientation within an existing one (see the thread on goodchord voice leading or check non harmonic sequences or even dominant chord sequences in the cycles of fours-Coltrane did this.)
In short, it allows one to think of groups of notes to function as one "thought" and on a practiced level, working with patterns builds one's practical vocabulary as well as training your ear to hear differently, and how you hear is a big step towards how you sound. Patterns provide a great way to create "connective tissue" between lyric lines, or they can be an effective way to introduce melodic material that one can then rhythmicise. For me, the trick is always to keep the convenience of patterns from interfering with the logic or vision of the solo.
Hope these thoughts are in some agreement with what others think.
David

[docbop]

Jazz patterns or could think of as templates. They typically are a common melodic fragments heard in solos, compostions, etc. Sometimes are written in notation other times in scale degrees. The common ones are 1,2,3,5 for major family chords, 1, b3, 4, 5 for minor family chords and multitudes of permutations of those notes. Some will use as a starting point for working on a new set of changes to hear the sound of the progression in a line, use for ear training, a compositional learning tool, technique exercises, learning to transpose by ear when moving pattern through all keys.

There are lots and lots of Jazz patterns books from over the ages and players have woodshedding the patterns for all the reasons above then let them disappear to their subconscious toolbox of musical ideas.

[pkirk]

Please someone define what is jazz pattern (I mean pattern-wise like this book)

I have that Jerry Coker book (somewhere..), and it was written at a time when a lot of jazz players were practicing these kind of symmetric melodic patterns. If I recall the book just has a bunch of lines of the type I described. My favorite book of this type is Joe Diorio's "21st century intervallic designs"

[fumblefingers]

Coker's book has lots of examples, same with David Bakers's books. There is also Building a Jazz Vocabulary by M. Steinel of UNT. And many, many others.


A jazz pattern or melodic pattern is anything like a scale fragment (1234, 1235, 5678, etc.) an arpeggio, a scale sequence (123, 234, 345, 456, etc.), an interval squence (1-3, 2-4, 3-5, 4-6 etc.), a bebop pattern where you approach the pattern from a half step below. they are endless.

the thing is, they are not all equally useful from a musical standpoint. in other words, don't spend your time trying to become a "note playing super computer" by learning one million patterns just because the combinations and permutations theoretically exist. life is too short. rather, use patterns that can either be used directly in improvisation, or can be used as jumping off points. for an example of what NOT to practice one might look at certain inverted arpeggio permutations such as:

7135, 7153, 7315, 7351. (and of course that means apply to all chord qualities, from all starting strings 6-5-4-3, in all keys, in all possible fingerings - right?)

David Bakers old books explored things like this to the nth degree. my advice would be to try them and see which ones sound good and practice those.

a more minimalistic approach would be to (1) learn about 5-10 scalar patterns that are highly usable, (2) same for intervals, (3) practice arpeggios thoroughly, but don't go crazy with every combination and permutation. From there study a lot of great solos from the masters. If you find yourself practicing patterns that don't show up in their solos or yours - think about letting them go unless you are certain you need them for something like finger calisthenics.

[harpwood_gr]

I really thank everyone here . You were really helpfull. I love this comunity...

[docbop]

Coker's book has lots of examples, same with David Bakers's books. There is also Building a Jazz Vocabulary by M. Steinel of UNT. And many, many others.

Jerry Bergonzi has cool book called "Thesaurus of Intervallic Melodies" which is vol 5 in his series. He has a couple pages talking about uses for patterns, he talks about changing the articulation of the lines and later in the book has a pages of articulation ideas, he also suggests changing up the rhythms.

To the OP's question patterns are the germ of an idea that you benefit from all the ways you expand on the basic idea. Like John Coltrane's study of Nicolas Slonimsky's Thesaurus Of Scales And Melodic Patterns

[Stevebol]

1) Try to play Charlie Parker tunes that are really fast
2) Get discouraged
3) Face the fact you aren't going to be a jazz musician
4) Have fun learning old Monk/Charlie Christian jam tunes

Repeat steps 1-4 until you drop dead.....

[fumblefingers]

or?


1) Try to play Charlie Parker tunes that are really fast
2) Get discouraged
3) Take some heroin just like Bird did 'cause that might make it happen for ya, right?


Repeat steps 1-3 until you drop dead.....

[coolvinny]

For me as someone still learning jazz improv (so take this for what it's worth), I think of jazz patterns as 2, 4 or 8 beat sequence of mostly 8th swing notes that include a mixture of chord tones and altered tones (b9's, b13's), and where the notes change by some combination of half steps (e.g. 7 to 3 resolution) and larger leaps, and which outlines the changes at least to some degree.

I don't enjoy learning other people's patterns, so I sort of come up with my own while practicing a song's changes...but I transcribe a fair bit of language and listen to a a great deal of jazz so my patterns are reasonably hip (playing them in the heat of battle is another story). When I was truly just starting out my patterns sounded about as intersting as nursery rhymes...these days, less so...

[harpwood_gr]

I think this article is very close to patterns...

[jtizzle]

I like to think of a pattern as a set of notes, usually in a set direction, which you can move around in a diatonic manner (even if it has chromaticism) and sometimes chromatically. A lick and a pattern are two different things, and it depends on how you define both. A pattern can make up a lick, and a few licks can make up a pattern.

Example: Over CMaj7. In all eighth notes, play G - E - F - G

There's your starting lick, which you'll make into a pattern. You can play that same lick in any other place of the C Major domain. You can make it a really clear cut pattern by moving it by the same interval (diatonically). I use that one a lot to outline and embellish a triad, so I would play the whole pattern as l G E F G E C D E l C A B C .... l and cut off the pattern with an arpeggio or something. Whatever comes out on the spot

[Vladan]

I'll quote wiki, with my addition of word Jazz:


A Jazz pattern, apart from the term's use to mean "Template"^[a], is a discernible regularity in the world or in a manmade design. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner.