Rhythms Complete Bugs Bower

[AllanAllen]

I'm working through Bugs Bowers Rhythms Complete. Since I'm taking video, I thought I would share them here.

[AllanAllen]

[AllanAllen]

By the third one I noticed, it's very easy keeping time with a metronome and very difficult when I'm tapping my foot. I have a tendency to skip over the rests.

[charlieparker]

By the third one I noticed, it's very easy keeping time with a metronome and very difficult when I'm tapping my foot. I have a tendency to skip over the rests.

Any reason you are playing these with straight eighths instead of swing eighths?

[AllanAllen]

Any reason you are playing these with straight eighths instead of swing eighths?

Is that why it sounds like classical music?

[charlieparker]

Is that why it sounds like classical music?

No, I don't think Rhythm's Complete is classical music. I was told by another poster here that these are swing era rhythms.

[mr. beaumont]

If a guy named Bugs Bowers isn't playing swing music there's something wrong with this world.

[AllanAllen]

No, I don't think Rhythm's Complete is classical music. I was told by another poster here that these are swing era rhythms.

Yeah, but did you listen to the clips? They aren't very swinging, they sound more like classical to me. I thought it might have been because it's rhythm 1, but by you asking about straight vs swing eights, I'm thinking that might be the issue.

[pamosmusic]

I bet these would be fun for writing in articulations. Like where to put an accent, for example.

[charlieparker]

Yeah, but did you listen to the clips? They aren't very swinging, they sound more like classical to me. I thought it might have been because it's rhythm 1, but by you asking about straight vs swing eights, I'm thinking that might be the issue.

Oh, ok. I thought you were asking about the source material. They sounded good to me, but yeah, I think playing them with a more swing eighth note would jazz them up a bit.

I've been meaning to work through that book, too.

[AllanAllen]

I bet these would be fun for writing in articulations. Like where to put an accent, for example.

There's arrows on above the staff, that probably means something.... I dunno. I'm figuring all this out as I go along.

[rpjazzguitar]

The arrows show how your foot is tapping. You tap quarter notes and the arrows show downs and ups of your foot.

It's also very useful to transpose them all up an octave.

You'll learn the rest of the neck and the octave transposition is a basic skill.

Sid Margolis had me do that with this very book about 60 years ago.

I never thought about straight vs swing 8ths. Both are good to have available.

[MarkRhodes]

Here's a video of a guy playing them with a swing feel.

A clip of Bugs Bower talking about his books can be found at the top of the page if you follow this link. It's a good story.

https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/bugs-bower

A short video on the Schilinger System that Bugs mentions. (I never worked with this system and can't vouch for the video's accuracy.)

[rpjazzguitar]

By the third one I noticed, it's very easy keeping time with a metronome and very difficult when I'm tapping my foot. I have a tendency to skip over the rests.

Double check your syncopation in bar 2. Exaggerate it so you can hear the swing.

[pamosmusic]

There's arrows on above the staff, that probably means something.... I dunno. I'm figuring all this out as I go along.

Doesnt look like it. And RP would know, so I’ll defer to him.

Accents a lot of the time aren’t written into jazz lines but are implied. Light accent on up-beats. Bigger accent on syncopated up-beats, the top note, or notes outside the contour of line.

Those aren’t hard and fast but they’re a good start

[rpjazzguitar]

Doesnt look like it. And RP would know, so I’ll defer to him.

Accents a lot of the time aren’t written into jazz lines but are implied. Light accent on up-beats. Bigger accent on syncopated up-beats, the top note, or notes outside the contour of line.
d and fast but they’re a good start

Bar 2 is eighth, quarter, eighth.

So, beat one is a toe-down (referring to foot tapping).

Next note is on and-of-one, so it's a toe-up.

Since it's a quarter note it's held through the next toe-down (beat 2), which is shown by the next down arrow.

Next eighth is a toe-up.

The accenting is important but not explicitly included. A real big band horn chart usually has details of expression, but Colin/Bower intentionally keeps all that simple.

Whole notes, halfs, quarters and eighths are all downs and ups if you're tapping in quarters.

Some people are helped by having syllables.

pear is a quarter note
mango is two eighths.
watermelon is four 16ths.

"Ok guys, the break is pear pear watermelon mango".

Triplets depend on the accenting. Ka'mala, bana'na, badabing'.

[AllanAllen]

I transpose them up an octave to get another string set then through the 12 keys by ear.

That’s just too much to record.

Also thanks for the other clip and the advice to exaggerate the rhythms, and the foot thing.

I just got home from a gig so, no video tonight.

[Mick-7]

A clip of Bugs Bower talking about his books can be found at the top of the page if you follow this link. It's a good story.

Bugs Bower | NAMM.org

Thank you for sharing this, I was not familiar with the website, lots of interesting interviews on it.

This book sounds like it would be a good companion to Rhythms Complete -- Bop Duets Complete by Bugs Bower

[AllanAllen]

Mark the video series you posted helped me a lot. Thanks!

He’s also up 1.5 steps? My first note is E and he plays a G. What’s up with that?

#4 - Rhythm No. 1 Developed - YouTube

[pamosmusic]

Alto sax pitch is up a minor 2nd, therefore the note E sounds as G.

Alto sax pitch is written up a major 6 from concert. Their E is a concert G. The transposition named because Their C is our Eb.

[Mick-7]

Alto sax pitch is written up a major 6 from concert.

Isn't it a major 6th lower? - i.e., G transposes up to concert pitch Eb.

[pamosmusic]

Isn't it a major 6th lower? - i.e., G transposes up to concert pitch E.

Alto sax reads up a major 6th up. Concert G is written as Alto Sax E. That's where the name of the transpositions come from. They're named for whatever pitch sounds when the instrument reads a C.

Tenor reads C and we hear Bb.
Alto reads C and we hear Eb.
etc.

[charlieparker]

Thank you for sharing this, I was not familiar with the website, lots of interesting interviews on it.

This book sounds like it would be a good companion to Rhythms Complete -- Bop Duets Complete by Bugs Bower

I was listening to some of these. This one was interesting because it sounded kind of Monkish to me.

[Mick-7]

Alto sax reads up a major 6th up. Concert G is written as Alto Sax E. That's where the name of the transpositions come from. They're named for whatever pitch sounds when the instrument reads a C.

Tenor reads C and we hear Bb.
Alto reads C and we hear Eb.
etc.

I wrote E, should have been Eb... Online sources say that the alto sounds a minor 3rd lower than concert pitch rather than a major 6th higher - correction: down minor 3(8va) = up Major 6th, so Allen is playing the exercise 1 octave higher than the alto player is.

[pamosmusic]

I wrote E, should have been Eb... Online sources say that the alto sounds a minor 3rd lower than concert pitch rather than a major 6th higher - correction: down minor 3(8va) = up Major 6th, so Allen is playing the exercise 1 octave higher than the alto player is.

This is not correct.

It sounds a major 6 lower (reads a major 6 higher).

You're probably reading something about transposing at sight. They should play the note that is down a minor 3rd or up a major 6 from the concert note.

Not trying to be an asshat here but I do work with an elementary school band, so they're too little to do the transposing if I speak in concert pitch. Not good at much, but that bit I've picked up on. I played a lot of C-Jam blues in A with the little saxes this spring.

(on writing for sax)

Big Band Arranging | 3 | Instrumentation — Evan Rogers | Orchestrator | Arranger | Conductor

(and on how saxes transpose)

How to Transpose – a Guide for Saxophones – bettersax.com