Confirmation

[Stevebol]

I got of list of tunes you might encounter at jams. Lots of Charlie Parker which just doesn't stick with me. How do you tackle fast bop tunes from a fake/real book? Work on the getting very firmiliar with the chords first? After many struggles I've gotten to where I can make music out of just melody and chord symbols but Parker's music is a bit of a roadblock.

[FatJeff]

Do you mean how do you tackle the heads, or how do you tackle soloing over the chord changes? Parker tune progressions are usually pretty simple (and often lifted from other songs), it's just that they're often blisteringly fast and the heads are wicked. Efficient fingering is the key to playing the heads fast.

[Stevebol]

^^^
Remembering the melodies is pretty hard for me. Plus they can be really fast and a bit non-descript. Parker comes up a lot so the least I can do is learn the chord changes.
If I keep pecking away at it maybe his melodies will stick more.

[FatJeff]

The best way I've found to memorize those heads is to burn them onto a CD about a hundred times in a row and then play them in my car on the way to and from work, singing along with them. Once they're inside me like that, I never forget them. I'm singing Ornithology to myself right now. :-)

Actually, this is the method I use to internalize any melody - a bop head, a solo, a melody from a standard. After you've got it to where you can sing it, putting it onto the guitar is just a technical exercise. (Not necessarily and easy technical exercise, but I think you get my point.)

[FatJeff]

Oh and while you're at it, learn the tune the song is based on if it's a contrafact (like Ornithology = How High The Moon, Koko = Cherokee, etc...plus he had about a jillion blues and rhythm changes tunes).

[Stevebol]

^^^
I'll give it a shot.

[AmundLauritzen]

Confirmation changes in particular are complex with all the different II-V's.
I can't solo very good on it, but I notice my playing improves whenever I transcribe licks and phrases over the challenging parts. The Bb7 is not the easiest resolution to hear. It's like a middle point until the tune actually resolves back to Fmaj7.

The difficult part isn't playing each change, but to make a complete melody that makes sense through those changes - hooking them up.

If you learn blues and rhythm changes, you have the harmonic foundation for a lot of Parkers tunes like FatJeff mentioned. Most of his tunes are based on those changes, with the odd exception here and there.
And the ones that aren't based on standards are usually only slightly modified chord changes from whatever source he was inspired by.

In any case, learning Parker tunes is valuable because even though in some cases the chord changes as a whole aren't directly from tunes, the progressions are idiomatic jazz progressions so they give you material for hundreds of tunes anyway. It's not a waste of time at all to learn those tunes.

[fep]

Confirmation is an advanced tune imo. Playing the melody to the bridge anywhere near tempo takes some advanced technique.

For me remembering the melody isn't the problem. Developing fast enough technique is my problem. That is a process that can take years, and I think some (me?) may never get there.

[FatJeff]

I think Confirmation is advanced only as far as the head goes. The changes are just a typical Bird Blues, which after a while becomes second nature. Well, of course, soloing at that tempo is hard on any chord progression, but from a conceptual standpoint, it's not too bad.

[Stevebol]

I downloaded several Parker tunes and time stretched them a little so it's easier to memorize the melodies. I'll get a few more today.
I'm not a big fan but I figure you have to compromise and learn tunes that others like.

[AmundLauritzen]

I downloaded several Parker tunes and time stretched them a little so it's easier to memorize the melodies. I'll get a few more today.
I'm not a big fan but I figure you have to compromise and learn tunes that others like.

Since Parker's tunes are mostly heads, there are usually other options available that use the same progression. If you don't like Anthropology, you can always play Oleo instead.
That's assuming it's the melodies you don't like and not the chord progressions.

[Stevebol]

Thanks for the advice guys. This was a big help. Ornithology, I just discovered, is a good tune so I know he has other good ones. I just need to listen to more. I'm not going to get too hung up on Parker tunes like Confirmation that just don't seem to be well written, at least in my opinion. I'll learn the chords to tunes like that and keep seaching for ones I like.

[JakeAcci]

Well, Bird is the place to go if you want to develop some bebop language.

As for the changes, they are fast and there are a lot of ii Vs, but, well, look:

standard changes

Fma7 - - - | Em7b5 - A7b9 - | Dm7 - G7 - | Cm7 - F7 -

Bb7 - - - | Eb7 - D7 - |G7 - - - |Gm7 - C7 -

Fma7 - - - | Em7b5 - A7b9 - | Dm7 - G7 - | Cm7 - F7 -

Bb7 - - - | Eb7 - D7 - |Gm7 - C7 - |F - - -

Cm - Cminma7 - | Cm7 - F7 - |Bbma7 - - - | - - - -

Ebm7 - - -| Ab7 - - - |Dbma7 - - -|Gm7 - C7 -


Broken down to its simplest:

F7 - - - | - - - - | - - - - | - - - -

Bb7 - - - | - - - - |G7 - - - |C7 - - -

F7 - - - | - - - - | - - - - | - - - -

Bb7 - - - | - - - - |C7 - - - |F - - -

F7 - - - -| - - - - |Bbma7 - - - | - - - -

Ab7 - - -| - - - - |Dbma7 - - -|C7 - - -


filled in a little:

Fma7 - - - | - - - - | - - - - | Cm7 - F7 -

Bb7 - - - | D7 - - - |G7 - - - |Gm7 - C7 -

Fma7 - - - | - - - - | - - - - | Cm7 - F7 -

Bb7 - - - | D7 - - - |Gm7 - C7 - |F - - -

Cm7 - - - -| F7 - - - |Bbma7 - - - | - - - -

Ebm7 - - -| Ab7 - - - |Dbma7 - - -|C7 - - -


filled in a little more:

Fma7 - - - | Em7b5 - A7b9 - | Dm7 - - - | Cm7 - F7 -

Bb7 - - - | D7 - - - |G7 - - - |Gm7 - C7 -

Fma7 - - - | Em7b5 - A7b9 - | Dm7 - - - | Cm7 - F7 -

Bb7 - - - | D7 - - - |Gm7 - C7 - |F - - -

Cm - - - -| Cm7 - F7 - |Bbma7 - - - | - - - -

Ebm7 - - -| Ab7 - - - |Dbma7 - - -|Gm7 - C7 -



standard changes:

Fma7 - - - | Em7b5 - A7b9 - | Dm7 - G7 - | Cm7 - F7 -

Bb7 - - - | Eb7 - D7 - |G7 - - - |Gm7 - C7 -

Fma7 - - - | Em7b5 - A7b9 - | Dm7 - G7 - | Cm7 - F7 -

Bb7 - - - | Eb7 - D7 - |Gm7 - C7 - |F - - -

Cm - Cminma7 - | Cm7 - F7 - |Bbma7 - - - | - - - -

Ebm7 - - -| Ab7 - - - |Dbma7 - - -|Gm7 - C7 -



I play this tune with people a lot, and I start from the premise of the simple changes and use everything else to fill in - I don't think of every single change, but rather the important resolution points and harmonically viable ways to get there. In fact, if you have bop vocabulary, and you just think about those target points, the standard changes become one of several logical extensions.

As for the head, it's all about finding the right fingerings. I've spent a hell of a lot of time on that head and, when I remember all of it, can play it quick and in time and everything. I'd be happy to share my fingerings for it.

[jtizzle]

I recently started working on confirmation. The hardest part for me is playing the melody at tempo. It's really hard. Soloing isn't that bad, just focus on chord tones for resolutions.
I'd suggest learn the melody in two octaves, lets you recognize it better. Also transcribe some solos, and listen to different versions.

[AmundLauritzen]

As for the head, it's all about finding the right fingerings. I've spent a hell of a lot of time on that head and, when I remember all of it, can play it quick and in time and everything. I'd be happy to share my fingerings for it.

Please do I'm having a hard time finding a logical fingering that works in higher tempos.

[JakeAcci]

Cool, hopefully I can get to it within the week