1

Intervalsgood definition of an interval is “the spacebetween two notes.” Figure 1-1 shows theintervals from the half step/minor second up

to the octave, all based on middle C. The mostcommonly used term is shown above each interval,along with any alternate terms.

The chart that follows shows all the intervals,both ascending and descending, as they occur intunes from the standard jazz repertoire. Unlessotherwise noted, the interval in question is the firsttwo melody notes of the song. Play each exampleand sing the interval. If you can sing an interval

CHAPTER ONE Intervals and Triads — Review

accurately, it will be easier to play when improvising.Listen carefully to all the voicings in the examples.All of them will be covered in this book. A footnotereference after each song title lists a great recordingof the tune—in many cases, the original recording.

Figure 1-1

A

& b wwminor 2ndhalf step

wwmajor 2ndwhole step

b wwminor 3rd

wwmajor 3rd

& wwperfect 4th

ww# wwbtritoneaugmented 4thdiminished 5th ww

perfect 5th

wwb ww #minor 6thaugmented 5th

& wwmajor 6th

wwb ww#minor 7thaugmented 6th ww

major 7th

wwoctave

CHAPTER ONE

2

l Woody Shaw, Setting Standards, Muse 53l8.2 Duke Ellington and Ray Brown, This One’s For Blanton,

Pablo 23l0-72l.3 Joe Henderson, The Kicker, Milestone 9008.4 Miles Davis, Kind Of Blue, Columbia 40579.

Intervals by selected tunes

ascending minor secondBob Haggart’s “What’s New?”l

descending minor secondDuke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady”2

ascending major secondBilly Strayhorn’s “Chelsea Bridge”3

descending major secondMiles Davis’ “Blue In Green”4

&?

# œœœœœ

G7b9minor2nd n www

ww

CΔ

&?

b œœœœœb

F7 b 9minor2nd www

b b ww

Bb-

&?

3Œ b œ œ b œ b œ œ œ b œ

∑

n wwwwwb

Bb-Δmajor 2nd

&?

˙ . œb wwww

G-7 wwwwwb

A7alt.

major2nd

3

Intervals and Triads — Review

ascending minor thirdThelonious Monk’s “Evidence”5

descending minor thirdChick Corea’s “Mirror, Mirror”6

ascending major thirdChick Corea’s “Windows”7

descending major thirdJohn Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”8

5 Thelonious Monk, The Tokyo Concert, Columbia 385l0.6 Joe Henderson, Mirror, Mirror, Pausa 7075.7 Stan Getz, Sweet Rain, Verve 8693.8 John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic l3ll.

&?

‰ œœœj ˙̇˙ ...b ‰w b œj ˙ .

EbΔ+4

b ˙̇˙ œœœj ...œœœb

˙̇ œœj œœ ..

G-7 C7 b9+11

minor 3rd

&?

3434

˙ .

˙ ....˙̇̇

CΔ ˙̇̇ .....˙̇#

E7alt.

minor3rd

&?

3434

7œ # œ . œJ# # ˙˙̇̇ ....

B- # ˙ œ˙˙̇̇ ....

major 3rd

&?

˙̇̇### ˙̇̇major 3rd˙̇# # # ˙˙̇

BΔ D7

˙̇̇# œœœœ .... n b jœœœ˙̇ ..œœbb b œœJ

GΔ Bb7wwwww

EbΔ

4

9 McCoy Tyner, The Real McCoy, Blue Note 4264.l0 Thelonious Monk, Solo Monk, Columbia 9l49.ll Joe Henderson, Power To The People, Milestone 9024.l2 Duke Ellington and Ray Brown, This One’s For Blanton,

Pablo 23l0-72l.

ascending perfect fourthMcCoy Tyner’s “Search For Peace”9

descending perfect fourthThelonious Monk’s “Ask Me Now”l0

ascending tritoneJoe Henderson’s “Isotope”ll

descending tritonebars l8 and l9 ofDuke Ellington’s“Sophisticated Lady”l2

&?

b ˙̇̇Œ ˙̇œœ œ œ b b . œj3

˙ # ˙̇̇

Aø D7alt

wwww

w

G9sus

4th

&?

Jœœ œ œ œ œ .

b œ̇̇˙ œ # # œ̇̇˙ # œ

G-7 C7F#-7 B74th

&?

œj

‰Jœ

C7

# œj œ ‰ œ .b www

tritone

&?

‰ œ œj œ œ œ˙̇̇ ˙̇̇

GΔ E-7 A-7 D7

œ œ œ # œj œ # œj

˙̇̇ # ˙̇̇œ ˙ .˙̇̇ ˙̇̇#

GΔ G# º

tritone tritone

CHAPTER ONE

5

ascending perfect fifthWayne Shorter’s

“Angola”l3

descending perfect fifthintro to Wayne Shorter’s “Black Nile”l4

ascending minor sixthWoody Shaw’s “In A Capricornian Way”l5

descending minor sixth intro to Freddie Hubbard’s Happy Times”l6

l3 Wayne Shorter, The Soothsayer, Blue Note LT-988.l4 Wayne Shorter, Night Dreamer, Blue Note 4l73.l5 Woody Shaw, Stepping Stones, Columbia 35560.l6 The Griffith Park Collection, The Griffith ParkCollection #2, Elektra/Musician 60262.

Intervals and Triads — Review

&?

œj

‰

D7œ b œ œ œ b œ œ5th

# www

œEb7œb œ œ œ œ b œ œb www

œ b œ œ ˙

# www

D7

&?

minor 6thœ b œ œ œ

Ó

œœœb b œœœ œœœ œœœ b œœœ ... jœœœb b œœ œœ œœ b œœ œœ .. # œœJ

Gb7+11 F-7 E7alt

&?

‰ œ . ˙

b b wwww

C-7œœœb b ... b b jœœœ ˙̇̇

..œœ œœJb b b b ˙̇

GbΔ5th

&?

3434

œj

‰

D-7˙ œ œŒ ˙̇̇̇˙ .

G7˙ œ œŒ̇ .

˙̇̇˙minor6th

6

ascending major sixthThelonious Monk’s “Misterioso”l7

descending major sixthDizzy Gillespie’s “Ow!”l8

ascending minorseventhsecond bar of the bridgeof Duke Ellington’s“Sophisticated Lady”l9

descending minor seventhfourth bar of the bridge ofBilly Strayhorn’s “Chelsea Bridge”20

l7 Thelonious Monk, Live At The Jazz Workshop, Columbia 38269.l8 The Gifted Ones, Pablo 23l0 833.l9 Duke Ellington And Ray Brown, This One’s For Blanton, Pablo 23l0 72l.20Joe Henderson, The Kicker, Milestone 9008.

&?

BbΔœ œ œ b œ œ œ œ œ

b w

b œ œ œ b œ b œ b œ œ œ

b w

Eb7

major 6th

&?

Ó ‰ b # ....œœœœ..œœÓ ‰ b

C7 b9+11

œœœœ

FΔmajor 6th

&?

‰ œ œj œ œ œ˙̇̇ ˙̇̇

GΔ E-7 A-7 D7

œ œ œ # œj œ # œj

˙̇̇ # ˙̇̇œ ˙ .˙̇̇ ˙̇̇#

GΔ G# º

minor7th

&?

JœbœnJœœ # œ œ # œ n

# œ # # œœœœœ

n #n œœœœ

F#-7 B7alt

˙ . œ # œ

œ# # œœœœ

œ # # œœœœ

B-7 E7minor 7th

CHAPTER ONE

7

ascending major seventh2nd and 3rd notes of

Joe Henderson’s “Serenity”2l

descending major seventhbar l7 of Wayne Shorter’s “This Is For Albert”22

ascending octaveBilly Strayhorn’s “Daydream”23

descending octave2nd and 3rd notes of

Freddie Hubbard’s “Birdlike”24

2l Joe Henderson, In ‘n Out, Blue Note 4l66.22 Art Blakey, Thermo, Milestone 47008.23 Steve Lacy, Soprano Sax, Fantasy/OJC l30.24 Freddie Hubbard, Ready For Freddie, Blue Note 4085.

Intervals and Triads — Review

&?

œj b œ œ

‰ Œ

Jœœ . œœœj ‰ œ b

Œ ‰ b œœJ Ó

Dø

‰̇ b b œœœ ...‰ n œœ ..

G7altmajor7th

&?

b bb b b œ̇̇ .. œ œ œ b œœœœœœbb ˙ .

Db9sus

b œ b œ3

œ̇̇

˙

major7th

&?

œ . b b b œœœœj ˙̇̇˙Œ̇ œœ b Œ̇ œœb b

FΔ Gb7+11octave

& œJ? b œœœJ

F7

‰ œ œ œ œ ‰ œj

˙˙̇ œœœ ... b œœœœJ

Bb7b œ œ b œ˙˙̇̇

octave

8

Melodic intervals greater than an octave intunes are rare, but a few examples are shown here:

ascending minor ninthbars 53-54 of Wayne Shorter’s “Wild Flower”25

descending minor ninthbar l8 of Benny Golson’s“I Remember Clifford”26

ascending major ninth2nd and 3rd notes of Duke Ellington’s“I Got It Bad And That Ain’t Good”27

descending eleventhl5th bar of Joe Henderson’s“Inner Urge”28

25 Wayne Shorter, Speak No Evil, Blue Note 4l94. 26 The Jazztet, Meet The Jazztet, Argo 664.27 Donald Byrd, Mustang, Blue Note 4238.28 Joe Henderson, Inner Urge, Blue Note 4l89.

&?

3434

œœœœœœœbn# .... œj œ b

b ˙ œœœbbœ b

BbΔ+5 .....

˙̇˙̇̇˙E.b9sus

minor9th

&?

bb œœœ œœœ œœœ˙̇̇̇ b b œœœ˙̇ œ œ # œ œ

Aø D7altœœœbb

G-7 C7altœœœ b œœœ œ œ œœœ ...˙̇̇b N

minor9th

&?

œœœœœœ œœ

major9th

b œœœ b b œ

# œ œ œ œ

BbΔœœœ œœœG-

b œœœ b b n œœœ# œ œ œ œ

&?

œ . œj œ œ œ œ

b w

DbΔ+4

b œ . œj œj œ ....œœœ

˙ œjb œ .

œœœ11thœ .... œj œ

w

CHAPTER ONE

9

descending major thirteenthbar 24 of Billy Strayhorn’s

“Chelsea Bridge”29

29 Joe Henderson, The Kicker, Milestone 9008.

Figure 1-2

Figure 1-3

Figure 1-4

Figure 1-5

Inverting intervalsne of the skills a pianist must have is theability to invert intervals quickly. When you

invert an interval, you take the bottom note anput it on top, or vice versa. A new intervalresults, and the rules for inverting intervalsare simple.

When you invert an interval:• major becomes minor• minor becomes major• perfect remains perfect• tritone remains tritone

and the old and new intervals add up to “nine.”

Look at figure 1-2. If you invert a major third,C with E on top, it becomes E with C on top, a minorsixth. Major becomes minor, and three plus six addup to nine. In figure 1-3, a minor secondinverts to a major seventh. Minor becomesmajor, and two plus seven add up to nine.Now look at figure 1-4. A perfect fourthbecomes a perfect fifth. Perfect remainsperfect, and four plus five add up to nine. Infigure 1-5, a tritone inverts to another tritone.Because a tritone is right in between a fourthand a fifth, you could say it is “four and ahalf,” and four and a half plus four anda half equal nine.

O

Practice singing the intervals, both ascending and descending. Sing the melody,or “head,” of standards, bebop, and other jazz tunes while listening to records.

Practicetips

Intervals and Triads — Review

&?

œœœ œœœ3 3b œœœ b œœœ # œœœ œœœ

œ œ œ b œ œ œ3

3

G-7

œœœb bb œ œ b œ b œ œ œ # œ3

major13th

b b b œœœœ Œ Ó

Db7+11

ww& # ww#tritone tritone

tritone remains tritone4 1/2 + 4 1/2 = 9

& ww wwmajor 3rd minor 6th major becomes minor

3 + 6 = 9

& b ww wwbminor 2nd major 7th minor becomes major

2 + 7 = 9

& ww wwperfect 4th perfect 5th perfect remains perfect

4 + 5 = 9

10

Thelonious Monk Photo © by Lee Tanner

CHAPTER ONE

11

TTriads

riads are formed by stacking one third on top ofanother. There are four possible combinations:

major third and minor third, minor third and majorthird, two minor thirds, and two major thirds. Amajor third with a minor third on top of it forms amajor triad. A minor third with a major third on topforms a minor triad. Two minor thirds make up adiminished triad. Two major thirds form anaugmented triad. All four triads are shown infigure 1-6.

Play figure 1-6 and listen to the effect eachtriad has. Be aware of your emotional response toeach triad. In program music (music for TV, movies,the theatre) harmony is used to enhance whateveremotional response a scene demands. A major triadsounds happy, strong, or triumphant. A minor triadmay sound sad, pensive, or tragic. A diminishedtriad suggests tension, agitation. An augmentedtriad has a floating quality, suggesting, among otherthings, Bambi emerging from the mist at dawn(seriously). Although these have become clichés,they still work, otherwise TV and movie composerswouldn’t continue to use them. These emotionalresponses apply to seventh chords as well, the nextchords you will learn about. It’s no accident that sadtunes such as Benny Golson’s “I RememberClifford,” John Lewis’ “Django,” and the Raye-DePaul standard “You Don’t Know What Love Is” arewritten in minor keys, or that Bix Beiderbeck’s “In AMist”30 uses augmented chords. As you play, youelicit an emotional response in your listener, yourfellow musicians, and yourself. Be aware of it.

Figure 1-6

30 Freddie Hubbard, Sky Dive, CTI 60l8.

Intervals and Triads — Review

& www b www b b www # wwwminor 3rdmajor 3rd

major 3rdminor 3rd

minor 3rdminor 3rd

major 3rdmajor 3rd

C major triad C minor triad C diminished triad C augmented triad

12

Triads are often inverted. An inversion is achord with a note other than the root on the bottom.Figure 1-7 shows both a C major and a C minortriad in their three possible positions: root position,as the term implies, with the root on the bottom; firstinversion, with the third on the bottom; and secondinversion, with the fifth on the bottom.Figure 1-7

racticetips

Play the major, minor, diminished, and augmented triads in all keysand all inversions.

P

& www www www

& b www b www b www

root third fifth

root third fifth

root position first inversion second inversion

root position first inversion second inversion

CHAPTER ONE