Charlie Parker Articulation Pattern for Descending 7th Chord ArpeggiosBreaking down a crucial Jazz Saxophone tonguing technique found in Charlie Parker's solo over "Cherokee". This lesson offers a basic overview of how Parker and other saxophone legends such as George Coleman commonly articulate(d) descending 7th chord arpeggios and how you can use the phonetic sound "T D-E-N" to achieve this technique. It also demonstrates how this technique can be practiced as well as 3 ways it can be applied: modally, over iii- VI7 ii- V7 progressions, and over 2-bar ii- V7's. Charlie Parker - Cherokee Solo Transcription RevisitedFree PDF for E-flat, B-flat, Concert, & Bass Clef Instruments: https://www.jakedester.com/cherokee-2023-form.html I consider this to be one of the greatest saxophone solos ever recorded and way ahead of its time! Bird is about 22 years old on this lo-fi 1942 recording, but it's clear that he's already begun to define modern Jazz and Bebop style and establish himself as a legend. This transcription is distinct from my 2018 version in several ways. Aside from formatting the systems in a way that is more in line with the audio, I have developed a set of notational fonts in Finale that allow me to keep the ghost note articulations–that is, note heads in parentheses (•)–uniformly spaced everywhere they appear. The articulations involved were very clear for the most part, and I have them all notated here as best as I could hear/match them upon slowed-down listening and playing along with the recording. For the sake of functionality (and swag, honestly) I have silhouettes of the applicable instruments for each transposition as well as each page marked with its respective and color-coded transposition. I hope that this more legible version is a better resource than my previous version. Please enjoy! Articulation Is Like Really Important In JazzDemonstrating how jazz saxophone articulation techniques can give your lines character and life. layers like Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley, and many many other pioneers of the art form used articulation to give life to their lines. Here I use 4 simple phonetic sounds to take an otherwise ordinary line and give it an authentic dynamic feel. Unlock Doodle Tonguing On Sax: Anatomy and PracticeThe basic mechanics needed to achieve ghosting upbeats on the saxophone using the phonetic sounds D and N.
This demonstration covers the physiology of ghosting or doodle tonguing (aka dooden tonguing, dawdle tonguing, half tonguing, muting, swallowing, side tonguing, etc.) as well as how to practice and apply this technique using Major scales in descending thirds as an example.
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By popular demand, I have uploaded a Concert version of the "Blues for Alice" solo transcription. Link to download in video description.
I intend to also create B-flat and Bass Clef parts. It is time-consuming to create transposed parts on account of the articulations, but I'm getting faster at it! Dester Today's post is a followup to my previous one about a common jazz articulation technique I refer to as "Ghosting Up A Rip". You'll find this throughout the recordings of Bird, Cannonball, Stitt, etc. It involves ghosting a group of ascending notes (usually a fast ascending line), leading up to the peak of a line. Typically, the starting note of this ascending line is attacked and the "rip" (by rip I mean two or more fast ascending notes leading up to an intended note) is ghosted. There are two methods of applying this technique. This post will be focusing on the Method 2. Method 2Ghost every note of the "rip" but take your tongue off the reed for the next-to-highest note, and accent the top note: D-N___-E T  Practicing This TechniqueExample 2 from "Blues for Alice" Here we have Bird ghosting many consecutive notes, in this case 4 in a row. This is not rare in Charlie Parker's playing, but it's a bit more common in the double-time lines of Sonny Stitt. "D-N___-E TEET" We have a total of seven notes in this line. The first is attacked unaccented "D", then 4 in a row are ghosted "N___", the next note the tongue comes off the reed but it is not re-attacked (you can think of this as "NEE"), and the the last note is accented and short "TEET". Vocalizing the ArticulationTo really feel the sensation of leaving the tongue on the reed, keep the rhythmic proportions the same, but think of it as quarter notes rather than sixteenths. Sing/speak the articulation in time:  Then take it to the horn and apply it to single pitches:  Applying the Articulation to Diatonic ShapesNext, take the shape of the original line and run it through scales as quarter notes. The shape is essentially 123579, approached from a half-step below whatever the "1" is. Through the key of D Major, for example:  Advancing the RhythmOnce you're comfortable thinking of and playing it in terms of quarters, set your metronome to a pretty slow tempo (30-40bpm) and start working the articulation up as sixteenths.  *IMPORTANT NOTE* You need to be able to play the following shapes all-slurred with an even tone before adding any articulation. If you are unable to play through these lines with a solid tone and an even airstream with no articulation, that needs to be practiced separately first. Then, apply it to the shape of the line:  Ghosting Up Rips In Eighth-note LinesIn the previous example, the rip is very double-time oriented and pretty isolated from everything else in Bird's solo. It's also very important to have examples of how this technique applies to lines made up of mostly eighth-notes. Below is a typical Charlie Parker line which includes a sixteenth-note rip surrounded by eighth notes.  Taking the rip out to practice it by itself, we get this shape/articulation:  The articulation by itself, as quarters:  And broken down into quarters, running it through a scale:  With the rhythm of the original line: Again, start very slowly and work the pattern without articulation first.  This particular line is great as an approach to 3579 over various chords, and should be practiced (and sounds really nice) moving around by 4ths:  Another Variation: Ghosting Up Rips In Eighth-note LinesAnd another variation, this one comes from Bird's solo on "Groovin' High" live at Carnegie Hall.  The shape/articulation by itself:  And as quarters, on a single pitch:  And as quarters, through a key:  And sixteenths, through a key:  That's all I have for now on "Ghosting Up A Rip". I hope you try playing through these exercises; doing so will help you develop a more intentional articulation style.
If you would like to support my work, please make a donation here: www.jakedester.com/donate.html Stay tuned, and happy shedding! —Dester It's been quite some time since I've posted any transcriptions, but I'm back on it with a new YouTube page dedicated to Jazz Saxophone Education resources.
Check it out! free PDF link in description. Today's post is about a common jazz articulation technique I refer to as "Ghosting Up A Rip". This is used by players such as Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, and Sonny Stitt. It involves ghosting a group of ascending notes (usually a fast ascending line), leading up to the peak of a line. Typically, the starting note of this ascending line is attacked and the "rip" (by rip I mean two or more fast ascending notes) is ghosted. There are two main ways in which this is used. I've been working on Bird's solo over "Blues for Alice" so I'll be using two examples of this technique found there. Method 1Ghost every note up to the top note of the line, which is attacked: D-N___ T  and... Method 2Ghost every note of the "rip" but take your tongue off the reed for next-to-highest note, and accenting the top note: D-N___-E T  In this post, I'll be covering the first type, and some ideas for practicing this technique. Practicing This TechniqueExample 1 from "Blues for Alice"  Isolating this group of notes from Bird's solo on "Blues for Alice", we can slow down and simplify this pattern for practice. Vocalizing the Articulation♩= 120 Speak the articulation in time:  Applying the Articulation to Single PitchesPractice applying the articulation to a single pitch, moving through a Major scale. G Major scale, ascending:  G Major scale, descending:  Applying the Pattern to Simple ShapesFrom here, practice applying it to common ascending shapes, diatonically. Approaching ascending triads of the G Major scale, moving up by step:  Approaching ascending triads of the G Major scale, moving down by step: 
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Jake Dester is a Brooklyn-based musician with over 20 years' experience.
He works throughout NYC and remotely as a Performer, Composer, Producer, and Instructor.
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