Analyzing the 'Bones' of Bebop Melodies (Donna Lee)
What was the question?
Pat Gilbert submitted a question about where to start learning a tune. He suggested analyzing "where the bones of the melody fall" rather than just the whole stream of notes—specifically identifying the target notes within an 8-bar section. The discussion used the bebop classic Donna Lee to illustrate this. [55:25]
The core idea (in plain English)
Even in complex, fast bebop melodies, the "bones" (structural chord tones) are always there—sometimes they are just rhythmically displaced. Charlie Parker often "misplaced" the target note (like the 3rd of the chord) into the middle of the bar rather than the downbeat.
Wes Montgomery took this concept from the saxophone and translated it to the guitar fretboard. He didn't just play the arpeggio; he played the Upper Structure Extension of that arpeggio, effectively laying out the saxophone's "bones" onto the guitar neck. [56:26]
Fretboard breakdown (what to play)
Let's look at Donna Lee (first few bars):
The Chord: F7. The target "bone" is A (the 3rd).
The Line: Parker hits the A, but surrounds it.
The Wes Translation:
On a Bb7 chord, Parker might target the D natural.
Wes sees this as a Fm7(b5) shape superimposed over the Bb7.
This is physically easier to visualize on guitar than creating the line from scratch. It is the Upper Structure (9, #11, 13) of the dominant chord. [01:01:25]
Common mistake to avoid
Don't think that because a melody is fast or chromatic, it isn't targeting the thirds. It is. The mistake is looking for those target notes only on beat 1. In Donna Lee, Parker often lands on the key chord tones in the middle of the measure. You must analyze the voice leading across the whole bar to find the skeleton. [56:52]
A 10-minute practice assignment
Look at the first 4 bars of Donna Lee. Identify the 3rd of each underlying chord. Circle that note in the sheet music. Notice where in the bar it falls. Is it on the beat? Is it anticipated? Play just those circled "skeletal" notes in rhythm to hear the outline of the song. [01:05:23]
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