Bebop Etude 1

You can download Bebop Dominant Etude 1 MuseScore file here.

 

Charlie Parker is my favorite saxophonist of all time, and I want to start digesting the bebop vocabulary that Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Eckstine, and others helped to create. From studying another great saxophonist extensively, Michael Brecker, I have learned that one of the best ways to learn a vocabulary is to write your own songs and etudes using that vocabulary.

From former Navy Seal David Goggins, I have learned to ignore the negative voices of others, and to FOCUS on achieving whatever mission I was sent to this planet to achieve. There is no better way to learn about yourself than to study how your own mind works. In addition to studying exercises written by others, I want to study exercises written by me so that I can better understand how my mind works.

This is the first etude that I wrote in the Bebop series of etudes: Bebop Dominant Etude 1 in the Key of B-Flat.

 

Saxtalk.com Bebop Dominant Etude in the Key of B-Flat by Rex Djere

My first step in mastering how to play the etude that I wrote is to study the bebop dominant colored scales that I wrote earlier.

We will break the etude up into small manageable chunks, and we will learn each chunk at 4 speeds: 30, 60, 90, and 120 beats per minute (bpm). The slow speeds (30 and 60 bpm) teach us how to play with expression. The fast speeds (90 and 120 beats per minute) teach us how to play with technique.

Philosophical guidelines:

  • We practice etudes slowly first, and then we increase the speed.
  • I add vocals of me counting the beats to the mp3 files to better internalize the rhythm of the etude.
  • We will play each etude chunk 4 consecutive times without error to make sure that we have mastered it before moving on.

Here are the chunks of Etude 1:

 

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