Chi Chi
The uploader of Barry’s 1998 workshop in The Hague says this part explores Charlie Parker’s Chi-Chi, a blues in A-flat, along with Cherokee. Barry never says the title in the captions, but he spends much of the class on the A-flat blues: its chords, the half-step rule on the A-flat major scale, an offbeat phrase, and a link to Cherokee.
- moments in class
- 22
- recordings
- 1
- Barry plays it
- 1
What he teaches through it
The blues in A-flat is not four bars of A-flat seventh, Barry said; calling it that is ridiculous. It goes A-flat to A-flat 7 to D-flat, and from there it can be D-flat minor or D diminished, the raised-fourth diminished. Earlier he pointed out that the one goes to a major four, not a dominant four, and then to the minor four on the way back to the one.
Know the basic material: all your triads, minor arpeggios and diminished chords. Taking the D-flat minor arpeggio in one position, from D-flat to D-flat, he pointed out that its four notes can be played in 24 orders, and that you should know every one.
You should know surrounding notes: the fifth of A-flat, E-flat, can be surrounded by E and D, the notes a half step either side of it.
The 1998 workshop, part 317:33
Coming down the A-flat major scale, put a half step between the sixth and fifth, F and E-flat; played plain, he said, the scale does not sound like anything. Run it down from each degree of the scale and notice where the added half step has to go. The rules, he reminded the class, matter more than the scale.
He set words to a short phrase, ‘don’t go’, asking the class to imagine someone they love suddenly having to leave town. The phrase had to start off the beat: the beat is close to hell, he told them, and the ‘and’ close to heaven. Later he stopped them again for starting right on the beat.
To show that the blues is more than one chord, he said the opening of Cherokee is almost the same as what the class had just played on the four going to the four minor, and had them play the first part of Cherokee in B-flat with the melody.
The 1998 workshop, part 31:03:33
In his own words
The blues is A-flat to A-flat seven to D-flat, it can be the D-flat minor and it could be the D diminished. The four sharp diminished.
Can you imagine? The one you love has to... leave town and you say don’t go
In class
Every moment he works on it, with the ideas of the method it shows.
The 1998 workshop, part 3
- 8:09
The one goes to a major four, not a dominant four, then to the minor four.
- 9:14
Try a D-flat minor arpeggio down to the fifth of A-flat.
- 10:15
What Bird does with that spot: D natural instead of D-flat at the bottom; class tries both.
- 10:56
He could have made up the song differently: the class plays a simpler version.
- 13:02
The D-flat minor arpeggio in one position can be played 24 ways; know them all.
- 16:15
The A-flat blues is not one chord: A-flat, A-flat 7, D-flat, D-flat minor or D diminished.
- 17:33
- 24:31
The seventh of A-flat 7 leads to D-flat, but he wants more than a plain A-flat 7 there.
- 27:02
Introduces a phrase with what sounds like ‘Bird might say something like’; the scat is garbled.
- 30:32
From the major seventh down to the five, with a half step between six and five.
- 33:37
- 35:19
- 36:00
Without the half step between F and E-flat, the plain A-flat scale does not sound like anything.
- 37:09
Practise starting on the ‘and’, not on the beat, from every degree of A-flat.
- 38:15
- 40:28
- 42:35
Diminished off the third of F; the last note is the fifth of B-flat minor, which comes from E-flat 7.
- 44:26
Sets the words ‘don’t go’ to a phrase: someone you love has to leave town.
- 45:04
- 46:45
A nice place to bring in the minor arpeggio.
- 55:19
- 1:03:33
The blues is more than one chord; Cherokee’s opening is almost the same. Class plays Cherokee.
Barry plays it
In the method
The ideas of the method these moments show, and how many moments each.