Bebop of Memory

Bebop is a style of Jazz that originated in the 1940's.  Notable players included Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker (and many others).  It is easily recognizable by rapid, many-noted improvisations based on the chord progressions of familiar music.

 

(Whoa, where is she going with this??)

 

I played bebop in college and I learned some basic tenets:

 

1. There are no wrong notes.  Some are better than others, don't dwell on the not-so-good ones.

2. Don't dwell on the theory.  Note that this is not the same as don't KNOW your theory.  At some point you have to trust what you learned.

3. Hit the important notes.  It takes suprisingly few notes to identify a tune.  Try to hit the important ones.

4. Don't be afraid to drop a few.  Some things are just difficult to play, some things, while important may just be distracting to the piece.  So here is the thing - DON'T PLAY THEM.  If you get the semi-important notes around it, people will actually think you did play them.  It is like the really strong hint of a note.  The term is ghosting. 

 

If you read all the way back to the beginning of my blog, you will see that I went to my 20 year reunion.  The sameness of the relationships really struck me and I think I know why.

 

We hit the important notes.  We remembered our friendships, the events that we went through together, the shared jokes, the drama.  I didn't dwell on the theory of how I was expected to act.  I didn't sit on the wrong notes that I didn't want to hit (bringing extra attention to my transition).  And I was not afraid to drop a few events that I didn't want to bring focus to.  A couple people actually asked if I had dated their brothers back then.