Ornithology head: E vs. Fm7?

**Barcia** · 10-06-2021, 04:48 AM

I have to learn more bebop heads! Yesterday I was studying Ornithology, and found a E in measure 7. Strong beat, not a passing tone, he wanted that note just there.
Sounds great, but against a Fm7 it would be a maj7 (or a b5 against Bb7 if we ignore the II).
Motif is repeated in measure 9, this time A vs. Eb7 (b5 again). I'm aware that boppers loved flat 5s, but I always thought it was more a "tritone thing".
...please help me understand it

**PMB** · 10-06-2021, 06:54 AM

They both act as part of an enclosure. Probably the most common form is to approach a chord tone from a semitone below and a scale tone above. In the case of bar 7, E is a semitone below the root note (F) and G is the scale tone above. In bar 9, A is the semitone below the 5th of Eb7 (Bb) and C is the scale tone above.

**nevershouldhavesoldit** · 10-06-2021, 08:31 AM

Originally Posted by PMB

They both act as part of an enclosure. Probably the most common form is to approach a chord tone from a semitone below and a scale tone above. In the case of bar 7, E is a semitone below the root note (F) and G is the scale tone above. In bar 9, A is the semitone below the 5th of Eb7 (Bb) and C is the scale tone above.

Circling the target note is a classic embellishment in bebop lines, and it works in any position on the scale - the flow of the line probably makes more of an impact than the harmonic variation. In bar 5, the line circles the A with Bb and G# (11th and sharp 9th), both of which are embellishments. And that phrase resoves downward through the A and F of the root triad. A few bars later in bar 9, the same figure frames the Bb in both directions (C Bb A C Bb, enclosing that Bb between the 13 and the 5b) before anchoring the bar to the Eb7 with the closing Bb - G in the line, again resolving into 2 of the notes in the root triad for that bar. These accidentals are passing tones in the line, so any potential harmonic conflict (e.g. the OP's example of an E natural over an Fm7) is lost.

Ornithology head: E vs. Fm7?-ornithology_theme-jpg

Ornithology head: E vs. Fm7?-ornithology_theme-jpg

This kind of curlicue can be run around a note multiple times, Barcia. It also works in both directions. You can circle the higher note of the final pair and dive down through them, or you can circle the lower note and come up for the end of the phrase. You can also do this before ending the phrase in longer arpeggiated runs through chords of any length in either direction. Just recognize that throwing the same figure into a solo too many times and/or drawing it out too far for effect can turn tasteful invention into boring repetition.

**Jonah** · 10-06-2021, 08:47 AM

Guys gave great chromatic explanation...

But I would add also a diatonic one... once you're within F-7 you are also in F minor for a moment. Nothing prevents you into getting in C7 like Fm - C7 - Fm...

**nevershouldhavesoldit** · 10-06-2021, 09:58 AM

Originally Posted by Jonah

Guys gave great chromatic explanation...

But I would add also a diatonic one... once you're within F-7 you are also in F minor for a moment. Nothing prevents you into getting in C7 like Fm - C7 - Fm...

Truth be told, nothing prevents us from exploration of the full range of harmonic substitution. What separates those who can pull it all off from the rest of us is the ability to hear it in your head before you play it. Even when I think I know what I’m about to do, I’m sometimes surprised at how it sounds (sometimes good and sometimes not so good).

**Barcia** · 10-06-2021, 10:53 AM

It's an enclosure! I was able to recognize it in measure 5, but not in measures 7 and 9... shame on me.

Thank you all for take your time to answer such a stupid question.

**nevershouldhavesoldit** · 10-06-2021, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by Barcia

Thank you all for take your time to answer such a stupid question.

There are only 2 stupid questions - the one to which you already know the answer and the one you should have asked but didn’t.

**Petimar** · 10-14-2021, 03:20 AM

Good music is full of clash/resolve and this is especially true in Jazz. Good example of that here.

**Christian Miller** · 10-14-2021, 05:18 AM

Yeah so in bebop language you often notice the major 7 being used against iim7 type chords, often as an enclosure of the root, but also in classic 1-7-b7-6 type line cliches (Groovin High springs to mind.)

Bear in mind chord symbols really just indicate a function in this context; the harmony itself moves a lot more.

**Christian Miller** · 10-14-2021, 05:23 AM

I might add that studying bop heads is a great use of your time; you can study jazz language but you also learn things you can play on gigs.

**Barcia** · 10-19-2021, 06:10 AM

My mistake comes from how I practice enclosures: always ending in a strong beat. I must bear in mind that precisely enclosures are also a rhytmic displacement tool.

offtopic.- Christian, thanks for those "Charlie Parker cards", I found very useful for improving my sight reading.

**Christian Miller** · 10-19-2021, 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by Barcia

My mistake comes from how I practice enclosures: always ending in a strong beat. I must bear in mind that precisely enclosures are also a rhytmic displacement tool.

offtopic.- Christian, thanks for those "Charlie Parker cards", I found very useful for improving my sight reading.

Oh amazing! I'd forgotten all about those. I should probably dig them out.