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Exercise
— switch — The Cycle Shells with Color Rootless Voicings Bud Powell Left Hand The Turnaround Tritone Substitution Reharm the V Diatonic Sevenths Secondary Turnaround Minor ii–V–i Minor ii-V-i with ♭9 Minor Turnaround Diatonic 7ths in Minor Backdoor Progression Twelve-Bar Blues Minor Blues Bird Blues Blues Stride LH Blues Walking Bass Rhythm Changes Boogie Blues Shuffle Rhythm Changes Bridge Blues Rootless (Evans) Coltrane Changes Blues Pedal Point Standard Intro Blues Block Chords Two-Handed Comping Blues Freddie Green Charleston Comping Bebop Blues Comp Freddie Green Comping Blues Guide Tones Walking Bass Charleston Blues Tritone-Sub Walking Bass Bud Powell Blues Drop Two Two-Handed Modern Blues Stride Bass Stride with Melody Quartal Voicings Upper Structure Triads Hybrid Voicings Kenny Barron Voicing Sus Chord Vamp The Mu Chord Maiden Voyage Chord 4-Way Close Pedal Point Lydian Vamp Phrygian Vamp Bossa Nova Guide Tones Bebop Scale Dominant Bebop Dorian Bebop Bebop Minor The Enclosure ii-V-I Lick Pentatonic Patterns Plain Locrian Melodic Minor Dorian ♭2 Lydian Augmented Lydian Dominant Mixolydian ♭6 Locrian ♮2 Altered Scale Harmonic Minor Phrygian Dominant Half-Whole Diminished Whole-Tone Scale Minor Blues Major Blues Aeolian (Natural Minor) Dorian Mode Ionian (Major) Lydian Mode Minor Pentatonic Mixolydian Mode Phrygian Mode Whole-Half Diminished
(MED. SWING ♩=80 )
22
Jazz Piano · The 32-Bar Form (B Section)
Rhythm Changes Bridge
III7 → VI7 → II7 → V7, each held two bars, twelve keys
Play exercise
The bridge of rhythm changes is a chain of secondary
dominants : each chord is the V of the next. Starting
from the III of the home key (E7 in C, D7 in B♭), the harmony
moves down by 4ths through VI7, II7, V7 — each chord held two
bars. The V7 at the end resolves back to the I as the form
returns to the A section.
Every chord here is a dominant 7. The shells alternate A/B
so that each transition between chords drops both voices by a
half-step — pure chromatic descent in the upper voices,
while the bass moves by P4 underneath. Pair with the A-section
exercise (#20) to play through a full 32-bar AABA chorus.
Form III7 (2 bars) → VI7 (2) → II7 (2) → V7 (2) = 8 bars
Each step Both shell voices drop a half-step. Pure chromatic descent.
Jump to
C F B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B E A D G
2
1
3
X
X
O
3
2
1
O
O
O
D
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
D
7
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
G
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
E
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
2
1
O
O
O
O
E
7
A
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
A
7
G
7
C
7
3
2
4
1
O
O
3
2
1
O
O
O
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
3
2
4
1
O
O
C
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
A
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
D
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
A
7
D
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
3
2
4
1
O
O
C
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
D
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
2
1
3
X
X
O
D
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
G
7
3
2
4
1
O
O
C
7
G
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
B
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
B
7
G
7
3
2
1
O
O
O
3
2
4
1
O
O
3
2
1
O
O
O
G
7
C
7
3
2
4
1
O
O
C
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
B
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
E
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
B
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
E
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
C
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
3
2
4
1
O
O
3
2
4
1
O
O
C
7
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
E
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
A
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
E
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
A
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
F
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
B
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
B
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
A
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
D
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
A
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
D
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
B
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
E
7
1
2
1
3
1
X
1
2
1
3
1
X
B
7
E
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
C
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
C
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
D
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
G
7
1
3
2
4
X
X
D
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
G
7
F
7
2
1
3
4
X
O
B
7
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
1
3
1
2
1
1
2
1
3
4
X
O
B
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
G
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
1
3
1
2
1
1
4fr
G
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
C
7
C
7
B
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
E
7
2
1
3
4
X
O
B
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
E
7
2
1
3
4
X
O
C
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
2
3
1
4
X
X
2
3
1
4
X
X
C
7
F
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
E
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
A
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
E
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
A
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
F
7
2
1
3
4
X
O
B
7
1
3
1
2
1
1
1
3
1
2
1
1
F
7
B
7
2
1
3
4
X
O
A
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
D
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
A
7
2
1
3
X
X
O
D
7
1
3
X
O
O
O
B
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
E
7
2
1
3
4
X
O
2
1
3
4
X
O
B
7
E
7
2
1
O
O
O
O
The Daily Drill
Pure descent
4 min Play one key. Hear how every chord change drops both shell voices a half-step. Eight bars of inexorable chromatic descent — that's why the bridge feels like such a release when it resolves to the A section. 10 min Cycle three keys at a time. Each key's bridge starts on the III of that key; the rest of the chain follows mechanically. Once one key's chain is in your hand, all twelve are within reach. 3 min Combine with exercise 20 (rhythm changes A section): play AABA = A (8 bars) + A (8) + B (this exercise, 8) + A (8) = 32 bars. You've now played the full rhythm-changes form once. 3 min Try a bebop head over these chords. Oleo 's bridge fits this exact pattern in B♭. Hum or sing the head as you play the chords. Why each chord lasts two bars The A sections move one chord per bar; the bridge halves the harmonic rhythm by holding each chord for two bars. This is a deliberate compositional contrast — the relaxed bridge sets up the relentless A. Bebop melodies exploit this: the bridge head usually has longer, more sustained phrases than the busy A-section heads, mirroring the underlying harmonic pacing.
Four dominants, descending. The harmony holds its breath; the A section returns.