Tom

Lippincott
Anatomy of a Melody
In most jazz performances, the melody, or head, is the pre-composed section of the song that
allows the listener to identify the song. While it can sometimes seem like jazz musicians treat
the melody of a song like a mere throwaway prelude to the improvised solos, melodies are an
essential part of the experienced player's toolbox. Most of the great jazz musicians are known
as much for their interpretations of melodies as they are for their improvised solos. In this class,
we will focus on effective ways of learning, performing, and interpreting the melodies of American
songbook standards. We will also examine methods for using the melody of a song as a basis
for improvised solos. The ability to use thematic content from the melody in a solo can give your
improvisations much greater depth and connection to the composition and help you avoid the
stereotypical "running changes" which leads to similar-sounding solos on every song.

To begin, we will look at the first phrase of the song "Autumn Leaves" by Joseph Kosma.
We will start with a very basic version of the melody and see how the lyrics of the song fit
with the notes.
Example 1: "Autumn Leaves" first phrase
w
œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ ˙
œ œ w w
b 4
&b 4 Œ Œ Œ œ Œ œ nœ #œ
The fall - ing leaves driftby my win - dow the au - tumn leaves of red and gold

Notice the small but significant detail of the two consecutive D notes on the word "window."
Instrumentalists often omit the second note, which is like singing "win" and leaving out the "dow."

Example 2 adds anticipations to some of the notes, giving a more syncopated sound to the performance.

Example 2: "Autumn Leaves" first phrase with anticipations

œ w
œ™ œ œ œ œ œœ œ™ œJ˙ œ™ w œw
b
&b ‰ J J Œ ‰ œ™ œJ Œ œ nœ #œ
The fall - ing leaves drift by my win - dow the au -tumn leaves of red and gold

Example 3 demonstrates that too much anticipation can sound unnatural and stilted.

Example 3: "Autumn Leaves" first phrase with too much anticipation

œ w
b œ œ œ œ
J œ œ œ œ œJ œ™ œJ ˙ œ œ œ œ œJ w nœ œ# œ œ w
&b ‰ J J ‰ JJ ‰ JJ ‰ JJ J
œ
The fall -ing leaves drift by my win - dow the au -tumn leaves of red and gold
2
Tom Lippincott

Delaying one or more of the notes can also be an effective way to phrase a melody. This is sometimes
called "back phrasing."

Example 4: "Autumn Leaves" first phrase with anticipations and back phrasing

™
œœ œ œ ™ J J
œ w œ œ œ™
b œ™ œJ œ J œ œ œ œ œ˙ œ nœ # œ œw
&b ‰ ‰ J Ó Œ
3
The fall -ing leaves drift by my win- dow the au -tumn leaves of red and gold

Part of the reason that it's important for an instrumentalist to be aware of the lyrics of a song is illustrated
in example 5. Anticipation and back phrasing, here, are used in a way that make the pacing of the lyrics
sound unnatural.
Example 5: "Autumn Leaves" first phrase with unnatural-sounding anticipations and back phrasing

œ ˙
œ œ œ œ ˙ œJ œ™ ˙™
Œ ˙ ™ ˙ nœ #œ
œ œ ˙ œ œœ œ
b
&b Œ Œ‰ J ‰ J Œ ‰ œJ ˙
The fall - ing leaves drift by my win dow the au - tumn leaves of red and gold

Example 6 shows a transcription of the great trumpet player and vocalist Chet Baker's performance
of the first sixteen bars of "Autumn Leaves" from his album She W as Too Good To Me. This is a perfect
example of a great jazz performance that sticks close to the original composed melody and "honors"
the lyrics yet is also full of syncopation and unpredictable phrasing, giving it a distinctive jazz flavor. Note
that this transcription has been transposed up a whole step to the common key of Bb major/G minor (the
recording is played in Ab major/F minor).

Example 6: Chet Baker's performance of "Autumn Leaves"

C-7™ F7 B¨^ E¨^
. œ ˙
180 bpm
° bb Œ ‰ œJ œJ œ J œ œ. œJ œ™ ˙ œ. œJ
œ œ œ
& Œ Œ ‰ J J ‰ Œ ‰ J J
11 10 10 8

¢⁄
8 10 11 6 8 10 4 6 8

˙™
AØ D7 G-
° # .
œ œ ˙™ .
œ œJ œ
œ
b œ nœ J J
&b Œ Œ ‰ J J Œ Œ ‰ J
6 11

¢⁄
3 5 7 8 10 11
 Tom Lippincott
3
C-7 F7 B¨^ E¨^
w œ
° œ œ œ™ œ ˙
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
& bb J Œ
11 10 10 8

¢⁄
6 8 10 4 6 8

AØ D7 G-
° b
w œ œ œ œ œ w ˙
&b Œ Ó

5 8 6

¢⁄
8

Notice that the fingerings indicated on the TAB staff above, which is only one of many possible ways to
play this example, stays on the B and high E strings but travels down the neck. This way of playing
encourages a guitarist to think more like a horn player or singer, and it leaves space for adding chords on
the lower strings if desired.

Example 6 also shows how the melody lines up with the harmony of the song. "Autumn Leaves"
prominently features the all-important II V I chord progression, both in major and in relative minor.
In fact, in the first sixteen bars of the song, the only chord that isn't part of a II V I is the Eb major7,
the IV chord, which continues the cycle of 4ths/5ths and links the major and relative minor keys.

Now notice that each of the long notes that end every phrase is the third of the chord of the moment.
Also note that the active part of each phrase starts on the root of the chord of the moment and ends on
the third. The only time this pattern breaks is at the end of the second eight bars when the phrase ends
on the root of the G minor chord which gives a sense of resolution that the ending of the first eight bars
lacks. This emphasis of important chord tones in the melody helps to outline the sound of the harmony
and also creates a strong sense of unity between the melody and the harmony.

Thus far, we have only discussed changing the rhythm as a way to embellish a melody and give it a
jazz-like flavor. Jazz musicians often will also add new melodic material to the existing notes.

Besides adding syncopation to give rhythmic drive to a melody, jazz musicians may occasionally repeat
one or more melody notes in order to further enhance the sense of swing. Note that this technique
no longer pairs one note with one syllable of the lyrics, so in this sense, the performance is no longer
"honoring" the lyrics completely. However, it is strongly recommended that the student learns to syncopate
a melody effectively while still honoring the lyrics (as in the Chet Baker example) before attempting to
stray away from this idea. In order to really "know" a song, it is my belief that one must be able to first
sing, either out loud or least in one's head, the melody with the lyrics. Even the great jazz musicians who
were known for extreme embellishment verging on re-composition knew these songs inside-and-out first.
 Tom Lippincott
4

Example 7 shows the addition of repeated notes to add more rhythmic drive to an instrumental melody
performance.

Example 7: "Autumn Leaves" with repeated melody notes

C-7
w
F7 B¨^ E¨^ AØ D7 G-
° b œ. œ œ œ œ
œ™ œ ˙
œ. œ œ œ œ . œ œœ w #œ w
&b ‰ J ‰ J J ‰ œ œJ ‰ œJ œ œnœ œ
11 10 10 8 6

¢⁄
8 8 10 10 11 6 6 8 8 10 4 4 6 8 3 3 3 5 5 7

Many jazz musicians will further embellish a melody by playing improvised melodic material in addition
to the composed melody. "Autumn Leaves" is particularly suited to this practice because of the held
notes at the end of each phrase where melodic material can be inserted. Example 8 shows improvised
sections connecting the active part of each phrase. Notes from the key/scale are used to approach the
first note of each subsequent phrase, adding more movement and activity. The Bb major/G natural minor
scale is used until the D7 chord, which uses the G melodic minor scale. Note that the last notes of bars
2, 4, and 6 anticipate the 3rd of the chord in bars 3, 5, and 7 respectively.

Example 8: "Autumn Leaves" with improvised phrases

Ϫ
C-7 F7 B¨^
° œ™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ . œ œ œ™ œ œ œ œ
b
&b ‰ J J J ‰ œ œJ œ J
11 10 8 10 10 8 6 5

¢⁄
8 10 11 11 10 6 6 8 10 8

E¨^ AØ D7 G-
° œ œ
‰ œ™
œ œ œ œ
nœ #œ œ
w
b b ‰ œ. œ œ œ #œ
& J
8 6 5 6

¢⁄
4 4 6 8 8 7 3 5 7
 Tom Lippincott
5
In addition to playing improvised phrases around the composed melody, some jazz musicians like to
further put their own stamp on a performance by changing some of the actual melody notes. One
player who was well-known for this practice (in some cases, even nearly re-composing a new melody
for a song) was the great trumpet player Miles Davis. In his iconic performance of "Autumn Leaves"
from the Cannonball Adderly album Somethin' Else, Davis stays relatively close to the composed melody
but definitely adds a few touches of his own. Notice the attention-grabbing use of the natural 6th on
the first G minor chord instead of the regular melody note of Bb.

Example 9: Davis' melody from Somethin' Else

œ œ œ œ ˙™
C-7
œ
F7 B¨^ E¨^ AØ
°
110 bpm
œ œœ ˙
b b Œ ‰ œJ œ Œ Ó œ
Œ ‰J
œ œ
Œ Ó œ œ œœœ
&
11 10 10 6 8 10 8

¢⁄
8 10 11 6 8 10 6 8 10
7 8

D7 G- C-7
œ
F7 B¨^
° bb Œ ‰ œJ œ œ nw œœœ œœœœ œœ˙ œ œœ
& Ó ‰J Œ Ó Œ ‰ œJ
·
5 8 6 11 10 10 10 8

¢⁄
5 8 10 11 6 8 10 8 6

E¨^ AØ D7 G-
° b b œœœ œ œ œ œ#œ œ ˙
‰ J Ó Œ
œ œ
‰ J
œ œ œ™
J Ó
&
·
6 5 5 6 8 9 10 8 5 8 6

¢⁄
8 8 8

In comparing the two different approaches of the Chet Baker versus the Miles Davis versions, aside from
the obvious stylistic differences between the two players, tempo is also a factor. The Baker version is
played at a medium up tempo, which leaves less time for adding embellishments and more of a driving
rhythmic approach involving anticipations and no note values faster than 8th notes. The Davis version,
taken at a leisurely tempo of 11 0 bpm, allows for a much greater variety of note values and a lazy, laid
back time feel. Often the quarter and 8th notes are played behind the beat, whereas the faster flurries of
notes add movement but are still played in a relaxed, legato, lyrical manner. Many jazz musicians are
known for laying back during both improvisations and melodic statements, and medium tempos offer the
most opportunity for this expressive device.

A related but different technique that is often effective at medium tempos is variation in swing feel.
For example, in the second bar of the second A section (on the F7 chord) Davis not only lays back
the 8th notes but plays them almost straight as well.
6 Tom Lippincott

Lastly, decorative devices such as accents and ghost notes, slides, bends, vibrato, varied articulations,
and grace notes can all be used to give melodies more personality and variety. These techniques
are known as shading devices.

F7˙ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
Example 10: adding shading devices
C-7 œ ™ B¨^ >œ œ. œ ˙ ™
E¨^
° b œ™ œ œ œ >
œ œnœ œ œ >
œ œ
&b ‰ ‰ J Œ ‰
3
11 5 6 8 10 10

¢⁄
8 10 11 6 8 6 5 6 8

˙™
AØ D7 G-
°
>œ. œn œ œ ˙™
b
&b Œ
œ
‰ J œ Œ Œ Œ œ œ nœ œ #œ œ œ
8 5 6

¢⁄
6 7
4 6 8 3 5 7
3 3 3

Regarding improvised solos, an extensive discussion of scales, arpeggios, and general considerations
of note choice goes beyond the scope of this class; however, a few basics will be outlined here.

The first two A sections of "Autumn Leaves" go back and forth between Bb major and G minor. For the
Bb major portion, the Bb major scale can be used as the basic melodic building blocks. For the G minor
portion, we have a choice of G natural minor (the same notes as Bb major) or, in order to more
specifically define the leading tone (F#), we can use either G harmonic minor or G melodic minor. While
it is important for a jazz guitarist to be fluent with all of these sounds all over the guitar neck, an exercise
is provided below that can help with thinking in more melodic terms primarily using motion along the
strings up and down the neck rather than across the strings in one position. This exercise also stays on
the top three strings in order to keep within the middle and upper range of the instrument. This type of
motion encourages thinking more like a singer or horn player with fewer chances to rely on patterns in
muscle memory.

Example 11: Bb major scale exercise

° b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œœ
&b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
1 3 5 3 5 6 5 6 8 6 8 10

¢⁄
1 3 4 3 4 6 4 6 8 6 8 10
2 3 3 5 5 7 7 8
 Tom Lippincott
7

œ œœ œœœœœœœ œœœœœœœ œ w
° bb œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œœ œ
&
8 10 11 10 11 13 11 13 15 13 15 17

¢⁄
8 10 11 10 11 13 11 13 15 13 15 16
8 10 10 12 12 14 14 15

Example 12: G harmonic minor scale exercise

° œœ 1 œ œ œ œ
œ œ 1 œ œ
1 œ œ œ 1 œ
b œ # œ œ # œ œ # œ œ # œ
&b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
2 3 5 2 3 5 6 5 6 8 8 10

¢⁄
1 3 4 3 4 7 8 7 8 10 11
2 3 3 5 5 7 8 7 8

œ œ # œ 1 œ3 œ1 œ2 œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ 4 1 3 4 œ w
° œœœœœ œ œ œ œ
b œ#œ #œ œ œ
&b
8 10 11 10 11 14 11 14 15 14 15 17

¢⁄
8 10 11 10 11 13 11 13 15 15 16
8 11 11 12 12 14 14 15 17

Example 13: G melodic minor scale exercise

° œ œ nœ #œ1 œ1 œ œ œ œ
œ œ 1 œ œ
1 œ œ œ
b nœ # œ nœ # œ nœ # œ
&b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
2 3 5 2 3 5 6 5 6 8 8 10

¢⁄
3 5 3 5 5 7 8 7 8 10 11
2 3 5 3 5 5 7 7 9
 Tom Lippincott
8

œnœ# œ œ œ œ œ œnœ# œ œ #œ œœ w
° œ1 œ2 œ œ n œ 2 3œ œ œ œ œnœ
4
œ
4
œ œ œ
b nœ#œ #œ
&b
10 12 10 12 14 12 14 15 14 15 17

¢⁄
10 11 13 10 11 13 13 15 15 17
9 11 12 11 12 12 14 15 14 15 17

Example 1 4 uses example 7 as its jumping-off point. The same rhythms and intervals are used, but
the entire phrase is moved up a diatonic third. We have taken the rhythmic and intervallic elements
of the melody but changed the pitches, creating a new but closely-related melody that is obviously
similar to the original. This practice can be an effective way to begin to improvise new melodies
using variations of the composed melody. Note that the long notes are still important chord tones.

Example 14: new melody phrase using rhythmic and intervallic motifs from melody

C-7 F7 B¨^ E¨^ AØ D7 G-

. œ œœœ w .œ œ œ œ œ œ™ œ ˙ œ w
° bb ‰ J
œ .
œ œ œ œ œœ œ w
& ‰ J J ‰ J ‰#œJ œ œ
15 13 13 13 11 11 10

¢⁄
11 11 13 13 15 10 10 11 11 13 8 8 10 11 7 7 7 8 8 10

In example 1 5, instead of changing the pitches, we are changing the order of the notes. The three
ascending notes of each phrase are reversed, but the long note stays the same. Notice that the
E in the final phrase is changed to Eb to get better momentum to resolve to the D.

Example 15: descending instead of ascending

w
C-7 F7 B¨^ E¨^ AØ D7 G-
° bb ‰ œ œJ œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ™ œJ ˙ œ. œ œ œ œ w # œb œ œnœœ œ
œ w
& ‰ J ‰ J Œ
11 10 10 8 6

¢⁄
11 10 11 10 8 10 10 8 6 8 8 6 4 7 4 6 4 3
 Tom Lippincott 9
Examples 1 4 and 1 5 have introduced some variations; however, they still retain much of the character
of the composed melody. Example 1 6 uses example 1 5 as its jumping-off point but adds more melodic
movement to the previously held-out notes. Notice that the left hand fingering has changed to
accommodate the higher range of the new melodic material. Note also that the additional melodic
material is mostly stepwise but has one arpeggio to create more variety in the melodic contour.

Example 16: example 15 with additional melodic movement

C-7
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
F7 B¨^
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
° œ œ œ œœœ .œ œ œ
b J J œ
&b ‰ ‰
11 13 11 10 11 10 10 13 11 10 10

¢⁄
11 10 11 10 13 10 10 13 11
12 12 10

stepwise movement stepwise movement

E¨^ AØ D7 G-
° bb ‰ œ. œJ œ œ
œ œ œœœ
œ œ œ Œ #œ bœ œ nœ œ œ œ œ™ œJ œ œ œ
&
3
8 5 6 6 5 6 3

¢⁄
8 8 6 8 7 4 6 4 3
8 8 5 7

arpeggiation stepwise movement

Another possibility for rhythmic variation is to take the "short short short long" idea of the melody and
reverse it. Example 1 7 uses only the original pitches of the melody but makes the first note long and
the next three notes short.

Example 17: rhythmic reversal of the melody

C-7 F7 B¨^ E¨^ AØ D7 G-
° ˙ œ œœœ ˙ œ œœœ œœœ œ
& bb ∑ ∑ ˙ œ ∑ ˙ œnœ#œ ∑
11 10 8 6

¢⁄
8 10 11 6 8 10 4 6 8 3 5 7
10 Tom Lippincott

Next, we will take example 1 7 and make it more interesting and less predictable. New melodic material
is added to the empty measures, and the technique of rhythmic displacement is used to vary the
melodic ideas in bars three and five. Bar seven also incorporates rhythmic diminution, or using faster
note values, to both displace and vary the rhythm. Notice, also, the more extensive use of chromatic
approaches into chord tones.

Example 18: elaboration of example 17

C-7 F7 B¨^ E¨^
°
œ œ œ bœ œ œ ™ œ œ œ œJ
Œ ‰ J û
b ˙ œ œ œ œ
&b J ‰ ‰ J ‰ œJ ‰ nœJ ‰ bœJ
11 8 10 6

¢⁄
8 10 11 10 7 6 8 10 8 6 5 4

rhythmic displacement

AØ D7 G-
° bb œ œ œ œ œ n œb œ œ #œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ#œ œ œ œ ˙ ™ Œ
&
3 3
8 7 6 5 6 5 3

¢⁄
6 8 7 6 4 3 4 3 3 3 5 7
5

rhythmic displacement rhythmic displacement/

diminution

Example 1 5 explored the idea of reversing the order of the first three notes of each phrase. A similar
technique used by composers is called "inversion." This practice takes the intervals involved in a melodic
phrase and reverses their direction. In example 1 9, we take the original melody, which moves up two
seconds and then up a fourth, and reverse the direction of each phrase to go down two seconds and then
down a fourth. Note that the intervals involved are "generic," meaning that they can be either major/perfect
or minor/diminished, depending on the notes in the key.

Example 19: inversion of the melody

œ C-7 F7 B¨^ E¨^ AØ D7 G-

œ
b
&b Œ
œ w Œ œ œ œ ˙ ˙ Œ œ œ œ w Œ œ œ œ w
 Tom Lippincott
11

Example 20 now takes the inverted melody and elaborates on it, creating additional phrases in spaces
where the long notes happen in example 1 9, and adding some rhythmic variation as well as adding
some diatonic and chromatic approaches to the basic melody. Notice that liberty was taken with the
last phrase by using the natural 6th as a resolution instead of the b7 in the actual inverted melody.
A technique like inversion can be useful for generating new ideas but can always be modified to
give a more satisfactory musical result.

Example 20: improvisation example using inverted melody as the jumping-off point

° œ œ œ œ œ3 œ C-7 œ œ F7 B¨^
b b ‰ J ‰ J ‰ œ œ nœ b œ ‰ nœ
3
b œ j œ œ œ œ nœ b œ œ œ œœ œ œ
& œ J œ
3 3
3 3 1 1 5 3

¢⁄
6 4 3 4 4 3 1 3 3
5 3 5 4 3 4 3 2 4 3 2 3

° ™
E¨^ AØ G- D74
œœ
b œ 2 4 2 2 1 # œ
&b Œ ‰ J œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ# œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ
nœ œ œ
œ œ ∑
3
2 5 3

¢⁄
4 3 3
5 7 5 7 5 3 3
5 7 5 4 2 5

Finally in example 21 , a sample solo exerpt shows the use of repeating motifs and development
without directly using the "Autumn Leaves" melody for motivic material. Some of the broad ideas
from the melody are used: a phrase that repeats at different pitch levels and descends stepwise and
a rhythmic idea that is reiterated from phrase to phrase with rhythmic displacement. Notice that a
new motif crops up in bar 3 of a quarter note and two eighth notes that is repeated in bars 6 and
7 but displaced the last time. This loose, freewheeling use of motivic development is more typical of
most improvised solos.

Example 21: using general principles of motivic development without using the melody directly
C-7 F7 B¨^ E¨^
œ œ œbœ œ œ œ
° bb œ œ œ œJ œ # œ œ b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œnœ œ
œ œ
& ‰ J ‰ Œ ‰ J
motif 1 motif 1 (displaced) motif 1 (displaced)
motif 2

8 10 11 10 9 8 6 8 9 10 9 8 6 5 6 6 7 8

¢⁄
11 10 6 8 10 8 8
8
 Tom Lippincott
12

AØ D7 G-
° bb œ n œ b œ œ œ œ #œ ‰ œJ œ œ œ œ œ Œ
œ œ œ
‰ J Œ ∑
&
motif 2 motif 2
motif 2 (displaced)

7 6 5 5 5 6 3

¢⁄
8 7 4 3
5 2 3
5