The Bird Blues Diet: Essential Jazz Harmony in 12 Bars

If jazz progressions were edible, Bird Blues would constitute the perfect meal. That is because musically speaking it is rich in harmonic nutrition! In just 12 measures, this Charlie Parker inspired chord progression tightly packs all the essential chord families you are bound to encounter in most jazz standards.
So why first learn the rudiments of jazz improvisation employing a fat 32 measure standard when you can accomplish the same feat in a lean 12 measures and save yourself the added time and frustration?
In this video lesson I introduce you to the "Bird Blues Diet", a jazz improvisation method, or should I say "strategy", I (as well as a select group of teachers) employ to gradually expose new students, one chord/scale at a time in preparation to improvise over a great number of standards. So If you have been having a hard time finding a direct and well structured method to study improvisation, what I describe in this video may just be the answer...
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[@adamkelly5478]

Blues are the gateway drug to standards.

[@RichieZellon]

ha,ha...I like that...no wonder I got hooked!

[@JazzgutsVGvanKampen]

A great lesson with very good explanation, I'm a jazz teacher myself and know the meaning of solid foundation and putting in your hours. What you said about dedication to jazz is true. I certainly dont believe in all those short lessons given with the idea that people have no time to study. Even George Benson a master bop guitarist still plays hours every day, either embrace jazz with your whole soul or forget about it. By the way you played some very solid phrases in this video, keep up your great work.

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks, much appreciated!

[@vandalsteve]

Your bebop guitar course is awesome. I’ve been playing guitar for 20 years but just got into jazz last year. The course is very logically laid out and I’ve learned a ton. I highly recommend it.

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks!!!

[@mickminn1071]

So glad i found this . Blues for Alice , with the scale choice over the chords Now it makes sense I see F7 as C Melodic Minor and Bb as Bb Melodic Major(Eb Melodic Minor ) Thank you for posting this great lesson , i'm so Hap..Pee Much better instruction than some of the others Rick Beato and Jens Larson they are great , but a little too detailed

[@slydogtom]

You’re awesome, my friend.

[@clarkewi]

The food groups analogy is actually very apt. A good way to break it down.

[@lisetteelbers365]

Thank you so much for sharing this great method! Your relaxed way of talking is also beautiful!! And on top of it, your comparing music with food ...smashing! exactly 'my cup of tea' :)

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks Lisette! 😀

[@johanneshoffmann9003]

Much words, but the essence is right and funny too. Ergo: Thumbs up

[@richardsorice4509]

Richie, I like this very much. I love jazz blues. I don't think there is a better way to cut out the carbs.😎. I get perturbed with fellow musicians that don't want to play blues unless it's the last tune of the set. The 12 bar blues occurs in rock, pop, soul, country, bluegrass, jazz and blues. Even bossa nova.... check the A section of Jobim's Wave. What can be more familiar to the newer student. I will differ with you on the modes. It's just too tempting to play a scale and have it sound like a scale. I started playing modes 30 years ago and always felt lost in the form. I think everyone should start with arpeggios and then learn to fill in with other scale tones and chromatic approach notes. Anyway, I think this is awesome! I love your channel. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@richardsorice4509]

Oh, I went back and watched again and caught where you mentioned arpeggios, extensions and passing tones on each chord. GREAT!

[@nateelman4808]

I like this Bird blues diet especially the no carb approach 😎

[@Millo1868]

Nice demonstration solo at 7:35 ...very cool stuff, thanks for the suggestions.

[@alward5678]

Great playing

[@sambsialia]

You are a beast of a teacher. How often do you hear a teacher say that "all I can say" and admit to the student that he/she has miles to go before this lesson all makes sense? I am so impressed by your sense of perspective. I once played chess with a friend who was ranked as a master. One day he beat me badly and offhandedly. I ruefully said, "I used to be better at this." To which he replied in a matter fact way, "no you weren't." The best learning I have ever received was in perspective. It is not a fault to be bad at something, just to be bad and not know it. Thanks, for some great perspective.

[@prometheus6474]

I personally think it's about sportsmanship vs just wanting to win for the sake of winning. This stuff is or can be intrinsically enjoyable, whether one is at level 1 or 999. Being better or worse than someone is alright as long as it's with respect for the game. Without that it can turn into a pissing contest. This used to bother me a lot because I didn't get "not about winning" - it is, just not at all cost, and it serves a purpose other than just merely one-upping others.

[@dkwvt13]

I am digging deep on this lesson, very powerful information here, as you say "low carb"...! Thank You

[@TLGProduktions]

I was preparing to improvise along with you, but I didn't even have time to hit a single note at that blistering pace, wow. Perhaps it's best for me to stick to pentatonic exercises for now...

[@clarkewi]

Richie. This is your best lesson. Very succinct.

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks...this is my teaching philosophy 😀

[@brunoneverland]

que material incrível, me ajudou demais. muito obrigado.

[@RichieZellon]

Feliz em ouvir isso ... obrigado!

[@sagecarter2368]

Hi Richie! Your videos are my favorite jazz guitar videos, they are very helpful! I’ve been having a bit of a block in my progress. When improvising over a blues (not a jazz-blues), I can easily use the diatonic scale of the key and target the chord tones, so in this example I can play Fmajor or Fmixolydian and taget the notes of the F7, Bb7, and C7 chords, and I can use chromatic and blues notes with no problem. The issue comes when I try to change scales with each chord, especially in the first couple bars and the turnaround when the chords change with each bar. I can “noodle” my way through each scale, but I find it near impossible to CONVINCINGLY play each scale in a FLUENT manner that sounds melodic. So I’m still stuck trying to master the first iteration of the diet! Do you (or anyone reading) have any tips or exercises that I could utilize to improve fluency and melodic development while switching to a different scale for each chord (even though it’s all the mixolydian scale, I still find it hard to switch from F mixolydian to Bb mixolydian for example)? I would be forever grateful for any help!

[@mickminn1071]

i like this with the chords on the screen , as Rich does passes . I know the chords and Head to this already , and just want to know more about Improv over the changes , especially the Bb A Ab G C turn , chromatic part

[@guitargod6997]

I'm about to step in it again, but I cannot help commenting. First, Richie is a fine teacher and player deserving respect. Learning music theory is a good thing for playing jazz guitar, just as learning anatomy is necessary for learning medicine for a doctor. But in my opinion it does not replace learning to hear the melodies and harmonies with your ears. I understand modes, progressions, extensions and the rest. But in the end there are twelve tones in an octave, and as someone put it, seven tones are inside and five are outside. Yet I virtually never "think" as I improvise - I listen to the music in my mind and anticipate the direction of the melody and progression. . When you are improvising over a standard, you have to "be in the moment" or even "distracted" in terms of your consciousness. The minute you start "thinking about" scales or degrees - bham! Game over. One word of heretical thinking that will get you stoned by the jazz police, and I don't mean the fun way. I dislike much of Charlie Parker's music including this blues piece. Lord knows, I have tried to enjoy this "diet", but I still can't stomach it. Give me a little Body and Soul and wash it down with some You Don't Know What Love Is. That is blues. Or as Joe Pass said, "Learn songs!"

[@plopzoppers3921]

astounding

[@RealinDealer]

Bravo!

[@louchan04]

great lesson

[@richardsorice4509]

BTW, your 2-5, Gm-C7 phrase at 8:08 is wonderful. I enjoyed both choruses, but that lick is mind blowing!

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks Richard!

[@jarrilaurila]

damn these bad jokes are pure joy!

[@bloombloombloom61]

Thanks !!

[@boev999]

3:13 exactly what I was thinking. :D

[@richardsorice4509]

Richie, I think this is genius

[@MuriMorello]

"diet" haha sweet ideia sir!

[@jamestoddguitar1433]

cool lick at 0:55. had to do a double take lol

[@ZalMoxis]

Nice one Richie.... thanks.... but who was that non-brearded man in the demos.....??

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks! Ha..you noticed...that was an earlier clip of myself playing Bird Blues🙂

[@brucebaldy]

very good

[@RichieZellon]

Thx Bruce!

[@dorielementary]

Pronunciation iteration - IPA(key): /ɪtəɹˈeɪʃən/

[@kellmerWF52]

is it low in carbs😶

[@RichieZellon]

guaranteed! :)

[@mauricioalfaro9406]

6 minutes and still waiting for the video to start...

[@RichieZellon]

What are you waiting for or expecting when you say "start"?

[@jamesmackay4529]

great stuff, clear, concise and profound. Great production quality. Really rare to nail all these, cheers Richie! Check out my new tune on my channel, would love to get your thoughts! Jamie

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks for sharing Jamie...nice mellow vibe on your stuff...do I hear some Bill Frisell influence?

[@jackxavier3915]

Where do babies come from

[@RichieZellon]

Sorry, that's above my pay grade...

[@handlethisyoutube]

@@RichieZellon if it's a jazz baby, you pick it up at the Stork Club

[@vibrochamp]

Why don't you start your video with guitar playing instead of talking half an hour ?

[@RichieZellon]

Thanks for your feedback. I believe there are many other videos where you can watch me just play. This is a teaching video and there is a substantial amount of conceptual info and theory to explain. Having said that, most people learn much more from my verbal explanations and very little from watching me play. The playing segments are to demonstrate what I explain. Unfortunately, when I start the video playing, many times things are out of context and those that are watching to learn about a topic end up frustrated and stop watching. The analytics don't lie! I don't make any money from You Tube but instead from students who take me on as a teacher, so that is my target audience. I know it's hard to please everybody but I will try to sneak in a short playing preview towards the beginning of future videos.

[@vibrochamp]

Thanks for your explanation. Your idea of trying to sneak in a short playing preview of the lesson towards the beginning of future videos is, in my opinion, a good way to go. BTW, your comping in the present video is real nice, very tastefull. Thank you for sharing with all of us.

[@bobsmith-ov3kn]

this seems great and all, but what on earth, you think people are going to learn mixolydian and dorian and super locrian before they learn the basic major and minor scale? lol

[@RichieZellon]

Bob, you can laugh all you want...The fact is that I have been teaching this system for 10 years at 2 major universities plus my online course with great success...hundreds of students! Don't believe me?...Read the testimonials and check out some of the students videos on the BGIS site. Now a question for you...why does the major scale have to be taught first if this isn't classical? You can't play blues with major scales which is the foundation here.Oh and by the way, Pat Martino starts out with the dorian and never even teaches the major scale in his system. On the other hand, George Russell created the Lydian Chromatic Concept using the Lydian scale as the center of all music. 😋

[@DucksDeLucks]

A lot of famous players couldn't even read music and we're supposed to learn all these weird modes to get started.

[@only4crap]

just because they didn't know what it was called it doesn't mean they didn't understand it. you can go the old traditional way of just playing to a bunch of records for endless hours, or you can go with the contemporary approach from people who already analysed and digested what those players were doing, and why they sounded like they sounded. I'd love to have the time and willpower to go the old way, but that doesn't work for me....

[@DucksDeLucks]

Okay, maybe it will save time to learn what they are doing in theoretical language PROVIDED your ear can hear the harmonies that motivate the theory. When you play a solo you should be thinking of a sound, not of what scale goes with what chord, right?

[@only4crap]

DucksDeLucks sure, but, isn't that the highest level of improvising? not only hearing something in your head, but also being able to play it? gotta start somewhere…

[@DucksDeLucks]

It's the most natural starting point. It's what you do when you hum or whistle. Start with simple melodies like children's songs or pop tunes and try to play them as single note lines. Frosty the Snowman, whatever. Play them on just one string so you can correlate the sound with the interval. Going from the theory to the sound is going in reverse IMO. Richie has some videos on ear-training, which is what this amounts to. I'm not saying you shouldn't do Bird Blues Diet but you can combine with ear-training.

[@only4crap]

absolutely! I think the best approach is to do both, otherwise things become to "scalar" and robotic

[@davidkozlowski6982]

Stop it with the I-terations man! Surprisingly he doesn’t say My-xol eye dian scale

[@RichieZellon]

Is that all you got out of it? Should I take the video down because I made a mistake in pronunciation?