“Rhythm” changes
The chord progression of Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm is the second most commonly used in jazz, the blues progression being the most used. Because the I Got Rhythm progression is so common, musicians often refer to it simply as the “Rhythm changes.” Here is the traditional version of the Rhythm changes:
Among the many well-known jazz tunes based more or less on the Rhythm changes are:
Thelonious Monk: Rhythm-a-ning
Sonny Rollins: Oleo
Charlie Parker: Anthropology, Moose the Mooche
Bud Powell: Bud’s Bubble, Wail
Duke Ellington: Cottontail
Dizzy Gillespie: Salt Peanuts
Count Basie: Lester Leaps In
Exercises
Write your own riff-based melody over the Rhythm changes. Use different riffs for the A and B sections.
Write a bass line for the tune written for exercise 1 and play the entire composition.
Write your own riff-based melody over the version of Rhythm changes in one of the other tunes in the list above. Use different riffs for the A and B sections.
Write a bass line for the tune written for exercise 3 and play the entire composition.
Compare the harmony of any of the Rhythm-based tunes above with the “standard” Rhythm changes and comment on any differences between the two.
If you compare all of the Rhythm-based tunes listed above with Gershwin’s original, what (if anything) stays constant across all of the tunes?
Share with your friends: | 
