How to Incorporate Turns in a Simple Scalar Line (J&G Lick Breakdown)

This line is a prime example of how turns are used in the bebop language. At this lick's core, it's mostly just descending 3rds in F major, and a little bit of C7#9b9 a the end of the second bar. If you omit the first and second notes from the line, and play them as 8th notes, rather than 16th notes and you'll get the important notes.

You'll notice that the first note of each 16th note passage is always the same as the third note. The note in-between is what makes the turn happen. In this line, each in-between note is one scale degree higher. I choose my notes based on the chord sound I'm trying to convey. For the first two turns, that chord sound was G minor. You could think G dorian if you wanted, but I usually just think F major. (Side note, I don't particularly like to assign major scale modes to their related chords, I'd much rather just call it the ii sound in F major. I'll write a blog on how I conceptualize modes sometime soon, I promise). The last 16th note turn, I'm thinking C altered, which could come out of Db melodic minor, or C7#9b9.

Now, turns don't always follow this rule. You can pretty much do whatever you want. Experiment with different scale degrees, ascending, descending, 16th notes, 8th note triplets, really, anything you can come up with to create a sequence. You'll hear these sorts of things all the time when you listen to bebop players like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Familiarize yourself with turns.

Happy Practicing!