Summertime, Melodic Analysis

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Welcome to Jazz Piano Skills. I'm Dr. Bob Lawrence. It's time to discover, learn, and play jazz piano. Well, here we are, together again, ready to continue our November exploration of one of the most beloved compositions in American music. And I'm talking about George Gershwin's Summertime. And I have to tell you, I'm especially excited about today's lesson.

Last week we began our study of Summertime by examining its harmony. We explored the chord changes, harmonic function, common harmonic movement, and the musical relationships that give this beautiful tune its harmonic identity. And throughout that lesson, we kept returning to a very important idea: different tunes, same musical language. Well, today we're going to take that idea one step further. We're going to turn our attention from harmony to melody. And as we begin exploring the melodic construction of Summertime, I think you're going to discover something absolutely fascinating. Something that beautifully illustrates why understanding musical shapes, sounds, and movement is so important to your development as a jazz pianist.

In fact, today's lesson is going to reveal a musical connection between two compositions that on the surface might seem to have very little in common. Different composers, different generations, different musical backgrounds, different musical styles, and yet, well, let's just say that sometimes the most remarkable musical discoveries are hiding right there in plain sight.

And I can't wait to share this one with you. Now, as always, the first half of today's Jazz Piano Skills podcast is available for everyone to enjoy. We will explore the musical concepts, educational objectives, and practical considerations that will guide our melodic analysis of Summertime. Then, during the second half of the episode, Jazz Piano Skills members will join me at the piano as we begin putting those concepts into practice.

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We'll work through our familiar, organized, sequential approach to melodic analysis, examining the notes, fingerings, phrases, target notes, and rhythmic treatments. All of that helps us understand and perform this wonderful jazz standard.

And along the way, I want you to keep one very important question in mind. What if the musical materials you need to understand a new melody are musical materials you already know? Now that is something worth thinking about. So whether you're just beginning your jazz journey or you've been studying and playing for years, I'm delighted that you are here. Get comfy, settle in, and let's continue discovering just how much musical understanding we can develop when we learn to recognize the familiar within the unfamiliar. Because today we're going to discover that two very different musical compositions can have much more in common than we might ever imagine.

So today we're going to discover that George Gershwin's Summertime, despite having its own beautiful, distinctive melodic personality, is constructed using the same fundamental melodic shapes, sounds, and movement that we've encountered in countless other jazz standards, including the one we did last month, Bobby Hebb's Sunny.

We're going to discover that studying a new melody doesn't necessarily mean studying new musical material. Quite often it means recognizing familiar melodic patterns expressed through different rhythms, different phrases, different musical settings. And that's exciting because the more we recognize, the less unfamiliar each new melody becomes. We're going to learn how to identify and analyze the melodic structure of Summertime. We'll transcribe the melody, as always, determine practical fingerings, identify the musical phrases, and recognize the target notes that give those phrases their direction and purpose. And as we do, we're going to pay special attention to the familiar melodic shapes and sounds that connect Summertime to musical material we've already been studying: scale motion, arpeggial motion.

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Ascending, descending movement, repeated notes, target notes, familiar melodic shapes and sounds organized into a beautiful composition. And finally, we're going to play the melody of Summertime, exploring, as we always do, three standard jazz treatments: ballad, swing, bossa nova. We'll work with our fingerings, musical phrasing, and rhythmic interpretation as we begin developing the ability to recognize and express these melodic relationships by sight, by sound, and of course by touch. Because remember, our objective is not simply to learn the melody of Summertime. Our objective is to understand the melodic language that makes Summertime possible. And that's an entirely different educational experience.

So it makes no difference where you are in your jazz journey, whether you're a beginner, an intermediate player, an advanced player, or even if you consider yourself a seasoned and experienced professional. You're gonna find today's Jazz Piano Skills lesson, exploring Gershwin's Summertime to develop our melodic understanding and practical jazz piano skills, to be very beneficial.

Okay, so you know one of the things I love most about studying music is that just when you think you've figured something out, just when you think you've begun to understand how things work, music has a wonderful way of surprising you. And sometimes those surprises are so simple, so obvious, that you almost feel a little embarrassed that you didn't recognize them sooner. Well, today, I want to share one of those surprises with you. And I think you're going to love this.

Now, I want you to think about two composers. The first, George Gershwin, born in Brooklyn in 1898. Gershwin was a remarkable American composer whose music bridged the worlds of classical music, popular song, Broadway, and jazz. In 1935, Gershwin gave us one of the most recognized melodies ever written.

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Of course, I'm talking about Summertime. It's a hauntingly beautiful melody that has been performed by countless musicians in countless styles for generations. Now let's fast forward a few decades. Our second composer, Bobby Hebb, was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1938. He was a gifted singer, songwriter, and musician whose roots were deeply connected to gospel, rhythm and blues, soul and pop music. And in 1966, Bobby Hebb introduced the world to a song that would become an international hit. And of course, I'm talking about the tune we studied last month, Sunny.

Now think about that for a moment. George Gershwin and Bobby Hebb, two completely different composers, two different generations, two completely different musical backgrounds, two different musical worlds, and two compositions with two completely different musical personalities. I mean, listen to Summertime, listen to Sunny. Both are beautiful melodies, different rhythms, different phrasing, different emotional character, different musical identities, and yet, and yet.

What if I told you that these two melodies share something so fundamental, so incredibly simple, that once you recognize it, you may never think about studying melody quite the same way again? Are you ready? Well, here it is. Both melodies are built around five notes. That's right, five notes. Summertime is in A minor, and its pentatonic framework is A, C, D, E, and G.

[A minor pentatonic example.]

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Okay, Sunny, as recorded by Bobby Hebb, is in E minor. Its pentatonic framework is E… [The rest of the note sequence is unclear in the Riverside transcript.]

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Now I want you to listen again. A minor pentatonic, E minor pentatonic.

[Piano demonstration comparing A minor and E minor pentatonic.]

The same five-note scale structure. Did you hear it? In two different keys. Now, Summertime does include an additional note that provides an important melodic resolution. And we will certainly recognize and acknowledge that today as we study the melody. But that additional note doesn't change the remarkable connection between these two tunes. Both compositions draw on the minor pentatonic scale as a fundamental melodic framework.

Think about what we're discovering here. George Gershwin and Bobby Hebb, separated by generations, musical backgrounds, musical styles, and even musical keys, drew on the same five-note scale structure to create two completely different musical masterpieces. Now I want to ask you something.

If the same five-note scale structure in different keys can help give us Summertime and Sunny, what does that tell us about the musical possibilities available to you and me? Seriously, think about that. How many times have you sat down at the piano, opened a new lead sheet, and thought, boy, here we go again. Another tune, another melody, another collection of notes I have to learn?

And how many times have you wondered whether you're ever going to reach the point where learning a new jazz standard doesn't feel like starting all over again? Well, this is why I spend so much time emphasizing the importance of understanding musical shapes, musical sounds, and musical movement. Because the more musical vocabulary you recognize, [11:51] the more you begin to understand that a new tune doesn't necessarily introduce an entirely new musical language. Quite often, it introduces a new expression of musical language that you already know. And that's a big difference. You see, the minor pentatonic scale doesn't belong to George Gershwin. It doesn't belong to Bobby Hebb.

It doesn't belong to jazz or blues or gospel or soul or classical music. It's simply part of our musical vocabulary. And what makes these two compositions so beautiful isn't merely the notes their composers selected. It's what they did with those notes. The rhythm, the phrasing, the melodic direction, the target notes, the relationship between melody and harmony.

The musical space. All of those elements contribute to the distinctive musical personality of each composition. And that's precisely why we're going to approach today's melodic analysis of Summertime the way we do. We're going to poke out the melody. We're going to determine the fingerings that allow us to articulate it comfortably. We're going to identify the musical phrases. We're going to recognize the target notes that give those phrases their direction. And then we're going to explore how that beautiful melody can be expressed through three standard jazz treatments: a ballad, a swing, and a bossa nova. Because again, our objective isn't simply to memorize the notes of Summertime. Our objective is to understand how those notes become music. And here's something else I want you to think about. Last month we studied Sunny. This month we're studying Summertime. Next month we'll study another composition. And another one after that. But if we're approaching our musical studies correctly, each new tune should begin revealing more and more of what we already know. We should be recognizing familiar melodic shapes, familiar harmonic sounds, familiar musical movement, familiar rhythmic relationships.

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And with every recognition, our musical understanding becomes a little stronger. Our confidence becomes a little greater. And the piano begins feeling a little less mysterious. Now, does that mean that every melody is the same? Of course not. And does it mean that recognizing five familiar notes somehow diminishes the genius of George Gershwin or Bobby Hebb?

Absolutely not. Quite the opposite. It makes their creativity even more remarkable because it reminds us that musical greatness isn't necessarily about discovering notes nobody has ever played before. It's about finding meaningful, personal, and beautiful ways to express the musical vocabulary available to all of us. Five notes, two composers, two generations.

Two completely different musical worlds and two extraordinary musical identities. So the next time you sit down at the piano and begin studying a new melody, I want you to ask yourself a different question. Instead of asking, “What do I have to learn now?” Try asking, “What do I already know that I can recognize in this melody?” Because that simple change in perspective can transform the way you study music. And remember, the musical vocabulary may be familiar, but what you do with that vocabulary is what gives your music its personality. And that is what makes this journey of discovering, learning, and playing jazz piano so incredibly exciting. All right.

The Seven Facts of Music

Before going any further with today's melodic analysis of George Gershwin's Summertime, I want to take a few minutes, as I always do, to revisit something that I believe is absolutely essential to understanding music. And of course, I'm talking about the seven facts of music. Now, if you've been studying with me for any length of time, you know that I return to these seven facts again and again and again. And there's a very good reason for that.

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Because these facts provide us with a simple, organized, and practical way to understand how music works. And when it comes to studying melody, they're especially important. So let's review them. Fact number one: Music is the production of sound and silence. That's it. Sound and silence. Think about how important that is when studying melody.

Because a beautiful melody isn't simply a continuous stream of notes. It contains space. It contains moments of sound and moments of silence. And those moments of silence are every bit as important as the notes themselves. Fact number two: Musical sound is produced harmonically and melodically. In other words, we have harmony and melody.

While last week's lesson focused on the harmonic construction of Summertime, today we're turning our attention to the melodic construction. But remember, harmony and melody are not two unrelated musical worlds. They're two expressions of the same musical language. Now, fact number three: Harmonic sound is expressed through chords or what we call voicings: major sounds, dominant sounds, minor, half-diminished, diminished sounds. These are the harmonic sounds we've been studying, recognizing, and playing throughout our Jazz Piano Skills lessons. And they're important to our melodic studies because melodies exist within a harmonic setting.

Fact number four: Melodic sound is expressed through scales and arpeggios. Because every melody we study contains a relationship between scale motion and arpeggial motion. Sometimes the notes move stepwise through a scale. Sometimes they move through the notes of a chord. And sometimes a melody combines those two kinds of movements in wonderfully creative ways. But here's the point. When we learn to recognize scale motion and arpeggial motion, we begin recognizing the fundamental melodic shapes that appear throughout music. And those shapes are not unique to one particular composition.

Fact number five: Harmony and melody have movement.

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And that movement can be circular, diatonic, chromatic, ascending, descending. Now think about how important this is when studying melody. Does the melodic line move upward? Does it move downward? Does it remain in a relatively small musical space? Does it move primarily through the notes of a particular scale? Or does it introduce chromatic movement? And here's something I want you to recognize about Summertime. Its melody is a beautiful example of diatonic melodic movement. We're not dealing with a complicated collection of unusual notes. We're dealing with familiar musical sounds organized through familiar musical movement. And yet the result is one of the most recognizable melodies ever written.

Fact number six: Musical movement is decorated with tension, or what we refer to oftentimes as chromaticism. Now, this is important because tension, or chromaticism, can add color, interest, and expression to musical movement. But they are not requirements for creating a beautiful melody. Hence Summertime. Sometimes the most expressive melodic statements are constructed almost entirely from diatonic material. And again, Summertime is the perfect example of that. Musical sophistication does not necessarily require melodic complexity.

I'm going to say that again. Musical sophistication does not necessarily require melodic complexity.

And then finally, fact number seven: To give interest to facts one through six, to make everything in facts one through six come to life, we add rhythm. Because rhythm is what helps transform a collection of familiar notes into a recognizable musical statement.

Think about what we discovered earlier. Summertime and Sunny draw on the very same fundamental five-note scale structure. Different keys, but the same structure. Summertime, A minor pentatonic. Sunny, E minor pentatonic. And yet nobody would ever confuse those two melodies. Ever. Why? Because the notes are organized differently. Different melodic movement, different phrasing, different target notes, and perhaps most noticeably, different rhythm.

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Rhythm gives those familiar notes their distinctive musical character. And here's something else worth considering. Later in today's lesson, we're going to take the melody of Summertime and explore it through three jazz treatments: ballad, bossa nova, swing. Same melody, but different rhythmic interpretations. And you'll hear how dramatically the musical personality can change simply by changing the rhythmic setting. Now, I want you to think about what these seven facts of music are really telling us. Every melody contains sound and silence. Every melody exists within a musical relationship between harmony and melody. Every melody can be understood through the relationship between scale motion and arpeggial motion. And every melody contains musical movement. That movement may be diatonic, chromatic, ascending, descending. That movement may be decorated with tension.

And rhythm gives the entire musical statement life. Seven simple facts. But together, they give us an incredibly powerful framework for understanding melody. And here's what I want you to remember. When we study the melody of Summertime, we're not simply learning a beautiful collection of notes written by George Gershwin. We're learning to recognize the fundamental musical shapes, sounds, and movement that make beautiful melodies possible. And the more we recognize those relationships, the more confidently we can begin expressing them ourselves. Because that's what this entire journey is about. Discovering the musical language, learning how that language works, and playing that language with understanding, confidence, and creativity. Discover, learn, and play. And that is why the seven facts of music are so incredibly important to everything we do here at Jazz Piano Skills. All right, so now before we go any further, I want to take a moment to welcome everyone who may be joining us for the very first time. If you are new to Jazz Piano Skills, if you're listening to the Jazz Piano Skills podcast for the very first time, welcome. I am absolutely delighted that you've decided to spend some time with me today.

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You know, whether you're just beginning to explore jazz piano, or you've been playing for years and are looking for a more organized, practical approach to your musical studies, I want you to know something. You're in the right place. Here at Jazz Piano Skills, my objective quite simply is to help you develop the musical understanding and practical skills necessary to become a confident and creative jazz pianist. And I believe that process should be organized, it should be sequential it should be educational and most importantly, it should be enjoyable. Because learning to play jazz piano is not about trying to absorb an endless collection of disconnected musical facts, exercises, and tunes. And unfortunately, that's what happens most of the time. It's the opposite. It's about discovering how music works, learning to recognize musical shapes, sounds, movement that appear throughout the jazz repertoire and developing the ability to express those musical relationships at the piano. That's why every Jazz Piano Skills lesson is designed to help you do what? Discover, learn and play. Now here's something else I want you to know. Jazz Piano Skills follows a very simple, organized and sequential educational process. each month we study one jazz standard and we take that jazz standard through four especially essential areas, harmonic analysis, melodic analysis, improvisation development, and solo piano development. And each week that study is supported by Tuesday's podcast lesson, complete with the educational illustrations and the lead sheets and the play-alongs, the podcast packet. And then Thursdays we have our masterclass and then Sunday the blog recap is published. Plus, you know, we have our online Jazz Piano Skills community.

And of course, ongoing educational support. And here's the beauty of this entire approach. You can begin wherever you are, right? Study at your own pace, revisit lessons whenever necessary, and continue developing your musical skills without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. Because Jazz Piano Skills is not about racing through tunes. It's about developing skills. So remember, I've been mentioning this several times throughout the [26:12] past month, you don't have to keep up at Jazz Piano Skills. You just need to keep growing. And if you're joining us again for the very first time, I encourage you to check out jazzpianoskills.com. There, you're going to discover more about my approach to jazz piano education, the educational resources available to you, and the many ways that you can continue developing your jazz piano skills. And whether you're listening from across town or halfway around the world, I'm delighted that you are here.

Thank you for joining me today. Welcome to Jazz Piano Skills, and I look forward to getting to know you.

Question of the Week

All right, it's time for our question of the week. And this week's question comes from a longtime Jazz Piano Skills member, Gary Mowen, who lives in Johnson City, Tennessee. And Gary has been studying with us for a couple years now. And he writes, “Hey, Dr. Lawrence, I have been a Jazz Piano Skills member for two years and love our monthly tune study.

“I've learned so much and you have completely changed the way I think about, study, and practice music.” Fantastic. “My question is this: You always recommend playing tunes using various grooves and tempos. And it makes sense. However, when I do it, I always tend to play the melody the exact same way, regardless of the tempo or the groove. What am I missing?” Wow. Gary, first of all, thank you. Thank you for your kind words, your continued membership, and most importantly, your dedication to studying and developing your jazz piano skills. And brother, I gotta tell you, fantastic question. It's a fantastic question because I suspect there are a whole lot of jazz pianists listening right now who are experiencing exactly the same thing. So, Gary, here's what I want you to understand. There is an enormous difference between playing a melody and expressing a melody. Big difference. And I suspect what's happening is that you're changing the rhythmic environment surrounding the melody without changing the rhythmic expression of the melody. In other words, you're playing a ballad groove, you're playing a swing groove.

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You're playing a bossa nova groove, but your hands keep reproducing the same memorized rhythmic interpretation of the melody. So what are you missing? Well, I think there are two very important things we need to discuss. Number one, listening. Number two, singing. Let's start with listening.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to listen to as many great artists as possible, regardless of genre, performing the tune that you are studying. And when you're listening, don't become preoccupied with trying to identify every single note they're playing. Instead, pay attention to their phrasing, articulation, rhythmic interpretation.

How do they begin a phrase? Where do they breathe? Which notes do they sustain? Which notes do they shorten? Where do they push forward? Where do they relax? And how does their melodic interpretation match the style and groove they're playing? Then three things. Number one, imitate. Number two, imitate. Number three, imitate.

Not necessarily the notes they're playing, I'm not talking about that, but how they're playing them. Because Gary, you can learn every single note an artist plays and still miss the musical expression that makes the performance so beautiful. Now that brings me to the second point, singing. And this may be the most important part of my answer.

You must be internally singing the melody while you're playing. Now, I'm not talking about singing the lyrics. I'm talking about singing the melody. You can sing it, you can hum it, you can moan it, you can groan it. I don't care. And if you want to sing out loud, well, you know what? You'll be in pretty good company.

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Just ask Erroll Garner or Keith Jarrett. But here's the point: your hands must take dictation from what you are singing, not the other way around. Because if you are not internally hearing and singing the melody, there's a very good chance you're approaching the music mathematically. You're thinking about the notes. You're thinking about the beats.

You're thinking about the measures. You're thinking about the fingerings. And your hands are simply reproducing a memorized sequence of musical information. Now don't misunderstand me. All of that information is important, but it is not a substitute for musical expression. And if you're playing mathematically, the odds are pretty good that you'll play the melody the same way, regardless of the groove or tempo. Now why is that?

Because the groove may have changed, but what you're internally hearing has not. So, Gary, here's what I want you to try. Take a short phrase from Summertime, just one phrase. Put on a ballad groove and sing the phrase. Don't play the melody yet. Just sing it. Listen to how you naturally shape the phrase. Where you breathe, where you sustain a note, where you create space.

Now change to a swing groove and sing that same phrase again. Allow the swing feel to influence your phrasing and rhythmic interpretation. Then do the same thing with the bossa nova groove. And once you can hear and sing the melody in three different rhythmic styles, then let your hands take dictation. Play what you are singing.

Not what your fingers have memorized. And if all three interpretations sound exactly the same, well, put your hands back in your lap, go listen to some more great artists, imitate their phrasing and try again. Now, one more thing. You know I'm a big believer in melodic embellishment. I love dancing around the melody when playing it. But

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Embellishment comes after you've thoroughly digested the melody and developed the ability to express it comfortably within different styles and grooves. Don't use additional notes to disguise a melody that hasn't been fully understood or internalized. First, learn to make the melody sing. Then you can begin to dance around it. And Gary, remember: The groove must influence what you hear before it can influence what you play. So here's the process: listen, imitate, internalize, sing, play, and then embellish. And here's what I want everyone listening to remember. Your hands must take dictation from your musical imagination. The ears lead. The musical imagination leads. The hands follow. Gary, thank you again for a wonderful question and for your kind words and for your continued dedication to Jazz Piano Skills. I appreciate you, my friend. And to everyone listening, keep those questions coming because the questions you're asking are helping all of us become better musicians. Now, before we head to the piano, I want to remind all of our Jazz Piano Skills members to be sure to access and download this week's podcast packet. Remember, every podcast packet is designed to help you take the musical concepts we discuss in our lessons and put them into practice. And this week's podcast packet for Summertime melodic analysis includes all of your educational illustrations, the lead sheets and the play-alongs. Illustrations to help you see and understand the musical concepts we're studying, the lead sheets to help you organize and navigate the music, and of course then the play-alongs to help you develop and apply your skills in a real musical setting. Everything you need to follow along with today's lesson and continue with your studies throughout the week.

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It's all contained in your podcast packet. And if you are not yet a Jazz Piano Skills member, I'm delighted that you've joined me today. And I sincerely hope you've enjoyed our discussion of Summertime and the importance of melodic analysis. I want to encourage you to visit jazzpianoskills.com and explore the educational opportunities available to you. And I hope you will join our community soon. Again, thank you.

I appreciate you spending some time with me. And remember, keep listening, keep studying, and most importantly, keep having fun as you discover, learn, and play jazz piano.

Member Lesson at the Piano

Now, members, let's head to the piano.