webbcity Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 Happened to bring a couple of charts to a gig last night that were only four bars long. It got me thinking...how many tunes are there that are only four bars in length? I'm talking the WHOLE tune, not just a 4-bar A-section with a bridge. Could be an interesting theme night or something. So far I've only got: Light Blue (Thelonious Monk) Sundance (Chick Corea) Short Subject (Harold Land) I'm sure there are some obvious ones that I'm missing...any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontooneous Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 Monk's "Friday the 13th." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedwork Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 (edited) ...how many tunes are there that are only four bars in length? I'm talking the WHOLE tune, not just a 4-bar A-section with a bridge. So far I've only got: Light Blue (Thelonious Monk) I'm sure there are some obvious ones that I'm missing...any thoughts? i wouldn't be so sure. can't too many. 4 bars is pretty short! in my book "Light Blue" is 8 bars. but there's a version of "Friday The 13th" from Thelonious Monk Orchestra At Town Hall that's only 4 bars. cool idea for a thread webbcity. if i come across any other examples i'll check in... edit: forgot about this one: "Timeless" from abercrombie almost cuts it! 6 bars... Edited June 14, 2011 by thedwork Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webbcity Posted June 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 (edited) Ah, yes...Friday the 13th! I knew there had to be another Monk one. Here's Light Blue: My chart says four bars, but I suppose you could argue that the first four bars have slightly different changes than the second four? I dunno...he plays it a little differently every time. I'm aware of that Abercrombie tune but can't recall how it goes, will have to check it out...6 bars is close enough. Edited June 14, 2011 by webbcity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 I'm not a musician, but some of Wayne Shorter's melodies with Miles seem pretty short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webbcity Posted June 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 I'm not a musician, but some of Wayne Shorter's melodies with Miles seem pretty short. Yeah, you're right about that...I'll have to refresh my memory on some of those. I'm not sure whether any of them were that short or not, but could be... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted June 15, 2011 Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 How does "C Jam Blues" shape up on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted June 15, 2011 Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 Not sure if Miles's 'Ife' squeezes within this limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffcrom Posted June 15, 2011 Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 How does "C Jam Blues" shape up on this? Like lots of blues, it's a four-bar riff repeated three times, but with different chords for each repetition, so I think you'd have to call it twelve bars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webbcity Posted June 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 Not sure if Miles's 'Ife' squeezes within this limit. Don't know that one, will have to check it out... How does "C Jam Blues" shape up on this? Like lots of blues, it's a four-bar riff repeated three times, but with different chords for each repetition, so I think you'd have to call it twelve bars. Exactly...I'm talking four bars TOTAL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffcrom Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 Not sure if Miles's 'Ife' squeezes within this limit. Don't know that one, will have to check it out... I almost responded to this yesterday as well. The main melody of "Ife" is only four (or maybe three) bars long, but there are a couple of different bass lines and changes of feel and tempo. There's a lot more to the piece than just the melody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontooneous Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 Just re-listening to "Light Blue." Seems to me that the first four and second four have different endings, that the second one is more conclusive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webbcity Posted June 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 Just re-listening to "Light Blue." Seems to me that the first four and second four have different endings, that the second one is more conclusive. Hmmm...maybe so...couldn't we say 4 bars with a 1st & 2nd ending? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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