Charlie Parker: Harmony in Rhythm

Abstract

Using an analytical model developed specifically for this research, this investigation aims to elucidate the unique properties of Charlie Parker’s music. The model is designed to illustrate, within the score, the key features of Parker’s musical gestalt, e.g., his musical proclivities and behaviours. Through the principles of harmonic and rhythmic consonance (the tonic and the 4/4 meter) and dissonance (deviations thereof), with the former serving as a referential point, observations and subsequent interpretations could be quantifiably measured. In this way, a methodical consistency was maintained throughout. The key areas addressed and illustrated within the model include the voice leading layers; gestural and physical behaviours; the blues; the ubiquitous role of the subdominant; blues-derived cadences; asymmetrical accented groupings; patterns of accents; and Parker’s complex set of phrasing devices. By observing and interpreting these elements as they appear in the repeated instances of Parker’s musical behaviours, hypotheses and subsequent theories were developed. This work presents a distilled exposition of these theories and offers a speculative conceptual explanation of how Parker’s music moves and the relationships within it.