Luis Rodriguez

Mus 233

Solo Transcription Analysis

Clifford Brown is a trumpet player whose solos should not only be analyzed by trumpet
players, but also any other jazz musician. He was a guy who was very studious and who borrows
from the classical world. I’m analyzing the first eight bars of Clifford Brown’s Solo on the tune
“Once In A While.” In this analysis we will find out how he uses simple theme-variation
techniques in the melody, establishes chords through arpeggios, and uses tensions.

First, Clifford cuts the triplet rhythms in half.

He probably does this to make the melody sound more interesting since he’s playing it on
trumpet, and he doesn’t have to worry about singing lyrics. He’s also consistent with this
approach throughout the whole tune.

Another cool thing about Clifford is his ability to establish chords through arpeggios.

It’s not particularly easy to do this on trumpet, but he executes with great ease and makes
every note clear. We can also see how he uses a tension 9 on those D chords.
 Lastly, he makes a cadence point interesting by using altered scale tones.

At the peak of his line he plays a b9, and as he goes to the C7 he uses a +4(F#), b9(Db or C# in
the way I wrote it), and b3(Eb), using the Dim WS/HS scale briefly.