Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases.

The Bebop Bridge: Ideas for approaching the B Section

Ideas for approaching the “B” Section and its common chord changes


Introduction to Jazz Guitar Soloing
The bebop bridge is a specific set of changes found in many standards with an AABA form. It’s sometimes referred to as the B section, or bridge, of these tunes. Tunes like “Scrapple from the Apple,” “Anthropology,” and “Oleo” all contain this bridge. If you don’t prepare in advance, chances are you’ll have difficulty playing over this section.

Here's the basic progression:


The first thing you should notice is that all of the chords are dominant 7th chords. The III7, VI7, and II7 are all non-diatonic and act as secondary dominants: III7 is V of VI, VI7 is V of II, and II7 is V of V. Let’s take a look at this bridge in the context of a song. Here’s “Scrapple from the Apple” as an example.



“Anthropology” is another good example.

Notice that in both of these song examples, the bebop bridge is the B section of an “A-A-B-A” form. The III7 chord at the start of the bridge gives an uplifting change of pace to the progression and separates the bridge from the rest of the song. One obvious note-choice option for the string of dominant 7th chords is to play around the arpeggio of each chord. A great way to embellish the dominant 7th arpeggio is to use some chromatic connections—i.e., connect some specific chord tones with chromatic tones. This idea also works with other chord qualities besides dominant 7th chords and will be addressed in the next chapter.

Let’s look at the bebop bridge as it appears in "Scrapple from the Apple,” in the key of F.


Visualize these specific arpeggio shapes to play over the changes:



If the only notes you use are the dominant 7 chord tones, the improvised melodies you create will be pretty bland. The use of chromatic connections will dress up the sound of the dominant 7th arpeggios while retaining the chord tone sound. The most common chromatic connections on a dominant 7th chord are between the 3rd and the 5th (ascending or descending) and between the root and the %7th (ascending or descending).

Look at this Pattern IV dominant 7th arpeggio:


Now let’s show the chromatic connections between the 3rd and the 5th and between the root and the %7th. Listen to the example on the CD demonstrating the use of the chord tones plus the chromatic connections over this shape. You can still hear the sound of the dominant 7th chord, but it doesn’t sound as bland. Listen


Look at this Pattern II dominant 7th arpeggio.


Now here are the chromatic connections between the 3rd and the 5th and between the root and the b7th. Listen to the example demonstrating the use of the chord tones plus the chromatic connections over this shape. Listen


Practice improvising over a static dominant 7th chord to get the feel of using these chromatic connections. you’ll find this idea very useful in blues, country, and any other style with dominant 7th chords. Once you are reasonably comfortable using chromatic connections over a static dominant 7th, try stringing them together over the bebop bridge. Here’s the progression in the key of F. Try playing over the backing track using the shapes provided in the diagrams for your lines. Listen



Remember that the bebop bridge here is “out of context,” meaning that usually you will see this as a B section of an AABA form.

See and hear Taylor’s Legacy Collection guitars played by his successor, Andy Powers.

Read MoreShow less

A rig meant to inspire! That’s Jerry Garcia with his Doug Irwin-built Tiger guitar, in front of his Twin Reverb + McIntosh + JBL amp rig.

Photo by Frank White

Three decades after the final Grateful Dead performance, Jerry Garcia’s sound continues to cast a long shadow. Guitarists Jeff Mattson of Dark Star Orchestra, Tom Hamilton of JRAD, and Bella Rayne explain how they interpret Garcia’s legacy musically and with their gear.

“I met Jerry Garcia once, in 1992, at the bar at the Ritz Carlton in New York,” Dark Star Orchestra guitarist Jeff Mattson tells me over the phone. Nearly sixty-seven years old, Mattson is one of the longest-running members of the Grateful Dead tribute band scene, which encompasses hundreds of groups worldwide. The guitarist is old enough to have lived through most of the arc ofthe actual Grateful Dead’s career. As a young teen, he first absorbed their music by borrowing their seminal records, American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead, brand new then, from his local library to spin on his turntable. Around that same moment, he started studying jazz guitar. Between 1973 and 1995, Mattson saw the Dead play live hundreds of times, formed the landmark jam bandZen Tricksters, and later stepped into theJerry Garcia lead guitarist role with the Dark Star Orchestra (DSO), one of the leading Dead tribute acts.

Read MoreShow less

PRS Guitars today launched five new three-pickup, 22-fret models across the S2 and SE series. The S2 Series release includes the S2 Special Semi-Hollow and S2 Studio, while the SE Series welcomes the SE Special Semi-Hollow, SE Studio, and SE Studio Standard.

Read MoreShow less

For the first time ever, two guitar greats, John 5 and Richie Kotzen will be heading out on the road this year. The tour will launch October 16 and run through November, hitting markets across the U.S.

Read MoreShow less