Bird changes

The Blues for Alice changes, Bird changes, Bird Blues, or New York Blues changes, is a chord progression, often named after Charlie Parker ("Bird"), which is a variation of the twelve-bar blues.

The progression uses a series of sequential ii–V or secondary ii–V progressions, and has been used in pieces such as Parker's "Blues for Alice". Toots Thielemans's "Bluesette",[1] Freight Trane written by pianist Tommy Flanagan, and Parker's "Confirmation"[2] also have similar progressions.

  1. ^ Hatfield, Ken (2005). Jazz and the Classical Guitar Theory and Applications, p.182. ISBN 0-7866-7236-6.
  2. ^ Umble, Jay (2011). Mbgu Jazz Curriculum: Payin Your Dues with the Blues, p. 62. ISBN 9781610653145.