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Chord Symbols

        C min = C minor

         C-7  = C minor 7

         C7  = C dom. 7

         Cø  = C-7th f5

         C°7 = C dim7

         C°  = C Dim.

         CΔ7  = C maj7

         CΔ9 = C maj9

         CΔ7(#11) = Cmaj7#11

         C°Δ7 =  C dim/maj7

         CminΔ7 = Cmin/maj7 

         C7f9 =  C7 flat 9

         C7#9 = C7 sharp 9

         C7(alt)= #9,f9,#5,f5

T

"..Technique is the ability to translate your ideas into sound through your instrument. This is a comprehensive technique...a feeling for the instrument that will allow you to transfer any emotional utterance into it. What has to happen is that you develop a comprehensive technique and then say, Forget that. I’m just going to be expressive..."  Bill Evans

Improvisation Techniques I

This section of the site is devoted to the art of improvisation. This is a principal interest of mine within contemporary music and I hope to expand this section of the site considerably over the coming months. The primary focus will be upon techniques for jazz improvisation, however a great many of the concepts discussed here will be relevant to other forms of music such as rock and blues or funk.

A good number of the topics will require concentrated study over a period of time and I would always suggest that you focus upon one or two areas at a time rather than attempt to try everything at once. Although there can be great benefit in writing out some ideas it is always best to play new material first so that your ear becomes accustomed to the sound.

Improvisation at a high level places a great emphasis upon aural awareness and I would highly recommend a supplementary course of ear-training as this will help in absorbing new techniques and sounds more thoroughly.

It is also very important that regular listening is a major part of your practice schedule. In an age where there are countless books, videos and DVD's examining every aspect of improvisation, the one resource which many musicians forget is recorded music. In the past almost all musicians learnt by imitation (copying and then adapting the material for their own use). This should be a major part of your study of improvisation.

What Is Improvisation?

This is a hard question to answer accurately....In strict musical terms improvisation could be termed as 'instant composition' as nothing is really written down beforehand except perhaps (for example in a jazz context) a rough guide of the song's harmony (and this isn't always the case). In practice however, improvisation is often a mixture of rehearsed phrases (or prepared melodic lines) AND spontaneously created ideas. Most players regularly use a mixture of both.

In actual fact the use of prepared melodic 'lines' is very common and forms an essential vocabulary for most improvisation certainly within the jazz idiom. Improvisation can of course be 'free' (without any predetermined structure or form) or it can be with some pre-planned guide to the harmony and the underlying rhythm. This latter category is where I will be concentrating my examination of the art. Some concepts can of course be employed in any improvisational situation.

Jazz improvisation isn't just simply playing a scale or arpeggio type over a given chord and some care has to be taken to employ idiomatically appropriate vocabulary particularly when first attempting to improvise. Much of what we hear when listening to great jazz improvisation is a mixture of good chord/scale understanding and solid vocabulary/phrasing. Listening carefully (first) is the single most successful route to improvisational success. Almost every well known improviser in the history of jazz spent a LOT of time studying and listening to other improvisers

Now to work....

Playing the Correct Chord-Scales

One of the most neglected aspects of improvisation for many novice improvisers is the issue of playing appropriate scale(s) for a given chord type. Many beginners look to exclusively playing 'licks' or scale motifs from their favourite players as a means by which to improvise...a form of "close your eyes and it will somehow all work out in the end.." approach. Whilst this can achieve some results in the hands of a talented beginner the concept only produces limited results and doesn't really develop a thorough understanding of improvisation.

Every chord type has an associated scale to accompany it (in some cases there is more than one scale) and very often they share the same diatonic 'parent' scale. For more details on this and a list of common chord/scale relationships, please view the Harmony page.

Whilst some chord types will support more than one scale, there is generally a single fundamental scale that is used more than others.

Each scale has to be thoroughly understood in all it's intervals and beginning from any pitch. Always beginning on the same scale degree whilst improvising is a common fault with beginners. (i.e. always playing the tonic of the scale first or always playing the third). Learn every scale thoroughly and be able to play all the diatonic intervals within it without thinking. (i.e. 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, 7ths etc..)

 

Guide-Tones & Chord Tones

Much of the material discussed here is designed for musical situations where you are required to improvise over a supplied harmonic structure. In this case we have to first examine what will 'outline' the basic harmonic structure of the music in a clear and understandable fashion. This is sometimes referred to as playing 'chord-tones', i.e. you play the arpeggio tones from each chord within the song's harmony. This provides the simplest way of outlining a given harmony.

Although playing like this can sound rather 'one-dimensional' at times, it does 'lead' the listener most effectively into the improvisers overall melodic approach. All great improvisers can play VERY well using only the chord-tones of each section within the given harmony. In addition, many soloists use chord-tone soloing to begin their improvisations as it serves as a great way of starting a solo. 

Chord-tone soloing can be created by using either triadic structures (up to three note groupings) or 'seventh' chord structures (up to four note groupings). Chord-tone soloing can also be achieved by using smaller groups of selected pitches from the arpeggios, i.e. the 3rd and 7th (very common).

Many players also refer to playing 'guide-tones' in their solos, and again this usually means emphasising the third and seventh of the chord, sometimes coupled with an altered fifth (if present). This places less emphasis upon the root of the chord and the perfect fifth. (These pitches are deemed dispensable due to their presence within a number of different harmonic structures)

'BeBop' Scales

In addition to the standard diatonic scales, many jazz musicians adapt existing seven-note asymmetric scales to produce other scale forms, particularly those which have eight distinct pitches.

One of the advantages of  this adaptation is the ability to then play continuous eighth-notes (or quavers) without the risk of emphasising chord-tones on weak beats within the bar, which can happen with traditional seven-note scale systems. The famous US jazz educator David Baker is widely credited with inventing the term 'BeBop Scale' and this was as a result of his extensive research into the melodic language employed by players of the 'BeBop' era.

There are many forms of 'BeBop' scale however the most common are listed here for your reference. In each case an 'extra' note is added to the original seven-note scale. 

The 'BeBop' Major Scale

The major scale has a b6 added to its original intervallic structure and for improvisational purposes the scale should be played initially beginning on the Root, 3, 5 or 6 degrees of the scale. This way, the scale will then (if played without any rests) begin and end on a chord-tone. This is a good starting point for improvisers.

The 'BeBop' Dominant Scale

The Mixolydian mode is used here as the underlying scale and a Δ7 is added to the basic scale form. As with the example above, the new scale should be played from particular scale degrees, in this case : the Root, 3, 5, and b7. This adaptation of the traditional dominant seventh scale (Mixolydian Mode) is very popular with many jazz musicians. This scale is most often used when the dominant chord is in its original form or perhaps extended to include the 9th, 11th or 13th. (Often referred to as an 'unaltered' dominant seventh chord) 

(n.b. The 'BeBop' dominant scale can also be used in other ways, rather than just the application discussed above, (over a single chord or 'static vamp' for example) Many players employ it over a II-V progression where it is used over the minor 7th chord as well as the related dominant 7th.

The 'BeBop' Tonic Minor Scale

The minor scales produced by the inclusion of an extra or eighth note, both contain an additional b6 degree. The scale can however have either a b7 or a Δ7 depending on application. The scales are originally adapted from the Dorian mode.

The 'BeBop' Altered Dominant Scale

This scale is an adaptation of the fifth mode from the Harmonic Minor Scale (sometimes termed the Phrygian Dominant scale) and like the other dominant scale mentioned above, the additional pitch is the  Δ7. This scale is generally employed over a dominant 7th b9 b13 chord. It can also be used entirely over a minor key II-V progression, (i.e. m7b5 - 7b9)

© Pete Sklaroff 2008