Mount Vernon School District, WA

 

The S's of Soloing

Strong
Sell it
Style
Space
Stand
Syncopate
Say it Again
Sound
Surprise
Sequence
And....


IMPROVISATION CHOICES

These three areas answer the question "on what do you improvise?" Many improvisations will focus on one area more than another, but others may have elements of all three in some kind of balance. Most of jazz theory discussion will point back to one of these areas.
I. Improvise on the Melody (Paraphrasing)
A. Adding to the melody
B. Changing the Rhythmic content
C. Ornamenting or embellishing the general contour

II. Improvising on the Harmony
A. Harmonic Generalization
    1. Tonic Triad Generalization
    2. Diatonic Generalization
    3. Major Blues Scale Generalization
    4. Minor Blues Scale Generalization
    5. Common Cliches
B. Harmonically Specific
    1. Arpeggios (1-3-5-7 & 3-5-7-9)
    2. Scales (related first to the key center, then by chord symbol)
    3. Guide Tones (3rds & 7ths)
    4. Outlines 1, 2, & 3

III. Motivic Development
(Motives derived from the melody or newly invented.)
A. Repetition
B. Transpose
C. Mode Change
D. Fragment
E. Add to (Before, in the middle, after)
F. Sequence
G. Embellish or ornament (keeping the general contour, using neighbor-tones and other devices, still keeping the motive recognizable) H. Augmentation (making the rhythmic unit or the pitch interval larger) I. Diminution (making the rhythmic unit or the pitch interval smaller) J. Invert (upside down: what goes up comes down) K. Retrograde (play backwards) L. Retrograde inversion (upside down and backwards) M. Displacement (Pitch and & octave displacement; rhythmic displacement)

Improvising Video's

PRACTICING JAZZ

I.      MELODY
Practice the melody of a tune until you have it memorized
Improvise around the melody using common embellishment devices

II.     HARMONY
A. TRIADS FOR GENERALIZATION
1.         Basic arpeggios & broken chords
            All major triads, all minor triads.
            Practice all major around the circle/all minor around the circle
            Practice in relative pairs—C/Am, F/Dm, etc.—Around the circle
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2.         Apply neighbor tone patterns to triads
First line of KOKO solo:
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Fragments from KOKO:
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Fragments from KOKO into longer line:
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Apply to two notes at a time/three notes at a time/full range
Practice LT, UNT, groupings,
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Triad with UNTs
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Triad with UNT                                                                                                                                     Triad with LTs
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Alternating NTs applied to broken chord pattern:
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3.         Blues scale ideas
            Major & minor
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Ornithology Triad idea #1                                                                                        Transposed to Relative minor       
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Ornithology Triad idea #1                                                                                        Transposed to Relative minor       
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Ornithology Triad idea #2 applied to inversion                                                         Transposed to Relative minor       
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Ornithology Triad idea #2 applied to inversion                                                         Transposed to Relative minor       
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B.  SPECIFIC

Begin with SMALL SECTIONS of tunes (ii7—V7 & iiø7—V7)
1.         Play one pitch (3rd) per chord
2.         Precede 3rds with UNT (usually the 7th of previous chord)
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3.         Use outlines to connect all chords
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4.         Apply specific developmental devices to outlines. Practice for all ii7—V7 & iiø7—V7 with different harmonic rhythms. Practice one key at a time. Practice all major keys around the circle. Practice all minor keys around the circle. Combine major and relative minor and practice around the circle.
5.         Ideas to embellish the lines include: NT & PT patterns, Chromatic approaches, CESH, Pitch & Rhythmic displacement, Borrowed tones, 3-5-7-9 arpeggios with or without 8va displacement, Arpeggio tones (leaps, pivot or bouncing tones), delayed or anticipated resolutions.
6.         Practice connecting chords in a progression using 3-5-7-9 arpeggios. Practice pairs of chords first, before trying the entire phrase.
7.         Apply specific lines to specific places in tunes.
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        WORK THE ENTIRE PIECE

1.         Decide what triads work where for generalization
2.         Find GTs lines
3.         Write out 5 pages (minimum) of outlines connecting entire form. Practice until perfect without reference to page
4.         Practice combinations of outlines
5.         write out agendas—improvise following agendas
6.         write out agendas—write out composed solos following agendas

SOLO with AGENDA

A  section of Rhythm Changes                         
Triad with NTs                                                                                                                Outline No. 3
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Guide tones:

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A  section of Rhythm Changes
3rds/Outline No. 1                                                                                                                 Outline No. 3
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Bluesy/Triadic
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B  section of Rhythm Changes
Outline No. 2                                                                                                                              Outline No. 3
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            Sequence from above:
            Outline No. 2                                                                   Outline No. 3

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A  section of Rhythm Changes
Minor Blues Idea:
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KOKO idea follows GTs                                                      Diatonic triads
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Coaching your ensemble - advice from Wynton Marsalis

• Students need to listen to more jazz recordings. I know it’s a difficult problem to overcome because they just don’t hear jazz on the radio and their friends don’t listen to it. You can’t force them to listen. The only way for them to get a feeling for jazz is to hear the sound of it played by some of the best musicians.
• Students need private instruction. I know that it may be extremely difficult with budget cutbacks and students’ families’ finances. But, if you haven’t already, check into the possibility of local professionals to help you in providing some private instruction. Take advantage of group instruction to help ease the financial burden. Encourage any type of lesson, whatever and whenever possible.
• Unfortunately, many rhythm sections are weak. The reasons for this are: 1) students don’t understand that jazz is dance music and rhythms should be danceable; 2) most players on bass, drums, and piano have small and timid sounds: drummers sound plastic and restricted; bass players are not pulling sound out of their basses; and pianists lack technical command. When the rhythm section is weak the whole
band suffers.
How do we address this problem? Remind students that the rhythm section is the heart of the band: they play all the time. Hold separate rehearsals for the rhythm section, if you can. Have students listen to recordings that feature the rhythm section. Direct them to players who swing, like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Bud Powell on piano; Jimmie Blanton, Paul Chambers, and Ray Brown on bass; and Joe Jones, Buddy Rich, and Art Blakey on drums.
Wynton Marsalis rehearses with 2nd place band Foxboro High School before evening concert.
• If you can, hold sectional rehearsals with goals of achieving a balanced sound, hearing the lead line, etc. Make sure players listen to each other. As you know, musicians should always know what instrument has the lead line or lines so that they can play the harmony with the right balance.
• Have students concentrate on rhythm. In jazz, every instrument is also a drum. Instruments must be played percussively – not loud – but with rhythmic attitude.
• Because we don’t sing as a culture, kids have a problem singing through their horns. Every melody should be sung unashamedly and with clarion soul.
• In general, the pieces requiring swing get weaker and weaker as they go along because most modern music students aren’t used to concentrating for more than a couple of minutes. Even though it’s difficult, we should encourage them to reaffirm the rhythm the same way a coach begs his or her team to hustle in the final quarter of a game. We have to play with more rhythmic authority and verve.
• Now for soloing. There can be very good solos, but we have to figure out more ways to encourage our kids to play with personality and confidence. I think the blues is the best tool to teach soloing because the harmonic progression is simple, and it’s not difficult for a young musician to hear the form. But once again, students have to listen to the best soloists. Give them a blues to learn and have them listen to a recording of how a great soloist like Louis Armstrong or Charlie Parker played it. Encourage them to play with soul and warmth.
• Another way to encourage soloing may be to have the entire band play a solo from memory using call and response: one of your musicians plays a solo and the rest of the band has to listen and play it back. I’d like to see more soloing going on. No matter how bad students sound, it is important that they have a chance to express themselves even if it’s only for one chorus, or eight bars, or even four bars! Soloing is a very important part of jazz.