Written by Kieran Bonsignore, Class of 2023
Improvisation can be a very foreign concept for educators and classical musicians alike. The collegiate music education curriculum has no requirement for jazz studies or improvisation, so many educators have never tried or put much time into it. It can even be scary if you’ve never practiced it! Just like the scales, exercises, and orchestral excerpts you practice, the jazz idiom is mastered through a tremendous amount of time and study. If you teach in a public school, you will need to run a jazz ensemble and there is no better way to teach than to learn and practice these concepts yourself. There is no magic trick to being able to improvise, (trust me, I wish there was!) but as a jazz musician I’d love to share some tips I wish I heard in my musical upbringing.
1. You gotta know the scales!
Just like the practice you already do, scales are a major component of the routine for a jazz musician. In my opinion, the three most important scales for a beginning improviser are the major, dorian, and blues scales. These scales will work over what a beginning improviser will encounter on the bandstand. The major scale can be played over the ii - V (I’ll explain later!), the dorian can be played over any minor chord, and the blues scale can be played over anything! It is important to be fluent with different scales so they can be pulled out effortlessly like a bunny out of a magician’s hat. Once a student is more comfortable with these scales in twelve keys, introduce more! All the modes of the major and melodic/harmonic minor scales are very useful!
2. It’s spontaneous composition!
Something important to keep in mind is that improvisation is more than merely making up melodies. It’s incredibly important to have an understanding of voice leading and the underlying harmony. The ii-V-I progression (in the key of Bb: Cm7, F7, Bbmaj7) is the building block of jazz harmony. Once a student knows the structure of these chords inside and out and can arpeggiate them fluently, they can work to improvise melodies that utilize the natural voice leading within the progression. A good way to practice this is playing quarter notes down the progression starting on the 3rd or 7th of the minor chord. For example, in Bb this would be Bb A G F over the Cm7, Eb D C Bb over the F7, and A over the Bbmaj7. If done correctly, you played a chord tone on beat one of each measure. This is your main goal when you begin to improvise. Think of this like a musical sudoku puzzle. When you land on chord tones, your improvisation sounds grounded within the harmony.
3. Bebop language
Jazz is a language, and one of the things that makes it identifiable is playing style of the 1940’s and early 1950’s. This language was essentially invented by charlie parker who played with chromaticism and enclosures. This language still follows the voice leading I explained
previously, but now chromatic neighbor and approach tones are added. The best way to practice this is to transcribe your favorite musicians, or find them online. It is also important to emphasize the supper structure of chords to get this sound. Don’t play the root of each chord, emphasize the 9th, 11th (#11 on major chords) and 13th chord tones for more color.
4. Timbre and sound
Abandon that dark orchestral sound, that won’t cut it on the band stand! Work with smaller equipment to gain a brighter sound. Trombones should play on no larger than a .525 bore and saxophones should use smaller mouthpieces and softer reeds. Musicians should work on their own personal sound which can be darker, but the characteristic sound is typically brighter.
5. Listen listen listen!
Everything I’ve explained is worthless if you or the student have never listened to jazz music! This music has a long and powerful history and culture which needs to be understood. Listen to big bands like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Kenton, and the Mingus Big Band (performed by RU faculty!). You also need to listen to the greats like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Thelonius Monk, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and many many more. The worst disservice you can do to your students is to only have them listen to the JWPepper recording of the arrangement they’re playing. If you want to excel in jazz you need to understand the culture and history, which at its core is African American music. Once you’ve found musicians you like, transcribe and learn their solos! You dig?!
6. Hit the shed!
As jazz musicians say, you have to hit the shed! If you want to improve you need to practice these concepts constantly, as well as learn all the tunes in the jazz canon. There are many different helpful practice tools online. The iRealPro app is a live midi player that allows you to adjust the tempo and style of the backing tracks you select. Youtube also has a huge catalog of backing track and educational content! Get your students to watch Chad LB’s Jazz Lesson Videos where he breaks these concepts down very well. I personally practice with his pdf’s all the time and I recommend buying one of his tune-learning packets. Any backing track you could need is on youtube, but Jamey Aebersold CD’s are higher quality and include the melodies and chord changes written out.
This can seem daunting, but improving this skill is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. Learning this music opens your ears and opens the door for pure free expression. Even if you don’t like jazz that much, the ear training alone will improve your classical playing.
Remember that these tips are for the individual player, and a lot more goes into running a jazz band. I’d recommend everyone check out the NAfME event this Thursday (02/04/21) for more info on teaching a high school jazz band. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me!
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