Teaching Jazz Improvisation
General Methods 1 November 2003 Teaching Jazz Improvisation I. Intoduction Teaching improvisation, while it may not in itself sound all that difficult, is something that is not easy to do. In fact, as the great clarinetist Artie Shaw recently said in front of a national jazz education convention, it really isn’t possible to “teach” actual improvisation, but rather to offer the tools for improvising. Trying to teach improvisation is similar to teaching someone to drive a car. ... Theory Jazz education in regards to improvisation has two distinct areas of focus. ... In regards to this, Scott Reeves states, “Through repetition, various practice techniques will develop the ability to hear the vocabulary of jazz and will train the body to retain a physical memory of how to convey that language in any key or tempo” (Reeves, Creative Improvisation p1). Other tips offered by Reeves are, “Assimilating the nature of jazz rhythm and the African-American rhythmic aesthetic, developing an understanding of jazz theory and the relationship between chords and scales, and practicing technical studies such as scales, patterns, or melodic quotes, in all keys at varying tempos” (p1). ... Addressing presentation of a materials and practicing, David Baker writes that both should include, “…Include the most frequently used jazz scales such as the major scale and its derivatives (dorian, mixolydian, locrian, etc. ... Your creativity will only be stifled if you never play anything original” (Coker: The Teaching of Jazz p. ... Ear Training While the above statement may seem a bit counter to that made about understanding theory and becoming proficient at technical exercises, it is here that the other major aspect of jazz education appears. The aspect of ear training plays an important part of jazz education, especially when it comes to improvising. ... It is also stated that players should be “doing ear training exercises, transcribing and memorizing improvised solos by master jazz musicians, and learning jazz compositions, with emphasis on memorization of the standard repertoire” (p1). ... However, there is a point to be made regarding practice and committing things to memory, whether learning theory or technique fundamentals or actual pieces of the jazz repertoire. ... Methods of Learning Fundamentals One way of starting students on the path toward improvisation is to begin by training their ears. ... Students also should be listening to as much jazz as possible in order to hear examples of swinging eighth notes and to hear interpretation and soloing ideas by listening high-level players. ... I always learn the arrangement from the record quite thoroughly and try to anticipate trouble spots before teaching it to the band. ... As stated, playing along with the recording will assist in learning stylistic tendencies of jazz. This brings up the point that students need to listen to jazz frequently, and to listen to various styles or genres. ... Jerry Coker says, “Most of the jazz greats logged many hours of listening… both before and after they became prominent, successful, and influential… Both Michael Brecker and Dave Sanborn have gone on record as saying to young students/imitators that they wish the students would spend more time listening to the players they (Brecker and Sanborn) listened to, instead of restricting their listening and imitation to Brecker and Sanborn”, and also, “They can not emulate what they have never heard” (Coker p. ... As students are exposed to different styles of jazz, as well as players with different soloing styles within each style of jazz, their repertoire of ideas grows. ... The first of two methods that can help students to relax and sort of release is to have a short free-jazz session. ... Conclusion Teaching improvisation is a task that is really not possible to do in the sense of literally teaching improvising. What teaching improvisation does is to train the musical ear, and offer a theoretical base for the player to draw from. ... First, the student needs to listen as much as possible to jazz in order to hear style and musical ideas. Without listening to jazz and to key soloists, it is like learning to drive a car by reading a driver’s manual, but without ever having even sat inside a car. ... A statement that accurately depicts the role of small ensembles in jazz says, “…virtually every advancement in jazz has taken place in the confines of the small group” (Baker p. ... Appendix I Scales and Chord-Scale Relationships Appendix II Common Licks and Patterns Appendix III Literature Resources Appendix IV Reference Material (Selected from David Baker’s Jazz Pedagogy by David Baker, Aebersold, Jamey. A New Approach to Jazz Improvisation. ... Advanced Improvisation. ... Jazz Improvisation. ... Jazz Improvisation for Strings.