Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Improv - A Mini-Lesson

Improvisational fluency flows from a  theoretical and technical background that can be summoned subconsciously. But to get there requires careful fully-conscious practice and patience. Art is built on craft. You have to love the process itself, which most of us do! Luxury, for many musicians, is time to practice and develop our ideas...  

Read the article linked below from JAZZed Magazine by alto saxophonist Bobby Selvaggio...

"THEORY: You need to have a strong sense of outlining chords (functional, nonfunctional, modal, et cetera) using chord tones, the understanding of jazz language and how it works, and the history and tradition of jazz – learning repertoire; unconsciously knowing what all the jazz chord symbols mean and what tonalities go with them. To get started, you need a basic knowledge of jazz theory, such as modes of the major scale, the diatonic ii V I progression, and chord tones. These ideas are the building blocks to jazz improvisation. You will eventually need to be unconscious with all of these elements."


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