Scribd
Upload
994 views34 pages

Jazz Improvisation For Piano & Keyboard

This document is a guide for beginner piano and keyboard players to learn jazz improvisation, specifically focusing on the blues style. It includes exercises, practice tracks, and explanations of chord structures, melody building, and improvisation techniques. The accompanying CD provides demonstration and rehearsal tracks to aid in the learning process.

Uploaded by

Tony HO
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF or read online on Scribd
994 views34 pages

Jazz Improvisation For Piano & Keyboard

This document is a guide for beginner piano and keyboard players to learn jazz improvisation, specifically focusing on the blues style. It includes exercises, practice tracks, and explanations of chord structures, melody building, and improvisation techniques. The accompanying CD provides demonstration and rehearsal tracks to aid in the learning process.

Uploaded by

Tony HO
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF or read online on Scribd
jazz IMPROVISATION FOR PIANO AND KEYBOARD FIRST STEPS - THE BLUES NOONAN UNIVERSAL EDITION ISMN M-008-04919-4 Iwould like to thank Dave Olney (Bass) and Dave Barry (Drums) for their invaluable and genuinely improvised performances for the CD which accompanies this publication, Ihope that you enjoy playing along with their rhythm tracks as much as I did Mike Comick May 1996. 1863046 CA) Qipe COR ee First published in Great Britain in 1996 Universal Edition (London) Ltd. UE 14050L UE 14050L CD. Copyright © 1996 by Universal Edition (London) Ltd,, London Printed in England ISMN M-008-04919-4 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior ‘Written permission of Universal Edition (London) Ltd., 48 Great Marlborough Street, London WIV 2BN JAZZ IMPROVISATION FOR PIANO AND KEYBOARD cD Tracklist ‘Tuning Signal - Concert ‘A’ Ineoduction to Section | Introducton/Demonstation of Exercise 1 Practice Track for Exercise 2 in C major Practice Track for Exercise 2 in F major Practice Track for Exercise 2 in G major Track 10 Introduction to Section 2 11 Demonstration of Exercise 3 12. Practice Track for Exercise 3 in C major 13 Practice Track for Exercise 3in F major 14 Practice Track for Exercise 3 in G major 15 Introduction to Exercise 4 16 Demonstration of Exercise 4 in C major 17 Practice Track for Exercise 4 in C major : 18 Practice Track for Exercise in F major 19 Practice Track for Exercise 4 in G major ‘Track 20 Introduction to Section 3 21 Demonstration ofthe chords C7, C9, C11 and C13 22 Demonstration of Exercise 5 23. Practice Track for Exercise 5 in C major 24 Practice Track for Exercise 5 in F major 25 Practice Track for Exercise 5 in G major 26 Introduction to The Blues Seale and Demonstration of Blues Riff | Section 4 Track 27 Introduction o Section 4 28 Demonstration of Exercise 6 29 Practice Track for Exercise 6 in C major 30 Practice Track for Exercise 6 in F major 31 Practice Trak for Exercise 6 in G major Section 5 ‘Track 32 Introduction to Section S 33 Demonstration of Exercise 7 34 Practice Track for Exercise 7 35 Demonstration of Exercise 8 36 Practice Tack for Exercise 8 37 Explanation of Syncopation 38 Demonstration of Exercise 9a 39. Rhythm Exercises 9, 9c and 94 Section 6 ‘Track 40. troduction to Section 6 41 Demonstration of Exercise 10 42. Practice Track for Exercise 10 43. Introduction to Chord Substitution 44 Demonstration of Exercise 11 45. Practice Track for Exercise 11 46 Introduction to Harmony in Both Hands/Demonstration 47 Introduction/Demonstation of ‘Bass Line Blues’ (Ex.12) 481 Practice Track for Exercise 12. 49 Tntzoduetion to "Blues for Lise’ (First Version) 50 Practice Track for ‘Blues for Lisa’ (First Version) 51 Demonstration of ‘Blues for Lisa’ (Second Version) 52 Practice Track for ‘Blues for Lisea’ (Second Version) Contents Page Introduction Using the Compact Dise ANote about Rhythm 1 Section 1 ‘What is improvisation? 2 The chords of the 12-bar blues Inversions of chords Section 2 Building a melody using harmony notes 5 Harmony-Note Blues 1 Harmony-Note Blues 2 Section 3 Increasing the Harmonic Vocabulary 8 Harmony-Note Blues 3 ‘The Modal Approach and the Blues Scale Section 4 Continuing to increase the Vocabulary i Harmony-Note Blues 4 Section 5 Left-hand voicing; some alternatives 15 Rhythm and the melodic line Section 6 Some final thoughts: 18 Call and Response; structure in the blues Call and Response Blues A few chord substitutions Harmony in both hands Bass-Line Blues Blues for Lisca Blues for Lisea (Advanced) Glossary 26 Introduction ‘This book has been written with the intention of helping relatively inexperienced piano and keyboard players to take their first steps towards improvisation in a jazz/blues style. Familiarity with treble and bass clef notation has been assumed as well as an understanding of rhythmic notation in simple quadruple time, including the use of triplet figures Although technicalities have been kept to the minimum, progress will depend upon the player's grasp of harmony and this inevitably involves some explanation of how chords are constructed and modified. To | avoid unwanted complications, essential musical examples have been written in the key of C-major. For those ‘who are more conversant with academic terms, tonic, sub-dominant and dominant harmony will always be | represented by the chords of C, F and G respectively in essential examples, ‘The intention of the book has been to point piano and keyboard players in the right direction armed with sufficient information to continue with their own development. This volume is dedicated to those of my pupils who have worked through the processes which are explained in the following pages and who are gaining the freedom to improvise the blues. It must be understood, however, that improvisation is learned through the process of playing and by listening; listen critically, not only to your own playing, but to the improvisations of the experts, past and present, Try to copy their ideas and to develop them so that they become part of your own style. Jazz and blues are learned mainly through the ear, although the right advice at the right time can be invaluable. It isto be hoped that this book can be picked up when needed and provide exactly that advice. Good luck ... and practise whenever you can. Using the Compact Disc ‘The accompanying compact disc includes examples and rehearsal tracks which you can play along with, Of course, you cannot adjust the tuning of your piano but you can retune your electronic keyboard to match the tuning signal which is provided at the beginning of the recording. Look out forthe symbot:€@) A Note about Rhythm In order to produce the “swing” feel which is present in most blues and jazz, a rhythmic convention | has been adopted which simplifies the notation of the rhythm. Whenever you see: Selby it simply means that all quaver movement is played in a triplet rhythm, So, for example: a) FF) is played as jh SITIO unas J SY Pa a iS PDID DL D ispoeas t HL AL dD 4 and so on. Why not begin with a C-major scale, Because the swing-quaver symbol is present, this scale: Section 1 What is Improvisation? What does improvisation in jazz and blues really mean? Very often the most important aspect of improvisation is thatthe player has developed the ability to create a new melody which will fit the same chord sequence as that of the original melody, Seemingly, this new melody (or, more often, a succession of new melodies) is purely the result of “inspiration” but, in realty, whilst some improvisations may be more “inspired” than others, the coherence of what is played depends very much on the ability of the player to maintain the relationship between melody and harmony. Consequently, we must begin by looking atthe underlying chord sequence and the most commonly used chord sequence in jazz.is that of the twelve-bar blues. There are, of course, variations on the blues chord sequences used by jazz and blues players but let’s begin by considering the following basic example: ©) rack demonstration ‘Track 5 — for practice EXERCISE | C71 tonic] F7[IV sub-dominant] C7 cr repeat ad lib. | {Tastiime | G7{V dominant] F7 a ar ca Play through this sequence with the left-hand a number of times (electronic keyboard players should select “normal” mode, or its equivalent, so that the whole keyboard may be used without triggering an auto- accompaniment or rhythm) and then consider how each chord is formed. Each chord consists of a triad which is a three-note chord. On top of each triad another note has been. added, and this added note is the flattened or minor seventh, ded note ~a minor or fatened Tih above theroot _ Sth, 3 lee 8 cr For those who are familiar with a more academic approach to harmony, the effect is to create a series of dominant sevenths, Now, because each of these chords is being played in root or close position, a rather ungainly left-hand blues sequence has been produced. In practice, some of these chords would be re-arranged to produce a smoother transition from one chord tothe next. ‘The “meaning” ofthe chords will not be substantially changed by this process of re-arrangement, only their shape. Try this revised version of the blues sequence; it not only sounds better but is should prove easier to play! (8) sack 6 — demonstation ‘Track 7, 8 and 9 ~ for practice EXERCISE 2 C7 [tonic] F7 (LV sub-dominant] C7 cr G7[V dominant} F7 cr a7 ca In fact, all that we've done is to use different inversions of two of the chords [F7 and G7] to smooth out the four “voices” which we hear passing from one chord to the next, When we invert a chord, we move the bottom note to the top. A triad can be inverted twice before a further inversion returns it to the root position one octave higher. A triad with an added note can pass through three inversions before this occurs. Summary ‘The twelve-bar blues, in its basic form, uses only three chords; these are the triads built on the first (onic), fourth (sub-dominant) and fifth (dominant) degrees of the scale, In order to form the twelve-bar blues sequence, each triad has also been given an added note ‘hich, in this case, is a flattened or minor seventh. The added note is described as a seventh ‘because it is seven steps of the scale above the root of the triad, . The notes in each chord may be re-organised to form different inversions of the chord, for example: I cy At the Keyboard ‘Try out all the possible inversions of C7, F7 and G7: F major: G major: aes | cr I a | Try to work out your own arrangement of the twelve-bar blues sequence using inversions of the chords. Familiarise yourself with the twelve-bar blues sequence in F-major and G-major. Consider hhow the new key-signatures will afect the chord shapes: For Electronic Keyboard Users Users of electronic keyboards which have an “autochord” or “auto-accompaniment” function may now wish to familiarise themselves with the blues sequence using this facility. Select a“swing” rhythm/style and a suitable keyboard voice and set the tempo so that movement from one chord to the next becomes easily manageable. Consult your keyboard manual fr the lefi-hand key configuration which triggers major chords with an added minor seventh since this varies with keyboards of different manufacture, ete. etc. Section 2 Building a Melody Using Harmony Notes So, now we have the left-hand part of a twelve-bar blues. You will want to be able to play this without having to think about it too much and some practice will probably be needed. When the left-hand chording is secure, then the time has come to stat thinking about improvising a blues ‘melody. What should it be? Which notes are going to fit? Well, you can be certain that the notes which you are already using in the left-hand chord will fit, In fact, itis perfectly possible to construct a reasonable blues melody using only these harmony notes. Try to complete the melody in bars 6, 7 and 8 and again in bars 11 and 12 using notes from the relevant chords. A suggested rhythm is provided over the incomplete bars which you may wish to use. Don’t forget that the “swing-quavers” symbol is present: @) ‘Track 11 — for demonstration ‘Track 12 ~ for practice EXERCISE 3 HARMONY-NOTE BLUES 1 Mike Cornick 35 e038) cr Fr cr cr as faa ds IMPROVISE "THE MELODY IN THESE BARS use USE. USE FACE CEG Bb CEG BF FT FI cr cr repeat last time’ Few FR IMPROVISE THE MELODY IN Hf THESE BARS YoOaA. 114 USE. Use. USE CEG Bb GapF CEG Bb ENDONC Bu G7 Fr cr G7 cr So, the “harmony-note” principle is fairly straightforward; every melody note is drawn from the left- hand chord: YY cr FT Of couse, this approach is unlikely to produce a blues melody of very great originality, but itis a way of getting started, And, although this approach has some flaws (see the end of section summary), it does provide an opportunity to make some observations about the structure of a twelve-bar blues. You probably noticed as you were improvising the melody in the empty bars in Exercise 3 that there were a number of opportunities to repeat whole bars. For example: ... the melody in bars 3 and 4 could be used again in bars 7 and 8 .. bar 11 might very well be the same or very similar to bars 3 and 7 .. bars 5 and 6 might be identical .. bars 9 and 10 often make a sequence. A sequence is the repetition of the same musical idea at a higher, or in this case, lower pitch .. and so on, &) ‘Track 13 ~in F At the keyboard ‘Track 14-inG ‘Try the “harmony-note” approach in the keys of F and G-major. Summary Practise the left-hand chording until it is secure, Improvise a blues melody which is made up of notes from the relevant left-hand chords. ‘Note how the structure of the twelve-bar blues offers opportunities for repetition, ‘One weakness of this approach is that all your melody notes double notes in the harmony, Some notes will sound very much “over-done” when they are doubled, especially the third of the chord and the added 7. eRe As you gain confidence, you will want to refine your “harmony-note” approach and the following example illustrates a few possibilities: * Although the question of rhythm has not yet been explored, we should consider the possibility of beginning some melodic phrases and some of the left-hand chords on the off-beat, * Try to include some dynamic variation ~ some changes in loudness. * Experiment with the omission of the less essential notes in the left-hand chords. * Consider the effect of holding melody notes or left-hand chords over the bar-line, *-Iiy the effect of suitable ornaments. (eg. 2) (©) track 16~ demonstration Practice Tracks 17 - in C major 18— in F major 19 in G major EXERCISE 4 HARMONY-NOTE BLUES 2 Mike Cornick 33 -l3) ea mp cresc. Section 3 Increasing the Harmonic Vocabulary In Section 1, we looked at the way in which the left-hand chording of the blues could be built up using triads and added flattened or minor sevenths. The chords which we have used so far have all been constructed in this way and some variation has been achieved by using inversions or by onfitting certain notes from the chord. However, there are other notes which can be added to triads in addition to, or instead of, the minor seventh and one of the most common of these is the major ninth. ‘Try these chords at the keyboard; if you play all the notes of chord with both added seventh and ninth, you will need to use both hands. [Users of electronic keyboards may well find that “ninths” are not included in the repertoire of their “auto-accompaniments”. They should continue to work through this section making use of the knowledge to expand their blues melodies and substituting “seventh” chords in place of the “ninth” chords indicated in ““Harmony-Note Blues 3”.] &) sax 21 cr CTada9 FI Fradd9 G7 GTadd9 In practice, the usual assumption is that a chord of the added ninth will also include the flattened or minor seventh and so the usual chord description is abbreviated to C9, F9, G9, etc. Of course, the notes of these chords can also be re-arranged but they will not form inversions in the accepted sense because the range of the chord already exceeds an octave. Some notes of an added 9* chord will frequently be omitted; experiment with these examples and with re-arrangements of the chords F9 and 9: =f a. oc 3 = without root —=py— without 3nd. === without Sth How far can you go with this process of adding notes in the series 7...9...ete? Descriptions of added ith. and 13th. chords are not unusual but you cannot proceed beyond an added 13" without returning to the root of the chord at an interval of two octaves: ‘Try adding 9ths., L1ths. and 13ths. to the chords of C7, F7 and G7. Which notes can or should be omitted? How does re-arrangement and spacing affect the colouration of the chord? Do some of the notes in the chord sound as if they want to move to a less discordant position? Notice how close spacing of the notes of the chord Jow down on the piano or keyboard leads to a lack of clarity. Try to achieve a chord layout which gives a clear voicing. Adding 9ths. to the blues chords hasn't just enriched the harmony; it has also considerably increased the scope of our melodic improvisation derived from the “harmony-note” method. ‘Try this new Harmony-Note Blues exercise: the melody makes use of added ninths as well as the notes of the triad and the added minor seventh. Remember that you will need the left-hand part to be very secure before ‘you can concentrate on the melodic improvisation, &) rack 22- for demonstration Practice Tracks 23 in C major 24 in F major 25 in G major EXERCISE 5 HARMONY-NOTE BLUES-3 Mike Cornick 35 93) paras var db rd IMPROVISE THE MELODY IN THESE | BARS USE. USE. FACKG CEG BD o Fo co cr 5 ee eo ee { IMPROVISE” THE MBLODY IN WIESE” BARS USE USE FACE G CEG BD PO FO co co 9 PE eee Py ee a DOROVSE TE waLopY = AE owaovie FACE G CEG BD CEG Bb ENDONC ‘You will have heard how the added ninth increased the scope of our melodic improvisation, You probably also used notes in your melody which were omitted from the left-hand chord and you may have made use of some repetition and sequence. ‘Try using the practice tracks on the C.D. in the keys of F and G, so that you become familiar with the idea of using the added ninth chord, both melodically and harmonically. Your improvisations should now be sounding much more authentic. ©) track2s ie Summary 1. The flattened or minor seventh is not the only note which can be added to the triad; the added ninth also very effectively enhances the sound ofthe chord and offers greater scope for melodie improvisation. 2. You do not need to play all the notes of the added ninth chord. You can also re-organise the notes of the chord to achieve an effective balance of sound, 3, You can also add elevenths and thirteenths to your triads. 4, You can use all the added notes in your melodic improvisation, even though they may be ‘omitted from the chord. Some Alternative Approaches If all the notes of the triad and the added notes of the C13 chord are re-arranged, they will form the following scale: C7+9e 1113 ‘This scale (which is really the mixolydian mode) offers another approach to improvisation. Of course, the scale will change as the left-hand chording changes and it may prove difficult to think of these changes sufficiently quickly. A far easier approach is to think in terms of the blues scale. In the key of C-major, the blues scale looks like this: 10 Riffs (which are repeated phrases) constructed from this scale sound suitably blues-like asthe following examples demonstrate, Try these, and then make up some of your own. his type of blues-scale riff may be repeated exaclly or modified slightly to form all three (four-bar) lines of the twelve-bar blues: With a little judicious experiment, it should be possible to assemble a collection of riffs which may be used to build blues solos which exhibit variety. &) Track 7 -in C 8-inF } to practise your blues scale riffs 9-inG Section 4 Continuing to Increase the Vocabulary Maybe you' ve now tried a few improvisations using the modal approach or the blues scale and have met with some success. If you like those sounds and are happy to experiment with the scale approach, then you ‘may wish to disregard the following section on passing notes. On the other hand, you may have become quite used to the idea of building blues melodies directly from the chord but have found that this is somewhat limiting. If so, then perhaps you may find it easier to think of adding the notes which fall in between the harmony notes as passing notes. uw Passing Notes Passing notes are notes which, quite literally, pass between one essential melody note and the next. It's very straightforward if you try it at the keyboard: [ESSENTIAL or HARMONY NOTES ‘The passing notes shown in the example above are called unaccented passing notes because they are played in between the main crotchet beats of a bar. If a passing note should occur on the beat, then it is quite understandably described as an accented passing note: * ete If it should happen that a note is added which doesn’t pass between two essential notes but arrives in an unprepared fashion, then it is called an appoggiatura. + ro S4=0 4) 3 etc, cr FV 7 CT Gr ‘Try the following example of a blues which makes use of some of these inessential notes: R (8) rack 28 for demonstation ‘Tracks 29, 30 and 31 ~ for practice EXERCISE 6 HARMONY-NOTE BLUES 4 Mike Cornick Ata: csered tempo: J3=0d) —~ mp ou Ga nochord C7 G7 cr 13 In practice, analysis of the melody of this blues becomes quite complicated, but it may be of interest to look at the first two bars to see why the melody seems to fit 9th. OF THE CHORD HARMONY NOTES, OO a> Jl ——— ee — he — be == : 2 = ? = I~ Ns t WARMIONY NOTES ORNAMENT ACCENTED PASSING NOTE = =r SSS “Fe crwimiour TEs, FT WITHOUT THE 5 CT THE7W. IS ATTHE BOTTOM F7 THEMIS ATTHE BOTTOM Some melody notes may be “explained” in more than one way; the first F in bar 2, for example, is not only the root of the chord F7 but is also heard as an unaccented passing note between G and B-flat Of course, it is very unlikely that any jazz or blues player will be consciously thinking about their improvisation in this analytical way, but as a means of building a technique which is not wholly dependent on the ear, it sometimes helps to know. At the Keyboard ©) track 29-inc ‘Track 30 — in F-major ‘Track 31 - in G-major Now, try a C-major blues, perhaps using the left-hand part from the previous exercise, and improvise a ‘melody which uses harmony notes, added notes (7ths. and 9ths.,or even I1ths. and 13ths.), passing notes and appoggiaturas. Good luck! It may help to read your left hand part from the chord symbols rather than from notation: tka ves Pres ijarsr sr \or ss | HSSS\|TSSSIIS ISIS LSAT | ryssilarzss\rssrforas (rss si | [tes ine Summary Blues melodies ofien contain notes which are not derived from the underlying harmony. ‘These notes may be present in the form of passing notes, accented or unaccented, The theory may help but practice, experiment and listening are the keys to success. ‘Try to improvise using, at different times, each of the ideas introduced so far. ‘Try to get used to using chord symbols, which are the harmonic shorthand for jazz and blues players. weeps 4 Section 5 Left-hand Voicing; Some Alternatives Rhythm and the Melodic Line Until now, we have concentrated almost entirely on harmony and melody; the question of rhythm has been set aside to avoid over-complicating the process. But, of course, rhythm is a vital aspect of all music and especially of jazz and blues. Let’s consider some of the characteristic rhythms of jazz. Firstly, the left-hand: Left-Hand Chording: Once you become confident about finding the appropriate left-hand chord and can move easily from one chord to the next, you will want to progress beyond the idea of simply placing one semibreve chord at the beginning of each bar, so here are a few suggestions which you may wish to develop: Chord Repetitions on the Beat: ‘Turn back to Harmony-Note Blues 4 (Exercise 6) and experiment with repeating the relevant chord with a light staccato on each beat of the bar: €8) sack 33 —fordemonstation ‘Track 34 ~ for practice EXERCISE 7 ete, “Playing the Changes”: The expression “playing the changes” refers to the idea of emphasising the change of chord. One way of achieving this is to reiterate the previous chord just before the new chord is heard. Again, try adapting Harmony-Note Blues 4 using this approach: 15 UBRARIE® ® sack 35 for demonstration ‘Track 36 for practice EXERCISE 8 ete. This style of accompaniment is, of course, fuller and more complicated; it also tends to demand more changes of harmony. Where the harmony doesn’t change try to provide some continuous movement in the left hand. Rhythm in the Melodic Line In jazz and blues, much of the sense of style derives from the syncopated movement of the melody over ‘an on-beat or partly on-beat accompaniment. Syncopation is essentially the occurrence of off-beat accents and this explains why: ® trace37 ‘The accented entry of a phrase which is delayed by a quaver, or which anticipates the beat by a quaver, helps to create more rhythmic interest and tension. The off-beat entry of the phrase carries an accent-mark simply because an accented note would not normally be expected in this situation in many other styles of music. ‘The swing element of much jazz and blues, on the other hand, depends on a strict underlying sense of a regular beat or pulse. ‘The beat is then often divided into triplets. A typical rhythmic accompaniment for a slow blues, perhaps played on a cymbal, might well be something like this 16 etc, For this reason, the playing of quavers is commonly given a distinct triplet feel. ‘The division of the crotchet beat, although written like this: ‘would be played more like this: SS ria IS IS . = The direction (Jd =4 2) therefore allows for the simple notation of “swing” quavers and the interpretation. of the “triplet feel” to the rhythm is left tothe player to interpret. At the Keyboard ‘Try clapping these typically “jazzy” rhythms and then converting them into melodic phrases. The first rhythm is followed by a melodie version as an example: (8) track 38 for demonstration ‘Track 39 - for demonstration and practice of b, © and d EXERCISE 9 3 73) 3. 3 3 7 Section 6 Structure in the Blues; Chord Substitution; Harmony in Both Hands One of the greatest problems in any form of musical improvisation isto try to achieve an overall sense of coherence. In Section 2, we referred briefly to the question of structure in improvising the melody of a blues through the use of repetition and sequence. A structured improvisation conveys a sense of progression and unity; repetition, or the near repetition of phrases, can help to provide this unity while building a feeling of tension as the underlying harmony changes. One way of achieving a structure is to think of the blues in terms of “call-and-response”. “Call-and-Response” is another way of describing the process of playing a phrase and then playing an answering phrase. Consider the following structure for as twelve-bar blues: RESPONSE BAR 3 BAR 4 el cr MODIFIED CALL BAR 5 BAR 6 FT FI NEW CALL ~ SEQUENTIAL MODIFIED RESPONSE BAR 9 BAR 10 BAR Il BAR 12 G7 FT c7 GI 18 ‘This structure of “call and response” could be realised as follows. ‘Try this example with the practice track and then develop some “call and response” examples of your own: (8) track 41 —fordemonstaion Track 42 - for practice EXERCISE 10 CALL AND RESPONSE BLUES Mike Cornick CALL RESPONSE MODIFIED CALL ‘SAME RESPONSE. NEW CALL — SEQUENTIAL ‘MODIFIED RESPONSE te, 19 Chord Substitution Another aspect of improvisation in jazz. and blues is the ability to depart from repetition of the exact chord sequence without losing the sense of harmonic progression of the original sequence. You may already have found some altemative chords to include in your own blues improvisations: if not, here are some suggestions, which may get you started on the process of chord substitution: G) ‘rack 44 for demonstration ‘Track 45 for practice EXERCISE 1 CHORD SUBSTITUTION BLUES Mike Cornick ro Cer) * Db CT Bb7 Al ¥ These chord symbols do not include the melody note. 20 Harmony in Both Hands ‘Throughout this book, the right and left hands have been given specific roles: the right hand has always played the melody whilst the left hand has provided the supporting harmony. As your blues and jazz playing ‘becomes more sophisticated, you will sometimes want to depart from this strict allocation of roles. Returning once more to the use of “riffs”, here are two suggestions which you may wish to include in ‘your improvisations which will introduce some harmonic playing into your right-hand blues figures. When ‘you employ these “riffs”, you will of course realise that they are chord-specific; that is, they change as the harmony changes. 8) track as 21 Bass Line Blues Here is one final suggestion which will give you another stylistic variation and it represents almost a reversal of roles for your right and left hands. In this exercise, the left hand plays a single line; in fact, it takes over the role of the absent bass player in solo blues playing, and so your right-hand now has to sketch in both the melody and harmony. © track 47 for demonstration - ‘Track 48 — for practice EXERCISE 12 BASS-LINE BLUES Mike Cornick Ata steady tempo iy fa=s4) quasi string bass a) ‘The last two exercises are a synthesis of many of the ideas which have been outlined in this book transposed into the new Key of B-flat. The key of B-flat will be commonly encountered by jazz. and blues piano/keyboard players since it makes life easier for front line players with transposing instruments and so it is as well to get used toi ‘The piece is based on a repeated motifriff which changes as the chord changes. The harmony is shared between right and left hands and includes a number of substitutions and passing chords. Two versions of the piece are provided and you may wish to progress from the easier to the more advanced version, €8) sack 49 for demonstaion ‘Track 50 - for practice EXERCISE 13 BLUES FOR LISCA Mike Cornick Slow blues tempo 3 Fi=ld) ; 7 3 3 23 & rack 51 for demonstation ‘Track 52 - for practice EXERCISE 14 BLUES FOR LISCA (Advanced) Mike Cornick Slow blues tempo a Jd, z MK w/ m4 Summary 1. Iemay be helpful to think of a twelve-bar blues in terms of “call” (two bars) and “response” (two bars). Such an approach may help to make blues improvisations more coherent and structured, 2. You can create variety and interest in the harmony of your blues by employing chord substitutions. ‘These are altemative chords or sequences of chords which provide a slightly

You might also like