From: mjs@fc.hp.com (Marc Sabatella)
Subject: Re: Jazz Primer Second Edition
Reply-To: marc@hpmonk.fc.hp.com
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1.4 PL6]
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 17:30:32 GMT


These are some excertps from "A Jazz Improvisation Primer":

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Some  of  the  material  presented here is very basic, and some of it is
rather advanced.  Those of you who have listened to a lot  of  jazz  but
are not performers yourselves will probably find the history discussions
to be simplistic, but find  the  theoretical  discussions  overwhelming.
Others  may grow impatient at the explanations of such basic concepts as
the major scale, but will be bewildered at the  number  and  variety  of
musicians  discussed.  You may wonder why such a broad array of informa-
tion has been squeezed into this one primer.  I believe that,  in  order
to understand jazz improvisation, it is necessary to understand the his-
tory, the theory, and the techniques of jazz.  I feel that it is  impor-
tant  to merge these avenues if one is to develop a broad understanding.

..

During  these same decades of the 1950's and 1960's, some musicians took
jazz in more exploratory directions.  The  terms  free  jazz  and  avant
garde  are often used to describe these approaches, in which traditional
forms, harmony, melody, and rhythm were extended  considerably  or  even
abandoned.   Saxophonist  Ornette  Coleman and trumpet player Don Cherry
were pioneers of this music through albums such as The Shape Of Jazz  To
Come  and Free Jazz.  The former album, as well as several more recorded
with a quartet that also include either Scott LeFaro or Charlie Haden on
bass  and  either  Billy Higgins or Ed Blackwell on drums, still retains
the  basic  feel  of  traditional  post  bop  small  group  jazz,   with
alternating  soloists  over  a walking bass line and swinging drum beat.
This style is sometimes known as freebop.  The album  Free  Jazz  was  a
more cacophonous affair that featured collective improvisation.

..

The  most  important aspect of improvisation is creativity.  This is the
most vital concept for an improviser to understand.  The goal is to hear
something  interesting  in your head and be able to play it immediately.
Your understanding of music fundamentals is one ally in  this  endeavor.
It  can  help you interpret the sounds you hear in your head by relating
them to sounds you know and understand.  Your technical  proficiency  on
your  instrument  is  another  ally.  It can help you accurately execute
what you conceive.  Inspiration, however, is what enables  you  to  hear
interesting  ideas  to  begin with.  That creative spark is what distin-
guishes the true artist from the mere craftsman.  While  no  primer  can
show  you  how  to be creative, I can try to shed a little light on cre-
ativity as it pertains to improvisation.

..

The  fourth  mode  of the melodic minor scale is often called the lydian
dominant or the lydian b7.  If you construct it, you should see why.  In
A  melodic  minor, a lydian dominant scale is built on D and consists of
"D, E, F#, G#, A, B, C".  This scale resembles the D major scale "D,  E,
F#,  G, A, B, C#" but with two alterations: the raised fourth character-
istic of the lydian mode, and the lowered seventh characteristic of  the
mixolydian  mode.  The mixolydian mode was described as a possible scale
choice to use over a dominant seventh chord, but the fourth step was  an
avoid note.  The lydian dominant scale does not contain this avoid note.
As with the lydian scale and the raised  fourth  over  a  major  seventh
chord,  the lydian dominant may sound unusual at first, but it is gener-
ally more interesting than the mixolydian when played  over  a  dominant
seventh.

..

Another possible alteration to the dominant is called the  tritone  sub-
stitution.  This means replacing the dominant chord with a dominant sev-
enth chord a tritone away.  In the key of C, this would  mean  replacing
the  G7  with a Db7.  This may seem a strange thing to do, but there are
some very good reasons why it works.  The third and seventh of  a  chord
are  the  two most important notes in defining the sound and function of
the chord.  If you look at a Db7 chord, you will see it contains Db,  F,
Ab,  and  B,  which are respectively the b5, 7, b9, and 3 of a G7 chord.
The third and seventh of the G7 chord (B and F) become the  seventh  and
third  of the Db7 chord.  Thus, Db7 is very similar to a G7b9b5 chord in
sound and function.  Furthermore, the melodic resolution of Db to  C  in
the bass is very strong, functioning almost as a passing tone.

..

You may wish to treat this music modally, and let the chords  themselves
dictate  the  scale  choices.  You should be careful in doing this, how-
ever.  Many of the standard chord/scale relationships  were  established
with  traditional resolutions in mind.  Your phrases may seem random and
disconnected if you blindly change scales according to  the  chord  pro-
gression  in  non-tonal  music.   You  should  be  prepared to treat the
chord/scale relationships more loosely than you would when simply  play-
ing changes.

..

A  drop voicing is created from a close position voicing by dropping one
of the notes down an octave.   If  the  second  note  from  the  top  is
dropped,  the voicing is called a drop 2 voicing; if the third note from
the top is dropped, the voicing is called a drop 3 voicing.   For  a  C7
chord  in root position, "C E G Bb", the corresponding drop 2 voicing is
"G C E Bb".  The second note from the top, G, has been dropped  down  an
octave.   The  corresponding drop 3 voicing would be "E C G Bb".  Drop 2
and drop 3 voicings can be constructed from any of the inversions of the
chord  as  well.  On the piano, the dropped note must normally be played
in the left hand, so these are almost always two handed  voicings.   The
intervals in these voicings make them perfectly suited for guitar.

..

One  opportunity to use counterpoint is in ballads or medium tempo swing
tunes where the melody has long notes or rests.  One of the most  famous
examples  of  Scott  LeFaro's  counterpoint is on the version of "Solar"
recorded by Bill Evans, Scott LeFaro, and Paul Motian on the album  Sun-
day  At  The Village Vanguard.  The melody is mostly quarter notes, with
whole notes at the end of each phrase.  Scott plays long notes while the
melody is moving, and moving parts where the melody is staying still.

..

Often, a drummer will play a simple two beat during the head, and switch
to  straight  four for the solos.  One of the easiest ways to change the
feel of a piece is to simply switch cymbals for the  ride  pattern,  for
instance  when  there is a change in soloist, or to mark the bridge of a
song.  Marking the form of a tune is another important role of the drum-
mer.   Most  typical  song forms have 4 or 8 bar phrases.  At the end of
each phrase, the drummer often plays a more complex pattern or  fill  to
lead  into  the next phrase.  Another tactic is to change the basic beat
from phrase to phrase.  As a drummer, you should always be conscious  of
the  form of the song, and know where any breaks, special introductions,
or codas are.  You should be able to sing to the melody to yourself dur-
ing  solos  if  necessary,  so  that  you  can  outline the form for the
soloist.  This will help the soloist keep his place, by allowing him  to
recognize  when  you  have  reached  the bridge, for example.  Also, the
soloist is usually structuring his own phrases along the  lines  of  the
original  form.   By adhering to that form yourself, you will usually be
supporting the development of his ideas.  Art  Blakey  is  a  master  of
playing the form and supporting soloists in this way.

..

Another approach is the III-VI-ii-V turnaround.  If the song ends with a
ii-V-I  cadence  in the last four bars, then you can replace the final I
chord with the four bar progression III-VI-ii-V, which may  be  repeated
several times.  For instance, in the key of F, if the song ends Gm7| C7|
F| F, then you can replace this with Gm7| C7|  A7alt|  D7alt|  Gm7|  C7|
A7alt|  D7alt| Gm7| C7|...  You can also use tritone substitution on any
of the dominant chords.  In addition, you can use the I chord F  instead
of  the A7alt chord.  You may continue this chord progression as long as
you like, soloing or collectively improvising on top  of  it.   This  is
called  a  vamp.  The song is finally ended with a I chord, usually pre-
ceded by frantic hand waving to ensure that everyone ends together.

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