Learning to Improvise

[irocku]

The best way to learn how to improvise is by experimenting! IROCKU provides improvisation examples to get you started but it’s best if you experiment and explore on your own.  Here is an exercise that you might want to try:

1. Learn the 12 (or 8) bar blues progressions. 12 bar blues is one bar of the I chord, followed by one bar of the IV chord, followed by two bars of the I chord, followed by two bars of the IV chord, followed by two bars of the I, then one bar of the V, one bar of the IV and two bars of the I. So if you are playing in the key of C it would be:
C,F,C,C,F,F,C,C,G,F,C,C

in F it would be:
F,Bb,F,F,Bb,Bb,F,F,C,Bb,F,F

There are a bunch of variations but this is the most common form. Get familiar with the chord progressions in a couple of different keys.

2. Start in the Key of C. Now pick a fun left hand and MASTER it. You can really pick the left hand from any one of our lessons and it will work with the blues progression. The obvious are ‘Hey Now’, ‘Tipitina’, and ‘What’d I Say’, but you can experiment with any left hand groove. For example ” Aint Wastin Time No More” would be fun, ” Cool Jerk” etc. The important thing is to master the groove following the 12 bar chord progression. USE A METRONOME!!!!

3. Now that you have a groove working smoothly in your left hand do the following in your right hand, while continually looping the left hand groove. ALWAYS WITH A METRONOME.
For twelve bars play C whole notes using the C chord in your right hand.
For twelve bars play C half notes using the C chord in your right hand.
For twelve bars play C quarter notes using the C chord in your right hand.(things might start to get challenging at this point)
For twelve bars play C eighth notes using the C chord in your right hand.
For twelve bars play C eighth note triplets using the C chord in your right hand.-this is a must technique if you want to play New Orleans style.
For this exercise you can play the chord in any inversion and move around between inversions.

3. Learn the blues scale of the key you are playing in; should be C to start. Once you have the scale memorized continue looping the left hand groove and do the following:
For twelve bars play whole notes moving up or down the scale with each note in your right hand.
For twelve bars play half notes moving up or down the scale with each note in your right hand.
For twelve bars play quarter notes moving up or down the scale with each note in your right hand.
For twelve bars play eighth notes moving up or down the scale with each note in your right hand.- if this is too difficult you can stay on the same note
For twelve bars play eighth note triplets moving up or down the scale with each note in your right hand.- if this is too difficult you can stay on the same note

4. Now keep the groove going and start to play whatever you feel in your right hand. If you get through steps 1-3 you will naturally want to start improvising.

5. Do steps 1-4 in a different key.

6. Do steps 1-4 using a different left hand groove.

7. Do steps 1-4 but change the scale. Instead of the blues scale try the mixolydian or the minor scales

This should give you more to work with than you will find in just about any books.
You can use the practice technique to help master any left hand groove and develop left/right hand independence for improvising.

• This topic was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by irocku.
• This topic was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by irocku.
• This topic was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by irocku.
• This topic was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by irocku.
• This topic was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by irocku.
• This topic was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by irocku.
• This topic was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by irocku.
• This topic was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by irocku.

Topic

Although everyone has their own way of learning, there are common themes on what works for improvisation. First, playing with others in a band setting helps push you out of your comfort zone to try new things. Second, is just spending time on the keyboard experimenting and exploring. The Groove Charts are really great for that because they provide a framework to work within but are open-ended enough that we have to improvise to fill in the blanks. Third is having a tool kit of riffs and techniques to draw from. This is where the old-school disciplined practice is required. The more you have to draw from( and in different keys) the easier it is too improvise. Try working with a half dozen of our songs that have improvisations which are similar in style to how you want to play. Work on the Improvisations and Exercises in multiple keys and then try applying them to different songs. Chuck relies on a only a handful of techniques that he has mastered, which is true of most musicians. For example, if you worked on the exercises and improvs for “Come and Go Blues”, “Southbound”, “Alberta”, and “Jessica” you would have a pretty good tool box for melodic blues and pentatonic improvisations. If you picked exercises and improvs from songs like “What’d I Say”, “Sympathy for the Devil”, and “Hey Pocky Away” you would have a tool box of chord-based rhythmic riffs. If you are having difficulty keeping a steady groove in your left-hand while improvising in the right-hand you might find the exercise above helpful.

I am working through your suggestions for starting to improvise. In the key of C I used a quarter note rhythm of R-5 to R-6 in the left hand with the appropriate chord of C, F7 or G7 in the right hand. However when I go to the blues scale, there are certain notes that to me don’t sound good, especially when playing whole notes or half notes. For example over a C chord the F and G-flat notes do not sound right. Are there certain notes in the blues scale that should function only as passing tones over certain chords?

Thanks

Great question. There is no right or wrong when improvising. It’s all about what sounds good to you. There are some rules that you can apply when learning to improvise but breaking the rules is what it’s all about so please don’t adhere to them too rigidly.
Depending on what chord you are playing in the left hand, the note of the blues scale could be either a landing or passing tone. So if you are playing C blues scale over the C chord, C, E G would be good landing tones and the other notes of the blues scale can be used as passing tones. If you are playing the C blues over the F chord then the F and C could be landing tones and the rest of the C blues would be passing. In this case, the E will sound dissonant so you might chose to only play the Eb. Another approach is to change scales. Play the C blues scale over the C chord, the G blues over the G chord, etc. Experiment, experiment experiment.

A useful exercise is to try playing only two notes in each measure. You place them any where you like within the rhythm pattern you are using. This will help you focus on passing and landing tones. Then play three-notes. Then play three notes moving up and then three moving down. This exercise also helps to create phrasing by spacing things out rather than just running up and down scales.