[Dixielandjazz] Improvising

Sat Mar 1 10:39:04 PST 2008

There is another benefit to doing this and that is it helps you to harmonize 
with the other players.

I said before that you can start by playing against the melody when it is 
holding out a note.  Let's say you are going along more or less playing 
whole notes and the melody holds then try "playing against" that note from 
the root or bass chord tone or play that tone if it's different and move to 
the root tone or third but do something. Try to keep in the general rhythm 
of the tunes.  Don't for example if the tune is a slow ballad inject a bunch 
of fast notes into it.  Go with the flow.  If you are harmonizing stay away 
from unison notes with the melody and that does have an exception.

If the melody line is holding let's say a C and you are playing a counter 
melody part it's OK to start on that note as part of a run or arpeggio or 
can be a part of a rhythm background but that's more rare.  This is a matter 
of taste though.

Try playing stop time to a chord line or what I call bump time where you 
play three quarters and rest then that rhythm repeats several times usually 
all through a phrase.  A tune you can do this with is St. Louis Blues where 
you hear the "I hate to see" line.  This works against someone playing the 
melody or a solo.  This is nothing more than playing along with the chord 
progression but adding a very elementary rhythm to it.

There is a useful thing that some CD players can do and that's repeat a 
section over and over.  This gives you a chance to experiment.  I have an 
older CD player that will do that.  There are Computer programs that will 
slow down a piece of music without changing the pitch.  Sorry I don't have 
any suggestions here.  With those you can copy a solo or play against it.  I 
think there is a fine line between memorization and improvisation.  I think 
it boils down to learning some licks and applying them, or parts of them, to 
other tunes smoothly.  I think we have all done that and that's not the same 
thing as memorizing a solo.

You know someone should write a book on licks used in OKOM.  It could be 
called "The Dixie Licks"!
Larry
StL
Larry
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen G Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 3:48 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Improvising

>> "Larry Walton Entertainment  <larrys.bands at charter.net> wrote  (polite 
>> snip)
>>
>> If I'm looking at a solo in a tune I don't know I will sub tone  through 
>> the
>> chord line that way in the minute or so before I'm on.  This will  orient 
>> me
>> to the changes so in effect I go back to square one.
>>
>> One guy suggested playing the bass notes.  This is more or less that 
>> idea.
>
> Good advice Larry. I  rehearse once a week with Tex Wyndham's local 
> rehearsal band. (he gets about 4 gigs a year) He uses a chord book 
> containing 1500 or so OKOM songs to which he either had original sheet 
> music, or has transcribed from recordings.
>
> I am not an accomplished sight reader, but easily read chord charts.  When 
> I first started to play in his group some 15 or so years ago, I  did not 
> recognize at least 900 of the tunes he plays/rehearses. And he  does the 
> verses as well as the choruses.
>
> So what i did for the first time through them is play the root note of 
> the chord with each change to get an idea of where the tune was going. 
> Or, if there were no rapid chord changes, the 3rd & 7th of each chord. 
> Because IMO they are the directional or roadmap notes of OKOM changes..
>
> So in a very short time, I was able to improvise on the tunes as well  as 
> play a coherent harmony.
>
> BTW, if folks want to hear what I call "Melodic Improvisation" visit  my 
> "MySpace" page and click on "Someday You' ll Be Sorry,"  a familiar  tune 
> by Louis A, written largely over the Chords of Whispering. Listen  to the 
> clarinet solo after Paul's vocal and you'll hear a new melody  (I hope) 
> that is totally unrelated to either tune. Not, IMO, short  interval 
> chordal improv, not melodic embellishment, but a completely  new 32 bar 
> melodic line.
>
> Same for Glenn's trombone and Sonny's guitar solos following mine.  They 
> were all composed/played on the spot.
>
> http://www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband
>
> Cheer,
> Steve Barbone
>
>
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