LEARNING TO IMPROVISE - ARTICLE LINKS
LEARNING TO IMPROVISE - SERIES INTRODUCTION
During my first two years of college, I was a jazz studies major. Since I transferred schools after my first year, I got to experience (at least part of) the jazz curriculums of two different universities. In each school I did well in my music classes, however I wasn't dramatically improving as a jazz musician. Sure, I knew more information about jazz, especially jazz theory, but that knowledge wasn't translating itself into my playing. I wasn't alone, either. As the months passed, many struggling players (including me) would eventually drop out or change majors, each believing they'd never be good enough to play jazz professionally. Some of us even gave up playing jazz altogether, as I did for seven years.
When I finally started to play the trumpet again (summer of 2002), I was eager to find a new approach to learning jazz improvisation that would take me farther than my previous jazz education. I wanted results! During my search, I read several new books and visited dozens of jazz web sites and forums. For the most part, everything I read followed the same old approach that I was all too familiar with: start with a description of swing rhythms and accents, then briefly cover topics like transcribing, learning patterns, playing melodically, and finally move on to several chapters of complex and long-winded jazz theory lessons. No matter what I read, at least 50% of the discussion was about jazz theory.
At the same time I was reading about jazz improvisation, I started reading jazz biographies and interviews with legendary jazz musicians. Among other things, I learned that several top jazz musicians didn't know how to read music, and many more knew far less theory than was contained in the average jazz improvisation book. This really surprised me. After all, jazz education's heavy emphasis on theory would suggest that jazz theory is must-have information, as if you couldn't possibly be good without complete mastery. But that just isn't the case.
As I continued to read and learn about great jazz musicians, I found that there is a skill common to all of them. Oddly, it's a skill that is rarely discussed in mainstream jazz education. That skill is the ability to play by ear. All great jazz musicians can play accurately and effortless by ear. And actually, it's this skill that first and foremost guides them in deciding what to play.
If the ability to play by ear is shared by all great jazz musicians, why do very few jazz method books and classrooms ever mention it? And, if knowledge of jazz theory isn't essential, then why do ALL jazz books and classrooms spend so much time talking about it? (for possible answers, read my jazz theory article). These questions are even more perplexing when I think about the fact that NONE of the struggling players I've known can play well (or at all) by ear, yet most have had a decent grasp of theory. We didn't need to learn more theory, we needed to learn to play by ear!
Convinced that jazz education missed the mark on the importance of playing by ear, I started thinking about the other key issues plaguing struggling players and how those issues could be overcome. Once I felt I had some worthwhile suggestions, I started writing, and that's how my Learning to Improvise series was born. Since my Learning To Improvise guide is geared toward beginners and otherwise struggling players, it's pretty light on details. My goal is simply to present a foundation from which developing players can grow. There's a lot more out there that you can and should learn about jazz improvisation.
The topics I'll cover include:
Topics like transcription are already mainstays of jazz education, so I'm not exactly breaking new ground with this series. But, I do think I'm presenting each topic in a somewhat original fashion that's easy to understand. As you read, keep in mind that all of this stuff requires practice and patience. You won't improve simply by reading alone (I wish it was that easy!). In fact, many of topics can take several years of practice to master. That's fine. Keep at it. The rewards are well worth the effort…
HELLO, MY NAME IS RICK AND I'M A STRUGGLING PLAYER
If you've listened to any of my audio clips, you know I'm not a great player. Occasionally I play a halfway decent solo, but most of the time I sound mediocre at best. With that said, you might be wondering why I think I have anything worthwhile to share about learning jazz. And certainly, how can I claim to have better advice than so many educators and professional musicians?
In general, I don't think great players can relate to the specific issues that impair those of us who are struggling. Playing by ear is a good example of this disconnect. I think it's rarely mentioned in jazz education because great players assume everyone can do it and/or they simply don't understand how impossibly difficult it is to improvise without the ability to play by ear. Instead of emphasizing ear training, they might suggest that we learn chord substitutions or some other form of advanced theory, because that's what helped them get to the next level. But, how can advanced theory really help someone who can't even play "Happy Birthday" by ear? If you can't play something that easy by ear, what hope could you have to improvise a musical jazz solo? Not much. Yet, I assure you that most college music schools have students who are are struggling to do just that.
And that's where I come in. I may not know as much about jazz and jazz improvisation as the average jazz educator, but I'm extremely familiar with the challenges facing struggling jazz musicians. I know what it's like to start a solo and have no idea what I'm going to play. I know what it's like to play one bad note after another when I lose my place in the changes. I know what it's like to play the same licks over and over again because I can't play the ideas in my head. I know what it's like to be terrified to play a solo, and I know what it's like to feel embarrassed when I play poorly. I know all of this because I am a struggling player myself. I've lived through the issues (some of which I continue to face) and I believe the lessons I've learned along the way can help others in their own musical journeys.
If by any chance I'm wrong in my assumption that I can help, well, at least the lessons were free!
