BREAKTHROUGH TOIMPROV: TnrSrcnrrs oFhupnovtsATroN 15STEPS TO MUSICALFREEDOM FORALLMUSICIANS by DaveFrank Ljbrary tafeSASatisburv Wiitshire Street S a r i s b uS . vA 5 1 O g
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goal in this video is to help you to breakthrouqhto the abilityto improvisemusic.For [t /V I Y I beginningimprovisers, this session is designedto leadto the experience of bluesimprovisation. Thosemusicians with prior improvexperience will find that applyingthe conceptsin Breokthrough to lmprovwill deepenand expandtheir improvability. The key to getting the most out of this sessionis to spendthe time necessary to masterthe material of eachsectionas outlinedby the procticepoints.The abilitieslearnedin the first four practicepoints providethe foundationfor the process of bluesimprovisation. Freebluesimprovisation truly beginsin the sectiontitled "lmprovisingwith quarter-noteriffs." ln Breokthrough to lmprov,we're concentratingon limited musicalelements-the blues progression and the bluesscale.We'recombiningtheseelementsusingvariousmusicalconcepts,includingriffs, "feelingin fours," question-and-answer, and others.Theseconceptsare the secrets of improvisation. The most importantthing to rememberas you explorethe process on this video is to generareyour musicfrom the feelingof the flow of swingeighthnotes(onceyou've got that far). The mechanicsof improv,although important,are secondary. As you improvise,alwaysbaseyour musicin the flow of legato(connected) swingeighthnotes-it's a naturalrhythm,a bouncyfeeling.lf you let your music coaston the wings of theseswingingeighth-noterhythmsand apply the conceptsintroducedin eachsectionto the notesof the bluesscale,you'll be jommin'!
for you The followingis a reviewof the practicepointsfor eachsectionwith someadditionalcomments to useasyou PlaY: POINT#1: Practicethe blues PRACTTCE s c a l ea l o n e . shouldplay this progression Keyboardists in the left hand alone,metronome.=72' *Note:keepthe metronomeat 72 as you rvork through all the practicepoints.As with the materialat vou feel comfortable s l o r v e rt e m p o s ,g r a d u a l l yi n c r e a s et h e You shouldalso practiceat times sL.eed. rrithout a metronome, to Prevent d e ' . e l o p i nagr e l i a n coen a n e x t e r n aplu l s e . and vocalists Cuitarists,instrumentalists, shouldplay and/or tape the progresslon a n d l i s t e n t o t h e c h o r d c Y c l e .T h i s progressionrs the frameworkfor blues improvisation.Practicethis progression untilthe sequenceissecondnatureto you.
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POINT#2: Practicethe blues scaleagainstthe blues progression;change directions PRACTICE f reely, Firstplay the scaleup and down in quarternotes,then continueto play notesfrom the bluesscale,but ptayifrem in any order you feel.Ascendand descendthe scalefreelyin quarternotes,creatingsimple melodiesasyou play.
pOINT#3: Repeatone riff againstthe blues progression,then alternatethe placement PRACTICE of the two riffs. Rilt'I
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PRACTICE POINT#4: lmprovisethe order of the two riffs againstthe blues progression. Combinetheseriffsin any spontaneous orderthat you feel.Yourinnerearwill continuously promptyou to play one riff or the other.This exercisewill teach you to respondquicklyto your inner ear while followingthe bluesprogression. PRACTICE POINT#5: lmprovisefreely and createshort eighth-note riffs followed by a rest. Thisis the beginningof freebluesimprovisation. Oneadditional technique that can be usedto at thislevel is to make up a simplestory as you improvise,matchingeachword with a note. Speakand play,for examote: ''Hcl
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Letthe wordsleadthe musicand simultaneously createa shortword phrasewith a shortmusicalphrasemade up of bluesscalenotes.Thiseasytechnique connects the "musicalbrain"with the "language brain."Tryit-it worls! PRACTICE POINT#6: Improvisefreely and createshort swinging eighth-note riffs.
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Thisis similarto step5, only faster.The key to keepingyour cool asyou speedup is to consciously relax asyou playat fastertempos. PRACTICE POINT#7: lmproviseusing notes of the blues scaleto create long swinging eighth-note lines,"feelingin fours." Playingat this level,your improvisations will soundauthentic!"Feelingin fours" is one of the unique improvisingconceptspresentedin Breakthrough to lmprov.lt'sthe most effectiveimprov techniquel've found to guide the creativeprocess."Feelingin fours" opens you to the magic and mysteryof improvisation. lt placesyour musicdirectlyinto the flow of rhythm.Placea smallaccenton the firstnote in eachgroupof four eighthnotesand consciously improvise in regular, definedgroupsof four swinging eighths.Startslowly,creatinglongermusicalsentences and maintaining thisfocus. PRACTICE POINT#8: lmprovisefreely using your inner ear guide to combine short riffs and longer lines. Balance and variationarethe principles here.Followthe promptingsof your innerear,as it will tellyou when to changeelements in your playing-in thiscase,when to switchfrom creatinglong linesto short linesand viceversa. PRACTICE POINT#9: Consciously incorporatethe three question-and-answer approaches into your improvisations. Usingtheseapproaches will help you to developyour musicalideas,and will createa relationship betweenyour ideas.Thiswill help your improvisation to tell a story. PRACTICE POINT#10: Add eighth-notetripletsinto your swing linesand createlinescomposedentirelyof triplets. 7
Hereisan exampleof a bluesline composedentirelyof triplets:
* excerptedfrom the /oy of /mprov:Book2 (Lesson 52).
PRACTICE POINT#11: Write out and improvisesixteenth-note lines. line at . = 50 is the same speedas an eighth note line at , = 100. Start slowly!A sixteenth-note Thinkmelodically. Yoursixteenth-note linesshouldbe similaryour eighth-note lines,onlytwiceasfast! lf at any time you loseyour focusand/or the chord progression, relaxand beginagain.Try not to overreactto "wrong notes."Manyof the greatestrecordingsby the greatestimprovisers containmissednotes or incompletephrases. lmprovisation is a processof discovery, performances. not a guestfor note-perfect Overtime, the abilityto improvisebecomesa marvelousprocess-originalmusicwill flow endlessly from your soulthroughyour fingersto your instrument. Onceyou learnto improvise, a lifetimeof creative expression will be withinyour grasp! I sincerelyhope that Breakthrough to lmprovwill offeryou a way to begintapping the infinitesourceof musicwithinyou, and I encourage you to keepstudying,keeppracticing, and keepswingin'! -Dave Fronk
Special thanksto: Yogi Bha;an,Dr. MichaelMcCee,CurucharanSingh Khalsa,my wife Hari for her patience and support,CharlieBanacos for hisvaluable adviceand feedback, JohnAmaralfor hisongoing partnership and collaboration, with Hal JohnCerullofor his beliefin this projectand for our association LeonardCorporation, Phil Cay for his excellentdirection,Mark Steelefor his fine editing,Wynton McCurdyfor hisgreatjob in the studio,and to the manystudents worldwidewho, throughtheirinterest and enthusiasm, gaveme the opportunityto developthe teachingapproachpresented on thisvideo.
f *,,,n,r,,,,,.,-. IOY OF IMPROV By DAVEFRANKwith JOHNAMARAL containing52 Joyot lmprovis a completecurriculumfor the aspiringimproviser, lessons for all instruments in two volumes. Volume1: Devolping theFoundotion containslessons 1-26.Eachlessonis comprised of exercises in vocabulary, technique, 1000 basicmodernjazzchordvoicings,bluesand jazztunes,and recommended listening. Hundredsof writtenbluesriffsand jazzlines will giveyou unlimitedideasto inspireyourown improvisations. A muslfor anyserious beginningimproviser!
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Vofume 2: Completingthe Foundotioncontainslessons27-52. The curriculumin volume2 is moreadvanced, the chordvoicinglistsmorecomplex,and the bluesand jazz linesmore challenging. A specialsectionis includeddescribingtechniques to organizethe voicingsstudiedinto hip arrangements. Everyaspectof your playingwill improveby studyingthisinspirational book! Both books contain thirty pages of insightfultext discussingmany aspectsof improvisation as well as an audioCD, enhancedfor PCand Mac,containing valuable verbalteachingby DaveFrank,recordings of all the lessons, and previously unissued solopianoperformances. Thesebooksarehighlyrecommended ascompanions to the Breakthrouah to lmorovvideo.
To order,contactyour localHalLeonarddealeror musicstore. To schedulea DaveFranksoloconcertand/ormasterclassin your area,or for productand/ortouring information, sendemailto
[email protected].
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