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IMPROVISATION
CHOICES
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These three areas answer the question "on what do you improvise?"
Many improvisations will focus on one area more than another, but
others may have elements of all three in some kind of balance. Most
of jazz theory discussion will point back to one of these areas.
RETURN TO:
- I. Improvise on the Melody (Paraphrasing)
- A. Adding to the melody
- B. Changing the Rhythmic content
- C. Ornamenting or embellishing the general contour
- II. Improvising on the Harmony
- A. Harmonic Generalization
- 1. Tonic Triad Generalization
- 2. Diatonic Generalization
- 3. Major Blues Scale Generalization
- 4. Minor Blues Scale Generalization
- 5. Common Cliches
- B. Harmonically Specific
- 1. Arpeggios (1-3-5-7 & 3-5-7-9)
- 2. Scales (related first to the key center, then by
chord symbol)
- 3. Guide Tones (3rds & 7ths)
- 4. Outlines 1, 2, & 3 (See Connecting
Chords with Linear Harmony)
- III. Motivic Development
(Motives derived from the melody or newly invented.)
- A. Repetition
- B. Transpose
- C. Mode Change
- D. Fragment
- E. Add to (Before, in the middle, after)
- F. Sequence
- G. Embellish or ornament (keeping the general contour, using
neighbor-tones and other devices, still keeping the motive
recognizable)
- H. Augmentation (making the rhythmic unit or the pitch interval
larger)
- I. Diminution (making the rhythmic unit or the pitch interval
smaller)
- J. Invert (upside down: what goes up comes down)
- K. Retrograde (play backwards)
- L. Retrograde inversion (upside down and backwards)
- M. Displacement (Pitch and & octave displacement; rhythmic
displacement)
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Phone: 803.777.6565/803.777.4280
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