Advanced Improv Sheets

Chord Scales 1. Background Info: N/A 2. Scott Reeves, Chapters 4-10 and 14-18 3. Recordings: N/A 4. Musician Examples: All Musicians 5. Theory Relating the scales to the chord tones and knowing the chord tones. ii-V-I’s, Blues Scale, Minor ii-V-I’s, Sus and Phry. Reharms, Diminished Scales. Modes of Major Scale. Modes of Melodic Minor: I-maj7, ii13b9, IIImaj7#4#5, IV7#11, V7b13, vi halfdim nat. 9, VII7Alt. Whole Tone = ex C9#5#11, Harmonic Minor Worksheet for 1 lick, 12 keys. 6. How to Practice: Play Scales up and Down alone. Start on different chord tones. Arpeggios. Target certain chord tones throughout a tune. Scale exercises through a tune. 7. Demonstration on Stella by Starlight or Fall. 8. Typical Piano Voicings: Voice chord, play scale. 9. Anything Else:

Expanding the Blues 1. Background Info: The blues has continued to evolve since its beginnings. 2. Scott Reeves: Chapter 10 3. Recordings: N/A 4. Example Musicians: John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Chick Corea, and Keith Jarrett 5. Theory: Using Alterations like: Blues Scale, Mixolydian, Lydian Dominant, Sus, Susb9, Diminished (b9), Alt, etc. Other Substitute Progressions. 6. Demonstrate how to practice: Make every chord in Blues same alteration going through each one. Maybe begin to mix alterations. Experiment with chord function. 7. Demonstrate Technique itself: Play my blues. 8. Typical Piano Voicings 9. Anything Else: Rhythmic alterations/ Arrangements.

Expanding Standards 1. Background Info: Post bop musicians began to rhythmic shift and alter more chords. 2. Scott Reeves: N/A 3. Recordings: Bill Evans, Comes Rain or Come Shine, Nardis 4. Musician Examples: Bill Evans, Chick Corea 5. Theory: Patterns: 12345, 135, 1357, 13579, 7531, 97531, Embellishment on chord tones, Quarter Note Triplets through changes, 8ths, 8th triplets, 16th’s, Contour and when to change direction, groupings. Anticipating and Delaying Chords. Altering chords and having chord substitutions including triton subs. Taking a melodic phrase and developing it through the tune. Quotes. 6. Demonstrate How to Practice: Take one concept and focus on just that. 7. Demonstrate All the Things you Are, Either play the tune or try and play my solo. 8. Typical Piano Voicings: N/A 9. Anything Else: Implying Groupings that mask the time depending on what the rhythm section plays. Odd Groupings. Rhythmic Development.

Pentatonic Scales 1. Background Info: Pentatonics come from many folk musics around the world. The blues is centered around these scales. 2. Scott Reeves: Chapters 19-20 3. Recordings: John Coltrane Impressions/ McCoy Tyner. 4. Musician Examples: Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson. 5. Theory: See worksheets on 1 Lick: 12 Chords, and Ab Pentatonic Sheet. G Major Pentatonic can be used on Db7Alt, Dmin6, or Fmaj7#11. 6. How to Practice: Demonstrate some licks that work over chords in interesting ways. Present Progression I wrote down in class. 7. Demonstrate Inner Urge. Fit Pentatonics In. 8. Piano Voicings: N/A 9. Extras: N/A

Modal 1. Background: Modal jazz was sparked by Bill Evans in Miles Davis’s band. His classical piano influences contributed to this movement. 2. Reeves: N/A 3. Recordings: John Coltrane Impressions 4. Musician Examples: John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard, Miles Davis, Bill Evans. 5. Theory Involved: Class #6 Handout. Cells, Chromaticisms, Playing Out, Upper Structure Triads, Pentatonics. 6. Demonstrate Practice: Develop a motivic idea over an open mode going in and out. Try different chromatic ideas. Coltrane Transcription. 7. Demonstrate Impressions 8. Piano Quartal Voicings. 9. Extras: Different Approaches by different ensembles and players.

Uptempos 1. Background Info: Tempos in jazz skyrocketed in the bebop movement onwards. Test of virtuosity. 2. Scott Reeves: N/A 3. Recordings: Ahmad Jamal – Surrey with a Fringe On Top, Cherokee. Miles Davis – Walkin’, Charlie Parker Koko 4. Musician Examples: Miles Quintet, Chick Corea, Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Tony Williams, Max Roach, Cannonball, etc. 5. Theory Stay relaxed and feel the big beat. More harmonic generalizations until more comfortable with hitting each change. 6. Demonstrate how to practice: Sing rhythms feeling each bar as a pulse. Feel phrases in 32nd notes to that pulse. The feel will be relaxed. 7. Demonstrate on It’s You or No One. 8. Piano Voicings: N/A 9. Extras: Explore difference in feel between feeling the bar, half notes, quarter notes, 2 & 4. Explore putting one click for every 4 bars or 8 bars.

Ballads 1. Background: N/A 2. Scott Reeves: N/A 3. Recordings: Tony Bennett, The Pawnbreaker, Coleman Hawkins Body and Soul, Bill Evans Come Rain or Come Shine. 4. Musician Examples: Singers like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, etc. 5. Theory: Types of feels: Walking Ballad, Straight 8th feel ballad, ECM Ballad, Triplet Feel Ballad, Double time feel ballad, extremely slow ballads. Addressing Intros and Cadenzas, Endings. 6. How to practice: Pick one ballad and learn lyrics and how to sing. Understand how the words fit the rhythm and pitch of the melody. Experiment with different interpretations of the melody: Literal, Embellishment, Improvising around melody, Free-ish. Experiment with all the different feels the ballad could be played with. 7. Demonstrate a ballad. I can’t get started, Coral, or come rain or come shine. 8. Piano Voicings: N/A

Giant Steps 1. Background: Invention by John Coltrane. Chord Progression appears in the bridge of Have You Met Miss Jones. 2. Reeves: Chapter 12. 3. Recordings: Giant Steps, You’ve Stepped out of Dream John Coltrane, Countdown. 4. Example Musicians: John Coltrane 5. Theory: Dmin7 | G7 | Cmaj7 | Cmaj7| Same as Dmin7 Eb7 | Abmaj7 B7 | Emaj7 G7 | Cmaj7 Major Thirds make up augmented triad. 3 major thirds make up the octave. Giant Steps: Bmaj7 D7 | Gmaj7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 Compared to |Fmin7 F#7 | Bmaj7 D7 | Gmaj7 Bb7| Ebmaj7 | 6. Practice: Simple Patterns and licks over the progression. Practice slow inside each tonality. 7. Demonstrate Giants Steps or Arrangement. 8. Piano Voicings: N/A 9. Extras

Polychords

1. Background: Postbop explorations 2. Reeves: N/A

3. Recordings: Brecker Brothers: Inside Out 4. Musicians: Randy Brecker, Michael Brecker 5. Theory: See Class #10 worksheet for chords we went over. Demonstrate chord scales. 6. Practice: Improvise slowly inside of chord scales that work. 7. Demonstrate Inside Out. Show understanding of chord changes on the tune. 8. Piano Voicings: On Worksheet 9. Extras

Odd Time Signatures 1. Background: They exist in other folk musics in the world very naturally. Late for America. 2. Reeves: N/A 3. Recordings: Ralph Towner and Oregon. 4. Musicians: Dave Holland, Ralph Towner, Bard Mehldau, Dave Brubeck, Don Ellis, Gateway trio 5. Theory: See Worksheet on Clave groupings in 7. Talking about different phrasing breakdowns felt as clave. Trying to put 4/4 devices in an odd meter to give it a flow. Avoid beat one. Over the barline. 6. Practice: Practice different groupings. Try putting standards in different time signatures and groupings. Practice rhythm exercises. 7. Demonstrate original tune or standard in an odd meter. 8. Piano: N/A 9. Extras