Jazz Improvisation

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/jazz-improvisation

Introduction

### Course Review: Jazz Improvisation on Coursera If you're an aspiring musician or a jazz aficionado looking to deepen your understanding of improvisation, the *Jazz Improvisation* course offered on Coursera is an exceptional opportunity. Led by the legendary Gary Burton, a master of improvisation in the jazz world, this course provides a comprehensive avenue to explore the intricacies of jazz soloing. #### Overview The *Jazz Improvisation* course delves into the fundamental concepts of improvisation, allowing students to grasp the mental, melodic, and harmonic processes necessary for developing instinctive improvisation skills. It demystifies how musicians create spontaneous solos during performances, an area where many beginner and even intermediate musicians often find themselves lost. The course not only aims to introduce you to the technical aspects but also emphasizes the emotional and narrative components of effective jazz improvisation. #### Syllabus Breakdown 1. **Welcome to Jazz Improvisation**: The course kicks off with an introduction that equips learners with insights on how to best navigate their experience. This foundational step acknowledges the varied backgrounds of the participants, fostering a sense of community among learners. 2. **Improvisation as a Language**: Here, Burton emphasizes that improvisation is akin to mastering a new language. By assimilating scales and harmonic progressions into a coherent musical discourse, students learn to move from theoretical knowledge to fluent expression. This is a critical takeaway for any musician who wishes to transition from playing notes mechanically to crafting emotive musical narratives. 3. **The Improviser's Vocabulary**: This section demystifies the jazz lexicon, unveiling the common chord scales and their respective harmonies (major, minor, dominant 7, etc.). Understanding this vocabulary is essential for any saxophonist, pianist, or improviser eager to enrich their craft. 4. **Making Scale Choices in Real Time**: One of the most significant challenges in improvisation is the ability to make quick scale choices during a performance. In this lesson, Burton shares his methods for empowering improvisers to intuitively select scales on the fly, a skill that can greatly enhance live performance capabilities. 5. **Harmony for Improvisers**: The ability to convey harmony effectively is a hallmark of great improvisation. In this part of the course, students learn how to move the harmonies forward through their improvisation, ultimately guiding the listener through a cohesive musical journey rather than merely hitting "correct" notes. 6. **Theme and Variation**: This is where the narrative aspect of improvisation comes into play. Students will learn how to introduce thematic material and create variations that engage an audience throughout a solo. Burton draws parallels between improvisation and storytelling, highlighting how a good solo can mirror a well-constructed narrative. #### Recommendations I wholeheartedly recommend the *Jazz Improvisation* course for several reasons: - **Expert Guidance**: Learning from a teacher like Gary Burton, whose accolades in the realm of jazz are indisputable, provides authenticity and trust in the course material. - **Comprehensive Curriculum**: The course takes a well-rounded approach, marrying technical skills with expressive creativity, making it suitable for both beginners and those with some experience. - **Flexible Learning**: As a Coursera offering, the course allows for flexibility in your learning schedule, making it accessible for busy professionals and students alike. In conclusion, the *Jazz Improvisation* course on Coursera is not just an educational experience; it’s an engaging journey into the heart of jazz. Whether you're looking to enhance your performance skills or simply dive deeper into the art of improvisation, this course is a valuable investment in your musical endeavors. Whether you aspire to perform on stage or enjoy jamming with friends, the insights gained from Gary Burton will undoubtedly elevate your understanding and appreciation of this beautiful genre. Jump in, embrace the rhythm, and let your creativity flow through jazz!

Syllabus

Welcome to Jazz Improvisation

Welcome to the course! Here we will cover all the details about the course and what you'll need to know to get the most out of your experience.

Since everybody who is taking this course starts from a different place in terms of their experience as an improviser, it's important at first to cover some basic material. We'll begin our journey by exploring the language used by jazz improvisors. Improvisation is analogous to language in many ways. With music, we become fluent when the vocabulary (scales and chords) and grammar (harmonic progressions) are assimilated into conversational content or story (melodic themes and structure) and we no longer have to consciously think about them while we play.

In this lesson, we'll explore the improviser's lingo. We'll identify the most common chord scales and the type of harmony they relate to including major, minor, and dominant 7.

Improvisers must be able to quickly recall chord scales and be able to play around on them fluently. This becomes important when choosing which chord scale to use on a given harmony—another thing we must be able to determine immediately. When a new tune is put in front of you at a session or a rehearsal, there isn't time to take the music home and spend an hour or two working out the correct scales. Improvisers need a quick, mostly intuitive way of making these scale choices in real time as the tune is being played. This week, we'll explore my method for making these quick musical decisions.

It is important for an improviser to clearly imply the harmonies when improvising. It is not enough to just play correct notes on each chord. In this lesson we'll examine how the improviser helps the harmonies move. Part of the improviser's job is to help the listener follow the changes as the chords move from one to another.

This week we will discuss how the improviser develops melodic themes in a solo. As mentioned in week 1, there are natural comparisons between speech and improvising that illustrate how this functions. The most common technique for telling a musical story that engages the listener for the duration of your solo is by using a traditional concept called theme and variation. That is, you introduce a theme—a musical phrase—then repeat it, making variations on it to develop an interesting storyline. A good solo is like an explanation, or a good story. The explanation or story is the content of improvisation.