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Re: Improvisation

Author: Jon Shurlock
Date: 2012-01-05 14:26

I have not been playing the clarinet for long and haven't done any improvisation to speak of on it, but have played guitar in pub bands off and on for 20 years, so perhaps can add a few general music tips

There are lots of ways to learn to improvise, but the more you do the better you get. Be prepared to sound awful and to make lots of mistakes in the beginning, but keep trying and keep practising. Don't have expectations that are too high - remember that the whole essence of improvisation is to play something you haven't done before, so how will you know it sounds good until you have played it! You'll make mistakes, but learn from them

Assuming that the improvisation is over the chord changes in the main part then your fallback is the melody. If all else fails and you only play the main melody then at least there isn't a big gap in the music. You can always put your own slant on it, by phrasing it slightly differently

Obviously this isn't the final result that you want to achieve, so start by changing a few things with the melody, perhaps by doubling up notes, syncopating the rhythm, approaching the melody notes with the adjacent notes or arpeggio fragments, repeating key phrases etc. There are lots of resources online about different ways to play so have a look

Another approach is practise licks, which are useful, short phrases that can be used in different situations. Using these and changing them around often gives you ideas that take you to another place in the music. Listen to people who inspire you and practise a few of their phrases, change them to make them your own and then apply them. Again, lots of resources on the net, and books galore if that's your thing. Remember that you can copy phrases from any instrument. Indeed, often by using phrases from other instruments you can create a new feel

Scales and arpeggios always help - a bit of theory will show you which scales go with which chords, or just go with your ear

Improvising with your voice, then repeating it with your instrument is another way to improve

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