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 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?
Author: allencole 
Date:   2004-10-19 06:00

Mary,

The answer is YES, the more songs you know the better. Learning songs teaches you a lot of bottom-line feeling, and helps you study melody even before you fully understand the chord structure involved.

I agree with 3dogmom's teacher that quoting is not something to be done to excess. However, once you are learning songs, the next step is to try and learn a recorded solo or two. These will help to provide you with some licks that you can recycle without coming off as hokey as you would quoting actual song melodies. Later on, you will simply pick out and learn more licks that appeal to you--from whatever source.

Check with your local library to see if there is a copy of "Improvising Jazz" by Jerry Coker. It's a very readable, understandable book with some good basic ideas on getting started--and getting started is the hardest part for most folks.

Where I disagree with 3dodmom is the notion that jazz improvisation is 'all about the changes.' Most beginning improvisors run into a brick wall trying to run each and every chord that they see. The fact is that chords group together around tonal centers, and this is something that you can get an initial feel for by learning songs--which is why I strongly recommend that you jump on that. Once you learn a bit about chords, you will be able to perceive them in groups rather than singly, which can be a liberating experience.

Once you are adept at picking up melodies, I suggest that you try to sound out some things at the piano--particularly if you have anything available that tells what the chords are. Hearing how one chord leads to another can do much to stimulate ideas.

There does come the point where you need to concentrate more on different modes, but I think that focusing on this too early causes you to concentrate too much on individual trees to the exclusion of the forest itself. I see many a student look as if he were hit by a truck after browsing through his first Jamey Aebersold book. This can be prevented, and if you like, we can discuss how to do just that.

Allen Cole
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 Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
psychotic lil clarinet girl (don't as 2004-10-06 21:31 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Sarah 2004-10-06 21:50 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
msloss 2004-10-06 22:03 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
diz 2004-10-06 22:18 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
hans 2004-10-06 23:05 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Tom J. 2004-10-06 23:36 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
mkybrain 2004-10-06 23:44 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
BG 2004-10-07 01:29 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
mkybrain 2004-10-07 01:49 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Tara 2004-10-07 02:57 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
klarisa 2004-10-07 07:34 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
William 2004-10-07 15:00 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
SGTClarinet_7 2004-10-07 16:38 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Carol Dutcher 2004-10-07 17:31 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Alseg 2004-10-07 20:48 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
mkybrain 2004-10-07 22:45 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
JMcAulay 2004-10-09 01:58 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
mkybrain 2004-10-09 03:38 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
allencole 2004-10-09 06:14 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
psychotic lil clarinet girl (don't as 2004-10-10 17:10 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
allencole 2004-10-10 19:42 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
EEBaum 2004-10-10 21:18 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
3dogmom 2004-10-10 21:36 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
katchow 2004-10-15 16:12 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Markus Wenninger 2004-10-16 06:21 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Hank Lehrer 2004-10-16 11:25 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
allencole 2004-10-17 17:43 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
psychotic lil clarinet girl (don't as 2004-10-18 06:11 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
3dogmom 2004-10-18 10:52 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Markus Wenninger 2004-10-18 07:24 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Hank Lehrer 2004-10-18 11:06 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
3dogmom 2004-10-18 11:14 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Hank Lehrer 2004-10-18 12:40 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
psychotic lil clarinet girl (don't as 2004-10-18 23:33 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
allencole 2004-10-19 06:00 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
3dogmom 2004-10-19 10:16 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
allencole 2004-10-19 07:01 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Markus Wenninger 2004-10-20 06:57 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Hank Lehrer 2004-10-20 11:07 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
3dogmom 2004-10-20 11:50 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
allencole 2004-10-21 06:08 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Markus Wenninger 2004-10-21 15:01 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
3dogmom 2004-10-23 10:59 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Hank Lehrer 2007-11-05 23:30 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
allencole 2004-10-21 17:36 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Markus Wenninger 2004-10-23 18:01 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
3dogmom 2004-10-23 18:16 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Mark Charette 2004-10-23 18:22 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
allencole 2004-10-23 19:11 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
3dogmom 2004-10-23 23:48 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
allencole 2004-10-24 15:52 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Markus Wenninger 2004-10-25 12:04 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
hans 2004-10-25 14:06 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
allencole 2004-10-25 17:21 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
EEBaum 2004-10-25 17:45 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Hank Lehrer 2004-10-25 23:08 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
allencole 2004-10-27 07:02 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
bunny.stewart 2004-10-27 15:34 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Hank Lehrer 2004-10-28 02:42 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Markus Wenninger 2004-10-28 06:42 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Hank Lehrer 2004-10-28 10:21 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Katfish 2004-10-28 13:41 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Markus Wenninger 2004-10-28 20:14 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Hank Lehrer 2004-10-28 20:20 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
Camanda 2004-10-28 21:17 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
3dogmom 2004-10-28 23:55 
 Re: Improv! Now isn't this a GREAT subject?  new
allencole 2004-10-31 01:00 


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