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RE: Improvising in Folkdance style.

Author: Kat
Date: 2003-01-15 17:28

Improv is acceptable, and frequently necessary in Balkan and Greek folk music. There are actually pretty strict rules around the usage of "scales" and scale patterns.

I haven't had much time to work on "taxim" (as the art of improv is called) so I can only give you a couple of pointers.

First, they don't really improv "on a tune" like jazzers do. They may improv on a set of chord changes, but frequently they're "noodling" on a single chord. If they want to change makam (or scale), there are certain ways to indicate where they're going. I can't do this! LOL!

What I do is play around with a makam on top of a single chord. I don't bother with modulation, since I haven't had time to study very much of it. A good makam to start with is called hejaz. You can play it on any pitch (not in Turkish or Arabic stuff though), and it's frequently found on concert D or concert A (both good string keys...). On D, it'll be: D Eb F# G A Bb C D. Transposed to Bb clarinet you've got: E F G# A B C D E.

What _I_ do when improvving in this style is to start with a trill on a "tonic" pitch. Then I'll play scale fragments in repetition, falling on scale degrees 1, 4, and 5.

The best way to work on this is to listen to lots of taxims. Try transcribing them and then learning them. This is what I really haven't had time to do yet! So, don't take my word as "gospel!"

xoxo,
Katrina

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Date

Improvising in Folkdance style. new

ginny

2003-01-15 16:53

RE: Improvising in Folkdance style. new

Kat

2003-01-15 17:28

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