<p>The Art of ImprovisationVersion 1.0 8/22/2000</p><p> Creating real-time music through jazz improvisation </p><p>*Introduction*</p><p>by Bob TaylorAuthor of Sightreading Jazz, Sightreading Chord Progressions2000 Taylor-James Publications</p><p>About This BookWelcome to The Art of Improvisation ! This section is about: Why I Wrote The Art of Improvisation Highlights of The Art of Improvisation Acknowledgements and BRIDJJ Listening to Jazz</p><p>Why I Wrote The Art of Improvisation So how do they do it? How do the great improvisers create musical tales of suspense and wonder? Can we improvise like they do by copying what they play? I used to think so, but now Im convinced its better to visualize and understand their ideas, not just copy them. Great players know and use seven elements of improvisation; I wrote The Art of Improvisation to help you learn and use these elements like they do. Its not a wizards apprenticeship; its a real process you can learn a step at a time. You can include the principles in The Art of Improvisation in your daily practice to greatly speed up your progress in improvisation. Youll recognize these principles when you listen to the solos of great jazz improvisers.What This Book Is and Isnt About ...</p><p>In this book youll use the Yes concepts below, not the typical No methods.</p><p>' Yes:</p><p>Learn a variety of flexible scales that help you create musical ideas.</p><p>X No: Start with the blues scale, stay with the blues scale, and eventually become trapped by the blues scale.</p><p>' Yes:X No:</p><p>Create, develop, and express your own musical ideas and phrases. Memorize jazz patterns and try to turn them into improvisation. Learn to create and develop melodies first, then use changing chords. Study chord progressions first (get on the freeway, then learn to drive). Create melodies that sometimes fit, sometimes transcend the chords.</p><p>' Yes:X No:</p><p>' Yes:</p><p>X No: Play arpeggios so much that your listener is sure what chord youre playing against, but not sure if you know much else about improvising.About the Author</p><p>My early music background was classical; I started playing jazz as a freshman in college. At first I learned to improvise by copying patterns and by transcribing solos. But after extensive listening, I discovered solid principles in the solos of great improvisers. I used them, adapted them, and shared them with students. This book gathers what I learned in years of playing, teaching, and research.</p><p>About This Book</p><p>i</p><p>Some of my credits: Masters Degree in Music Education, California State Univ., Los Angeles Jazz faculty member at Cal. State L.A., Pasadena City College, and BYU Member of BYU Faculty Jazz Quintet and BRIDJJ jazz/fusion group Author of Sightreading Jazz and Sightreading Chord Progressions</p><p>Highlights of The Art of Improvisation The Art of Improvisation is a two-volume set that includes the features listed below, and more, to help you learn and master jazz improvisation: Easy-to-read explanations of 7 elements of improvisation, in 5 skill levels. Over 350 concise musical examples to illustrate what youre learning. Over 200 exercises to help you try out what youve learned. Most exercises have three levels of difficulty: Basic, Medium, and Challenge. Chords for 130 standard jazz tunes in a clear, easy-to-read format. Transcribed jazz solos from the BRIDJJ CD Beat the Rats. Ideas for teaching with The Art of Improvisation.</p><p>Other Books Ive Written</p><p>Sightreading Jazz, a complete method for reading pitches, rhythms, and melodies, for all instruments in treble or bass clef. Exercises can be recycled and varied, creating thousands of new sightreading examples. Also available are transposed exercises (Bb and Eb) for ensemble practice along with the concert key exercises. Acknowledgments and BRIDJJ Id like to especially thank those who have helped to bring this book to light: My wife, Jennifer, for her constant support and writing insights. My daughters, Jamie, Jessica, and Johanna, for sharing me with the computer. My parents, Harold and Jean, for the musical legacy they left me. John, for his love of jazz and art. Mick, for his love of engineering, and Rosie, for her love of the classics. Jay Lawrence, for his research and insights into latin and fusion rhythms. Rich Dixon, for his ideas on the art of playing outside. Members of BRIDJJ (Rich Dixon, Dan Waldis, Jim Stout, and Jay Lawrence). Steve Richins, Lars Yorgason, and Newell Dayley for their ideas and support. All the musicians who tested this book and provided valuable feedback.</p><p>ii</p><p>About This Book</p><p>Listening to Jazz As you study from The Art of Improvisation and practice its exercises, its essential that you keep listening to recordings of great jazz artists. As you listen, you should constantly try to: 1) Find the form of the tune so you can clearly identify the start and end of each solo chorus. 2) Switch your focus back and forth between the improvised solos and the rhythm section accompaniment, noticing how the players interact and support each other. 3) Identify interesting ideas and match them with concepts from the Art of Improvisation, so you can adapt them in your own improvisation.Some Famous Jazz Improvisers</p><p>The artists and recordings below can serve as a basic listening guide for your improv study (dates are approximate). Be sure to branch out and try new artists and recordings as you develop your own styles and tastes. For artists and recordings in fusion and latin styles, see Chapter 3C: Fusion and Latin Styles. StyleEarly jazz (1900-30)</p><p>Instrum.Trumpet Woodwinds Trombone Piano Eddie Lang Bessie Smith</p><p>ArtistLouis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke Sidney Bechet, Johnny Dodds Kid Ory, Jack Teagarden Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Earl Hines, Fats Waller, James Johnson</p><p>Guitar Vocalists Swing (1930-45)</p><p>Trumpet Roy Eldridge, Sweets Edison, Cootie Williams Tenor SaxLester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster Alto Sax Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter Clarinet Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey, Artie Shaw Trombone Tommy Dorsey Piano Art Tatum, Duke Ellington, Count Basie Guitar Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt Bass Jimmy Blanton, Oscar Pettiford Vibes Lionel Hampton Violin Stuff Smith, Stephane Grappelli Drums Gene Krupa Vocalists Billie Holiday Trumpet Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro Alto Sax Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt Tenor SaxDon Byas Trombone J. J. Johnson Piano Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk Drums Kenny Clarke, Max Roach, Buddy Rich Vocalists Ella Fitzgerald Trumpet Miles Davis, Chet Baker Alto Sax Paul Desmond, Lee Konitz, Art Pepper Tenor SaxStan Getz Bari Sax Gerry Mulligan Trombone Bob Brookmeyer</p><p>Bebop (1945-55)</p><p>Cool (1950-65)</p><p>About This Book</p><p>iii</p><p>Piano Drums Hard Bop (1955-70)</p><p>Dave Brubeck, Lennie Tristano Shelley Manne, Joe Morello</p><p>Trumpet Clifford Brown, Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard Alto Sax Cannonball Adderley Tenor SaxSonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson Trombone Slide Hampton Piano Oscar Peterson Guitar Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass Organ Jimmy Smith Vibes Milt Jackson Bass Ray Brown Drums Shelley Manne, Joe Morello Vocalists Jon Hendricks Trumpet Miles Davis Tenor SaxJohn Coltrane, Wayne Shorter Piano McCoy Tyner Bass Paul Chambers, Ron Carter Drums Elvin Jones Trumpet Don Cherry, Lester Bowie, Don Ellis Alto Sax Ornette Coleman Tenor SaxJohn Coltrane, Albert Ayler Woodwinds Eric Dolphy Trombone Roswell Rudd, Albert Manglesdorff Piano Cecil Taylor Guitar John McLaughlin Bass Charles Mingus, Charlie Haden Trumpet Woody Shaw, Wynton Marsalis, Arturo Sandoval, Terence Blanchard, Wallace Roney Alto Sax Phil Woods Tenor SaxMichael Brecker, Branford Marsalis, Joshua Redman Clarinet Buddy DeFranco, Eddie Daniels Flute Hubert Laws Trombone Bill Watrous, Frank Rosolino, Carl Fontana Piano Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, Keith Jarrett, Clare Fischer, Marcus Roberts, Gonzalo Rubalcava, Joanne Brackeen Guitar John McLaughlin, John Scofield, Allan Holdsworth, Jim Hall, Pat Metheny, Mike Stern Vibes Gary Burton Harmonica Toots Thielemans Violin Jean-Luc Ponty Bass Niels Henning Orsted-Pedersen, John Pattitucci, Eddie Gomez, Dave Holland, Christian McBride Drums Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, Jeff Watts Vocalists Sarah Vaughn, Betty Carter, Bobby McFerrin</p><p>Modal Jazz (1960-70)</p><p>Free Jazz (1960-75)</p><p>Recent (1975- )</p><p>iv</p><p>About This Book</p><p>Table of Contents IntroductionAbout This Book Why I Wrote The Art of Improvisation What This Book Is and Isnt About ... About the Author Highlights of The Art of Improvisation Other Books Ive Written Acknowledgments and BRIDJJ Listening to Jazz Some Famous Jazz Improvisers Improvisation Levels and Elements About the Five Levels Starting at the Beginning Sneaking Ahead Exercises The Seven Elements of Improvisation Making the Seven Elements Work for You Skills You Need Jazz Improvisation Myths Myth #1: Youre Born With It Myth #2: You Need Perfect Pitch Myth #3: You Cant Practice Without Your Instrument Myth #4: Classical and Jazz Dont Mix Definitions of Improvisation Q1: How Do You Make It Up? Q2: What Makes It Good or Bad? Bad Habits of Improvisation Q3: What Are Notes? Q4: What about Wrong Notes? Q5: Who Communicates? Jazz Improvisation and Other Arts i i i i ii ii ii iii iii 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 6 6</p><p>Painting and Jazz Improvisation Classical Composition and Improvisation Language and Improvisation Standup Comedy and Improvisation Chapter Review Why Learn to Improvise? Self-Expression Creativity Teamwork Values Learning Values through Improvisation #1: Discernment and Wisdom #2: Integrity #3: Leadership #4: Informed Risks #5: Diversity About Creativity The Creative Process Steps in the Creative Process Five Barriers to Creativity</p><p>6 7 7 7 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 12</p><p>Barrier 1: Only One Way to Solve a Problem 12 Barrier 2: Our Creation Must Be All New 12 Barrier 3: We Dont Know Materials/Tools 12 Barrier 4: We Dont Plan or Visualize Barrier 5: We Let Fear and Ego Defeat Us Creative Improvisation Can Improvisation Be Pre-Determined? Improvisation and the Creative Process Chapter Review About the Exercises Using the Exercises Variety in Exercises Reviewing Exercises 13 13 13 13 14 14 11 15 16 16</p><p>Q6: What Do You Communicate and How? 6</p><p>Level 1 - Starting1A: Using the Virtual Practice Method 1.1 Steps for Virtual Practice Practicing with the Circle of Fourths 1.2 Practicing Major Scales Using Flexible Scales 1.3 Using Flexible Major Scales 1.4 Using Thirds in Flexible Scales More Practice SHAPE: See, Hear, And Play Expressively Using SHAPE Avoiding PHASE Improvising with a Background Chapter Review 1B: Chords and Scales Understanding Chord Symbols Basic Elements of Chord Symbols Building Major Chords 1.5 Spelling the 12 Major Chords 1.6 Practicing Major 7 Arpeggios Building Lydian Scales 1.7 Spelling The 12 Lydian Scales 1.8 Practicing Flexible Lydian Scales Building Dominant Chords and Scales 1.9 Spelling the 12 Dominant 7 Chords 1.10 Practicing Dominant 7 Chords 1.11 Spelling the 12 Mixolydian Scales 1.12 Practicing Flexible Mixolydian Scales Building Minor Chords and Scales 1.13 Spelling the 12 Minor 7 Chords 1.14 Practicing Minor 7 Chords 1.15 Spelling the 12 Dorian Scales 1.16 Practicing Flexible Dorian Scales 1.17 Flexible Scales with Wide Intervals 19 19 20 20 20 20 21 21 21 21 22 22 22 23 23 23 23 23 24 24 24 24 25 25 25 25 25 26 26 26 26 26 27</p><p>1.19 Flexible Scales: Wider Intervals, Alternate Rhythms 28 Chapter Review 1C: Melodic Color Color Tones 1.20 Naming the Color Tones 1.21 Emphasizing Color Tones 1.22 Using Color Intervals Handling the Fourth Degree Suspended Chords Handling the 4th Degree in Minor Finding Color Tones in Written Music 1.24 Color Tones in Transcribed Solos Soloing with Color Tones Chapter Review 1D: Rhythmic Variety Latin, Fusion, and Swing Styles Latin Style Fusion Style Swing Style Using Offbeats 1.25 Emphasizing Offbeats Mixing Offbeats and Downbeats 1.26 Consecutive Offbeats: Half-Notes 1.28 Shifting: Downbeats and Offbeats Playing Interesting Rhythms 1.29 Shorter and Longer Values 1.30 Using Triplets 1.31 Using Triplets with Ties and Rests Using Rhythmic Combinations Virtual Practice Method for Rhythms 1.33 Visualizing Rhythms 28 19 29 29 29 30 30 31 31 32 32 32 32 33 33 33 33 33 33 34 34 34 35 36 36 36 37 37 38 38 39 Chapter Review 39</p><p>1.23 Handling the 4th in Major &amp; Dominant30</p><p>Soloing with Color Tones &amp; Flexible Scales 32</p><p>1.27 Consecutive Offbeats: Quarter-Notes 35</p><p>More Practice with Flexible Scales and Arpeggios27 1.18 Flexible Scales with Alternate Rhythms 27</p><p>Rhythmic Precision: Thinking Like a Drummer</p><p>1E: Using Expression The Role of Expression Sound and Technique Playing with Expression #1: Subtle and Occasional #2: Varied #3: Well-Timed Using SHAPE for Expression Using Dynamics 1.34 Dynamic Variety Varying Accents and Articulations 1.35 Using Accents 1.36 Using Articulations Chapter Review 1F: Developing with Motifs and Phrases About Development The Classical Connection Excuses for Not Developing Creating a Motif 1.37 Motif Examples Motifs from Tune Melodies Varying a Motif Degrees of Variation 1.38 Varying Motifs 1.39 Developing Earlier Motifs Creating Phrases 1.40 Phrase Types 1.41 Connecting Motifs How to End Phrases Economizing Dealing with Silence Eliminating Phrase Barriers 1.43 Phrase Barriers Development Exercises, Level 1 Chapter Review</p><p>40 40 40 40 40 41 41 41 41 41 41 42 42 42 43 43 43 44 44 44 45 45 45 45 46 46 46 47 48 48 48 49 49 49 50</p><p>1G: Chords, Keys, and Progressions Chords in Major Keys 1.44 Using Roman Numerals in a Key Recognizing Keys in Chord Progressions 1.45 Tips for Recognizing Keys The Basic Blues 1.46 Blues Structure Using Blues Scales 1.47 Spelling the 12 Blues Scales 1.48 Practicing Flexible Blues Scales Avoiding Common Blues Scale Problems ii-V-I Progressions 1.49 Building a ii-V-I Progression 1.50 Prefacing a ii-V-I Simplifying Chord Progressions 1.51 Practice for Simplifying Chords Disadvantages of Simplifying Chapter Review 1H: The Jazz Group Group Performance Skills Time Balance and Dynamics Chord Reading Styles and Rhythmic Ideas Interaction and Teamwork Rhythm Section Roles The Chords The Bass The Drums The Tune Melody Tune Melodies on the BRIDJJ CD Chapter Review 1J: Analyzing Solos Evaluating Your Own Solos Creating, Then Criticizing Four Goals for Improving Your Solos 1.52 Practicing for Melody</p><p>51 51 51 52 52 52 52 53 53 53 54 54 54 54 54 55 55 55 56 56 56 56 57 57 57 57 57 57 58 58 58 58 59 59 59 59 60</p><p>1.53 Practicing for Rhythm 1.54 Practicing for Expression About Sound and Technique 1.55 Practicing for Development Analyzing Other Artists Solos Chapter Review Rhythm Section Techniques Chord Techniques Chord Inversions Chord Voicings for Left Hand Chord Voicings for Two Hands Bass Techniques Building a Walking Bass Line Bass Styles on the BRIDJJ CD Drumset Techniques Basic Drum Styles Drum Styles on the BRIDJJ CD Variety and Interaction Individual V...</p>

<ul><li><p>A Jazz Improvisation Primer</p><p>Marc Sabatella</p><p>Revised 1/18/96</p><p>Copyright 1992-1996 by Marc Sabatella</p><p>0. PrefaceThis primer began in 1992 as an attempt to put together some answers to questions com-monly asked by beginning improvisers in the rec.music.bluenote newsgroup on the Inter-net computer network. In the process of putting the text together, howev er, it graduallygrew into a more comprehensive treatise hopefully suitable as a beginning guide to theself-study of jazz improvisation.As I expanded the scope of this work from the simple question and answer sheet to whatit is now, one of my objectives was to make it also useful to people who have no intentionof becoming jazz performers, but who wish to increase their understanding of the musicin order to gain a better appreciation for it. Some listeners delight in not knowing whatgoes into the music, considering it in the same vein as sausages in that respect, but I sin-cerely believe that ones enjoyment of music can almost always be enhanced by a betterunderstanding of it.This primer assumes the reader has a certain familiarity with basic concepts of terminol-ogy and notation, but no more than one might have learned in a few music lessons as achild. From this foundation, the primer gradually delves into relatively advanced theory.The amount of information presented here may appear overwhelming to all but the mostambitious of non-performing listeners, but I believe the study is well worth the effort.The theory discussed in this primer could easily take hundreds of pages to cover ade-quately, and should be accompanied by transcriptions of musical examples and excerptsfrom actual solos. However, it is not my intention here to write the Great AmericanHow To Play Jazz Manual (but see below for information about the CD-ROM I amdeveloping). Think of this primer more as an introduction to the subject, or as a survey ofthe various topics to be covered by other texts. I also feel that jazz improvisation cannotbe understood or mastered without a feel for the history of jazz, so I have included a sec-tion on history. Again, my treatment here is rather cursory, and should be consideredonly an introductory survey.One could argue that instead of reading this primer, one would be better off just reading ahistory text and a theory text. There is probably some truth to this. However, this primertries to relate these approaches in a manner that cannot be done with separate texts, togive you a broad idea of what jazz improvisation is all about. It also takes a less pedanticapproach than most improvisation texts, encouraging you to find your own voice ratherthan merely teaching you how to play the right notes. I think you will find that the</p></li><li><p>2history, theories, and techniques discussed here go a long way toward explaining what isbehind most of the jazz you hear, but are not necessarily enough on its own to allow youto reproduce it or even fully analyze it. If it points anyone in the right direction, encour-ages them to check out more comprehensive texts, or motivates them to take some lessonsor a class, then it has succeeded.Because this primer was written before the advent of the Web, before the days of on-linegraphics and sound on the Internet, this primer is all text. This is unfortunate, since itmakes the sections on chords, scales, and voicings much more confusing than theydeserve to be. It also makes for an overly technical and dry discussion of such a free andcreative art form as jazz. It would be nice to be able to target this primer at the more typi-cal beginning improviser, the high school or college student who is not necessarily espe-cially technically inclined. Musical examples would undoubtedly help me make some ofmy points that are probably being lost now in the bewildering verbiage. Also, I thinkusing examples to streamline some of the more tedious explanations would help me focusthe primer a little better.I am currently working on a multimedia CD-ROM version of the primer, one that wouldinclude hypertext, graphics, and sound. It will also be greatly expanded; probably on theorder of three times as much text, in addition to all the examples Ill be able to include.Based on my progress thus far (as of 1/96), I am projecting it would be available by thebeginning of 1997, but Ive nev er done anything like this before, so its hard to guesswhat exactly will be involved in actually releasing it.While this primer continues to be freely available, you may wish to consider it as share-ware. The CD-ROM itself will be a commercial product, but I could use a little extracapital up front to help fund the project, so donations would be most appreciated. Youcan send a check to me at my address below (Im not planning on moving any time soon).The amount is up to you, but I figure $10 or $20 would be nice. I will keep track of dona-tions and offer them back to you as rebates should you buy the CD-ROM when itbecomes available. Anyone interested in more substantial investment in the CD-ROMproject may contact me directly. If any readers have any suggestions for my CD-ROMproject or have any other comments or feedback for me on this primer, please let meknow. My electronic mail address is marc@fortnet.org, and my Web page is athttp://www.fortnet.org/marc/. A note posted to rec.music.bluenote will generally get myattention as well. I can be reached by telephone at (970)493-4856. My US mail addressis Marc Sabatella,511 East Myrtle Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524.The first edition of this primer contained no copyright notice, but was covered anyhowunder United States copyright law and under the international Berne convention. Thisedition carries an explicit copyright notice. I grant you the right to print this primer andmake copies to distribute if you wish, but I do ask you to not get carried away, and if youget anything out of this primer, please consider making a donation to me, as describedabove.For persons on the Internet, the latest version of this primer can be accessed using a webbrowser such as Netscape, NCSA Mosaic, or Lynx. The URL for the primer ishttp://www.fortnet.org/marc/primer/. Postscript, DVI, troff -me, and ASCII versions are</p></li><li><p>3also available, from that location or by anonymous ftp to ftp.njit.edu in the /pub/jazz-primer directory. From time to time, I may make other formats available as well. If youcannot print out the primer from any of these forms, you can get hardcopy from me bysending $20 to me at my address above; $5 to cover my copying and mailing costs, and$15 which I will consider a donation that will be rebated to you if you buy the CD-ROMwhen it becomes available.Finally, I would like to thank some people who contributed to this primer. Solomon Dou-glas, Jonathan Cohen, and Sue Raul reviewed the early drafts and gav e me lots of goodsuggestions, most of which were incorporated into the first edition. Jonathan also con-tributed some material for the discussions on modal music. Since the first edition wasmade available, thousands of people have downloaded it or viewed it via the Web, andmany others have obtained copies by other means as well. I hav e received many com-ments and have tried to incorporate as many of the suggestions as possible. While itwould be difficult to list everyone who gav e me feedback, I would like to especiallyacknowledge Russ Evans, Jos Groot, Jason Martin Levitt, Scott Gordon, Jim Franzen,David Geiser, and Malte Rogacki, as well as Ed Price, who converted the text into hyper-text form for the World Wide Web.</p><p>1. GoalsFor the purposes of this primer, we are all musicians. Some of us may be performingmusicians, while most of us are listening musicians. Most of the former are also the lat-ter. I will try to use the term performer and listener respectively, rather than the termsmusician or non-musician, when addressing my audience. This primer is intended pri-marily for performers who wish to learn jazz improvisation. It is also intended for listen-ers who wish to increase their understanding of the music. I believe that all musicianscan benefit from a fuller understanding of jazz, as this can lead to an enhanced enjoymentof the music.Some basic knowledge of music, including familiarity with standard music notation, isassumed in many places throughout the primer. I highly recommend that you have accessto a piano and the ability to play simple examples on it. Performers should already pos-sess basic technical proficiency on your instruments in order to gain the most from thisprimer. Listeners should try to bear with the more technical discussions and not get toobogged down with the details where it seems too far over your head.There are three main goals of this primer. They are to teach you the language of jazz, toincrease your understanding of jazz as performed by others, and, for performers, to getyou started on improvising. The language of jazz is mostly a language of styles, history,and music theory. It is the language of liner notes, interviews, and textbooks, and con-tains terms such as bebop, Trane, and lydian dominant. Learning this languagewill also provide a framework for understanding the music itself. While it is certainlypossible to enjoy John Coltrane without understanding anything about music theory, aworking knowledge of harmony can provide a new basis for appreciation. It is also possi-ble to improvise without much theoretic background, but stories of famous musicianswho were unable to read music are generally greatly exaggerated, and I believe any</p></li><li><p>4musicians playing can be improved by learning more theory.</p><p>1.1. OutlineThis primer is organized as a series of steps toward becoming a jazz musician, either as aperformer or as a more informed listener. Most of the steps are geared for the performer,but the non-performing listener is encouraged to try out as many of the playing examplesas possible. This should help broaden your ear and help you recognize aspects of themusic you might not have otherwise.The steps outlined in this primer are:</p><p>1. listen to many different styles of jazz2. understand jazz fundamentals3. learn chord/scale relationships4. learn how to apply the theory to jazz improvisation5. learn how to accompany other soloists6. play with others7. listen analytically8. break the rules</p><p>These will each be described in some detail later.Some of the material presented here is very basic, and some of it is rather advanced.Those of you who have listened to a lot of jazz but are not performers yourselves willprobably find the history discussions to be simplistic, but find the theoretical discussionsoverwhelming. Others may grow impatient at the explanations of such basic concepts asthe major scale, but will be bewildered at the number and variety of musicians discussed.You may wonder why such a broad array of information has been squeezed into this oneprimer. I believe that, in order to understand jazz improvisation, it is necessary to under-stand the history, the theory, and the techniques of jazz. I feel that it is important tomerge these avenues if one is to develop a broad understanding.</p><p>1.2. Other ResourcesThis primer is not the only source of information you can or should be using in learningjazz improvisation. There are books by Jerry Coker, David Baker, and others that can beused as an aid to learning jazz improvisation. Some of these are relatively basic and donot cover much more material than this primer. Others are quite advanced, and thisprimer will hopefully provide the necessary background to tackle these texts.In addition to textbooks, another important resource for performers is the fakebook. Afakebook typically contains music for hundreds of songs, but it contains only the melody,lyrics if appropriate, and chord symbols for each. A description of some of the availabletextbooks and fakebooks can be found in the bibliography.When practicing, it is often useful to play along with a rhythm section (piano, bass, anddrums). This is, of course, not always practical. Jamey Aebersold has produced a seriesof play-along albums to remedy this situation. These records, cassettes, or CDs comewith books containing the music, in fakebook form, for the songs on the record. The</p></li><li><p>5recordings contain only accompaniment; there is no melody or solos. Providing them isyour job. The piano and bass are on different stereo channels, so they can be turned offindividually if you play one of those instruments. I recommend all performers pick up afew of these. Advertisements are run in Down Beat magazine.Another option is the computer program Band-In-A-Box. This program runs on severaldifferent hardware platforms. It allows you to enter the chords for a song in ASCII for-mat, and it then generates rhythm section parts and can play them via a MIDI portthrough a synthesizer. It actually does a very good job of generating realistic parts, and ifyour synthesizer can generate realistic sounds, you may not be able to tell you are notplaying with a recording of a real rhythm section. Disks are available containing hun-dreds of songs already entered. Advertisements are run in Ke yboard magazine.</p><p>2. A Brief History Of JazzListening to other jazz musicians is by far the most important single thing you can do tolearn about jazz improvisation. Just as no words can ever describe what a Monet paintinglooks like, no primer I can write will describe what Charlie Parker sounds like. While itis important for a performer to develop his own style, this should not be done in isolation.You should be aware of what others have done before you.Having established the importance of listening, the question remains, What should I lis-ten to? Most likely, you already have some idea of jazz musicians you like. Often, youcan start with one musician and work outwards. For example, the first jazz musician I lis-tened to extensively was the pianist Oscar Peterson. After buying half a dozen or so ofhis albums, I found I also liked some of the musicians with whom he had performed, suchas trumpet players Freddie Hubbard and Dizzy Gillespie, and started buying their albumsas well. Then, upon hearing pianist Herbie Hancock with Hubbard, I found a new direc-tion to explore, one which lead me to trumpet player Miles Davis, and thereby to saxo-phonist John Coltrane, and the process is still continuing.Part of the goal of this primer is to help direct you in your listening. What follows is abrief history of jazz, with mention of many important musicians and albums. Note thatthe subject of jazz history has generated entire volumes. A few of these are listed in thebibliography.This primer gives a cursory overview of major periods and styles. There is a lot of over-lap in the eras and styles described. The later sections on jazz theory are based primarilyon principles developed from the 1940s through the 1960s. This music is sometimesreferred to as mainstream or straightahead jazz.Your local library can be an invaluable asset in checking out musicians with whom youare unfamiliar. Also, you ma...</p></li></ul>