Filling Up With Jazz Inspiration

Someone once said: "It won't come out if you don't put it in in the first place". This was in reference to becoming a good improviser and to be able to pull from the creative mind musical phrases that really mean something.

Listening to good jazz is one of the most important things the would-be jazz guitarist can do, or any jazz musician for that matter. It's a bit like filling up will fuel - if the tank is empty, you won't go anywhere!

Of course there's listening that leads to musical improvement and listening that leads to just enjoyment.

We can listen to fast stuff and be amazed at the technical ability of a player. We can listen to slow music and appreciate the cool harmony of the chords.

However, there is nothing like the sound of a jazz legend who's phrasing and feel has been perfected and matured through years and years of playing.

With so many jazz guitarists of great ability around these days, it is still important to listen to those players who have left their mark on jazz guitar history and remember that phrasing and feel takes a lifetime to perfect.

Jazz Improvization On One Note!

Some years ago, about thirty years to be more exact, a well known band leader said to me after a gig "it is possible to play a jazz solo on just one note!"

I have often wondered at the idea of an eight or sixteen bar solo played on just one note and to this day I can't help but consider the possibilities. Could the rest of the band stand it, or the audience or even me as the same note gets played countless times in all manner of ways?

The next step of course would be to consider how many different ways it may be possible to play just one note, and if enough interest could be created to keep the listener engaged with the music, or would the hall be emptied rather quickly!

Given the restrictions, we are left with rhythm and to that can be added dynamics (loud and soft) and variations of tone (a mellow or hard sound that most instruments are capable of making).

Furthermore, the same rhythmic phrase can be played up or down an octave perhaps as an echo and played more softly.

Normally the same rhythm would not be played more than three times but further repetition can be used to bring a solo to a climax after which the rest of the band gives a sigh of relief and everyone avoids playing a similar solo - for a long time!

Jazz Guitar Improvisation - a few notes can go a long way

The method of a good improvised solo, in most styles of jazz, is to create an idea and develop it. If it comes from your fingers it is probably just another riff ... if it comes from your “inner ear” that is you can hear the phrase you want to play and play it ... that’s jazz!

Rhythmic variety combined with only a few notes can give almost endless possibilities. The whole of our musical culture (in the west) is made from only twelve notes and I wonder how many pieces of music have been composed since the time of Bach!

Don’t be intimidated by the idea that you have to play lots of notes very fast in order to be a good player. It’s what you do with what you’ve got that counts. So, set yourself realistic goals and enjoy your playing ... if you play with conviction you’ll sound better to your listeners than you think you sound!

See also: Learn to play the jazz guitar

Improvisation - Making the Breakthrough

I would love to learn to play the jazz guitar well, but ...

I've spent a fortune on books, videos and DVD's ...

I've spent hours copying other guitarist's riffs ...

I know more scales and chords than I care to mention ...

But I still can't improvise!

Why? Too much info ... faced with all those notes, which one do you pluck first!
Also, not giving yourself enough time to play and absorb a few basics that will lead you on to greater things. It is so tempting to start at the back of the book, but the stuff at the front is the foundation.

There are three approaches to improvisation which I shall discuss here.

1. Melodic or scale like - mostly based on scales.
2. Harmonic or arpeggio - mostly based on arpeggios and chord shapes.
3. Minimalist - take just a few notes and see what can be done with them

Melodic
Major, minor, pentatonic and modal scales are the main ingredients for the improviser who takes the melodic approach.
Perhaps the most useful is the major scale. Why you may ask ... because from it we also make the modal scales, each of which starts from a different degree of the major scale.

Harmonic
Based on arpeggios or chord shapes, this can be slightly easier to get started with because the notes will imply chord changes and the intervals will add more unpredictability than step-wise movement.

Minimalist
Having taught improvisation for over thirty years, this is the easiest place to start.
The saying "you can make an improvised solo on just one note" is true ... so just think what you could do with two or three notes!