Improvisation

the art of thinking and performing music simultaneously. --Grove Dictionary of Music (1954)

Why:

• Even though the chord structures of bluegrass and blues music are relatively simple - the music demands that the player respond from within - no one tells you what to play when you solo at a jam session. You have to internalize the technique and the music!
• Much of what we try to learn from the greatest slide players is improvised.
• The most exciting moments in music are often unplanned.

What:

The 4 stages of musical/improvising competence (borrowed from the martial arts world)

1. Unconscious Incompetence - I can't even begin to rely on my intuition (unconscious) to improvise

2. Conscious Incompetence - I can improvise a couple of notes but I haven't built up enough musical vocabulary to improvise beyond a certain point

3. Conscious Competence - I can improvise but I find it difficult to get "into the moment" where music flows without me "thinking" about it too much

4. Unconscious Competence - My best "stuff" happens when I am "in the moment" not thinking about what I am playing. The music "flows" effortlessly from within

"The unconscious is the best vehicle, everytime" - David Lindley

Improvisation Ideas

 (small sampling copied with permission from- Music Theory for Practical People  - the best book ever written on music theory)

"Here's a very general, but important, one for starters: tension and resolution...any accomplished improviser is aware of...tension and release...knows what chord is being played at a given moment, which notes are chord-tones for that chord, which nonchord-tones are obvious choices and which nonchord-tones will fall upon the ears as more suprising."

Improvise by Paraphrasing a composed melody

• Begin early or late

• Change octaves in between phrases. Change octaves in middle of phrases

• Use chromatic and/diatonic upper and lower neighbors (notes above and below) before and/or after melody notes

• Add a scale or arpeggio fragment before of after parts of the melody

Improvising from scratch

• Think in terms of phrases, not a continuous flow of notes

• Try using just a few notes, and doing a lot with them, instead of doing very little with many notes.

• Are you starting all your phrases on chord tones? Stop it! Try starting on non-chord tones for a while!

• Are you thinking too much? Stop it, and try trusting your intuition...kick back and make some mistakes! Take some risks!

• Are you improvising or regurgitating? If you have a favorite riff that seems to surface a lot, try burying it for awhile! Let some new ideas come up for air!