2.1 Currently held musical strengths and weaknesses in this particular subject
- I have started studying classical piano when I was very little,and have kept playing and improvising just following by ear for the rest of my life.
- Later on,when I started keeping my music more seriously,I decided to take harmony lessons from the pianist and drummer Pierfrancesco
Tarantino to be more conscious about what I was playing and to make my music wider,so I have been introduced to a scale major harmonization
by 7ths and to which kind of relation there is between the different degrees and chords of that scale,for ex: the primary chords as 1-4-5 and their
relatives secondary as for 1 the 3 and 6,for 4 the 2 and for 5 the 7.
I know that when you want to build an harmonization you can decide when you need for example the chord of the 1st degree,to chose instead the
chord of the 3rd or 6th so you can use or,if we are in the scale of C major for example,a Cmaj7 or a Emin7 or a Amin7,the same for the other primary
with their correlated secondary.
Unfortunately I don't know yet the proper english definition for these things,indeed in Italy, I think that I have used different ones.
I have studied a bit the 2-5-1 progression and I have just started speaking about the tritone that can be used instead the 5th degree chord or his
correlated secondary and I know that wherever you want you can put a new 2-5-1-progression,so you can change tonality whenever you want in this
way.
- I have just approached the modal scales and their importance in Harmony,when I had to stop going to lesson for working in another city.
- I used to play the piano and improvise with it to learn practically about all this harmony and to expand my creativity,but now unfortunately it is
a long time that I couldn't practice properly,although I would love to play it better and studying it in a deeper way beside my voice,but I am afraid
that the time I have is not enough at the moment.
- It come quite natural to me to improvise singing pentatonic scales,but modals ones are completely new to me.
- I know perfectly grade 6 of theory.
- I am not very quick at playing a chord that is immediately required at piano because of the lack of practice and I don't know enough
about modal scales and all the other different things from what I have mentioned before ,yet.
- I have never improvised by singing before because it is not something that attracted me,for, as interpreter, I prefer using my voice to
pronounce words in a predetermined melody and I don't like to use my voice as an instrument as I very hardly like Scat singing ,but I know how useful it will be with regard to making my musical horizons , to my vocal technique,and to apply the theory that I am learning about chords,scales and harmony,while I am practicing,so I have to learn it from the very basics.
- Later on,when I started keeping my music more seriously,I decided to take harmony lessons from the pianist and drummer Pierfrancesco
Tarantino to be more conscious about what I was playing and to make my music wider,so I have been introduced to a scale major harmonization
by 7ths and to which kind of relation there is between the different degrees and chords of that scale,for ex: the primary chords as 1-4-5 and their
relatives secondary as for 1 the 3 and 6,for 4 the 2 and for 5 the 7.
I know that when you want to build an harmonization you can decide when you need for example the chord of the 1st degree,to chose instead the
chord of the 3rd or 6th so you can use or,if we are in the scale of C major for example,a Cmaj7 or a Emin7 or a Amin7,the same for the other primary
with their correlated secondary.
Unfortunately I don't know yet the proper english definition for these things,indeed in Italy, I think that I have used different ones.
I have studied a bit the 2-5-1 progression and I have just started speaking about the tritone that can be used instead the 5th degree chord or his
correlated secondary and I know that wherever you want you can put a new 2-5-1-progression,so you can change tonality whenever you want in this
way.
- I have just approached the modal scales and their importance in Harmony,when I had to stop going to lesson for working in another city.
- I used to play the piano and improvise with it to learn practically about all this harmony and to expand my creativity,but now unfortunately it is
a long time that I couldn't practice properly,although I would love to play it better and studying it in a deeper way beside my voice,but I am afraid
that the time I have is not enough at the moment.
- It come quite natural to me to improvise singing pentatonic scales,but modals ones are completely new to me.
- I know perfectly grade 6 of theory.
- I am not very quick at playing a chord that is immediately required at piano because of the lack of practice and I don't know enough
about modal scales and all the other different things from what I have mentioned before ,yet.
- I have never improvised by singing before because it is not something that attracted me,for, as interpreter, I prefer using my voice to
pronounce words in a predetermined melody and I don't like to use my voice as an instrument as I very hardly like Scat singing ,but I know how useful it will be with regard to making my musical horizons , to my vocal technique,and to apply the theory that I am learning about chords,scales and harmony,while I am practicing,so I have to learn it from the very basics.
2.2 Set realistic targets and strategies within quality and time dimensions
-By the beginning of December I will be able to confidently sing one octave of the Dorian and the Mixolydian mode starting from any given note.
-By the end of December I will be able to sing Dorian and Mixolydian scales and thirds while playing Cantaloupe Island with the aim of improvising being able to use these modes freely by the end of February.
-By the beginning of February i will be able to sing "Autumn Leaves" improvising good solos .
-By the end of December I will be able to sing Dorian and Mixolydian scales and thirds while playing Cantaloupe Island with the aim of improvising being able to use these modes freely by the end of February.
-By the beginning of February i will be able to sing "Autumn Leaves" improvising good solos .
2.3/3.1 Develop effective progress monitoring systems +3.1 Select musical material for improvisation practice
- Daily vocal warming up
I have started to include on my daily vocal vocalisms/warming up modal scales along with major ones.As a matter of fact I have thought that by practicing these scales in this way every day,these new sounds will enter naturally in my hears so that maybe it will come quite spontaneously one day to recognize them while listening to some Jazz song.
- From Blues to Bluesjazz
I am practicing it beginning with playing slowly the 7 chords of the main Blues structure with the piano (e.g.for" Tenor Madness" the easy classic blues structure will be:Bb 7 x4 bars/Eb 7 x 2 bars/Bb 7 x 2 bars/F7 x 1bar/Eb 7 x 1bar/Bb7 x 2 bars),while singing the corresponding mixolydian scales to get used to these other sounds along with those of pentatonic and blues scales,and then alternating all these freely ,to became more flexible day by day.
I am trying to get used to the 2 - 5-1 variations of the blues structure(e.g. one "Tenor Madness "blues structure with extra chords derived from 2-5-1 harmony jazz roots is:Bb7 x 1 bar/Eb7 for 1 bar/Bb7 x 1 bar/Fm7-Bb7 in the same bar/ Eb7 x 2 bars /Bb7 x 1 bar/Dm7 -G7 x 1 bar together/Cm7 x 1 bar/F7 x 1 bar/Bb7 x 1 bar/Cm7-F7 x 1 bar and then start from the beginning.) by playing it slowly with the piano and listening carefully to the different shades of the harmony.Then,when I feel a bit more comfortable with these new chords,I try to build some phrases on them using the new modal scales related,supporting my singing by the help of the piano.I find JazzBlues one of the most difficult things to learn at the moment.
I am trying to improvise on the main structure of "Tenor Madness" using all the new things learnt by practicing as mentioned above along with trying to compose my solos thinking about all the new melodic possibilities that come along with the harmony of the new chords.
-Modal Jazz: "Cantaloupe Island"
This song is one of the first composed by using musical modes instead of chord progressions ,to create the harmonic framework.
As a matter of fact this is made just by three chords (Fm7 x 8 bars;4 as intro and 4 with the beginning melody/Db7 x 4 bars/Dm7 x 4 bars) over 16 bars.The melody is very simple and starts with a phrase repeated twice;the first time over the Fm7 chord while the second time over the Db7 chord,and concludes with two identical semi phrases over the Dm7 chord.The simplicity of the melody emphasizes indeed the modal changes that happen through the chords by which the harmony is made.
Therefore this song is very useful to practice Dorian and Mixolydian modes and to experience a modal harmony .Moreover this song has got a very strong groove close to the funky sound that leads to improvise using more interesting rhythms ,being accented the 2nd and the 4th beat all over the song,by the piano line.I think that indeed that this piece is perfect to introduce someone into "Swing" music.
I have started to include on my daily vocal vocalisms/warming up modal scales along with major ones.As a matter of fact I have thought that by practicing these scales in this way every day,these new sounds will enter naturally in my hears so that maybe it will come quite spontaneously one day to recognize them while listening to some Jazz song.
- From Blues to Bluesjazz
I am practicing it beginning with playing slowly the 7 chords of the main Blues structure with the piano (e.g.for" Tenor Madness" the easy classic blues structure will be:Bb 7 x4 bars/Eb 7 x 2 bars/Bb 7 x 2 bars/F7 x 1bar/Eb 7 x 1bar/Bb7 x 2 bars),while singing the corresponding mixolydian scales to get used to these other sounds along with those of pentatonic and blues scales,and then alternating all these freely ,to became more flexible day by day.
I am trying to get used to the 2 - 5-1 variations of the blues structure(e.g. one "Tenor Madness "blues structure with extra chords derived from 2-5-1 harmony jazz roots is:Bb7 x 1 bar/Eb7 for 1 bar/Bb7 x 1 bar/Fm7-Bb7 in the same bar/ Eb7 x 2 bars /Bb7 x 1 bar/Dm7 -G7 x 1 bar together/Cm7 x 1 bar/F7 x 1 bar/Bb7 x 1 bar/Cm7-F7 x 1 bar and then start from the beginning.) by playing it slowly with the piano and listening carefully to the different shades of the harmony.Then,when I feel a bit more comfortable with these new chords,I try to build some phrases on them using the new modal scales related,supporting my singing by the help of the piano.I find JazzBlues one of the most difficult things to learn at the moment.
I am trying to improvise on the main structure of "Tenor Madness" using all the new things learnt by practicing as mentioned above along with trying to compose my solos thinking about all the new melodic possibilities that come along with the harmony of the new chords.
-Modal Jazz: "Cantaloupe Island"
This song is one of the first composed by using musical modes instead of chord progressions ,to create the harmonic framework.
As a matter of fact this is made just by three chords (Fm7 x 8 bars;4 as intro and 4 with the beginning melody/Db7 x 4 bars/Dm7 x 4 bars) over 16 bars.The melody is very simple and starts with a phrase repeated twice;the first time over the Fm7 chord while the second time over the Db7 chord,and concludes with two identical semi phrases over the Dm7 chord.The simplicity of the melody emphasizes indeed the modal changes that happen through the chords by which the harmony is made.
Therefore this song is very useful to practice Dorian and Mixolydian modes and to experience a modal harmony .Moreover this song has got a very strong groove close to the funky sound that leads to improvise using more interesting rhythms ,being accented the 2nd and the 4th beat all over the song,by the piano line.I think that indeed that this piece is perfect to introduce someone into "Swing" music.
- Using "Cantaloup Island" to explore more new ways of improvising with modal scales.
- Singing the scales to get used to the new sounds
The first thing I did,to get used to these new sounds,was to sing the 3 different scales over the backing track,many times,as we did in the class.
- Singing 3rds and the 7ths
Then,I tried to sing just the 3rd and the 7th over each chord to better emphasize the changes so,after having begun more confident with these,I tried my first improvisation beginning my phrases always with the 2nd degree of the scale and I noticed that sometimes it worked very well,while other times my phrases weren't very fluent and the melody created wasn't able to make the changes from one chord to another gentler.
- Finding the common notes
Therefore I took a step back and I analyzed the scales more carefully to find out which common notes there were between them,in order to use them during the chord changes,so as to link everything better.
- Finding the major triads of each scale and using them over the chords
During the class we looked at another very interesting way to work with scales while improvising.
Analyzing these three scales we found out that there are 2 major triads in each one: in the dorian scale of Fm7 the major triads are Ab and Bb,for the mixolydian scale of Db7 they are Cb and Db and ,in conclusion ,for the dorian scale of Dm7 they are F and G.
Then we tried playing the triads over the chords to listen to which interesting tensions they could create when used within our solos ,as a matter of fact the contrast created by playing a major triad over a minor chord,for instance, generates new particular shades of sound I have never thought about before.
- Approaching the 5th of each triad from a semitone below
Another idea to work with these triads adding new shades was to approach the 5th of each one from a semitone below so,after having get more familiar with the sound of these triads,I started practicing this way to be able to use them while improvising and to have more tools to build up my solos.
- Try to use different rhythms while improvising with these triads.
Another essential ting to keep in mind is that we have endless rhythmic possibilities,so I have experimented using different rhythms and listening to the resulting phrases carefully to use it more consciously and creatively.
At that point I had already many different ingredients to use to create interesting phrases,so I just practiced over and over to find the ones that I liked the best to create my solo on this song.
- Singing the scales to get used to the new sounds
The first thing I did,to get used to these new sounds,was to sing the 3 different scales over the backing track,many times,as we did in the class.
- Singing 3rds and the 7ths
Then,I tried to sing just the 3rd and the 7th over each chord to better emphasize the changes so,after having begun more confident with these,I tried my first improvisation beginning my phrases always with the 2nd degree of the scale and I noticed that sometimes it worked very well,while other times my phrases weren't very fluent and the melody created wasn't able to make the changes from one chord to another gentler.
- Finding the common notes
Therefore I took a step back and I analyzed the scales more carefully to find out which common notes there were between them,in order to use them during the chord changes,so as to link everything better.
- Finding the major triads of each scale and using them over the chords
During the class we looked at another very interesting way to work with scales while improvising.
Analyzing these three scales we found out that there are 2 major triads in each one: in the dorian scale of Fm7 the major triads are Ab and Bb,for the mixolydian scale of Db7 they are Cb and Db and ,in conclusion ,for the dorian scale of Dm7 they are F and G.
Then we tried playing the triads over the chords to listen to which interesting tensions they could create when used within our solos ,as a matter of fact the contrast created by playing a major triad over a minor chord,for instance, generates new particular shades of sound I have never thought about before.
- Approaching the 5th of each triad from a semitone below
Another idea to work with these triads adding new shades was to approach the 5th of each one from a semitone below so,after having get more familiar with the sound of these triads,I started practicing this way to be able to use them while improvising and to have more tools to build up my solos.
- Try to use different rhythms while improvising with these triads.
Another essential ting to keep in mind is that we have endless rhythmic possibilities,so I have experimented using different rhythms and listening to the resulting phrases carefully to use it more consciously and creatively.
At that point I had already many different ingredients to use to create interesting phrases,so I just practiced over and over to find the ones that I liked the best to create my solo on this song.
Accurate harmonic analysis of "Autumn leaves"
We can notice that the starting scale is a G major scale and the first progression is a linear II -V-I one: Am7 - D9 -Gmaj7
Then there is a IV-VII that basically coincides with a II-V because the chord built on the II degree is the secondary chord related with the primary chord built on the IV degree,as a matter of fact they have three notes in common and are interchangeable the most of time so you can choose between them to harmonize a song that requires a IV degree chord.The same line of reasoning has has to be followed to understand the relation between the chord built on the VII degree that is a minor7b5,in this case a F#min7b5 ,and the chord built on the V degree that is a 7,in this case D7 for instance.
These two chords have indeed three notes in common (F#,A and C) and are related to each other in a strong way so as often you can choose between them when you need in your harmony a V degree chord,as a matter of fact the one built on the V degree is called "Primary chord" while the one built on the VII is called "secondary" ,it is indeed the secondary chord whose the primary is the V one.
Having said that ,now it would be easier to understand how this progression from the IV chord to the VII one is nothing else than another II - V progression but this time it resolves into another particular V (B7)which leads also to a modulation into the E minor scale. B is indeed the V degree of E minor and although in G major and in E natural minor the chord built on it is a minor 7,in this case it appear as a 7 because it is a chord taken from the E harmonic minor scale( that has indeed the D sharp) and it is needed to emphasize the change of key through the perfect V-I cadence.
Therefore we have this progression until now :II-V-I-II(IV)-V(VII)-V(of the VI degree)-I(that was the VI degree before the modulation).
Lets move forward to analyze the second modulation happening on this song: Emin7,Eb7,Dmin7 starting from the 23rd bar.
Now it appears a tritone (Eb7) which is used to modulate in D minor.As a matter of fact the tritone Eb7 corresponds to its dominant chord A7 so it can be regarded as a V chord as well.Hence here we have a modulation through another perfect cadence V -I that is indeed Eb7 to D min7.Moreover ,if we proceed analyzing the 24th bar we will find another modulation again: D min 7 to Db7 to C maj7.Basically it happens exactly the same thing happened before: modulation through a tritone.
Db7 is the tritone correspondent to G7 and resolves in Cmaj that is the I degree,so we have V-I cadence again where instead of the dominant chord built on the v degree there is its relative tritone:Db7.
But we have to consider also that Cmaj7 can be the IV degree of G major! Therefore in conclusion the song ends with another II -V-I on the last four bars: Cmaj7 (that is the chord built on the IV degree,that is indeed the relative of the II degree Amin7), B7 (that is the V degree of E minor harmonic scale) and E - (the I degree of the E minor scale).
I love Chet Baker and I think that this is one of the best interpretation of the song where melancholy is the absolute protagonist.
Then there is a IV-VII that basically coincides with a II-V because the chord built on the II degree is the secondary chord related with the primary chord built on the IV degree,as a matter of fact they have three notes in common and are interchangeable the most of time so you can choose between them to harmonize a song that requires a IV degree chord.The same line of reasoning has has to be followed to understand the relation between the chord built on the VII degree that is a minor7b5,in this case a F#min7b5 ,and the chord built on the V degree that is a 7,in this case D7 for instance.
These two chords have indeed three notes in common (F#,A and C) and are related to each other in a strong way so as often you can choose between them when you need in your harmony a V degree chord,as a matter of fact the one built on the V degree is called "Primary chord" while the one built on the VII is called "secondary" ,it is indeed the secondary chord whose the primary is the V one.
Having said that ,now it would be easier to understand how this progression from the IV chord to the VII one is nothing else than another II - V progression but this time it resolves into another particular V (B7)which leads also to a modulation into the E minor scale. B is indeed the V degree of E minor and although in G major and in E natural minor the chord built on it is a minor 7,in this case it appear as a 7 because it is a chord taken from the E harmonic minor scale( that has indeed the D sharp) and it is needed to emphasize the change of key through the perfect V-I cadence.
Therefore we have this progression until now :II-V-I-II(IV)-V(VII)-V(of the VI degree)-I(that was the VI degree before the modulation).
Lets move forward to analyze the second modulation happening on this song: Emin7,Eb7,Dmin7 starting from the 23rd bar.
Now it appears a tritone (Eb7) which is used to modulate in D minor.As a matter of fact the tritone Eb7 corresponds to its dominant chord A7 so it can be regarded as a V chord as well.Hence here we have a modulation through another perfect cadence V -I that is indeed Eb7 to D min7.Moreover ,if we proceed analyzing the 24th bar we will find another modulation again: D min 7 to Db7 to C maj7.Basically it happens exactly the same thing happened before: modulation through a tritone.
Db7 is the tritone correspondent to G7 and resolves in Cmaj that is the I degree,so we have V-I cadence again where instead of the dominant chord built on the v degree there is its relative tritone:Db7.
But we have to consider also that Cmaj7 can be the IV degree of G major! Therefore in conclusion the song ends with another II -V-I on the last four bars: Cmaj7 (that is the chord built on the IV degree,that is indeed the relative of the II degree Amin7), B7 (that is the V degree of E minor harmonic scale) and E - (the I degree of the E minor scale).
I love Chet Baker and I think that this is one of the best interpretation of the song where melancholy is the absolute protagonist.
3.1 Select musical material for improvisation practice
Along with " Tenor Madness" and "Cantaloupe Island" I have decided to practice on the standard Jazz "Autumn Leaves" composed by Joseph Kosma and Jaques Prevert.
-Autumn Leaves : a song built on the 2-5-1 progression.
On the score below (download from Mattia Bergomiis blog http://www.lalezionedichitarra.it/lezioni/autumn-leaves-analisi-armonica/417)
there is an accurate harmonic analysis of the song where over the chords are written the degrees of the scale on which they are built up.
-Autumn Leaves : a song built on the 2-5-1 progression.
On the score below (download from Mattia Bergomiis blog http://www.lalezionedichitarra.it/lezioni/autumn-leaves-analisi-armonica/417)
there is an accurate harmonic analysis of the song where over the chords are written the degrees of the scale on which they are built up.
3.2 Evaluate individual improvisation performance
- Cantaloupe Island-Singing modal scales over the backing track
At the beginning I found very difficult to sing dorian scales because I was naturally led to sing a natural minor or an harmonic minor,due to my classical background.As a matter of fact I realized only then how predominant was the sound of these scales on my music world.It was very interesting,a good point to ponder over.
Therefore I decided to sing alternatively a minor scale and a dorian,focusing my attention on that semitone which would make such a big difference.
Practicing hardly I managed to not to make mistakes anymore,but sometimes,when I don't pay much attention I find myself making the same mistakes again.I think I will need a lot of practice to feel completely confident with these new scales,although I can say that I didn't have many issues at singing the mixolydian one.
-Singing the 3rd and the 7nth notes of each scale over the backing track.
I really liked this exercise because it helped me to identify the strongest interesting harmony movements that take place throughout the song,between the first cadence (Ab-Eb that is a perfect fifth) and the second one (F-Cb,that is a b5),to resolve with a reconciling cadence that is another perfect 5th starting again from F (F-C natural) .I really liked the role that the 5th b plays being situated on the centre of the chord progression and I think I worked hard to remember it to be able to sing it all the time i wanted to.
-Starting a phrase from the 2nd degree
I enjoyed the sound of G as a starting point,although it was difficult to keep in mind that sound.I practiced a lot starting the first 8 bars from G,the following 4 with Eb and the last 4 with E.I have to work a lot to remember also the passage from Eb to the E natural of the last 4 bars.Although it is just a semitone,it changes everything! It's amazing to find out how very little changes can make such a difference! I will have to practice more these passages in the future because,although I worked really hard,I am not confident enough to use them as I would like .
-Sing the major triads of each scale and get used to these new sounds.approaching the 5th from a semitone below.
I managed to sing them well,although I am not able yet to mix them with the other possibilities I explored before (3rd-7nth,2nd degree).
I am so frustrated sometime indeed because I struggle to remember the phrases I preferred the most, come out from a mind blowing process of remembering intervals, notes,triads,while singing others,as,for instance go back to the sound of the 2nd degree after having sang a major triads started from the 3rd degree o a dorian scale..I really try desperately to remember some great phrases born from very hard work!
In conclusion I have to practice more in order to struggle less,getting more confident, and enjoy more,but I am happy with the work I did till now because I think that this process really helped me to open my mind.
At the beginning I found very difficult to sing dorian scales because I was naturally led to sing a natural minor or an harmonic minor,due to my classical background.As a matter of fact I realized only then how predominant was the sound of these scales on my music world.It was very interesting,a good point to ponder over.
Therefore I decided to sing alternatively a minor scale and a dorian,focusing my attention on that semitone which would make such a big difference.
Practicing hardly I managed to not to make mistakes anymore,but sometimes,when I don't pay much attention I find myself making the same mistakes again.I think I will need a lot of practice to feel completely confident with these new scales,although I can say that I didn't have many issues at singing the mixolydian one.
-Singing the 3rd and the 7nth notes of each scale over the backing track.
I really liked this exercise because it helped me to identify the strongest interesting harmony movements that take place throughout the song,between the first cadence (Ab-Eb that is a perfect fifth) and the second one (F-Cb,that is a b5),to resolve with a reconciling cadence that is another perfect 5th starting again from F (F-C natural) .I really liked the role that the 5th b plays being situated on the centre of the chord progression and I think I worked hard to remember it to be able to sing it all the time i wanted to.
-Starting a phrase from the 2nd degree
I enjoyed the sound of G as a starting point,although it was difficult to keep in mind that sound.I practiced a lot starting the first 8 bars from G,the following 4 with Eb and the last 4 with E.I have to work a lot to remember also the passage from Eb to the E natural of the last 4 bars.Although it is just a semitone,it changes everything! It's amazing to find out how very little changes can make such a difference! I will have to practice more these passages in the future because,although I worked really hard,I am not confident enough to use them as I would like .
-Sing the major triads of each scale and get used to these new sounds.approaching the 5th from a semitone below.
I managed to sing them well,although I am not able yet to mix them with the other possibilities I explored before (3rd-7nth,2nd degree).
I am so frustrated sometime indeed because I struggle to remember the phrases I preferred the most, come out from a mind blowing process of remembering intervals, notes,triads,while singing others,as,for instance go back to the sound of the 2nd degree after having sang a major triads started from the 3rd degree o a dorian scale..I really try desperately to remember some great phrases born from very hard work!
In conclusion I have to practice more in order to struggle less,getting more confident, and enjoy more,but I am happy with the work I did till now because I think that this process really helped me to open my mind.
3.3 Control practice sessions when working with other musicians
For this assignment we have been divided into groups and without having the possibility to speak with the other members of our band before, the day of the class we had to choose a tune and make our own version of it ,having quite a little time at our disposal (5 hours approximately spread over 3 weeks) .
I happened to be with three guitarists,so we had to work very carefully on our arrangement in order to work out the best from our limited range of instruments.We chose to work on "All blues",a composition of Miles Davis from the album "Kind of Blue"released in the 1959.This song is basically a 12 bars blues in 6/4 so it was quite challenging to find a way to not to result repetitive and boring ,being the structure very repetitive itself and using us just three guitars and a voice. As a matter of fact the obsessive blues riffs that compose the song are the absolute protagonists and need to be exploited at full blast to reach the core of the Blues. Moreover this song is a celebration of Blues.
-First rehearsal
Having said that,we tried our best ,starting from listening to different versions of the song,learning the chords and the melody and then building a first possible structure for our arrangement. One of my group mate decided indeed to play an acoustic guitar in a percussive way ,while the others two were working out possible harmonies and I was practicing singing the melody and starting to think about possible variations that could have helped for my solo.
After a while,when everyone felt more comfortable with the chords and the melody,we built up all together the first structure and played it over and over to see how it would sound ad to get used to it.We decided to keep it for the whole first rehearsal, because it was very useful to become more confident with the chords and to start creating our solos also in relation to the shades of sounds emerged within our jams.
I have found this rehearsal very productive ,because we managed to learn the song all together and to start working on some possible ideas of arrangement.
-Second rehearsal
It was so hard this rehearsal in comparison with the first one! We started playing our structure and after a while we all realized how boring it was!
The lack of drums and bass was so tangible and the overall sound turned out to be so flat all the time!We were so discouraged...
But eventually we realized that we had to find something new in order to deal with our limits more creatively.So,why don't make the voice sing the part of the double bass in certain point so to release one of the two guitars from this duty for a while ,to build up a kind of dialogue between them instead of boring disconnected solos?
We started exploring these new ideas just at the end of the session and we felt that it was so much better although we didn't have enough time to explore it properly.
-Third rehearsal
We started practicing the structure we had built up on the second rehearsal ,with me singing the double bass line at the beginning for a while ,then after 4 bars I changed and started with the melody with a guitar taking the bass line and when I finished I took it again,letting improvise the two guitarists freely (the third one was off that day).After that, I started singing my solo ,with one guitar playing the bass line as the other was trying some harmonies and at the end I got back to the head again.
We thought it was so much better although we weren't totally happy with it because we felt that that structure was still a kind of prison,being the song repetitive and we just beginners jazz improvisers . Then we remembered that Scott suggested us to try something apparently crazy,that was a kind of free improvisation of the two guitars together with no one keeping playing nor the bass line neither the chords,but just trying to keep it in our mind.
We decided to try it and we started enjoying the results. It has to be said that sometimes amazing things happened in this way as well as others unbearable to listen to were produced by our musical ignorance.So we decided to fix the things we liked the most and went on ,including my solo toward the end of their improv ,exactly when they would start building up an interesting chord progression which would break the original structure of chords giving a new breath to the overall performance ,to conclude with me getting back to the main melody and leading progressively the guitarists to play the original chords to finish the song together as we started.
-Performance
I think that the performance went very well and I really enjoyed it,along with all the process we went through,because we managed in a way to make our version of this song dealing creatively with our huge limits .
I happened to be with three guitarists,so we had to work very carefully on our arrangement in order to work out the best from our limited range of instruments.We chose to work on "All blues",a composition of Miles Davis from the album "Kind of Blue"released in the 1959.This song is basically a 12 bars blues in 6/4 so it was quite challenging to find a way to not to result repetitive and boring ,being the structure very repetitive itself and using us just three guitars and a voice. As a matter of fact the obsessive blues riffs that compose the song are the absolute protagonists and need to be exploited at full blast to reach the core of the Blues. Moreover this song is a celebration of Blues.
-First rehearsal
Having said that,we tried our best ,starting from listening to different versions of the song,learning the chords and the melody and then building a first possible structure for our arrangement. One of my group mate decided indeed to play an acoustic guitar in a percussive way ,while the others two were working out possible harmonies and I was practicing singing the melody and starting to think about possible variations that could have helped for my solo.
After a while,when everyone felt more comfortable with the chords and the melody,we built up all together the first structure and played it over and over to see how it would sound ad to get used to it.We decided to keep it for the whole first rehearsal, because it was very useful to become more confident with the chords and to start creating our solos also in relation to the shades of sounds emerged within our jams.
I have found this rehearsal very productive ,because we managed to learn the song all together and to start working on some possible ideas of arrangement.
-Second rehearsal
It was so hard this rehearsal in comparison with the first one! We started playing our structure and after a while we all realized how boring it was!
The lack of drums and bass was so tangible and the overall sound turned out to be so flat all the time!We were so discouraged...
But eventually we realized that we had to find something new in order to deal with our limits more creatively.So,why don't make the voice sing the part of the double bass in certain point so to release one of the two guitars from this duty for a while ,to build up a kind of dialogue between them instead of boring disconnected solos?
We started exploring these new ideas just at the end of the session and we felt that it was so much better although we didn't have enough time to explore it properly.
-Third rehearsal
We started practicing the structure we had built up on the second rehearsal ,with me singing the double bass line at the beginning for a while ,then after 4 bars I changed and started with the melody with a guitar taking the bass line and when I finished I took it again,letting improvise the two guitarists freely (the third one was off that day).After that, I started singing my solo ,with one guitar playing the bass line as the other was trying some harmonies and at the end I got back to the head again.
We thought it was so much better although we weren't totally happy with it because we felt that that structure was still a kind of prison,being the song repetitive and we just beginners jazz improvisers . Then we remembered that Scott suggested us to try something apparently crazy,that was a kind of free improvisation of the two guitars together with no one keeping playing nor the bass line neither the chords,but just trying to keep it in our mind.
We decided to try it and we started enjoying the results. It has to be said that sometimes amazing things happened in this way as well as others unbearable to listen to were produced by our musical ignorance.So we decided to fix the things we liked the most and went on ,including my solo toward the end of their improv ,exactly when they would start building up an interesting chord progression which would break the original structure of chords giving a new breath to the overall performance ,to conclude with me getting back to the main melody and leading progressively the guitarists to play the original chords to finish the song together as we started.
-Performance
I think that the performance went very well and I really enjoyed it,along with all the process we went through,because we managed in a way to make our version of this song dealing creatively with our huge limits .
3.4 Evaluate ensemble improvisation performance
We have been given four standard jazz to learn in advance in order to try playing them and improvising on them in class in a Jazz jam session style.
Basically one had to be prepared to go on stage ,being asked to play a chosen tune with other musicians picked up as himself ,randomly from the class.
The songs we had to have a look at where "All of me"(by Simons and marks),"Mr PC"(by Coltrane),"Someday my prince will come"(Churchill,Morey) and "TuneUp" (by M.Davis).
Unfortunately I wasn't well those days and I couldn't sing,although I had had a look at these tunes and learned the melodies.But I can say that I had a similar experience while jamming with my band for group performance,when we had to start playing a new jazz song(as for "Autumn leaves " and "Nice work if you can get it").The secret is to come very prepared in order to enjoy what the fate will bring to us.
Basically one had to be prepared to go on stage ,being asked to play a chosen tune with other musicians picked up as himself ,randomly from the class.
The songs we had to have a look at where "All of me"(by Simons and marks),"Mr PC"(by Coltrane),"Someday my prince will come"(Churchill,Morey) and "TuneUp" (by M.Davis).
Unfortunately I wasn't well those days and I couldn't sing,although I had had a look at these tunes and learned the melodies.But I can say that I had a similar experience while jamming with my band for group performance,when we had to start playing a new jazz song(as for "Autumn leaves " and "Nice work if you can get it").The secret is to come very prepared in order to enjoy what the fate will bring to us.