IMPROVISATION

One of the most defining characteristics of jazz music is its use of improvisation. Would jazz still be jazz without this component? There are many examples of music written by jazz composers that contain little or no improvisation, yet this component of the music is part of what makes it unique.

The concept of improvisation in music is not new. Baroque composers improvised frequently; in fact, Bach was a great improviser by all accounts. Additionally, the baroque genre called “figured bass” was nothing more than an early version of today’s “lead sheet” used by jazz musicians. This type of notation featured a bass note with a chord symbol written above it telling the harpsichordist the chord to play yet giving him/her the freedom to embellish, arpeggiate, and improvise within the structure provided.

In Classical music, the “cadenza,” which is most often found as part of a concerto, was a section where the soloist could improvise and show off their technique. Today, the art of improvisation within the classical repertoire has been sidelined and most musicians opt to play the written “cadenza” rather than venture into the unknown territory of improvisation.

With jazz, however, improvisation is not so easily sidelined. An influence brought by African slaves to the Americas in the early to mid 1800s, improvisation was an integral part of their music, which featured percussion instruments playing layered ostinato patterns, singing, and call and response. When slaves were brought to North America, they brought all of these influences with them. The slave owners, however, feared that the drums could be used as a method of communication in organizing an uprising and banned the use of drums by slaves (slaves in and around New Orleans were allowed to use their drums once a week and in one place only – Sundays in Congo Square).

Because improvisation was such an important component of the African tradition, it seems only natural that the culture responsible for bringing this element to North America also be responsible for its integration into the new styles of music developing in and around the South’s urban centers. As the roots of jazz began developing in rural parts of the South, improvisation eventually manifested itself in the form we are more familiar with today in the likes of Louis Armstrong, King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton.

Although the concept of improvisation in jazz has evolved since the inception of the music, musicians have always followed certain rules that help guide them in constructing their improvisations. “Constructing,” you say? The word “constructing” would seem to suggest that musicians plan out their improvisations, which would contradict the whole “improvised” thing, right? Well, sort of.

If I began improvising at random, and asked you what song I was using as my basis for improvisation, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell me. In jazz, improvisation is generally connected to a specific song, and if you think about the anatomy of a song, it contains three basic elements: 1) melody, 2) rhythm, and 3) harmony. Therefore, if I connect my improvisation to a specific song using the three elements stated in the previous sentence, I’ve created a structure and method for organizing my improvisation. This structure and organization within music is called form, and every song has some type of form.

This can all be easily related to an every day conversation. When you converse with someone, you probably have not rehearsed the conversation prior to your meeting, yet you are able to carry on a coherent conversation with that individual. How is this? You both know a common language and the rules associated with that language. Your responses and the direction of the conversation are directly related to 1) your knowledge of the English language and 2) the other person’s responses to your questions or statements. Likewise, when jazz musicians improvise, they are spontaneously composing melodies, but according to the rules associated with the musical language of jazz. We define improvisation as the “spontaneous composition of melodies to fit the form and harmony of a song”.

The prospect of learning a new language is daunting, and the purpose of this lesson is not to make expert improvisers out of everyone. Professor Ron Carter (retired Director of Jazz Studies, Northern Illinois University) says, “Imitate, emulate, then create”. Just like when you first learned to speak, you did so by listening to your parents and imitating the sounds that you heard. You then began to emulate the people around you to try and sound like them, and then, once you gained enough knowledge of the sounds and words you were hearing, you were able to create your own sounds and sentences. Maybe you didn’t always get it right at first, but you still tried and eventually succeeded.

To pull all of these ideas together, we use a system developed by Jazz at Lincoln Center for their Jazz for Young People Curriculum. The “Three-by-Threes of Jazz Improvisation” are listed below and serve as a process for beginning improvisers and way to organize all of the above ideas.