BREAKTHROUGH

TOIMPROV:
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15STEPS
TO MUSICALFREEDOM
FORALLMUSICIANS
by DaveFrank
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Wiitshire
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C o p y n g hIt 2 0 0 1 b y H A L L E O N A F DC O R P O F A T T O N
International
CopyrightSecured All RightsReserved

goal in this video is to help you to breakthrouqhto the abilityto improvisemusic.For

[t /V
I Y I beginningimprovisers,
this session
is designedto leadto the experience
of bluesimprovisation.
Thosemusicians
with prior improvexperience
will find that applyingthe conceptsin Breokthrough
to
lmprovwill deepenand expandtheir improvability.
The key to getting the most out of this sessionis to spendthe time necessary
to masterthe material
of eachsectionas outlinedby the procticepoints.The abilitieslearnedin the first four practicepoints
providethe foundationfor the process
of bluesimprovisation.
Freebluesimprovisation
truly beginsin
the sectiontitled "lmprovisingwith quarter-noteriffs."
ln Breokthrough
to lmprov,we're concentratingon limited musicalelements-the blues progression
and the bluesscale.We'recombiningtheseelementsusingvariousmusicalconcepts,includingriffs,
"feelingin fours,"
question-and-answer,
and others.Theseconceptsare the secrets
of improvisation.
The most importantthing to rememberas you explorethe process
on this video is to generareyour
musicfrom the feelingof the flow of swingeighthnotes(onceyou've got that far). The mechanicsof
improv,although important,are secondary.
As you improvise,alwaysbaseyour musicin the flow of
legato(connected)
swingeighthnotes-it's a naturalrhythm,a bouncyfeeling.lf you let your music
coaston the wings of theseswingingeighth-noterhythmsand apply the conceptsintroducedin
eachsectionto the notesof the bluesscale,you'll be jommin'!

for you
The followingis a reviewof the practicepointsfor eachsectionwith someadditionalcomments
to useasyou PlaY:
POINT#1: Practicethe blues
PRACTTCE
s c a l ea l o n e .
shouldplay this progression
Keyboardists
in the left hand alone,metronome.=72'
*Note:keepthe metronomeat 72 as you
rvork through all the practicepoints.As
with the materialat
vou feel comfortable
s l o r v e rt e m p o s ,g r a d u a l l yi n c r e a s et h e
You shouldalso practiceat times
sL.eed.
rrithout a metronome, to Prevent
d e ' . e l o p i nagr e l i a n coen a n e x t e r n aplu l s e .
and vocalists
Cuitarists,instrumentalists,
shouldplay and/or tape the progresslon
a n d l i s t e n t o t h e c h o r d c Y c l e .T h i s
progressionrs the frameworkfor blues
improvisation.Practicethis progression
untilthe sequenceissecondnatureto you.

c'7

t l

c'7

C7

-o.

POINT#2: Practicethe blues scaleagainstthe blues progression;change directions

PRACTICE
f reely,
Firstplay the scaleup and down in quarternotes,then continueto play notesfrom the bluesscale,but
ptayifrem in any order you feel.Ascendand descendthe scalefreelyin quarternotes,creatingsimple
melodiesasyou play.

pOINT#3: Repeatone riff againstthe blues progression,then alternatethe placement

PRACTICE
of the two riffs.
Rilt'I

RiII ]

PRACTICE
POINT#4: lmprovisethe order of the two riffs againstthe blues progression.
Combinetheseriffsin any spontaneous
orderthat you feel.Yourinnerearwill continuously
promptyou
to play one riff or the other.This exercisewill teach you to respondquicklyto your inner ear while
followingthe bluesprogression.
PRACTICE
POINT#5: lmprovisefreely and createshort eighth-note riffs followed by a rest.
Thisis the beginningof freebluesimprovisation.
Oneadditional
technique
that can be usedto at thislevel
is to make up a simplestory as you improvise,matchingeachword with a note. Speakand play,for
examote:
''Hcl

4
\

\
o

lo.

\\'har

.lor -

'

ra -

\ou

do

knoq _
o

.)'

r l

Letthe wordsleadthe musicand simultaneously

createa shortword phrasewith a shortmusicalphrasemade
up of bluesscalenotes.Thiseasytechnique
connects
the "musicalbrain"with the "language
brain."Tryit-it
worls!
PRACTICE
POINT#6: Improvisefreely and createshort swinging eighth-note riffs.

Thisis similarto step5, only faster.The key to keepingyour cool asyou speedup is to consciously
relax
asyou playat fastertempos.
PRACTICE
POINT#7: lmproviseusing notes of the blues scaleto create long swinging eighth-note
lines,"feelingin fours."
Playingat this level,your improvisations
will soundauthentic!"Feelingin fours" is one of the unique
improvisingconceptspresentedin Breakthrough
to lmprov.lt'sthe most effectiveimprov techniquel've
found to guide the creativeprocess."Feelingin fours" opens you to the magic and mysteryof
improvisation.
lt placesyour musicdirectlyinto the flow of rhythm.Placea smallaccenton the firstnote
in eachgroupof four eighthnotesand consciously
improvise
in regular,
definedgroupsof four swinging
eighths.Startslowly,creatinglongermusicalsentences
and maintaining
thisfocus.
PRACTICE
POINT#8: lmprovisefreely using your inner ear guide to combine short riffs and longer
lines.
Balance
and variationarethe principles
here.Followthe promptingsof your innerear,as it will tellyou
when to changeelements
in your playing-in thiscase,when to switchfrom creatinglong linesto short
linesand viceversa.
PRACTICE
POINT#9: Consciously
incorporatethe three question-and-answer
approaches
into your
improvisations.
Usingtheseapproaches
will help you to developyour musicalideas,and will createa relationship
betweenyour ideas.Thiswill help your improvisation
to tell a story.
PRACTICE
POINT#10:
Add eighth-notetripletsinto your swing linesand createlinescomposedentirelyof triplets.
7

Hereisan exampleof a bluesline

composedentirelyof triplets:

* excerptedfrom the
/oy of /mprov:Book2
(Lesson
52).

PRACTICE
POINT#11: Write out and improvisesixteenth-note
lines.
line at . = 50 is the same speedas an eighth note line at , = 100.
Start slowly!A sixteenth-note
Thinkmelodically.
Yoursixteenth-note
linesshouldbe similaryour eighth-note
lines,onlytwiceasfast!
lf at any time you loseyour focusand/or the chord progression,
relaxand beginagain.Try not to overreactto "wrong notes."Manyof the greatestrecordingsby the greatestimprovisers
containmissednotes
or incompletephrases.
lmprovisation
is a processof discovery,
performances.
not a guestfor note-perfect
Overtime, the abilityto improvisebecomesa marvelousprocess-originalmusicwill flow endlessly
from
your soulthroughyour fingersto your instrument.
Onceyou learnto improvise,
a lifetimeof creative
expression
will be withinyour grasp!
I sincerelyhope that Breakthrough
to lmprovwill offeryou a way to begintapping the infinitesourceof
musicwithinyou, and I encourage
you to keepstudying,keeppracticing,
and keepswingin'!
-Dave Fronk

Special
thanksto: Yogi Bha;an,Dr. MichaelMcCee,CurucharanSingh Khalsa,my wife Hari for her
patience
and support,CharlieBanacos
for hisvaluable
adviceand feedback,
JohnAmaralfor hisongoing
partnership
and collaboration,
with Hal
JohnCerullofor his beliefin this projectand for our association
LeonardCorporation,
Phil Cay for his excellentdirection,Mark Steelefor his fine editing,Wynton
McCurdyfor hisgreatjob in the studio,and to the manystudents
worldwidewho, throughtheirinterest
and enthusiasm,
gaveme the opportunityto developthe teachingapproachpresented
on thisvideo.

f *,,,n,r,,,,,.,-.
IOY OF IMPROV
By DAVEFRANKwith JOHNAMARAL
containing52
Joyot lmprovis a completecurriculumfor the aspiringimproviser,
lessons
for all instruments
in two volumes.
Volume1: Devolping
theFoundotion
containslessons
1-26.Eachlessonis comprised
of
exercises
in vocabulary,
technique,
1000 basicmodernjazzchordvoicings,bluesand
jazztunes,and recommended
listening.
Hundredsof writtenbluesriffsand jazzlines
will giveyou unlimitedideasto inspireyourown improvisations.
A muslfor anyserious
beginningimproviser!

10

Vofume 2: Completingthe Foundotioncontainslessons27-52. The curriculumin

volume2 is moreadvanced,
the chordvoicinglistsmorecomplex,and the bluesand
jazz linesmore challenging.
A specialsectionis includeddescribingtechniques
to
organizethe voicingsstudiedinto hip arrangements.
Everyaspectof your playingwill
improveby studyingthisinspirational
book!
Both books contain thirty pages of insightfultext discussingmany aspectsof
improvisation
as well as an audioCD, enhancedfor PCand Mac,containing
valuable
verbalteachingby DaveFrank,recordings
of all the lessons,
and previously
unissued
solopianoperformances.
Thesebooksarehighlyrecommended
ascompanions
to the
Breakthrouah
to lmorovvideo.

To order,contactyour localHalLeonarddealeror musicstore.

To schedulea DaveFranksoloconcertand/ormasterclassin your area,or for productand/ortouring
information,
sendemailto Dfrankiazz@aol.com.

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