A Beginners Guide:

Improvising on Red Clay

For Bb Treble Clef Instruments
Trumpet, Tenor Saxophone and Clarinet
Kevin Jackson

Foreword
This booklet is intended to work in partnership with the arrangement of Red
Clay written by Kevin Jackson. The goal of this booklet is for students to
have a resource where they can gain a comprehensive and in-depth
understanding of soloing in the style of funk. This is meant to be a resource
for both students and teachers on how improvisation can be approached in
a stress free environment which promotes growth and experimentation. By
the end of this booklet students will gain skills is historical context of funk,
how to read chord symbols, how to find common chord tones, which scales
can be used in this style, as well as some common rhythms and riffs that
are used is the genre of funk.
"Jazz is an open ended music designed for open minds.
-Anonymous

Index
What is Funk?

Page 3

How to Read Chord Symbols

Page 5

Red Clay: Chords and Arpeggios

Page 7

Red Clay: Usable Scales

Page 9

Common Funk Rhythms

Page 11

A Few Riffs To Get You Started

Page 14

Final Thoughts

Page 16
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What is Funk?
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-to late 1960s when African
American musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music
through a mixture of soul music, jazz, and rhythm and blues (R&B). Funk
de-emphasizes melody and chord progressions used in other related
genres and brings a strong rhythmic groove of a bass line played by an
electric bassist and a drum part played by a drummer to the foreground.
Funk songs are often based on an extended vamp on a single chord,
distinguishing them from R&B and soul songs, which are built on complex
chord progressions. Funk uses the same richly coloured extended chords
found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and
elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths.
The word funk initially referred (and still refers) to a strong odour. It is
originally derived from Latin "fumigare" (which means "to smoke") via Old
French "fungiere" and, in this sense, it was first documented in English in
1620. In 1784 "funky" meaning "musty" was first documented, which, in
turn, led to a sense of "earthy" that was taken up around 1900 in early jazz
slang for something "deeply or strongly felt".
In early jam sessions, musicians would encourage one another to "get
down" by telling one another, "Now, put some stank on it!". At least as early
as 1907, jazz songs carried titles such as Funky. The first example is an
unrecorded number by Buddy Bolden, remembered as either "Funky Butt"
or "Buddy Bolden's Blues" with improvised lyrics that were, according to
Donald M. Marquis either "comical and light" or "crude and downright
obscene" but, in one way or another, referring to the sweaty atmosphere at
dances where Bolden's band played. As late as the 1950s and early 1960s,
when "funk" and "funky" were used increasingly in the context of jazz
music, the terms still were considered indelicate and inappropriate for use
in polite company. According to one source, New Orleans-born drummer
Earl Palmer "was the first to use the word 'funky' to explain to other
musicians that their music should be made more syncopated and
danceable."The style later evolved into a rather hard-driving, insistent
rhythm, implying a more carnal quality. This early form of the music set the
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pattern for later musicians. The music was identified as slow, loose, rifforiented and danceable.
Style
Funk creates an intense groove by using strong bass lines. Like Motown
recordings, funk songs used bass lines as the centrepiece of songs. Slap
bass's mixture of thumb-slapped low notes and finger "popped" (or
plucked) high notes allowed the bass to have a drum-like rhythmic role,
which became a distinctive element of funk.
Harmony
Funk uses the same richly-coloured extended chords found in bebop jazz,
such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant
seventh chords with altered ninths. However, unlike bebop jazz, with its
complex, rapid-fire chord changes, funk virtually abandoned chord
changes, creating static single chord vamps with melodo-harmonic
movement and a complex, driving rhythmic feel. Some of the best known
and most skilful soloists in funk have jazz backgrounds.
A Brief History
The distinctive characteristics of African-American musical expression are
rooted in sub-Saharan African music traditions, and find their earliest
expression in spirituals, work chants/songs, praise shouts, gospel, blues,
and "body rhythms" (hambone, patting juba, and ring shout clapping and
stomping patterns). Funk music is an amalgam of soul music, soul jazz,
R&B, and Afro-Cuban rhythms absorbed and reconstituted in New Orleans.
Like other styles of African-American musical expression including jazz,
soul music and R&B, funk music accompanied many protest movements
during and after the Civil Rights Movement. Funk allowed everyday
experiences to be expressed to challenge daily struggles and hardships
fought by lower and working class communities.

How to Read the Chord Symbols

Chord symbols are your road map of what chord tones and scales you are
able to use while improvising. On a basic level the chord symbol will give
you information on what notes are being used in the triad as well whether
the chord is major, minor, augmented, or diminished.
**See the chart blow for a detailed outline of how to read chord symbols**

Extensions
In music, extended chords are tertian chords (built from thirds) or triads
with notes extended, or added, beyond the seventh. Ninth, eleventh, and
thirteenth chords are extended chords. The thirteenth is the farthest
extension diatonically possible as, by that point, all seven tonal degrees are
represented within the chord.
In the diagram below we see a C7 chord outlined in black. Going higher in
pitch we see the added D, F and A notes which are an example of the
possible extensions for this chord. These tertian chords continue stacking
notes in thirds and literally extend the chord higher, hence the term
extensions.

A- The thirteen or 13
F- The eleven or 11
D- The nine or 9
Bb- The flat seven or b7
G- The fifth or 5
E- The third or 3
C- The tonic or 1

Slash Chords
The use of slash chord writing simply mans that whatever is below the
slash must be the bass note. This being said, C/E indicates a C Major triad
with an E in the bass (First Inversion). Be aware that there doesn't have to
be any harmonic relationship between these notes. Because of this it is
possible to write chords such as Cm/F#.

Red Clay: Chords and Arpeggios

Chords and Common Tones
Now that we have a basic understanding of how to read chord symbols it is
time to put our knowledge into context and take a look at the chords in
Red Clay. Below you will see the chord progression found in the solo
section of Red Clay with the chords stacked as seen for your instrument.
Look below and see if you notice any chord tones which carry through
more than one chord symbol. These are called Common Chord Tones
and are notes that a player can hold onto while soloing for extended
periods of time. Note the C Natural from the Dm7 chord to the Cm7 and
then F7. This single note functions as the b7 in the Dm7 chord, the tonic or
1 in the Cm7 chord and the fifth or 5 in the F7 chord.
Can you find any more common tones in this progression?

Chord Qualities in Red Clay

In this chord progression there are a variety of different qualities of chords
that are important to fully understand before diving deep into improvisation.
The two chords in particular which need to be mentioned in this context are
the Dm7b5 and the G7#5. For both young players and older musicians new
to jazz chords this can look very complicated. What these chords are trying
to tell us is that they have an altered fifth (5th) within the triad. In the case
of the Dm7b5 It is telling us that it is a Dm chord with a minor seventh and
that the fifth of the chord goes down one semitone. Essentially this
becomes a D diminished chord with a minor seven with the notes, D, F, Ab,
and C. Now try and confirm the notes within the G7#5. Why might have the
composer altered the fifth for this chord? Look at the third of the Cm7 chord
directly after for clues. Does this create a common chord tone?
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Arpeggios and Chordal Outlines

Below you will find the chordal outlines of each chord we have looked at
above. This can be used as a playing exercise for band members on either
an individual or ensemble based setting. Students are encouraged to
practice outlining these chords at different dynamics, using different
articulations, and with different note values. Having students play through
these will allow them to begin opening their ears to these new sounds
found in jazz as well as feel how the different fingerings and positions feel
to play.
Note that the Bbm7 and Eb7 would usually be in the same bar but have
been separated for simplicities sake. This also can be seen with the Dm7b5
and G7#5 chords.

A few ways you can practice going through these chordal outlines
Please note that you are not limited to the idea presented below. Add your
own twist on this exercise to keep it interesting.
1.) Indifferent octaves. See how many octaves you can play these in.
2.) At varying dynamic levels from pianissimo all the way to fortissimo
3.) In varying note values
Example: Each quarter note becomes two eighth notes, each quarter
becomes a triplet with three eighth notes.
4.) Played in different styles. Example: Swung versus straight
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Usable Scales
In this section of the booklet we will go through a few scales that can be
used for the solo section of Red Clay as well as lots of other chord
progressions. Understanding the chordal outlines of the chords found within
a progression is important and having a strong understanding of both this
and different scales that can be used over a progression can create a
strong musical understanding.

The Blues Scale

The first scale you will be introduced to is the Blues Scale. This is a
powerful tool for the young musician which can create instant success with
improvisation. This scale is most often used with soloing for blues
progressions but can also be used in other settings. The actual theoretical
make up of this scale compared to a regular major scale would be 1-b3-4b5-5-b7-1. Over a basic twelve bar blues progression you can use this
scale only and have very successful solos. The way the blues chord
progression is created works in partner with this scale and makes it so you
cant play a wrong note. This scale works for this this progression found in
Red clay as well and can be used to create a very effective solo.
**See scale below**

b3

b5 5

b7 1

1 b7

b5

b3

Once students have a solid grasp on the scale in the correct order they can
start creating their own riffs and patterns using notes from the scale. This is
a great first step towards improvising using the scale.

The Bebop Scale

The second scale you will be introduced to is called the Bebop Scale. This
scale is a alteration of major or minor scales which uses both the Major and
the minor seven within the scale. This scale can often be found within the
sub-genre of jazz called Bebop, hence the name. Bebop is a fast style of
jazz playing first heard by saxophonist Charlie Parker. As said earlier this
scale alteration can be used for both major and minor scales. The only
thing that is altered is the addition of an extra quality of the seventh scale
degree. For example the C minor Scale would normally be seen as D-CBb-A-G-F-E-D. When it is altered into a Bebop scale it becomes D-C#-CBb-A-G-F-E-D. Notice the addition of the Major Seventh. This scale can
also be used in the chord progression found in Red Clay and is very
effective, especially over the Cm7 chords.
**See scale below**

Once students have a solid grasp on the scale in the correct order they can
start creating their own riffs and patterns using notes from the scale. This is
a great first step towards improvising using the scale. This scale should be
practiced in both a downward and upwards motion starting on the root, third
and fifth of the scale.

Using Chordal Outlines

The third scale that will be introduced is not a scale in the purest sense but
is a great skill to practice all the same. Using the arpeggios from the
previous section you can use these chordal outlines while filling in the
blanks with other scales to create scales that specifically with that chord.
For example you could take the Dm7b5 chord which has D-F-Ab-C within it.
To turn this into a scale we could simply add notes from our Cm Bebop
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scale and create the scale D-Eb-F-G-Ab-Bb-C-D. This scale becomes very
effective for this chord.

Common Funk Rhythms

As stated earlier in this booklet a great deal of funk is rhythmically based on
a two-celled on-beat/off-beat structure, which originated in sub-Saharan
African music traditions.
Part of what makes Funk such an interesting genre of music are the unique
and complicated rhythms associated with it. Below are a few of my
favourite Funk rhythms which you can practice at various speeds. It is
important to subdivide and truly understand the rhythm for these exercises
rather than to just try and feel them as you play.
To start, play the rhythms as written below. Once you feel comfortable with
both the rhythm and style on the exercises below try starting to integrate
notes from the scales and chords from earlier using these rhythms. Note
that all of these rhythms are written for Treble Clef Bb instruments.
Do a variety of body percussion as well as singing on these rhythms to
internalize what you are learning.

Example 1
This rhythm starts us off in a very basic way which will help us solidify the
timing and style we are looking for before we dive into harder rhythms.

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Example 2
Note the off beat notes in this rhythm. Try clapping this rhythm and
stomping your foot on the rests. Taking into account the rests which put our
notes on the off beat are very important and should be considered when
learning this.

Example 3
This example gives us a strong syncopation within the bar which can be
very interesting for audience members to hear in funk as well as other
styles. Try putting a little accent on the front of each of these notes. Does
this help?

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Example 4
Switching from off beats to on beats can be tricky. Subdivide the eighth
notes for this rhythm and try doing a strong downbeat on the second bar.
Make the ands of the subdivision much stronger than the downbeats for
the first bar.

Example 5
In this next example we see some sixteenth notes. Do not become
overwhelmed by this. Simply subdivide the 16th notes and count out the
rhythms first. Which beats do the 16th notes start on?

Example 6
Look at the rhythm below. Is this rhythm familiar to you? If so you have
probably already played the arrangement of Red Clay which is linked to this
booklet. This rhythm switches between on the beat rhythms and off
beats. It is important to internalized the beat before doing this rhythm to
ensure accuracy.

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A Few Riffs to Get You Started

Below you will find a few of my favourite riffs to use over this chord
progression. This is by no means all of the riffs or even the best riffs to use
for this piece of music but this will be a great way to start learning. It is
important to internalize the rhythm of these riffs before jumping in too deep
with the instrument. Once you have a firm understanding of the rhythm try
the riff first slowly and then faster. Once you are very comfortable with it try
it at many different tempos and using different styles of articulations.
Example 1
This first example of a riff you could use is a basic way of outlining the Dm7
chord using fairly simple rhythms. Make sure that you dont rush getting to
the off beat of two too fast.

Example 2
This next example is one of my personal favourite riffs which can be used
in many different setting sin jazz. Although the C #, and B Natural are
technically not note members within this chords they function as passing
tones which are not lingered on for long.

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Example 3
This next riff steals a rhythm which we learned in the previous section.
Although not complicated with the notes chosen in this riff the rhythm
creates interest for the audience and seems flashy all the same. Notice the
sound created when going back and fourth between the tonic and the minor
third of the chord.

Example 4
This next riff is based off of the Blues Scale which we learned earlier in this
booklet. notice how we extend the scale about the first octave of this scale
to create a more melodic line. This scale can be used in any octave and
can be used to create neat and memorable melodies.

Example 5
The final riff I have given you to start your improvisational journey is based
off of the Bebop scale we learned earlier. Notice the sounds when both the
major and minor seventh are used in this riff.

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Final Thoughts
This booklet is meant to give the teacher and young musician a
comprehensive and scaffolded approach at how improvisation can be
approached. There are many ways that this skill can be approached and I
feel that this approach presents it in a way that can help students
understand what they need to know next rather than everything they need
to know at once. When students are presented with too much information
at one time they can be overwhelmed which is the feeling I am trying to
avoid through this booklet. This approach is meant to be presented in a
way that scaffolds students up to the final product, which in this case is
being able to improvise on Red Clay, and creates transferrable skills which
can be used in many musical situations.
Although there is much information in this booklet it is by no means
everything there is to know about improvising over this piece of music or in
this style for that matter. I encourage you to continue searching for new
scales and new sounds once you have mastered these ones and see what
you can create.
Improvising is music which comes from our very soul, once we have
attained the skills we need to be successful in this art it is our job to forget
everything and just play.

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References
1.) Vincent, Rickey (1996). Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm
of The One. St. Martin's Press. ISBN0-312-13499-1.
2.)Thompson, Dave (2001). Funk. Backbeat Books. ISBN0-87930-629-7.
3.) Wermelinger, Peter (2005). Funky & Groovy Music Records Lexicon. -.
ISBN3-9522773-1-2.

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