BREAKTHROUGH TOIMPROV:

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15STEPS
TO MUSICALFREEDOM
FORALLMUSICIANS

by DaveFrank
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Wiitshire Street
S a r i s b uS. vA 5 1 O g

7l HAL.LeoNARD.
L - c o R p o R A T t o N
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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 necessaryto 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:
c'7 c'7 C7
PRACTTCE POINT#1: Practicethe blues t l

-o.
s c a l ea l o n e .
Keyboardists shouldplay this progression
in the left hand alone,metronome.=72'
*Note:keepthe metronomeat 72 as you
rvork through all the practicepoints.As
vou feel comfortable with the materialat
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
sL.eed. You shouldalso practiceat times
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 .
Cuitarists,instrumentalists, and vocalists
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.

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

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.

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

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 continuouslypromptyou
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
lo. .lor - \\'har do \ou knoq _ .)'

4 \ . ra - r l
\ o a ' a t a a a _ o 1 1

Letthe wordsleadthe musicand simultaneously

createa shortword phrasewith a shortmusicalphrasemade
up of bluesscalenotes.Thiseasytechnique the "musicalbrain"with the "language
connects 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.
Balanceand variationarethe principleshere.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
(Lesson52).

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 over-
reactto "wrong notes."Manyof the greatestrecordingsby the greatestimprovisers containmissednotes
or incompletephrases. lmprovisation
is a processof discovery,
not a guestfor note-perfectperformances.
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
patienceand support,CharlieBanacos for hisvaluableadviceand feedback, JohnAmaralfor hisongoing
partnership
and collaboration,JohnCerullofor his beliefin this projectand for our association
with Hal
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

Joyot lmprovis a completecurriculumfor the aspiringimproviser,

containing52
lessonsfor all instruments
in two volumes.

Volume1: Devolping theFoundotion containslessons

1-26.Eachlessonis comprised of
exercises in vocabulary,
technique, 1000 basicmodernjazzchordvoicings,bluesand
jazztunes,and recommended Hundredsof writtenbluesriffsand jazzlines
listening.
will giveyou unlimitedideasto inspireyourown improvisations.
A muslfor anyserious
beginningimproviser!

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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 studyingthisinspirationalbook!

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 ascompanionsto 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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