al a yelaivaied iu ak D2) PVE Uy tA LU i se esa eee el) UDED re by Ed Friedianel |< geneCover photos by Pete DemosiCARVIN, ISBN 0-7935-2955-4 HAL*LEONARD’ HP ORATION cppante7 oyna LzONARD ConPoraTON Shao Gapntacond Aas esos Ne part of bs pubeatin may be reprodicein ay erm oF any means nitout te pre won person or by an ean thet he pot altanpermisen of ne Pubes Vist¥at Leonard Gln at ieonard.cornWriting this book has been a challenge. Improvisation is in many ways indescribable, yet there are vol- umes written about it. Everyone wants to write the definitive book about improvisation, myself included. But as attempt this, I am alll too aware of the daunting nature of this task. It is possible to prepare someone to impro- vise, you can be exposed to all the information you need. You can be shown seales, harmony, melody, rhythm, clichés, etc., and still not be a good improviser. The final step, putting all this information into action must come from within the improviser. Without taking the leap, you won't fly, even if given the best hang glider in the world, So, in some ways the notion someone can be taught to improvise strikes me as presumptuous. If I could somehow get inside your soul and guide you through the neuro/chemical/emotional/physical responses you must have to solo through a tune, then perhaps I could teach you how to improvise. Short of this, the best I can hope to do is provide you with much of the background information you need to be prepared to solo, give you strategies and opportunities to implement this information, make suggestions to guide you in the right Girection, and encourage you to open your inner ears and connect with the source of music living inside you. Goal Statement This book will show background information needed to improvise over jazz tunes, It will also expose ‘you to several different strategies to help you implement this information in interesting and musical ways. You will have opportunities to put this information into action with the aid of the accompanying CD. Throughout, ‘you will be reminded to look into other sources, recordings, videos, and live performances to help you with your journey. As soloing is an advanced topic, Iam going to make certain assumptions about you and your abilities. If you are not prepared to meet the challenges presented by the material in this book, it will not prove to be an effective use of your time, I must therefore assume you can read music reasonably well, have the ability to play eighth notes at tempos upwards of 120 beats per minute, have some jazz experience under your belt, and are at least vaguely familiar with common music terminology. Acknowledgements ‘Thanks again to my family, Sonia, Irving, Lee Ellen and Aimee Friedland, and David Taylor. Thanks to John Cerullo, Jeff Schroedl, and John Hill at Hal Leonard. Thanks to Mark Keisel, Dave Flores, and everyone at Carvin. Larry and Pam Fishman, LaBella Strings, Jim Roberts, and Karl Coryat at Bass Player Magazine, Bill Brinkley, Bob Sinicrope, Jim Brady Recording Studios, Jeff Haskell, Fred Hayes, Bob Mick, and everyone at The Bass Pace in Tempe, AZ. Thanks to Dickie Thompson for his weekly inspirations. Special thanks to Hal Galper for his improvisational insight. About the Author Ed Friedland is a graduate of the High School of Music and Art in New York City, and a former faculty member of Berklee College of Music and Boston College. Ed has a Masters Degree in Education from Cambridge College, Cambridge, MA, and is currently teaching at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. He is a contributing editor and monthly columnist for Bass Player Magazine and has authored three other books for Hal Leonard Corporation: Building Walking Bass Lines, Expanding Walking Bass Lines, and Jazz Bass. His performance credits include Larry Coryell, Michal Urbaniak, Robben Ford, Eddie Daniels, John Stowell, Paul Hom, Mike Metheny, Illinois Jaguette, Sal Nestico, Jimmy Maxwell, Jimmy MePartland, Johnny Adams, Linda Hopkins, Robert Junior Lockwood, Barrence Whitfield and the Savages, Martha and the Vandellas, The Drifters, Brook Benton, The Boston and Tokyo productions of Little Shop of Horrors, the Opera Company of Boston, and others. He actively performs on acoustic bass, 4-, 5-, and 6-string electric basses as well as tenor and piccolo electric bass. Ed uses Carvin basses, Fishman transducers, LaBella strings, and 2-Tek bridges. 4 Photo: Janice Fullman‘The CD accompanying this book is provided to enhance your learning process. It contains performances Cr amany of the written examples. It has been recorded with a spitstereo mix with the bass and drums on the {eft channel and piano and drums on the right. You will be able to hear an example, then turn off the left chanel and play along with the piano and drums. On some ofthe tracks I will slo freely. These examples will be ‘good opportunities for transcription, an important skill for developing your ears and your jazz conception, ‘The examples in the book with a CD icon <)> next to them have a number corresponding to the track Sumbet on the CD. I will announce the example number, then count it off with two measures out front. (Ex. 1 21,2, 3.). This is the common method for counting off tunes on a jazz gig There are many good resources available to you as play along material, it is a good idea to look into these CD's and computer programs. Honing your skills with music minus one CD's can be very helpful. However, itis most important you find other musicians to play with Jazz happens between people. nt between you and a CD. Use these materials at home for your education, and make sure you step out into the real world with live players as often as possible. I'd like to thank Jeff Haskell on piano and Fred Hayes on drums for adding theit musical contributions to this project. You will find i's great to have inspiring players like thece back you up.‘What is a solo? There are many ways to answer this question. By definition, a solo is a piece of music executed by one performer with or without accompaniment. An improvised solo, particularly in a jazz context, is much like the art of story telling, There is an event (the song), and we the story teller want to convey our per- sonal interpretation of that event to the listener. The deeper our understanding of the event, the more back= ground and interest we can bring to the story. However, this is not enough to keep an audience spellbound. There is also the element of style, or how you say it. There is your intent, why you say it, and your level of con- viction, how much you mean what you say. And of course, a certain amount of technique is necessary to convey a story effectively. When all of these elements combine seamlessly, we have the perfect conditions to create a captivating tale. Soloing requires several skills. First, we must have an understanding of the raw materials needed to cre- ate a solo. Since we are talking primarily about soloing over chord changes in a jazz style, we need to know the structure of each chord in a particular tune. We need to know the scales that correspond to each chord structure, and how all this information interacts as a whole. We need to"know the melody of the song we are playing. The melody’s relationship to the harmonic structure gives us important information... By knowing, I mean an intel- Jectual understanding, an instinctual (aural) understanding, and a physical understanding. Tt must be in the hands as well as the head, ears, and heart, Soloing is truly an integrated act. Once we have an understanding of the raw materials, we must have a sense of how to put the inform: tion into action, This entails several clements. We need to learn the language if we want to speak to the jazz ls tener. How many of us took years of a language in school, only to be utterly helpless when asked to use it? For a variety of reasons, most of us can't remember much more than “My name is...?” and “How are you?” from our high school language class. While these two questions will help you get by in a foreign country, you won't be communicating with anyone on a deep level. To communicate in jazz, you must familiarize yourself with the language, not only the grammar, but how it sounds. ‘As there can be many dialects of a language, there are many dialects of jazz, There is traditional jazz from the 1920s, the swing era of the thirties and forties. There is the bebop era from 1945 through 1955, fol- lowed by the hard bop of the late fifties. Then we have the innovations of the post bop era, the 1960s, which brought in new harmonic, thythmic, and melodic ideas. In the mid-sixties, two distinct schools emerged, jazzirock fusion, and “free” jazz. It is argued by some there have been no major stylistic innovations in jazz since the 1960s, and while I am hard pressed to name any myself, all of the aforementioned stylistic periods have been reinterpreted and deepened by the generations of musicians that followed. There is a lot of great music out there to listen to, old and new. If'you are going to be a jazz soloist, you'd better get busy and start lis- tening heavily! While it would be impossible for me to make a complete required listening list for jazz, T can suggest some names of the best known artists on their instrament. I recommend listening to all instrumentalists, not only bass players. Naturally, 1 will include as many of the significant bassists as possible, listed in roughly chronological order. ! apologize in advance for any omissions. Acoustic Bass Jimmy Blanton, Milt Hinton, Oscar Pettiford, Slam Stewart, Major Holley, Ray Brown, Charles Mingus, Paul Chambers, Reggie Workman, Jimmy Garrison, Ron Carter, Scot LaFaro, Charlie Haden, Gary Peacock, Eddie Gomez, Rufus Reid, Daye Holland, Niels Henning Orsted Pederson, Ron McClure, Miroslav Vitous, Harvie Swartz, George Mraz, Mare Johnson, Ratso Harris, Ray Drummond, Christian McBride. Electric Bass The electric bass was not considered a “true” jazz instrument for many years, therefore some of the leading players are rooted in R&B and Rock music; James Jamerson, Chuck Rainey, Jerry Jemmot, Jack Bruce, 6John Paul Jor Stanley Clarke, Jaco Victor Wooten. son, Paul Jackson, , Michael Manring. Guitar The bass and guitar are both string instruments, so special attention should be paid to the great guitarists in jazz, particularly if you play electric bass; Django Rheinhardt, Charlie Christian, Tiny Grimes, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Bamey Kessel, Herb Ellis, Joe Pass, George Benson, Jim Hall, Lennie Breau, Jimmy Rainey, Pat Martino, Larry Coryell, John McLaughlin, John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Alan Holdsworth, Bill Frissel, Mike Stern, Tuck Andress, Wayne Krantz, Charlie Hunter. Piano Includes organists, and electronic keyboardists; Jelly Roll Morton, Eubie Blake, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson, Tommy Flanagan, Red Garland, Wynton Kelly, Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Cecil Taylor, Joe Zawinul, Joanne Brackeen, Benny Green, Marcus Roberts. Vibraphone Red Norvo, Milt Jackson, Gary Burton, Bobby Hutcherson, Jay Hoggard, Steve Nelson. Violin Special attention should be paid to violinists if you are interested in developing jazz arco solos on acoustic bass; Ray Nance, Stuff Smith, Joe Venuti, Stephane Grappelli, Zbignew Seifert, Joe Kennedy Jr. Trumpet Louis Armstrong, Bix Biederbeck, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Ray Nance, Cootie Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Randy Brecker, Wynton Marsalis, Wallace Roney, Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton. Saxophone Sidney Bechet, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Lester Young, Johnny Hodges, Illinois Jaquette, Charlie Parker, Serge Shallof, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Gerry Mulligan, Cannonball Adderly, Joe Henderson, Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Omette Coleman, Wayne Shorter, David Leibman, Maceo Parker, David Sanborn, Michael Brecker, Brandford Marsalis, Joe Lovano, Joshua Redman. Trombone Slide Hampton, JJ Johnson, Curtis Fuller, Kai Winding, Bill Watrous, Phil Wilson, Steve Turre. This list is not complete, but it will give you an idea of who to listen to. There are many other brilliant players. You will hear about them from friends, magazines, radio stations, etc, Be open minded, and check out everyone you can, Everyone has something to say, and you can learn from all of them, even if you find you don’t like what you hear, Once the sound of jazz has planted itself in your inner ear, you will start singing ideas to yourself. This is the beginning of your ability to ereate a solo. While you must know a lot of background information to play intelligently over chord changes, the guiding principle of soloing is to play what you hear.If you want to solo over chord changes, you have to know chord structures. A chord structure is vertical, it starts on the root and moves up in thirds to the top note of the chord. Each chord has a corresponding scale. Scales are horizontal structures, they start on the root and move in a linear fashion to the last note of the scale. At first we will look at the chord structures that are diatonic to the major scale. Diatonic means all the notes belong to the key of the moment. If we take a major scale and build vertical structures off of each note, using only the notes contained within that particular scale, we get the diatonic chord structure for that key. Here are the diatonic chord structures for the key of Bb major ay Bbmaj? Cm? Dm? Ebmaj7 F? Gm? Ams Bbmaj7 Imai? im? itim7 Vay? V7 vim? vim 55. maj? ‘Undemeath the chord name is a Roman numeral with a chord type. These numbers represent the scale degree cach chord type is built from. These numerical assignments are important to learn, they are the generic “code” that will translate to any key. Using the major scale, we will always get Imaj7 off the first note, iim7 off the second etc. The names of the actual notes will change from one key to another, but the numerical structure remains the same. Notice that after viim75 comes Imaj7 again. The octave and the root are the same note, so ‘we call the structure built from the octave Imaj7. In general, as bassists we will not play chordally (though it is possible), we play single note lines. Here are some ways to practice the diatonic major chord structures that will prove useful for improvis- ing. While they are written out in the key of Bb major, you are advised to practice these in all keys. Pay particu- Jar attention to the keys of C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, and G, as these are the most common in jazz. There are several ways you can finger these examples, I suggest finding at least one way that is comfortable and fool-proof. ‘You'll need to have a default fingering that lays well. In addition, you will benefit greatly from exploring other pathways. Sometimes we must simply make it happen even if it is inconvenient to do so. Each fingering, as well as each position on the bass brings with it a unique set of possibilities. The more familiar you are with the options, the more opportunities you will have to create something relevant. Bbmaj? = Cm? Dm? Ebmaj? Fv Gm? Ams Bbmaj? Bhnaj? Am” Gm? Ebmaj? Dm? cm? Bbmaj7Next we will look at the diatonic major modes. Modal scales are the horizontal counterparts of their cor- responding diatonic chord structures. Modal scales use only notes from the home key. If you start a Bb major scale on it’s second note (which is C) and continue up an octave to the next C, you will have the C Dorian scale, Here are the diatonic major modes in Bb. Bbmaj? Cm? Dm? Eomaj? Bb Ionian © Dorian D Phrygian EbLydian Bhai? F Mixolydian G Aeolian A Locrian Bblonian BS Ionian ALocrian G Aeolian lydian Bs Lydian D Phrygian Dorian Bb Ionian Understanding the diatonic major realm is an important first step to improvisation, However, very few tunes are strictly diatonic major. Modes and chordal structures are also built from the harmonic and melodie minor scales. First we will look at the chord structures built from the harmonic minor scale. This scale has a very unique character due fo the minor third interval between flat six and major seven scale degrees. This, 9makes for some very interesting chord and modal structures. Here are the diatonic chord structures in the key of Bb harmonic minor. Bbm{maj?) Cm74S —Dhmmaj7+ — Ebm7 F7 Ghai? 7 Bhmimaj7) Im(omaj7)—iim75—$1llmaj?+ vm V7 bVImaj7_— vit? Inmaj7) Here are some ways to practice the diatonic harmonic minor chord structures. Bhm(maj?) C75 Domaj?+ bm? 7 Ghmaj? 47 Bhm(aj?) Bbm(maj?) A? Ghmaj? FT Eb? Dimmai* = C745 Bienimaj7) b Bbm(maj?)_ Cm! Dimaj? — Ebm? FI Ghmaj? Aq Bbm(maj?) Bhmimaj7) | A°7 Ghnaj?F? Em? = Dbmaj* = Cm7*5-——Bhm(mmaj7) b The modes derived from harmonic minor are unusual structures. They all contain the distinetive mi third interval originally found between scale degrees flat six and major seven. With each new mode, this in val pops up in a different location, creating some unique sounds, and some challenging fingerings. The names of these scales are altered versions of the major modes. Here are the diatonic modes in the key of Bb harmonic minor. 10Bbharmonic minor (CToerian 13 DbIonian#s EbDorian#i1 Ghmaj? b. Bbmimaj7) ae b FPhrygian'3 Ghiydian’9 A diminished Bbharmonicminor Bom(maj7) at Ghai? FT b Bbharmonie minor Aiminished Gotyatant9 Phrygian on Dima mrs bmn?) See 2 ¥F f-ebes t re be = t sSeetere —_ ai Dorian fl Dotonian CLoerianst3 Bhharmonic minor The next scale we build structures from is the melodic minor scale. The “traditional” version of this scale ascends as the melodic minor, and descends as the natural minor scale (otherwise known as the Aeolian mode). Bbmelodie minor Bb patural minor While the traditional melodic minor scale makes sense from a melodic standpoint, it would be confusing to build chord structures from it, as it is different going up and down, To simplify things, we ascend and descend using the same scale, This is commonly referred to as the “jazz” melodic minor scale. Bbmelodie minor veNow lets look at the chord structures built off the Bb melodic minor scale. Bhmimaj7) Cm? Dbe(maj7) EA F7Gmntb§—AmTRS—Bm(maj7) Imai?) iim? WXmaj7) V7 Vi vimTb5. wim 755 mmaj7) Here are two exercises to practice playing the chord structures from Bb melodic minor, Bhm(mnaj?) Cm? Db+(maj?) EH? 7 Gm Am™5 —_Bbm(maj?) bet 2 Bbm(maj?) Am7S Gm 7 Es? Db(maj?) Cm? Bbmimaj?) b, = Bbm(maj?) Cm? Db+(maj7) ENT Fv Gm AmTS Bhmimaj”) b by Bhm(maj?) — Am7#5 Gms F By? Dig?) Cm? Bhm(maj?)‘These are the modes built from the Bp melodic minor scale. Bhm(maj?) Cm? Db+(maj7) be Bbmelodic minor CDorian}9 DbLydian#s EbLydian}? FT Gms Am755 bee Bbm(maj7) b FMixolydian b13 G Locrian'9) Aaltered Bhmelodie minor Bhmimaj?) Ams Gms £ FT Bhmelodieminor Altered GLoccian'9 F Mixolydianb3 Bw Db+(maj?) cm? Bhm(maj7) BbLydian 7 DbLydiants CDorianbo Bbmelodieminor All of this information presents quite a lot of work on your part. As I said earlier, it is very important that you can play these chord structures and modes, understand them intellectually, and hear them. Don't skimp ‘on the basics, it will come back to haunt you later. You will probably need to refer to this material several times as we start to put it to use later in the book. As you start to utilize this information, it will start to become part of your integrated understanding. Be patient, it is a lot to remember. As if you didn’t have enough to do already, there are a few more scales that must be learned, Fortunately, these are easy in comparison and already familiar to anyone with a background in rock and blues, music. I'm referring to the pentatonic scale, There are only five notes contained in this scale instead of the seven used in major or minor scales. This scale is widely employed as a vehicle for improvisation in the rock idiom. It is used in two basic shapes, major and minor, although we will later see they are actually the same scale, starting from different points. 13Here is the C minor pentatonic scale, I'm sure this sounds familiar to you. The minor pentatonic scale is popular in rock, blues, jazz, and all sorts of world music. Here is a pattern to give you some ideas and challenge your fingers. This paitem extends into the next octave. In general, remember any scale or arpeggio must be learned in at least two octaves, be, + ‘Now let’s examine the C major pentatonic scale, This scale is widely recognized as the opening guitar riff to “My Girl” by the Temptations, SL ————— E : i= = eoe rye . Here is a pattem using the major pentatonic scale. 14I look at is the proverbial “blues scale.” The n: the blues progression allows out the entire form. So, in a C blues progression, it is possible to play the C blues scale over each chord. The repeated use of the blues scale over the shifting chords creates a tension and release pattern that is elemental to good improvising. This scale is similar to the minor pentatonic, except for the chro- matic passing tone in between the fourth and fifth. Often, the blues scale is played with another chromatic passing tone between the flatted seventh and the octave. The last scale to Jearn for now is the symmetrical diminished scale. There are two versions of this scale, the whole step/half step pattem, and the half step/whole step pattem. Here is the half step/whole step symmetri- cal diminished scale. symetrical diminished seale halfwhole The other version is the whole step/half step diminished scale. symetrical diminished scale whole/half The previous material will take some time to sink in. You will need to spend a lot of time playing through the scales and arpeggios to get them in your head, under your fingers, and in your ears. This brings us to our next topic, ears 15It's pretty obvious music is an aural phenomenon. To create spontaneous composition, you must be able to hear what you want to come out. Sure, you can blindly throw your hands around the instrument and hope for the best, many people committed to the “avant garde” have made a career of this. I'm not discounting the poten- tial for music to occur with that method, but you will find within the “outside” community of musicians, the most musical players are the ones that hear what they play. If we are looking at improvising “inside” jazz, we want the music coming out to reflect our understanding of the harmonic and melodic properties of the song being played. How do we understand this? With our brains, with our hearts, and with our ears. If you can't hear the song you're playing, how in the world will you create a musical statement based on it? This said, you will now realize you are on a lifelong journey into the realm of ear training. This journey started long ago, well before you ever had the idea of being a musician, Pieces of nursery rhymes, TV commer- cials, pop songs, patriotic songs, and the like have all embedded themselves in your musical memory banks. All ittakes is someone making reference to a particular chain of fast food restaurants, and suddenly, you are singing in your head the jingle that you heard on TV five thousand times. Ask any person on the street to sing the alphabet, they can, even if i’s been 50 years since they've done it. So, the brain has an infinite capacity for musical storage, the key to accessing it is to develop your own personal series of “tags” for musical events. A “tag” is a memory device that enables you to recall a sound. In this case, it could be a song you know. For example, remember the alphabet song? (“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”) This is a perfect tag to help you remember the sound of a perfeet fifth interval. Before you can expect to hear complex harmonies, we need to start with the core elements of harmony, intervals, An interval is the space created hetween two notes. The way we identify them is to use the major scale as a reference point. Each note in the scale is numbered one through eight. The first note played, or the bottom note if the notes are played simultaneously becomes the root. From there we count up or down the major scale to find the size of the interval. If you count up three notes in the scale, it’s called a third, four notes, a fourth etc. Of course, not all intervals are within the major scale, Some intervals occur in between scale tones. First ‘we will look at the intervals that are diatonic to the major scale, The intervals are divided into two groups, major intervals and perfect intervals, The major intervals are seconds, thirds, sixths, and sevenths. The perfect intervals are unisons, fourths, fifths, and octaves. When you lower a major interval by a half step, it becomes a minor interval. When you lower a perfect interval by a half step, it becomes a diminished interval. If you lower a minor interval by a half step, it becomes diminished as. well, If you raise a major or perfect interval by a half step, it becomes an augmented interval. Are you confused yet? Most people are at first. For the sake of simplicity, most jazz musicians refer to the intervals with alternative names like “flat two,”™flat seven,” or “sharp five.” It gets the meaning across, and saves valuable brain activity, which is better reserved for the task of creating music. Here is the F major scale in two octaves. For this example, the F on the fourth line of the staff will be our “ground zero.” The scale will extend up and down an octave from this point. In addition to numbers, we will also use the (hopefully) familiar solfege syllables; Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do. Underneath the notes, you will see a row of numbers, then the syllables, and another row of numbers. The top row of numbers indicate the interval number from the middle F which is the starting point for each direction. The syllables are named for each appropriate scale degree, starting in either direction, The bottom row of numbers are the scale degree numbers. Notice these numbers run in an opposite order with the descend- ing interval numbers. >Ascending Intervals >> 2 2 2 2 a —_ oo =* 4H = = 2 = = ae SS bas << Descending Intervals< Mork Wo 7 @ & 2 EB fs & 4 = gt 4 Syilublec Do Re Mi Fo Sol la Ti Do Re Mi Mm Sa La Tt Do Reel 2 a © Ss & 7 t oF B@ F G GF 2 8 16