Low Eh!

I teach a lot of instrumentalists who have a strong base in concert band music, who want to learn to play jazz. They have typically joined a big band, and don’t have a ton of room for solos, but after a while, they start to become interested in soloing, and in some cases, want to play in a small group.

One of the biggest hurdles that they face is how to phrase the melody. Usually, they play the melody close to what’s on the page, and then improvise at the end of the head. I was in a masterclass with Lee Konitz in 2008, and he explained that improvisation starts when the tune starts, not at the end of the melody. This has stuck with me since, and I try to pass that on to my students.

Here’s one of the exercises that I give students in this situation. This example is using the melody to Autumn Leaves.

The students can mix-and-match the pickup variation, and the held note variation. I have them pick a set, and workshop it through the melody (where applicable), and then change one at a time – for example, blue A + red A, blue A + red B, blue A + red C, etc.

I find that the structure of this compliments the players who are more comfortable with reading music, and they get away from the page when they have some solid examples to work from. I have also found that once they get a few of these in their ears and under their fingers, they get more curious about what their favourite players are doing on the recordings.