High School Improvisation

Abstract

What is the essence of jazz improvisation? Performing jazz musicians will answer in many ways, but there is one guiding principle, which is widely accepted, especially when teaching beginners: express the tonality of the piece. Tonality includes the basic key, and any other keys in the composition, and the chords within those keys, which need to be addressed in a recognizably tonal fashion. The active process of improvisation is tonicization. To tonicize a piece with improvisation is to play closely related scale tones, chord tones, and melodic and harmonic structures which amplify those chord progressions and express the form of the composition. This chapter outlines a sequential process whereby jazz teachers can provide students with the tools to successfully express the tonality of compositions that use II min7 → V7 → I Maj7 (II-7 V7 I∆7) chord changes and their alterations with major, minor, dominant, bebop scales and chord tones. Exercises for learning these scales and chord tones are presented, as well as a step-by-step process for showing students how to apply those scales, chord tones, and bebop permutations appropriately to II-7 V7 I∆7 chord progressions and 12-bar blues progressions with increasing levels of sophistication.