I. Improvisation
|
A. Improvisation - perhaps jazz’s most essential ingredient
|
|
1. |
improvisation is spontaneous composition; that is, each musician determines what he/she is going to play AS he/she is playing it (easier said than done!)
|
|
|
|
3. |
In order to improvise, a musician needs to:
|
|
|
a. |
be able to technically play his/her instrument well
|
|
|
b. |
have an understanding of music theory (the way notes and chords go together)
|
|
|
c. |
have the ability to play by ear (i.e., the ability to play the music one “hears” in his/her head without reading music)7
|
|
|
d. |
have a musical vocabulary covering a wide variety of styles (i.e., be familiar with various styles of jazz, as well as blues, rock, pop, classical, etc.)
|
|