We asked JMI lecturer Graeme Norris (Woodwind, Improvisation Techniques) about some of his approaches to teaching improvisation here at JMI. Have a read below about his thoughts on developing creative freedom through variation on themes.
Creative freedom through variation
by Graeme Norris, JMI Lecturer (Woodwind & Improvisation Techniques)
In my improvisation classes I emphasise the term “source material”. I then encourage comprehension of and familiarisation with that material. This comprehension and familiarisation involves exploring, processing, and reassembling the material in a way that is pleasing to the individual. Having this outcome as a goal encourages creativity and clarity.
Variations on a theme is perhaps a good way to approach this idea. As a young clarinet student, I was familiar with themes and variations primarily by Mozart. At the time I was practising these pieces as vehicles for developing technique. I did not grasp the concept of reassembling information in alternative ways. But this concept is at the heart of becoming a more accomplished jazz musician.
This can start simply as getting to know a scale not just as a series of intervals, ascending then descending. Rather the scale is just a collection of notes that you can put together however you wish. Practising a scale in 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, and 7ths, or in any number of scale constructions, e.g., 1231, 2342, 3453, etc, opens the ear to different resolutions and melodies. The same scale or source material is being played, but in a way that is creative, melodic, fun, personal and interesting. It is the same collection of notes, reconstructed. Equally arpeggios can be played ascending, descending, in combination, in broken constructions, with triplet rhythms, and so on.
This approach also alleviates the idea of some scales or theory being easy or difficult. Melodies are keyless. Navigating a path through a chord progression spontaneously in a clear and satisfying way requires familiarity with all keys. An improvisation through a standard may be clearer and make more sense, with application of tritone or minor IV chord material. Knowing the material inside and out makes the path easy to traverse. If you know a melodic minor scale, you are already playing an altered scale. If you know a harmonic minor scale, you are already playing a Phrygian dominant scale. Understand the relationship between G7 and D flat7, and the different ways of resolving to a home key. We can do all this by learning songs, transcribing, and by opening our own creative minds.
I employ this method all the time, when practising melodies or transcribing.
What happens if I start that phrase on a different beat, insert tritone material, reconstruct that phrase using triplets, or descend rather than ascend? How I reassemble the material then becomes part of my vocabulary, enhancing my ability to express myself.
Listen to Mozart’s twelve variations of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Experience the first recording of Mood Indigo by Duke Ellington around 1930, then listen to the version from Live at the Whitney in 1972. Listen to Sonny Rollins across his whole career for recurring motifs, with rhythmic variations or embellishments. Listen to how Kenny Dorham, Charlie Parker or Bud Powell invert or rhythmically displace tritone material. It’s all variations on themes, accessed by total familiarity with the core material.