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Training Four Skills for Improvisation
Jeremy Siskind
Fullerton College
Why do we care?
Separating the art of improvisation into its component skillsets can make teaching and learning less intimidating, more focused, and more effective.
Questions to Consider
• What are we teaching when we teach improvisation?• Can improvisation be taught in a
linear manner?• Which skillsets does traditional
music education emphasize?• Which skillsets are easier/harder
to teach? To measure?
START HERE
Question
Which skill is your biggest strength or weakness as an improviser? As a teacher?
When an Exercise is “Mastered”…
Faster In a harder key/ More complexover a harder progression
Training All Skillsets(1) Writing Down a Melody from a Recording
Working with material the student loves and the
sense of accomplishment of
playing without music
Listening closely for melodic intervals or intervals against the
chords
Learning to play the piece at the instrument (maybe in multiple keys)
Using theory knowledge to guess at the likeliest notes in difficult spots
Training All Skillsets (2)(2) Composing
Writing something that the student feels proud of or that reflects their
emotions
Trusting the ear to tell them what the
composition needs next
Learning to play the composition at the
instrument
Using theory knowledge to complete chord progressions and
melodies
Training All Skillsets (3)(3) Transposing
Gaining a deep knowledge of a chord
progression or melody
Listening for melodic intervals and chord tone
relationships
Feeling patterns in different key centers
Thinking deeply about the intervallic
relationships present
Training Each Skill
The Heart
HeartBefore: Have your student brainstorm musical elements like pitch, volume, articulation/note length, etc.
Activity: Set a timer for 45 seconds and have your student improvise while moving gradually from one extreme of the element to another. For example, they might start on their lowest pitch and move to their highest.
HeartNext Steps: Change two musical elements at once during the improvisation.
Instead of a 45-second timer, have students explore their element over a musical form (blues?).
HeartBefore: Give the student three notes and ask them how many different ways they can play those notes on the piano.
Activity: Brainstorm emotions like “sad,” “energetic,” and “sleepy.” Have the student improvise, trying to express their emotion using all effects on those three notes.
HeartNext Steps: Give the student chords that will work with the melody notes and see if they can mix them in a way that will express the emotion.
Try the same exercise using an entire major or minor scale.
Heart• Listening • (Active listening)• Considering art/culture• Learning about historical context• Emotional understanding of repertoire• Free improvisation• Experiencing a range of musical experiences• Composing
The Ear
EarBefore: Teach your student the first four notes of the blues scale orally and on the piano.
Activity: For each of the three phrases of the blues scale, direct students to: 1) Hear a blues-based melody in their head 2) Sing that melody3) Play the melody on the piano (as best they
can)
EarNext Steps: Teach the students the top three notes of the blues scale and have them improvise in a similar fashion.
Remove the middle step – have them hear a melody and then play it directly afterwards (without singing).
Try with two-measure phrases.
EarBefore: Go over a basic progression (blues, V-I) with your student. Have them learn to sing the bass and arpeggios.
Activity: Have the student start by singing a note of the chord. As you play each chord on the piano, have the student find an adjacent (step-wise) chord tone in the new chord.
EarNext Steps: Have the student sing the note before you play the next chord (so they must hear in advance where the harmony is going).
Have the student do the same exercise at their instrument.
Allow the student to leap, while making sure that they are singing a chord tone.
Ear• Transcribing (learning melodies/chord progressions
from a recording)• Transcribing away from the piano • Interval training (Apps? Partner work?)• Singing in a choir• Singing exercises (guidetone lines, scales, chord
tones)• Transposing (ear-focused)
The Brain
BrainBefore: Stand up facing your student and practice tapping two-measure rhythms while marching in time.
Activity: Direct them to use the end of your phrase as the beginning of their phrase, then improvise their own phrase ending.
BrainNext Steps: Increase the rhythms to four measures long.
Have the students tap/clap/stomp/etc. any part of their body they like. The next student must imitate faithfully.
Do the same thing using limited notes (just one note? An arpeggio?) on the piano.
BrainBefore: Teach your student how to find the correct 3rd of a chord.
Activity: Play through a set of chord changes (the blues?) in time and have them hit the third on the downbeat. Then, have them play a half-step lead in, then two half-step lead-ins, etc.
BrainNext Steps: Aim for other chord tones, like the fifth or seventh (in a jazz context).
Experiment with adding half-step lead-ins from above and below; try the “chromatic enclosure.”
Use whole step lead-ins instead.
Brain• General study of theory• Analyzing repertoire, chord progressions, and
improvisations of others• Practicing figured bass• Transposing (brain-focused)• Composing and improvising new melodies based on
theoretical concepts• Memorizing pieces• Arranging for the piano or other ensembles
Muscle Memory
Muscle MemoryBefore: Divide a known scale (C major? Bb major?) into intervals – 3rds, 4ths, etc. and triads.Activity: Give your student a simple one-measure rhythm and instruct them to move freely within the scale but stick to the given rhythm. Encourage large jumps and skips.
Muscle MemoryNext Steps: Improvise over longer rhythms (2 measures, 4 measures).
Improvise using changing scales (i.e. one measure of Bb major then one measure of Eb major).
Try improvising in constant eighth notes.
Muscle MemoryBefore: On a single chord, teach a student the arpeggio in every inversion.
Activity: While playing some sort of a rhythmic vamp, direct the student to use rhythm and different inversions to make an interesting improvisation using only the arpeggio.
Muscle MemoryNext Steps: Have the student add some of the half-step lead-ins they practiced their “Brain” exercise.
Add skips and repeated notes within the arpeggios.
Play arpeggios similarly but over a chord progression (the blues?).
Muscle Memory• Learning melodic fragments/chord
progressions/arpeggios/scales in all keys and modes• Mastering the ability to skip freely within a scale or
arpeggio• Working to hit specific chord tones and guide tone
lines within common chord progressions • Learning repertoire pieces in different keys
How We Teach
•Which skills are incorporated into our students’ lessons and practice sessions? •Which skills are addressed first? What might not be
addressed daily? •Do students do a good job practicing/addressing their
weaknesses?
60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes
Scales/arpeggiosLong tones/ etudes“Licks” in many keys Learning a new skill
TranscribingEar TrainingTransposingActive listeningComposingImprovising at the Piano
Time Skill Possible Activity
Action Steps
•Have your students self-assess their strengths/ weaknesses• Examine what skills students are/aren’t addressing in
their lessons and practice sessions•Communicate the value of skillsets that are less easily
measurable• Incorporate the missing elements into lessons and
curricula
