![]() ![]() When developing melodic ideas for beginning improvisers, it can help to play, for example, different chords under the same melodic line. For inspiration do a YouTube search for “scat singing.” You will quickly find everything from Ella Fitzgerald to Beyonce. A great way to introduce singing is to combine it with call and response. When singing melodic lines however, the student is able to focus on something that sounds good AND can follow along with articulation and style without adding all the extra factors playing an instrument can have. Singing opens up some of those doors, although some students may feel less comfortable with the concept. Most of the anxiety that comes with jazz improvisation stems from the idea that the student doesn’t know “which notes to play ” in other words, they are more worried about whether they’re playing in the key/chord than if what they are playing sounds good. Sung improvisation is a fantastic way to build on a student’s melodic sense without adding the instrument into the equation. “What, singing? With my band?” Yes indeed, singing has been research-proven to help develop an instrumentalist (See “To Sing or Not to Sing in Instrumental Class” by Mitchell Robinson), and educators who sing in their instrumental classrooms swear by it. ![]() SmartMusic and other online sources offer many different method books and exercises that can walk you through using call and response in your classroom. However, if you are not the greatest-and-most-wonderful improviser of all time, there is no need to worry with the development of technology has come aid. ![]() As the teacher, call and response exercises demands that you have some experience with playing jazz. Classic jazz licks are simply short phrases of melody. This type of exercise builds on nearly all skills that it takes to play jazz - from ear-training, style, articulation, and repetition-to developing melodic sense. Call and ResponseĬall and response is one of the most well-known ways to work with improvisers, and for good reason. Here are four effective ways to nurture this skill in your students: 1. Fortunately, there are exercises that can be specifically tailored to the focused development of creating melodic solos. The creation of these licks is integral to the jazz musician, and as teachers and performers, we want to grow this skill as quickly as possible. One of the biggest skills any improviser should develop is the ability to create melodic ideas. ![]()
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