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I suck at improvising...


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trumpet1
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2002 7:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I suck at improvising...where do i start?
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vivace
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2002 7:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

me too.....
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BADBOY-DON
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2002 8:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ha!....
I think I'm great at Improvising...but all my musik-buds, my director, my wife, my neighbors, and my DOG, KNOW THAT I TOO, REALLY SUCK! ))
Seriously though...just have a great time and work with it. LISTEN CAREFULLY.

I keep harpin' on my recent night with Ray Vega here in Seattle. I watched how carefully he REALLY LISTENS...to his band-soul mates and THEN he works off their improv. and the best part, seemed to help everyone sound good, and the night just seemed to get betta' and better. Best of all, Ray seemed to have a 7th sense, in knowing just when to play-when and when to let it go forward.

Marvin Stamm has a nicely written article on his website about improv.
http://www.marvinstamm.com

[ This Message was edited by: BADBOY-DON on 2002-06-26 23:13 ]
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Quadruple C
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2002 8:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[ This Message was edited by: Quadruple C on 2003-09-29 17:24 ]
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Eric M. Parise
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 27, 2002 8:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Listen intently and constantly to your inner voice and the music that is calling it out to you.
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pfrank
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 27, 2002 8:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The art of hearing the music that is in you is subtle, but once caught, it can't be taken away by others judgments, only your own. This is where "faith" is an activite principle. The door opens inwardly, if you beat on it with your intellect, it stays closed and you wonder why. You've just gotta take the leap when it is time to play.

[ This Message was edited by: pfrank on 2002-06-27 11:37 ]
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BADBOY-DON
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 27, 2002 9:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

QUAD-C!!!
WOW! You said it all....and one long beautiful paragraph...))
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jhaysom
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 27, 2002 9:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

All good advice above. But I would add another piece of advice -- get a keyboard. A cheap electric one will do. Learn to play chords so that you can instantly know what notes are in an Abm7b5, etc. Learn to play them with your left hand and try different improvised melody lines with your right to discover what fits with different types of chords. Play this was through songs to discover normal chord progressions and what works when trying to thread an improvised melody line through them.

I'm not talking about learning to play keyboard well enough for performance, just well enough to get through a song. When I do this, it's probably pretty painful for anyone else to listen to. However, my trumpet playing made a quantum jump after I got a keyboard.
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cybertrumpet
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 27, 2002 9:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.barryharris.com
THE legend, THE teacher for improvising.....
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Quadruple C
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 27, 2002 5:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[ This Message was edited by: Quadruple C on 2003-09-29 17:24 ]
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PH
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 28, 2002 6:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are a bunch of terrific suggestions in the "Jazz Routine" thread. I just made a pretty detailed post there of my suggestions.

p.s. Don't forget that this is an adventure and a process of discovery. Have fun and don't feel like you always have to color inside the lines!
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trumpet1
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 01, 2002 9:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I did a improv thing the other nigh and all I could think of is borrowing bars from other songs I've heard...
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tryingtolivethelife
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 01, 2002 10:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've heard some really clever things done with bars from other songs. I heard thislocal guy play a string of quotes that all had a common theme. Or I heard thins guy play "It don't mean a thing", just a slice of it but so, so straight with like classical vibrato... it was funny. Hey at least your mind didn't go blank though...
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funkymonkey
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 01, 2002 10:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Our high school jazz band did Mercy, Mercy, Mercy with everyone taking a solo. The trumpet player before tried to do the valves half pressed down to "show off his skills"... after hearing that, I decided to show him off.. hehe..

although it doesnt really fit in the context of the piece i still did it and the only thing that mattered to me was whether the audience liked it, and they really liked it....
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jhatpro
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 02, 2002 4:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

take more chances.
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Blue Devil
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 02, 2002 5:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Trumpet1, I feel your pain.

Jamie Abersold's Volume 1 "Jazz: How To Play and Improvise" is a great place to start (www.jazzbooks.com). He has a huge library of play along cds and books that are really worth the $15 or so for each set of book + cd. There are also other good play along books and series out there.

Mike Trzesniak

[ This Message was edited by: Blue Devil on 2002-07-02 20:05 ]
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cybertrumpet
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 02, 2002 7:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.barryharris.com
http://www.dickgrove.com
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SHS_Trumpet
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 03, 2002 9:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This was the emphasis of a camp I went to lately and I'll give you a few ideas they gave us. Repeat part of the melody or specific notes. Go from 4th to 3rd. in eigth notes on the 1st beat of a chord/ measure. reverse the melody. Stretch the melody out. or squish it together.displace it. skip around in the melody. I have a packet full of Ideas I can scan and send if you want along with some blues riffs in f concert.
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SHS_Trumpet
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 03, 2002 9:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another thing unless it's totally inappropriate be loud and brave with your improv. I played in a improv concert the other night andI busted out loud on my first note not overblowing but confidently done. before I even started going off on it people were hooting and hollering yeah man!! etc after the first note.
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Andrew Fowler
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funkymonkey
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 03, 2002 9:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A trumpet professor I know told me that if you think if you'd played a wrong note during the improv, play the same note three times.. then it'll sound right..

I've never tried it tho..
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