Improv on Footprints

[phdmerrill]

Working on Footprints. I've been exploring different ideas, but can't find much to fill up a good solo. This is the first waltz I've tried to perfect and add to my repertoire, but I've had a bit of trouble. The odd time signature + the lack of swing + the slow tempo + the long duration of the Cmin tonality make it sort of tricky for me. I've superimposed altered V's over (and to anticipate) the Cmin and the Fmin to create more tension, but I don't feel any magic yet. Other suggestions for harmonic material? What about the turnaround?

Really though, I think it's the rhythmic element that's throwing me off. Most of the instincts I learned for 4/4 swing are useless over 3/4. What would you suggest for phrasing? I've been trying a bunch of stuff, from sliding chords to wide intervals to moving around unusual arpeggio/chord shapes through the tonality, but it all seems stale because I'm not finding any rhythmic lyricism in this time signature. Where should I look for rhythmic ideas? How should I group notes? How should I implement polyrhythms? Where should the accents go? Just looking for some ideas and the wisdom of more experienced players. Specific examples and suggestions are preferred. Maybe just share a favorite 3/4 line, if nothing else. Thanks in advance.


-----------I already know people might suggest using/getting creative with the written melody/rhythm. And they'd be right, I should work more on that. But really, I'm looking for some diverse melodic and rhythmic options for my 3/4 improv arsenal.-----------

[marcwhy]

Good example of how a simple minor-blues tune can be deceptively challenging.

If you're not sure how to feel or phrase in 3 (I believe FP is actually in 6/8 -- there is a difference in the feel), make sure you get your hands on as many recordings as you can to hear what the big guys are doing. Start with Wayne and Miles (two different "original" recordings, several live recordings), Pat Martino, etc., and start exploring from there. This tune has been recorded a thousand times at different tempos (tempi?), so feel free to explore a bit. [My band's version on our CD is in "funky 4," not 6, just for fun!]

Enjoy the tune; try it as a chord melody, too -- it's a "must have" in the repertoire.

Marc

[IbanezAS100]

Really though, I think it's the rhythmic element that's throwing me off. Most of the instincts I learned for 4/4 swing are useless over 3/4. What would you suggest for phrasing? I've been trying a bunch of stuff, from sliding chords to wide intervals to moving around unusual arpeggio/chord shapes through the tonality, but it all seems stale because I'm not finding any rhythmic lyricism in this time signature. Where should I look for rhythmic ideas? How should I group notes? How should I implement polyrhythms? Where should the accents go? Just looking for some ideas and the wisdom of more experienced players. Specific examples and suggestions are preferred. Maybe just share a favorite 3/4 line, if nothing else. Thanks in advance.
[/quote]


Here's a few ideas:

• Write a few ideas down in rhythmic notation only. You could experiment with avoiding the '1', or mixing different values (quarter, eighths, triplets etc) for the 'changing gears in the middle of the phrase' effect
• Draw lines over the chart (say from the 'and of 2 in the first bar to beat 3 in the 3rd bar) and improvise over those specific areas 'over the bar line effect'-you could use any value
• Play your favourite phrases in 4/4 and see what kind of adjustments you need to make. You'll find that a lot of it is not useless over 3/4. Check out some Bill Evans and John Abercrombie.
• Experiment with triplets (eighths or quarter) groupe in 4's.
• Bergonzi has got a tonne of great ideas in 'Melodic Rhythms'.

Hope this helps

[JonnyPac]

I've played that tune many many times with my old trio- and a lot of jazz in 3/4 and 6/8 (or 6/4).

Funny thing is this- a HUGE amount of my bop and on-demand phases are based around the dotted quarter note. It's a bop fundamental to steam 8th notes with dotted quarter accents that create a bit of a shifting polyrhythm.

Where this is an asset in jazz in 3 or 6, is how the dotted quarter patterns are 1/2 a bar or 1/4 a bar depending on your time signature. Less of a polyrhythm perhaps, but they keep you in meter without fail.

BTW the "snap" on a typical jazz waltz is on beat 2. 1 "SNAP" 3, etc. It helps you swing hard.

The footprints head has a line with a 4-note tuplet over the 3 feel. This is another great device. In the Miles 2nd quintet recording the band shift the tune into 4/4 by making the bass line into quarter note triplets via metric modulation durring the solos. Notice how Ron walks the bridge in 4/4 during this part of the tune. Also on the Blue Note Wayne-as-leader date Herbie and the drummer suggest a really cool double time feel during the end of his piano solo. Again- tuplets and metric modulations are at play; very cool stuff.

Lastly, I'd highly suggest trying to mix your internal feel between
1 2 3 4 5 6 and 1 + 2 + 3 +
(release beasts in bold, not exactly loud accents- accents can be anywhere the line "wants" them to be. Feeling playing in half-time creates a longer arch to your ideas.

Good luck and have fun!

[phdmerrill]

Thanks guys. Great stuff, it's much appreciated.

[JonnyPac]

Sure thing.

[AmundLauritzen]

What JonnyPac said about beats one and three is pure gold. Being aware of this will help tremendeously for waltzes and 6/8 tunes.
A player with good time and rhythm can play almost any combination of notes and make it sound like the only right thing to play at that time.
So on tunes like this, you can get away with playing pretty vanilla stuff all the way through. Though it certainly can't hurt to get some altered spice in there as well.


Whole tone scale can be superimposed on tonic minor chords(from the root of its V7. Think G whole tone for C minor). You can play altered scale on the V7 and delay the resolution since it will not be too dissonant on the tonic minor chord. Be careful with diminished scales in minor tonalities though as the natural 13th will imply a major third on the tonic minor chord. You can make it work if your line is strong, but it is good to be aware of it since it can destroy the harmony if you're not careful.

Long stretches of minor chords is an excellent opportunity to use some quartal/quintal/suspended/pentatonic ideas. There's a lot you can do with this. There have been several threads with good suggestions. Check them out.

You can also superimpose different time signatures. A good start is to calculate how many bars of a certain time signature that you can use before you're back in the 6/8. After a while, it will happen on its own

[M-ster]

Originally Posted by JonnyPac

... In the Miles 2nd quintet recording the band shift the tune into 4/4 by making the bass line into quarter note triplets ...

This is a great version/interpretation of the tune. The sophistication of this performance is incredible.