Melodic figuration as path for improvising

[rcandro]

Hi everyone,

I wonder what you guys think about improvising using only melodic figuration instead of modes, scales, arpeggios and etc. Is there someone here who has ever tried?

Cheers

[TH]

Hi rcandro
I'm not really sure of what you're asking. Could you make your thought process a little clearer please? I don't ever think of improvisation as something that is NOT melodic, though melody is informed by things like rhythmic variation, adherence to an underlying harmonic structure, a sense of continuity and pitch, etc. At best, a solo is an equality of many elements in the service of an overlying idea. Maybe it's the preponderance of one particular element to the exclusion of perceivable melody you are soured by? Even a lyrical player like Lester Young or Lee Konitz employs arpeggiation as a part of an inclusive construction, and historically, swing artists like Don Byas or Ben Webster, predating any modal or chord scale approach, still created a vocabulary from structural elements, harmony, scale elements, chord tones.

Understand that what you are talking about is not a duality of "melody" and "structural elements" because I think in Western Classical music, and in jazz, it's a little like asking for an omlette without eggs (or egg substitutes); maybe you are asking for a less referential type of melodicism? Please help me out by sharing your parameters for melody.

As far as literally addressing what you're ostensibly asking, I'm thinking maybe embellished folk musics that have an extensive lexicon of subtle embellishments (a Balkan vocal singer sings a well known melody with inclusion of figures and embelllishments that are recognized within the genre)... or Indian music, an embellishment or development on a raga... or the use of rhythmic replacements, rubato readings and thoughtful readings in jazz ballads... a Tommy Flannagan treatment of a ballad for instance...

What is it you're asking about though?
David

[MarkRhodes]

If what you mean is 'playing around the melody,' then that is a time-honored path to take. (It's a good thing to be able to do even if it's not the main thing you do.) Louis Armstrong did a lot of that.

[rcandro]

Hi David, I'm sorry for not be clear.

First of all let me say that I was not thinking about exclude scales, arpeggios and etc, I meant melodic figuration only as focus.
I'm a composer and I often think about construct melodies in tonal music as melodic figuration. Melodic figuration deal with passing tone, neighboring tone, suspension, appoggiatura, escape tone and anticipation.

Here is some stuff about it:

Harmony and Voice Leading - Edward Aldwell, Carl Schachter, Allen Cadwallader - Google Livros

"Melodic Figuration." Gutwein/Williams, Introduction to Common-Practice Tonal Composition.

http://www.ramsey.k12.nj.us/cms/lib3...er_7-part2.pdf

I wrote a little example about what I said. In the first one I used neighbor tones and in the second one I used appoggiatura as focus to wrote the melodies. At no time I though about modes or arpeggios or some stuff like this.



I don't mean this is a beautiful melody, it's only an example.
And please, I'm only curious about it, if someone has tried to think in this way.

Cheers

[rcandro]

Hi Mark,
I agree with you. I think it's amazing when the musician improvises recalling the melody at some points. Good point.

Cheers

[targuit]

I played through your melody and it is lovely. The answer would be a "yes".

How or what publishing thing did you use to be able to put up sheet music? It would be so nice to be able to use Sibelius to put up illustrations of points in threads. In any case I will check your links later. Thanks.

Jay

[rcandro]

Hi Jay,
Glad you liked it. It's a simple example about composing music over chord progressions. Maybe it's not "the tool" for get a masterpiece, but is very useful to start.
I used Finale to write it. It looks like Sibelius.

Cheers

[targuit]

Your examples were good illustrations of the technique.

My question was how you achieved getting actual sheet music notation onto the thread? I use Sibelius fluently, but I don't know how to put printed notation into a post - it would be so helpful.

Jay

[rcandro]

Oops, my bad. I had saved the score as jpeg in Finale and I used the "insert image" icon in the panel above the window for reply.

Renato.

[TH]

Are you familiar with Lee Konitz's steps to improvisation?
Lee Konitz 10-Step Method

Lee Konitz : 10-Step Method for Improvisation

Each of Konitz 10 gradients should be worked on individually for a while. Here's a concise yet detailed explanation of each step : - 1st Gradient -

The tune's melody, as is. (This one's a "no brainer" really...)
- 2nd Gradient -

Slight variation on the original : identify "target notes", the most important tones of the melody. Connect them together, when you can or wish, with simple musical devices (passing tones for example).
In this step, the focus is on the important tones. Remember that these can be shortened in duration to allow passing tones to happen.
- 3rd Gradient -

More notes added to the line. Using new devices such as : neighbor tones (mostly diatonic), change of direction and skips.
The "target notes" are still present on strong beats but there's more flourishes around them. (Similar to second gradient.)
- 4th Gradient -

While it may be hard to tell the difference between Step 2 and 3 ("what should I play now...?"), Step 4 is really straight forward :
Imagine a stream of 8th-notes (and occasional triplets) that simply uses the "melody notes" as guide-tones. That's the "big picture" of step 4.
Every improvised lines on guide tones before? Check this out.

- 5th Gradient -

Same as Step 4 (the line is a stream of 8ths and triplets) but adding two new devices :
-Neighbor tones (now more chromatic) and arpeggiation of underlying chords.
-Rhythmic displacement of "target notes"
(they don't always fall on downbeats anymore.)
That's where the line really starts to develop into "its own thing".
- 6th Gradient -

According less importance to the melody : target notes still appear in their respective bars but may become subsidiary to the other ones (rhythmically, melodically and in phrasing/emphasis).
In other words : the ornaments can "take over" and get more attention now. The improvised line should also be built from higher and higher chord tones (extensions such as 9ths, 11ths and 13ths).
- 7th Gradient -

Same as sixth gradient but Lee Konitz is using even more "higher" extension and altered chord tones such as b9, #9 and others.
This one is a bit more "out" and chromatic than step 6. It depends on the tune, the player and where the line wants to go.
- 8th Gradient -

Original melody and/or intervals may still be present but they're totally "ingrained" in the improvised melody (barely noticeable, or not very obvious).
This is probably where most "classic solos" stand : a great improvised line that stems from the original melody but that is never too obviously quoted from the original.
Listen to Jim Hall, he's a master at using the melody subtly like this.
- 9th Gradient -

Almost no reference to the original target tones anymore (but the improvised line is still very anchored in the harmony of the tune and has grown from the original melody.)
Lee Konitz may well be the only one to fully grasp this "gradient" of improv. I must admit, I don't really get it ... yet!
To me, this is mind over matter...
- 10th Gradient -

An act of pure inspiration.
No written example can clearly demonstrate this one... it's very personal and somehow mystical.



Now I realize you're talking about using a vocabulary of embellishments over a relatively intact melodic structure. I see that, thanks for taking time to clear that up. Yes, there are many who do that, and often it's something in the initial stages of a larger solo, and in the best artists, you'll see the melody deconstructed but kept intact along a spectrum of melody.
Have you listened to Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Rollins? Both really good examples of this approach.
I think this is what you're getting at. I hope so, If not please excuse the digression and I hope you find the Konitz at least complimentary in its approach.

David

[Stanford J17]

Are you familiar with Lee Konitz's steps to improvisation?

I opened a new tab to look for those threads, to post them. And as I opened I saw the new reply... You were a second earlier


Another guy who has put up a method of using the melody as the primary guide for improvisation is Ed Byrne.
Byrne Jazz - Home

I don't own his books, so I can't tell you if they are good, but I liked the idea.

Greets
Christoph

[docbop]

I opened a new tab to look for those threads, to post them. And as I opened I saw the new reply... You were a second earlier


Another guy who has put up a method of using the melody as the primary guide for improvisation is Ed Byrne.
Byrne Jazz - Home

I don't own his books, so I can't tell you if they are good, but I liked the idea.

Greets
Christoph

I used to hear people talk about Ed Byrne all the time and haven't in a long time. I used to read his posts all the time and real interesting.

[mr. beaumont]

Yeah, I have a rudimentary understanding of Byrne's concepts at best, but from what I've gleaned, it's just a great concept--and it works.

[rcandro]

Now I realize you're talking about using a vocabulary of embellishments over a relatively intact melodic structure. I see that, thanks for taking time to clear that up. Yes, there are many who do that, and often it's something in the initial stages of a larger solo, and in the best artists, you'll see the melody deconstructed but kept intact along a spectrum of melody.
Have you listened to Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Rollins? Both really good examples of this approach.
I think this is what you're getting at. I hope so, If not please excuse the digression and I hope you find the Konitz at least complimentary in its approach.

David

Hi David, many thanks for sharing this article.

I think that Konitz's approach is very similar with what I said, although I didn't have used the original melody as starting point. Other point is that I don't see these elements of figuration as mere embellishments as you said (and if i understand what you said) and I don't know if I can explain the difference due my poor English level.

I think a figure can better explain what's the difference in my point of view:



I think there is a huge difference when you play these notes as short notes or long notes (the more time you have to listen to a note the more it can influence your perception about dissonances and consonances. With short notes you have no time to feel these notes as driving force to start moving the melody forward.

These resources i talked about have been used since the Renaissance era (or before it) as a way to develop melodies, what is known as Counterpoint. Firstly as Modal Counterpoint , see Palestrina http://www.drfeezell.com/SMU/modalctp.pdf and later on as Tonal Counterpoint, see Bach Tonal Counterpoint - Kendall Durelle Briggs - Google Books.

Cheers,
Renato.

[matt.guitarteacher]

Hi David, I'm sorry for not be clear.

First of all let me say that I was not thinking about exclude scales, arpeggios and etc, I meant melodic figuration only as focus.
I'm a composer and I often think about construct melodies in tonal music as melodic figuration. Melodic figuration deal with passing tone, neighboring tone, suspension, appoggiatura, escape tone and anticipation.

Here is some stuff about it:

Harmony and Voice Leading - Edward Aldwell, Carl Schachter, Allen Cadwallader - Google Livros

"Melodic Figuration." Gutwein/Williams, Introduction to Common-Practice Tonal Composition.

http://www.ramsey.k12.nj.us/cms/lib3...er_7-part2.pdf

Yeah. That's common stuff, but the terminology you're using is just a little different than I hear jazzers use maybe? Enclosures, targetting, chord-tone soloing or just generally employing melodic patterns or "jazz patterns" are more common types of terminology.

Bert Ligon works this stuff pretty extensively on his site and in his books like "Comprehensive Technique for Jazz Musicians". He does a lot with "melodic patterns" using upper and lower neighbor tones, triad generalization and triadic elaboration.

I don't have Patterns for Jazz by Jerry Coker, but I assume it's built around a lot of this stuff. I've got "Jazz Improv: How to Play It and Teach It" by Jimmy Amadie at home and it's kind of more of an entry-level book on this stuff: Jazz Improv: How to Play It and Teach It: Jimmy Amadie: 9780961303518: Amazon.com: Books

The beginning of the book focuses on tension and release using melodic patterns to target chord tones rather than learning scales. The succeeding patterns build and elaborate on the previous ones, becoming more and more chromatic. You can go a long way without really thinking about scales etc, but I don't see that you'd want to really pursue that kind of thing without knowing arpeggios pretty well. It's helped me a lot. Of course, scale knowledge is still needed to inform the patterns you play around the chord tones...

Honestly, I've spent years trying to make arpeggios sound more like something jazzy or musical, and to me, this kind of approach is a great "next step".

[henryrobinett]

Basically it's a tried and true method of improv. Most of the beboppers and before that swing, in a simpler form. It's the way I approach playing as well.

[henryrobinett]

It's called playing or nailing the changes.

[henryrobinett]

It's very easy to post Sibelius music. You can export it as JPEG or select graphic and drag over the selection you want, copy and paste. I do it all the time to my websites.

[bako]

A student of Lee Konitz additionally mentioned to me, awareness of upper and lower harmonies to the melody.
These serve as alternate source lines to create variations from. He suggested to conceive more skeletal versions
of highly ornamental melodies. Within this paradigm, complexity emerges through the expansion of simple material.

[docbop]

Basically it's a tried and true method of improv. Most of the beboppers and before that swing, in a simpler form. It's the way I approach playing as well.

Yup the roots of Jazz with King Oliver and Louis Armstrong was all about embellishing the melody.

[TH]

In further elaboration of classically derived tools of thematic development, embellishment and ornamentation, all of you classically trained musicians will know these, and they are also part and parcel of a good jazz improvisor's toolbox. But in a somewhat useful inventory and reference form, here're Lee Evan's articles on melodic development in jazz and the ornament and tools of development:

Publication: Jazzed
Author: Evans, Lee
Date published: January 1, 2010
To the experienced jazz musician, improvisation is to a great extent, a product of the internalization of standard jazz phrase patterns learned over a long period of time. When these patterns are employed in improvisation they often appear in combined form, a portion of one phrase combined with another.
Often the most impressive improvisers are those who have built a large vocabulary of such jazz phrases and have practiced them assiduously in all keys. Through extensive experience these players have acquired a keen sense of when and how to employ and manipulate this phrase vocabulary. However, an important but often overlooked area of jazz improvisation is that of melodic reference, the manipulation of the melodic line.
Prior to Louis Armstrong in jazz history, improvisation mostly involved melodic embellishment. One of Armstrong's important contributions to jazz history was his centering of improvisation around a composition's chord structure rather than simply embellishing the song's melody. Getting further and further away from the melody in jazz improvisations over the years has made jazz more abstract and thus less accessible and appealing to lay authences. I make the case that were the jazz improviser to learn to develop melodic motives more effectively, their improvisations will sound more unified and thus more compositionally sound.
As an example, think of the opening of George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm." After the initial presentation of the first four notes, they are then presented in both retrograde (the pitches in backwards order) and in inversion (the intervals upside down.) Thus an obvious relationship has been created and compositional unity has been achieved. Authences instinctively react positively to an internal recognition of such compositional relationships.
Examine most successful songs and you'll recognize this relationship feature. Think of Satin Doll, as another example. At the very start of the chorus, there is an initial presentation of a five -note first phrase in bar one, repeated in a three-note fragmentation in bar two. Then that music appears in bars three and four in sequence (repetition starting on a different pitch) a whole-step higher. What follows is further melodic fragmentation in sequence to round out the first eight bars. Furthermore, think of the B section (the bridge) of that AABA song, where after the presentation of the first four-bar phrase, that melodic motive then appears in sequence a whole-step higher. Result of these obvious relationships: a high degree of compositional unity.
This article teaches easy-to-learn compositional and improvisational devices, mastery of which will enable aspiring jazz musicians to create more unified improvisations; achievable through the employment of techniques of melodic development and thus the creation of significant melodic relationships in their improvisations.
MELODIC DEVELOPMENT USING REPETITION AND SEQUENCE
The following original 12-bar blues-structured composition utilizes the compositional devices of repetition and sequence exclusively to develop the motivic material of bars 1-4. Notice how these development techniques tend to unify a work; in other words, make all the different parts seem as though they fit together and relate to one another.
REPETITION AND SEQUENCE IN ALTERED FORMS
Sequence is not always accomplished as an exact repetition of a motive at another scale degree. Sequences may appear in altered forms, such as:
Study and play the following two 12-bar blues-structured original compositions that incorporate various techniques of altered forms of repetition and sequence.

Related to the above is melodic embellishment and ornamentation in jazz, the focus of the current JAZZed article, the material of which will be divided into four categories:
A. Weak beat ornaments.
B. Strong or weak beat ornament.
C. Other ornamental devices.
D. Combinations of devices from the above three categories, by way of the enrichment and development of a single melodic motive.
A. WEAK BEAT ORNAMENTS
Passing tone a chromatic tone between two adjacent scale tones (Abbreviation: P.T.) (Note that in traditional usage, half or whole-step scale notes which, in a melody, pass between the tones of a triad or chord are sometimes referred to as passing tones. For the purpose of this article, however, these will be called scale tones. Only half-step tones occurring between adjacent scale notes will be called passing tones in this article.)
EXAMPLE:

Anticipation tone an anticipation tone between two adjacent scale tones. (Abbrev: A.T.)
EXAMPLE:

Échappe;e a tone occurring between two adjacent scale tones, the motion to the ornamenting tone being contrary to the motion between the scale tones. (Abbrev: E.)
EXAMPLE:

Cambiata a tone occurring between two adjacent scale tones, the motion to the ornamenting tone being the same as the motion between the scale tones. (Abbrev: C.)
EXAMPLE:

Neighbor tone (upper or lower) a half or whole-step tone occurring between two of the same tones. (Abbrev: N.T.)

EXAMPLE:

B. Strong or Weak Beat Ornament

Jazz appoggiatura a leaping tone (an interval larger than a 3rd) which then moves a major or minor 2nd in the opposite direction. (Note that a jazz appoggiatura is a melodic embellishment that does not take into consideration the harmonic or rhythmic implications of the traditional appoggiatura. (Abbrev: J.A.)

C. Other Ornamental Devices

Grace note an ornamental tone whose time value is not counted in the rhythm (Abbrev: G.N.)

Repeated tone (Abbrev: R.T.)

Tremolo the rapid alternation of two tones. (Abbrev: trem.)

Scale tones tones found in any scale other than the chromatic scale. (Chromatic scale tones would be heard as passing tones.) (Abbrev. S.T.)

Chord tones tones outlining any chord, including altered chords. (Abbrev: C.T.)

Free tone an ornamental tone having no relationship to any chord being sounded. (Abbrev: F.T.)

D. Combinations of the Above Ornamental Devices

The following are examples of several different ways in which a given motive may be embellished, employing in combination the ornamental devices described in this article.


Another excellent reference for this standard material is Hal Crooks book How to Improvise. Sorry the links from the original articles don't work in the cut and past process but each of these terms is worth the time to explore, assimilate and employ. They provide the molecular structure of many solos and phrases students copy through transcription yet have no idea of origins to. This is the building block inventory of great soloing lexicon.
David

[pubylakeg]

To the OP, yes I and many others use it all the time.
I think it's probably the most important and least emphasised concept in Jazz education.

Unfortunately, lack of awareness of it can be the obstacle that holds many players back for years. I also suspect that some of the "frustration" posts on this forum are down to lack of awareness of it.

I think we can see by the variety of the responses in the above posts, that it has many implications, and can be used in a variety of both harmonic and melodic applications. It seems here we're in a "cover all" situation. It might be worth further definition and separating into other threads.

[henryrobinett]

The issue is many modern jazz guitarists, particularly fusion style jazz guitarists, a category I can fit into, play modally where they think scales, strange scales and super impositions of scales. This way of playing doesn't utilize neighbors and embellishments so much because the lines aren't centered around chord tones. To hear this with more clarity you have to go to jazz pianists and horn players like Cedar Walton, Dexter Gordon, Hubbard, Coltrane, Red Garland, Clfford Brown, Sonny Rollins and a ton of others. Of course Pass, Hall, Wes, did as well but the phrasing was not quite like the folks above. Or not to me.

[TH]

Hi everyone,

I wonder what you guys think about improvising using only melodic figuration instead of modes, scales, arpeggios and etc. Is there someone here who has ever tried?

Cheers

To the OP, yes I and many others use it all the time.
I think it's probably the most important and least emphasised concept in Jazz education.

Unfortunately, lack of awareness of it can be the obstacle that holds many players back for years. I also suspect that some of the "frustration" posts on this forum are down to lack of awareness of it.

.

The issue is many modern jazz guitarists.... play modally where they think scales, strange scales and super impositions of scales. This way of playing doesn't utilize neighbors and embellishments so much because the lines aren't centered around chord tones. To hear this with more clarity you have to go to jazz pianists and horn players...

A grateful reminder of the diversity of approaches in this thing we broadly call jazz. Good discussion, and it does emphasize the importance of a good workable knowledge of history and ear knowledge in appreciating, and avoiding genre based judgements.

One really nice thing about this discussion is its highlighting just how important it is for a student of jazz to understand the deep lexicon, syntax and semantic content of all jazz even if you chose not to play in a particular genre. Jazz Education can and does indeed offer knowledge in many approaches, but there is not nearly enough time to get a foundation, let alone a working knowledge and respect of and for all the approaches. That takes a lot of time, immersion and an open mind.
I'd argue that jazz is no longer a music you can easily master by superficial imitation, and it's up to the student to be aware of many improvisational philosophies as well as learning the rules that create a specific sound.
The deepest mastery comes from things you have knowledge of even if nobody else may hear it; the choice not to play something comes from knowledge of its existence to begin with.
Yikes sorry if this is a derailment.
David

[rcandro]

I'd like to thanks all of you for posting interesting ideas and comments. I was curious about how you guys think about improvisation because I have seen people talking a lot about modes, arpeggios, scales, superimposition of scales and arpeggios and nothing about musical structure. I'm glad all of you agree with the importance of be aware on structural musical elements, because reversing the reasoning of David in the first response:

Understand that what you are talking about is not a duality of "melody" and "structural elements" because I think in Western Classical music, and in jazz, it's a little like asking for an omlette without eggs (or egg substitutes);

I sometimes see people talking too much about eggs without knowing how to make an omelet.

Cheers.