Applying scales to tunes - restricted Improvisation

If you start to go a little deeper into your practice of a certain tune or standard you will always notice points in the tune in which you are not as comfortable. Some places it flows, and others your resource of ideas or licks become limited and you may even resort to just relying on your ear on occasions.

One way to overcome this (once you have a certain grip on a tune - ie,  familiar with which scales you want to play over which chords -) is to set yourself the challenge of a restricted improvisation or an improvisation that has certain set limits.

When I say restricted, for example I decide at the beginning of a particular exercise that I am only going to start the phrases of my improivisation on a certain note. For example. If I am practicing 'Stella by Starlight' because i would like to tackle melodic minor phrases over -7b5 and alt chords I will start a session deciding that on those chords or sclaes I will start each phrase on the 3rd degree of the scale.

Once I'm comfortable with that I'll pick another.  - And so on till over time you have covered all of them.

What this does I have noticed is twofold. First it allows you to memorize much better the notes of each scale and secondly it forces you to make phrases that do not always start on the note you desire. This is very useful for improvising, since you don't always land or start a phrase on the note that you decide apon!

I havn't tried this yet but I'm sure it would work rhythmically too. Pick a particular rhythmic phrase and apply it to each set of chords. It would lead to interesting results.

Practicing in different keys

Sadly it's not everyday that I get the time to work out tunes that I'm practicing in different keys - let alone all of them.

Having said that, I see that the benefit of working on a tune in at least a couple of other keys is enormous. 

The first thing for me is that if you practice say 'Autumn Leaves' in A, as well as G then you are simply going to play it differently in the new key. You will play licks and patterns in A you won't naturally play in G. If you then take the time to observe these ideas and then work them back in the original key, it gives you a huge amount of new material. 

Add to that a few more 'difficult' keys, then you really have a good thing. Practicing phrases in the keys you can naturally play them is one thing but in the harder tonality, you probably don't play them as well. Any practice here will help a lot. 

With the piano, when you comp the same standard in different keys, it adds a wealth of depth to the colours you can use. Sometimes you use a different voicing in a higher or lower key that you wouldn't of thought of in the original key - but still sounds nice if it's used. 

One can also try using the transpose function on the piano/keyboard. Comp the tune sounding in the same pitch, but play it in a different key. This allows your ear to discover new voicings that you might like to incorporate in the original key. 

This I do quite often. Back to Autumn leaves, I'll transpose the piano down two semi tones and then comp the tune up two semi tones. I.e you play in A but the piano sounds in G - the original key you were working on. It leads to amazing results. As soon as you hit a chord that is different you will hear it. It can really add a new dimension to your comping. 

Musical coincidences - again!

Having written the last post only a couple days ago quite a good one happened in practice today. 

I was working on a standard and having finished some harmony work, I thought I'd have a listen to a recording of the same tune and I'd comp along with the piano player. About half way through the second chorus I play what I thought was a nice line and immediately after, the pianist plays exactly the same phrase. I burst out laughing. 

Just goes to show. Practice is important but when it comes to finally playing your solos, the less thinking the better. However else could you be open to such things?

Musical Coincidences - allow the unexpected

This is something I've meant to write about for a long time but didn't get around to it until this morning's practice session  when something strange happened.

I record a lot. I have a laptop and sound card and I either record for pleasure or work. One of the things I've noticed is that on occasions one records things that follow logically and musically - yet they've been recorded at different times and in different chronological orders.

Here's an example. This morning I recorded a backing track for a standard that I wanted to practice on. I recorded the piano part first - comping and solo. Later I added the sax.

Once I listened to the final track I remarked that the sax solo lead very nicely into the piano solo. In fact the piano was more or less a copy of the previous sax phrase. Yet - The piano solo was recorded before the sax! How was it possible for the piano to pick up from a solo that did not yet exist?!

This happens time and time again. Recently I recorded the music for a play. I added trumpet lines to a melody. Later I noticed that the preceding piano part exactly mirrored the trumpet lines that were recorded days before. It sounded like I had recorded the piano part - and followed up with matching trumpet riffs. It was however entirely the other way around.

Too me this boils down to one thing. No matter how much you practice and plan, there is always a greater force in music that one always has to be open to. Thinking and scheming during solos is great, but one must always let the unexpected to happen - the musical coincidences that you can never plan - and that will often sound a lot better than what you could have worked out in your mind. The same is with mistakes. Allow them to happen. Sometimes they can turn into something better than what you wanted to play.

Harmonicas - second impressions

Sometimes I like reading reviews on instruments by non specialists - i.e people that don't play a particular instrument full time. It often gives a perspective on the instrument a professional might not think about - or maybe felt not interesting enough to talk about.

So what does a saxophone player feel about certain standard Hohner harmonicas? Well a year on, I have quite a few in my collection. As before, I'm still a beginner, but I do enjoy playing as much as I can. 

Hohner Special 20

As I mentioned before any, pro or non pro can't go wrong with this instrument. It's got a beautiful sound and for me is one of the easiest of the harmonicas I have to play. The notes bend easily and it's got a great clear and smooth tone for any kind of music. Its a joy to play. 

Hohner Golden Melody

This is one I my newest buys. I haven't used it a lot, mainly because I find it more difficult to play than the others. The wholes on the comb seem to be spaced further apart, so for a beginner like me I tend to hit (even) more bad notes that I usually do. Having said that, it's a great instrument. It's got a very open, more penetrating sound than that of the special 20 and is perfect for the single melody lines it's designed for. The equal temperament tuning it comes in, also gives it a sound of it's own compared to the others. 

Hohner Blues Harp MS

I really like this harmonica. It's got a wooden comb which gives it a warmer sound than the others. It's not as loud as the others but the sound is very rich and bluesy. 

Hohner Big River

This is the cheapest of all four, but for the price it is definitely value for money. It has a dark earthy sound which I really like, though like the Blues Harp doesn't project quite as much as the other two. It's nice for playing ballads and slower tunes. 

At the end of the day, all of these harmonicas are good buys and can be played by begenners or seasoned performers alike. At this stage if I were to pick one, it would be the Special 20. It has such all round qualities that allow you to play any kind of music. I've even tried Indian classical and it sounds quite ok. Price wise it's less than the Golden Melody but only just more expensive than the other two, making it a very good deal. 

More to come as I move on!

Sacred Music Festival in Thanjavur

The long hot summer is approaching. It's been hectic, with shows in Pune, Bangalore, Pondicherry,  Hyderabad, Thanjavur and Chennai. Here's a little montage/clip (thanks to My Thanjavur on Facebook) from the Sacred Music festival we played at in historical Thanjavur. It was a wonderful event, soaked in atmosphere, on the banks of the Cauvery river. Notice the fireworks in the background as we played. It was quite something for both ears and eyes.

http://tinyurl.com/mne8are

Musings

After months of inactivity on this blog, I am happy to log in today and see that people are reading. It gives me heart, and I will try to update more in the nearest future. Till now work has been very hectic. The music season in India kicks of at around the end of October and lasts till April. I have traveled all over the country playing with different bands and musical styles and it has been very satisfying.

Still it is not over, concerts are still coming thick and fast and I will be happily performing both on saxophone and piano in various projects in months to come. Furthermore, in addition to my previous post on creating a musical, with the same team of people as before, we have commenced work on a new show that will be performed at the end of September. Exciting times - and it is again wonderful to be part of the birth of a completely new production such as this.

Summer, as always, will be hot and slow, but also the time I will update more frequently and get down to practicing and sharing more ideas. I will also give links to some of the great events that have taken place in Jazz and other forms of music around the country.