Berklee

Jazz Improvisation

Gary Burton

Instructor: Gary Burton

72,171 already enrolled

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8

(784 reviews)

Intermediate level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule
Approx. 13 hours
Learn at your own pace
98%
Most learners liked this course
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8

(784 reviews)

Intermediate level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule
Approx. 13 hours
Learn at your own pace
98%
Most learners liked this course

What you'll learn

  • Use storytelling as a tool to improve your improvisation

  • Practice and use various scales to improve your improvisation skills

  • Identify harmonic motion in a song

  • Use guide tones and guide tone lines when you're improvising

Details to know

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Assessments

9 assignments

Taught in English

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There are 6 modules in this course

Welcome to the course! Here we will cover all the details about the course and what you'll need to know to get the most out of your experience.

What's included

3 videos3 readings1 assignment

Since everybody who is taking this course starts from a different place in terms of their experience as an improviser, it's important at first to cover some basic material. We'll begin our journey by exploring the language used by jazz improvisors. Improvisation is analogous to language in many ways. With music, we become fluent when the vocabulary (scales and chords) and grammar (harmonic progressions) are assimilated into conversational content or story (melodic themes and structure) and we no longer have to consciously think about them while we play.

What's included

4 videos1 reading1 assignment1 peer review1 discussion prompt

In this lesson, we'll explore the improviser's lingo. We'll identify the most common chord scales and the type of harmony they relate to including major, minor, and dominant 7.

What's included

6 videos3 readings2 assignments1 peer review1 discussion prompt

Improvisers must be able to quickly recall chord scales and be able to play around on them fluently. This becomes important when choosing which chord scale to use on a given harmony—another thing we must be able to determine immediately. When a new tune is put in front of you at a session or a rehearsal, there isn't time to take the music home and spend an hour or two working out the correct scales. Improvisers need a quick, mostly intuitive way of making these scale choices in real time as the tune is being played. This week, we'll explore my method for making these quick musical decisions.

What's included

7 videos2 assignments1 peer review1 discussion prompt

It is important for an improviser to clearly imply the harmonies when improvising. It is not enough to just play correct notes on each chord. In this lesson we'll examine how the improviser helps the harmonies move. Part of the improviser's job is to help the listener follow the changes as the chords move from one to another.

What's included

5 videos1 reading2 assignments1 peer review1 discussion prompt

This week we will discuss how the improviser develops melodic themes in a solo. As mentioned in week 1, there are natural comparisons between speech and improvising that illustrate how this functions. The most common technique for telling a musical story that engages the listener for the duration of your solo is by using a traditional concept called theme and variation. That is, you introduce a theme—a musical phrase—then repeat it, making variations on it to develop an interesting storyline. A good solo is like an explanation, or a good story. The explanation or story is the content of improvisation.

What's included

8 videos1 reading1 assignment1 peer review

Instructor

Instructor ratings
4.8 (69 ratings)
Gary Burton
Berklee
3 Courses92,102 learners

Offered by

Berklee

Recommended if you're interested in Music and Art

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4.8

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