The following lesson assumes a certain degree of familiarity with the
piano, say grade 1 or 2 classical level.
First of all, do some listening to jazz piano. Oscar Peterson or Erroll Garner would be good but any style pre modal would be OK. (see jazz piano history page). This is to pick up the style and rhythm, particularly the way of playing quavers in swing style.
Lets try improvising a 12 bar blues. This is one of the most important forms
in jazz. It dates back to its very beginnings, and comes from the
adaptation of folk blues song to instrumental jazz.
C7 (that is C major with a flattened seventh) = C E G Bflat - play this in the octave below middle C so the B flat is next to middle C.
F7 = F A C Eflat - play this straddling middle C
G7 = G B D F - play this one note higher than F7
The form is 12 bars long and consists of a certain pattern of chord changes.
Here are the chords for a basic blues in C.
/ C7 / C7 / C7 / C7 /F7 / F7 / C7 / C7 / G7 / F7 / C7 / C7 /
Between each line ( / ) is a bar which is four beats long.
So start off by playing a chord on beat one and counting the other beats off like this :-
/ chord 2 3 4 /chord 2 3 4 /chord 2 3 4 /chord 2 3 4 / and so on.
Try this now using the sequence above changing to F7 at bar five back to C7 at bar seven etc..
Next, instead of jumping up the keyboard at the chord changes try this:-
When you change from C7 ( C E G Bflat ) to F7 keep the C the same note as the
previous chord then Eflat just above that then F and A above. This way you have
changed chord with a minimum movement of the hand. This is called an inversion
of the chord. To use an inversion of G7 play D F G B ( reading from the bottom
). So all three chords can now be played virtually without moving the hand.
C pentatonic C D E G A - use when the chord is C7 in the left.
F pentatonic F G A C D - use when the chord is F7 in the left.
G pentatonic G A B D E - use when the chord is G7 in the left.
Start off by improvising on the C7 chord with C pentatonic. Begin by playing the first note C , move up the scale and back down again to C. You don't have to use all the notes in the scale. Do this on all the three scales till you get some fluency, then try doing it with the 12 bar sequence. Experiment, making up different melodies using the scales. Play short phrases with a definite beginning and end.
Later you can try using the scale in a different shape. For instance making E your bottom note in the C scale. So your scale would be E G A C D.
The pentatonic scales work as an improvisation tool but sound a bit plain. So I like to add the flattened third into to pattern like this:-
With C7 - C D Eflat E G A - or inverted to - Eflat E G A C D
With F7 - F G Aflat A C D - or inverted to - Aflat A C D F G
With G7 - G A Bflat B D E - or inverted to - Bflat B D E G A
At the ends of phrases, which notes sound best? Chord notes? or those which don't fit the left hand chords?
You may have your own views on this. Anyway keep trying and the best of luck.
Bob Hudson 17/7/2003