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by Jen-Kuang Chang

Posts on John Coltrane’s improvisation approaches, Coltrane Changes, and some improvisation ideas

September 11, 2011 in Articles

Dear Jazz-Saxists,

Greetings~

Not long ago, I began to write some casual posts relating to Jazz improvisation ideas and approaches, about Coltrane Changes, John Coltrane, and some off-the-cuff ramblings in my little site at www.jkchang.com.  These posts, collected in the “Dialogue” series, were really fun to write (and I hope they are also fun to read as well~), including:

Incorporating the Sound of Nicolas Slonimsky’s Pattern no. 626 in Jazz Improvisation

-Some ideas and approaches in creating “pure” or “quasi”of Nicolas Slonimsky’s Pattern No. 626 sound.  These ideas are less “analytical”…more like my own ways (aka shortcuts) to manage Slonimsky’s materials in his Thesaurus Of Scales And Melodic Patterns

John Coltrane’s employment of “The Bebop Lick” in his Coltrane Changes lines in Countdown and Giant Steps

-listening/compiling Coltrane’s employments of “The Bebop Lick” in his Giant Steps & Countdown to list few manageable variant.

Beyond Patterns: Sculpting Jazz Improvisation Lines with the Diminished Scale

-discussing few approaches and ideas to create Diminished Scale sound….for example, using layer approach…etc….to provide few ways, in addition to the usual “here’s your scale”, to execute this wonderful symmetrical scale.

Incorporating Motives of Super Mario Bros. “Underground” Theme in Jazz Improvisation

-a personal post about getting some improvisational ideas from Super Mario Bros.’s “Underground” theme…(although it might appear to be an “Ode to an-incredibly-horrible-gamer”….)

John Coltrane’s Improvised Line in Milestones as a Model for Incorporating Sequential Patterns in Jazz Improvisation

-a personal favorite! This post is about using Coltrane’s improvisational line as a phrasing model to handle lots of sequential patterns in a single improvised line.

Incorporating Dissonance in Jazz Improvisation

-few general ideas on spicing up our improvisations with some juicy dissonances.

More on Coltrane Changes

-ramblings on Coltrane Changes.

 

Have fun reading them~ and please let me know what you think~

 

Regards,

 

JK

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TED – Your Brain On Improv

January 12, 2011 in Articles

TED talks are always interesting. This one a little more so than usual.

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Brain Scans and Music

March 9, 2008 in Articles

Unlike the other scientific article about music, this article is rather interesting….

In new findings, researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders say they have located the region of the brain — the medial prefrontal cortex — that lights up when musicians improvise. It’s the same area we all use when we’re talking about ourselves — who we are, what makes us tick.

At the same time, he and a colleague found, improvising musicians turn off the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a portion of the brain linked to planning, careful actions and self-censoring.

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Jazz Oboe – Yusef Lateef

April 20, 2005 in Articles

yampol writes “As long as we’re talking about doubling on oboe, let’s talk about jazz oboe. The first player that comes to mind is the amazing multi-instrumentalist, composer, educator, band-leader Yusef Lateef. His Eastern Sounds and Three Faces albums made a very strong impression on me. Check out the track “I’m Just a Lucky So and So” on the Three Faces album.

Anyone else have a favorite jazz oboist?

–Todd”

I don’t recommend the album with Bob Cooper and Bud Shank. They did an album that was jazz flute and jazz oboe. Bob Cooper played Oboe. I couldn’t bear it. I love Bob Cooper in Bob Florence’s band, and in solo albums, but his jazz Oboe….unbearable to me.

Update: 04/22 18:25 GMT by E :You know, I posted this story, and low and behold iTunes decided to put 2 of those Bob Cooper/Bud Shanks songs in my Random Selections Smart-Playlist. I still think Jazz Oboe is not cool. Hopefully someone can point me to something to change my opinion.

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Beginning Improv

December 24, 2004 in Articles

spf40 writes “Ive been playing alto sax for about 5 years (I’m 16) and have played in a small jazz band outside of school . I am looking to begin learning improv and would like to find a book or a resource that would be great for a beginner in jazz.”

Best place to start is Jamey Aebersold’s Site. There is a wealth of information there!

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Where Do I Start?

June 20, 2004 in Articles

olsonco writes “I learned to play saxophone in high school and have decided to take it up again as an adult approaching my late thirties. I have discovered that learning to improvise is a far different process than that used to teach high-school band students how to play.


After relearning my major and melodic minor scales, I bought some Jamey Aebersold play-along books. So far so good … I’m very slowly beginning to hear some sounds that I think are not entirely offensive.


What suggestions can the experienced players offer on where I go from here? What other teaching aids would you recommend? Should I engage private lessons? Are there any recommendations for finding a compatible teacher? And how can I find people to jam who are at my level?”

Private lessons are probably the single best way to get better.

Secondly, go get Jim Snidero’s Jazz Conception books. Play those. Then get Bob Mintzer’s books. Play those. You need skills, and these etude books will expose you to a variety of styles, and you can hear how things sound over chord changes.

Third, go get the Charlie Parker Omnibook. This is a great repository of jazz. And get the recordings so you know how it is supposed to sound.

Fourth, set reasonable goals for yourself. I’d aim to do a Snidero etude or two a week, plus maybe jam on a Aebersold playalong using different scales/patterns.

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Are Scales That Important??

January 31, 2004 in Articles

jazz-addicted writes “Hey, I’m 13 years old and I’ve been playing the alto for two years. I really like playing the alto and I really like jazz. Are scales so important?? My teacher wants me to learn them all but I just want to play songs, because playing scales is… boring. Could any of you tell if they really are so important?? And why??”

Basically, scales are the building blocks of music. Have completely, instant access to recall a scale is invaluable. Think being able to look at a run of notes and instantly knowing that is it a Db Major scale. Or the first 6 notes are Db Major, then the next 6 are in A Major.

Plus, learning all your major scales is easy. Sit down and take a couple of hours and do it. Knowing all 12 major scales makes relative minor scales ( vi minor), dorian minor scales (ii minor), and phrygian minor (iii minor) scales a piece of cake. Then you can learn harmonic and melodic minor scales, whole tone (just two of those), diminished (3 of them), etc, etc. It is all part of the vocabulary of music, and you especially know all these scales for Jazz. Your ability to play jazz will be impeded if you do not have full command of all your scales. How can you even hope to be able to play chord changes?

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The Art Of Improvisation

September 14, 2003 in Reviews

The Art Of Improvisation by Bob Taylor is $23 well spent. It contains over 400 pages well thought out, insightful, and well explained improvisation concepts all accessible via PDF on the CD-ROM. The PDFs include hyperlinks to musical examples, so you can hear things right away, and not have to cue up a track on that old CD player.

This CD-ROM a great tool to learn improvisation, or at least give you another prospective on it. However….

There is only ONE thing I don’t like about this, and that is reading a PDF. I found it a real pain to read it on the computer screen. I actually ended up printing a lot of the chapters out on paper (double sided). Somehow that seemed easier to read, and easier to keep one’s place. I don’t know if it was the PDF format that was a turn off (I love PDFs my self) or it was the reading aspect of it. I think the concept is great, but maybe something more “interactive”, like a Flash or Director thing would have made more sense? I liked the hyperlinks to music examples. Actual MP3s of real people.

The theory content is excellent. Motif development, rhythm section ideas, rhythmic ideas, and so forth are excellent. I could have used more on “playing outside” as that is an area where people have a lot of interest in. I thought the chart on page 280 about playing “polytonally” was interesting, but more on playing “outside” is needed to really make this a cut above some of the other books out there. Perhaps some excepts of a Coltrane and his use of pentatonics, or Michael Brecker or Dave Liebman and their use of chromatics.

This book easily compares to “Intermediate Jazz Improvisation” by George Bouchard, and in a lot of areas offers more (such as sections on rhythm section ideas). My only complaint is I couldn’t get into the PDF reading on the computer. Surprising, I know, but somehow reading a book on a computer screen didn’t seem to work for me. Printing a hard copy of this CD-ROM’s PDFs worked very well for me. I’d rate this a 9.5 out of 10. Great work Bob!!!

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Free Course on Jazz Improvisation

January 12, 2003 in Articles

elopi writes “Hi. I’ve found a course on Jazz Improvvisation (“The Art of Improvvisation”) written by Bob Taylor. The course can be reached here http://www.jamwest.org/artofimprov.htm


The course (divided in 5+ volumes!!!) is free downloadable and in my humble opinion is very, very good. Thanks to Bob Taylor for kindly sharing his great knowledge.”

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What Is Your Practice Schedule?

August 27, 2002 in Articles

zibalatz writes “How often do you practice (if at all) and what do you work on? Do you consciously spend time working on sound, technical exercise, improvisation, composition, ear-training, etc?


I have been tossing up some ideas for working a practice schedule around work- getting some input as to what people are actually doing might be useful!”

That is a good question….

I’d like to say that I follow a strict regimen, but I don’t. I spend a LOT of time, and I mean a LOT of time, arranging songs for my students. I live and breathe Disney, Movie Themes, even Pop songs. Not that it is bad to be doing it. On the contrary, it has been great for me. I am a Finale master, and a Digital Performer Guru now. I learn a lot about how things sound, and how to write out stuff to be played. I think it has helped be round out my music experience. I’m hoping to crank out more Big Band Arrangements at some point.

As for the horn, I do try to do a regimen. I run through scales, major, minor, harmonic minor, etc. I do intervals. Pretty much everything in the new Regimen. Long tones? Sometimes. Since I got my new Peterson VS1, I do a little. I think on saxophone, I only do it for a little to check my pitch, which is usually right on. On soprano I probably do more for tone and pitch as I’m still learning this Berg Larsen mouthpiece (had it almost a year). But, if time is limited, and it usually is, I only do the things that are causing me grief. That would be the intervals. The stuff in the front of the Regimen and in the back. The scales are pretty much under control (depending on the day).

When I get through the first two part of the Regimen, I focus on songs. I’m trying to memorize more “standards”. So, I’ll play through the one or two songs that I am learning, and work on learning the tune and getting through the chord changes. Getting through the chords changes could mean almost anything. Trying out different scales, playing it more like Coleman Hawkins. Maybe playing it like David Sanborn. I dunno, playing All Of Me in a Michael Brecker/Coltrane style is kinda fun. Would I every do it live that way? No. Well, maybe……

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A question about Patterns

July 21, 2002 in Articles

bluesupanddown writes “Has anyone found an efficient way to practice/ingrain/incorporate patterns?”

Indeed. A lot of the patterns I’ve done on this site can be used with Aebersold playalongs. Or, if you have band in a box, you can make your own backgrounds. Either way, you have to get them under your fingers, and in your ear. Having some setting to practice them with is a good way to do it.

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Rant and a question about Bebop

July 21, 2002 in Articles

bluesupanddown writes “The whole approach to learning jazz in America seems to be under a shroud of mystery. Every answer I get seems to be a riddle instead of an answer, so, I am going to start posting my questions.

Right now I am stuck on bebop. The only people that I know to listen to in order to try and understand bebop are the usual suspects, (Parker, Gillespie, young Dexter, etc…), and by listening to the greats of that era, I am beginning to understand certain aspects of the style. The problem is, how do you distinguish between patterns that are cliché to the style and those that are cliché to the player. I want to know if by studying the Omnibook, for example, am I learning how to play in a bebop style, or am I learning how to play like Charlie Parker? Also, what are some of the more common tunes to learn?”

Ah, excellent question. You are on the right track with Parker and Gillespie. Those two are the corner stones of Bebop. The Omnibook is a great “bible” for bebop style as well. Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie are bebop. I don’t know where the line of cliché to the player or the style can be drawn.

As for songs, most of the Charlie Parker Omnibook song, Anthropology, Ornithology, She Rote, Confirmation, Au Privauve, etc. Those would be well worth learning. The Aebersold on Bebop has a few others as well.

The Omnibook is well worth the time. It is a great technical reference as well as style reference.

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Jerry Bergonzi Solos – Setting Standards

June 18, 2002 in Reviews

BIABfsg writes Jerry Bergonzi Solos Setting Standards by Miles Osland, Publisher: Dorn Publications, Inc.


Jerry wrote down his thoughts regarding transcriptions book that “Even to an accomplished musician the transcription is lifeless unless he hears the artist articulate it and listens to his time feel….” I assume that it’s a fine statement that we all agree. But Jerry also wrote the following lines which intereted me that “While playing, I’m not thinking in a conventional way, I’m intuiting what I ply. I’m not conscious of most of the following parameters that are discussed. The concepts or ways of thinking of these tunes are usually done after the fact……”

I like Jerry’s stuff. I recommend his Inside Improvisation Series of books which are very well done.

”
Good approach to ask Jerry to wrote short notes for each song in this book. Jerry also shared thoughts regarding recording & practicing. The transcription itself is very clean and well-done. Melody & solo are trancripted for most of songs. Notation is good, very easy to read. As we all know that Jerry has done a lots of Poly-rhythmic playing, I was amazed that Miles actually got down those notes. Multiphonic playing is also transcripted with fingering suggestion.


Red’s Blues is most becoming a modern blues standard now, it’s really nice to read through miles’ fine transcription.”


Transcriptions:

  1. McCoy
  2. JAB
  3. Arbonius Unt
  4. Conjunction
  5. Conjunction
  6. A Different Look
  7. I Ching Readin
  8. On the Brink
  9. Tilt (Take2)
  10. Red’s Blues

“

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Essential Jazz Lines in the style of John Coltrane

June 18, 2002 in Reviews

BIABfsg writes “Essential Jazz Lines in the style of John Coltrane by Corey Christiansen & Kim Bock (Book (P.55) + Audio (29 tracks)), Price: $17.95


Bb Instruments Edition is reviewed. MB99872BCD


This is one of the must-not-have books published by Mel Bay. Since I had spent some bucks for those books published by Mel Bay, thus I am sort of entitled to say that this is certainly not the worse book ever published by Mel Bay.”

A very good review of a new Mel Bay book. I’d like to see a book of like Stan Getz licks, or perhaps a Michael Brecker licks book. That would be cool.

“As usual, Mel Bay uses their typical notation system which is not very easy to read. (They group two eighth notes for entire book, instead of regular notation…)


The layout of this book is clean, but if you are wanting to get to know more interesting stuff, this is not the book for you. Some usual Coltrane licks of bebop style, some Giant Steps/Countdown licks. Trane’s licks are categorized for different type of chords – Minor Chord Material, Dominant Seventh Chord Material…etc. Each chord type contains about 30 licks and of coures it’s not enough. I would like Eric’s John Coltrane Pattern, which is free to download in this website, is a far more better choice for studying Coltrane’s language.


Play-a-long is actually good. Corey Chirstiansen’s guitar is interesting. Two demo songs played by Kim Rock (Tenor Sax) & Corey Christiansen to demonstrate the superimposition of Coltrane Changes are up to standard.


Generally speaking, this book might be able to make a collective item for Coltranists. But before you spend 17.95 for this book, you might like to consider purchasing some other Coltrane book, or at least spend some time to download Eric’s work!”

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Pharoah Sanders

May 18, 2002 in Articles

adrian writes “I recently saw Pharoah Sanders play and was completely blown away by the power and intensity and sheer energy of his performance. For me, he is the only player carrying forward the spirit of Coltrane. Its almost like hearing Coltrane when you hear Pharoah play live.

I’ve been searching the web for info about his set up, etc, but there doesn’t seem to be much out there apart from an excellent discography at http://www.angelfire.com/id2/laotan/index.html
Does anyone have any info about Pharoah? Any interviews? How does he get those incredible sounds?”

I haven’t been a huge Pharoah Sanders fan. But I thought the story with him and mouthpieces was that he had a box/bag of them and would go through them and constantly change mouthpieces. Perhaps that was for someone else.

Nice discography. Any recommendations on which ones are the best ones to get?

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