What is Improvisation?

We’re Not Just Making This Up

Many people have their own beliefs about improvisation. They think it is either divine inspiration or acting on ideas that pop up in the moment. And while there is a certain amount of “train of thought” structure to musical improvisation, the vast majority of what you’re hearing has been prepared in one way or another.

Let me give you an example from a different oeuvre. Robin Williams is often considered one of the best, if not the best, improvisational comic ever. He would make appearances on late night shows like Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show and any host sitting across from him would not only be cracking up, but they would hardly be able to get a word in edgewise.

Robin would seem to be coming up with hilarious joke after joke and impression after impression on the spot. Years later, I listened to an album of his concerts at the Met and realized I was hearing the same jokes. They might have been a little different to align with current events, or they might have been put together in a slightly different way, but it was basically the same material.

Anyone who improvises successfully, whether theatrical or musical, knows that it all comes down to preparation. You are quickly throwing out phrases and ideas that you have practiced and performed countless times before. Knowing this takes some of the mystique out of performing improv, but it also brings up what seems like an insurmountable objective. How does anyone prepare so much material so well that they can use it “on the spot” like that?

While memorizing all of their material is up to each individual and their own persistence, what to prepare in advance is pretty straightforward. Simply follow these rules.

Rule #1: Listen

While this seems self-explanatory, it’s surprising how many people don’t actively listen to music. We would all like to be able to make music, but to make something we have to know what it is. It would be very difficult to draw something you’ve never seen before, so why should anyone expect to play something they’ve never heard before? Or more pointedly, if you’ve never heard anyone from Scotland speak, how could you pull off a Scottish accent?

If you are interested in jazz improvisation, listen to as much jazz as you can. Find a particular song that lights your fire and listen to it on loop. But also, listen to all of the other songs, too!

Rule #2: Scales

Learn all of the Major and Minor scales. When improvising you have to know what notes are “right” and which ones are “wrong.” Or in musician terms, we have to know what key we’re in and how all of the notes in that key work. We are not just wiggling our fingers and hoping something inspiring comes out. In this case only the square block fits in the square hole…at least for the beginner.

Making sure you know all of your scales, BY MEMORY! Having them at your beck and call is the first step to being able to make something up on the spot. I always tell my students that the first thing you do when improvising is to pick a note. But you have to know which notes you can pick from to do even that much. Understanding keys and scales gives you that information.

An exercise we make all of our wind students do is something called Playing by the Numbers. This is an excellent way to reinforce the notes in different key signatures.

Rule #3: Follow the Beat

Once you know what note you are going to play, you have to be able to play it with the rest of the musicians. Following the beat and playing in time is something that every musician must learn at some stage. Whether it is a piano student using a metronome while practicing, or a saxophone student playing in band with other students and trying to stay together, feeling the beat and being able to play in time along with it is what makes music sound right.

When improvising we want to be able to fit our notes in with the beat just the same. Rhythms can be as simple or complex as we want them to be. Every improvisor can benefit from playing simply and focus on playing with the beat. I always tell students that listeners might not hear wrong notes, but they will always feel wrong rhythms. We are so in tune with moving to the beat that when something is misplaced, we feel it immediately.

Rule #4: Repeat

Whatever style of music you play, no matter how complex, how inspired, or how much of an “oopsie” you make, do it again! Repetition is what all music is made of. If there were no repetition listeners would get bored really fast. When you play something … play it again! That way the listener feels like they’re following along. And if you did play a “wrong” or “crunchy” note, when you play it again it starts to sound like you meant to do it.

Rule #5: Variety

After you have repeated something several times, do something different. There are many ways to add variety. You could play slow instead of fast, long notes instead of short notes, high notes instead of low, or instead of going up a scale, go down a scale. By adding something different after repeats you are showing more depth and musicality. You allow phrases to complement one another.

Twists and Turns

After these simple beginnings the road gets much more complicated. The jazz improvisational student has to learn chord changes. How to read them, be able to follow them while the song is going and be able to change keys or play the correct scales over the correct changes.

Then comes using the established musical dialogue. When improvising in a specific style, we want to sound appropriate to the music that is happening. Jazz musicians will often learn licks. These are small musical phrases that other jazz musicians have commonly used throughout history. That way the student can add an even more “correct” sound to their playing.

Learning licks is a little like learning scales. Typically, a student will transpose them into all 12 keys. That Playing by the Numbers exercise is essentially the beginning of how to learn a lick in all 12 keys. Not only does it help learn specific notes, but it also solidifies the understanding and application of music theory for following chord changes. That way they can use them in what song (key) they have to play in. There is the added benefit of our mental map or framework of our instrument expanding. Think of it like knowing all of the winning moves in any situation and being able to seamlessly change tactics as needed.

Improvisation Inspiration

Kick off your foray into improvisation by listening to some of the greats:

• Keith Jarrett — The Köln Concert: One of the most famous solo piano improvisations in history. Jarrett performed this entirely improvised set on an out-of-tune baby grand piano. In so doing, he created a masterpiece that became the best-selling solo piano album ever.
• Jacob Collier — Orchestral Improvisation: Collier is known for his “audience choir” and real-time arranging. This video shows him conducting the National Symphony Orchestra through a completely improvised piece at the Kennedy Center.
• Miles Davis & John Coltrane — “So What”: A classic example of modal jazz where both legends improvise over a two-chord structure. This performance highlights Davis’s minimalist approach and Coltrane’s early harmonic experimentation.

The road of improvisation can be long and seem daunting. The best advice is to stay present in the moment and not worry about the ultimate goal. “I want to play like (insert famous name here)” is a great motivator, but it can also make you feel inadequate. That famous name was once on the same road you are on, and they arrived at their destination. Follow the rules and you will too.

Want to learn more about improvisation or discover other great improvisational musicians? Reach out to us! We could do this jazz all day long.