Tip 1: Frame Your Improvisation with "Flow Phrase Breathe"
This is Dave's framework for transforming music theory into creative musical improvisation.
- Flow: Establish a chain of 8th notes with an authentic swing feel
- Phrase: Create complete musical sentences
- Breathe: Leave space between phrases by letting the last note "ring."
Let's break each of these down a bit more.
Tip 2: Establish the Rhythmic "Flow" Using Swing 8th Notes
"Flow" is a line of consecutive 8th notes. Dave says these 8th notes are grouped in sets of 4, with a slight accent on the first.
He says the phrase "slice of pizza" gives you the perfect articulation.
"Slice of pizza, slice of pizza, slice of pizza pie...."
It's kind of silly, but honestly kind of brilliant. Seriously, try it.
Tip 3: Create a Complete Musical "Phrase"
Our 8th note lines should create musical sentences. It's up to us to listen to our own playing, use our intuition, and end the flow at a point that creates a complete thought.
Too often our improvised lines feel awkward. And its not necessarily because we picked bad notes or rhythms, but because those lines were awkwardly phrased.
Dave suggested practicing short (1-2 measure), medium (2-4 measure) and long (4+ measure) phrases.
All of us who played tended to play phrases that were too short. So that's something I started working on immediately.
Tip 4: "Breathe" and Listen to the Ring
Leave space between your phrases.
Dave says that the last note of our phrase kind of "rings" in our heads after we play it. If we are listening intently, that note will tell us when the next phrase should start.
He admits this sounds a bit like voodoo, but it really does work. After Jeff experienced this while playing for Dave, he remarked:
"It felt great... it just allows you to breathe. My brain can kind of jump over to 'what do I want to hear next?'"
I noticed that by listening to the ring, my solos became instantly more conversational.
Tip 5: Master the Foundational "Musical Elements"
Flow, Phrase, Breathe is a creative endeavor. It engages our right brain. In order to succeed, we must have all the "knowledge and logic" worked out already.
That means we know our chords, voicings, scales, arpeggios, approaches, enclosures and all the other building blocks.
Dave taught us to build a roadmap of the tune, mapping these scales and chords to the song. And then, trusting that knowledge, we can flow, phrase, breathe over top of it to improvise with complete creative freedom.
"You can't explain how jazz happens. What you can do is set up the conditions for it to happen. It's like a chemistry experiment... put the right elements together, and something explodes."
Happy Practicing!