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One thing I've noticed is how much finger-memory has hijacked how I make shapes. I get comfortable playing a specifically shaped sequence of intervals, and then I seem unable to break free from those patterns in my improv. I create the illusion of improvising eighth note lines, when I'm really just copy-and-pasting lickish things from a relatively small set of ideas, wherever they fit in a chord progression. I do all my learning and growing when the backing track is off, then I spout off whatever I retain when I turn it on, letting my fingers run the show, and keep my brain and my ears--my creativity--out of it.
To get better control, I need to be able to willfully determine the shapes I play, and not let the autopilot take over. And to practice anything, it is good to isolate the parameter you want to improve, and play with that purpose in mind. So now I practice with the shape and direction of the notes as the primary determinants of note selection, and let free intuition and harmonic knowledge take care of the intervals. This is exactly what Jerry Bergonzi teaches. It's surprisingly difficult to improvise convincingly this way, when you are deliberately ignoring your established vocabulary. It's a welcome challenge.
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02-13-2012 04:45 PM
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An exercise not mentioned there is to improvise progressions with a constant stream of eighth- or quarter-notes, with notes grouped by shape or direction. Really makes you play new things.
Last edited by phdmerrill; 02-13-2012 at 04:54 PM.
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nice!
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Many players including myself have dealt with that very issue, since the dawn of guitar improv. Getting out of our comfort zone takes discipline and awareness. Pattern playing is a bad habit if one never steps out of the box. Remember the intervals that you are playing with, in and of themselves do not change, but their fingerings do as we move through the shapes. Opening our minds to all of the possibilities and shapes, while seeing the values remain intact is a liberating and worthy endeavor.
Originally Posted by phdmerrill
Keep at it!
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Interesting. I enjoyed the video, but am left with questions. Does he mean we can play ANY three notes? In other words, are we dealing with total chromatic playing, but where the pattern gives shape, which the ear then accepts?
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great lesson there
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He was pretty much staying key centered on the changes. It is all about using simple shapes to create motif and to get out of the habit of playing your usual approach's. The whole idea was keeping the intervals diatonically mirrored to each other as they move around, until the next shape is chosen. Creating and changing rhythmic motif can be applied to this lesson as well to make it even move versatile and effective.
Great tidbit and something that could be pursued as far down the rabbit hole as you would like to go.Last edited by brwnhornet59; 02-14-2012 at 11:36 AM.
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Very good idea and great food for improvisational thought.
I think a good exercise would to combine this 3 note shape idea with an exercise I got from Matt Warnock of playing through chord changes by using notes of the outlining arpeggio rhythmically. One note of the three would have to be a none chord tone.
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I like this---well explained and something I've always tried to be aware of. I have to say that it reminds me a lot of Charlie Rouse...
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The Bergonzi lessons on JazzHeaven.com are well worth the money. Enough material to keep busy for a long time...
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Hmm - this will be my study for tonight - thank you. Should be very good for motif development.
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I have Jerry's book 'Thesaurus of Intervallic Melodies' which deals with this. Any time I feel in a rut it rewires my brain for me.
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Nice little idea there. Seems like a small idea with big possibilities. What they don't tell you is what notes to play - so you're left to fill that in yourself. (And how does one do this? Several methods come to mind: chord-tones, , diatonic, chord-scale approach, triads, triad pairs, pentatonic scales, etc...)
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I wonder if anyone uses "Melodic Structures" the first book from Bergonzi's series.
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I've worked out of it a bit....Something he is very big on is "shapes" ....and working them in as many different ways you can. Originally Posted by magerlab
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Jerry Bergonzi in his 7 or so books details many different concepts of establishing concrete relationships between notes and harmony. Originally Posted by FatJeff
He also comes at things from angles like shapes, contours, number of notes per measure, number of notes per phrase etc.
These don't specify the notes. The concept is designed to break habitual realization of whatever notes one is using.
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