Diatonic Patterns With Neighbor Tones

This article originally appeared in Saxophone Journal, January/February 2003.  Volume 27, No. 3

 

            It goes without saying that part of the process of learning to improvise is mastery of scales in all keys.  After scales come diatonic intervals, triads, and arpeggios.  When improvising on chord changes, it is necessary to have a handle on scales, intervals, and simple patterns so that one can “play the right notes.”  The next step in using these materials is to embellish the basic patterns.  An easy way to dress up a simple pattern is to add neighbor tones.  In this column, I will show some different ways of using neighbor tones to add interest to diatonic patterns.  This method of practicing will not only build vocabulary for improvisation, but will also help develop technical dexterity.

 

DIATONIC THIRDS AND DIATONIC TRIADS

 

For the purposes of illustration, we will look at two basic patterns: diatonic thirds and diatonic triads.  Keep in mind that the basic principles can be applied to any diatonic pattern, such as fourths, seventh chords, or any melodic pattern.  Example one shows the basic patterns, in the key of C.  Before one attempts to embellish these patterns, it is important to be comfortable playing the unaltered originals.  It is also best to have the patterns memorized, especially if the intent is to build an improvisational vocabulary.

 

The first kind of neighbor tone is the diatonic neighbor.  These neighbors are within the given tonality, or key signature.  Example 2 shows the basic patterns with the addition of lower diatonic neighbors before each cell of the pattern.  On the way down, the pattern inverts and the neighbors are upper diatonic tones.

 

CHROMATIC NEIGHBORS

 

Another form of the ornamentation is to use chromatic neighbors.  Instead of staying within the given tonality or key signature, always place lower neighbors a half-step below and upper neighbors a half-step above. Example 3 show a portion of thirds and triads with chromatic neighbors.

 

Playing through these examples should give the general idea of how neighbor tones work.  Take these patterns through all twelve major keys, without look at music.  Once the sound gets in your ear, these should come relatively easily.  For clarity’s sake, the patterns in example 1-3 work well on the following chords: C major (ionian), D minor seventh (dorian), E phrygian, F major seven sharp eleven (lydian), G dominant seven (mixolydian), A natural minor (aeolian), and B Locrian.   The whole process could (and should) be repeated for the modes of melodic minor, and any other diatonic scale system that might prove useful for improvisation, such as harmonic minor, harmonic major (ionian flat six), etc.

 

YIELDING THE RIGHT NOTES

 

Practicing these patterns will build dexterity, and playing them will yield “right notes,” but the overall sound will be relatively bland and predictable.  The next step towards building a dynamic vocabulary, or “hipping things up,” is working with more interesting patterns.  Remember, neighbor tones will work on any pattern of repeating note cells.  Example 4 shows the pattern “up a second, up a fourth” with upper chromatic neighbors.

 

USING BOTH NEIGHBORS

 

Until now, we have been using one neighbor at a time.  It is possible to use both neighbors, upper and lower, to encircle the target note.  Example 5 demonstrates the same basic cell as Example 4, but embellished with double chromatic neighbors.

 

There are many other ways that neighbor tones can be applied to diatonic patterns.  One way is to place the neighbor tone inside the cell, instead of at the beginning.  Example 6 illustrates this concept by subscribing the lower chromatic neighbor to the third in diatonic triads.

 

MAKING UP PATTERNS

 

By practicing simple patterns for speed and comfort, it becomes possible to make up patterns on the spot, while improvising over chord changes.  It also develops mental and physical dexterity to play longer, more challenging patterns.  Example 7 shows a pattern which is larger and more complex than the preceding examples.  The pattern consists of fully extended thirteenth arpeggios with alternating upper and lower chromatic neighbors before every note.

 

USING MANY NEIGHBORS

 

When playing a complicated pattern with many neighbors, it helps to mentally focus on the basic notes of the pattern.  Visualize the neighbors in a different way, so that you don’t get tangled up in the chromaticism.  I try to see the target notes as rungs on a ladder, and the neighbor tones are the spaces between the rungs.  Another way might be to see the target notes as red and the neighbors as yellow, or whatever color scheme works for you.  I practice improvising patterns with the metronome, forcing myself to stay in perfect time.  IF I am unable to play the pattern precisely with the metronome, I keep turning the tempo down until I can play evenly and without pausing to think.  From there, if the pattern is musically attractive to me, I’ll keep speeding it up.

 

LESS THINKING MORE MOTOR SKILLS

 

In the early stages of practice, it is necessary to think about each note.  As the motor skills take over, there is less thinking involved.  The ultimate goal is to be able to turn a pattern on and let it fly with no mental effort.  The mind is then free to be creative with the pattern.  You might think about different rhythms to play, varying articulations, changing the time feel, or working with tone colors.  Music can be made using patterns, but never forget that patterns alone are not music!  Peace.  §

#diatonicpatterns #neighbortones 

Critical Thinking About Jazz Improvisation

 This article originally appeared in Saxophone Journal, Sept/Oct 1996.  Volume 21, No. 2

    It is important to feel good about your playing.  If playing the saxophone were unpleasant, clearly a magazine like this one wouldn’t exist.  For many saxophonists, it becomes very easy to “get comfortable” when a certain level of proficiency and (especially) technique is achieved.  It is in these moments of satisfaction that we must be able to continue to look critically at our own playing.  This is not be confused with beating yourself up, a practice which I wholeheartedly discourage.  What I am suggesting is developing the ability to remain cognizant of what is really coming out of your horn.

In recent years I have enjoyed a modest amount of success and attention.  I would be lying if I said that those things don’t matter to me and I am unaffected.  This would be clearly lying with the pretense of being modest. Never, ever do that.  It is important to have a generous amount of humility in your overall vibe, but when someone pays you a compliment, no matter what you might think, smile and say “thank you.”  This is a lesson that I learned from my former teacher and friend Lynn Klock, and he credits the lesson to his mentor, the late Larry Teal.  It [would be, often] is very easy for me to feel quite good about myself, in certain contexts.  Hanging out in the comfort zone for too long is devastating to progress.  This is why it is necessary to find fault with your playing: not to take away from the pleasure of the moments in which high quality and artistry is achieved, but to know what needs to be practiced and worked out.

I’ve included a “Mental Checklist” that I try to use sometimes before I improvise.  Clearly it would not be possible to think about all ten things at once or even in the space of one solo.  The key is to assimilate these things into the automatic processes one at a time, thus making it possible to make a new list of considerations.  I think about most of these ten things, but usually end up focusing on two to four of them.  Obviously, choosing a different focus in a particular solo will produce a different musical result.  One time, I might be really concentrating on varying my articulation and time feel, but my tone might be relatively straight ahead and unchanging.  The next time I might concentrate on leaving space for the solo solo to breathe and varying the tone colors, but I might neglect a different slant musically.  This list is also ever changing.  As one topic becomes automated, a new topic immediately takes its place in the checklist.  There was a time when my checklist included topics like “Am I clearly outlining the harmony,” “Am I not starting on the root of every chord every time,” “and “Am I sitting up straight?”  This is an illustration of the reasoning behind my checklist.

 

Mental Checklist

 

1.     Am I playing with my best possible tone?

2.     Am I thinking about variety in the tonal colors?

3.     Is my time feel connecting with the musical environment?

4.     Are my rhythms varied and interesting?

5.     Is my articulation varied and interesting?

6.     Am I developing my ideas throughout the solo?

7.     Is my body physically relaxed

8.     Am I leaving adequate space (rest)?

9.     Am I just playing licks when I don’t know what to play?

10.  Am I making a spiritual statement about my life through my instrument?

 

Number one is about my tendency to sometimes get caught up in what the notes are instead of what the notes sound like.  Who cares if I just played a tone row and then perfectly inverted it in retrograde if the tone is crummy?

Number two is about my tendency to only think about my tone at the beginning and end of phrases.  This relates back to my article on “Not Sculpting.”  Number three is important in that it is often overlooked by immature players.  Besides simply playing the notes evenly or with a good swing feel, how does my time fit in with the rhythm section’s?

Nothing is more uncomfortable to listen to than a soloist who is unable to coalesce with the drummer and bass player’s time feel.  Many players will set up a dynamic of playing with and against the time feel of the band as a source of tension and release.  This allows a new dimension in resolution.  Number four is rather self explanatory.  No one wants to hear a continuous string of unending eight notes without any variation. Number five is a strong point that many of us miss.  A strong vocabulary of articulations can lead to an extremely personal sound.  I got this feeling from hearing Joe Henderson in concert recently.  The variation is way beyond just staccato and legato, but more within the many shades of gray which lie between the extremes.  Other masters of articulation include Jerry Bergonzi, David Liebman, and of course Charlie Parker.

Number six is seemingly obvious, but in the heat of the moment, it becomes relatively easy to just keep churning out material that sounds good rather than to deal with the material as a whole.  For a real feeling of motivic development, check out the writing of Jim McNeely.

Number seven is vital to good saxophone playing.  By forcing the body into unnatural positions while playing, the best thing that can happen is what valuable energy will be lost absorbed by the action of setting up body tension.  At worst, physical stress can spell tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome down the road.  This is bad news and very easily avoidable if a certain respect for the human body as it related to playing the saxophone is maintained.  I remind myself to not try to hold the weight of the saxophone in my hands; let the neckstrap do its job!  If you need a better neckstrap, just get one.  There is no excuse for causing bodily harm to oneself in the process of creating art (as far as I am concerned anyway!).

Number eight is my way to keep from filling up every available space with a flurry of notes.  It is important to remember that without silence, there would be no music.

Number nine is extremely important for all improvisers to consider.  Remember that playing a lick from the mental library simply because “it fits there” is the antithesis of improvisation.  I like to connect this with leaving space.  The solution to the problem is this: When in doubt, lay out!  Nothing is more obvious than regurgitating patterns in the appropriate places in lieu of making any real artistic motion.

Number ten is for me, the most important factor of them all.  Music only moves me when it sounds like it is reflective of a particular experience.  Yusef Lateef once told me that improvisation is a reflection of the human experience.  If your music is not somehow connected with your overall aesthetic, what purpose does it serve, other than to chill folks out in the elevator or the dentist’s chair!

Never forget that in order to get better, it is necessary to locate the weaknesses and refine them while keeping the strongs strong.  Critical thinking about music is vital in order to maintain a healthy balance between feeling good and feeling inspired to move on.  Until next time, practice hard.  §

#improvisation #checklist #critical #larryteal #lynnklock #yuseflateef

In admiration: Matt Smiley

 I was so happy to read this fantastic article about my former student and friend forever, Matt Smiley:

Matt Smiley: Riding the Waves of Free Jazz

Matt graduated from JMU in 2007, he took a number of classes with me, but most importantly, he spent several years as the bassist in my trio on a weekly club gig in downtown Harrisonburg, VA.  When he started playing with me, he was not really ready for the gig.  But whatever he lacked in knowledge and experience, he made up for with giant ears and boundless enthusiasm for the music.  I pushed him very hard on the gig, often giving him extended solos and challenging him to "find a new gear" as we took the intensity higher and higher.  I was able to watch him grow up in the classroom and on the bandstand.  It remains one of the most memorable chapters of my career.

Five years after he left Harrisonburg to begin his career in Colorado, he invited me to record an album with another wonderful JMU grad and alum of my trio, Matt Coyle,  their fellow JMU alum trumpeter, Josh Reed,  and Colorado guitarist Ryan Fourt.  I count this album as one of my finest recordings.  To share the studio with former students who had become very much my equal was unforgettable.  It is important to note that Brother Smiley treated me in a thoroughly professional manner, flying me out, setting me up with a very nice hotel room, food and drink, and he paid me my normal recording fee.  There was also beautiful fellowship and meaningful conversations that still resonate in my mind.

The album earned 4.5 stars in allaboutjazz and you can read the review here.

I remember the moment that I realized that Matt Smiley was going to be something very special.  He was in my advanced improvisation class at JMU, performing a transcription of an unaccompanied bass solo by Dave Holland - I'm pretty sure that it was Solar.

As he started playing, I thought that the cd player must have stopped.  His eyes were closed and I didn't want to stop him, so I got up and looked at the stereo.  To my surprise, the cd was playing normally.  Matt had learned every nuance of this solo so perfectly that his tremendous bass sound completely covered the album as it played on the large sound system in the classroom.  My eyes widened as I sat back down and listened with my full attention.

Matt demonstrated the true art of transcription better than any other student that I have ever witnessed (no offense to my many wonderful students!).  It isn't about the notes, or certainly not the notes alone.  His huge fundamentals on the bass, his attention to articulation, to intonation, to phrasing, and most of all, to THE ENERGY of the recording elevated his understanding of music.  Not just that one particular recording, but all music.  I have told this story many times.  I witnessed a transformation in his musicianship that turned into an unstoppable freight train.  He was indeed "riding the wave."

There is a wide misunderstanding about so-called free jazz musicians.  The modern free jazz artist must have a level of musicianship that equals any other virtuoso in any other style.  They must also be capable of instantly imagining and creating in real time, reacting to the environment, all while allowing the music to rise and fall as organically as possible.  Once a free improvisation begins, it flows like a river.  The greatest free artists give life to an idea that becomes a living thing.  They must feed the idea without unduly influencing its evolution.  Free music rises from the air, tells a story, and comes to an end.  It is a most exhilarating experience and it can only reach the ultimate heights when the musicians subdue their egos and submit to the integrity and momentum of the original idea.

It goes without saying that I have great love and admiration for Matt Smiley.  He has become a complete artist and scholar, all while remaining a kind and generous human.  His friendship means the world to me and he reminds me of the incredible privilege that teaching has given me over the years.  Matt will soon be completing a doctorate and I imagine that some university will be incredibly lucky to hire him.  He is a shining example of the performer-composer-improviser paradigm that is so important to the new generation of musicianship in higher education.  He is leading the way and I can hardly wait to see what the future holds for him.

Keep riding that wave, my brother.  💜💛💜💛