Exercises

This again has been quite a long session.

We’ve looked at 2 quite disparate things: modulation and rhythmic phrases. Modulation - we looked at how you use II-V-I to change keys, in particular, in the tune “I Love You” which goes form F major to A major and back again to F major via II-V-Is. Clearly I’d like you to be able to play “I Love You” with a playalong and improvise on it. If you’re not ready to use the more enhanced scales then just use basic, sort of, F major and A major scales. But if you feel ready to try using some of the scales that are required - because the tune leads to the chords being altered.

The first chord has a minor 5 in it and the second chord has a minor 9 in it. It’s in the tune and so, in some sense, the scales, when you come to improvise, should match that. They don’t have to - but that’s what we are aiming towards. In the left hand, maybe, do some regular use of your legato, stabs and Amen chords - maybe deciding on playing the chord in particular parts of the bar and keeping it going, at least for several bars, because I don’t think we’re quite ready to free up the left hand yet, but we are ready to use different patterns to make sure that we know how to use those 3 devices.

Then we discussed what is swing and then we moved to rhythmic phrases. Obviously, I’d like you to be able to play the rhythmic phrases with me.

Then we had a look at applying the rhythmic phrases to first of all a blues - it can be anything - you can apply it to a blues or to one of the standards. The idea is to look at those patterns and to play them. Typically I’d say do 4 bars at a time because, otherwise, it will all move on too quickly for you. Taking a blues or a standard, for example Rhythmic Phrases I Standard Rhythms, you can then play 4 bars of semibreves, 4 bars of minims, 4 bars of crotchets, etc. Then on to dotted rhythms, then on to tied rhythms, then on to tied triplets. We also had a look at a 32 bar sequence of Lee’s.

I couldn’t trust myself to do 32 bars, so I divided it into 2 lots of 16. Again, see if you can have a go at it. Now if you want a really challenging exercise you could try using that rhythmic pattern over a 32 bar sequence like rhythm changes or “I Love You”. It would be quite reasonable to slow it down so that you have a chance of getting in these rhythmic patterns or close to the rhythmic patterns. That would be a real challenge, if you could do that. It’s probably asking a lot at this stage, but it is something you could, maybe, return to later on.

Then we had a look at applying the rhythmic phrases - no, then we moved on to a blues, didn’t we - “Straight No Chaser”, Thelonius Monk’s blues. Again, it’s an exemplar of how to - almost - to improvise by taking a simple phrase and then doing something

with it: extending it, moving it, displacing it, moving it on a keyboard higher when you get to B flat7, and playing it in different parts of the bar - rhythmic displacement. Then we had a go at improvising, at least I had a go at improvising trying to use that initial melodic element.