A Beautiful Friendship, Improvisation

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Dr. Bob Lawrence (00:32.919)
Welcome to Jazz Piano Skills. I'm Dr. Bob Lawrence. It's time to discover, learn, and play jazz piano. Week three. Week three of the month. It's hard to believe, but here we are again. And as we all know, week three of every month is the week we dedicate ourselves to improving our jazz improvisation skills. Week one.

always begins with a harmonic analysis of a tune, followed up in week two with a melodic analysis, and week three we work on developing our improvisation skills. Pretty good lineup. Our harmonic analysis of the classic standard of beautiful friendship, as we do with every tune, explored the form, the changes, harmonic function, common harmonic movement, and of course our voicings.

our traditional block shapes and inversions, our traditional shells, contemporary shells, two-handed voicings. We cover it all. Now with our melodic skills, our melodic analysis, as we did last week, we looked at the melody, transcribed the melody. We looked at the fingerings, the phrases, target notes within the phrases, and of course, various melodic treatments. And today,

Our improvisation skills, well, they're going to be developed using etudes designed to address various melodic skills applied to various harmonic phrases found in the standard of beautiful friendship. It's no doubt about it. Our three-week study of every tune that we dive into is thorough and extremely beneficial for our development of the essential jazz piano skills.

Of course, as you all know, the study and practice of these essential jazz panel skills must be governed by a very crystal clear thought process that simplifies, that simplifies music conceptually so that we have a legitimate chance of developing physical capabilities. We achieve this crystal clear thought process.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (02:56.065)
by making sure that all that we do musically, conceptually, physically, plugs into our seven facts of music, our seven musical facts. And hopefully by now, everyone listening, all you regular listeners can recite these seven musical facts by heart, right? You just, have them, you have them memorized by now because we, we go through this list every week.

of every month, right? So let's do it together. Here we go. Fact number one, music fact number one, that music is the production of sound and silence. And of course, our sound, our primary sounds in music are major, dominant, minor, half diminished and diminished. Fact number two, musical sound is produced harmonically and melodically. Fact number three, when sound is produced harmonically, we're playing chords.

or voicings. Fact number four, when sound is produced melodically, we're playing arpeggios and scales. Fact number five, when playing arpeggios and scales, we're moving one of two directions. That's it. We can either go up or come down. That's it. Fact number six, we want to kind of camouflage the fact that we're playing arpeggios and scales. So we decorate our arpeggios and scales with tension or

what we commonly refer to as chromaticism. And then finally fact number seven, to make musical facts one through six interesting, we add rhythm. That's it. Those are the seven musical facts that we all must know, we all must be aware of, so that it governs our practicing in such a way

that are practicing produces the musical results and the musical growth that we're hoping to obtain. And this is precisely why we approach our tune study here at Jazz Piano Skills. We approach our tune study centered around the seven musical facts using three distinct studies, a harmonic analysis, a melodic analysis, and improvisation development. So today is no different.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (05:23.531)
Right? Today we start our improvisation development. Today we continue to discover a beautiful friendship improvisationally. We are going to learn how to create improvisation etudes using chord progressions found in a beautiful friendship. And we are going to play four skill specific etudes using four harmonic phrases found in a beautiful friendship.

that will guarantee help us significantly improve our improvisation skills. So as I always like to say, regardless of where you are in your jazz journey, a beginner and intermediate player, an advanced player, or even if you consider yourself an experienced professional, you're going to find this Jazz Panel Skills podcast exploring a beautiful friendship improvisationally.

to be extremely beneficial. But you know what? I want to as I always do, before we just jump into it, I want to welcome all of the first time listeners to the Jazz Piano Skills podcast. And if you are new to Jazz Piano Skills podcast, you're new to Jazz Piano Skills, welcome. I want to invite you to become a member. Now your membership

grants you many, perks. And I want to just take a minute to walk you through them. Number one as a Jazz Piano Skills member, you have access to premium podcast content, which means you get to listen to the entire podcast episode. The first half of every Jazz Piano Skills podcast episode is free for everyone to enjoy. I deal with the question of the week, lay out the educational agenda and the lesson ration.

The second half of the podcast is for members only. We deal with the lesson content, demonstrations, and exploration of the podcast packets, the illustrations, the lead sheets and the play alongs. And the podcast packets are the educational materials that I designed and developed for every weekly podcast episode, and valuable materials that you want to have in your hands when listening to the podcast. And of course, you want to have this material sitting on your piano or music stand

Dr. Bob Lawrence (07:50.27)
when practicing throughout the week as well. As Jazz Panel Skills member, you also have access to the online Jazz Panel Skills courses. They are comprehensive, interactive, self-paced and sequential courses. You also have access or what I like to say a reserved seat in the online weekly masterclass that I host every Thursday evening at 8 p.m. Central Time. And I know it's not the best time for everyone. However,

the master classes are recorded and members can watch and rewatch the master class whenever convenient and as often as they wish. As a Jazz Panel Skills member, you also have access to the online private Jazz Panel Skills community. It's an awesome group. The community hosts a variety of educational forums, episode specific forums and general forums. It's a great place to meet folks, get some

feedback and assistance when you need it and also lend a hand to others who are looking for some help and assistance. So wonderful way to improve your jazz piano skills, no question about it. And we also within that community have a killer listening list that is put together every single week to go along with every single podcast episode. members have access to that community. And then finally, as Jazz Piano Skills

member, you have access to educational support, private, personal and professional support. Now all of these amazing perks, these amazing privileges are waiting to help you discover, learn and play jazz piano. So check it all out at jazzpiano skills.com and of course become a member. And once you get to the site, if you have any questions, however, you know, regarding the various membership plans or any of the services,

please by all means do not hesitate to reach out to me. I'm happy to spend some time with you, answer any questions that you may have, and of course help you in any way that I can. I also want to take just a few minutes to encourage you to subscribe to the Jazz Panel Skills YouTube channel to begin receiving educational videos that I am publishing every week. Now, once you subscribe to the Jazz Panel Skills YouTube channel,

Dr. Bob Lawrence (10:12.744)
you will begin receiving weekly recaps, weekly challenges, weekly quick tips. It's all there at Jazz Piano Skills YouTube channel. And again, I'm populating these playlists with new videos every week. So again, be sure to subscribe so that you're notified when a new Jazz Piano Skills video is released. And finally, if you are not receiving, if you are not receiving the Jazz Piano Skills blog,

post every Saturday, please take some time to join the Jazz Panel Skills email list, which you can do easily at the Jazz Panel Skills website. Every Saturday, I publish a blog that summarizes our week's activity. And it's just a nice summary that is put into a four minute read. It's definitely worth reading and checking out to help keep you on track, conceptually and physically with your jazz

journey. Okay, so now it's time to get to the question of the week. This week's question comes from Pat Hughes living in Danville, Illinois, not too far from where I grew up. Pat's question is, is short, sweet, and to the point. Pat asks, What's the difference between improvising with chord tones and scales? Wow.

What's the difference between improvising with chord tones and scales? It's a great question that I'm sure many listeners, many of you have asked or have wanted to ask. Well, the short answer is there is no difference. The criteria for improvising using chord tones and scale tones are the same. Regardless of which type of motion, chord tones, scale tones,

regardless of which type of motion you are using, you need an extensive rhythmic vocabulary.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (12:19.706)
inappropriate use of space and repetition, plus a balance of ascending and descending movement. Right? Makes no difference whether you're using the chord tones and scale tones, right?

all of that needs to be present for good improvisation. Now, with that being said, think, Pat, if I may, I would like to just reward your question just a little bit. And instead of asking, what is the difference between improvising with chord tones and scales, I would suggest asking, how do I begin improvising using chord tones and scales?

would I begin improvising using chord tones and scales? In other words, it's not an either or proposition, right? We don't want to begin thinking of using one or the other. Instead, we want to be using both together consistently. So now our question is, how do I begin improvising using chord tones and scales? The answer is, well, begin practicing melodic ideas, lines that use

chord tones and scales, right? It seems kind of obvious for if we want to get used to playing chord tones and scales when improvising, we should actually practice melodic lines, melodic ideas that use both chord tones and scales. You know, we all tend to practice scales in arpeggios, arpeggios, which are chord tones, right? We all tend to practice scales in arpeggios separately. We actually

practice them as separate technique exercises. We're actually taught that they're separate technique exercises, right? Our teachers say, let's practice our scales. And then our teachers say, let's practice our arpeggios. So they're actually even discussed as separated, right? Practice scales, practice arpeggios.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (14:36.89)
different technique exercises. Two problems with this, two huge problems with this approach. Number one, we separate scales and arpeggios, which separate, it's, it's, we don't want to do that. And number two, we practice them, we end up practicing them as exercises and not as music, right? So think about that for a second. If when we separate scales and arpeggios, boom, bad idea.

And when we practice them as exercises or have the mind frame or the mindset that of exercises and not music, boom, another really bad idea. It's a double whammy that we want to avoid. Okay. You know, I've said this in the past that I'm going to dedicate an entire podcast episode to the importance of playing scales and arpeggios together. Right.

we need to practice scales and arpeggios together. Now, obviously, I can't devote today's episode to this concept. But this question has me revisiting this idea. And until I do that episode, who knows, I might even do that. We have another week. I may actually do this episode next week. But until then, let me offer some quick tips on how to begin practicing

scales and arpeggios together. How to begin practicing this very, very essential jazz skill. Alright, I want you to think in terms of two approaches. Approach number one, practicing scales with arpeggios embedded. Or number two, practicing arpeggios with scales embedded. Okay, let me say that again.

Approach number one would be practicing your scale with an arpeggio embedded or arpeggios. Approach number two, practicing arpeggios with scale or scales embedded. So let's do approach number one, scales with arpeggios. So let's think of the C major scale, C, E, F, G, A, B. But now let's play it as C, D,

Dr. Bob Lawrence (17:01.284)
F G B. Right?

So what do I have? I have scale movement up to my G, up to the fifth, and then from G to B, what? That's arpeggio motion, arpeggio movement. So now I have my scale and my arpeggio together. I have both types of motion included in my melodic idea. Right? So I put an arpeggio between the fifth and the seventh, in other words. So now let's move the arpeggio to the third.

between the third and the fifth. So now instead of C, D, E, F, G, A, B, I get C, D, E, arpeggio to G, A, B. So we get...

Dr. Bob Lawrence (17:55.365)
Beautiful. What if I move the arpeggio to the root and third? So now I get C E arpeggio motion and then F G A B. So I get

Dr. Bob Lawrence (18:13.957)
So what I've done there is just strategically moved arpeggio motion from the fifth that occurred between the fifth and the seventh to the third and the fifth to the root and the third. Okay so my scale is just not one scale line from the root to the seventh. I'm traveling root the seventh using both scale motion and arpeggio motion. Okay now

I can reverse the thought process and think of it as arpeggios with scales. So instead of an arpeggio going C, E, G, B, what if I do arpeggio up to the fifth and then complete it to the seventh with scale movement? So I'm inserting the A.

Dr. Bob Lawrence (19:02.213)
What if I now move my scale movement to the third and the fifth? So I got arpeggio motion from the root to the third, scale motion to the fifth, arpeggio motion to the seventh. Or what if I do scale motion from the root to the third, arpeggio to the fifth, arpeggio to the seventh, right?

Dr. Bob Lawrence (19:27.865)
these are six lines, very quickly, these are just six lines, using a combination of thinking either scales with arpeggios or arpeggios with scales that bring those two essential skills together, which is needed for improvising, right, which is needed for improvising. Now, these melodic lines or these melodic ideas that I just shared with you can be applied, of course, I'm demonstrating it here today on using the

C major scale, but they can be applied to any sound, not just the major sound dominant, minor, half diminished, diminished. And this is a fabulous way to begin thinking about scales and arpeggios together as one and not separately or as autonomous exercises. So that's a lot to chew on. That's a lot to think about very, very quickly. I'm rushing. And that's why an entire podcast episode

devoted to this would be a very good idea. So I will give that some thought. And again, like I said, maybe next week, that would be a good topic for next week's episode. So I hope I hope this helps Pat, your initial question of what's the difference between improvising with chord tones and scales. It's fantastic question. It prompts a discussion needed to illuminate the fact that there is no difference between chord tone and scale improvisation.

and also stresses the importance of thinking of and practicing arpeggios, which are the chord tones and scales together. Together. So as always, Pat, if you want to explore your question and my answer in greater detail, let me know. I'm happy to jump on a FaceTime call with you or Zoom call to dig deeper. Fantastic question. And I hope that my very quick answer is helpful.

helpful for you. All right, let's discover, learn and play jazz piano. Let's discover, learn and play a beautiful friendship with an emphasis on improvisation development. All right. As you all know, we have put together a really thorough game plan with our tune study that we do every month with a different tune. And we've gone over this process every episode because it's that important, right? That when

Dr. Bob Lawrence (21:56.291)
it's important to know that when studying a tune or when we want to learn a tune, that we want to have an approach that we can repeat over and over and over again, that makes the learning process easier and quicker, right? Each and every time. So I have stressed over and over again that regardless of the genre of music,

right? It makes no difference whether we're looking at a jazz tune like we do here, or if we were going to study a pop tune or folk tune, rock tune, country, R &B, whatever. Now we're going to use the same process. We're going to approach our learning of this tune, our study of this tune the same way. And the very first thing that I stress that we do every week is we listen. We have an extensive listening list that is made available each and every week in our

forums, our Jazz Panel Skills community, where we listen to a variety of artists, vocalists, instrumentalists, of course pianists, we listen to professionals, amateurs, makes no difference. If we want to learn a tune, we want to absorb every opportunity we have presented to us to hear that tune performed to help us learn that tune and ultimately have an impact on how we

treat that tune with our own performance. listening is number one, always. Then we turn to a harmonic analysis where we look at the form of the piece, the changes, we determine harmonic function, look at the common harmonic movement chord progressions that exist within the tune. And of course, we study our harmonic shapes, our voicings. And then once we have our harmonic analysis study completed, we turn our attention to a melodic analysis.

always want to try to our very best to transcribe the melody as much as much of it as we possibly can. And then we look at that melody, we, we illuminate the phrases that are found within the within the melody and then the target notes within those phrases. We also study fingerings so that we can articulate that melodic, that melody properly to give it a jazz articulation. And of course, then we apply that melody to various treatments, typically are

Dr. Bob Lawrence (24:19.626)
standard jazz treatments of a ballad, bossa, and swing. And then finally, after we've done our listening, our harmonic analysis and melodic analysis, we turn our attention as we are going to do today to improvisation development. And that always takes on a little different flavor, a little different twist each and every month. But it is always centered around understanding of chord scale relationships, arpeggio and scale movement.

various sounds, and of course rhythm. So this approach that we have put in place that we execute each and every month with each and every tune that we study is thorough and effective. So this month we have completed our harmonic analysis of a beautiful friendship, a melodic analysis of a beautiful friendship. So now it's time for us to turn our attention to developing our improvisation skills.

So the educational agenda for today is as follows. Number one, we are going to listen to definitive recordings of a beautiful friendship. Number two, we are going to isolate four, four common progressions found in a beautiful friendship to help us develop our improvisation skills. And number three, we are going to use those four common progressions or phrases to construct four

improvisation etudes or exercises, right etudes that illuminate essential elements needed for successfully developing our improvisation skills. So with that being said, if you are a jazz piano skills member, I want you to hit the pause button right now to take a few minutes to download

access, download and print your podcast packets, the illustrations, the lead sheets and the play alongs. Again, mentioned it earlier, your membership grants you access to the this material. So take advantage of that, make sure you have it in your hands as you listen to the rest of this podcast episode. And of course, you're going to want to reference it frequently throughout the week as you practice. Okay, so

Dr. Bob Lawrence (26:41.649)
As always, we're going to start with our lead sheets. And then we'll I'll talk about the illustrations and the play alongs backing tracks a little later. But we want to start with our lead sheet. So grab your lead sheets packet and you should have four lead sheets for lead sheets. Lead sheet one is going to is presents a two one or exercise one improvisation exercise one. Lead sheet two is our a two two lead sheet three.

etude three and lead sheet for etude four. Wow, that's a tongue twister. So, all right, so we are going to dive into each one of these etudes today. But before we do, I want to stress the importance of spending some time with the listening list this this week. Again, Elise has done a fabulous job. It is now available in the Jazz Panel Skills Community.

in the forum. So please take some time and check that out. It will be very helpful as always to spend some time listening to this tune before we jump into our improvisation. So once you have done that, then I want you to grab a lead sheet one. And let me walk you through how this is structured today and how you should be using this throughout the week to help you develop your improvisation skills.

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