Improvising is one of those mysterious things in life –just like lawn gnomes, Christmas elves & fat-free chocolates–we wonder: where did it come from? What does it really look like? Is it real?...
But perhaps the most important question with improvising is – how do I do it without looking like an idiot?
Yes, I said it. Improvising makes everybody feel like a fool.
And I don't want you to feel like a fool! You are not a fool!
The good news is that I've put together 3 very real steps you can take to upgrade your improv skills and they are anything BUT mysterious.
More of a watcher than a reader? Watch the video here, or, read on.
These are not the only ways to upgrade your improvising, but these 3 things are what will get you off to a good start.
The thing about improvising that most people feel is that it's mysterious. We ask ourselves any or all of these questions: what is improvising? Is it real? And, how do I do it without looking like an idiot ?
We’re scared of making a fool of ourselves so often we decide just not to bother trying at all. Unsurprisingly, not giving it a go is the biggest thing that’s stopping you from becoming an improviser! Improvising requires bravery, yes, but it doesn’t require you to make a fool of yourself. These three steps will make improvising less mysterious and help you to be brave enough to begin.
Improv Mindset
Firstly, these three steps are going to help you but the biggest thing that you can do to make your improv better is to be positive and be appreciative of yourself and the ability that you do have and the things that you do know and what you are able to do on the piano.
Starting improv can be a huge tax on our mind because we have to fight that negative thinking, “this is terrible, I’m not good enough, I’ll never be good at this.” – Leave that outside the door. When you improvise think of yourself as going into a white blank room where there is just you and a piano - and every note you play splashes a beautiful colour on the wall.
It’s all colour, it’s all creation, it’s all beautiful. Start with that idea, and any doubt or negativity that sets in, you have to banish it.
It doesn’t have to be jazz improv
I want to emphasise here that improvisation is not just jazz improvisation.
You do not need to be a jazz pianist to improvise!
Many pianist think they have to learn to play jazz piano before they can improvise but it’s a misconception.
You can improvise on the C major scale. You can improvise on a C major chord. You can improvise on a C note… it’s about creation & intention – not blowing everyone away with your chord substitutes!
Even if you WANT to get to playing jazz improv, the way to start is not to learn all the jazz theory before you have permission to improvise. You improvise while you are learning so that you are not just learning about theory and harmony, you’re also learning confidence & creativity!
Step 1 - Dare to be dull.
With improvisation, you have to start really simple. We have to check our mindset to make sure that we're not being judgemental about playing something simple.
You might start with a short refrain that might be two notes, or one note repeated. Even the great improvisers use this technique to start their solos, so that they have time to think of where they will go from there.
[See video on the left where Oscar Peterson begins his epic solo by repeating the C key at length!]
You might want to try improvising by sticking to one thing, start with all the white keys. The exercise here is not how jazzy and complicated it sounds but decided where you want to go before you go there.
”I want to go high” – go high.
“I want to play an octave” – play an octave.
“I want to repeat one note in a rhythm” – do that.
This is training your brain to think first, then play. This is the hallmark of a great improviser, so if you do this from the beginning –rather than simply randomly playing any key– then you’re already on your way to creating convincing improvisations.
Get comfortable with that simplicity, practice being deliberate.
Step 2 - Learning patterns.
This has been the main thing that has really given me more confidence and freedom with improvisation.
Riffs, licks, phrases, motifs, patterns - there’s lots of terms that mean roughly the same thing. Whatever you call it, building your library of patterns that you can pull from whenever you need is an incredible tool for improv (and all creative piano playing!).
Whenever you hear or discover a pattern used to iterate a broken chord, or solid chord rhythm, you can replicate that same pattern on the same or different chords.
This requires a change in what we think improvising is.
Is improvising all completely off-the-cuff never ever rehearsed before -complete originality? Almost never.
Most experienced improvisers have gotten that way by building up their library of patterns.
Yes, they know theory backwards and forwards, but they also have a collection of patterns that they can use in different sequences & different keys and give the impression that everything is being made up on the spot.
This is the secret that most people don't understand– improvisation is about being prepared. The more you prepare, the more patterns you learn, the more of a toolbox you have to bring out one of those things in a certain situation.
How do you create patterns?
To start, take a song that you know how to play already. Take a little bit of the tune and turn that into a lick. For it to be a lick it needs to be quite short.
Choose a short passage and repeat it on it’s own several times. Try to repeat it so that it falls evenly with the beat you’re counting.
Now you can either take that motif as is and repeat it over a different chord progression (in the same key). Or, you can take just the notes and make a different rhythm - or take the rhythm to choose different notes for.
Already you have x3 possible patterns to use over this chord progression.
You can repeat each one several times, then change to the next pattern and repeat that some times.
Then when you are sick of playing it the same way, change 1 thing about it. Change the rhythm slightly, or change one of the notes, or change the direction– if it’s ascending, try playing it descending.
This practise of finding patterns and exploring how you can change them slightly is a fantastic way to prepare for improvising.
Step 3 - Know Your Chord Progressions
Getting to know your chord progressions is going to improve your improv hugely.
By practising moving from one chord to the next with different types of chords, you’ll start to find patterns that work between certain chords - on certain chord progressions.
So rather than playing individual chords with patterns on each chord, you can start to store in your library patterns that work for certain chord progressions.
Do you need to know all of the chord progressions and have patterns for all of them to improvise?
No.
Again, you can improvise with what you know NOW, right this minute!
But with each chord progression you learn, become familiar with and develop patterns for – the better your improv ability will become.
If you can focus on learning the main common types of chord progressions, what effect those common progressions are used for, and learn how to put chord progressions together yourself – your ability to improvise creatively is only going to get better.
When in doubt just have fun!
If you want to start your journey to upgrading your improv right now, you need to check out my coaching session on chord progressions!
You’ll discover:
the common cadences (2 chord progressions)
the common chord progressions (3-5 chords)
how to make up your own progressions!
Great for songwriting, improvising, playing by ear & overall musicianship!
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