Improvisation is Not Rocket Science

A child will listen intensely to its parents till it’s able to sound out a word, usually da-da. Improvising is the same way. We should listen intensely to many of our jazz heroes and try to mimic all the nuances in their playing. Pay close attention to the sound, the phrasing, the space that’s used and the choice of notes. Just like a baby, try playing one or two bars of your favorite jazz artist. Then move on to learn more and more of a solo. Learning to improvise is the same as learning a language. The more you practice communicating in that language, the more comfortable you will be doing it. Sure, we all get embarrassed when we mess up, but that’s part of the learning cycle. There will always be someone around who will help you with your “Grammar”, just ask another person who is more versed in the language, like a teacher or bandmate.

If you remember how you learned to talk, you started out with one word, and then moved MSgt (ret) Bill Murray

on to a simple sentence. After years of practice, you are now able to express yourself without really thinking about what words you are going to use, you are well versed enough in the language to be able to express yourself in many ways right off the top of your head.

Different people learn in different ways. Some prefer to write out (transcribe) solos while others like to just play along with a CD until they have learned the whole solo. Whatever is comfortable for you, that should be the way you achieve you goal.

Again, if we look at improvisation as a language that is to be learned and keep in mind the example of the baby learning to speak, you will see that improvisation is not rocket science.