Jazz pop and blues piano improvisation

Improvisation and piano are my passions. Here and in other web sites of mine you can find easy concepts for learning to improvise with your piano. Improvisation is one of the basic element of jazz, probably the most important: for many musicians, jazz means improvisation.

Generally, in a jazz piece the musicians play the melody of the song with any backing harmony once. The improvisation by any of the musicians follows, and this is typically the longest section of a song as each musician improvises their own melody over the harmonic and rhythmic foundation of the theme.

When the end of the theme is reached, it is repeated and the number of repetitions of the theme necessary specifies a solo’s length. After one musician has finished his improvisation, another will begin, and no instrument is forbidden from improvising.

A repetition of the theme will end a jazz song. There are an infinite number of variations to this pattern; new sections can be added before and after the theme, two musicians can alternatively improvise for short amounts of time or several musicians can improvise in a group.

• Main topics to learn jazz piano improvisation
• Check out this website dedicated to jazz theory improvisation and music composing

Melody in piano improvisation

The rules of a melody and how to compose or improvise a melody.

Phrasing in piano improvisation

How to build musical phrases in improvisation

How to use music scales in piano improvisation

Knowing scales is not enough…you must know how to use them!

Many scales and modes can be used in improvisation. These mainly depend on the nature of the harmonic framework. Against a C Minor seventh chord, for example, an improviser would usually have a choice of using C blues, C Aeolian, C Dorian, and others, depending on the situation and personal taste.

Chord changes are important in jazz improvisation as well. Whole solos can be built around chord tones. The variety is achieved with the rhythmic aspects of the solo.

• More techniques for jazz piano improvisation
• Here you can find many piano exercises