In this issue:  The Joy of Six | Practice Exaggeration for Large Intervals and Leaps | 
The Musical World of Abraham Lincoln | No Name Blues

No Name Blues

by Matt Dennis

Four Steps to give you the experience of Comping and Improvising:

Step #1 - The Sheet Music

The traditional Sheet Music arrangement of a song, for Voice and Piano, with lyric (words) and music, written on 3 stave lines. Top stave for Voice, bottom 2 staves for Piano. Note that the Piano part is complete within itself... the melody is always present, so that the player has the choice of playing solo piano or along with a singer or instrumentalist using the Voice stave. The chords are stated above the melody or Voice line. Eventually, as we progress with the various steps we shall drop the Sheet Music version and work directly from the Lead Sheet (see later explanation).

Step - #2 Comping

Playing piano accompaniment to a soloist, or as in a combo or band. By following the same chord line as shown in the Sheet Music arrangement (also in the Lead Sheet... explained later), we now avoid the actual melody, and will rearrange and revoice the chords in such a manner that we are accompanying the original melody without actually playing the melody ourself.

We must be familiar with chord voicing and inversions to play in this fashion, allowing the soloist the freedom to phrase the melody and interpret the piece with their own feeling and in their own style.

Here, we are playing supportive chords in a rhythmic pattern, with an occasional "fill" where there might be an opening at the end of a melodic phrase. We have cued-in the Melody from the Sheet Music arrangement as a convenient guide so you can see how you are Comping or following the actual melody or solo line above.

Step - #3 Jazz Improv

This is an improvised version of the song, showing what you can do with Altered, Added and Substitution Chords, as we come up with a newly invented melody line, revoicing the original chords to fit, and punctuating the rhythm with accented chordal offbeats, still keeping in mind the original song, tempo or beat. Note that you are improvising relative to the original, but flattering or expanding the form and chords. It is necessary that you know your material so well you will have complete freedom for your ideas. The original melody and structure of the song or piece should always be in the back of your mind while you are creating your own treatment. The FUN part is that once you learn how to do this you are exploring with unlimited possibilities.

You are, in effect, making up counter-melodies to the original. You should always enjoy sitting down to your own piano improvisations, never knowing what might come up next.

We might use Block chords, played rhythmically, and sometimes the left hand will play an accent chord to support your Jazz melodic line. Think also phrases so your Improv will have continuity. Your new chords should be extensions of the original chords... it all depends on how deeply you are into your understanding of the fine chordal possibilities as used in Jazz and Contemporary music.

The best Jazz Pianists are appreciated for their inventive ideas and for what they can do with a known song or piece. Get up on their sounds... it took them years to establish their styles and you can profit by their experience.

Step #4 - The Lead Sheet

A condensed version of the Sheet Music, just the melody with chords named above, with lyric (unless the piece is an instrumental)... one stave... no piano part. This is what the Pros use, generally, when playing over a song, and is sufficient enough to work with when Comping or Improvising. The Pros, being familiar with chords by name, can fill out the piano, using their own chord voicings, inversions, and playing the piece in a complete full style. This is the ultimate in Improvisation on a given melody, with chords stated.

The popular Fake books, containing the "leads" of the best known POP and Jazz Standards, contain many songs due to the condensed Lead Sheet versions. Professional musicians, singers and arrangers are used to this form and the more familiar You are with the chords the easier you will be able to play in this fashion, from the Lead Sheet... and the more inventive will be your Improv. You are Really On Your Own when you arrive at The Lead Sheet.

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