[Tradjazz] Improvising

[Bruce McNichols]

The other day, Bill Taggart, Bill Grant and I had a discussion about "How we play."  The conversation began when Bill Grant (not a musician) inquired something about rehearsals, arrangements etc.

Among other things, we touched on the basic repertoire of old-time jazz bands.  I mentioned that most of us could get together with musicians we've never met, and play coherently.
  You musicians out there please forgive me, for I know that this is old news to you.
There are dozens of tunes that for one reason or another, we all seem to know.  I reminded Bill Grant that last year, Bill Taggart produced some sessions which involved members of my group (the Smith Street Society Jazz Band) along with Bill Barnes (cornet) of Florida, Trevor Rippingale (reeds) from Australia, and Michel Bastide (cornet) from France.  We played a concert and a session at Fred's Farm, with no difficulty as to repertoire.
  I guess that when we start playing this music, we all gravitate to the old chestnuts, of this style.
~~~
Our discussion drifted to "How do we know what to play."  Bill Taggart and I talked of how each guy in the band has a certain part to play.  The public may get the impression that it's just a free-for-all jam session, with everyone playing anything they want to.  Au contraire monsieur.
  I truly believe that the most importing thing, for an improvising musician, is to LISTEN.  
Beyond that, as you musicians know, the lead instrument (usually a trumpet or cornet) should address himself to the melody.  Sure, he'll jazz it up, but he's gotta play the song!

The trombone usually plays a supporting roll, with some slides here and there.  Often the bone will cross over into the realm of bass notes.  Hopefully, the player will be careful not to conflict, or fight with, the bass instrument.

The other front-line horn is usually a clarinet (or perhaps soprano sax).  The clarinet often soars above the other horns with high notes.  More than anyone else, the clarinet seems more free, to improvise.

The rhythm section usually has drums.  The drums provide the basic percussion and beat.  I like two-beat music, where the drummer will use the bass drum on beats two and four of each musical measure (or bar).  He plays two beats, per bar.
  The song "Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar," refers to boogie-woogie music, where the rhythm plays eight beats for each measure (or bar).

  The more swingy version of our music is four-beat. That's when the bass drum, and the bass instrument play - guess what?  Yerright.  Four beats per bar.
Then there's the chording instrument.  A chord is a number of notes played at the same time.  Typically, there will be a piano which not only plays chords, but also plays bass notes, and can, of course, also play melody, harmony etc.  Banjo and guitar are also chording instruments you might find in our kind of music.

There is usually a bass instrument in old-time bands.  It might be a string bass, a bass guitar, a bass saxophone, or maybe tuba (I like it).  They will play the basic bass notes which give a nice bottom to the sound of the band.  I've encountered more than one night-club owner who says "You don't need the bass (instrument).  He doesn't do anything."  All I can say is "Take it away, and you'll miss it, for sure."

~~~
It is my contention that if each player sticks to his job and  listens carefully to everyone else, then it will sound good.  Conversely, I am not fond of busy players - that is to say: players who play many many notes.  They often end up sounding as if they're giving a demonstration of their instrument and their technical prowess.  I'd much prefer them to create music.  Simple = Good!

Our music usually includes room for solos in each song.  That's when one, or more, musicians are given space, to create (improvise) for a chorus or two (or maybe part of a chorus).  My hope is that if a guy wants to show off his technical prowess, he should save it for his solo and not demonstrate it during ensemble sections -  that's when one's musical prowess will come out, if one is a team player.  Let's make the band sound good.

~~~
Another aspect of our recent conversation had to do with "How do you learn to improvise?"

I started music lessons (alto sax) when I was in the fourth grade.  That's when I met another kid (Jimmy Kropf), who was learning clarinet.  When we got to the eighth grade, we started a little Dixieland band.  I have tapes of that band and I'm quick to admit, we were awful.  That said, it was the highlight of our young lives.  

I earnestly attempted to learn music theory.  Eventually I took private theory lessons, but frankly, I wasn't getting anywhere.  All this time, Jimmy Kropf was creating beautiful harmonies and solos.  He was one of those guys who simply had it.  To me, that's one of the mysteries of life.  Some people have an intuitive ability to hear harmonies, and play them.  Not me.

I learned the chords to most of the songs I liked.  I knew some basic theory so I was able to figure out what notes were in each chord.  That enabled me to play notes that didn't clash with the proper chords, but it sure didn't enable me to play very well.

Our high school band instructor suggested that we learn solos from records that we liked.  I did that for some tunes.  I actually took some records and played them at half speed (on my reel-to-reel tape machine) so I could laboriously, learn other people's solos.  That may sound like a waste of time, but I admit, I'm still using some of those musical figures, today.  The band instructor's idea was that if we learned other people's solos, we'd slowly absorb some of it into our own playing.  He was right!

But, that was only the beginning.  I was one of those guys who was always thinking about the chords, when I played.  The result was that I ended up just playing a bunch of notes.  They may not have been clinkers, but the result wasn't very musical.
  Guys such as Jimmy Kropf seemed to have been born with it.  I, on the other hand, was fighting an uphill battle, but fight I did.  I had (and still have) such a passion for our music, that I pressed on.
~~~
After high school I was in the Army for three years.  After that, while I was attending college, I re-formed our little high school Dixieland band and we got a steady gig on Long Island (where I lived at the time).  Some of the guys in the band, were way ahead of me, and some were about the same.  We started to sound "OK."

I was playing alto and tenor sax in that band.  We also had piano, drums, cornet, string bass and another reed-man.  I had taken a shine to tuba-banjo bands.  Our string bass man doubled on tuba.  

A friend of the club-owner mentioned that she had an old banjo in her attic.  To my delight, she gave it to me.   It wasn't a very good one, but I loved it.  It had no resonator (the backing thing, behind the head, which helps to project the sound forward).  

By then I had met Billy Barnes (cornet), who fronted the Southampton Dixie Racing & Clambake Society Jazz Band in NYC.  He mentioned that he once saw a guy who took a metal beer tray, and used it as a resonator.  Within minutes I had done the same.

At that time, I was using a piano man who it turns out, also played banjo (I hadn't known that).  He was one of those guys with perfect pitch (the ability to hear a note or chord, and identify it).  I seized the opportunity and got him to write down chord changes for dozens of songs.  Beyond that, I got him to teach me the fingerings for those chords.
  Stick with me folks, I really am going somewhere with this.
To my delight, I slowly began to notice certain patterns in chord changes and certain similarities from one tune to the next.  Aha!  That's the same way that other song goes (chord-wise).

This allowed me to develop an ear for chord changes.  Soon, it all made sense.  Please don't stick me with a complicated Cole Porter composition, but for most of the basic Dixieland type tunes, I can usually get by.
  The key to the whole thing, stemming way back to my high school days, was that I did not play a chording instrument.  Why oh why aren't piano lessons given to all kids, everywhere?
~~~
For many years, I've had the pleasure and the privilege of working side by side with Herb Gardner.  Herb is the talented trombone, piano, composer, performer in my band.  

One time I lamented to him that I didn't really know the melodies, so I couldn't play a creditable solo.  Herb's profound response was something that all of us (musicians) should take to heart.  He said "You don't really have to play THE melody, as long as you play A melody.   In other words, create a song, don't just play a bunch of notes.  Although I may not always do it, I have striven to do so ever since.  Performing a coherent solo, is of paramount importance.

~~~
~~~
I knew that this e-mail discussion group was soon gonna envelop me.  As Bill Barnes mentioned, we all seem to be very opinionated on this subject.  Let me hasten to add, my long-time credo:  I make no claims to being any kind of expert on this subject.  I truly think that there is no right and no wrong.  There's my opinion and there's yours.  Vive Personal Thoughts!

McN


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