Learn the basic concepts of improvisation from Gary Burton, one of the most renowned improvisers in the jazz world, including the mental, melodic, and harmonic processes that contribute to the instinctive skills that an improviser puts to use when taking a solo.
While many people are fans of jazz and understand that musicians are often “making up” the notes they are playing during a performance, most people—often including musicians, themselves, who are beginning to learn improvising—aren’t clear about what exact processes take place to enable this to happen. The purpose of this course is to introduce the basic concepts of modern improvisation and how to go about mastering the different musical and mental skills involved.
Course author Gary Burton codifies a sought-after approach to improvisation that has been at the core of Berklee College of Music's curriculum for decades. Students who complete this course will know what to practice and how to practice the various aspects of improvising, in addition to understanding how the improviser spontaneously communicates to the listeners through their musical creations.
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Berklee College of Music
À propos de ce cours
24,138
24,138Ce que vous allez apprendre
Use storytelling as a tool to improve your improvisation
Practice and use various scales to improve your improvisation skills
Identify harmonic motion in a song
Use guide tones and guide tone lines when you're improvising
Compétences que vous acquerrez
Music PerformanceMusicJazzJazz Improvisation
Programme du cours : ce que vous apprendrez dans ce cours
Semaine
11 heure pour terminer
Welcome to Jazz Improvisation
Welcome to the course! Here we will cover all the details about the course and what you'll need to know to get the most out of your experience.
3 vidéos (Total 9 min), 5 lectures, 1 quiz
5 lectures
A Note From Your Teaching Assistant10 min
Connect with Your Classmates10 min
Getting to Know You10 min
Course Resources10 min
Earn A Course Certificate10 min
1 exercice pour s'entraîner
What Are Your Goals?8 min
3 heures pour terminer
Improvisation as a Language
Since everybody who is taking this course starts from a different place in terms of their experience as an improviser, it's important at first to cover some basic material. We'll begin our journey by exploring the language used by jazz improvisors. Improvisation is analogous to language in many ways. With music, we become fluent when the vocabulary (scales and chords) and grammar (harmonic progressions) are assimilated into conversational content or story (melodic themes and structure) and we no longer have to consciously think about them while we play.
4 vidéos (Total 14 min), 1 lecture, 2 quiz
4 vidéos
Improvisation Study2 min
The Relationship Between Spoken Language & Music4 min
Story-Telling3 min
Creating Your Assignment (week 2)3 min
1 lecture
Spoken Language and Improvised Music10 min
1 exercice pour s'entraîner
SELF ASSESSMENT: Improvisation as a Language4 min
Semaine
24 heures pour terminer
The Improviser's Vocabulary
In this lesson, we'll explore the improviser's lingo. We'll identify the most common chord scales and the type of harmony they relate to including major, minor, and dominant 7.
6 vidéos (Total 24 min), 3 lectures, 3 quiz
6 vidéos
Learning Scales4 min
10 Most Important Scales4 min
The Modes3 min
Dominant 7 Scale Choices4 min
Using Chord Scales3 min
3 lectures
The 7 Modes from Brightest to Darkest10 min
3 Additional Scales10 min
How to Record Yourself for Assignments10 min
2 exercices pour s'entraîner
Identify the Scale40 min
SELF ASSESSMENT: Understanding Others' Vocabulary4 min
Semaine
33 heures pour terminer
Making Scale Choices in Real Time
Improvisers must be able to quickly recall chord scales and be able to play around on them fluently. This becomes important when choosing which chord scale to use on a given harmony—another thing we must be able to determine immediately. When a new tune is put in front of you at a session or a rehearsal, there isn't time to take the music home and spend an hour or two working out the correct scales. Improvisers need a quick, mostly intuitive way of making these scale choices in real time as the tune is being played. This week, we'll explore my method for making these quick musical decisions.
7 vidéos (Total 18 min), 3 quiz
7 vidéos
Finding the Correct Major Scale2 min
Chord Scale Method2 min
Finding the Correct Minor Chord Scale2 min
Minor Examples1 min
Finding the Correct Dominant Chord Scale5 min
Creating Your Assignment (week 4)2 min
2 exercices pour s'entraîner
Scale Choices18 min
SELF ASSESSMENT: 500 Miles High4 min
Semaine
43 heures pour terminer
Harmony for Improvisers
It is important for an improviser to clearly imply the harmonies when improvising. It is not enough to just play correct notes on each chord. In this lesson we'll examine how the improviser helps the harmonies move. Part of the improviser's job is to help the listener follow the changes as the chords move from one to another.
5 vidéos (Total 20 min), 3 quiz
5 vidéos
Harmonic Motion3 min
Guide-Tones3 min
Using Guide-Tone Lines4 min
Harmonic Motion 26 min
Creating Your Assignment (week 5)2 min
2 exercices pour s'entraîner
Harmony 16 min
SELF ASSESSMENT: Memories of Tomorrow4 min
Semaine
53 heures pour terminer
Theme and Variation
This week we will discuss how the improviser develops melodic themes in a solo. As mentioned in week 1, there are natural comparisons between speech and improvising that illustrate how this functions. The most common technique for telling a musical story that engages the listener for the duration of your solo is by using a traditional concept called theme and variation. That is, you introduce a theme—a musical phrase—then repeat it, making variations on it to develop an interesting storyline. A good solo is like an explanation, or a good story. The explanation or story is the content of improvisation.
8 vidéos (Total 31 min), 2 lectures, 2 quiz
8 vidéos
Theme2 min
The Unfolding of a Story2 min
Three Characteristics of Melodic Form3 min
Variation3 min
Musical Sentences2 min
Analyzing Songs14 min
Conclusion49s
Creating Your Assignment (week 6)2 min
2 lectures
Lesson 5 Learning Targets10 min
Course Evaluation10 min
1 exercice pour s'entraîner
Theme and Variation12 min
4.8
177 avis40%
a commencé une nouvelle carrière après avoir terminé ces cours
24%
a bénéficié d'un avantage concret dans sa carrière grâce à ce cours
Meilleurs avis
This was a truly great course, I learnt so much. And I have been playing piano for almost 60 years! Thanks to a wonderful teacher and musician (brilliant rendition of Chick Corea's Crystal Silence)
Besides being a great musician, Gary Burton is a great educator and he teaches in a very simple way the basic knowledge that an improviser needs.\n\nThank you so much for having this course.
À propos de Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music. For more than half a century, the college has evolved to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. Berklee serves distance learners worldwide through its award-winning online extension school, Berklee Online.
Foire Aux Questions
Quand aurai-je accès aux vidéos de cours et aux devoirs ?
Une fois que vous êtes inscrit(e) pour un Certificat, vous pouvez accéder à toutes les vidéos de cours, et à tous les quiz et exercices de programmation (le cas échéant). Vous pouvez soumettre des devoirs à examiner par vos pairs et en examiner vous-même uniquement après le début de votre session. Si vous préférez explorer le cours sans l'acheter, vous ne serez peut-être pas en mesure d'accéder à certains devoirs.
À quoi ai-je droit si j'achète le Certificat ?
Lorsque vous achetez un Certificat, vous bénéficiez d'un accès à tout le contenu du cours, y compris les devoirs notés. Lorsque vous avez terminé et réussi le cours, votre Certificat électronique est ajouté à votre page Accomplissements. À partir de cette page, vous pouvez imprimer votre Certificat ou l'ajouter à votre profil LinkedIn. Si vous souhaitez seulement lire et visualiser le contenu du cours, vous pouvez accéder gratuitement au cours en tant qu'auditeur libre.
Quelle est la politique de remboursement ?
Une aide financière est-elle possible ?
Do I need to play an instrument before I enroll in this course?
Yes. Learners should have basic proficiency on an instrument before enrolling in this course.
Do I need to know music theory before I enroll in this course?
While prior knowledge of music theory concepts is not required for enrollment, it would be helpful for you to have a working knowledge of basic concepts, such as key signatures, chord scales, the circle of 5ths, etc. If you feel you need to review these concepts before enrolling in Jazz Improvisation, we recommend first enrolling the our Developing Your Musicianship course offered on Coursera.
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