Jazz Piano Improvisation

From Dark Warriors Wiki

All set to boost your jazz piano improvisation sheet music improvisation abilities for the piano? Much more simply, if you're playing a song that remains in swing time, after that you're already playing to a triplet feeling (you're imagining that each beat is divided into 3 8th note triplets - and every off-beat you play is postponed and played on the 3rd triplet note (so you're not also playing two uniformly spaced 8th notes to start with).

So rather than playing two 8 notes in a row, which would last one quarter note ('one' - 'and'), you can split that quarter note into three '8th note triplet' notes - where each note of the triplet is the same length. The initial improvisation technique is 'chord tone soloing', which implies to make up melodies utilizing the four chord tones of the chord (1 3 5 7).

For this to work, it requires to be the next note up within the scale that the songs remains in. This provides you 5 notes to play from over each chord (1 3 5 7 9) - which is plenty. This can be related to any kind of note length (half note, quarter note, 8th note) - however when soloing, it's usually put on eighth notes.

Merely precede any chord tone by playing the note a half-step below. To do this, stroll up in half-steps (through the whole colorful range), and make note of all the notes that aren't in your current range. Cm7 enunciation (7 9 3 5) with single tune note (C) played to interesting rhythm.

Currently you might play this 5 note scale (the wrong notes) over the very same C minor 7 chord in your left hand. With this strategy you simply play the same notes that you're currently playing in the chord. Chord scale above - half-step listed below - target note (e.g. E - C# - D).

Most jazz piano solos include an area where the tune stops, and the pianist plays a series of chord enunciations, to an interesting rhythm. These include chord tone soloing, approach patterns, triplet rhythms, 'chordal textures', 'playing out' and more.