Structure

• The Role of Structure
• The Phrase
• The Stanza
• The Solo

This is a preview of the educational program A Jazz Improvisation Almanac which is under development for the Outside Shore Music Online School. Feel free to browse this preview and learn what you can from it. For a more completed product, though, check out the original freely browsable jazz textbook, A Jazz Improvisation Primer.

The Role of Structure

Improvisation usually involves following the structure of a composition. While the idea of improvisation may seem at odds with that of predetermined structure, most improvisors thrive on some level of structure. If one is asked to improvise, and no guidelines are provided on what to play, many musicians have difficulty focusing their ideas. It is similar to the situation that arises if one is asked to speak but not given a topic. Most people will start to ramble aimlessly, or run out of ideas. Having some notion of what one is supposed to talk about usually results in a more focused speech. Similarly, if a musician is given some structure to follow in his improvisation, it usually results in a more cohesive performance, although there are some musicians who prefer to improvise more freely.

In addition to any structure imposed by the composition, most musicians strive to create additional structures through their improvisation. They do this on several levels. At the lowest level, a musician improvises a single phrase based on the chords specified at that point in the progression, or whatever other criteria is being used to guide the improvisation. On a somewhat broader level, a musician develops his ideas through the use of repetition or other devices over the course of several phrases. At the highest level, an entire solo may be seen as a whole with its own structure.

The Phrase

The lowest level of structure in improvisation, the phrase, may be compared to the sentence in writing. It is the simple expression of one musical idea. Here is an example of a phrase:

Most phrases are from one to four measures long. For wind players, phrases are often marked by where they pause to inhale:

This seems to be a fairly natural structuring device, and players of other instruments such as piano often phrase similarly even though they have no physical need to interrupt their phrases to breathe:

In the most common forms of jazz improvisation, a musician bases his phrases on the chord progression of the composition. For each chord or series or chords, there is a corresponding scale, and the improvisor will usually choose notes from that scale to form his melodies. For instance, here is a C major chord and the corresponding C major scale:

And here is an improvised melody that uses notes from the C major scale, played over the original C chord:

There are usually several possible scale choices for a given chord, and musicians are often free to choose from among them. They also may include notes that are not in any of the expected scales in order to add tension. This example is based on C major, but includes some non-sclae tones:

In some cases, mostly in modal music, the chords change no more often than the average phrase length. The soloist can then base a phrase entirely on one chord, and indeed, may be able to play several phrases on the same chord. For example, here the trumpet plays four phrases, all based on the D dorian scale, over the Dm7 chord that lasts throughout:

In other cases, the chords may change more quickly, but they may have common scales between them, allowing the musician to continue to base an entire phrase on one scale, even though several chords are going by underneath. For example, here the trumpet player uses the Bb major scale across several different chords:

In still other cases, the scales change more quickly as well, and the soloist will change scales in the middle of his phrase:

The theory behind all this is quite extensive and is described in much greater detail in later chapters. Many textbooks focus solely on this aspect of improvisation, but it is important to keep it in perspective. Improvisation is much more than just chords and scales.

In fact, some music does not rely on chord progressions at all as a basis for improvisation. Some composers provide other guidelines, such as shapes or symbols that are meant to be translated directly into phrases. For instance, here is a shape and a possible interpretation:

The use of shapes as structuring devices is not nearly as common as chords, however, although certain composers such as Anthony Braxton use them extensively. It is somewhat more common to leave a solo section open, meaning no notation at all is provided to guide the musicians on a phrase by phrase basis. Even in this type of free improvisation, a soloist will still generally structure his ideas in phrases:

While the individual phrases in a jazz solo are normally improvised, they are often drawn from the player's personal vocabulary. Each player generally has a set of favorite phrases that he has practiced or played often enough that they come naturally to him. These phrases are often licks. For example, the following lick can be found in many solos by John Coltrane:

Sometimes, if a musician overuses a lick, it is referred to as a cliche, and it is seen as a substitute for creativity, not as an example of it.

Another device commonly used by jazz musicians is the quote, which is a phrase borrowed from another composition or well-known recorded solo. This is also known as interpolation. Often when a soloist inserts a quote into his improvisation, it is intended as a form of musical humor. For example, the following improvisation contains a rather silly quote:

At other times, interpolation is intended to show respect for the musician quoted. For example, here is a segment of a recorded solo by Charlie Parker:

And here is that phrase used by another musician in his own improvisation:

The Stanza

The next level of structure after that of the phrase has to do with the relationship between successive phrases. Here the improvisor is generally on his own; composers almost never provide structuring guidelines at this level, and there is no standard way to do so even were it desired.

If one thinks of a phrase as a sentence, then one may compare this level of structure to the paragraph. A phrase is followed by several related phrases that elaborate on the ideas presented in the first phrase. Jazz musicians tend to make much greater use of repetition than do writers of prose, however. It is not uncommon to play the exact same phrase two or three times in a row, or to vary only one or two notes between phrases. In this sense, poetry may be a better analogy than prose. Devices such as rhyme, alliteration, and meter are similar in concept to how a jazz musician might develop an idea. The structuring element in poetry equivalent to the paragraph is the stanza. Curiously, though, there is no common name for this structuring element in music. For lack of a better term, then, I will refer to it when necessary as a "stanza", although I may use the term "paragraph" as well.

As mentioned above, repetition and variation often are used at this level to develop an idea. One common device, based on the blues form, is to play a phrase twice and then follow it with a third phrase that answers the first:

As in the blues, the two repetitions of the phase may have different underlying harmony. This is one subtle form of variation: keeping the solo static while allowing the accompaniment to vary:

A soloist may create variation himself as well, by changing a note or two within the phrase:

Another variation is to transpose the phrase, playing it either higher or lower than the first time:

Jazz musicians also commonly use rhythmic variation, keeping the pitches the same but varying the rhythm:

A musician may decide to develop an idea over the course of an entire chorus or more:

Other ideas may receive only a single variation before being abandoned for a new idea:

Sometimes, the change from one idea - and the stanza that develops it - to another is very sudden:

Often, however, during the course of development of an idea, another idea will present itself, and the focus of the improvisation will shift more gradually. There is not always an obvious dividing line between stanzas:

When composing, one has the ability to balance ideas, rejecting ones not worthy of development, and planning transitions between stanzas, but when improvising, one is rarely able to exercise quite so much control. This is not unlike the distinction between writing and ordinary conversation. When writing, one can continually revise the work in progress to ensure that the finished product is structured exactly as desired. When conversing, however, one cannot organize his thoughts in the same manner, and as a result, conversation rarely sounds like it might if it were scripted.

The analogy with conversation suggests another source of phrase development: the call and response between different instruments. Rather than always elaborating on his own ideas, a musician may choose to comment musically on ideas offered by the accompanists:

The various techniques for developing phrases tend to be more intuitive and less theoretical than the techniques of harmony used in constructing the phrases. While some textbooks attempt to quantify the type of ideas discussed above, I do not believe there is a lot of added value in this type of analysis.

The Solo

The final level of structure is that of the whole solo. Again using a language metaphor, improvisation is often compared to telling a story. A solo normally follows a contour like that of a story. The solo may begin with a phrase designed to capture the listeners' attention from the beginning. The solo usually builds in intensity from there to a climax just before the end, and then releases that tension quickly to make room for the next soloist or a return to the head:

However, one may wish instead to start on a more intense note, particularly if the previous soloist has ended his solo that way:

One may also keep the entire solo at a more controlled intensity level:

As with the stanza, there is not much theory needed to analyze or explain this structure, and guidelines are rarely provided in a composition or arrangement. Note however that the overall contour may be implied by background parts provided as part of the arrangement, or otherwise improvised by the accompanists. As the backing increases or decreases in intensity, the soloist will normally follow as well:

Copyright 2000 Outside Shore Music
Authored by Marc Sabatella

Structure