Unit: Music Theory

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 most common structuring element for improvisation in jazz is the chord progression. Most compositions provide a chord progression that the soloist is supposed to use a basis for improvising his own melodies. Our discussion of music theory focuses on the study of melody, harmony, and the relationship between the two.

Virtually all musicians use their ears to guide them in selecting phrases to fit the chord progression, but many use knowledge of music theory as well. Whether or not a musician chooses to consciously use knowledge of music theory to guide his playing, however, the theory helps explain why the phrases he plays sound the way they do.

This assumes that the musician is playing tonal music - music based on traditional Western concepts of harmony and melody. If you are more interested in atonal improvisation, then the concepts discussed here are not so relevant. Still, it can be worthwhile to understand the language of Western music theory, as elements of its vocabulary can be incorporated into other styles of music as well. The bigger the vocabulary one possesses, the wider the range of expression of which one is capable.

The first two chapters in this unit are basic and should be review for most musicians, as they are part of the standard classical music instruction that most musicians receive. The next two are somewhat more advanced, but still fall within the bounds of what most schools teach as part of the classical music curriculum. The last two chapters are almost entirely specific to the language of jazz. Note that even in the earlier chapters, some of the terminology is used in a slightly different manner by jazz musicians than by classical musicians.

If you are studying this program in order to become a better improvisor, you are strongly encouraged to spend as much time as you can on this part of the program. You should have your instrument with you so you can practice the various scales, and voicings if you are a keyboard or guitar player. However, you should not feel obligated to master all of the scales and voicings before moving on to the rest of the program. You may wish to use the workbook to help you prioritize this material.

Even if you are studying this program primarily as a listener, you are encouraged to work through these chapters to get a better idea of the language used by jazz musicians. The musical samples included should be sufficient for this purpose; there is no need to have access to an instrument.

Copyright 2000 Outside Shore Music
Authored by Marc Sabatella

Unit: Music Theory