Jazz Piano Improvisation

All set to enhance your jazz improvisation skills for the piano? Extra just, if you're playing a tune that's in swing time, then you're already playing to a triplet feel (you're thinking of that each beat is split into three eighth note triplets - and every off-beat you play is postponed and used the 3rd triplet note (so you're not also playing two equally spaced eighth notes to begin with).

So rather than playing two eight notes in a row, which would certainly last one quarter note ('one' - 'and'), you can split that quarter note right into 3 'eighth note triplet' notes - where each note of the triplet is the same size. The initial improvisation technique is 'chord tone soloing', which means to compose melodies making use of the four chord tones of the chord (1 3 5 7).

I typically play natural 9ths above most chords - including all 3 chords of the major ii-V-I. This 'chordal structure' seems ideal if you play your right-hand Bookmarks man noisally, and left hand (chord) a bit quieter - so that the listener hears the melody note on the top.

It's fine for these enclosures to come out of scale, as long as they wind up fixing to the 'target note' - which will normally be just one of the chord tones. The 'chord range over' strategy - precede any kind of chord tone (1 3 5 7) with the note above. In songs, a 'triplet' is when you play 3 evenly spaced notes in the area of two.

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

Most jazz piano solos feature an area where the tune stops, and the pianist plays a series of chord expressions, to a fascinating rhythm. These consist of chord tone soloing, strategy patterns, triplet rhythms, 'chordal structures', 'playing out' and more.