As mentioned in my LEARNING TO IMPROVISE - LISTENING article, I've used all of the major online music services (eMusic, Napster, Rhapsody, Yahoo, and iTunes). Like Rhapsody, Napster and Yahoo let you listen to an unlimited number of full tracks as part of your subscription. Rhapsody has been my favorite, though, due to its great jazz selection and streaming audio quality.

Rhapsody recently released a new version of their software that improves their user-interface in both features and functionality (although there are still some glitches). They also just released a Web-based version that can be used on just about any operating system. It isn't as nice as the software version, but it's obviously more accessible and it doesn't require an install.

My favorite thing about the Web-based version is the fact that anyone (even non-members) can go there and see exactly what they have to offer. Just enter your search terms in the box at the top, and click on a matching artist name. As a member, you can listen to all of those albums for just $10 a month!

Try a search for yourself at http://www.rhapsody.com/

Why am I promoting this service? Aspiring jazz musicians need to listen to a lot of jazz. With Rhapsody, you'll have thousands of great jazz recordings to learn from and you won't go broke in the process. In fact, a service like Rhapsody frees up more money for you to see more live jazz!

Earlier, I mentioned that I quit music school after my second year of college (my first year at DePaul University). In that journal entry, I failed to mention the real tipping point…

Due to my chop problems and my lack of exceptional talent, I knew I'd never be a top-notch player. I was (and still am) light years behind similarly aged players like Nicholas Payton and Ryan Kisor. But even though I knew I couldn't attain their level of success, I still held onto the idea that I could make a living playing jazz in local clubs. This delusional line of thinking continued, until one night during jazz combo practice.

There was a local pro that helped teach/coach the jazz combos. He'd sit in with combo rehearsals once a month or so, giving students comments and suggestions. In my eyes, he was what we were aspiring to become. He put in the practice, he paid his dues, and he emerged as a full-time jazz musician.

On one of these nights that he was scheduled to join us, he failed to show up at the normal meeting time, so we started to rehearse without him. I had just finished taking a solo on our second or third tune when he walked into the room. The first thing I saw was his cummerbund. Then I noticed the black jacket, which he had draped over his shoulder. And finally, I saw the unmistakable black stripe that adorned his black slacks. Yes, he was wearing a tuxedo.

In between tunes, I thanked him for finally dressing appropriately for our rehearsal. He chuckled a bit, and then mentioned that he had just finished playing a wedding gig. My heart sank. I couldn't believe it. Our mentor, the guy that we were hoping to become, was playing in a wedding band?!?

The next day I started planning my new major. By the following school year, I had quit music school entirely and entered DePaul University's business school.

In retrospect, I probably overreacted to the wedding gig. It might have been a friend's wedding -- perhaps the wedding of a fellow jazz musician. Or maybe it was a really good paying gig where the band got to play music they liked, and the audience dug it. Or maybe he actually likes wedding gigs. Who knows? In my mind, though, it only meant one thing: to make it as a (jazz) musician, I'd inevitably have to take gigs that I didn't want, playing music that I didn't want to play, just to make ends meet. I knew I couldn't do that and still enjoy playing. I had to quit.

To all the happy wedding giggers out there, I apologize for the implication that wedding gigs are cause for reevaluating one's career path. I have nothing against the gig itself, it just isn't for me. I suspect many of you would feel the same way about having to stare at a computer screen all day ;-)

I'd like to close this entry by encouraging everyone to support live jazz in your city. It's not enough to simply see the national touring acts. Your local jazz scene needs you. Don't force them to play gigs they don't want!

If you've been following my site for a while, you know I've written several blog entries about the Jupiter flugelhorn that I purchased in August of 2004. Most of the entries focused on the valve problems that I had and the subsequent repairs.

Well, after several months of deliberation, I've come to a conclusion: I'm selling my flugelhorn.

My reason for selling has nothing to do with the horn itself. Now that the valves have been repaired, they're awesome, even better than my Bach. Everything else works well too. The slides slide, the spit valves spit, etc. No, the problem isn't the horn, the problem is me. I've discovered that I just don't like my sound after it's been flugel-ized. I feel like the flugelhorn mellows out my sound too much, killing the intensity and masking the emotion. It kind of reminds me of playing the French Horn. Yuck!

While I'd be content to never play a flugelhorn again, I'm still glad to have gone through this experience. Thanks to the flugelhorn and to the trumpet trial, I'm confident that I'm playing the ideal horn for me right now. The range of tones I can produce, from airy and mellow, to crisp and bright, allow me to express myself precisely as I intend. My trumpet is my ideal sound, cracked notes and all.

For anyone interested, I'll probably sell my flugelhorn on eBay in the next month or two. Who knows, maybe it has your ideal sound ;-)

Updated 12/5/05: I sold the horn yesterday!

While searching for interviews with Jackie McLean, I came across a nice collection of interviews done for Ken Burns' Jazz series. Most of this stuff didn't make it into the series, so it's great to be able to read the interviews in their entirety.

http://www.pbs.org/jazz/about/about_transcripts.htm

All of my anniversary articles: 2 years - 3 years - 4 years - 5 years - 6 years - 7 years - 9 years - 10 years - 11 years - 12 years - 13 years - 15 years

This month marks the end of the third year of my comeback. I wrote a progress report last year, so I figured I should continue the tradition...

EMBOUCHURE AND RANGE

When I started playing the trumpet again, I had major range problems. Even after a few months of practice, I could barely play an E at the top of the staff. In my quest for a solution, I came across the Balanced Embouchure method. I bought the book, read it a couple of times, and started working on the various exercises. There were some initial improvements, but even after a year, my usable range (i.e. not just squeaks) was limited to notes in or below the staff.

To this day, I still include a few Balanced Embouchure exercises in my daily routine. Compared to where I was a year or two ago, my range is unquestionably stronger now. A year ago I mentioned that I'm most comfortable at or below an E at the top of the staff. Now, that same comfortable range extends up to a G. That's right: G is the new E!

From time to time visitors ask me about the Balanced Embouchure method, especially whether or not I'd recommend it. I would recommend reading the book, but I'd caution anyone from thinking it's a quick fix. It's taken me 2 years to be able to play comfortably with a (somewhat) rolled in embouchure. Even now I struggle to keep it up. But, it's an important shift that has improved both my endurance and range. For that, I'm grateful.

I'd be remiss if I didn't also give credit to the Caruso exercises I've been doing for a little over a year, and to the Flexus book. Both of those things have really strengthened my chops. Especially Flexus. Those "flexandos" are killers!

UNDER PRESSURE

One of my earlier journal entries mentions advice given to me by teachers and other players, most of which failed to improve my range. I've come to appreciate the fact that pretty much nothing would have helped me back then, due to my reliance on excessive mouthpiece pressure.

Advice such as "Play more high notes. The more you play them, the better they get", and "Range will develop over time, just keep practicing" was and continues to be correct. In my case, the advice didn't help because I constantly played with excessive pressure. The higher I went, the more pressure I used, even during practice sessions. Consequently, I never gave my embouchure a chance to strengthen itself. Instead, I ended up weakening and damaging my chops more and more every day. Oops!

Even if I could have figured out a way to practice with less pressure, I would have inevitably done damage later in the day, while in concert band, big band, or in my funk band. All of these bands required that I play precisely every time. It didn't matter how high the note was, or how my chops were feeling -- I simply had to hit the notes.

Today, I don't have any performance obligations, so I never *have* to push myself with pressure. I still occasionally use excessive pressure when improvising, but those instances are fewer and farther between than they were in the past. Most often, when I realize I can't hit a note, I stop trying. I'll either take things down an octave, or I'll just put my horn down and rest. Now that I'm using less pressure, I'm finally building muscles rather than tearing them down.

EAR TRAINING

For the past year, I've tried to spend at least 25 minutes a day on ear training. I start with intervals, move on to random melodies, and finish with simple songs. On a good day, I surprise myself with my accuracy. Just a couple of weeks ago during my random interval session, I listened to and played (by ear) at least 20 intervals in a row without a single mistake. Similarly, my accuracy with random melodies and simple songs continues to improve. Unfortunately, I still have bad days where I struggle to lock in pitches. I'm extremely encouraged by my progress, however, and believe that those bad days will diminish in frequency as time goes on.

IMPROVISATION

In many ways, I feel like my journey with jazz improvisation is just beginning. I've only recently been able to play my ideas accurately by ear. This ability has given me greater control over my playing and simultaneously given me the freedom to take more risks when I improvise. This is all very new for me and very exciting. I can't wait to hear my playing years from now!

LEARNING TO IMPROVISE - ARTICLE LINKS

• Introduction
• Listening To Jazz
• Ear Training
• Rhythm & Phrasing
• Motifs & Cohesive Solos
• Vocal Improvisation
• Transcription
• Jazz Theory

JAZZ THEORY

As I mentioned in the introduction to this "Learning to Improvise" series, jazz theory is typically the most heavily emphasized part of any jazz education method. In your average jazz improvisation book, for instance, you might find a couple of chapters on rhythm, phrasing, or other topics, but you'll ALWAYS find several chapters devoted to jazz theory. Similarly, classrooms typically spend more time on jazz theory than on any other aspect of jazz improvisation.

Because jazz theory is the primary focus of mainstream jazz education, most students end up believing it's the most important skill to master. Consequently, they'll spend the bulk of their time studying, memorizing, and practicing theory-related material. It's great that they're studying jazz theory, however such a narrow focus can lead students (and educators) to forget about other topics like rhythm, phrasing, and ear training. Ironically, it's these overlooked topics that will likely have the greatest impact on your playing. For instance, without solid rhythm and phrasing, nothing you play will sound good, regardless of how theoretically "correct" it might be.

With all of the emphasis placed on jazz theory, you'd think it's a must-have skill where total mastery is needed to succeed as a jazz improviser. But, this just isn't true. There are several legendary players who never learned how to read music (examples: Erroll Garner, Wes Montgomery), and there are several who were pro-level players before they learned how to read music (example: Dave Brubeck), and many others who knew little or no theory (example: Percy Heath), and even more who knew less theory than the average jazz studies major. If these great players didn't rely upon theory, then how did they know what to play? They used their ears! And that leads us to a true must-have skill: the ability to play by ear. Without the ability to play by ear, you'll never be able to accurately play the ideas in your head and you'll never be able to fully express yourself on your instrument.

If theory ISN'T essential, but being able to play by ear IS essential (see my ear training guide for more info), then why do so many jazz educators and aspiring musicians devote most of their time to theory? And more importantly, why isn't the ability to play by ear emphasized as a must-have skill for jazz musicians. Well, I've got a "theory" about this.

MY THEORY, PART 1

Most people fixate on theory because it's relatively straightforward to learn and teach. This stems from its similarity to the subject of mathematics. Like math, theory forces us to learn a bunch of rules and formulas. The notation even looks mathematical, with its use of numbers, roman numerals, various symbols, and plus and minus signs. So, on this level, it's familiar territory and somewhat palatable to those of us who did well in math class. You read it, memorize it, and move on to the next chapter.

I'm not saying jazz theory is easy to master. I'm just saying that for most people, it's easier and faster to learn than ear training skills. In a few months you could learn everything you need to know about theory (at least the basics), yet it might take several years/decades to similarly develop your ears.

Adding to its unpopularity is the fact that ear training is unpredictable. While you'll certainly improve with practice, that rate of progress will differ greatly from one person to the next. You'll have good days and bad days. And, you'll probably experience a lot of frustration along the way. Hey, that sounds a lot like playing the trumpet!

And this brings us to the second part of my theory:

MY THEORY, PART 2

Most people neglect ear training because it's such a gradual and often frustrating process to develop these skills. I think there's also a belief that you're simply born with great ears and if you aren't, there's nothing you can do about it. This is nonsense. Through ear training, you can definitely strengthen your ears and your ability to play by ear. You may not reach a level where you can play everything perfectly and effortlessly by ear, but you can at least reach a level where you can play some of your ideas by ear. Trust me, some is a lot better than none.

The two parts of my theory combine to explain the dominant state of jazz education today: Educators and students focus the bulk of their time and energy on jazz theory, not because it's absolutely essential to jazz improvisation, but rather because it's easier to teach and learn than other must-have skills like the ability to play by ear.

Right about now, you either agree with me or you think I've got it wrong. If you're in the latter category, you might even think I've come to these conclusions because I was too lazy to learn jazz theory myself. Or maybe you think I wasn't good at it, so now I just want to bad-mouth it.

MY EXPERIENCES WITH THEORY

When I entered college, I had no ear training skills and very little knowledge of music theory. My lack of ear training skills coupled with the fact that I don't naturally have a good ear led me to severely struggle in my freshman ear training classes. On the other hand, I did extremely well in my music theory classes (classical theory) during that same year. To me, theory was just memorization and math -- two things that have always come easily to me.

During my sophomore year of college I had to take my first jazz theory class. This class had a reputation for being very challenging and most of the jazz students dreaded its arrival. I breezed right through it. Once again, just memorization and math. I was so good in that class, that after I dropped out of music school (I transferred to the business school) the teacher used to bring up my name from time to time to pressure the students into learning the material. He said stuff like: "If Rick, the insurance salesman, knows all of this stuff you guys better know it too. You wouldn't want to be upstaged by an insurance salesman at a jam session would you?" I'm paraphrasing based upon what another student told me, but you get the idea. And no, I couldn't tell you why he thought I was going to become an insurance salesman. If I were choosing my imaginary job, I'd choose something a little more exciting, like professional arm wrestler!

As you can see, I was very good at theory and I did manage to learn and retain quite a bit. But, while I continued to build upon my knowledge of theory, that knowledge wasn't really helping me to become a better jazz musician. Rather, I was simply using theory to minimize the potential of playing a "wrong" note. Meandering through my solos, I'd randomly choose one "good" note after another. I couldn't play the ideas in my head, and I didn't even know exactly what my solo would sound like until I played it. I wasn't even close to being a true musician.

Of course, I now know that the problem wasn't theory. The problem was my inability to play by ear. The bigger problem that plagued me, and which continues to plague many aspiring musicians, is the fact that few people are really drilling this message home -- the message of ear training. You absolutely MUST be able to play by ear if you want to be a good jazz improviser. If you can't play well by ear, you'll have to rely upon a bunch of pre-learned licks and you'll never truly be able to play the ideas in your head. It might sound like jazz, but it isn't true to the improvisational spirit of jazz music.

SHOULD WE LEARN JAZZ THEORY?

If you're serious about learning jazz improvisation, then I strongly suggest that you learn at least some jazz theory. In the case of jazz improvisation, theory primarily serves to explain which notes sound good over which chords. Without this knowledge, you'd have to figure everything out by ear, and your skills/talents would have to be good enough to do that in real-time. My ears aren't that good, and even with constant ear training I probably won't ever reach the level of those legendary players who could play everything entirely by ear. So, for people like myself, theory bridges the gap between what we can and cannot hear. Rather than wonder which chords are being played, we can look at a chart and have everything spelled out for us.

There are several other benefits to knowing jazz theory, including:

COMPOSITION AND ARRANGING

When writing tunes, you can use theory to combine chord progressions and harmonies in sequences that you know sound good together. Likewise, you can use your knowledge of theory to reharmonize existing progressions into new and/or more harmonically interesting progressions.

SIGHT READING

If you have to play unfamiliar tunes in front of an audience or for a recording session, you'll definitely want as much information ahead of time as you can get. Being able to read chord changes will take a lot of the burden off of your ears (and nerves).

EAR TRAINING

That's right, theory can help you with your ear training studies! Rather than rely totally on your ears, theory can help you find those next notes. For instance, if you identify a perfect 4th (1st 2 notes of "Here Comes the Bride") and you know the starting note is an F, then you can use theory to determine that the next note is a Bb. Ideally, you want to be able to do all of this with your ears, but as mentioned earlier, theory can bridge the gap between what you can and cannot hear.

LEARNING THE SOUND OF JAZZ

Playing scales, arpeggios, and chord progressions will help train your ear to identify the sound of jazz melodies and harmonies.

UNDERSTANDING MUSIC

The old phrase "knowledge is power" comes to mind. The more you know about something, the easier it is to understand and use. While this is true with jazz, it's important to remember that jazz is an artform. All the knowledge in the world will not make you an artist. It's how you apply that knowledge that counts!

STIMULATES NEW IDEAS

Advanced theory concepts such as chord substitutions and alterations can help players unlock new sounds and directions in their playing. For some people, these ideas are easier to come by when visualized and/or thought of from a mathematical/structured approach.

Of course, all of the above can be accomplished solely by ear, but to do this you'd need exceptional aural skills. Believe me, you'd know if you're one of those people. If you make mistakes playing by ear, or if you accidentally play "wrong" notes, then you aren't one of them... sorry!

SO, WHAT SHOULD WE LEARN?

Most jazz musicians know at least some jazz theory. The following list is a decent starting point for your jazz theory studies:

SCALES

All keys: Major, Dominant Seventh, Dorian Minor, Blues. As you advance, learn Diminished (H/W and W/H) and Whole Tone scales

Develop enough fluency so you can start on any note and play through to that note (and beyond) for any key and quality. Also, be able to play scales in a variety of intervals (skipping 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, etc). The goal is to develop enough dexterity so you can play well over any key at fast tempos. You'll probably never actually play a whole scale from top to bottom in a solo, but you will likely find many instances where you play 3-5 note portions of scales or interval skipping scales as you join one idea to the next.

ARPEGGIOS (1, 3, 5, 7)

All keys: Major, Dominant, Dorian Minor, Half Diminished, Diminished

As you listen to and transcribe solos, you'll likely notice that most players incorporate arpeggios in their solos. Arpeggios outline chords, grounding your solo to the changes. As with the scale exercises, practice playing arpeggios in a variety of sequences (7-5-3-1, 1-5-3-7, 7-3-5-1, etc).

CHORD SYMBOLS & PROGRESSIONS

Now that you know the scales and arpeggios, you can learn which ones to play as you encounter various chord changes, and you can practice playing over common jazz chord progressions. This is where people generally get hung up in theory. It's also the reason whey there are dozens of books on jazz theory that go on for hundreds of pages. No need to get carried away at first (or ever!). You can read the vast majority of charts simply by being able to play over the following chord types: Maj7, Min7, Dom7, Half-Diminished

AND MORE...

It's really up to you how far you want to go with theory. Whatever you do decide to focus on, be sure you spend AT LEAST as much time working on ear training skills as you do working on theory. And be sure you aren't moving too quickly from one skill to another. For instance, it would be silly to start learning chord substitutions if you still haven't learned the blues.

JAZZ THEORY LINKS

• Aebersold Handbooks - Free jazz lessons from one of the most popular jazz educators
• petethomas.co.uk - Online jazz theory lessons

LEARNING TO IMPROVISE - ARTICLE LINKS

• Introduction
• Listening To Jazz
• Ear Training
• Rhythm & Phrasing
• Motifs & Cohesive Solos
• Vocal Improvisation
• Transcription
• Jazz Theory

VOCAL IMPROVISATION

During my early playing years, I never gave any thought to vocal improvisation (also known as scat singing). I was totally focused on becoming a good trumpet player, and I figured everything I practiced should be played on the trumpet.

Today, however, I view vocal improvisation as an essential part of my practice routine. Actually, I don't even consider it part of my routine, as it's something that just happens throughout the day. If I hear a song and I'm feeling the groove, I can't help but sing along. Where I might have once sung words (assuming the song has words), I now sing harmonies and/or improvised rhythms and melodies. I do this with all styles of music, not just jazz. Improvisation is improvisation...

There are several benefits to vocal improvisation, however a personal favorite is the fact that it doesn't wear out my chops. I can work on any aspect of improvisation, from rhythm to motif development, and I never have to worry about using too much pressure!

SIMPLIFIES IMPROVISATION

You've most likely been singing songs your entire life, and you've probably done so rather effortlessly. This natural ease we have using our voices should be taken advantage of when learning to improvise. I'd go so far as to say that you shouldn't even bother trying to improvise on your horn until you've achieved a basic level of competency with vocal improvisation. I mean, if you can't sing a simple blues solo, what makes you think you can play one on a relatively unfamiliar instrument?

IMPROVES MELODIC CONTROL

There are a lot of tunes that I think I know, especially when I'm singing the words. A song like "Autumn In New York" is a good example. If I sing/fake the words I can easily fool myself into thinking I'm getting all of the pitches correct. But, if I sing the melody without saying the words, I instantly notice that some of the pitches aren't quite right. I'm close to the right notes, but not close enough to truly know the tune. Until I am able to sing the melody accurately, I won't know the tune well enough to play it perfectly by ear. Similarly, if I can't scat sing a decent solo, then I don't have the familiarity necessary to improvise well on my instrument.

EAR TRAINING SPOTLIGHT

As you work on vocal improvisation, you should ask yourself whether or not you can play the ideas that you're singing. If the ideas are within your technical limits as a player, but you can't play them on your horn, what's the explanation? I'll give you a hint: it has nothing to do with theory. Vocal improvisation is yet another way we can identify the limitations we have in our ability to play by ear.

INCREASED CONTROL

Before I began working on ear training, my solos were almost as much of a surprise to me as they were to my audience. I meandered through my solos, picking notes because I knew they theoretically fit into a particular chord signature. The notes might have been "correct" for the chord, but I never knew exactly how each note was going to sound until I played it. I found this lack of control to be terribly frustrating. How could I effectively express my ideas if I couldn't accurately play the notes on my horn? And, how could I develop new and better ideas if I couldn't play my existing ideas?

Ear training is the obvious solution to this issue, but it's a (very) gradual process. The good news is that if you struggle to play by ear, you can use vocal improvisation to work on the musical aspects of your playing (motif development, rhythm, inside/outside playing, etc) while you work on ear training exercises to help you play those ideas on your horn. The added control you have with your voice can advance your progress much faster than if you try to play everything on your instrument, and as your ability to play by ear improves, you'll be that much farther ahead.

KEEP THE JAZZ FRESH

Vocal improvisation is a great test to make sure you actually have good spontaneous ideas. On your horn, there's sometimes a tendency to fall back on pre-learned patterns and/or notes that you're simply plucking from your knowledge of theory. While singing, you'll probably be less likely to play those same patterns, and, unless you have perfect pitch, you won't be thinking about note names or chord theory to determine which notes to sing. It's just you and the music!

EXERCISES

Following are a few exercises that should get you started with vocal improvisation.

EXERCISE 1: SINGING TUNES

If you haven't done much singing, it might be best to start out by singing jazz tunes. Sing the melodies of any tune that you know. This exercise will get you used to singing precise notes and intervals. It's also great way to learn tunes. If you learn a tune well enough that you can sing it effortlessly, you'll likely remember it a lot longer then you would if you simply memorize the note names/fingering.

EXERCISE 2: SING BEFORE PLAYING

When working on ear training, sing back the intervals and melodies before you attempt to play them on your horn. Singing first will ensure that you've accurately heard each note before attempting to play the notes on your horn. As with singing tunes, forcing yourself to be accurate in your pitches while singing will improve your musical accuracy when you try to play the ideas in your head.

EXERCISE 3: VOCAL IMPROVISATION

Try vocal improvisation with the exercises presented in the rhythm and motif guides. Pay close attention to articulation and phrasing. You should approach singing with the same intensity and focus that you'd use if you were playing your primary instrument. If you're sloppy while singing, you'll probably be sloppy on your horn too.