Learning to improvise is a unique journey for every musician and it can be challenging as well as

liberating. My personal journey of learning to improvise is a unique one as I did not begin
exploring it until my undergraduate degree. Obviously this is later than many of my fellow
improvisers, however this was a blessing to my ability to teach improvisation. At this point in my
career I was able to break down and recall every bit of my improvisational development and I
find this extremely helpful in guiding my own students down their own path of learning to
improvise.
Listening and developing the ear is an irreplaceable and highly important concept of
improvising and this is where students should start. Odds are students interested in learning to
improvise have heard a few famous jazz records on their own, but I like to begin by introducing
some famous records they should become familiar with. Some of these include Coltrane’s Blue
Train, Art Blaky’s Moanin’ or Cannonball Adderly’s Somethin’ Else.
Notice that I did not include records that utilize modal improvisation at this point in a
student’s instruction, such as Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. I find that breaking down the language
of bebop and hard bebop as a better starting point for learning to improvise. This differs from
most approaches to teaching beginners, but I find starting with modal improvisation teaches
students to play within the vertical harmony and not to play melodically across the changes.
Improvising on modal tunes with only a few chords can be misidentified as simple, but there are
so few notes to choose from in the chord that an improviser must grow creative in their playing
and that is too advanced a skill for beginning improvisers.
Moving into the specifics of learning to improvise, I use three categories of practice when
teaching students, transcribing, understanding harmony, and performing. Technique on an
applied instrument can be included in this, but I see it as related to improvising but ultimately not
included when learning this skill. These three umbrellas of concepts apply throughout a student's
journey of learning to improvise.
Transcribing is the best way to understand how theoretical concepts can be applied in
performance. Students often struggle to understand where phrases they know can be applied
when improvising and transcribing is the best tool for students to use. Simply playing exactly
what a soloist plays without worrying about harmony will be highly beneficial for beginner to
intermediate improvisers. This will help students look past the notes and understand the
importance of rhythm, style, and groove. Transcribing is an activity that no improviser grows out
of and it will be an important tool for students as they advance as improvisers.
Understanding harmony is another important skill improvisers must have. This includes
chord spellings, functions of chords, chord-scales, guide tones, etc. Under this concept, students
are playing scales along with the chords, playing guide tones, and playing patterns to practice.
These exercises are on the analytical side of improvisation and they are not intended to sound
musical. Advanced improvisers will begin to explore concepts like backdoor ii-Vs and upper
structure triads in this umbrella concept. Relating these analytical exercises to transcribing is
important as to maintain musical integrity. This can be done by isolating a certain phrase a
soloist plays over a predetermined set of chord changes and reiterating it.
Finally, performance is probably the most important concept when learning to improvise
as this is the ‘real world’ application. All of the prior concepts are useless if a student does not
practice playing a solo in performance. This can be done by playing a solo in a big band,
attending jam sessions, or playing with peers in an informal setting. Creating a confident
demeanor when playing a solo is a skill students should constantly work on and this is the reason
for learning to improvise in the first place.
 In conclusion, these are the techniques I use when teaching students to improvise and I
have seen success using this method so far. The three large concepts I listed earlier need to exist
collaboratively to ensure the best results. Interleaving between concepts is an effective teaching
and practice method as well and that is one reason I break down improvising this way. All of the
technical aspects of improvisation aside, it is important to make sure students do not feel
discouraged. Improvising utilizes a different part of the brain than reading music and it can be
frustrating at times to learn this new skill. I always make sure students understand that these
skills will not develop overnight and it takes years to master this music. Jazz is collaborative
music and I encourage students to work with their peers and grow as musicians together. No
matter the level of experience an improviser may have, everyon is still a student of jazz.