关于此课程： Learn the basic concepts of improvisation from Gary Burton, one of the most renowned improvisers in the jazz world, including the mental, melodic, and harmonic processes that contribute to the instinctive skills that an improviser puts to use when taking a solo. While many people are fans of jazz and understand that musicians are often “making up” the notes they are playing during a performance, most people—often including musicians, themselves, who are beginning to learn improvising—aren’t clear about what exact processes take place to enable this to happen. The purpose of this course is to introduce the basic concepts of modern improvisation and how to go about mastering the different musical and mental skills involved. Course author Gary Burton codifies a sought-after approach to improvisation that has been at the core of Berklee College of Music's curriculum for decades. Students who complete this course will know what to practice and how to practice the various aspects of improvising, in addition to understanding how the improviser spontaneously communicates to the listeners through their musical creations.
制作方： Berklee College of Music
教学方： Gary Burton
| 级别 | 中级 |
| 承诺学习时间 | 6 weeks of study, 3-6 hours/week |
| 语言 | English, 字幕： French, Chinese (Simplified), Portuguese (Brazilian), German, Spanish |
| 如何通过 | 通过所有计分作业以完成课程。 |
| 用户评分 |
授课大纲
第 1 周
Welcome to Jazz Improvisation
Welcome to the course! Here we will cover all the details about the course and what you'll need to know to get the most out of your experience.
3 个视频, 5 个阅读材料, 1 个练习测验
- Reading: A Note From Your Teaching Assistant
- Reading: Connect with Your Classmates
- Reading: Getting to Know You
- Practice Quiz: What Are Your Goals?
- 视频: Learning Music Online
- 视频: How this Course Works
- Reading: Course Resources
- Reading: Earn A Course Certificate
Improvisation as a Language
Since everybody who is taking this course starts from a different place in terms of their experience as an improviser, it's important at first to cover some basic material. We'll begin our journey by exploring the language used by jazz improvisors. Improvisation is analogous to language in many ways. With music, we become fluent when the vocabulary (scales and chords) and grammar (harmonic progressions) are assimilated into conversational content or story (melodic themes and structure) and we no longer have to consciously think about them while we play.
4 个视频, 1 个阅读材料
- 视频: The Relationship Between Spoken Language & Music
- Reading: Spoken Language and Improvised Music
- 视频: Story-Telling
- 视频: Creating Your Assignment (week 2)
- Discussion Prompt: Improvisation as a Language
- Peer Review: Improvisation as a Language
已评分: SELF ASSESSMENT: Improvisation as a Language
第 2 周
The Improviser's Vocabulary
In this lesson, we'll explore the improviser's lingo. We'll identify the most common chord scales and the type of harmony they relate to including major, minor, and dominant 7.
6 个视频, 3 个阅读材料, 1 个练习测验
- 视频: Learning Scales
- 视频: 10 Most Important Scales
- 视频: The Modes
- 视频: Dominant 7 Scale Choices
- 视频: Using Chord Scales
- Reading: The 7 Modes from Brightest to Darkest
- Reading: 3 Additional Scales
- Practice Quiz: Identify the Scale
- Discussion Prompt: Understanding Others' Vocabulary
- Reading: How to Record Yourself for Assignments
- Peer Review: Expanding Your Vocabulary
已评分: SELF ASSESSMENT: Understanding Others' Vocabulary
第 3 周
Making Scale Choices in Real Time
Improvisers must be able to quickly recall chord scales and be able to play around on them fluently. This becomes important when choosing which chord scale to use on a given harmony—another thing we must be able to determine immediately. When a new tune is put in front of you at a session or a rehearsal, there isn't time to take the music home and spend an hour or two working out the correct scales. Improvisers need a quick, mostly intuitive way of making these scale choices in real time as the tune is being played. This week, we'll explore my method for making these quick musical decisions.
7 个视频, 1 个练习测验
- 视频: Finding the Correct Major Scale
- 视频: Chord Scale Method
- 视频: Finding the Correct Minor Chord Scale
- 视频: Minor Examples
- 视频: Finding the Correct Dominant Chord Scale
- Practice Quiz: Scale Choices
- 视频: Creating Your Assignment (week 4)
- Discussion Prompt: 500 Miles High
- Peer Review: Finding the Right Scale
已评分: SELF ASSESSMENT: 500 Miles High
第 4 周
Harmony for Improvisers
It is important for an improviser to clearly imply the harmonies when improvising. It is not enough to just play correct notes on each chord. In this lesson we'll examine how the improviser helps the harmonies move. Part of the improviser's job is to help the listener follow the changes as the chords move from one to another.
5 个视频, 1 个练习测验
- 视频: Guide-Tones
- 视频: Using Guide-Tone Lines
- 视频: Harmonic Motion 2
- Practice Quiz: Harmony
- 视频: Creating Your Assignment (week 5)
- Discussion Prompt: Memories of Tomorrow
- Peer Review: Improvising with Guide Tones
已评分: SELF ASSESSMENT: Memories of Tomorrow
第 5 周
Theme and Variation
This week we will discuss how the improviser develops melodic themes in a solo. As mentioned in week 1, there are natural comparisons between speech and improvising that illustrate how this functions. The most common technique for telling a musical story that engages the listener for the duration of your solo is by using a traditional concept called theme and variation. That is, you introduce a theme—a musical phrase—then repeat it, making variations on it to develop an interesting storyline. A good solo is like an explanation, or a good story. The explanation or story is the content of improvisation.
8 个视频, 2 个阅读材料, 1 个练习测验
- Reading: Lesson 5 Learning Targets
- 视频: The Unfolding of a Story
- 视频: Three Characteristics of Melodic Form
- 视频: Variation
- 视频: Musical Sentences
- 视频: Analyzing Songs
- Practice Quiz: Theme and Variation
- 视频: Conclusion
- 视频: Creating Your Assignment (week 6)
- Reading: Course Evaluation
已评分: Theme and Variation
常见问题解答
运作方式
Coursework
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
Help from Your Peers
Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.
Certificates
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制作方
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music. For more than half a century, the college has evolved to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. Berklee serves distance learners worldwide through its award-winning online extension school, Berklee Online.
评分和审阅
i am happy i took this. I learnt a lot. Thank Garry. My friend Bill Bragin says you are a legend. Play Xylophone
very interesting, I appreciate this course.
There are several basic concepts that this course presents for Jazz Improvisation that I found very helpful, such as chord scales and modes, guide tones, and theme & variation. Although there was some technical difficulty perhaps for Mac users (no download button appears after the 1st downloadable track) and requirements to submit multiple attachments when only one can be submitted at a time, I found workarounds. Overall, an excellent course on jazz improv to dive into if you're fairly proficient in your instrument/voice and work hard on the chord scales/modes!
Great course for many levels. Very challenging for beginners like me, but you can still learn something.