JAVS Fall 2003

while the other violist experi ments with scale patterns and melodies. If in doubt about where to put the half steps, check any music theory book. Set a time limit of 4-8 bars for the trades. Try creating and writing out a new mode. Experiment with its emotional potential. One of my favorites is sometimes called "Iydian dominant"- G, A, B, C#, D, E F natural. • playing a familiar tune in a dif ferent mode (read the same note heads but with a different key signature) • create a pattern (for instance: 3 notes up, 2 notes down) and play it over several octaves in different modes • learning a simple folk tune in an unfamiliar mode ("What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor", for instance), then ornamenting it to the point of creating a new melody • alternating between one bar of a written modal melody and the next bar improvised Improvisations Based on Harmonic Movement - creating new melodies over existing har monic structures (blues, swing, jazz, folk, etc.) Many string players start impro vising over changes (harmonic progressions repeating with each When practicing alone, learn to improvise in different modes by:

chorus of a song) by playing along with a favorite recording, then branching out by adding occasional extra notes and flour ishes. As the player gains famil iarity and flexibility, she/he can go farther afield, eventually creat ing an entire new melody. That is what most people think of when they say "jazz". In a typical jazz combo, someone would play the melody, then each player would improvise a solo (new melody) over one or two choruses of the song, then someone would play the original melody again to fin ish. When learning straight-ahead styles like blues, early swing, folk songs, etc., playing along with a recording is an efficient, non threatening way to acquire new dialects (bow strokes, articula tions, swing feel, etc.) For jazz, I have found Lester Young and Sonny Rollins recordings to be two patient and inspiring teachers for violists. There are many excellent books available with clear, simple instructions for improvising over changes, including David Baker's A Jazz Improvisation Method for Stringed Instruments, val. 1 and Julie Lyonn Lieberman's Improvising Violin. The Jamey Aebersold Play-along series of CDs is great for practicing with a rhythm section that never gets tired and never needs to be fed. Having spent too much time try ing to study my way into being a jazz musician, I highly recom mend doing a great deal of listen

ing and playing, then adding sup plemental theory work. Make sure all the needed scales and pat terns are available to the fingers, but learn about improvising over changes by playing along. Take every possible opportunity to play with live people in any set ting. Improvising violists are still a rare breed. Every stepping-out will be an important contribution to the viola's place in contempo rary music-making. We have a job to do! Free Improvisation - anything goes, as long as you listen and share Free improvisation is very fun and therapeutic, as long as you find willing and generous part ners. It is created entirely through interactions between the players, very much like standing in a con versation circle at a party, with people taking turns suggesting topics, sharing differing views, discussing ways of solving prob lems, sometimes wandering away or just repeating what was already said. Free playing in a group offers a wonderful introduction to improvising. Because the only rules are created by and for the players themselves, there can be profound musical moments unlimited by technique or the fear of failure and rejection that keeps so many people from improvisational experiences. A typical event might generate from a visual image, a small musical gesture, a noise outside, a story. I once was in a performing ensem ble that created hour-long

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