Song chapter packet for: Have You Met Miss ones 1
Accessing and Playing the Audio Files The audio files for this packet are available to you ithin a Soundcloud playlist for the book Trombone Improvisation Savvy. The link to the playlist is: bit.ly/improvbook2. On the playlist page for the book, simply look for the files associated ith this particular song. All the audio files for a song are grouped together. Obviously, you no have access to every one of the almost 150 sound files for the book. Many of them on t make sense ithout the book s instruction, so if you like this song packet, perhaps you ll ant to on the book. You can previe and buy the book at: bit/ly/improvsavvypage Each time a soundfile is available ithin this packet, you ill see the music icon folloed by the name of the file. For example: bit.ly/improvbook East of the Sun - sing rhythm only In the above example, you ould go to the soundcloud playlist at bit.ly/improvbook2 and select the file called East of the Sun - sing rhythm only ithin that playlist. If you lack an internet connection that feeds a sound system, perhaps find a fast connection and donload into a folder the files listed ithin this packet. Then feed them through your sound system hich could be everything from a state-of-the-art stereo to an iphone. Upon selecting a sound file on the Soundcloud playlist, click to the right of the file and select Donload from the dropdon options. The very bottom of the Playlist page displays some controls for going to the track start, play/pause on current track and next track. There is also a cycle link that ill repeat the current track if you ant to keep cycling the track. An application for that ould be to cycle the ear training file Groovy azzy as you arm up your chops and your ears. Click to cycle a track 1
Have You Met Miss ones This is a great tune to learn. Miss ones is a popular Rogers and Hart standard that is both easy and difficult to improvise over. It s a standard 32 bar AABA form that can be played in a variety of tempos. The A section is basically in F, but it s the bridge that causes problems for many. bit.ly/improvbook2 Miss ones - melody Have You Met Miss ones Richard Rogers 5 9 4. 13.... Dmin7 Dmin7 A b min7 D b 7 b. Cmin7 b b b F7 N 17 # 21 25. D7 A b b min7 D b 7. 7 ( ) 29 2
? The bridge starts out in Bb for one bar then drops a major third to Gb major then it again drops a major third to D major. It goes back to Gb major before the turnaround back to F in the last A section. This chord progression of major third changes as unheard of in 1937 hen Richard Rogers rote this song. Nearly 30 years later ohn Coltrane created several great songs like Giant Steps and Countdon using this major third relationship beteen tonic centers. A b min7 D b 7 A b min7 D b 7 The difficulty of this progression is marked by the lack of notes in common beteen major tonalities a major third apart. The above Gb major seven and the D major 7 share Gb (F#) and B (Cb) only. So ho do you practice this bridge progression? One ay is to play simple melodies through the changes - melodies that tie together the desperate tonalities. Audio file Miss ones - bridge loop ML is a recording of the three phrases belo hich are melodic phrases over the first four bars of the bridge. The audio file Miss ones - bridge loop rhythm is a loop of the eight-bar bridge. Play the folloing phrases over the first five bars of the loop and then create your on for the remaining three bars. Consider the ritten out four bars as a launching pad for the remaining three. Eventually play over the full bridge as you start to hear the harmonic movement and your ear and arm take you through the changes. Try riting out to bar phrases that help you go from one chord to the next. bit.ly/improvbook2 Miss ones - bridge loop ML bit.ly/improvbook2 Miss ones - bridge loop rhythm only #1 4 4 A b min7 D b 7 b b b b b n # #2 #3? b 6? b b 11 A b min7 D b 7 b b b b A b min7 D b b 7 bb b b b b b b # n # # 3
Michael Lake solo on Miss ones bit.ly/improvbook2 Miss ones - ML solo bit.ly/improvbook2 Miss ones - rhythm only @190 4. # n 5 Dmin7. Ó 3 9 3 Dmin7 Cmin7 F7 Ó 13? b b A b min7 D b b b b 7 b b3 b b n # n 17. # A b min7 b D b b 7 b N 21 # 25 3 D7 3 3 7 ( ) 29 4
If you ant to hear classic bebop phrasing over this tune, listen to Bob Brookmeyer s solo ith the Stan Getz Quintet album recorded in the early 1950 s. As ith all transcriptions in this book, I recommend that you play along ith Bob s solo and learn some of his great phrases. If the tempo of quarter note = 190 is be too fast, use the audio file Miss ones - rhythm only 160. Feel free to use that quarter note - 160 tempo audio file as a rhythm track for practicing this song s exercises and the song s melody as ell. bit.ly/improvbook2 Miss ones - rhythm only @160 Bob Brookmeyer solo on Miss ones 5 4 4. b b b n b Dmin7 N 3 b n b. Ó 3 bn j b b 9 Dmin7 Ó Cmin7 b F7 13 b A b min7 D b 7 b b b bb N # 3 n 3 17 # # A b min7 D b Ó b 7 b n b b b 21 bn bn b n 3 n b b b 3 n bb 25 D7 b 7 ( ) 29 5
Mind s Ear Savvy Let s begin by taking a step back from the typical initial lesson on improvisation. Rather than starting ith harmony folloed by the technical link beteen chords and scales or by launching into patterns, let s consider the most basic skill required of you as an improviser. That basic skill is that of creating melodic phrases in your mind. We haven t yet gotten to your trombone. Rather, let s start ith tapping into your inner musician. As mentioned earlier, putting the trombone to your face creates a complicated filter for your inner musical ideas, so leave aside the horn for the moment. Listen to the folloing backgrounds and improvise some musical ideas over them in your mind. But do so by histling, humming, or scatting them. Without your trombone getting in the ay, hear the music of your inner improviser. No play over the sound files ith the trombone. Have fun ith it! Much of this book ill encourage you to record yourself so start ith this exercise. Listen back and ask yourself hat is the difference beteen your inner improviser and the one playing the trombone. bit.ly/improvbook Groovy azzy bit.ly/improvbook Stabbing the Drama bit.ly/improvbook St. Thomas Block Party As I hope you experienced from the above exercise, the music in your mind is vastly different from the running of scales and memorized patterns that happen to fall easily on the trombone slide. The fundamental skill required to improvise musically is to reflect through the trombone the music you hear in your mind s ear. I think the goal of any improvising trombonist is for the trombone to simply be a transparent vehicle for projecting the music born ithin. Hear first, then play the trombone - not the other ay around. External instruments are only extensions of the biological instrument. - Yusef Lateef Keep searching for that sound you hear in your head until it becomes a reality. - Bill Evans Once I could play hat I heard inside me, that s hen I as born. - Charlie Parker 6
The skill of any improviser is to project the music inside of them through their instrument as if the instrument is a transparent extension of their musical voice. The folloing exercises are built to strengthen that skill. Improvising ith musicians or other sound source orks something like this: e External sound source Mind s ear Trombone improvisation Music begins in the mind, not ith the horn, so let s discover hat you can hear. The folloing exercises provide you ith tones and phrases hich you ill first hear and to hich you ill then respond. Once you hear the tones in your mind s ear, you ll have a much easier time playing them on trombone, hich leads to improvising ell. Trombone tones The soundfile called Random Trombone Notes contains various random notes played on trombone. Playing the soundfile, sing or histle the notes after you hear them. Once you have no trouble singing hat you hear, play them on the trombone as you hear them. Playing them on the trombone is much harder, so make sure you hear them first and can sing them before playing them on the horn. The trombone is a tough filter for your musical ideas. Before you can sing through the horn as if it s an extension of your voice, you must build the connection beteen your mind s ear and the trombone. Ho quickly and ho accurately can you match these notes using your voice? Try singing each note before you play it on the horn. A hint: the first note is (tenor) tuning note Bb. Don t overthink any of these. Play hat initially feels right. If you land on the rong pitch, challenge yourself to hit the correct note on the next try. Ho many tries do you need to land on the correct note? One, to, more? ust react, don t think. Another excellent use for these ear training sound files is to buzz them in your mouthpiece ithout the horn. Mastering The Trombone, the excellent book by Edard Kleinhammer and Douglas Yeo, contains a chapter on buzzing. They recommend standing ith your back to the piano keyboard and upon striking any random key, buzz that pitch on your mouthpiece, visualizer or cutaay mouthpiece. The same can be done ith any of these ear training exercises. bit.ly/improvbook Random Trombone Notes Various timbres The next audio file contains notes of various timbres, but not of trombone. Sing them first, then play them on trombone. Instead of alays starting at the beginning of the soundfile, move the playhead located at the bottom of the Soundcloud soundfile page to somehere in the middle. Then start at different places. Ho quickly and accurately can you find the pitches? When unsure, hit a short note, pause briefly and from that note see if you can find the note you hear in one more try. bit.ly/altobook Miscellaneous Random Timbres 7
The magic of the minor third The minor third is an important interval in jazz improvisation. Hearing ho it fits ithin a dominant chord ill give your playing a hipper more Bebop flavor. Notice the minor thirds ithin a b9 chord: minor third minor third minor third minor third? b b Root Third Fifth Seventh Flat nine Play notes over the above chord from the C diminished chord. Because minor thirds repeat tones at the forth minor third interval, there are only three diminished scales. Here is the C diminished scale:? b b n b n b Play minor thirds based off C and notes from the diminished scale over the soundfile called flat nine hold: bit.ly/improvbook2 flat nine hold You ll notice that every note fits ithin the chord s harmony. Better yet, if that b9 resolves to the I chord (F major7) hich it often does, many of the notes ithin the diminished scale fit that chord as ell (A, C, E). In the audio file, Minor third resolutions to tonic, I ve recorded some lines using minor thirds and the diminished scale to resolve from b9 to F major. After my five lines, eight more to bar rhythms are played so that you can play your on lines over these tonalities. bit.ly/improvbook2 Minor third resolutions to tonic Hear the minor thirds and ho nicely they fit ithin altered dominant chords and resolve into the tonic. Keep an ear out for the various examples of minor thirds ithin this book s many transcribed solos. 8
Hearing your place ithin the chord changes One sure sign of an inexperienced improviser is the lack of hearing the harmonic foundation of the tune over hich they are improvising. In other ords, they don t sound like they are sure of the tune s key or chord progression. Listen to great jazz players ohn Coltrane, Charlie Parker, and Sonny Rollins and throughout their great lines, e hear their acute aareness of the tune s fundamental harmony. Hearing the tune s harmony is critical to improvising ell. That aareness is also critical to finding your ay back from being lost in the changes. If you are improvising over a tune in Bb major and hear yourself outside of the chord changes in a bad ay, playing Bb and a simple melodic phrase around Bb could be a ay to find your ay back to the tune s harmony. But you ll have to be aare that you are in Bb. I call notes like the above mentioned Bb an anchor note because it serves the purpose of anchoring you back to the tune s fundamental harmony if you become lost at sea in your solo. In fact, I created a video on this called Making your jazz improvisation on trombone easier and better. You can find it at: bit.ly/anchornotes No, it s one thing to think to yourself, I need to get back to the root of the tune hich is Bb. It s more useful to be able to hear the root of the tune so that your ear can guide you back to the tune s fundamental harmonic root. So let s practice that important skill. For each sound file belo, listen to the progression then play the root of the progression. I ve recorded five different chord progressions in various styles and feels, each in a unique key. In jazz, the harmony can change rapidly. What is currently the root ill change in another fe bars. I ve purposefully created chord progressions that center around a specific root, so even though the chords change, there remains one fundamental key center to these exercises. Listening is the key to everything great in music. - Pat Metheny The ansers to the key centers are at the bottom of the page. Don t look at them until you have done your best to hear and play the roots on trombone. bit.ly/improvbook Root identification exercise one bit.ly/improvbook Root identification exercise to bit.ly/improvbook Root identification exercise three bit.ly/improvbook Root identification exercise four bit.ly/improvbook Root identification exercise five 1.D 2.A 3.A 4.C 5.G 9
Ho to learn a tune You kno a tune hen: You can play the melody in any key. You hear the changes in your head as you play the melody. Your improvised lines flo ell ithout thinking about the changes because you anticipate them. You really cannot improvise ell over a tune unless you truly kno it. Your lines flo, they are harmonically congruent, and you don t need to look at the changes. Ho many tunes do you kno that ell? Here are some tips for learning a tune. There s no requirement to do them all. This is a list of the things that have orked for me on the tunes I kno ell. Analyze the form and the changes so that you understand the harmonic flo of the tune. Be able to comp the changes on a piano or guitar. You don t need to be Chick Corea. ust be good enough to play a root in your left hand and a 4-note 9th chord in your right. There are many great books on chord comping that non-piano players can master. Comp the changes mentioned above by heart. Record yourself playing the melody and bloing over the changes. Then listen to it, hear hat needs to improve, then do it again, and again. Write a book on improvisation and dedicate a chapter to a tune, creating a rhythm section, recording the melody and transcribing your improvised solo. I m kidding, considering the ork involved, but the truth is that there is no better ay to learn something than by teaching it. This book has improved my improvisational skills and has helped me play a bunch of tunes better! Maybe do some of that on your on. No need to publish it. Play the tune over and over and over and over and... Call the tune hen you sit in ith bands and jam sessions. Force yourself not to use the ritten music. Listen to others play over the tune. Transcribe the solos of great players, then play those solos over the changes for practice. Find the tunes on Aebersold records and play ith them. Learn the lyrics, if they have any. Write out your on lead sheets containing the melody and the changes. Of course you may already have the lead sheets in fake books or on line, but riting things don ingrains details in your mind. Play the tune over and over and over and over and... You ve got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, hen you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just ail. - Charlie Parker 10
Praise for Trombone Improvisation Savvy Michael Lake s book is as comprehensive as it is insightful and practical. I can t ait to delve into it further and look forard to sharing it ith my students. I highly recommend this book for all levels of trombonists and improvisers alike. Steve Davis, Trombonist/Composer/Educator Mike has created hat has to be one of the most comprehensive tools for learning to improvise specifically for trombone! From the basics to more advanced concepts, great tune selections, and an amazing array of interactive play-alongs and demonstrations. This is a thoughtful, thorough, and dynamic approach to learning trombone improvisation. Nick Finzer, Ne York Trombonist & Educator I ve studied from a ide variety of books on trombone and jazz but Michael Lake s book provided me something I ve never before experienced. Within about an hour of orking ith one of the tunes in Trombone Improvisation Savvy - a tune I as soloing over ith some difficulty in my band - I could no understand and hear the tune s harmonic structure, I could play ell over the most difficult sections, and I finally felt comfortable soloing over the entire tune. Even my bandmates noticed a difference in my playing at our performance. I really think that hen this book gets into the hands of trombone players anting to crack the improvisation code, it ill be a must have for all jazz trombone aficionados! Barry Kierce, azz Trombone Connoisseur Visit.altobone.com to receive a free piece of Michael s original music free each month. Also read additional articles, atch videos and check out his recent CDs and other books. Roads Less Traveled The Electrik Project Alto Trombone Savvy Michael 11Lake Insights and method for mastering alto trombone