JazzTalk with Ed Byrne

Developing Transcriptions into Improvisations

While many practitioners are expert at transcribing,
many find that, once learned, those lines don’t seem to
find their way into their performance. In order for
transcription efforts to be effective, one must approach it
in a direct and systematic fashion. Learning the original
transcribed line isn’t enough. Here are a few suggestions
for how to incorporate that information into new and
personal improvised lines:

1. Transcribe a line.

2. Fill in all rests and notes of duration longer than an
8th note with chromatic targeting or other material related
to its surroundings, so that the entire solo is now
comprised of 8th notes, while leaving all of the original
notes in place.

3. Learn it by rote with the playback in Finale.

4. Improvise on it by running choruses, leaving notes out in
different places in different choruses.

5. Add articulations and inflections.

6. Improvise on it by changing the rhythms–and by leaving
things out.

7. Improvise freely on it against the playback,
interpreting it broadly to invite it into your current rap.

8. Write it out (in Finale) a 1/2-beat earlier and later,
and then repeat the above process.

9. Write it out with the odd-numbered measures of version 1,
and the even measures from the second version a 1/2-beat
later.

10. Add another version a beat later, and another starting
a beat earlier.

11. Take each motive (measure) in the transcription one at
a time, and sequence it through the entire chorus, adjusting
for the melody changes.

12. Improvise on and paraphrase all of the above.

Suggested Practice Procedure

1. Play and Sing each exercise as written.

2. Play and Sing by rote (without reading).

3. Improvise on each. Experiment with different jazz
articulations, inflections, vibratos, tempos, and rhythmic
styles.

4. Play back one exercise type, such as the reduced melody,
while practicing another (guide tone line or root
progression).

5. Set the document at various tempos in the tempo menu at
the top.

6. Measure numbers are supplied, since you will need to type
that number into the measure box at the top in order to
return to a specific measure.

7. For best results, keyboard players should do all of these
exercises in octaves with both hands, not looking at your
keyboard or fingers.

The best way to get started applying transcribed lines
into original improvisations is to get my Hot Lines on Jazz
Standards book, since it supplies great examples to be used
as paradigms for development in the manner described above.

Hot Lines ~ Jazz Standards

Click here to see and hear examples:
http://www.byrnejazz.com/product.php?id=18

This 36-page collection of hip, polished melodic lines
applies LJI Method to well-known standards and major and
minor blues progressions–in a fun and effective way!

Have fun practicing with the Free Sound Files, and use these
lines on gigs.

Songs:

Confirmation

Summertime

There Will Never Be Another You

Blue Monk

F Blues

Bb Blues

Minor Blues

Blues Minor

Funky Blues

Stella by Starlight

Solar

What Is This Thing Called Love?

What Is This?

Nardis

Funk in Deep Freeze

Coral

I’ve Got Rhythm

To get a better idea of LJI and how it works, there are
a great many both music and sound examples of the 15
different LJI books to be found in the More Information
sections for each book in the ByrneJazz Online Bookstore
(just click on each book):  http://byrnejazz.com/store.php

Tomorrow’s topic is: Learning Functional Skills.

Sincerely,
Ed

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