Here is an example of mediative improvisation by Estas Tonne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gphiFVVtUI
The basic triagle functioning here is the next
1) Feelings identity of the music (poetical symbol: Waters)
1)-3) is mainly pactical improvisation
2) -1) is mainly composition
2)-3) is mainly acquiring skills on the instrument.
We must remark here that the 2), the mental musical theoretical or harmonic identity of the music should be simpler than the 3) the instrumental-fingers identity of the music.
The improvisation should be 60%-80% due to feelings 15%-30% due to simple mental images about the music and 5%-10% only due to hands skills!
Each vertice of the triangle can act as catalyst in helping for a friction-less flow of relation of the other two vertices but can also if it is not the appropriate it may block the relationship of the other two. This blogs with more abstract mathematical perceptions that are in 1) may help for a better relation between 2) and 3).
Classical jazz practitioners give emphasis to 3) , but sometimes lose 2). To find again a better 2) maybe a better 1) is needed. Classical musicians give emphasis to 1), but often miss the 2). To find a better relation between 1) and 2) free improvisational practise is needed, which is a better 3). And so one.
IN MY APPROACH IN THIS BOOK I FAVOR MIXTURE OF AN IN ADVANCED COMPOSED MUSIC PIECE AND A LATER IMPROVISATION OVER IT, RATHER THAN A 100% PRIMA-VISTA IMPROVISATION. THE REASON IS OBVIOUS. THERE ARE ADVANTAGES OF MUSICAL COMPOSITION THAT WILL TAKE MORE TIME THAN THE DURATION OF THE MUSICAL PIECE OVER A DIRECT IMPROVISATIONAL CREATION OF IT AS WE LISTEN TO IT. THE FORMER GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY OF A BETTER QUALITY MUSICAL CREATION AND A BETTER BALANCE OF THE PREVIOUS TRIANGLE OF MUSICAL MENTAL IMAGES, SOUND FEELINGS AND FINGER ACTIONS WHEN WE IMPROVISE LATER ON THE ALREADY COMPOSED MUSICAL PIECE.
The various improvisations practises may have one of the more visible dimensions of knowing better, the next 4 factors ,by relating them to the feelings.
So in learning improvisation, this is I believe the simplest and easiest way, in 3 steps
1) Practice at first chord-progressions improvisations. At this stage, the complexity is only the number of chords in the chord progression , their shapes , positions, repetitions etc. Mainly we start with a predetermined chord progression and we play all possible different positions of the chord, and maybe also alternative permutaions of the chords of the chord progression, keeping of course the basic harmonic structure invariant as this is that tells the main emotional story of the song. We utilize chord-harping or finger-picking with possible small melodic embellishments, with a free finger of the left hand or freeing a finger from the left hand, and around the chord shape. I consider that using the 5 fingers of the right hand, by far a supperior and more subtle way to control the musical sound, than using a single plastic pick. With the finger nails it is as if we have 4 picks!
2) Then practice melody improvisation, while a chord-progression is played by another musician or the computer. Here we may apply the ways to distribute a melody among the strings as in the post 43.
3) Finally practice chord-melody improvisation, that is played only by you. This would be chord-harping simultaneous with the solo, or alternating , only chord-harping (finger-picking) and then isolated melody playing or it would be genuine chord-melody with one composite chord for each note of the solo.
MELODIC MATHS BY MAX MARTIN AND SYSTEMS OF CREATING MELODIC THEMES AND MUTATING MELODIC THEMES AND RHYTHMS.
In the next videos one can see how melodic themes and mutations of them can be created by keeping invariant an initial pattern of interval shifts of a note and initial pattern of sequence of melodic themes after seeminly random pauses (omittings) of the parts of the fixed pattern
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HPkTMYoJnI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb3e4Mq6y3s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0-Ljf5gm4A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc16Y1gKUDc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0-Ljf5gm4A
In order to create the melody over a chord progression we may proceed as follows.
1)We compose a simplicial sub-melodies one for each part of the song , with one note per chord, over the chord progression preferably at a chromatic sequence ascending and descending .
2) We create moves or waves or cycles for each note of the simplicial sub-melody by sequencing during the chord with two types of notes a fast (usually outside the chord) and a slow of double duration on the notes of the chord again ascending or descending with smaller waves
3) We arrange a continuous sound instrument to play the simplicial sub-melody only and a discrete sound (guitar mandolin etc) to play the full waves melody.
THE BASIC CONCEPT OF MUSICALLY BEAUTIFUL IN THIS BOOK IS THE CONCEPT OF HIDDEN SIMPLICITY OF RULES OF PROPORTIONS OF 2 AND 3 , AND IN GENERAL OF VERY SMALL INTEGER NUMBERS IN FREQUENCIES, (HARMONY) MELODIC MORPHOLOGY (VOICES), RHYTHM (ORDER AND DIMENSION OF RHYTHMS) ETC.
The invariant is the hidden simplicity (as mental image also) that the improviser keeps within himself while conducting complicated musical actions and providing rather complex type of musical output. Simple invariants can be a single note, an interval, or a sub-chord triad , a scale , a theme of the melody or a chord progression . But there are also more abstract invariants like the musical type of a chord, chord relations, the pitch order pattern of a melody without pitch specifications, a rhythmic pattern etc. The theme of a melody is by far a more important invariant than the scale, because a melody must always have a theme, but may not be inside a single scale always. The theme can be inside a chord or over a chord transition .The improvisation in this technique makes a group of transformations (called isomorphisms) in the concrete voicing and musical sounds leaving nevertheless always unchanged the invariant. So the balance of what changes in almost unpredictable or random way ) and what does not change (determinism) , usually at different level of abstractness (changes ar at the concrete level, invariants at a more abstract level) creates a beautiful and interesting result. The invariants allow the player or composer to proceed keeping in his imagination and feelings something simple (the invariant) while the pluralism is in seemingly randomness of the transformations of the invariant. We proceed with some examples.
Here is a video where the improvisation is conceived with invariant a simple melodic pattern (similar to the syntax of phrase with subject verb and object etc).. The points he suggests are
1) Always use a finite set of melody motives , themes or moves. A theme may consists of the basic 4 melodic moves. (The theme entity for melodies is so important as the chord in harmony. A theme can be inside a chord or over a chord transition. Conversely any of the 3 types of chord transitions may define a theme for the melody, thus a finite set of themes for a chord progression)
2) Transform these melodic themes or moves which will be the invariant of their transformations. The simpler the themes the easier the transformations.
3) Close by returning to the initial theme.
The ways to transform a theme are at least the next 5 and combinations of them
1) Translate it in different pitches (within a scale or not changing possibly the pitch distances )
2) Translate in time (repeat it)
3) Invert it in time or change its rhythm (if at the begging is slower and at the end faster it will be now the reverse etc)
4) Invert it or distort it in pitch (Create 1st 2nd 3rd or 4th voice versions, utilizing the chord progression as rules of transformation of the theme, or if it is ascending now it will be descending etc)
6) Increase or decrease the size of steps while ascending or descending (accelerate, decelerate not in time but in pitch movement)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMApv6DSv4w
The themes of a melody consist of a plot or sequence of the 4 basic moves (see post 59) which by itself says an emotional story without the help of the harmony. If we have (as here we assume we do) an underlying chord progression, then utilizing almost all the notes of the chords and one theme for each of the 3-harmonic-types of chord transitions , we may define the set of themes of the melody in easy way. Alternatively we may define a theme for each type of emotion, sad, joy, anxiety or serenity, or a theme for each type of chord respectively minor (sad) major (happy), 7nth or diminished or augmented (anxiety) and r5 (serenity.) The chord progression serves as a way to transform and make variations of the themes. The notes of the simplicial submelody are the centers of the melody that sound longer and are usually the tops and bottoms of the 4 basic melodic moves that create the themes of the melody but also the notes of the underlying chord.
1) In the part of the chord progression with minor chords, utilize descending melodic moves so that sadness from melody and sadness from harmony fit.Similarly ascending melodic moves for major chords.
2) In the sad melody parts of the melody (and minor chords) utilize rhythmic patterns that start with faster notes and end with slower notes, and the reverse for the happy part (and major chords).
3) In a triad or 7 nth 4-notes chord the most characteristic notes are the middle 2nd note (in 1-3-5 interval notation is the 3) and the 7 nth (if it exists). So for the anxiety part of the melodic moves we may utilize 1-semitone trills around these two notes, or waving with 1 or 2 semitones steps and notes outside the chord in the interval of minor 3rd (3 semitones) of the chord. Alternatively instead of trill or small amplitude waves we may utilize chromatic monotone scaling by steps of 1 semitone , or scaling with steps by intervals of 2nd of the scale, that go from these previous notes of the chord to the same such notes in the next octave. But always make sure that the notes of the chord sound in the average longer, than the notes of these anxiety transition moves with notes outside the chord.
4) Alternate up (happy) and down (sad) pitch moves , or chromatic moves (anxiety), with harmonic (on chord notes) moves (serenity-harmony).
5) Utilize at least 2 octaves, or even 3 for the melodic moves repeating the notes of the underlying chord on the next octaves , so there is sufficient space for melodic moves, to express with sufficiency the emotions.
6) For the duality of emotions anxiety-serenity, it may be utilized also harmonic waves or monotone scaling over 2 octaves at least, on the notes of the chord, but also chromatic trill wave over the notes of this wave or scaling (modulated wave on wave or move) and then return to the pure harmonic wave or scaling on the notes of the chord.
7) A chromatic wave by 1-semitones steps or all notes of the scale (steps by intervals of 2nd) that goes up and down at least 2 octaves, corresponds to a chord sub-progression of the song , of our choice that utilizes almost all the chords of the scale!
Let us see another example. Le us see at first in the next video how a chord progression can create a melody.
Here is a very simpler but also beautiful way to create chord-melodies from chord progressions. The melody is a simple oscillation (waving or butterflying) around the highest note of the chord with intervals of 2nd or 3rd. We may enhance this method by choosing different inversions of the same chord so that the desired note is always the highest in the chord.
The method of invariants works very well with the harmonic method of composition (see post 9).
TO BE MORE SYSTEMATIC WE MAY FOLLOW THE NEXT STEPS
Given a chord progression it is direct how to create a melody that fits the chords, with the following rules
1) During each chord, the entry note of the simplicial submelody , is the middle note of the chord.
2) During each chord, the exit note of the simplicial submelody (two notes per chord here), for major chords (including 7nth chords and extensions) is the upper note of the chord, for minor, diminished and augmented chords it is the lower note of the chord.
3) During the chord the melody follows an harmonic theme in one or more octaves span, in other words from notes of the chords, and is walking the chord by a spike, straight scaling or waving (these are parameters for the composer or improviser to choose) from middle and down to up (joy) if the chord is major, or from middle and upper to down (sadness) if it is minor, diminished or augmented. If the chord is simply major or minor we may enhance its harmony by extending it with its upper and lower relatives thus by an interval of 3rd at the highest note and up , or at the lowest note and lower (in normal position). In other words making it a chord with 6th and/or 7nth.
4) At chord transitions x->y , the melody utilizes a dense melodic move (anxiety), with steps from 1 or 2 semitones, and within a scale (including the chromatic 12-notes scale) from the exit note of x of to the entry note of y , of the simplicial submelody.
5) The harmonic move lasts longer than the transitional dense melodic move , as the latter takes less than 30% of the duration of x, and y.
From the rule of local fitness of a melody to a chord progression , such a default melody will fit the chord progression.