272. SIMPLISTIC IDEAS THAT ENCOURAGE THE IMPROVISATION IN MELODIES AND HARMONY.

SIMPLISTIC IDEAS THAT ENCOURAGE IN IMPROVISATION IN MELODIES AND HARMONY.

(See also post 263 . 270 and  83. A SCALE OF CHORDS ORIENTED IMPROVISATION METHOD VERSUS SCALE OF NOTES OR CHORDS OF A SCALE.)

THE KEY-WORD HERE IN THE 4TH GENERATION DIGITAL MUSIC FOR THE MUSICAL-THEORETIC IDEAS OF THIS   POST (AS FAR AS MORDEN SOFTWARE FOR MUSIC MAKING IS ) IS MELODY-SEQUENCERS 

THE TERM  SEQUENCER MEANS HERE A LOOP OR RHYTHMIC CYCLE OF   A  MELODIC THEME THAT IS VARIATED INTERACTIVELY BY THE USER  IN A MELODIC SEQUENCER.

THERE MANY GOOD SOFTWARE PROGRAMS FOR THIS COMPOSITION AND IMPROVISATION LIKE FUGUE MACHINE, YAMAHA MOBILE SEQUENCER, THUMPJAM ETC. ALAO ARPIO  AND ARPEGGIONOME FOR GENERAL ARPEGGIOS ALTERNATED WITH MELODIC IMPROVISATIONS

In order to improvise one has to be daring and under the flow of a kind of joy.

The educational system of classical music which is based on reading scores is not appropriate for creating improvisation abilities.

1)  BIOWARE WITH  SUBCONSCIOUS SINGING ABILITIES IS THE BEST "INSTRUMENT" AND STARTING ABILITY. he most important and also simple idea in melodic improvisation, is that the improvisation must be created at first or at least as well (but usually better than what in an musical instrument) in singing or whistling which will dominate the instrument playing even if later no singing or whistling is heard.
The living bioware is always a better musical instruments than a rigid hardware musical instrument or even digital musical instrument.


1.1) COMPOSITE PRACTICE OF IMPROVISATION , REMIX-ADAPTATION OF A SONG AND INSTRUMENT PLAYING.

This ability can be activated as follows: At first listen for some weeks to nice songs preferably Jazz songs and familiarize with their melodies harmonies and techniques.  Start with early jazz which is simpler and utilizes the triads of chords 1-4-5 or 1-2-5 etc.
The preliminary stage of education of the subconscious determines also the speed of creations of emotions and feelings when improvising. It is important that the speed of actual musical improvisation is not faster than the speed of creation and shaping of the emotions and feelings. In different persons it is different speed.
Then listen them with one only earphone, leaving the other ear open and sing or whistle parallel to the melodies of the song, inspired or stimulated on the occasion of the written and listened song. The whistling improvisation may nevertheless deviate not only from the listened melodies but also from the listened chords and harmony, if the feelings require so. This is an important factor of the improvisation as melodic or harmonic "errors" in whistling a melody most often turn out to be improvements of the melody based on our own memories of nice melodies and inclinations in the feelings. General rules that two parallel melodies fit harmonically together as described in post  128, require only that the number of intervals of 3rd, 4th 5th and 8th are more than 50% compared to intervals of 2nds. In addition alternating with this whistling or singing we may  play on a  desired instrument similar melodies.  Depending on the acquired skill on the instrument, the improvisation may be poorer or same rich as the whistling. Furthemore instead of only listening to the song, if opened in a software like  Audacity where its chords can be found and displayed below the waveform, we see also the underlying chords and we learn to associate the whistling or instrument playing ofthe melodies with the underlying chord progression. We keep doing it not only soa s to get pleasure but also to improve improvisation and playing skill on the prefered instruments.

The speed of conducting the improvisation may be increased if while we improvise we pretend that there is a mandarin (fruit) flying a few centimeters above the top of our head and we look and listen and conduct the improvisation from that point in air or aether rather than from our hands or mouth. The area above the top of the head is an aether center that our soul and spiritual existence is often utilizing.

 The central idea is of course that the versatility of improvising on  many musical instruments is based on the ability to internalize and perceive mentally and emotionally the musical sound  and improvise rather than the ability of concentrating separately to technical skill of geometric patterns of playing for each particular instrument And one of the simplest ways to perceive musically harmonically , melodically and chromatically,  all the universe of the 12-notes is the chromatic tonality (as in post 263) (see post 258 that improvisation is at least at 2/3rds an internal feelings and intellect meditation process rather independent from the musical instrument played! The 2/3ds are of course the mental perception of the musical sound and the feelings-emotional  perception of the musical sound, and not the geometric instruments pattern of the musical playing! And one of the simplest ways to perceive musically all the universe of the 12-notes is the chromatic tonality (as in post 263) ).

2) CONVERGENT SEQUENCES OF NOTES TO MELODIC CENTERS: It helps a lot for the improvisation of melodies to have the idea of STEPWISE GLISSANDO in the sense of scanning all notes in pitch linear order sequence of the scale that the instrument is tuned, so as to find the one that you will stay longer (melodic center as note of the simplicial sub-melody) or even correct to the melodic center if the melody is somehow already known. Instruments like piano, Celtic harp, or diatonic pan-flute are very helpful in this. The guitar or other string instruments with fingerboard (fiddle) or fretboard with the usual tunings are not much helpful in this but they are helpful in chromatic stepwise glissando. Exception is  the 3-strings fretboards with tuning open major chord (e.g, Panduri, Bouzouki, Lyra see posts 252, 254 , 264) that there is the same easiness: The 2nd and 3rd voice of the melody can be played in the 3 strings and the melody of 1-2 octaves most often can be played in  one only of the 3 strings! While in classical music's melodies the central entity is the melodic theme  in improvisational music melodies the central concepts seem to be "convergent sequence of notes to a melodic center or note o t he simplicial sub-melody"  Of Course the melodic center or note of the simplicial melody is a note sounding much more time that the neighboring notes. 

3)THREE  TYPES OF VARIATIONS: TRANSLATION, INVERSION EXPANSION. A 2nd simple idea in melody improvisation is that of the 3 types of variation: 1) translation b) inversion 3) contraction/expansion. The translation is to repeat the same melodic theme lower or higher in the scale. once or many times. This may involve deforming the exact intervals of the theme, but it creates a sense of repetition and at the same time of changes. The inversion is to make the ascending melodic theme descending but same pattern theme and vice versa. Again this may involve distorting the theme. The inversion makes the sad happy and vice-versa. Finally the expansion/contraction is the idea that chromatic intervals (2nds of 1 or 2 semitones) will create a kind of chromatic dissonance and tension, the melodic intervals (3rds major or minor) will create a sense of melodic feeling, and larger harmonic intervals of 4th, 5th of 8th a feeling of harmony. The simple idea is to wave sadness and joy or serenity and anxiety by waving from short size intervals to larger type of intervals and vice-versa. The theme itself contracts or expands as we substitute its intervals of 5th/4th with 3rd or 2nd and vice versa.The guitar or other string instruments with fingerboard (fiddle) or fretboard  are helpful in this idea . 

4) HARMONIC CYCLES For the harmony and in improvising at the level of chord progressions, the corresponding idea is a linear order of chords (major/minor) in sequential harmonic relation ,in other words that their roots are consecutive notes in the cycle by intervals of 4th. Given a melody in a diatonic scale  or in chromatic tonality of a diatonic scale,  when improvising almost randomly with chords, there is also a similar idea of stepwise glissando by chords either in diatonic pitch linear order of the roots or in the harmonic progression of their roots by 4ths ,which latter is quite faster than the diatonic stepwise glissando, especially when we are searching for the major chord (or minor chord) among the 3 in a diatonic scale that fits the current state of the melody. Once the right root or middle of the chord is found we  tweak to major or minor (sometimes diminished or augmented) till it fits well to the melody. 

Other simple ideas to compose chord progressions involve the harmonic triad of major chords in a diatonic scale 1-4-5 and also the chords of a diatonic scale as enhanced by chromatic tonality (see post 263)   Other simple ideas involve  triads of harmonic pairs of chords in various relations like chromatic , melodic harmonic. 

 IMPROVISATION METHOD BASED ON  A SET OF CHORDS AND MELODIC LINES BRIDGING THE HIGHEST NOTES OF EACH OF THEM. APPLICATION WITH STRUMMING WITH CUATRO, CAVAQUINHO, UKULELE , HARMONICA VIOLIN, WINDS ETC

The application idea is that when the chord is realized with a voicing on the highest 4 (or all 4) strings , we create melodic lines on the highest string bridging the highest notes of two succesive chords. Because of a inherent phenomenon of the human sound perception , when we are strumming and chaning the chords with in-between such melodic lines, the musical perception clearaly heres a melody, which is that of the highest notes. If it was not the highest notes the melodic lines would be more often lost in listening in the strumming.
Such chord-bridging melodic lines use a last small part of the previous chord duration and a small initial part of the new chord duration. During the rest ofthe time there is strumming of the chord or a achord arpeggio or variations of small melodic themes inside the chord by intervals of 3rd or 4th/5th. Thus melodic-harmonic variaonions. While when bridging two succesive chords there may be melodic themes variations by intervals of 2nd 3rd or 4th/5th (thus chromatic-melodic-harmonic).
This technique utilizes the simplicity of the information of the set of chord and translates it it to a simple information about the partition of the types of variations of simple melodic themes with the time placement and duration of the chords.
With this technique we may create simplicial counter-melodies parallel to melody.

It applies verty easily when utilizing a chromatic harmonica (see post 274), but also a violin (especially marked at a particular diatonic scale, so that we can identify chord-triad  shapes on it after a convenient tuning) and finally also on a diatonic wind.

271. HOW SOMEONE COULD POSSIBLY LEARN MANY INSTRUMENTS SIMULTANEOUSLY? UTILIZING THE SIMPLICIAL COUNTER-MELODY IMPROVISATION SYSTEM

 HOW SOMEONE COULD POSSIBLY LEARN MANY INSTRUMENTS SIMULTANEOUSLY?
UTILIZING THE SIMPLICIAL COUNTER-MELODY IMPROVISATION SYSTEM

By watching the Carling family one cannot by admire how each of its members play many musical instruments and all together have a wonderful early Jazz band with which they improvise and adapt many famous songs. (http://www.gunhildcarling.net/about/carling-family/ )

I once watched a video by someone speaking many (4-5 or more ) languages , about how he practices learning them simultaneously. What he was doing was quite simple. He was choosing a few  mundane tasks during his everyday life e.g. dressing after getting up in the morning from his bed, or siting to eat for lunch or dinner etc.   Then he started describing what he was doing in his mother language and he right away was repeating the same phrases in each of his many languages that he was learning. This in total was not more than 15 minutes per day, but it might involve also some searching of new words or phrases!


This case is an example of a principle where it is proved that the method of learning something is more important than the object of learning itself.

Brilliant examples as we mentioned of musicians that play many musical instruments (from 5-6 to 10-12 musical instruments) is the  Caling family. Ecah mamber of this family plays at least 5-6 musical instruments, and Gunhild Carling (https://www.gunhildcarling.net/)is playing 10-12 musical instruments.

Obviously this also proves that the method of learning many musical instruments is  radically different from the traditional in Scolls of music and Universities.
And by this we do not mainly  mean that the technique is different.

When learning a musical instruments five areas of the human subjectivity are involved

1) The sense of hearing
2) The sense of seing
3) The kineasthetics of the fingers (fingering)  and/or the mouth (embouchure)
4) The feelings and emotinal percepton of the music
5) The mental images and intellectual perception of the music (musical ontology)

So when we say radically different method we mean that the combination of the previous 5 factors is radically different

The next are 5 principles that are involved in learning many musical instruments

1) Principle of least time of  playing while learning
2) Principle of most easy method as far as the memory and spending energy in practice of fingers/mouth is concerned
3) Principle of most smart intellectually perception of the learning material  desired to learn with the maximum number of relevant cross-correlations beteen them.
4) Principle of maximum pleasure while learning (so that serotonin and dopamine arecreated in the nervous system so as t have the creation of nerve synapses that is the subconsious ability and memory and desire for more learning)
5) Principle of optimal socialization of the process of learning.

Under the above principles it is derived that for a musician that is playing many musical instruments it holds that
(see also post 275, 128)

FOR MUSIC:

1) Each instrument is NOT used so as to play all possible melodies and songs. Instead it is used and it is learned only as far as this instrument is specializing to allow playing an area and type of music that with the other musical instruments is not done so easily , efficiently and desirebly. There are though among the many insyruments at least one wich can be used the musician to play all possible melodies or songs. But most of the many instruments is  learned and played only in the area and specialization which is concidered best (e.g. a cello  might be learned to play only bass lines at the 2nd octave and a trombone overtones improvisations only in the 2nd-3rd octave)

2) At least one midi controller is used that can emulate all 3 generations of musical instruments  (see post 329, chromatic, diatonic,overtones musical instruments) and helps to learn but also to conduct the music of all other musical instruments.

3) The musician is focusing in learning a repertoire of music and songs with its musical theoretical ontology rather, than particular instruments. Thus when learning and spent some hours per day or week we learn a new song, and we learn its harmony (chord progression) melody and parallel simplicial counter melody (bass lines) etc on many instruments one after the other rather than spending these hours on particular instrument. In this way the same hours spent for the musical ontology of a song (chords, melody, countermelody, bass lines, rhythm  etc) will be used for learning more than one instruments, This reduces dramatically the memory and time spent in learning and shifts the subconcious memory to the abstract musical ontology rather than particular material particularities of the instrument which is more spiritual , and which memory and time is utilized for all instruments simulteneously. (see also post 271) 

4) It is by far more efficient when learning to utilize improvisation rather than tedious practice excercizes from musical sheets, for many raesons. One is that the improvisation is forgiving in "mistakes" that turnout to be innovations in melodic improvisation. Another reason is that it activates more deeply the various nervous system centers that are relevant to the 5 subjectivity areas  mentioned previously, therefore it is more thorough learning. Still another rason is that improvisation is  more pleasant than tedious excercises of practing therefore we have more serotonine-dopamine inthe nervous system, which are utilized in creating new nerve synapses valuable in the subconcious memory and desire for more learning in the future.

If someone knows one instrument better among the instruments who wants to learn, then an obviously useful  technique is to learn well  a song on the instrument that he knows best , and then transfer it and learn it on the instruments that he knows less well. In other words we use at first the musical instrument that we know best so as to learn a song and focus on learning the abstract instagible musical theoretic ontology of the song (harmony, chords, melody morphology of the melody etc) and then apply this music theoretical knowledge and subconscious feeling on learning it on an other particular instrument that we know less well.

5) Classification of all instruments to 3 gentres according to their layouts of the notes for simplified and simple method of perception: a) Diatonic b) Chromatic c) overtoves. See also post  329.

Now one could imagine a similar process in learning many instruments at the same time For example let us take

0) A percussion instrument
1) A Guitar or ukulele
2) A Celtic Harp
3) A Bowed string instrument like Greek Lyra (or fiddle)
4) A diatonic Pan-Flute
5) A single tube wind with the fingering system 6+1. E.g.  Irish whistle, flute , or reed instrument like clarinet saxophone , duduk, chalumeau  etc

Such a process might most probably be very close to how the children and members of the carling family learned each one all of the instruments they play.  The central idea is of course that the versatility of playing many musical instruments is based on the ability to internalize and perceive mentally and emotionally the musical sound  and improvise rather than the ability of concentrating separately to technical skill of geometric patterns of playing for each particular instrument And one of the simplest ways to perceive musically harmonically , melodically and chromatically,  all the universe of the 12-notes is the chromatic tonality (as in post 263) (see post 258 that improvisation is at least at 2/3rds an internal feelings and intellect meditation process rather independent from the musical instrument played! The 2/3ds are of course the mental perception of the musical sound and the feelings-emotional  perception of the musical sound, and not the geometric instruments pattern of the musical playing! And one of the simplest ways to perceive musically all the universe of the 12-notes is the chromatic tonality (as in post 263) ). Thinking that  he must learn 5 (or more ) instruments simultaneously may appear discouraging, but thinking that he just have to play and improvise on a sequence of nice musical sound of  very joyful songs with 5 instruments is  by far more attractive and desirable idea.

Here in the next video, the guitar teacher explains why it is simpler for the human nervous system to concentrate on the mental and emotional perception of the musical sound rather than on  the geometric patterns of playing the particular instrument.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iacQvKMSx6A


We recall from the ntroduction of this online book that  a detailed approach of the relevant nervous centers in playing music are the next 5 nervous system centers that are involved when playing music

MENTAL 
1) THE MENTAL IMAGES OFTHE ONTOLOGY OF MUSIC (NOTES, SCALES, INTERVALS, CHORDS, ETC)
PHYSICAL
2) THE SOUNDS OF THE EAR IN THE SENSE OF LISTENING
3) THE IMAGES OF THE EYE IN THE SENSE OF SEING (E.G. OBSERVING THE FINGERS ON THE MUSICALINSTRUMENT OR THE MOVES OF DANCER). Some musical instrument do not have optical images e.g. he harmonica playing. 
4) THE KINESTHETIC CENTER OF THE ACTIONS OF THE FINGERS ON THE INSTRUMENT AND THE BREATH IN THE CASE OF WIND INSTRUMENTS
EMOTIONAL:
5) THE FEELINGS CREATED BY THE LISTENED MUSICAL SOUND IN REALTION ALSO TO MEMORIES AND LISTENING HABITS.


Learning the same song on many instruments, would mean that 3) images and 4) action of the fingers will change from instrument to instrument, but the triad
1) Mental musical ontology 2) Sounds of the ear ontology 5) Feelings remain the almost the same! 

So a daily or weekly process could be nowadays as follows:

1) Chose in youtube a nice and happy song that you would like to listen and play. Better be happy rather than sad , as such a learning should raise our bodily frequency and should be laso a learning of how to be happy within the good joy (not the bad joy). E.g. it might be an early jazz song like those that the  carling family are playing and enjoying. If we do not want to start with a known song in youtube, he may start by playing and recording in Audacity a rhythm by a percussion instrument, and then use this as a base.

2) Derive an mp3 file from the youtube-video, and analyze it with the free software Audacity (or a similar) to verify by its chords that it is a chromatic tonality music song (see post 263 ) 

3) Try singing its melody (improvisationally) or whistle  (improvisationally) its melody. THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP IN LEARNING ALL THE INSTRUMENTS SIMULTANEOUSLY.

3.1) COMPOSITE PRACTICE OF IMPROVISATION AND INSTRUMENT PLAYING.

This ability can be activated as follows: At first listen for some weeks to nice songs preferably Jazz songs and familiarize with their melodies harmonies and techniques. Start with early jazz which is simpler and utilizes the triads of chords 1-4-5 or 1-2-5 etc.
The preliminary stage of education of the subconscious determines also the speed of creations of emotions and feelings when improvising. It is important that the speed of actual musical improvisation is not faster than the speed of creation and shaping of the emotions and feelings. In different persons it is different speed.

3.2) Besides trying to whistle the melody , it can be tried to whistle a simplicial coutermelody of the melody (see post 289)

Listen them with one only earphone, leaving the other ear open and sing or whistle parallel to the melodies of the song, inspired or stimulated on the occasion of the written and listened song. The whistling improvisation may nevertheless deviate not only from the listened melodies but also from the listened chords and harmony, if the feelings require so. This is an important factor of the improvisation as melodic or harmonic "errors" in whistling a melody most often turn out to be improvements of the melody based on our own memories of nice melodies and inclinations in the feelings. General rules that two parallel melodies fit harmonically together as described in post  128, require only that the number of intervals of 3rd, 4th 5th and 8th are more than 50% compared to intervals of 2nds. In addition alternating with this whistling or singing we may  play on a  desired instrument similar melodies. Depending on the acquired skill on the instrument, the improvisation may be poorer or same rich as the whistling. Furthemore instead of only listening to the song, if opened in a software like  Audacity where its chords can be found and displayed below the waveform, we see also the underlying chords and we learn to associate the whistling or instrument playing of the melodies with the underlying chord progression. We keep doing it not only so as to get pleasure but also to improve improvisation and playing skill on the prefered instruments.

The speed of conducting the improvisation may be increased if while we improvise we pretend that there is a mandarin (fruit) flying a few centimeters above the top of our head and we look and listen and conduct the improvisation from that point in air or aether rather than from our hands or mouth.

3.3) We may also record the whistling in the computer, while we listen in one only earphone and in one ear, the parallel song from the mobile or another computer. This may create an entereily new song and new melody and even different chord progression inspired and stimulated by the initial parallel song.  That is why a more likable way of the whistling melody should not be considred as a "mistake" but as a more likable melody of a new song, inspired from the initial.

4) Start with the best known instrument or easiest instrument that here we  will assume that it is the guitar or ukulele. Play its chords rhythmically and improvise melodically whistling or singing simultaneously. We may also try to whistle a simplicial counter-melody as the song is playing in the computer (See post 289 about the simplicial counter-melody) 

5) Go one with the second best known or easy to play instrument that here we will assume that it is the Celtic harp. Make sure that the Celtic harp (which is a diatonic instrument ) is tuned at the right central diatonic scale of the song Usually Bb, or F , or G , or C etc Play the chord and improvise the melody with the right hand . Alternate chords and melody with the right hand. The melodic improvisation could be very close to the whistling improvisation. Use the left hand for an isocratic  bass line based on simple 2-voices harmony  (usually an interval of 3rd). It could even be the power-5 chord ofthe scale. Or it could be just one note per pentachord or tetrachord at the bass area.

6) Proceed with the next easier instrument that here we will assume it is the  bowed instrument ( 3-strings metric or fretted lyra, see post 264) . Make sure that it is tuned at the right scale (Bb or F etc) and play the triad chords on it improvising melodically   a rather random arpeggio with the bow staying longer in particular ote that are the centers of the melody (simplicial submelody). Try to emulate your improvisational whistling with the bowed melodic improvisation.

7) Go on with the next easiest instrument that we will assume here it is the pan-flute. Chose a pan-flute tuned at this scale (e.g. Bb or F etc) and improvise melodically. Try to emulate your whistling improvisation with the pan-flute.

8) Finally proceed with the single tube wind, which could be an Irish whistle or a quena, or a chalumeau,or a duduk-like wind or a clarinet , saxophone etc. Make sure it is one in the same scale (Bb, F etc) . Try to emulate your whistling improvisation with the pan-flute.

9) Maybe one particular day he did not have time to repeat this process of improvisation for all 5 types of instruments but say only for 2, or 3. Still a next time it will be all 5 types! If he feels comfortable and satisfied with the result, he records the improvisational playing separately each one upon the previous in Audacity to produce a sound file. Elaborate a bit and on the recording and maybe correct some volume, timing or even pitch imperfections. The idea is to be excellent in creativity , learning and enjoyment rather  in formal perfection. Then  publish it in youtube or facebook in a group of well meaning favourable friends, if you feel so, or simple keep it in your databases.

10) The above process 3)- 9) can a ply by not starting with a known song in youtube, but by free improvisation directly from our emotional subconscious, and may use all 5 types of instruments or only some  of them, still all the instruments for the same piece of music. 
If we do not want to start with a known song in youtube, he may start by playing and recording in Audacity a rhythm by a percussion instrument, and then use this as a base.
 The way that an improvisation not based on a played song can be composed is with various methods:

AS IS THE CASE WITH ORGANIZATION STRUCTURES OF VARIOUS ORDERS OF DEPTH LIKE MUSIC AND ITS ORGANIZATION, THE IMPROVISATION CAN BE AT

 THE LOWEST LEVEL: 1) MELODIC ONLY (start with winds, or harp ar guitar , ukulele, with this order see e.g. post 266, 224)

AT A LOW LEVEL : 2) 2-VOICES OR PAIRS OF SIMULTANEOUS NOTES IMPROVISATION , (mainly harp but also guitar, ukulele, E.g. see posts 260 ,82)

AT A MIDDLE LEVEL: 3) CHORDS AND MELODY IMPROVISATION (Harp, or guitar , ukulele, e.g.see post 9 . Of course the closest to happy early Jazz songs is to use triads of major chords and in particular 1-4-5 of the Bb or F major scale, and then extend them possibly with chromatic tonality . See post 263 ).

AND AT A HIGH LEVEL : 4) MORPHOLOGICAL REPETITIONS PATTERNS OF PARTS OF THE PIECE  IMPROVISATION (on any instrument e.g. see post 203, 201)

I believe the most successful order is to start with the chords, and in particular a triad of major chords and in particular 1-4-5 of the Bb or F major scale, and then extend them possibly with chromatic tonality as in  post 263 with minor, diminished and augmented chords but not more than 1/3 of the total time and only if the whistling improvisation suggests it. The next simple idea in improvisational harmony is an harmonic linear progression of major/minor chords by intervals of  4ths. Then improvise fully by singing or whistling melodies on them and pass this whistling gradually to the rest of the instruments. 

The improvisation of each instrument with the chosen order, starting from the rhythm of the percussion instrument, is recorded (e.g. in Audacity) , and the next instruments are played at first live with a background from the speakers or earphones (like karaoke) from the previously recorded instruments, and then are recorded also with the rest of the recorded instruments. The final result as an .mp3 or .wav file is it is liable and satisfying is published a group friends or simply kept in nono-publishing data bases.

If he is lucky he might find some friends and try a group improvisation where he is playing in sequence some of the instruments he is learning or practising.

We remind here why in learning simultaneously many instruments it is by far better the improvisation method than reading a musical score.

THE ADVANTAGES OF IMPROVISING A MELODY VERSUS PLAYING A MELODY

PLAYING THE MELODY

DISADVANTAGES: 1) No sufficient space to interpolate  your own feelings parallel to the melody
                                   2) Rigid stereotypic repetition  , that the slightest deviation will cause the                                                feeling of an "error" or "bad sound". This will create fear and will "slauter" the "wings" to add your own "signature" to the melody. It will stop  also and suppress the ability to compose your own melodies.

ADVANTAGES: 1) You do not have to involve much of your emotions and creativity , after learning it it seems easier to repeat it each time and if the melody is played correctly it is expected by the audience to to appreciate it.


IMPROVISING THE MELODY:

ADVANTAGES:1) Plenty of free  space to interpolate  your own feelings parallel to the melody
                                   2) No rigid stereotypic repetition , each time played it is somehow different . The randomness of the decorative notes of the improvisation allows for searching the appropriate melodic center that corresponds to the intended emotion or for gradual correcting till the melodic center of the original melody is found  (in the scale stepwise glissando as default movements) This will create an euphoria of abundance of creativity and will multiply the ability to compose your own melodies in later times.

DISADVANTAGES: 1) It requires listening to your own mood (or the mood of the  audience) when improvising the  melody, and there is always the risk that the current version of the improvisation of the melody is not good enough compared maybe to previous improvisations or that the audience will not appreciate it enough as you appreciate it when your are improvising it.



IN OVER ALL IT IS OBVIOUS THAT IMPROVISING A MELODY IS BY FAR MORE ADVANTAGEOUS THAN JUST PLAYING THE MELODY.

Here is a summary of an improvisation method by the simplicial counter-melody of a song as in post 289.

A practice that would implement the above in  easier way is 

1) Download the song as an mp3 file , then open it in Audacity, and utilize its function of finding the chords.  

2) We look at the chord progression and try to identify the main  diatonic scale , from which it may deviate chtomatically. 

3) Then we choose the appropriate instrument that may diatonic at this scale or even chromatic. It may be a wind instrument like harmonica, flute, clariphone sax etc or it may be a bowed instrument like violin , metric-lyra celo-lyra (see post 264) or other stings instruments like cuatro, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, mandola, etc. 

4) At first we whistle the simplicial counter-melody while the song is  playing.

5) Then we repeat the whistling simplicial counter-melody with the chosen instrument

6) If we are multi-intrument player, we rotate the instruments from the easiest to the more demanding (e.g. harmonica, then celtic harp, then chinese panflute, then marked scale cuatro, then fretted-lyra , then straight flute,  then clariphone or sax etc)  playing similar simplicial counter-melodies for this song. If we do that we try to identify ourself  the with the simplicial counter-melody and consider that we actually we laer a simplicial counter-melody for thsi song rtaher than that we learn  the particular instrument that we play).

SIMPLISTIC IDEAS THAT ENCOURAGE IN IMPROVISATION IN MELODIES AND HARMONY.

(See also post 263 . 270 and  83. A SCALE OF CHORDS ORIENTED IMPROVISATION METHOD VERSUS SCALE OF NOTES OR CHORDS OF A SCALE.)


In order to improvise one has to be daring and under the flow of a kind of joy.

The educational system of classical music which is based on reading scores is not appropriate for creating improvisation abilities.

1)  THE BIOWARE WITH  SUBCONSCIOUS SINGING ABILITIES IS THE BEST "INSTRUMENT" AND STARTING ABILITY. he most important and also simple idea in melodic improvisation, is that the improvisation must be created at first or at least as well (but usually better than what in an musical instrument) in singing or whistling which will dominate the instrument playing even if later no singing or whistling is heard.
The living bioware is always a better musical instruments than a rigid hardware musical instrument or even digital musical instrument.

 The central idea is of course that the versatility of improvising on  many musical instruments is based on the ability to internalize and perceive mentally and emotionally the musical sound  and improvise rather than the ability of concentrating separately to technical skill of geometric patterns of playing for each particular instrument And one of the simplest ways to perceive musically harmonically , melodically and chromatically,  all the universe of the 12-notes is the chromatic tonality (as in post 263) (see post 258 that improvisation is at least at 2/3rds an internal feelings and intellect meditation process rather independent from the musical instrument played! The 2/3ds are of course the mental perception of the musical sound and the feelings-emotional  perception of the musical sound, and not the geometric instruments pattern of the musical playing! And one of the simplest ways to perceive musically all the universe of the 12-notes is the chromatic tonality (as in post 263) ).

2) CONVERGENT SEQUENCES OF NOTES TO MELODIC CENTERS: It helps a lot for the improvisation of melodies to have the idea of STEPWISE GLISSANDO in the sense of scanning all notes in pitch linear order sequence of the scale that the instrument is tuned, so as to find the one that you will stay longer (melodic center as note of the simplicial sub-melody) or even correct to the melodic center if the melody is somehow already known. Instruments like piano, Celtic harp, or diatonic pan-flute are very helpful in this. The guitar or other string instruments with fingerboard (fiddle) or fretboard with the usual tunings are not much helpful in this but they are helpful in chromatic stepwise glissando. Exception is  the 3-strings fretboards with tuning open major chord (e.g, Panduri, Bouzouki, Lyra see posts 252, 254 , 264) that there is the same easiness: The 2nd and 3rd voice of the melody can be played in the 3 strings and the melody of 1-2 octaves most often can be played in  one only of the 3 strings! While in classical music's melodies the central entity is the melodic theme  in improvisational music melodies the central concepts seem to be "convergent sequence of notes to a melodic center or note o t he simplicial sub-melody"  Of Course the melodic center or note of the simplicial melody is a note sounding much more time that the neighboring notes. 

3)THREE  TYPES OF VARIATIONS: TRANSLATION, INVERSION EXPANSION. A 2nd simple idea in melody improvisation is that of the 3 types of variation: 1) translation b) inversion 3) contraction/expansion. The translation is to repeat the same melodic theme lower or higher in the scale. once or many times. This may involve deforming the exact intervals of the theme, but it creates a sense of repetition and at the same time of changes. The inversion is to make the ascending melodic theme descending but same pattern theme and vice versa. Again this may involve distorting the theme. The inversion makes the sad happy and vice-versa. Finally the expansion/contraction is the idea that chromatic intervals (2nds of 1 or 2 semitones) will create a kind of chromatic dissonance and tension, the melodic intervals (3rds major or minor) will create a sense of melodic feeling, and larger harmonic intervals of 4th, 5th of 8th a feeling of harmony. The simple idea is to wave sadness and joy or serenity and anxiety by waving from short size intervals to larger type of intervals and vice-versa. The guitar or other string instruments with fingerboard (fiddle) or fretboard  are helpful in this idea . 

4) HARMONIC CYCLES For the harmony and in improvising at the level of chord progressions, the corresponding idea is a linear order of chords (major/minor) in sequential harmonic relation ,in other words that their roots are consecutive notes in the cycle by intervals of 4th. Given a melody in a diatonic scale  or in chromatic tonality of a diatonic scale,  when improvising almost randomly with chords, there is also a similar idea of stepwise glissando by chords either in diatonic pitch linear order of the roots or in the harmonic progression of their roots by 4ths ,which latter is quite faster than the diatonic stepwise glissando, especially when we are searching for the major chord (or minor chord) among the 3 in a diatonic scale that fits the current state of the melody. Once the right root or middle of the chord is found we  tweak to major or minor (sometimes diminished or augmented) till it fits well to the melody. 

Other simple ideas to compose chord progressions involve the harmonic triad of major chords in a diatonic scale 1-4-5 and also the chords of a diatonic scale as enhanced by chromatic tonality (see post 263)   Other simple ideas involve  triads of harmonic pairs of chords in various relations like chromatic , melodic harmonic. 

270. THE ADVANTAGES OF IMPROVISING A MELODY VERSUS PLAYING A MELODY

 THE ADVANTAGES OF IMPROVISING A MELODY VERSUS PLAYING A MELODY

PLAYING THE MELODY

DISADVANTAGES: 1) No sufficient space to interpolate  your own feelings parallel to the melody
                                   2) Rigid stereotypic repetition  , that the slightest deviation will cause the                                                feeling of an "error" or "bad sound". This will create fear and will "slauter" the "wings" to add your own "signature" to the melody. It will stop  also and suppress the ability to compose your own melodies.

ADVANTAGES: 1) You do not have to involve much of your emotions and creativity , after learning it it seems easier to repeat it each time and if the melody is played correctly it is expected by the audience to to appreciate it.


IMPROVISING THE MELODY:

ADVANTAGES:1) Plenty of free  space to interpolate  your own feelings parallel to the melody
                                   2) No rigid stereotypic repetition , each time played it is somehow different . The randomness of the decorative notes of the improvisation allows for searching the appropriate melodic center that corresponds to the intended emotion or for gradual correcting till the melodic center of the original melody is found   This will create an euphoria of abundance of creativity and will multiply the ability to compose your own melodies in later times.

DISADVANTAGES: 1) It requires listening to your own mood (or the mood of the  audience) when improvising the  melody, and there is always the risk that the current version of the improvisation of the melody is not good enough compared maybe to previous improvisations or that the audience will not appreciate it enough as you appreciate it when your are improvising it.


IN OVER ALL IT IS OBVIOUS THAT IMPROVISING A MELODY IS BY FAR MORE ADVANTAGEOUS THAN JUST PLAYING THE MELODY.

SIMPLISTIC IDEAS THAT ENCOURAGE IN IMPROVISATION IN MELODIES AND HARMONY.

(See also post 263 . 270 and  83. A SCALE OF CHORDS ORIENTED IMPROVISATION METHOD VERSUS SCALE OF NOTES OR CHORDS OF A SCALE.)


In order to improvise one has to be daring and under the flow of a kind of joy.

The educational system of classical music which is based on reading scores is not appropriate for creating improvisation abilities.

1)  The most important and also simple idea in melodic improvisation, is that the improvisation must be created at first or at least as well (but usually better than what in an musical instrument) in singing or whistling which will dominate the instrument playing even if later no singing or whistling is heard.
The living bioware is always a better musical instruments than a rigid hardware musical instrument or even digital musical instrument

2) It helps a lot for the improvisation of melodies to have the idea of STEPWISE GLISSANDO in the sense of scanning all notes in pitch linear order sequence of the scale that the instrument is tuned, so as to find the one that you will stay longer (melodic center as note of the simplicial sub-melody) or even correct to the melodic center if the melody is somehow already known. Instruments like piano, Celtic harm, or diatonic pan-flute are very helpful in this. The guitar or other string instruments with fingerboard (fiddle) or fretboard are not much helpful in this but they are helpful in chromatic stepwise glissando. 

3) A 2nd simple idea in melody improvisation is that of the 3 types of variation: 1) translation b) inversion 3) contraction/expansion. The translation is to repeat the same melodic theme lower or higher in the scale. once or many times. This may involve deforming the exact intervals of the theme, but it creates a sense of repetition and at the same time of changes. The inversion is to make the ascending melodic theme descending but same pattern theme and vice versa. Again this may involve distorting the theme. The inversion makes the sad happy and vice-versa. Finally the expansion/contraction is the idea that chromatic intervals (2nds of 1 or 2 semitones) will create a kind of chromatic dissonance and tension, the melodic intervals (3rds major or minor) will create a sense of melodic feeling, and larger harmonic intervals of 4th, 5th of 8th a feeling of harmony. The simple idea is to wave sadness and joy or serenity and anxiety by waving from short size intervals to larger type of intervals and vice-versa.

4) For the harmony and in improvising at the level of chord progressions, the corresponding idea is a linear order of chords (major/minor) in sequential harmonic relation ,in other words that their roots are consecutive notes in the cycle by intervals of 4th. Given a melody in a diatonic scale  or in chromatic tonality of a diatonic scale,  when improvising almost randomly with chords, there is also a similar idea of stepwise glissando by chords either in diatonic pitch linear order of the roots or in the harmonic progression of their roots by 4ths so as to find the right chord and also twinkle major or minor till it fits well to the melody. 

Other simple ideas to compose chord progressions involve the harmonic triad of major chords in a diatonic scale 1-4-5 and also the chords of a diatonic scale as enhanced by chromatic tonality (see post 263)   Other simple ideas involve  triads of harmonic pairs of chords in various relations like chromatic , melodic harmonic. 

269. HOW TO LISTEN THE MUSIC OF THE LIVING PLANTS

HOW TO LISTEN THE MUSIC OF THE LIVING PLANTS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZaokNmQ4eY


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR5iCvFevWw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4CONoyIMaw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rlTIPiLYHo


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og0KoeZzpGM

268. Transforming everyday objects into musical Instruments: Bruno Zamborlin at TEDxBrussels

 Transforming everyday objects into musical Instruments: Bruno Zamborlin at TEDxBrussels



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGbyFxw3-pY

267. BART HOPKIN : A REMARKABLE ALTERNATIVE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS EXPERIMENTATOR

http://barthopkin.com/books-cds/


http://barthopkin.com/instrumentarium/

266. THE ANCIENT 1ST CIVILIZATIONAL GENERATION MUSIC MELODIC TYPE OF IMPROVISATION

Here is about how improvisation was carried out in ancient times and is still carried our by the lovers of the 1st civilizational generation music (see post 265).

THE KEY-WORD HERE IN THE 4TH GENERATION DIGITAL MUSIC FOR THE MUSICAL-THEORETIC IDEAS OF THIS   POST (AS FAR AS MORDEN SOFTWARE FOR MUSIC MAKING IS ) IS MELODY-SEQUENCERS AND ARPEGGIATORS

THE TERM  SEQUENCER MEANS HERE A LOOP OR RHYTHMIC CYCLE OF   A  MELODIC THEME THAT IS VARIATED INTERACTIVELY BY THE USER  IN A MELODIC SEQUENCER.

THERE MANY GOOD SOFTWARE PROGRAMS FOR THIS COMPOSITION AND IMPROVISATION LIKE FUGUE MACHINE, YAMAHA MOBILE SEQUENCER, THUMPJAM ETC. ALSO ARPIO  AND ARPEGGIONOME FOR GENERAL ARPEGGIOS ALTERNATED WITH MELODIC IMPROVISATIONS

1) THE RHYTHMIC THEME  (A PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT)

In addition  to the percussion instrument we may have a morphological rhythmic pattern E.g. A1 B1 B2 B3 or A1 A2 A3 B1 , which shows how the melodic theme is repeated or varied by translation inversion , expansion/contraction and rotation-mutation.

2) THE 5 OR 6 OR 7 NOTES SCALES


3) THE NOTES THAT THE MELODY STAYS MUCH LONGER (CENTERS THAT MAKE THE SIMPLICIAL SUB-MELODY)

4) ALTERING THE SCALE TO CREATE SCALES PROGRESSION

5) REPETITION PATTERNS IN THE  SCALES PROGRESSION

6) ISOCRATIC NOTES 

7) ISOCRATIC NOTES IN STRING INSTRUMENTS WITH FRET BOARD AND TUNING BY 5THS OR 8THS AND COMBINATIONS

8) NO UNDERLYING CHORDS AND NO  INSTRUMENT PLAYING ANY ACCOMPANYING CHORD.


9) BEST INSTRUMENTS FOR THIS  TYPE OF IMPROVISATION. THE HARP WITH LEVERS AND.OR PEDALS. 

IF THE CENTRAL  ENTITY IN HARMONY IS THE TRIAD CHORD THE CENTRAL ENTITY IN MELODY IS THE MELODIC THEME AND IN PARTICULAR THE OVERSIMPLIFIED VERSION OF SIMPLE MELODIC MOVE BY AN INTERVAL AS  TRACED IN SIMPLIFIED WAY BY THE SIMPLICIAL SUBMELODY.

Based on the above, the themes in the simplicial sub-melody as simple moves are of two polarities up (+) or down (-) and of three sizes Chromatic (symbol C) by intervals of 2nds, Melodic (symbol M) by intervals of 3rd and Harmonic (symbol H) by intervals of 4th, 5th, 8th or higher. Then the progression of the simplicial melodic themes in the song will have a symbolic form like E.g.

H(+)M(-)H(-)M(+)C(-)M(+)H(+).......etc

The translation/transposition  of a simplicial melodic theme retains its cahracter as chromatic , melodic or harmonic.
The inversion of a simplicial melodic theme inverses the + to - andthe - to +
The expansion/contraction of a simplicial melodic theme e.g. an expansion changes a chromatic to a melodic or harmonic and a melodic to an harmonic. A contraction changes an harmonic to a melodic or chromatic and a melodic to a chromatic.

265. THE 4 CIVILIZATIONAL GENERATIONS OF MUSIC. MONOPHONIC (MELODIC SCALES) POLYPHONIC (HARMONIC CLASSICAL MUSIC) IMPROVISATIONAL (JAZZ AND FOLK) DIGITAL (ELECTRONIC )

264. A NEW BOWED STRING INSTRUMENT THE METRIC (FRETTED) LYRA OR FRET-LIN (OR...BOWED DULCIMER)

FRETBOARD VIOLIN (FRET-LIN OR METRIC-LYRA ) PLAYED AS CRETAN LYRA (OR  SMALL CELLO)


Many companies of electric violins manufacture them with frets on the fingerboard.

If we apply on the violin fingerboard ready made auto-sticking fretboards, we still can have tremolo and vibrato and even a type of glissanti while we do not spent so much time  learning the fingerboard. Then if we know fretboard string instruments like mandolin , ukulele, guitar it helps a lot to start playing the violin as an instrument without artificial difficulties.

(Here is such a product from a canadian musician http://www.frettedfiddle.com/ )

In addition it is by far more convenient to play it as they play the folk Lyra in Greece (Crete) and other places in other words like a small cello, on the knees. If we want to have also the bow falling with its own weight in stable way on the strings as in the standard position of the violin we may use simple bow drivers like these here https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32878752247.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.21cd4c4deuojvB )

After learning to play adequately in this little violin-Lyra we may put the bow outside the plastic driver and on the site of  the upper side of the fretboard, and let simply this driver be used so that the bow does not get lower than this, and use its own weight to pressure, but still we may have the freedom of moves to turn the bow on its own axis at different angles if we want a more narrow surface of the touch on the strings.

FRENCH AND GERMAN BOW HOLDING

The bow in case of this modification of the violin which is essentially a new instrument that could be called FRET-LIN OR METRIC-LYRA can be either with the German (the hand lower than the bow) or French (the hand over the bow) way in cello. The French way gives more control because of more efficient use of the bones of muscles of wrist for difficult moves of the bow, but the German way is more relaxing. A best result is if we use both ways for difficult bowing the French way and for stand more easy bowing the German way.

CHORDS  IN FRET-LIN

Because the fingerboard is a fretboard, the chords shapes pressed by the fingers is a by far more practical practice than what is the case in violin.


GLISSANDO-GLASS FOR THE BOWED FRETTED-LYRA

By utilizing a sliding glass as in a havaia guitar, at the index or another finger, we may add very nice sounding glissanti melodies especially at t hose pieces of melody that the notes are few and not of very large intervals (2nds or 3rds)

ALTERNATIVE  TUNINGS FOR THE FRET-LIN OR METRIC-LYRA


1) As we wrote in post 209, there is a system of melodic improvisation based on drone (isocratic) interval of  an octave and melodies derived by alternating intervals 5th and 4rth so as to create successive power-5 chords among octaves. But this requires alo in string instruments special tuning and a space of 3 to 4 octaves.

happily for the violin have been created the octave-violin strings which are one octave lower from the standard. So instead of  G3-D4-A4-E5 these strings will tune the violin to G2-D3-A3-E4.

See e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgZdlEBpIBI


This allows for  mixed low-standard tunings of the violin for melodic improvisations as inpost 209 that are 8-5-8 meaning that the 1st-2nd string are one octave apart , the 2nd-3rd one fifth apart and the 3rd-4th one octave apart E.g.

G2-G3-D4-D5 (utilizing strings octave G2, standard G3, octave D3, standard E4 for the D5 ) or

A2-A3-E4-E5 (utilizing strings octave G2 for A2 , standard A3, octave E4, standard E5)

The 2nd requires one tone loosening one standard string and the 1st one octave string and one standard string tightening by one tone.


OTHER  ALTERNATIVE TUNINGS


1) HARMONIC TUNING FOR 4-STRINGS

(These  tunings are not only mainly for playing arpeggios and simplicial submelody, when another ,usually wind , instrument is playing the solo, but also when the Lyra is playing solo)


This is an alternating minor-major 3rds tuning that has open chords in normal position per consecutive 3 strings and also a 7nth open chord in normal position for all 4-strings (see post 90 )

It is the tuning

E4-G4-B4-D5

It is an open E minor 7nth chord

We use for the D5 the E5 violin string. For the B4 the A4 violin string. For the G4 the A4 violin string For the E4 the D4 violin string.

This tuning has the maximum number of chord shapes per number of frets, and also all the melodies are quite compact close when changing from string to string.

Because the tuning by 3rds has less total range to increase it we may have the 1st two strings one octave lower by using octave violin strings. In other words


E3-G3-B4-D5

Then the E3 is by the D3 octave violin string, and the G3 by the normal G3 violin string.

The above harmonic tuning has privileged scale the G major. For folk sings and jazz songs we may have also as privileged scale the F major as follows:

D4-F4-A4-C5

It is an open D minor 7nth chord

We use for the C5 the E5 violin string. For the A4 the A4 violin string. For the F4 the A4 violin string For the D4 the D4 violin string.



2) UKULELE TUNING

Of course an alternative tuning for many chords but not in normal position is the ukulele tuning.

It is the tuning

D4-G4-B4-E5

We use for the E5 the E5 violin string. For the B4 the A4 violin string. For the G4 the A4 violin string For the D4 the D4 violin string.


3) THE OCTAVES 3 STRING TUNING:

This is utilizing again the D3 octave string of the violin and it is simply the

D3-D4-D5

For the D5 we use obviously the E5 string

The advantage is obviously very easy grasping of the notes on the fingerboard , as known one strings is known all the violin.

4) THE PANDURI OR OPEN MAJOR CHORD  3 STRING TUNING:

These tunings have less range than the tunings by 5ths , but also other advantages that we describe here

These PANDURI tunings are not only mainly for playing arpeggios and simplicial submelody, when another ,usually wind , instrument is playing the solo but advantageous, as we explain below when the Lyra is playing solo too.

For solos, the tunings below have the characteristic that we can easily-readily play the 2nd or 3rd voice on the other 2 strings. In addition as the strings are  close and differ only at an interval of 3rd, and as most melodies have a span of 1-2 octaves, then all of the  melody  they can be played in  one only of the 3 strings which is quite intuitive in its linear pitch order, as in harp or panflute (except here chromatically not diatonically).

This is not utilizing octave strings of the violin and it is simply the open G3 major chord. The advantage is obviously very easy arpeggios (harpisms) on all chords of the (G major) diatonic scale.

G4-B4-D5

For the D5 we use obviously the E5 string and for the B4 the A4 string of the violin.

For the G4 we use the A4 string of the violin

Or we can set the

F4-A4-C5

For the C5 we use obviously the E5 string and for the A4 the A4 string of the violin.

For the F4 we use the A4 string of the violin

The above tuning is best for familiar sound of chords.

If we want ab octave lower such tuning, in other words

F3-A3-C4

Then we utilize a G3 string for the F3, an octave violin A3 string or a standard violin G3 string again, and for the C4 the standard violin D4 string.

There is also a similar open major chord (panduri) tuning which is a 4th higher (for arpeggione and simplicial sub-melody to the solo melody played by another instrument ) but still in a diatonic scale fitting the brass winds the clarinet and the saxophone in Bb

Bb4-D5-F5

For the F5 we use obviously the E5 string and for the D4 the E4 string of the violin.

For the Bb4 we use the A4 string of the violin

If we want a larger range  version of the open major chord tuning,then we may utilize the D3  string of the violin and an octave G2 string of the violin and have the tuning by jumping an octave between the notes as follows:

G2-B3-D5

This 3-string tuning has larger range than the usual 4-strings violin!

Nevertheless because of the octaves between the strings the sound of the chords is not so natural as the previous more narrow range tuning.

A VERSION WITH 2 ONLY STRINGS

For starters it is more convenient to start learning it  with 2 only strings tuned   D4-A4

or D4-D5

We may start with rather cheap chinese violin that start from........30-40 $ or 90-110 $ and if we still like playing the instrument after a year we may proceed with more expensive violin bodies.

HERE IS ANOTHER MUSICIAN (Jirka Hájek)

Jirka Hájek

WHO HAD THE SAME IDEA AND DID THE SAME THING TO HIS VIOLIN

1) HE ADDED FRETS

2) HE IS PLAYING IT LIKE A LYRA WHICH IS MORE EGONOMIC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfFnXReyw9E&fbclid=IwAR1hqXf0zrQZqlwb9v0nOXH_uc3A_safFuCH7H4Pm8KiL0LiKLlK9O2GTZc

SEE ALSO A SIMILAR IDEA AT THE BOWED DULCIMER WHICH  MAY BE CONSIDERED A FRETTED VIOLIN, FRETTED VIOLA, FRETTED CELLO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ4WcFF-m3U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Bg-K8gOf7U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYNVIMrB-I4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjYfzgLbMd4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_NbcIKNyCE&t=266s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaoT0XatJuM

COMPARISON WITH OLDER INSTRUMENTS

We may compare it with the Scandinavian nyckelharpa and the medieval mechanical violin hurdy-gurdy

NYCKELHARPA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3UaY75o2w4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs3aUCM8BX8

HURDY-GURDY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BvwM07BYvg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sRcPETo-nk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x7sPlQe8yA

263. CHROMATIC TONAL MUSIC DIFFERENTIATED FROM TONAL, MULTI-TONAL AND ATONAL MUSIC.

CHROMATIC TONAL MUSIC COMPARED TO MULTI-TONAL MUSIC OR ATONAL MUSIC.

IN THIS ARRICLE WE DISCUSS HOW STARTING FROM A DIATONIC SCALE

WITH CHORDS IN STEPS 1M-2m-3m-4M-5M-6m-7d-1'M WE PASS TO ALL THE 12-TONES SCALE (WHICH IS AN ADDITIONAL MAJOR PENTATONIC SCALE OF BLUE NOTES 5b-6b-7b-2b-3b)  BY A) CHANGING THE MAJOR CHORDS TO MINOR CHORDS AND VICE-VERSA B) BY ADDING MAJOR OR MINOR OR DIMINISHED CHORDS ON THE CHROMATIC OR BLUE NOTES: 2bM 3bM 5bM 6bM 7bM OR 2bm 3bm 5bm 6bm 7bm OR 2bdim 3bdim 5bdim 6bdim 7bdim.

THIS PASSAGE FROM THE TONAL MUSIC TO AN HARMONY AND MELODY OF ALL 12 NOTES IN A SONG WILL BE CALLED CHROMATIC TONALITY . IT IS THE FULL CHROMATIC TONALITY IF IT PASSES TO ALL12 NOTES OR PARTIAL CHROMATIC TONALITY IF IT ENHANCES TO ONLY SOME OF THE 5 CHROMATIC OR BLUE NOTES

Let us start with:

THE DIFFERENCE OF USING MINOR CHORDS (SADNESS THROUGH BLUE NOTES) IN EARLY WESTERN JAZZ COMPARED TO OTHER POP AND FOLK MUSIC AND EASTERN (GYPSY) JAZZ.


Incorporating minor chords in major chords is of course the way that we feel sadness after or before we  feel happy.

POP OR OTHER FOLK MUSIC METHOD

In most of the usual pop and folk music in various cultures , the use of minor chords ,in a song e.g. which jas as part of major chords the main triad 5M-1M-4M of a diatonic scale (e.g. in C major G major-C major-F major) is to shift the triad of the lower relative minor chords in the same diatonic scale   3m-6m-2m  (e.g. shifting from the triad of  G major-C major-F major to the triad E minor A minor D minor).

EARLY WESTERN JAZZ METHOD

But in early jazz the incorporation of minor chords e.g. in a song which is utilizing the triad of majors 5M-1M-4M of a diatonic scale (e.g. in C major G major-C major-F major) is by shifting to the same root minor chords 5m-1m-4m (e.g.  G minor-C major-F minor). It is not necessary that the are used all 3 minor chords maybe only one or oly two of them. This essentially means that instead of the middle notes of the major chords:  B for G major E for C major and C for F major they are used the 

Bb, Eb , Ab (which by the way are all notes of the Eb major scale). Which is equivalent to the notes 

Bb, Eb G#. Notice that two of them  the Eb and G# are 2 of the first 4 Blue notes of the C major scale as described in post 245.

Notice of course that all the 5 blue notes 2b 3b 5b 6b 7b make a major pentatonic scale with root 5b and main chords 5b major and 3b minor. 

We repeat here the main definitions and concepts of Blue notes which are in total 5 notes and make by their own a pentatonic scale (in the case of the C major scale the black keys of the piano )

We remind the reader that in the online notes here we call a sequence of 7 interval that sum-up to 12 semitones a mode and all cyclic permutations of it as the scale that the mode belongs.

As it was mentioned in post 40 the order of how much harmonic is  an interval (and interval is more harmonic than another means that the two notes have a  greater number of common harmonics or overtones) the order of "harmonicity" is

8th>5th>4th> major 3rd>minor  3rd

The first 4 blue notes of the diatonic scale are  by definition the neighboring by one semitone notes to the interval of 5th c-g thus g# f# around g and c# around c and the same with the best next interval of major 3rd c-e thus d# or c# again . This gives the maximum shift from an harmonic interval to one with dissonance thus chromaticity. 

There cannot be other as first 4 notes other than the above 4 blue notes for the first 2 best intervals (5th and major 3rd) around the roor note .

Obviously a way to add all the 5 chromatic notes to a  diatonic scale is to alter some major chords to minor with the same root or vice versa.

Then the order of the chromatic notes 5#, 4#, 1# , 2#, 6# would give the next order of altering majors to minors or vice versa

3 minor ->3 major or 4 major->4 minor (for 5#) 
2 minor-> 2 major (for 4#)
6 minor -> 6 major (for 1#)
1 major-> 1 minor (for 2#)
5 major-> 5 minor (for 6#)

or in symbols


3m->3M
4M->4m
2m->2M
6m->6M
1M->1m
5M->5m

The 1st blue note (5#) may make also the 4M chord 4m, so making the basic triad 5N 1M 4M, to 5M 1M 4m. Also the 2nd blue note 2# or 3b allows, for a 1 minor chord too. making therefore the triad 5N 1M 4M to  5M 1m 4M  or   5M 1m 4 m. This is met quite often in Early jazz as method to add sad  minor chords to the main happy triad of major chords.

As we mentioned in the full chromatic tonality the major chords 1M 4M 5M may turn to minor chords

1m, 4m, 5m and good ways to do it are the next 1) we may turn the 4M to 4m as invesions of the resulotion 1M->4M, thus 1M-4M->4m->1M (see also post 29) . Similarly the 1M to 1m atthe inversion of the resolution 5M->1M->1m->5M. Finally the 5M is turned to 5m in agood way if we temporarily shift to the 7b major diatonic scale which will  turn the 5M to 5m (as 6m in 7b major) and also turn the 1M to 1m (as 2m in 7b major).

EASTERN (GYPSY) JAZZ METHOD

In this type of jazz, there also used 2 of the 4 first Blue notes of the diatonic scale which are the 2# or 3b and 5#, in other words the same two blue notes of the early Western jazz. Nevertheless the way that they are used is by substituting the 2 with 2# and 5 with 5# , thus creating the double harmonic minor scale 6-7-1-2#-3-4-5#-6 . Therefore they are introduced as a new chromatization of the natural minor scale, which goes with further changes inthe chords of the original diatonic scale.

The 5# makes the 3m to 3M , 

the 2# makes the 7dim to 7M, 

IN SUMMARY BOTH EARLY WESTERN AND EASTERN (GYPSY) JAZZ MAY MAKE THE NEXT 7 TEMPORARY CHANGES IN THE CHORDS OF THE DIATONIC SCALE DUE TO THE 4 FIRST BLUE NOTES 

3m becomes 3M
7dim becomes 7M
5M becomes 5#dim
2m becomes 2M
6m becomes 6M
4M becomes 4m or 4dim
1M becomes 1#dim

We may notice that it resembles a change of tone from the 1 major to 3 major (e.g. C major to E major) but the details are be far different.

Obviously not all of these changes occur necessarily simultaneously in a single song. maybe only few of them. And usually at least 50% of the time the chords are the normal of the diatonic scale. Other ways to organize them and perceive them are as triads of harmonic pairs of chords (see post 215  IMPROVISATION OVER A PAIR OF CHORDS . TRIADS OF HARMONIC PAIRS OF CHORDS. ). This awareness of these alterations of the normal chords of a diatonic scale (by blue notes) allows for a consistent and rich system of harmony for composing and improvising early jazz type of jazz.

There are musicians that consieve these changes as modulations say from the C major scale to th Fmajor scale and/or to the A major scale. But the above approach based on the harmonic minor and double harmonic minor seems more correct.

Triads of chromatic tonality that are often met and are based in one of the chromatic 7-notes scales the harmonic minor, the meapolitan and the double chromatic minor are the next

3M7-6m-2m  (harmonic minor)

7M7-3m-6m (Neapolitian)

6M7-2m-5m (harmonic minor)

All the three above triads (double harmonic minor)

2M7-5m-1m

5M7-1m-4m

1M7-4m-7m

4M7-7m-3m

Chromatic shifts of them by an interval of 2nd are e.g. the next

7M7-3m-6m->
1M7-4m-7m

Or 

1M7-4m-7m->
2M7-5m-1m

Or 

6M7-2m-5m->
1M7-3m-6m

Etc

Cycles of 6 chords in harmonic relations are the next 7

1M7-4m-7m->
3M-6M-2M

2M7-5m-1m->
4M-7M-3M

3M7-6m-2m->
5M-1M-4M

4M7-7m-3m->
6M-2M-5M

5M7-1m-4m->
7M-3M-6M

6M7-2m-5m->
1M-4M-7M

7M7-3m-6m->
2M-5M-1M

1ST CHROMATIC TONALITY 7-CHORD-SCALE OR 7-CHORD CYCLE  

THEREFORE IT IS A VERY COMMON IN WESTERN JAZZ GYPSY JAZZ (e.g. "For Wesley") CLASSICAL MUSIC (e.g. "Moon light sonata" of Beethoven) ANDEAN MUSIC ETC THE NEXT CYCLE OF CHORDS OR SCALE OF CHORDS THAT CAN BE CALLED  1ST CHROMATIC TONALITY 7-CHORD-SCALE OR 7-CHORD CYCLE  THE NEXT

6m->2m->5M->1M->4M->7M->3M->6m

or with 7nths in Jazz

6m7->2m7->5maj7->1maj7->4maj7->7M7->3M7->6m7

There are even pocket chord-harmonicas (e.g. tombo pocket-chord harmonica) designed to play exactly this cycle of chords

AS WE MAY NOTICE THIS SYSTEM OF HARMONY WITH THE FIRST 4 BLUE NOTES (AND  5TH BLUE NOT 6#=7b  MAY BE ADDED) IS ESSENTIALLY A METHOD TO PLAY SOONER OR LATER IN THE MELODY ALL THE 12 NOTES OF THE FULL CHROMATIC SCALE STARTING FROM THE 7 NOTES OF THE DIATONIC SCALE AND RETURNING TO THEM AGAIN.

CONVERSELY ANY MELODY WHICH STARTS AS MELODY OF A DIATONIC SCALE AND THEN EVOLVES WITH ANY TURN AND ANY MOVE INSIDE THE 12-NOTES FULL CHROMATIC SCALE CAN BE COVERED OR ACCOMPANIED WITH THE NEXT ALTERNATIONS OF THE CHORDS OF THE DIATONIC SCALE. IN WESTERN JAZZ IT IS CONCEIVED AS ALTERATIONS DUE TO THE BLUE NOTES WHILE IN EASTERN JAZZ AS ALTERATIONS DUE TEMPORARY CHANGE OF THE NATURAL MINOR TO ONE OF THE CHROMATIC MINORS (HARMONIC, DOUBLE HARMONIC , NEAPOLITAN , PARACHROMATIC MINORS ETC) THIS MAY BE CALLED CHROMATIC TONAL MUSICAS CONTRASTED TO MULTI-TONAL MUSIC OR ATONAL MUSIC.


THE JAZZ AND CHROMATIC TONAL MUSIC, HARMONIC PERSONALITY

Steps of the chromatic scale/Harmonic Personality

1

1#

2

2#

3

4

4#

5

5#

6

6#

7

JAZZ PERSONALITY

1M(ajor) or 1m

1#Dim or 6M

2m(inor) or 2M(ajor)7

7M

3m or 3M(ajor)7

4M or 4m or 4Dim

2M7

5M7 or 5m

5#Dim or 3M7

6m or 6M7

5m

7Dim or    7Major7

Another way to order the chords is as an arc in the wheel by 4ths

1) 7Dim or    7Major7

then

2) 3m or 3M(ajor)7

then

3) 6m or 6M7

then

4) 2m(inor) or 2M(ajor)7

then

5) 5M7 or 5m

then

6) 1M(ajor) or 1m

then

7) 4M or 4m or 4Dim

Then based on the above we may have chord progressions in the chromatic tonality E.G. as following:



(a)       5M 1M 2m 5M 1m 4M 7dim 3M 6M 2m 5M 1M....etc







IF THE CENTRAL  ENTITY IN HARMONY IS THE TRIAD CHORD THE CENTRAL ENTITY IN MELODY IS THE MELODIC THEME AND IN PARTICULAR THE OVERSIMPLIFIED VERSION OF SIMPLE MELODIC MOVE BY AN INTERVAL AS  TRACED IN SIMPLIFIED WAY BY THE SIMPLICIAL SUBMELODY.

Based on the above, the themes in the simplicial sub-melody as simple moves are of two polarities up (+) or down (-) and of three sizes Chromatic (symbol C) by intervals of 2nds, Melodic (symbol M) by intervals of 3rd and Harmonic (symbol H) by intervals of 4th, 5th, 8th or higher. Then the progression of the simplicial melodic themes in the song will have a symbolic form like E.g.

(b)      H(+)M(-)H(-)M(+)C(-)M(+)H(+).......etc


E.g. if we take one note the middle note of each chord in the chromatic tonality chord progression (a) above, and take as simplicial melodic themes the moves created by the chord transition, then we may produce such a progression of melodic moves as following

H(e) M(e) H(e)H(e)C(e) H(e) H(e) H(e) H(e) C(e) He() ......etc

where e=+ or -



See also about   the 4 basic minor scales

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kobgAsDZxsw


HARMONIZING ALL 5 BLUE NOTES OR CHROMATIC NOTES (2b  3b   5b   6b and 7b)  FROM THE 7 NOTES OF THE DIATONIC SCALE TO THE 12 NOTES OF THE FULL WESTERN MUSICAL (CHROMATIC) UNIVERSE

According to musicologists of Jazz and Ethnic music (as appearing e.g. in music arrangement software like the music machines of Microsoft), the next scales of chords (that cover the steps of the chromatic 12-tone scale) correspond to the next chromatic harmonic personalities.

I BELIEVE THAT THE MAIN USE OF THIS CONCEPT IS IN JAZZ WHERE THE ROLE OF  THE DIATONIC SCALE (TONALITY) IS RATHER LOOSE,IN THE SENSE THAT IT IS REQUIRED AT LEAST 50% OF THE TIME THE NOTES OF THE MELODY AND CHORDS TO BE IN THOSE OF THE DIATONIC SCALE AND THE REST OF THE TIME IN THE 12-NOTES FULL CHROMATIC SCALE. THUS THE TYPES OFTHE CHORDS WITH ROOTS ON THE REST OF THE NOTES OF THE 12-NOTES CHROMATIC SCALE COMPARED TO THE 7-NOTES DIATONIC SCALE IS SO AS TO APPLY FOR THE REST OF THE MELODY AND ITS CHORDS. E.G. THE SOFTWARE MIDI-GUITAR ALLOWS WITH AN ARPEGGIATOR TO ACCOMPANY AUTOMATICALLY ANY MELODY WITH CHORDS OVER THE MELODY'S NOTES, THAT IN PRACTICE ARE CHORDS THAT  SOUND ONLY FOR THE CENTERS OF THE MELODY THAT ARE NOTES THAT SOUND LONGER. 
THERE ARE THOUGH OTHER USES OF THIS 12-NOTES SCHEME OF HARMONIC PERSONALITIES.

As we see in the harmonic personality of Righteous(Major) and Honest (major) the perturbation of the 7-notes  diatonic scale to the 12-notes fully chromatic scale is by diminished 7nth chords.

Steps of the chromatic scale/Harmonic Personality

1

1#

2

2#

3

4

4#

5

5#

6

6#

7

Righteous(Major)

M(ajor)

Dim7

m(inor)

Dim7

m

M

Dim7

7

Dim7

m

4,2

Dim7

Honest (major)

M

Dim7

m

Dim7

m

M

Dim7

7

Dim7

m

M

dim

Hopeful (Mixolydian)

M

M

m

M

dim

M

m

m

M

m

M

dim

Serious (Phrygian)

m

M

6,3

M

6,3

m

6,3

dim

M

6,5

m

6,5

Upbeat(Mixolydian)

M

M

m

M

m

M

M

M

M

m

M

dim

Searching(Dorian)

m

M

m

M

dim

M

dim

m

M

dim

M

dim

Lonely (major)

7

Dim7

m7

Dim7

7

7

Dim7

7

7

7

7

7

Funky(Mixolydan)

7#9

7

m7

9

m7

9

7

7

7

m7

6,3

7

Sad(minor)

m7

M

6,3

M7

6,3

m7

6,3

m7

M7

6,5

M

6,5

Romantic(major)

M

6,3

m7

6,3

m7

M7

6,3

9s

6,3

m7

M

m7b5

Boogie(major)

7

Dim7

7

Dim7

7

7

Dim7

7

Dim7

7

7

7

Noble(major)

M

6,3

m

6,3

6,3

M

6,3

M

4,3

6,3

4,2

6,3

Bittersweet(Harmonic minor)

m

6,5

m7b5

M

Dim7

m

Dim7

7

M

m7b5

M

dim7

Adventurous(H-minor)

m

M

6,3

M

6,3

m

6,3

m

M

6,5

M

6,5

Striving(minor)

M7

M

6,3

M7

6,3

m7

6,3

m7

M7

6,5

M

6,5

Sophisticated(major)

6,9

Dim7

m11

Dim9

m7

M9#11

Dim7

13

Dim7

m11

9#11

Dim9

Miserable(mixolydian)

13

Dim7

m11

Dim9

m11

13

Dim7

13

Dim7

m11

9#11

Dim9

Complex(major)

2

6,3

m11

Dim7

m6,7

2M7

6,3

9s

2M7

6,3

2

6,3

Examples of chord progressions  in chromatic tonality in Portugues guitar folk music (E.g. Jorge Fontes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6c34JP3JsE&t=150s&ab_channel=tbanjotbanjo)

1) 

triad of major chords=5M 1M 4M

cycle of chords with minors=1M-4m-7bm

2) 

triad of major chords=5M 1M 4M

cycle of chords with minors=6M-2m-5M

3) 

triad of major chords=5M 1M 4M

cycle of chords with minors=5M-1M-4m

4) 

triad of major chords=5M 1M 4M

cycle of chords with minors=5M-1m-4m

5) 

triad of major chords=5M 1M 4M

cycle of chords with minors=2M-5m

6) 

triad of major chords=5M 1M 4M

cycle of chords with minors=3M-6m-2m

7) The 5) and 6) together

1st triad of major chords=5M 1M 4M

1st cycle of chords with minors=7M7-3M-6m-2m (double harmonic minor)

2nd triad of majors  7M7-3M7-6M       (shifts in the upper relative major scale) 

2nd cycle of chords with minors=4#M7-7m (as if harmonic minor in in   2 major scale) 

8) 

triad of major chords=5M 1M 4M

cycle of chords with minors=6m-2m-5M

9) 

1st triad of major chords=5M 1M 4M

1st cycle of chords with minors=3M-6m-2m

2nd triad of major chords=7M7 3M7 6M  (upper relative major scale) 

2nd cycle of chords with minors=4#m-7m-3M-6M

10) 

1st triad of major chords=5M 1M 4M

1st cycle of chords with minors=1M-4m-7bm

2nd cycle of chords with minors=2M-5m