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I'm very new on the saxophone, but I have been listening to great music and improvising on other instruments for over half a century. I also had a lot of great influencers on several instruments, especially when I lived in L.A., where it's easy to play with other people. I began these thoughts for a reply on BOTM, but decided it was too long-winded for that. I invite you to add your constructive thoughts to make this a thread worth reading for players new to learning improvisation, just as @Wade Cornell has related such useful information in his posts. I've put the YouTube examples in links rather than fill the post with video players.
Overreaching is how a child learns to walk, then run. In fact, it's how they learn everything, always testing the boundaries. I'm very guilty of it myself. It's a necessary "evil" of learning to improvise. Cutting it out of recordings is also a good idea. 😀 I am positive every single revered jazz player started out by playing way more than they actually could, when practicing. You do this when you're just playing, not in the practice time when you're supposed to be aiming for accuracy, such as on scales or arpeggios.
Here are some observations that may be useful for beginning improvisers. They're suggestions. I try to pay close attention to any version of a song, starting from a simple vocal one, progressing to a laid back instrumental. I try to remember the sung melody and the words, especially in a ballad. Early on I was told that the best players think of the words when they play songs. This is different from, say, the Miles Davis stuff that moved the jazz paradigm away from standards and bop. On the other hand, here's a 1954 version of Old Devil Moon by Miles where his improvisation is characteristic of his early (Miles was 28) playing. In these instrumentals, I take note of some of the details used, such as where and how often slurs and ghost notes are used. In orchestral arrangements like Witchcraft (Sinatra) with Nelson Riddle, there are usually some interesting harmonic concepts to try to hear. In more advanced trio and quartet versions by Coltrane, or Sonny Rollins, they use some patterns, almost throw away phrases, which reveal their unique personality. When they are not doing that, their little turns of a phrase are fascinating.
Here is one solo in Just Friends by Kenny Dorham that knocked me out. The dynamics, the voice, the ideas, show clearly how he went around inside a II-V-I change. This is soulful playing with rhythmic sophistication. You can find stuff like that at any level of good jazz on any instrument. Another trick is to understand the rhythm, ignoring the notes for moment. If you listen to Bill Evans play piano, eliminate the notes and he's playing the drums. Now listen to the note placement, which from the beginning of the tune is already improvising a lot rhythmically, and adding notes to go up and down to melody notes.
Remember the legacy: "It's all rhythm!" You'll want to consider note lengths, volumes and attack; everything that makes up articulation. Where a singer might stay on one note, a saxophone voice might use that note as a base, making a few jumps between it and other notes, in the scale/harmony or intentionally out of it.
Finally, always retain the wisdom of Progress Hornsby, the fictitious jazz leader on Sid Caesars Comedy Hour:
Interviewer; "What instruments are in your band?"
Hornsby: "Tenor sax, bass, drums, and a radar player."
Interviewer: "Radar player? I don't..."
Hornsby: "Yeah, to make sure we don't get too close to the melody!"
Ba da boom.
Overreaching is how a child learns to walk, then run. In fact, it's how they learn everything, always testing the boundaries. I'm very guilty of it myself. It's a necessary "evil" of learning to improvise. Cutting it out of recordings is also a good idea. 😀 I am positive every single revered jazz player started out by playing way more than they actually could, when practicing. You do this when you're just playing, not in the practice time when you're supposed to be aiming for accuracy, such as on scales or arpeggios.
Here are some observations that may be useful for beginning improvisers. They're suggestions. I try to pay close attention to any version of a song, starting from a simple vocal one, progressing to a laid back instrumental. I try to remember the sung melody and the words, especially in a ballad. Early on I was told that the best players think of the words when they play songs. This is different from, say, the Miles Davis stuff that moved the jazz paradigm away from standards and bop. On the other hand, here's a 1954 version of Old Devil Moon by Miles where his improvisation is characteristic of his early (Miles was 28) playing. In these instrumentals, I take note of some of the details used, such as where and how often slurs and ghost notes are used. In orchestral arrangements like Witchcraft (Sinatra) with Nelson Riddle, there are usually some interesting harmonic concepts to try to hear. In more advanced trio and quartet versions by Coltrane, or Sonny Rollins, they use some patterns, almost throw away phrases, which reveal their unique personality. When they are not doing that, their little turns of a phrase are fascinating.
Here is one solo in Just Friends by Kenny Dorham that knocked me out. The dynamics, the voice, the ideas, show clearly how he went around inside a II-V-I change. This is soulful playing with rhythmic sophistication. You can find stuff like that at any level of good jazz on any instrument. Another trick is to understand the rhythm, ignoring the notes for moment. If you listen to Bill Evans play piano, eliminate the notes and he's playing the drums. Now listen to the note placement, which from the beginning of the tune is already improvising a lot rhythmically, and adding notes to go up and down to melody notes.
Remember the legacy: "It's all rhythm!" You'll want to consider note lengths, volumes and attack; everything that makes up articulation. Where a singer might stay on one note, a saxophone voice might use that note as a base, making a few jumps between it and other notes, in the scale/harmony or intentionally out of it.
Finally, always retain the wisdom of Progress Hornsby, the fictitious jazz leader on Sid Caesars Comedy Hour:
Interviewer; "What instruments are in your band?"
Hornsby: "Tenor sax, bass, drums, and a radar player."
Interviewer: "Radar player? I don't..."
Hornsby: "Yeah, to make sure we don't get too close to the melody!"
Ba da boom.
