Theory & Impro Using patterns in jazz impro

Pete Thomas

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There are many approaches you can take to improvising from just playing what comes into your head to assessing chord tone and associated scales or melodic phrases based on "vocabulary." The great thing about using patterns though is that so often you needn't bother too much about wrong notes because the mere fact that a short motif may be moving in a pseudo mathematically patterned way, often it (the pattern) let's you "get away" with notes that in a more melodic or random setting might sound wrong. The more cynical among us might say if you play anything fast enough you get away with wrong notes.

You could find for example the first two bars of this could work well on a C7 or D7, it doesn't need to be an augmented or any other kind of alteration. Likewise it be OK on A minor. What I'm saying is the brain is taken somewhere else by the patternistic nature and provided you come out of it with some kind of neat resolution then you are fine.

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Similar threads... or are they? Maybe not but they could be worth reading anyway 😀

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