A Mel Bay Publications, Inc. Webzine
December 2006 · Bimonthly
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In this issue: Rick Turner - Inside the Mind of a Music Industry Visionary | Life on the Road: The Urban Cowboy Band - Part 3 | Improvisational Approaches 1 | Life as a Navy Bassist | How to be a Working Stiff | An Interview with Grammy Nominated Bassist Ricky Showalter
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Improvisational Approaches 1by David Graber This article is geared towards the bass player that wants to play more than one style of music. As a bass player, this can be beneficial, as you can get calls for different types of work. All of these suggestions imply that you have a basic understanding of music, and that you use your ears, as well as your common sense. When improvising, it is important to become familiar with the style of music you are improvising on. In this article I want to give you some ideas for improvising in different musical styles. For example, if you were playing a blues tune, a minor blues scale, played in a convincing blues style would be appropriate. However, if you were to play that particular scale, say in a classical piece, you will quickly realize how important it is to stay in the genre. I give this example because it is an extreme one, but it is very relevant. If you want to sound convincing you need to be convinced of what you are playing. If you don't know how to play over changes, you will not sound very convincing. People will hear you and say, "oh, he's a rock player trying to play jazz," or "he's a blues player trying to play jazz". The whole point of this article is that it is ok to devote yourself to one style and many great players attest to this, but if it is in your heart, and you want to, it is beneficial to learn different styles. Here are just a few examples of how to approach these styles. If you can, play a chord on a keyboard or tape recorder and then try some of these scales over top the chord. Try singing the scale also, this is very good ear training. BluesScale ApproachBlues Pentatonic Mix Lydian Altered The minor blues scale is the most obvious scale to start with. Over a 12 or 16 bar blues, the tonic scale can be used over the form, you just have to watch how long you stay on the 4th or 11th degree of the V chord. Other scales that work are the mixolydian, the aelioan, Lydian b7. If you want to start sounding more "outside" you can use the whole tone scale starting on the root, melodic minor starting on the b9, altered dominant starting on the root, which is the same scale as the melodic minor, just a different mode of the melodic minor. Half whole scale. Arpeggios The chords that can be used are Dom 7, Dom9, Dom7#9, Dom 7 b5, Dom 7#5, Dom 7 b13, Dom 7 #11, Dom 13. When using the extensions you should be aware of the melody notes as well as what the other players are playing to avoid a clash. Over a dominant 7, as you can see, lies a plethora of options, depending on style, capability, and melody. RockScale ApproachPentatonic Modal Blues Sometimes altered Rock music in general is very diatonic, (meaning in the key), there are more and more exceptions to this, but for the sake of simplicity, we will keep it diatonic. The most fitting scales are the five note pentatonic, e.g., over a C chord, play C D E G A C. Modal scales also work. If you encounter an Ami7 for example, and you know that it is the 2 of the chord, it would be dorian. Blues scale also works, but use your ear to see if it is fitting. The altered scale on a solo is more fusion sounding. Arpeggios In rock music the use of "power chords" is quite common. This is the root and fifth of a chord. Typically triads are also used. Extensions are not that common. About the Author David Graber: Bassist, teacher, and performer located in northern Washington state. [ top ]
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