How to Make Your Own Jazz Etude

It's been awhile, but I'm back to teach you how to make a jazz etude of your own.  If you haven't already read Jazz Improvisation: Two Types of Etudes make sure you do.  This article explains why making your own jazz etude is more beneficial than using someone else jazz etude.  After writing that post I figured I should give you some tips and show you how to make your own jazz etude.

To get started you need to decide on what your jazz etude should focus on and teach you.  The best way to come up with a good focus for you own jazz etude is to think about the aspects of jazz improvisation that you feel weak in and would like to improve upon. You can also think about varying elements that you would like to add to your saxophone playing too. I suggest making a list of the areas that you would like to work on.  What this will do is give you a resource of topics for future jazz etudes.  Once you have your list look it over and see what area seems most fitting to focus on right now.  Remember your jazz etude should be something meaningful to you so choose a focus that really speaks to you personally.

Now that you have your focus for your jazz etude it is time to come up with a harmonic background to base your jazz etude around.  To start with choose a chord progression your familiar with such as a blues or jazz standard you enjoy.  Later you can choose chord progressions from songs you want to work on, or progressions that you find to be challenging.

Once you have the harmonic foundation for you jazz etude it is time to start composing.  First make a basic sketch of the melody or ideas that you are focusing on.  Once you have a basic sketch figure out the best way to incorporate the main lesson you want to learn from your jazz etude into the etude in a convincing manner.  You want to write your jazz etude in such a way that it sounds natural and organic.  Most likely you will have to do some experimentation before your etude sounds just right.

While writing your jazz etudes keep in mind the harmonic structure.  This really is your guide to building a melody that fits.  Also remember to have varying rhythms, and don't be afraid of space either. Remember your jazz etude can be as long or as short as you want it.  The etude could cover one chorus or many.  Have fun with it and be creative.

There is one last thing concerning how to make your own jazz etude.  Depending on the topic or focus you choose for your jazz etude you may have to do some research.  This shouldn't be hard though.  There are many resources online that can help you.  Don't let this scare you.  Think of it as a great learning opportunity.

So lets sum it up, the steps to making your own jazz etude are as follows

1. Choose a topic to Focus on
2. Do any necessary research
3. Build a harmonic structure
4. Start composing

There you have it four simple steps to developing your very own jazz etude.  Have fun.

Caruso

Jazz Improvisation: The Technical Approach What is it?

The technical approach of jazz improvisation is something we are all familiar with.  You've see the guy.  He steps up to the band stand and just starts blazing away.  His technique is phenomenal.  He is all over his horn and can't seem to do wrong.  Lick after lick you come to realize this guy has really spent time shedding.  He's got monster chops.  Wow, how did he get so good?  Being in aw you decide to ask him afterwords.  What does he tell you?  Practice your scales, learn lots of licks and get some patterns under your fingers.  Basically he tells you to master your horn through technical means.We have all had this experience at least once in our musical career.  Usually while we are young.  Of course by now you probably have come to realize it nearly isn't as simple has he makes it seem.

The technical approach of learning jazz improvisation is one filled with lots of work, practice and tons of shedding, yet in the end it is worth it.  You come out a better player and technique to be marveled at.  So what is the technical approach to jazz improvisation.  It is an approach of jazz improvisation where a player values technical ability over everything else.  Scales, licks, patterns, and lots of notieness are the love of a technical player.

To become a technical player you have to master your horn.  It is plain and simple the masters had complete control of their instruments.  If you want to be like them you have to have the same kind of control.  The first step to learning jazz improvisation through the technical approach is mastering all your scales.  This mean throughout the full range of your instrument and in all keys and not just in major and minor.  Jazz is complicated and filled with a variety of sounds and musical colors.  The greats didn't just use major and minor scales and chords they also had diminished, whole tone, and augmented.  This means that you need to learn all these varieties.  You have to master your major and minor scales along with there different modes such as dorian, mixalydian, lydian and so forth.  To top it off you then have to master the augmented scales the whole tone scales and diminished scales.  Once you have this you are just getting started.  Scales up and down in a solo can get boring really fast so you have to mix it up.  One of the ways that the great jazzers made their phrases and melodies more interesting was through sequenced patterns.  For technical players this is a big part of their practice. In the technical approach to jazz improvisation a player extends their scales usefulness by learning sequenced patterns.  For those who don't know, patterns are simple melodic ideas that a player repeatedly plays up or done like a scale.  Patterns are typically played in a diatonic or chromatic manner.  Now, if you think that scales and patterns are all you need to learn your wrong.  Even if you have all your scales done and some patterns under your fingers it doesn't mean your going to sound jazzy.  You still have to learn the jazz language.  Players do this by learning the licks of their favorite players.  Scales and patterns are like the alphabet.  Where licks are words. You combine both to make sentences.

So in summary the formula for learning jazz improvisation through the technical approach is master your scales, learn patterns, and get jazz licks from the greats.

Caruso