combining language, actually playing

T1mothy

So I chose coquette as a song I want to learn to play. As in improvise in. I started with learning arpeggios of the chords within the song structure to understand around what tones do phrases I like move. Then I figured I need to get some phrases. So I went chord by chord looking for 2 measure major phrases for the I. That was quite easy, so was the ii V I making the IV of the former key a new key center even the dominant chord switching to minor chord of the same root but what I struggle with is the unresolving ii V. Those four measures of ii going to V and back and forth just kill me because when I listen to Bireli, Django, Adrien, all these guys float above the changes. Sorry for the lack of better words. They dont follow each chord as the chords change, that way Im unable to make any sense of it and naturally I cant recreate and combine their technique / ideas in my own way.
And having only 4 measure phrases would limit my creativity I think. Anyway, Id be glad to hear any tips on this problem from those of you who can play this stuff :-)

Best regards
Timothy

Jazzaferri

I have read, been told and even heard, the first step is to be able to restate the melody, so that others can still understand it's the melody, but restate and embellish the melody in your own way. That is IMO the fundamental first step. And with mastering that step, fluency with the diatonic arps and have lots of ii V I phrases, one has a solid base to grow from.

Russell Letson

First, a caveat: I don't solo on guitar; I just don't have the chops. But I have listened to swing and jazz all my life and have a very good idea of how they're structured and how improvisation works--and I do sing, so I also can practice some of what I preach (or, given what's already been posted, reinforce).

Melody is the armature, with the chords providing a harmonic environment, and those are the territories one explores in improvisation. So being able to state the melody is the starting point, and the harmonic space of the changes (and the arpeggios of the chords and the various possible substitutions) defines some of the options and limits.

And as a sometime-singer who is tethered to the words, I find that playing with time--with phrasing--offers all kinds of possibilities. I also notice that my understanding of how to read poetry, especially Shakespeare, feeds into shaping the singing of a lyric. In fact, more than one of my teachers has mentioned using the words of a song as a guide for soloing--kind of a cousin of keeping the melody in mind. Listen to what a great singer does to the melodic line via the lyric--or what Ella or Louis do when they cut loose from the words to scat.

dennis

FYI, the original chords to coquette don't have the II V, it's just D and A7... that's how Django recorded it too.

I've been working on that song with my student; it's a great song for learning how to improvise:

https://www.facebook.com/denischangmusic/videos/794895533980732/

Buco

If you've done any composing then instead of thinking in technical terms, compose your own melody over the changes, an etude if you will.
Take the time, see what you come up with.

leeincanada

Hello, may I respectively suggest, that many players will use semetrical patterns over ll- V chord movements, such as whole tone and diminished scales, the key is to create harmonic direction towards the 1 chord. If you have a repeating ll- V progression, outlining the chords via arpeggios works, and as someone else here mentioned, you can simplify to just ll, or V, but to create variety, semetrical ideas allow more artistic freedom while maintaining a strong lush towards resolution. Where you begin your idea and where you end your phrase is important, but what goes on in between is open for interpretation. So, maybe start a half/whole diminished off the root of the V, or a whole tone of the root of the V, and aim for resolution to the root, 3rd, it 5th if the 1 chord. Hope that helps. Lee

leeincanada

Sorry, meant to say, strong push towards resolution :-)