Why Your Jazz Improv Sounds Fake
45sRelatable frustration and promise of a solution hook viewers.
▶ Play ClipAI Summary
This video addresses why jazz improvisation often sounds inauthentic despite knowing chord-scale theory. It identifies three key issues: using the major scale, unstable seven-note scales, and lack of bebop phrasing techniques. The presenter offers concrete solutions to make phrasing sound like real jazz.
Chapters
[00:41]
Chord-Scale Relationship Misuse
The chord-scale relationship from harmonic analysis indicates scales for chords, but those scales may not be suitable for improvisation.
[02:12]
Major Scale Hinders Continuity
The major scale (Aeolian) resolves to the tonic, stopping melodic continuity.
[02:45]
Solution 1: Mixolydian Scale
Use the mixolydian scale (starting from the 5th degree) to avoid absolute resolution and promote flow.
[03:46]
Solution 2: Bebop Scales
Seven-note scales go out of beat in 4/4 time; adding one note creates an 8-note bebop scale that is stable.
[05:55]
Dominant Bebop for Major Chords
For major 7 chords, play the dominant bebop scale from the 5th degree (e.g., G dominant bebop over C major).
[06:37]
Solution 3: Bebop Phrasing Technique
Chromatic notes in bebop come from approach notes and enclosures, not from arbitrary rules.
[07:07]
Approach Notes and Enclosures Defined
Approach notes: play a note between two target notes. Enclosures: surround the target note with adjacent notes above and below.
[11:45]
Resolving on the Downbeat
Using tonic approach notes (diatonic) instead of chromatic can make the phrase resolve on the downbeat.
[14:06]
Practice in All Keys
Practice the bebop phrasing patterns in all 12 keys using resources at insipiana.com.
To make jazz improvisation sound authentic, replace the major scale with mixolydian, use 8-note bebop scales, and apply approach notes and enclosures to create chromatic motion.
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Mentioned in this Video
Tutorial Checklist
1
02:45
Replace the major (Aeolian) scale with the mixolydian scale (starting from the 5th degree) when improvising over major 7 chords.
2
04:29
Convert 7-note scales into 8-note bebop scales by adding one note (e.g., between flat 7 and tonic for dominant bebop).
3
05:55
For major 7 chords, play the dominant bebop scale from the 5th degree (e.g., G dominant bebop over C major).
4
07:07
Learn the bebop phrasing technique: use approach notes (one note between target notes) and enclosures (surround target note with adjacent notes above and below).
Study Flashcards (9)
Why does the major scale hinder melody continuity in jazz improvisation?
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Why does the major scale hinder melody continuity in jazz improvisation?
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The major scale (Aeolian) hinders melody continuity because it resolves to the most stable note, stopping the flow.
02:12
What scale should replace the major scale for better melody continuity over a C major 7 chord?
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What scale should replace the major scale for better melody continuity over a C major 7 chord?
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Use the mixolydian scale (starting from the 5th degree) instead of the Aeolian (major) scale.
02:45
Why are seven-note scales unstable in 4/4 time?
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Why are seven-note scales unstable in 4/4 time?
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Because 7 is not divisible by 4 (the time signature), the scale goes out of beat.
03:46
How do you fix the instability of a seven-note scale in jazz?
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How do you fix the instability of a seven-note scale in jazz?
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Add an extra note to make it an 8-note bebop scale.
04:29
What scale should you play over a major 7 chord to get a bebop sound?
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What scale should you play over a major 7 chord to get a bebop sound?
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The dominant bebop scale from the 5th degree (e.g., G dominant bebop over C major).
05:55
What technique produces the chromatic notes heard in Charlie Parker's solos?
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What technique produces the chromatic notes heard in Charlie Parker's solos?
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Approach notes and enclosures.
06:37
What is the difference between an approach note and an enclosure?
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What is the difference between an approach note and an enclosure?
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An approach note is a note played in between two target notes; an enclosure surrounds the target note with adjacent notes above and below.
07:07
Can approach notes and enclosures be chromatic, diatonic, or both?
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Can approach notes and enclosures be chromatic, diatonic, or both?
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Chromatic or diatonic.
07:23
How can you make a bebop phrase resolve on the downbeat?
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How can you make a bebop phrase resolve on the downbeat?
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Use tonic approach notes (diatonic) instead of chromatic approach notes.
11:45
💡 Key Takeaways
🔧
Replace Major with Mixolydian
This simple substitution avoids absolute resolution and keeps the melody flowing.
02:45
🔧
Bebop Scales for Even Note Count
Adding one note to a seven-note scale creates an eight-note scale that aligns with 4/4 time.
04:29
🔧
Approach Notes and Enclosures
These produce the characteristic chromaticism of bebop without relying on arbitrary rules.
07:07
💡
Chromatic Notes as Byproduct
The chromatic notes are not the goal but a natural result of using approach notes and enclosures.
10:27Full Transcript
[00:00] One of the biggest frustrations we can have as piano students is when our jazz improvisation
[00:12] doesn't sound like jazz. That's why had an improvised jazz piano is one of the most research subjects on YouTube. But even after we learned the skills we're supposed to use with each chord, still we're not able to make it sound right.
[00:25] Now why is that? What's going on? In this video we're going to analyze why our phrasing sounds like it does and what are the steps we should take to make our jazz improvisation sound more realistic. The reason why our phrasing sounds like it does is because when we start learning improvisation
[00:41] we use the chord scale relationship as a guide to build our phrasing. But the chord scale relationship that comes from the harmonic analysis just indicates the scales in which the chords are built.
[00:53] But that doesn't necessarily mean that that scale we should be using to improvise. Let's say we're on C major and the first chord is C major 7. The chord scale relationship is going to indicate the Aeonian scale as a corresponding scale.
[01:06] Aeonian is a great name for the regular major scale, in this case the C major scale. Now the problem is that when we phrase over this scale we get something like this.
[01:30] Even though that is correct in theory it doesn't sound like real jazz, it actually sounds in a propping for the style.
[01:44] And here is where we usually get stuck in a look, in an eternal search for some kind of miracle. But how do we get out of this? To make our jazz improvisation sound like jazz improvisation there are three things we need
[01:57] to know. Number one, the major scale is not the answer, unless we are improvising over the last first major 7 chord of the tune, the Aeonian scale is not the one we should be using. And the reason why is that the regular major scale hinders melody continuity.
[02:12] And that is because the major scale starts and ends at a point of absolute rest, in which the melody resolves to the most stable note of the scale over the most stable chord of the tonality.
[02:32] And that's the reason why we find that scale so hard to phrase. Every time we get to that last note, that sense of final resolution brings our melody continuity to a halt. So how do we solve this?
[02:45] In just, we can solve this by using the mixolydian scale instead of the Aeonian. Now don't let those names intimidate you. The mixolydian scale is the same as the major scale, but instead of starting from the first degree, we start from the fifth degree instead of we play here, even though we resolved because
[03:11] this note is not the first degree, the resolution is not absolute and by not having that sense of final resolution, that in itself promotes melody continuity.
[03:33] So number one is using the mixolydian scale instead of the Aeonian scale to achieve a more effective melody continuity. Number two, due to their odd nature, the seven note scales are unstable and they tend
[03:46] to get out of bed. Because the vast majority of just tunes are written in 4x4 and since 7 is not divisible by 4, the scales tend to go out of bed when we play them.
[03:58] Let's say we are playing here over the mixolydian scale. It goes out of bed.
[04:13] Now to fix this issue in jazz, we add an extra note to these 7 note scales, turning them into 8 note scales, which we call the B-bop scales. And because they are even having 8 notes, they are more stable and they flow more naturally.
[04:29] For example, here we have the mixolydian scale. Now we add a note at the end between the flat 7 and the tonic and we get our dominant B-bop
[04:42] scale. Now check out how this scale flows more naturally than the previous one. Mixolydian, B-bop scale.
[05:10] Now here we are in a different world. Check out how the subdivision of the notes is more stable in the B-bop scale than in the major scale we play at the beginning. Major scale.
[05:26] B-bop scale. So number two, to get a better melodic flow, we turn the 7 note scales into B-bop scales
[05:41] of 8 notes. To make our phrasing sound more apt over the major 7 chords, instead of playing the regular major scale, we use the dominant B-bop scale from the 5th degree.
[05:55] Here, we are on C major, the 5th degree is G. So then we play the G dominant B-bop scale.
[06:09] And three, we need to learn the B-bop phrasing technique. Another thing that makes our jazz improvisation sound out of style is that we are just phrasing running up and down the scales. But to make our phrases sound more within the B-bop style, we need to break from the linear
[06:25] motion of the scales. And we do that by using chromatic notes. If we listen to Charlie Parker's solos, we are going to hear a lot of those chromatic notes. But where do these chromatic notes come from?
[06:37] Here is where we usually end up hitting the wrong way. First, we start trying to phrase using the chromatic scale straight forward. And once that fails, then we go looking out for the rules of the use of chromatic notes
[06:51] within the scales. The problem with that is that there are no rules for the use of chromatic notes. Those chromatic notes we hear on Charlie Parker's solos are the direct result of a B-bop phrasing technique, in which we use the notes of the scales, as target notes, and then we
[07:07] move through them using approach notes and enclosures. Approach notes are when we go from one note to a target note playing another note in between. And an enclosure is when we surround the target note with the adjacent notes above and below.
[07:23] Now approach notes and enclosures can be both chromatic or diatonic. For example, here we are on the dominant B-bop scale.
[07:37] Now the notes of the scale are going to be our target notes. I'm going to move through them using approach notes and enclosures. We start on G.
[07:50] Now our next target is A. Now to go from G to A, we're going to use a note in between as a chromatic approach note. In this case the note in between is G sharp.
[08:03] So we're going to play G. I'm going to use G sharp as a chromatic approach to A. And that is... And now we do the same from A to B.
[08:15] We go from A. I'm going to use A sharp as approach note to B. So then we have... Now here our next target note is C.
[08:27] But from B to C, we do not have a note in between. Then because we don't have a note in between, instead of using an approach note, we're going to use an enclosure instead. We're going to play...
[08:41] As we said, an enclosure is when we surround our target note in this case C with adjacent notes below and above.
[08:53] So then we have... Again the whole thing from the top is... Now here what on C and the next target note is D.
[09:07] Between C and D, we have C sharp. So then we're going to go from C. I'm going to use C sharp as an approach note to D. Now the same thing to go from D to D.
[09:19] We have D sharp in between. So then we're going to go from D. And we're going to use D sharp as an approach note to D. So then we have...
[09:32] And now we're going to go from E to F sharp. And we have F as a note in between. So then we have E. And we're going to go to F as an approach note to F sharp.
[09:44] Again we have... And now to go from F sharp to G, we don't have a note in between. Therefore, instead of an approach note, we're going to use an enclosure.
[09:56] We're going to play... Again... So then we have...
[10:13] Now let's play the whole thing again. We have...
[10:27] So now here we're playing every single chromatic note. But this is not the same as simply playing the chromatic scale straight forward.
[10:41] Instead of that, we have... And that's different because here, the chromatic notes are the byproduct of the use of
[10:54] approach notes and enclosures. So instead of playing... We get...
[11:08] And that sounds much different. Now check out the difference from where we started... to what we have now.
[11:23] And of course, we have other ways of playing that. For example, if we pay attention, here our phrase does not resolve on the down beat. Now let's say we want our phrase to resolve on the down beat.
[11:45] Then instead of using all chromatic approach notes, in the second part of the phrase, we can use the tonic approach notes instead instead of...
[11:58] We play... Now our phrase results on the down beat.
[12:18] Now let's complete the phrase on descending motion, we're going to play...
[12:31] Here we're ascending with the tonic approach notes... And now we descend with chromatic approach notes. And we finish descending through the notes of the scale.
[12:51] So then we have... Again the whole thing is...
[13:11] Now here, descending, we're not using enclosures. But if we wanted to, we could use an enclosure.
[13:32] That would be... Now check out the difference from where we started...
[13:51] to what we have now. Now that we know how the concept works, if we want to make this phrase in part of our plane,
[14:06] we need to practice it in all 12 keys. For that, you'll find the full video and more lessons on bebop phrasing and many other topics along with PDFs and backing tracks at insipiana.com. Visit the site, you can find the link in the description.
[14:19] And as usual, enjoy the practice and I'll see you in the next video.