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Elkayem, totally agreeing with you. Not sure if I can do the assignment. When I opened the solo pdf I was like.. okay well didn't expect that lol. But I think I'll just give it a try even though my improv won't make any sense lol.

There are plenty of people on the course forum who are complete beginners and yet are not shy about posting and sharing their soundcloud improv recordings. I think it is great, and fascinating. The only way to learn this art is to practice doing it over and over, and the first assignment has everyone doing it right out of the gate.

Well, I spent most of Week 1 learning how to use Garage Band and Soundcloud and I'll probably have just as much "learning" next week. Finally got my assignment recorded and submitted after a fashion. Can't wait for Week 2!

Well actually, hearing the beginners like me pulled me over the line.. to try the improv and record. I think what I tend to do is to be to hard on myself.. one can never start with improvising and sound like a pro. I find it hard to keep the pace, find the right notes in RH and keep the left hand chords going.

Well, it sounds like this: https://soundcloud.com/scott-fr-d-ric

When I listen back sometimes I think.. well it's not that bad.. but the other time I'm like, this sounds like nothing.

Have you guys made any soundcloud recordings?

About the leadsheet, I play some chords different cause I'm used to doing that in 2-5-1 (and used to the sound), is this a problem?
I make all the majors and minors a 7/9 and the "7" chords I make b9/b13 expect Ab7 and G7 (bar 14 and 16)

Hey LW
Those lines were cool, they don't sound they come from a beginner.
You can use whatever chord you like, as long as it:
a) follows (e.g. by a small step) from the previous chord; and
b) the chord sounds good to your ears.

custard apple, thx for your reply..
Well I'll take the "doesn't sound beginner" comment as a compliment so thank you.
Actually I think I did the approach of "follows by small steps".

Though I had to get used to the Dmi7(b5) - G7(b9 b13) - C sound. Cause my ears want to hear a C minor chord instead of C mjaor. But well, I guess it's just about getting used to sounds.

Really enjoying listening to others on the course forum. Cause everybody has the same 32 bars and very different aproaches and solo's, learning a lot. Because of the assignment it pushes you to play. I used to always stop with trying to improvise after like 1 minute and move on to something I already knew, now I'm pushed to just play play play.

Not bad LW. I agree with Custard, it doesn't sound like a beginner. Here's my take: http://soundcloud.com/chrisb/c-bell-l01-part2

I joined late, but thought I would give it a try also. It looks like they are going to weed a lot of us out with this first assignment. It was fun anyway...


Ken's Cousera Improv Attempt

sounds really good guys.

What were the rules?
did they provide the backing track?

Yeah, they provided a backing track and lead sheet with no melody. They also provided a transcript of one verse of Gary's solo for analysis.

Actually, there were two backing tracks. One for piano players (with no piano on it), and one for all others that had a piano player.

Play at least 1 chorus. Otherwise no rules.

It's too bad I missed that course, I think I would have enjoyed it.

Yikes, I can't believe I'm posting my really lame attempt here!

https://soundcloud.com/elkayem/intro-to-improv-assignment-1

The 160 bpm tempo is simply too fast for me at this stage of my development. 120 bpm would have been more ideal, and my lines sound much more interesting at that tempo. What am I going to do when faced with a really uptempo tune?!

I know everyone learns at their own pace, but I seriously would like to know how many years it is going to take until it starts to happen. You wouldn't know it but I've been at it for over 2 years and still sound like a beginner. My secret weapon is that I am stubborn and refuse to give up until I die.

you're being way too hard on yourself.
your time was good . your lines ended well and you used good rest.

Hey elkayem
That was a nice Lesson 1 solo.
Personally, I'm happy to be a beginner forever, insofar as if you have high expectations of yourself, it causes unnecessary stress, and decreases your performance level.

Hey Knotty
I'm impressed with how professionally the course is run. It is worth signing up for just to receive Gary's solos and backing tracks.
I expect it will run again later in the year.

Thanks knotty and custard apple. You are right, I am being hard on myself. It is amazing how much time and effort is required to make noticeable progress, but I am improving little by little. Problem is my standards are set way too high. I expect I should be playing at Oscar Peterson's level in about 200 years, meanwhile I should enjoy the journey more. Thanks for the encouragement!

Thanks to Chris who noted that I could still join, I did join the course!
Here's assignment 1 for which I'll get no credit (not that I need any).
http://snd.sc/1396BXr

Anyway, I find it odd the way Burton approaches improv. 10 scales to learn but it isn't quite clear when to use which.
For example, when are Phrygian and Aeolian used?

And more importantly, some of the most common scales are missing (at least to me):
- Melodic minor - 1st mode. What are you supposed to play on the 1 of a minor 2-5-1. Maybe we'll find out next week?
- Pentatonic - half the real book is made up of pentatonic melodies)
- Blues. Nothing like a good blues scale to bring it home.
- Harmonic Minor - maybe you don't like that one, but it's my 5 year old's favorite. First scale C minor, 2nd is A melodic Minor and 3rd he ever learned was A harmonic minor. It's gotta be worth something.

Masterful! I'm hoping he is going to explain the rational behind all of those missing core scales. I think it is because they are not chord scales and Berklee is at war against non-chord scales. Melodic, harmonic and blues go across a harmony. I will bet that they burn melodic and harmonic at the stake, and reluctantly offer blues as an alternative when necessary.

Thanks ken.
see I thought the basic scale on the 1 of a minor 251 was melodic minor.
just like major scale for major 251.
modes of melodic minor are used as altered (7) and lydian dominant (4). but not the 1st mode. that is odd.

I know some here dont like harmonic minor in jazz (I wont say any names).
but I do, so take that Sweden ;-)

Hey Knots
Thanks for posting your fun solo.
In terms of modes, I only got up to learning Aeolian as I'm working on other things at the moment.
So I never ended up learning Phrygian.

Aeolian is typically used in a very specific setting in jazz, I still actually haven't found a chord in a jazz standard which calls for this particular type of dark sound.
But also there is a type of jazz standard (that I haven't yet played) with such a long minor harmonic progression such that you can switch modes/scales to maintain listener interest - switching from dorian to blues to aeolian would sound very cool.

I think in this coming week, Gary will talk about when to use chord-scale x or y.