Getting Into Jazz Phrasing and Sound

I want to tell you about a trick that I used for myself to get more into jazz phrasing and sound. This goes hand in hand with something called transcription, which I mentioned earlier.

Understandingion

Transcription is a real art, especially for every improviser. As you delve into more complicated improvised systems, like jazz, which comes from an oral tradition, it's important to recognize that skills are passed down not by the written page, but from player to player, from master to apprentice.

What ision?

Transcription is basically the ability to reproduce what someone else did on their instrument, then internalizing it so that you can play it like they played it. Once you're able to do that, you reflect back on it, analyzing the aspects of their practice that led them to play in that way.

The process can be broken down into three stages:

1. Capturing the Performance Accurately
2. Analysis
3. Developing Your Own Variations

Working on Jazz Solos

I was having a hard time figuring out bowings that worked with phrasing. I really tried to work on Charlie Parker and some of his bebop solos. I learned a few shorter ones, but when I played them, it still sounded to me like a violin player.

Role Playing Technique

What I needed to do was some role playing. This is something you can do in any style and at any stage of your development. You don't even have to focus directly on transcription; you can take an imaginative approach.

What I did was a little unusual: I imagined Charlie Parker playing these solos to understand how I could do it on the violin. In my mind, I envisioned archival footage of him in a grainy black and white setting, but instead of playing the alto saxophone, I imagined him playing the violin.

I listened to his solo on loop, visualizing him producing sounds on the violin.

Tools forion

As I started to transcribe using programs like Transcribe, Amazing Slowdowner, and Anytune Pro, I would imagine Charlie Parker playing the violin.

These tools allowed me to:

• Chop solos into chunks
• Slow down sections
• Change tuning and pitch

As I immersed myself in the phrases, listening to him, I started to see where he changed bow strokes by ear.

Understanding Phrasing

Eventually, this process became less meditative and I began to hear changes in phrasing and bow strokes in horn players' lines.

This technique isn't limited to jazz. If you love guitar players, for instance, you can imagine their right-hand articulation and apply it to the violin.

Imitation as a Learning Tool

This process can be likened to mastering a language. Just like a child learns through imitation, you should approach your development in the same way.

It's key to remember that:

"Everything that you play has been played by somebody else before."

The route to becoming an eloquent improviser is rooted in acquiring vocabulary and phrasing through imitation.

Choosing Role Models

Pick your role models, be it Charlie Parker, El Subramaniam, Natalie MacMaster, or anyone else, to be your guides in this imitation process. By doing so, you will significantly expand your abilities as an improviser.