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Introduction to Improvisation Through Folk Music

Let's not start from a totally dry, technical perspective. Let's start from a song, a folk song.

My Journey into Improvisation

Actually, the way that I got started improvising was through studying Suzuki violin while playing in a family band with my mom and dad. We played a lot of folk music.

So, I think that maybe my first improvisation happened something like this:

"If I was a little kid, I would just play it really straight, right? You know, I would probably play it even straighter than that as a little kid."

My first moments of improvisation probably just started with varying the phrase.

• I'm not thinking about scales, chords, or rhythms.
• I'm completely using my ear.
• I'm thinking about how somebody might sing it, something really, really natural.

For example, instead of going straight to the pitch, I might slide just a little bit into that first note. To me, this sounds more vocal than starting on a straight pitch.

From there, I just got more and more excited.

Embrace the Process

Okay, that's not on the page, but I added that because I'd heard somebody do it. Then, maybe I went:

"I don't know. I probably wasn't doing really advanced stuff when I was a kid."

But here's the key:

• Take something you already know and mess around with it.

For you classical violinists out there, you all know what I mean:

• You could take a little snippet and make little variations.
• What if I went... [insert variation]?

Have fun with it!

Overcoming Doubts in Improvisation

By the way, some of you might be really excited about getting into improvisation, obviously, you're watching this course, so you are! However, there's often a little voice inside your head saying,

"I don't know, maybe this is going to really screw up my playing from before."

This is a natural fear that a lot of people experience.

You don't have to worry about that!

When you take something you already know and expand it by making your own variations, you actually become clearer and more aware of the original source.

It's similar to progressing in classical music:

• When you move from just playing repertoire to becoming aware of differences in vibrato and phrasing between composers (e.g., Mozart and Brahms), it doesn't mean that playing Brahms will ruin your Mozart.
• In fact, it reinforces what you already know by highlighting the differences, allowing you to become more specific.

So, don't worry about improvisation hurting what you already know!

For Folk Players

For some folk players out there, you might be used to playing off the page, but feel like every time you play a tune, it goes something like this:

• Play the A section,
• Then the B section,
• A section again,
• B section again,
• Guitar player plays A, B... and it goes around like that.

You can still improvise!

Your First Improvisation Exercise

The first thing I'd like you to try is this:

1. Take a song melody, a piece that you already know.
2. Spend 5 to 10 minutes messing around with little parts of the melody.

Change something!

• Play a different rhythm.
• Change the dynamics.
• Start altering the notes.

I want you to take something that you already know and start to see where it leads you.

If you feel like continuing to play, just keep going!

We're going to talk about much more advanced concepts in this course, but I wanted to start from this place.