Part 3. Last week we talked about keeping things simple. Simplifying the amount of information that the children have to pick from while improvising. In this part I want to talk about the importance of having children learning to feel rhythm. This is just as important (if not more) then the notes themselves. When children…
Part 2. Simplicity is one of the key ingredients in teaching young children about improvisation. While some kids might soak up theory information…most do not. Most, in my experience, just want to play. They want to improvise. Try keeping the theory information as simple as possible (like the first 5 notes of a major scale…
I wanted to start a new mini-series on teaching improvisation to kids. Most of my students are teenagers on up, but occasionally I will work with kids that are 10 and under. It’s amazing how much of an interest they have in improvisation and how quickly they absorb information. The first part in this series…
Jazz Rhythm Solfege Part 1 I had a recommendation from a new friend, George Martin, on our Facebook wall to write a post on using solfege rhythm in jazz. I’ve used this with students (especially beginners) and it was something I was taught back in Middle School by my first teacher-Craig Swartz. There are a…
Welcome to the first of what will be a weekly post of improvisation tips! This week’s tip is based off of a chapter in my book, “Targeting: Improvisation with Purpose.” If you’ve ever heard someone improvise and it sounds like they’re wandering….guess what? They probably are. One of the reasons improvisers wander is because they’re…
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