Free Jazz

Welcome to my site where in today’s post I want to talk about a free jazz exercise that will help unlock your creativity. I truly hope this post will add value and benefit to you and your student’s playing. If this is your first time visiting this site, welcome and please feel free to have a look around. I would also like to invite you to check out my books (Targeting: Improvisation With Purpose and Breaking the Monotony) at my Digital Store.

In Part 3 of my Duets mini-series I mentioned a type of call and response duet (Free Jam) that is done with no pre-determined progression or key center. I wanted to expand that thought to personal practice and share an exercise that I’ve done over the years that has really helped unlock my creativity. It’s a very simple exercise to describe, but one that takes some time to get comfortable.

Like the call and response duet, there is no pre-determined progression or key center to reference. Here it is: Grab your instrument, decide a tempo and start playing a continuos string of random eighth notes (syncopation and occasional rests are fine).

The idea is to not play pre-conceived ideas or licks. You want to find new note relationships that you might not normally explore. This  frees up your creative mind because you are not stifled by trying to make your line fit in a chord progression.

The next step is to listen to yourself. If you found something you liked…figure out what it was and transcribe it. You are allowing your creativity to make new connections. You never know what you may discover about yourself and your playing by doing this exercise. Personally, I try and do this exercise once a week for 10 to 15 minutes.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tip and find it beneficial to your playing. Try taking some time out this week to play some free jazz!