Here’s a simple exercise that shouldn’t be much of a challenge. IMHO improvisation starts with you and many/most of you have an innate ability to improvise. What’s often lacking is a means of transferring that ability to an instrument.
Exercise 1
Sing “Happy birthday to you” without the words. You don’t have to have a good voice, but be aware of whether you hear in your head the correct pitch (even if your voice can’t match it). It should be obvious that you couldn’t begin to sing this simple tune if you couldn’t conceive of it in your head.
Exercise 2
Pick a random note (other than the previous one you used/sang) and sing “Happy birthday to you” again. Did you find it difficult to hear the notes after your random note? Was this easy? If yes, then congratulations, you can transpose by ear. If you had difficulty, then music and improvisation may not be easy for you.
Exercise 3
This time sing “Happy birthday to you” (without the words) at a very slow speed and add notes between that “embellish” and lengthen the tune. You can take this in any direction you like as a mournful tune, ballad, etc. Try to have a feel and story behind the notes. Easy? If yes you can improvise...simple as that! This is a basic “theme and variation” style of improvisation. It’s the first stepping stone towards a world of improvised music. You can make up a myriad of other variations for yourself.
I’d enjoy hearing back from those of you who tried this to see how many of you found it easy or difficult.
Exercise 1
Sing “Happy birthday to you” without the words. You don’t have to have a good voice, but be aware of whether you hear in your head the correct pitch (even if your voice can’t match it). It should be obvious that you couldn’t begin to sing this simple tune if you couldn’t conceive of it in your head.
Exercise 2
Pick a random note (other than the previous one you used/sang) and sing “Happy birthday to you” again. Did you find it difficult to hear the notes after your random note? Was this easy? If yes, then congratulations, you can transpose by ear. If you had difficulty, then music and improvisation may not be easy for you.
Exercise 3
This time sing “Happy birthday to you” (without the words) at a very slow speed and add notes between that “embellish” and lengthen the tune. You can take this in any direction you like as a mournful tune, ballad, etc. Try to have a feel and story behind the notes. Easy? If yes you can improvise...simple as that! This is a basic “theme and variation” style of improvisation. It’s the first stepping stone towards a world of improvised music. You can make up a myriad of other variations for yourself.
I’d enjoy hearing back from those of you who tried this to see how many of you found it easy or difficult.
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