Project Title: “Kindness” in Concert C Major
Instructions: Now that we have worked a little on improvisation in a key we are very familiar with (concert Bb), now let’s experiment with other keys. “Kindness” is another ballad, but this one is in the Key of concert “C” major. To keep things simple, we will also do our improvisation using the concert “C” major scale, NOT THE BLUES SCALE! There will be a 32 count (or 8 bar) introduction, where you should listen and get a feel for the music before you begin your improvisation. Note: In truth, all improvisation solos should begin with just accompaniment first.
This is an excellent opportunity to practice one of the most important “truths” when improvising; “If it doesn’t sound good, DON’T PLAY IT!” Simple right? As you are playing your solo, you run across times when the particular note you land on does NOT sound correct. No problem, this is why the FIRST rule we learn when we start to improvise is “NO SKIPPING”. If a note you land on does not sound good, just ‘slip” up or down one note of your concert “C” major scale. The new note you select will fit into the chord presently being played and will ALWAYS sound good. The chords change frequently in “Kindness”, but not so fast you will not be able to hear any “dissonant” sounding notes. Using this “slip up or down one note” concept, your “mistakes” actually turn into a valid musical technique called an “accented passing tone”. Following Rule #1, along with the new technique just explained, you should be “Jammin’ with the Pros” in no time. Speaking of “the Pros”, you will be given an excellent opportunity to play an improvisation solo “duet” with a professional Flugelhorn and/or Alto Sax musician. As a general rule when improvising in a duet, when the recorded soloists is moving quickly, the second player should improvise relatively slowly, and likewise, when the recorded soloists slows down, you then should “speed” things up in order to “fill in the gaps”. Good Luck. Have Fun and enjoy.
Bonus: Another “fun thing” you could do is improvise with this song using a keyboard. An electric or acoustic piano, i-Pad, i-Phone (using the “Garage Band App/Its FREE!), or any other black and white keyboard on any device. Even if you have never played a piano before, anything in the keys of; “C” Major, “A” minor, or the “G” Mixolydian mode, all can be improvised to by ONLY playing the white keys on any given keyboard. Impress your family, friends, and even yourself, “jammin’” with an instrument you have never (or seldom) played before.
"Kindness" Resource Audio File with Count-Offs
"Kindness" 05/30/2017 "jam" session
“Keyboard / Tech. Ensembles”
The initial concepts devised for this web site were initially created for middle and elementary school performing “Keyboard Ensembles”, which I initially created some 15 to 20 years ago. Later, when my elementary school received “Title 1” money (along with a federal grant), Goodwin Elementary became a 1:1 i-Pad school, and I expanded the program to include i-Pads and almost any other electronic instrument. Over the years I created my own i-Pad curriculum (which focused on improvisation) starting out with students as early as kindergarten. Finding and arranging songs that worked well with single scale improvisation, the “NO SKIPPING” rule, and transposing electric keyboards (and later i-Pads) to accommodate “all black” or “all white” key improvisation were the “corner stone” for the creation of this genre.
Starting out so early, I had to keep things really simple. I used mostly an “A-B-A” format, where the first and last section repeated each other, and the “gap” in the middle was filled in with student improvisation solos. This allowed me to expand a short amount of music over much longer “performance times”, which is why teaching improvisation was so crucial in making concept this work. I also had to create my own system “rhythm time lines” and “key maps” to help students initially read music, and then transitioned them into later utilizing music notation. Along with the “Jammin’ with the Pros” curriculum, and (what we referred to as) the “keyboards secret weapon” we were able to create an impressive body of arrangements and teaching materials allowing this unique performance outlet to gradually expand and grow.
Along with this assignment, I am including one of the “jam” session recordings we did of “Kindness” with two 5th grade students at Goodwin Elementary School in Charleston S.C. At Goodwin we had a 20 minute “activity period” at the end of the day, and a couple times a week, I would pull out 2 to 3 students to come down to the music room to record them. Almost all improvisation resource music was acquired from our music library of “K-8 Magazine” arrangements, which (for many years) I subscribed to “out of pocket”. I recorded all of our school’s “jam” sessions over several years, and each year posted them on our school’s web site for peers, friends, and family to listen to. It turned out to be a highly popular and excellent way to motivate students to want to learn how to improvise. If anyone might be interested in more information about “Tech.” or Keyboard Ensembles, or would like to hear any additional recordings from these very young and talented improvisational soloists, feel free to contact me. My contact information is listed at the bottom of this web sites introductory letter.
Thank You,
Rich Moon