A four week course on Improvisation (on the ukulele) for Intermediate players
Time: Tuesdays – 7:00 – 8:30pm
Dates: 28th April, 5th May, 12th May, 19th May
Please register here each week here for the Zoom meeting.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
This course will give you opportunities to improvise in class. Some of this can be live (ish), most will be in your own privacy bubble, but we also ask that you submit homework each week. To get the best sound in Zoom, please select Original Sound. This document tells you how to do this – Optimising Zoom for Musicians
Join the Facebook Group (click here) to submit ‘homework’ and to participate in conversations about improvisation. We ask you to submit an improvisation on a song each week for comments by your peers.
Assumed Knowledge (what you should know already, or be ready to practice)
- how to play your pentatonic scales
- how to use the circle of fifths (roughly)
- How to play your blues scales
- Notes in the home position of the ukulele
Repertoire for every week (please print these out and have them ready every week)
Ukulele major scales and chords
Chromatic scale (all the notes on the fretboard)
Online Practice Resources
We have provided you with online material that contains video of us playing songs that you can improvise along to. Please use this site to practice and refine your improvising each week. Available soon.
Week One: revision of pentatonics and blues scales
- Review of improvising using the pentatonic scales
- Review of diatonic songs (songs that stay in one key)
- Review of blues scales
- The acquisition of “feel” (timing, tempo, tone and fretting techniques)
Repertoire for Week One
Please print or download all of these songs for our session.
Homework
Please record yourself doing an improvisation on a diatonic song (of your choice) and submit it to the Facebook Group where your fellow Zookulelians will give you constructive feedback.
Video of the Week One Antechinus session
Week Two: Reviewing Expression, practising Call and Response, and Improvising on Jazz songs (secondary dominants)
Review of Expressive Techniques
Suggestions for Improvisation:
- Listen to the chord changes
- Sing a melody over the chord changes
- Vary the scale rhythmically and melodically
- Play small patterns of the scale
- Break the improvisation into small sections Eg. two bars with only two different chords in them
- Use ‘tricks’ such as hammers, pull offs and slides to achieve professional sounds
- Learn some ‘licks’ and vary them
Finger Drill
- (G string) 1234
- (C string) 1234
- (E string) 1234
- (A string) 1234
Review of Blues improv call and response
Check out how BB King sings something and then plays his guitar. It’s called call and response. It can be between two instruments, two musicians or just one person on vocals and guitar (uke even!)
Check out call and response when its between drums and keys.
So we are going to play a few blues songs encouraging you to response to the vocal or musical line.
Sonny Moon for Two (please print)
Video of the Week Two Antechinus session
Improvising on Jazz songs (with secondary dominants)
The chromatic scale works really well for improv because you are leaving or approaching the right note all the time. It’s called the passing tone. Use your ear to know if you move or stay.
Alternatively you can play the chord tones (including chords extensions and alterations) of the chord in the bar eg C7 play G, C, E and Bb.
Aged and Mellow (please print)
Homework
Please record yourself doing an improvisation on a blues song (of your choice) and submit it to the facebook group where people will give you some constructive feedback.
Week Three: Songs with Secondary Dominant chords and/or songs with major to minor chord changes
(Jazz) Songs with secondary dominants chords and changes from major to minor chords
Video of the Week Three Antechinus session
Songs with secondary dominants are those that have chords borrowed from other keys. eg. chord progression C D7 F G (D7 is the secondary dominant). So you can’t play the C pentatonic scale all the way through this song when improvising.
The chromatic scale works really well for this sort of improv because you are leaving or approaching the right note all the time. It’s called the passing tone. Use your ear to know if you move or stay.
Alternatively you can play the chord tones (including chords extensions and alterations) of the chord in the bar eg C7 play G, C, E and Bb.
Some songs will also have a major chord changed into a minor chord and you have to be ready for that. eg. change from major pentatonic to minor pentatonic.
And some songs have both, secondary dominants and minor chord changes.
For these reasons you need to get your ears to tell where your fingers should go; calibration between fingers and ear. So you can hear when you need to move a tone (two frets) or semitone (one fret).
PLEASE PRINT ALL OF THESE SONGS
Twilight Time
Minor Blues songs
Some blues are minor blues but you still play the blues scale because its a scale that can be played over major or minor chords.
Way Down in the Hole (minor blues)
Riders on the Storm (minor blues)
Homework
Please record yourself doing an improvisation on a Jazz song (of your choice) and submit it to the facebook group where people will give you some constructive feedback.
Week Four: Minor Songs, Harmonised Scales and Dorian Mode
19 May 2020
- Minor songs
- Harmonised scales
- Improvising on modal songs (Dorian)
1. Songs in a minor key
There are many minor scales to chose from but we will focus on just one the harmonic minor scale.
Minor scales (Aeolian and Harmonic)
More Harmonic minor scales (please make sure you print this!)
Many minor songs change between the minor key and its relative major key eg Am and C, Dm and F. The verse might be a minor key and the bridge or refrain lifts to the major key eg Sway or vice verse Autumn Leaves
Autumn Leaves and Melody
2. Harmonised scales for improvising (thirds)
Do You Know the Way to San Jose
Major Scales in thirds (please print this)
Please also print out the Ukulele major scales and chords and also UkeCircleOfFifths
3. Songs in Dorian mode
Some songs use a different scale or mode called the Dorian mode. The scale contains a b3 and a b7 so it sounds very minorish! But the easy way to think about it is that the parent scale is one tone down from the key so;
D Dorian = C major scale
E Dorian = D major scale
F Dorian = D# or Eb major scale
G Dorian = F major scale
A Dorian = G major scale
B Dorian = A major scale
C Dorian = Bb major scale
Everything is Free Now (please print)
Homework
Please record yourself doing an improvisation on a Minor key song (of your choice) and submit it to the facebook group where people will give you some constructive feedback.