How To Improvise: Book & Online Audio

This book cuts through the frustration of circular improvisation instruction by presenting a logical progression that actually teaches musicianship, not just mechanics. Students work through discrete elements of rhythm, melody, and harmony in an order that builds genuine improvisational thinking rather than pattern recognition. The inclusion of a customizable daily practice schedule means your students have a real roadmap, not just exercises floating in space.

This is improvisation stripped of mystique and rebuilt as craft. You move through each skill with intention and feedback, watching your abilities compound in ways you can actually hear and measure. There's a creative payoff at every stage, not just at some distant endpoint.

Any improviser across all instruments who needs structure and clarity. This works equally well for high school jazz students building their first improvisation vocabulary and college-level players filling conceptual gaps that derailed them in the past. It's also a resource for private teachers and band directors seeking a pedagogical framework to teach beyond scales.

• Complete one concept fully before moving to the next. The 'one-thing-at-a-time' structure only works if you resist the urge to skip ahead.
• Use the recorded accompaniments to lock your internalized pulse before improvising over changes. Hearing yourself against a real rhythm section reveals rhythmic inconsistencies that practice alone won't catch.
• Modify the suggested daily practice schedule to match your ensemble's rehearsal calendar. A 30-minute routine during heavy concert prep beats an unrealistic 90-minute commitment.
• Reference the written examples repeatedly. Seeing the concept on the page and hearing it in your head are two different skills that both need reinforcement.

Assign chapters sequentially to students entering your jazz program, using the same source material across your section so rehearsals benefit from shared improvisation vocabulary. You might also use targeted sections (rhythm or melody chapters) in clinic settings to address specific ensemble weaknesses without requiring students to work through the entire book. The daily practice schedules scale from 15 to 45 minutes, making it accessible alongside full course loads.

• Understanding rhythmic vocabulary and using it expressively within a harmonic structure
• Building melodic lines that balance scalar motion with guide tone targeting
• Recognizing and responding to harmonic movement in real time
• Developing rhythmic accuracy and consistency over recorded accompaniment
• Creating practice routines that reinforce improvisation technique progressively