The Ramon Ricker Improvisation Series Vol. One: Book & CD

Ricker's approach honors what beginning improvisers already know (their major scales) and builds systematically from that foundation. The transposed parts for all instruments mean every student reads from their own instrument, eliminating the frustration of transposition work at this early stage, and the CD lets students hear exactly how each example should sound before they attempt it.

The exercises feel systematic and encouraging rather than overwhelming. Each page builds on the previous one, and you can hear your own progress immediately by comparing your playing to the CD recordings.

Beginning jazz students who read standard notation comfortably and have solid command of major scales but have never improvised. This works equally well for middle and high school students and adult learners returning to music.

• Play along with the CD multiple times before performing the exercises on your own. Hearing Ray's phrasing teaches you the rhythmic shape and articulation that sheet music alone can't convey.
• Work through one exercise completely before moving to the next. Mastering the melodic and harmonic content of each example matters more than speed.
• Sing the exercises first without your instrument. This trains your ear to anticipate the shapes and prevents your fingers from leading your ears.
• Record yourself playing along with the CD and listen back. You'll catch timing and intonation issues that disappear when you're concentrating on reading.

Use this as the core text for a beginning jazz elective or as supplementary material in a band or ensemble class where you're introducing improv skills. The transposed parts mean you can assign exercises to players on different instruments and have them all working from the same page.

• Creating simple melodies from chord tones (roots, thirds, fifths) over basic ii-V-I and I-IV-V progressions
• Reading chord symbols and understanding their relationship to major scale tones
• Matching phrasing and articulation to recorded models
• Building rhythmic vocabulary for improvised lines
• Listening transcription and ear training through play-along practice