Martan Mann - Jazz Improvisation for the Classical Pianist.pdf (PDFy mirror)

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by Martan, Mann : : Ne
tion
ener
Pianist

by Martan Mann

Musicmann Publications
pertino, California
Dedication

This book is lovingly dedicated as a tribute
to my father

Joseph Zimmerman

who was always my greatest
source of encouragement.
Acknowledgements

My special thank you is to my beautiful
wife, Elizabeth, for her constant encouragement and
help. Also, an extra special mention should be given to
Linda Dean, of Artsortium Productions, for her tre-
mendous assistance in helping me to bring this book to
print, and to distribute it.

| also want to thank many family and
friends who were invaluable support to me. Thank you
to Candiya and Bhroam Mann, Ken Silverman, Ray-
mond A. Clark, John Brennan, Paul Tumason, all the
wonderful members of the Music Teacher's Associa-
tion of California, all of my piano students and piano
teachers.

Thank you to my wonderful Editors,
Elizabeth Mann, Susan Shipley, Marilyn Theurer,
Cecile Wood, and Kim Venaas. Also, thank you to
Andy Nunez of Newberry Advertising for his invalu-
able expertise in the final printing of this book and video.

A very special thank you to Apple Com-
puter forcreating the Macintosh SE Computer andthe
wonderful LaserWriter Printer. All the music graphics
were created with Professional Composer by Mark of
the Unicorn. The book is prepared using PageMaker
Software by Aldus Corp. The information is stored on
a Direct Drive 80 hard disk by Jasmine Technolo-
gies, Inc.
Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Table of Contents

Confessions of a Grateful Guinea-Pig
Prologue - A Personai Note

Introduction

Study Guide

Chapter One Foundations of Improvisation

Key Signatures

Spelling Scales

The Cycle of Keys

Five Finger Exercise

Major Scales

Thirds

Major Triad and Inversions

All Triads and Inversions

|- V7 -1 Progression

|-1V- Progression

1-IV-1-V7-Land I-IV -¥7-1 Progressions
Open Voicings

Advanced Open Voicings

Open Voicings I-IV-I,1-V-I, and !-iV-V-1

. Seventh Chords

Major Scale Sevenths

Foundations of Improvisation - Review

11
20
Chapter Two Beginning Improvisation

17.

Question and Answer
Thirds and Sixths

Major Scale Improvisation
The Major Scale Modes
Open Voicing Exercise
Pachelbel’s Canon Exercise

Beginning Improvisation - Review

Chapter Three Technique for Improvisation

23.

General Techniques for Improvisation

Legato Playing and Phrasing

The Piano as a Gong

Rotation Exercise

Recommended Piano Technique Method Books
Jazz Techniques

Technique tor Improvisation - Review

Chapter Four

The Blues

The Boogie Woogie Blues

Groove Tunes

Boogie Woogie Exercise

Tritone Blues

Chord Extensions

Extension Exercise

H-V-1 Progression

Modal Soloing

Exercise Il - V - | Soloing with the Right Hand

Foundations of Jazz improvisation - Review

Foundations of Jazz Improvisation

115
118
118
122
132
137
138
143
149
149
151

61

115
Chapter Five Foundations of a Tune

39. Learning a Tune

40. Exercise in Learning a Tune
41. Ballad Style

Foundations of a Tune - Review

Chapter Six Advanced Theory
42. Chord Substitutions and Alterations
43. Tritone Substitution
44, The Turnaround
45. Diminished Scale and Color Chords
46. Color Chord Exercise
47. Advanced Chord Voicings and Scales
48. Voicings
49. Chord Structures
50. Melodic Chords
51. Scale Construction
52. Tetrachords
53, Pentatonic Scales
54, Whole Tone Scales
55. Melodic Minor Scale
56. Harmonic Minor Scale
57. Scale Exercises
58. Chord Alterations and Tonalities
59. Scales from Chords
Advanced Theory - Review

Fina! Thoughts
Further Study

155

177

215
217
Confessions of a grateful

guinea-pig.

tam a classically trained pianist who loves
fazz and wants to improvise. For years the only way |
could play jazz was to play transcriptions of jazz per-
formances. But | couldn't play what I heard in my mind
without writing it out first (hardly a spontaneaus, creative
experience).

Method books were tha first way lattacked
the problem. The methods they covered ranged from “do
what sounds good” to “practice the following 300 exer-
cises for the next 4 years THEN maybe we'll talk about
creative expression’.

Private lessons with several teachers of
improvisation were equally disappointing and showed
that the study of improvisation is still a very widely
misunderstood and chaotic process.

Enter, Martan Mann,

Judge a performer by how he plays.
Judge a teacher by how his students play.

| got to know Martan first as an
extraordinary performer, both classical and jazz. Then at
@ gathering at his home | had the opportunity to hear
some of his students. They were wonderful and | found
that most had only been studying a relatively short time.
They weren't just playing technically correct “icks*, they
were conversing using music. This was the key.
limmediately started working with Martan
and found his techniques ideally suited to the classically
trained musician. He distills the essence of improvisa-
tion and makes it understandable. He teaches improvi-
sation as if he were teaching you to speak a language
that, up until now, you could only read. He builds upon
a classical pianist's background and incorporates the
years of experience you already have with the new skilis,
techniques and mental set you need to grow from an
interpreter into an improviser.

This book is the result of Martan's many
years of performing and teaching and will show you how
to start improvising, how to build your musical vocabu-
lary and howto build that important subconscious mind-
to-hand link (to augment the eye-to-hand link you al-
ready have).

tyou like jazz andifyouwantto improvise,
this method is the most natural, effective way to learn. It
works.

Kim Venaas
Prologue - A Personal Note

This book, Jazz improvisation for the
Classical Pianist, has existed inside of me as a living
memento to my many years of taking and teaching
piano, flute, and theory lessons, and Practicing and per-
forming on the piano and flute. This goes back, | think,
to one of my first piano iessons when, at age four, my
plano teacher smacked me on the back of my hand with
@ penoil (as | remember it, | think it was a ruler, or a
Swagger stick) for placing the wrong finger on the right
note (or was it the right finger on the wrong note?) . My
rather opinionated, protective and physically strong
mother excitedly showed herthe door. Thus proceeded
along history of battles with my classical piano teachers,
tegarding the penchant that | had with changing notes,
phrasing, entire endings to Mozart piano sonatas, etc. It
seems that from day one on the piano, | had this urge,
this passion, this obsession with . . . playing music my
own way. (I know, [can hear the gasps wating through
all of the music teachers in this world.) | could never
figure out why would she, the pian teacher, get SO
upset because | added @ new accompaniment to my
Chopin Waltz.

Oh well, after many rocky first years as a
classical piano student, | think it was finally decided by
my classical piano teacher that | should be banished. So
she sent me to my first jazz teacher, a very understand-
ing and very inspiring teacher, Wilbert Baranco. (You
will notice that | left off the name of my first classical
teacher(s).) I'm not sure if they would want to claim me
as a student.) However, with Wilbert, now | knew that |
was home. Even though Wilbert was an accomplished
classical pianist and excellent classical teacher, he let

Proiogue 1