5 Common Mistakes In Jazz Improv

[@underwoodvoice9077]

Deliberately playing badly is even more difficult than playing well. Accidentally playing badly, however, seems to come naturally to me.

[@StevieG777]

Love your point about motifs Aimee. My favorite players are ones who show restraint and play melodically with lots of space, rather than a showcase for displaying their chops. Chet Baker comes to mind. That guy was the king of chillin’.

[@ed.z.]

Aimee, as a sax player who occasionally sits down at a keyboard. Who bends usually bends notes on the horn a bunch. This is a very valuable lesson. Never thought about these easy mistakes to make. You are the greatest. Thanks.

[@kencory2476]

After many years of playing and studying, I've finally got the hang of motifs. The nice thing is that they come to me out of the blue, right in the moment. And in that split second, it's up to me to make something out of them.

[@alonalufguitar]

Interesting video! In regards to repeated notes & rhythms; I let my students know that it only becomes a problem when the listener starts finding it overly predictable... I liked the part on motifs. I must admit I do this in my own improvisations but haven't really talked about it with my students. Thanks for bringing it to my awareness!

[@martinlehfeldt5514]

Great lesson for beginners. You nailed it on the head with this. This is a very common mistake also to many chromatics and too many enclosures. There is power in diatonic lines

[@han36solo]

Wonderful vid Aimee thanks so much!

[@dessiplaer]

Great video. It goes a long way to explain swinging. I remember in jazz studies in college, Dr. Bowell was famous for listening to everyone playing and shouting out, "Your Not Swinging!" So naturally, we all tried to swing harder (in the wrong way described in the video) which only adding to Dr. Bowell's frustration. And to add to the students frustration, Dr. Bowell never explained how to swing, In a former video, you said to think of a jazz guitar playing a straight quarter note rhythm, and now that makes more sense.

[@duderserious]

As always, great lesson and insight. Thanks!

[@saythingstomichael]

So good. Long time follower. You are awesome 👌

[@DaveLeoni]

Great sound!

[@sonicmuse]

Your scat singing always reminds me of Chet Baker-Niiiice! 😊

[@holliesheet3182]

Your Korg and YOU make a do of dirty jazz without the blurred to a "make two"-blah blend! yay! 😊

[@Joel_Powell]

I remember playing Moanin’ in one of our lessons and you cleaned up this mistake I was making. I was slurring all over the place. You fixed it. I had a feeling this was the advice. :)

[@studiosys]

I like the comment ref motifs " maybe i feel a little smart cos i KNEW she was gonna play that ! " nice one Aimee ❤

[@mdp303]

Great lesson as always really good advice delivered gently. The only thing I might add for those of us with less fluency (ie most of us ) is leave space and repeat phrases. Gets me out out of trouble more often than it should 😁👍

[@jesusislukeskywalker4294]

🤠 my brain starts melting half way through Aimee’s videos. 😂

[@PaulTheTrombonist]

Great video Aimee!

[@AimeeNolte]

Thanks Paul!

[@SurferJoe1]

I know nothing about music (except what Aimee Nolte teaches me), but speaking from a visual design perspective, I have always seen (heard?) similarities: (1) symmetry (in anything) quickly becomes dull- same as unvaried repetition; and (2) good design balances the satisfying of expectations with surprise. I think these two points (among many others) are beautifully illustrated here. As the dumb guy in the cheap seats I know what my ear likes, and doesn't, but it's fun to find out why.

[@andreipetrov4850]

Aimee,… What a comforting “cadential” feel coming across this video🙏! Now, don’t be surprised I am NOT a musician, not a player. I am a listener with some curiosity enough to experiment with keyboard and bass as well as to draw harmonic models on a notepad…. I feel there is a bit of a stereotype that jazz is music for highly trained players who might be bit “bored” of dusty classics (based on medieval dancing rhythms) while also hating “pop” for triviality. That kinda means jazz CANNOT be bad by definition…. Then you sure discover a few real pearls (such as B Golson’s “Whisper Not” by Ella Fitzgerald) and then you start listening to sort of “jazz radio channel” and soon enough you feel sick of endless chewing gum with overuse of exactly 5 “bad features” you just elegantly and brilliantly exposed, 🙏. At 65, I finally feel I am not always an idiot and it is Ok to hate jazz 😢. Please also add overuse of Major keys (lack of moll), overuse of standard circle-based harmony ii-V(7)-I (in Maj); overall lack of harmonic creativity on 12-bar blues structure while yet overusing crowded extended chords with endless dissonance, overuse of somewhat arbitrary modal approach, etc, etc. I guess, as usually, OVERUSE is the key word…. Special thank you for the “lack of motifs” (while covering lack of creativity with up-down scales-based passages, especially pentatonics)

[@lawrenrich6419]

Another killer vid from my favourite KZbin jazz educator… and I’m a guitar player ! … anyone can benefit from the concepts

[@kurthumphreys9856]

I’m so glad I found your channel. 😁

[@aguzman11189]

That motif in 13:00 is really beautiful sounding; I think I am going to steal it 😂

[@jakekeys88music]

"It's just a little idea I had, and I decided to keep it going." *Adam Neely enters comments* I love his catchphrase "Repetition legitimizes."

[@LaurenceMartinSask]

Yes, heart, soul, emotions, first. The very sparse notes of Count Basie have lots of soul (and humour 😁) as much as Oscar Peterson's beautiful rivers of notes. For me it is all about the energy, and whatever the technique, it is there to serve the expression of the soul. ❤

[@jacobsmithjr]

"No hard feelings Mr. Thompson" lol

[@hughanderson7285]

Cool. I was a jr band director and my experience was that that accented upbeat was on quite slow old timey swing. For a very specific situation.

[@GioBardZero]

Concerning bends, as someone who grew up playing Chopin: I love using a whole fast chromatic line as a "bend" (4-5 consecutive notes leading up to the target)

[@Moinsdeuxcat]

Yes it's tasty, sometimes you surprise yourself ending on a harmony note 😂 I feel like sometimes I start at a random place and kind of "cheat with the rhythm" (#accidentallyPolyrhythmic) just to end on the note you want to reach: you don't really have to think about it beforehand!

[@RalphBrooker-gn9iv]

Really took a lot from this Aimee. I think Jarrett likes to use the same note a lot. He loves to return a lot to simple centres (then again his All The Things You Are with Peacock and DeJohnette is arguably one of the greatest improvisations I’ve ever heard. Warne Marsh (a hero of mine) uses arpeggios with few chromatics). And Bill Evans exploits scalar relations so that you’re kind of stuck in them. I’m not saying you’re wrong, and few of us will reach those heights. I agree they’re all bad habits to be dependent on. And jazz is difficult. It creates dependencies. I’ve never heard that single finger half-tone thing. Sounds awful. Thanks for the lesson. I was taught alto sax by an ex-dance band leader called Benny Freedman. His lessons were extortionate and he’d fall asleep after 10 minutes. Spent the time learning standards straight. Thanks again.

[@ber334]

Excellent

[@b4time718]

Aimee, love your videos and have gained a lot of insight from watching (and mostly listening!). When you were discussing motifs, I thought you were going to do variations on Fly Me To The Moon. I'm probably way off but it struck me because I often start playing little motifs that morph into well known melodies.

[@YotamPiano]

OMG Aimee your red SV-1 keyboard looks so hip, it begs to play some 70s and retro music. I dig your improv style btw, shows you listened to bebop before

[@krisspkriss]

Guitarist here. Both techniques are used in blues guitar. The quick one or two ghost notes very nicely imitates a bend or slide on the the guitar. A whole step bend is the most common, but those half step bends, quarter note bends and minor third bends are super toasty when used well. The minor second usage is more of an imitation of the more dissonant bends like the quarter step or the bend to a minor second instead of unison, which almost always gets resolved by finally bending to the unison, but not always. This last technique is probably the least utilized, for it has the harshest dissonance and feels like nails on a chalkboard, but when you pull it off, it is oh so tasty.

[@MarkFromHawaii]

The pedal tone repeat is cool as a break "in the right circumstance" and "used sparingly". 😉

[@georgehiggins1320]

I wonder if there is sometimes value in accenting the offbeats for emphasis. I do think it shouldn't be all the time though. It's definitely a sound not to be used indiscriminately. When it happens, I think that the accenting should be subtle, and the focus should be more on slightly straightening out the swing so that the quarter note lays back but the offbeat still lines up. What do you think?

[@AimeeNolte]

Yeah absolutely!

[@Moinsdeuxcat]

Playing D and Eb close on a Cm9 is my jam though 😂

[@krapart]

Lol😂😂😂 my band teacher was totally mr.thompson!

[@B3-R]

Good to hear you playing a little organ sound

[@truthpopup]

It is overused, but that minor second interval does work over a major seventh chord, where the two notes are the root and the major seventh. As for bending notes, that is what the pitch bend wheel is for.

[@JamesM608]

Hey Aimee not a music comment, but pickball :) You are the first person I ever heard talk about playing pickball, now on the east coast it’s became a big sport that every park around me now has courts for it. Just wanted to share :)

[@AimeeNolte]

Pickleball? Lol when did I talk about it on KZbin? I play all the time 😂🙌🏼

[@JamesM608]

Yes PickleBall :) I dont remember was a long time ago maybe it was on your website a family vacation or something. Anyway just wanted to share :)@@AimeeNolte

[@BellXllebMusic]

I wish more jazz players did that melody repetition thing

[@lbamusic]

When improvising, think of yourself telling a story to your listeners. Establish a premise or theme, then develop this theme as far and as completely as you can. Finally bring the story to a conclusion and restate the original tune.

[@jesusislukeskywalker4294]

🎹 too cool for school

[@shanjayaweera3036]

love me some sv1

[@arnieburgertime]

I just came here from Jeremy Siskind's "3 articulations" video where he says pretty much the opposite regarding swing accents... now I'm confused

[@AimeeNolte]

Dude I love Jeremy but maybe we could have a good fight about it sometime! 😂💙

[@handdancin]

maybe consistency and awareness are more important then the particular accent you choose

[@jamestang96]

Takeaway: Be Present and Mindful when soloing/practicing. Avoid falling into autopilot traps. Listen and Feel from the Heart. Some common habit traps: (that MAY detach beginners from mindfulness/listening. No absolutes!) 1. Habitualized/unintentional crushed/bent notes 2. Swinging backwards: routinely accenting all swung upbeats 3. Chronically repeating notes, quarter note triples. 4. Focusing only on the blues scale 5. Relying on arpeggios/scales over motifs/listening

[@horowizard]

I no longer improvise. I've reached a point where I now only use quotes exclusively. Sure, I take off from there, but quotes offer me much more milage and you're actually saying something.

[@surprise3940]

@Aimee Nolte Music Can you upload a piano tutorial: Diana Ross' Upside Down?

[@studiosys]

Aimee , what amp do you use on the Nord / live gigs ?

[@AimeeNolte]

I have a very old video about my set up. The keyboard is a Korg and I use a QSC K10 speaker

[@lbamusic]

​​@@AimeeNolte..QSC K10 a great speaker. Have had mine for years, and when playing organ, I flip back switch to 'deep' - wow!

[@AimeeNolte]

@lbamusic great idea! I’ll try it

[@fredbarnes196]

Every time you have the urge to fake slur a note in the piano play both notes separately adding a extra note in the phrase, and change up the rhythm instead

[@man0sticks]

J. S. Bach was indeed a swingin’ man. Check out his Gavotte from Partita no. 6.

[@JoaoCarlos-gd1km]

Show 👏👏👏❤

[@ARNAUDNZE-d5s]

Hi Aimee nolte my name is arnaud I am African more precisely in Gabon you certainly don't know so I learned music on my own since here there is no music school in my country I don't know how to read music and I am really passionate about jazz I would like to have discussions and advice from you possible I have been following you for a while I am subscribed to all your videos

[@mer1red]

The blues originated in an environment with no keyboards, mainly vocals, using a scale that is outside the western 12 note system. Therefore, 2 of the 3 blue notes cannot be played as such on instruments tuned in equal temperament (piano etc) and what is commonly called the blues scale is an approximation. Many renowned jazz pianists tried/try to imitate this by striking minor seconds, 2 notes at the same time. Is what Thelonius Monk did a mistake? I would rather say: for lack of better. *This is not trying to imitate the guitar but an attempt to play de real blues* .

[@GizzyDillespee]

You're right that it's not really a "mistake" at all, but at the same time, when she said that, I thought, "you know, I probably DO get a little bit lazy/sloppy about doing that..." I'm not gonna stop, but I will try to be more elegant about it, sometimes. Aimee would probably chase me away, with a pitchfork, if she knew all the fx I put on the digital piano. I say, don't make it digital, if you don't want people to abuse fx. WTH. If you use a delay, you can sometimes make it sound like a bend, if you time the new note to interact/cover-up the delayed note just right. I love doing that. No sound is too sacred for fx🤣. Or, for bending/clustering.

[@mer1red]

@@GizzyDillespee Yes, of course, with digital instruments, electric piano's and organs, synth's you have provisions to play at microtonal level (pitch bends etc). In fact I was talking about acoustic keyboards.

[@Kris_T_]

In defense of Mr Thompson... My brother is a gigging musician, and teacher. In the UK not the US, so things may not be exactly the same. But the issue is a bad curriculum, he found tons of examples like this, and if he tried teaching it 'his way' he got into trouble. He found that he wasn't really teaching students to comprehend music, but merely to pass various preordained exams.

[@VladimirChe80]

time-codes please

[@scottmorrise]

As a former HS band teacher (and non jazzer) I am guilty of teaching kids to accent the upbeat. Seriously though, have you heard kids that never listen to jazz try to swing? It is as hard for them to swing as it is for you to not swing (maybe harder.) I think we (band teachers) are just aiming at something that doesn't sound like a wagon with a broken wheel, thus the "accent the upbeat." For the horn players who tap their foot four to the bar and play heavy on the beat with a short upbeat, learning to play legato with a longer upbeat is quite a challenge. Asking them to accent the upbeat maybe is just an attempt to get them to smooth it all out and stop slapping the down beats.

[@JazzGuitarScrapbook]

Also worth pointing out that jazz guitarists don’t bend much, even though we can bend notes on the guitar

[@Barabyk]

Shhhh… last time I bent on a jazz gig I was fined £200 and three points. Not worth taking the risk…

[@JazzGuitarScrapbook]

@@Barabyk could easily have got points on your license with them boomer bends. I say you got off easy.

[@GizzyDillespee]

Seems to depend on whether your strings are Argentines or bridge cables...

[@JazzGuitarScrapbook]

@@GizzyDillespee it’s not a matter of how thick your strings are. It is a matter of propriety. I rock a humble set of 11s upon my Gibson es335 and I have yet the good grace to refrain from sinful bendage

[@marvinkmooneyoz]

Oh you had Mr. Thompson!?!?

[@johnnyblue1101]

Stick with the “motif thing” Aimee. That was productive for us advanced students

[@normalizedaudio2481]

I play this if I feel like it; but, I almost never feel like it.

[@JLAGAN49]

Hmmm! I'm sure our beloved Thelonious wasn't scared to simultaneously hit two notes a semi apart on an occasion or nine.😉

[@AimeeNolte]

True - but he did it with so much intention. And he wasn’t trying to be anything other than himself. He gets a big ol pass lol

[@JLAGAN49]

​@@AimeeNolteHe certainly did lovely lady. Touché 😊

[@paulmitchell2916]

Will that be your lifetime or my lifetime?

[@TonyThomas10000]

I call that "dirty dissonance".

[@jub8891]

mistakes? in jazz? 😅