[jazzman1945]

Start improvising

There are plenty of various manuals and self-teaching books for studying jazz harmony, improvisation in jazz style, blues, country etc. Some of them are very basic and primitive, and some are on a high academic level. But all are based on the following requirements for improvisation:
1. Well developed musical ear
2. Mastering the instrument
3. Knowledge of the theory: chords, harmony, tones, phrases etc.

Pianist has it all in the tips of his fingers: the sound, the technique, articulation, dynamics – all that we hear in his performance. And what a long time it takes to learn all that!
Pianist has it all in the tips of his fingers: the sound, the technique, articulation, dynamics – all that we hear in his performance. And what a long time it takes to learn all that!
Wind instruments have division of functions between fingers and breathing: fingers are responsible for the vents, like the keys on the piano; sound originates in the mouth. Again, many years of training are needed to learn how to produce full, beautiful sounds on the trumpet, clarinet, saxophone or bassoon! And it takes a lot of time to learn fingering on these instruments, while his own fingers the musician may see only in the mirror, and the wrong finger means wrong sound.
As for Melodica, we discover that even a child may start improvising on it right away, by pressing only one key or several at once and talking into the inlet slit. A word spoken into Melodica is being transformed directly into musical sounds. This is not fully a music yet, but the important elements are already here: form, phrases, breathing, rhythm, articulation, dynamics – and all this without the finger technique of the right hand, complete ignorance of the theory. Spoken language is becoming the rudimentary musical language… This kind of transforming speech into music is well demonstrated by the keyboard player from Hermeto Pascoal group – on the Festa Dos Deuses disc, the 5th track Pensamento Positivo.
Obviously, at this stage of sound making on Melodica other important elements are lacking: melodic intonation, melodic movement, as well as harmony. These are clearly functions of the right hand – here the technique is needed, as well as theory. Phrasing, breathing, rhythm, articulation, dynamics – all these demand years of learning and practice for any other instrument player, so that the instrument will sound similar to the human voice
Melodica, better that any other musical instrument, allows to achieve this effect directly, albeit on a limited scale. Any sound so performed, or even cluster, receive a very concrete meaning.
In author’s opinion, the importance of this feature for beginners is hard to overestimate.
Exercises are best practiced without the mouthpiece – otherwise it may sound like conversation with a smoking pipe in the mouth…