Whether you play in a big band or your only improvisations are at home with play-along recordings, you can probably relate to this question from Lauren:
I subbed with a swing big band last night and had the opportunity to play a solo on the changes of “Back Home in Indiana,” I perused the chord changes, and then proceeded to play the solo more or less by ear and somehow played through the changes regardless.
My issue is that I am not really reading through the chord changes. Maybe it’s because I haven’t done enough work breaking down chord changes, or it’s just that I have great ears; not really!
Does anyone have that experience?
Great question, Lauren.
Not all notes (of a chord) are created equal, and your goal should not be to run/tag every single note in every chord.
However, SOME notes are more valuable than others at specific moments in a song. It’s critical to understand where they are so you can use them—or not!—but as a choice.
In this video I walk you through my thought process for approaching these changes. I’ll cover:
- Which chord tones are most important to highlight (and when)
- How to “get from place to place (in the harmony)” at the right time
- How to “bring out” the true essence of the chord quality
Be sure to check the PDF/mp3 example below the video, too.
Here are 2 example ideas for the first 4 bars of Indiana: PDF • mp3
For more on voice-leading through chord changes, check out this course.
Visit/contribute to the initial discussion in this thread