Learn the basic concepts of improvisation from Gary Burton, one of the most renowned improvisers in the jazz world, including the mental, melodic, and harmonic processes that contribute to the instinctive skills that an improviser puts to use when taking a solo.
Este curso forma parte de Programa especializado: Music Education for Teachers
ofrecido por
Acerca de este Curso
Students should be able to play an instrument at a beginner level and be familiar with basic music notation.
Qué aprenderás
Use storytelling as a tool to improve your improvisation
Practice and use various scales to improve your improvisation skills
Identify harmonic motion in a song
Use guide tones and guide tone lines when you're improvising
Habilidades que obtendrás
- Music Performance
- Music
- Jazz
- Jazz Improvisation
Students should be able to play an instrument at a beginner level and be familiar with basic music notation.
ofrecido por

Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music. For more than half a century, the college has evolved to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. Berklee serves distance learners worldwide through its award-winning online extension school, Berklee Online.
Programa - Qué aprenderás en este curso
Welcome to Jazz Improvisation
Welcome to the course! Here we will cover all the details about the course and what you'll need to know to get the most out of your experience.
Improvisation as a Language
Since everybody who is taking this course starts from a different place in terms of their experience as an improviser, it's important at first to cover some basic material. We'll begin our journey by exploring the language used by jazz improvisors. Improvisation is analogous to language in many ways. With music, we become fluent when the vocabulary (scales and chords) and grammar (harmonic progressions) are assimilated into conversational content or story (melodic themes and structure) and we no longer have to consciously think about them while we play.
The Improviser's Vocabulary
In this lesson, we'll explore the improviser's lingo. We'll identify the most common chord scales and the type of harmony they relate to including major, minor, and dominant 7.
Making Scale Choices in Real Time
Improvisers must be able to quickly recall chord scales and be able to play around on them fluently. This becomes important when choosing which chord scale to use on a given harmony—another thing we must be able to determine immediately. When a new tune is put in front of you at a session or a rehearsal, there isn't time to take the music home and spend an hour or two working out the correct scales. Improvisers need a quick, mostly intuitive way of making these scale choices in real time as the tune is being played. This week, we'll explore my method for making these quick musical decisions.
Harmony for Improvisers
It is important for an improviser to clearly imply the harmonies when improvising. It is not enough to just play correct notes on each chord. In this lesson we'll examine how the improviser helps the harmonies move. Part of the improviser's job is to help the listener follow the changes as the chords move from one to another.
Reseñas
- 5 stars86,34 %
- 4 stars10,92 %
- 3 stars1,69 %
- 2 stars0,65 %
- 1 star0,39 %
Principales reseñas sobre IMPROVISACIÓN DE JAZZ
I really enjoyed this material. It was fun and I learned a lot. I wish there were more advanced Jazz courses like this available on Coursera.
It showed got me real close to a personal tutor combined with its active class discussion network, keeping me on my toes and giving me a boost in my Jazz learning. I am happy I took this one.
Excellent introduction to Jazz Improvisation. I was amazed by how much I could progress in just 6 weeks... Great content, superbly delivered by Gary Burton.
Kinda have to learn to Improvise yourself, he teaches you tricks to make it better, but not *how* to improvise. However, it's impossible to generally state how to improvise, you just eventually learn.
Acerca de Programa especializado: Music Education for Teachers
In the Music Education for Teachers specialization, you will explore ways of integrating popular music into your teaching. You'll begin by learning from two highly experienced teachers, Krystal Banfield, the Vice President of Educational Outreach for Berklee College of Music, and David Alexis a Berklee Professor and long-time instructor for the Berklee City Music Program. They will take you through their process of incorporating popular music, improvisation, arranging, and music technology into the classroom while still fulfilling the common core learning standards.

Preguntas Frecuentes
¿Cuándo podré acceder a las lecciones y tareas?
¿Qué recibiré si me suscribo a este Programa especializado?
¿Hay ayuda económica disponible?
Do I need to play an instrument before I enroll in this course?
Do I need to know music theory before I enroll in this course?
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