“The Principles of Improvisation” Collection is designed for use with ALL INSTRUMENTS
– strings, brass, woodwind, keyboards, percussion –
in ALL GENRES of music
– Classical, Blues, Jazz, Country, Rock, Latin, HipHop, Rap, Oriental –
for ALL musicians of ANY PLAYING ABILITY
– Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced –
when your aim is to create the improvised line.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is improvisation?
A: There are two answers.
1: a spontaneous response by a performer on a musical instrument to the chords in a given key;
2: a system of texts and charts designed to develop the ability of generating ideas on what to play improvisation.
Q: Can anyone learn to play improvisation?
A: Yes, providing you have the three prerequisites –
1: a rudimentary knowledge of music including the ability to read it;
2: an average ability to play a musical instrument;
3: an enquiring mind capable of understanding and creating new ideas.
Q: How much knowledge of music do I need to understand the books on The Improvised Line?
A: My ambition at the outset was to create a system that Blind Freddy could understand, so the answer is very little. Every situation has been catered for. You can start from scratch with book 1 – An Introduction to Improvisation or jump right in at the deep end with Books 9, 10 and 11 The Occidental, Oriental and Chromatix Handbooks. These are for the experienced players only as they are quite advanced.
Q: How long does it take to learn how to play improvisation?
A: After one lesson you will have more than enough information to create ideas for playing improvisation.
Q: How long does it take to become competent at playing improvisation?
A: In ancient Greece the philosophers who taught music (Muses) thought three years was adequate time to learn all that was known. But the reality today is it would take more than one lifetime to remember all the variables. That is not to say you should wait a lifetime to begin. Start now and go with what you know.
Better education will bring about more sophisticated statements.
Q: What is a Music Mode?
A: Put simply (and we love to do that) Modes are the scales within a scale. Hence there are only 7 modes, one for each note of the scale.
The Ionian Mode is the normal scale beginning on the 1st / Tonic / Naming note.
The Dorian Mode uses the same notes as the Ionian but begins on the 2nd / SuperTonic note.
The Phrygian Mode uses the same notes as the Ionian but begins on the 3rd / Mediant note.
The Lydian Mode uses the same notes as the Ionian but begins on the 4th / SubDominant note.
The MixoLydian Mode uses the same notes as the Ionian but begins on the 5th / Dominant note.
The Aeolian Mode uses the same notes as the Ionian but begins on the 6th / SubMediant note.
The Locrian Mode uses the same notes as the Ionian but begins on the 7th / SubTonic / Leading note.
Q: Why a secure PDF downloadable book instead of hard-cover book?
A: ebooks are convenient electronic books that can be instantly downloaded and read on any computer, laptop, tablet or smart phones. For those who prefer hard copies, you can print them from your own pc.
The bottom line is that we have chosen this format to reduce the price to you!
A traditional, hard-copy book would cost three times as much as the ebook, given the mark-up from the publisher, editing, distribution, shipping, etc.
The ebook format allows us to reach a wide range of people and provide them with an easily accessible and affordable guide to the improvised line.
Q: What makes this system better or different from other material on the subject of improvisation?
A: In four simple statements
1: The Principles of Improvisaton does not pretend to tell you the how, when or what to play.
2: All that it claims to do is to lay a solid foundation for you to develop your own ideas.
3: It concentrates on developing your ability to generate ideas for playing improvisation.
4: This is the ONLY system that offers the PROOF of what it states at every stage of development.
Q: I’ve been studying music for some time now, do I still need to buy Book 1?
A: Probably not, but you might need to refer to it some time in the future if you are not familiar with all aspects of jazz improvisation and creating the improvised line.
Q: Do I need to buy every book in the series to become competent at playing improvisation?
A: No, any one book in the series is enough to generate more than a lifetime of ideas on improvisation, so much so that you could become a ‘modal specialist’. But would that be stereotyping?
Q: Is there any way of getting all the information without having to purchase all the books separately?
A: No. Books 2 to 8 have the complete information relevant to The Modes they are written in, which is not mentioned in the other ebooks on The Principles of Improvisation.
If your music education is well founded, and by that I mean to university level, you could get away with books 9, 10 and 11 – The Occidental, Oriental and Chromatix Handbooks.
Q: Is my credit card, debit card or bank account information secure online?
A: Yes. You can trust that your credit card, debit card or bank account information is secure because we rely on PayPal, the world’s largest third-party payment processor.
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Q: Can I buy your eBooks even if I don’t live in Australia?
A: Yes, Absolutely! All you need is a savings account or debit/ credit card and a PayPal account (3 minutes to set up if you do not have one) – and your order can be processed from anywhere in the world.
Q: How long until I receive my eBook?
A: With our new, fast and FULLY AUTOMATED Ordering Service you will have your personal copy of any of our eBooks within minutes. Just Select your book, Pay then Click on the Download Link.
Q: I’ve done all the homework, so why am I still afraid to get up in public and have a go?
A: At some stage or another in their development everybody will have to face up to this situation. It is based on the fear that you will look like a ‘big goose’ playing too many bum notes. Let me reassure you, there are no wrong notes, because in a particular key, every note in the scale can be played with any chord in that scale. Plus there are numerous peripheral scales.
For example, including the natural scale there are eight others that produce the Dominant G7. All are compatible with the chords in key of C and the chords generated by the alterations. Then there are the modal scales… I shudder to think how many… there is enough evidence to convince anyone that there are no wrong notes.
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Excellence can be attained if you: Care more than others think is wise, Risk more than is safe, Dream more than is practical, & Expect more than others think is possible.
