Improvising Ballad Style Exercise Four. 2 2
You can double up on your notes with thirds, sixths, or octaves. 3 3
So if you always just use single notes in your improvisation, 4 4
it can sound quite thin. 5 5
[MUSIC] 6 6
So you can add a note to that melody line to thicken it up. 7 7
[MUSIC] 8 8
And add the extra note beneath the melody note. 9 9
So if you are playing a tune. 10 10
[MUSIC] 11 11
Add the extra note underneath because you will pick a top note. 12 12
[MUSIC] 13 13
Okay, and stick to notes of the key you're playing in. 14 14
So for instance the white notes in C major. 15 15
So. 16 16
[MUSIC]. 17 17
So a third is a note three scale tones away. 18 18
[MUSIC]. 19 19
A sixth is a note six scale tones away. 20 20
So. [MUSIC]. 21 21
And of course an octave is one octave apart, root note to root note. 22 22
[MUSIC] 23 23
And that sounds quite different than just playing the single note. 24 24
[MUSIC] 25 25
It's a lovely sharp, clean sound. 26 26
And the reason we use thirds, just stick to thirds, [SOUND] sixths, 27 27
[SOUND] and octaves, 28 28
[SOUND] is because they'll work more consistently with more notes in the scale. 29 29
But in saying that, they don't always sound right with every tone, so 30 30
we use your own judgement. 31 31
So let's try thirds, sixths, and 32 32
octaves with your basic ballads, that improvisation. 33 33
[MUSIC] 34 34
So you've played that before. 35 35
Now you're going to add thirds. 36 36
So. 37 37
[MUSIC] 38 38
Sixths. 39 39
[MUSIC] 40 40
Now look at the sheet music and 41 41
you'll see I've written in the two notes that you're going to be playing, so this 42 42
is E and C, and then you're just going to lock your fingers and move down the scale. 43 43
[MUSIC] 44 44
And finally, octaves. 45 45
[MUSIC] 46 46
You can see that they're both start on E. 47 47
[MUSIC]