Have You Ever Wanted to Improvise? These Tips Will Get You Started!

Have you ever found yourself humming or singing one of your favorite songs and added in your own special touch to it as you did that? That’s improvising!

• It’s different from composing although along the same lines. Composing is when you write original music and improvising is when you change or add to something in an already composed piece or song.

A lot of improvisation is required for those who play by ear or with a group or band. Pianists who are used to reading notes only and not inputting their own ideas into the music they are playing sometimes find it difficult to let go of the comfort of sheet music and wing it as we do when improvising.

It’s not really that hard to “make the plunge” and we’re going to look at several things that you can do to help that process happen easier and without stressing out about it.

• There is a video at the end that will go over in more detail what is discussed here that will help you understand these concepts practically at the piano.

There are a few concepts that you need to be fairly comfortable with before starting to improvise. They are:

• What the melody is in a piece or song – usually the right hand or the single note line in your music.
• What is a key signature – try to know as many of your major and minor key signatures as possible.
• Scales – be able to play scales in as many different key signatures as possible.
• Know basic chord patterns and which chord tones to play with each measure.

When we are dealing with improvising a melody, there are three specific things to remember that a melody can do:

1. Steps – moving from one note to the next note consecutively; most used in melodic improvisation.
2. Skips – skipping over a note or playing single notes non consecutively; used often but less than Steps in melodic improvisation.
3. Leaps – skipping over several notes or even octaves non consecutively; used the least in melodic improvisation.  

Phrasing is another important aspect of improvising.

• Phrasing groups notes together so that they flow together well and make sense when you listen to them. Phrasing usually involved 2 or more measures that have a sense of a beginning and an ending…much like a paragraph is used in writing.

The easiest way to put all of this together is to start with a very simple melody in a key signature that you are totally comfortable with. Create a melody that uses mostly steps and single chords in the left hand for each measure. Think about phrasing the notes and measures together so that they make sense and flow together.  

Remember…it may not sound “good” or the way you want it to when you first start and it may feel uncomfortable. As you continue to work on this a bit each day, you will find that it gets easier and easier.

Use the video below to help you understand these concepts at your keyboard and have fun! Improvising is such a wonderful way to continue growing in your piano playing and to connect with other musicians. 

If you like my tips and lessons, you will love the courses over on my website. Whether you are a beginner looking to get a solid foundation to build on or you are looking to take you existing skills to that next level, the online music courses on my website  https://www.pianolessonsontheweb.com will help you do just that.