With all these problems of composition and improvisation previously mentioned, how should we present our compositions? It is important to analyse the form of our new compositions very carefully. What exactly is the form? And more
critically, is the form unsymmetrical or irregular?
Form, as I have stated elsewhere, is God in jazz
because form is the structure of the improvisation and improvisation, as I have also stated
previously, is 90 % of the composition. By analysing more
carefully the form of our new compositions and conveying this in a clear, graphical way on
the manuscript the composer can facilitate more rapid internalisation and
memorisation of a work for the musicians. This can be aided by liberally using
repeats to show when the music is returning to earlier harmonic sections. [1]
We should also facilitate the rapid memorisation of compositional forms by not writing out
compositions like big band charts. i.e. with no respect for the shape of the
music. If the forms are irregular, we can arrange them on the page as such, so
the improviser can actually see the shape. For example if you have a ten bar A
section followed by a five bar B section, set it up on the page like that, with the sections separated graphically. It will then be much easier
to improvise more quickly on this irregular form.
It is important to be aware that excellent compositions, like graphic structures, often look attractive on the page. This
is due to the fact that a great composition, like nature itself, often has an
element of design and inherent symmetry. This aspect of attractive design also
aids the musician in memorising the chart more quickly. More and more as you
understand this you will see that most of the great compositions have a remarkable
inherent order.
Unfortunately many improvisers in
jazz do not think in a classical compositional sense when improvising. At its
highest level, jazz improvisation is true thematic development in real time,
but often the improviser, being a lower level player, is more concerned with
practicing the techniques that they think will elevate them to the next
improvisational level. Hence, the compositional length that is suggested by the
original theme is often well exceeded and then the problem is usually exacerbated by extensive
harmonic and rhythmic repetition and lack of melodic and dynamic contour within
the improvisation. The result of this is that a great deal of jazz
improvisation simply loses focus and becomes boring. As a drummer, inherently powerless
to change the outcome of an improvisational composition, apart from varying
dynamics, I have often been acutely aware of this. As stated earlier, if the
drummer who is usually concentrating 100% on the music is bored, imagine how
the public feels: people who often have no understanding at all of the
mechanics of the music.
This focus on improvising techniques
is death to the thematic development that should be occurring in a jazz solo:
the thematic development that can lift a simple melody and its improvisation into the realms of a
“perfect” classical composition. A greater focus from the beginner is needed, not so much
on personal technique, but more on what is actually occurring outside the instrument, i.e. the sound of the whole group–the myriad communications and
dynamic flows occurring within it. This outer focus is something that the beginner improvisor often neglects.They are so focused on perfecting the hours spent studying technique at home that technique becomes the only focus on the bandstand. Obviously this outer focus is much more difficult to apply when
soloing than when accompanying because the mind is in a much more heightened
state. Only the most advanced musicians can truly do this. In fact to do
this very well while soloing requires a special type of ability.
Discussing this we are moving into
the realm of more esoteric techniques such as astral travel. [2] It is said
that Charlie Parker was frequently able to observe himself while playing.
Whether this may be just mythology, the result of his frequent abuse of heroin
and barbiturates, or pure lies, we will never know, but this story has become
part of the mystique of Parker and even if false, is something to aspire too,
for the simple reason that it moves the focus away from ourselves, the
improviser and outwards to the total sound.
[1] My friend, the New Zealand bass player Dan Fulton has
developed an even more abbreviated technique for writing out compositions. He uses vertical arrows to show where chords are re-used in second time repeats.
This diminishes the physical size of the composition even more on a page and
therefore facilitates more rapid internalisation/memorisation of the harmonic
structures contained within a form.
[2] Astral Travel: I have never experienced anything
but the vaguest hint of this at the exact moment before falling asleep;
however, I do not doubt the validity of these accounts in the slightest. An
astral traveller can leave their body as an avatar and travel to other
countries, places and dimensions.