"To Blossoms", a poem by Robert Herrick, is a beautiful way of saying that life's short. I decided to put the first stanza to music, which is scored for violin, viola, cello, bass, oboe, horn, timpani, and SATB choir.
To Blossoms
by Robert Herrick
(1591-1674)
Fair pledges of a fruitful tree, Why do ye fall so fast? Your date is not so past, But you may stay yet here awhile To blush and gently smile, And go at last.
What, were ye born to be An hour or half's delight, And so to bid good-night? 'Twas pity Nature brought ye forth Merely to show your worth, And lose you quite.
But you are lovely leaves, where we May read how soon things have Their end, though ne'er so brave: And after they have shown their pride Like you, awhile, they glide Into the grave.
This exercise illustrates the important role that the major/minor 3rd interval can play in your improvisations. I'm calling this exercise the 3-6-10 exercise. The "3" represents a (major/minor) 3rd. The "6" represents a 6th, which is merely an inverted 3rd. The "10" represents a 10th, which is merely a 3rd with an octave inserted between the interval. So what we're basically doing in this exercise is playing with variations of the 3rd.
So much can be improvised with these intervals alone that I think this exercise might be a great starting point for those who either want to start improvising and don't know where to start, or for those who know how to improvise and simply want to revisit the basics for a little fun.
How does it work? Well, everything you improvise should be an interval that's either a 3rd, a 6th, or a 10th (major or minor). Ignore every other interval. I demonstrate what I mean in the companion video below. Even though the sheet music for my improvisation is attached below, I recommend coming-up with your own improvisation so that you can build-up your own improvisational arsenal. So have fun exploring these intervals and see what you can produce!
The marimba holds a special place in my heart. I used to play it when I was in high school and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This piece pays homage to this beautiful musical instrument. If I had access to a marimba, this video would likely have been an improvisation on it. But I'm happy to compose for it since compositions give me more time to work through a musical strategy than improvisations allow. My compositions are similar, in a small way, to improvisations in that my compositions basically consist of numerous small improvisations stitched together to form one larger piece. This video is a MIDI realization of this piece.
A modulation is a change from one key to another. When improvising, your modulations can be as long or as short as you like. Depending on which keys you're starting and ending in, you could potentially pass through several other keys enroute to your destination key. The example modulations I provide below contain the following:
Initiation - This is the starting point of a modulation, the point at which deviation from a key is commenced.
Arrival - This is the point at which the V chord of the new key is reached and focus can be shifted from modulating to key resolution (ie: V-I).
Confirmation - This step is optional and may or may not appear in the example improvisations. It's utilized in certain situations to reinforce the new key. If this step is omitted in cases where it's needed, your improvisation might not sound fully resolved in the key you intended.
Two strategies that you can use to help you modulate to a major key during an improvisation are as follows.
Set as your improvisational goal the V chord of the new key, then resolve. For example, if the new key is C major, your improvisation should work its way to the V chord, or G major, then resolve to C major.
Set as your improvisational goal the V chord of the relative minor of the new key, then resolve and modulate to the relative major. For example, if the new key is C major, your improvisation should work its way to the V chord of the relative minor, or E major, resolve to A minor, then modulate to C major.
A simple example of a modulation from A minor to C major might look like this.
Two strategies that you can use to help you modulate to a minor key during an improvisation are as follows.
Set as your improvisational goal the V chord of the new key, then resolve. For example, if the new key is A minor, your improvisation should work its way to the V chord, or E major, then resolve to A minor.
Set as your improvisational goal the V chord of the relative major of the new key, then resolve and modulate to the relative minor. For example, if the new key is A minor, your improvisation should work its way to the V chord of the relative major, or G major, resolve to C major, then modulate to A minor.
A simple example of a modulation from C major to A minor might look like this.
For demonstration purposes, all of the following examples modulate to C major from various keys. I'll provide a deeper analysis into a select few examples.
C#-C
In this first example improvisation, I outlined in red where the modulation is initiated and where the V chord of the destination key is reached. Once the V chord is reached, I then resolve to C major.
This updated excerpt is a chord and key analysis with key signatures added to better illustrate what's happening. You can see that contained within the grand modulation from C# to C are multiple smaller modulations strung together. Each individual modulation has its own initiation and V chord arrival points. The final V-I depicted in measures 15-16 reveal a change from C minor to its parallel major, C major.
C#-C (2)
C#-C (3)
D-C
This example demonstrates strategy #2 by improvising to the V chord of the relative minor, or E major, resolving to A minor, then modulating to C major.
D-C (2)
This particular example demonstrates the confirmation component of the modulation. After arrival at the V chord, the resolution to C takes place followed by a confirmation to indicate to the listener that we are now, in fact, in the key of C.
D-C (3)
E♭-C
E♭-C (2)
E♭-C (3)
E-C
E-C (2)
E-C (3)
E-C (4)
F-C
F-C (2)
F-C (3)
F#-C
F#-C (2)
F#-C (3)
G-C
G-C (2)
G-C (3)
A♭-C
A♭-C (2)
A♭-C (3)
A-C
A-C (2)
A-C (3)
B♭-C
B♭-C (2)
B♭-C (3)
B-C
B-C (2)
B-C (3)
C-C
While you can't modulate to a key you're already in, what you can do is modulate away from the key and return back to it. For fun, I included two examples of this.
C-C (2)
Practice
When practicing modulations during an improvisation, keep it simple at first and just modulate from one key to whatever key you happen to improvise to next, regardless of what key it is, and stop. In other words, don't name a destination key yet. Just practice modulating somewhere, anywhere you wish. Once you complete the modulation, repeat it and make note of the keys you started and ended in. Now store this newly discovered modulation in your hip pocket for use in future improvisations. You should be able to duplicate your new modulation in any key now. For example, if you successfully created a modulation from G to C, you should be able to use that modulation from A to D, C# to F#, F# to B, etc.
Later when you gain proficiency, instead of modulating to the first new key you come to and stopping, try modulating through the first key and into a second key. Make a mental note of what you did and add it to your improvisational arsenal. Over time as you gain a greater level of comfort, try naming a key to modulate to and improvise until you get there, regardless of how long the improvisation takes.
Summary
The modulations demonstrated in the examples above consist of (1) an initiation point, (2) arrival at the V chord of the new key along with key resolution, and optionally, (3) confirmation of the new key. There are other ways to modulate between keys over the course of an improvisation, each with their own strategies. But the examples in this post should provide a good starting point for modulations on your improvisational journey.
Bonus Points
In
both C-C improvisations, identify all keys that were modulated to along
with each modulation initiation and V chord arrival points.
If you're like me, you might think practicing scales is boring. Since I was a teenager, I've added improvisational "enhancements" to my scales to make them more musically enjoyable to me. If you're learning how to improvise, or if you want to test your improvisational skills, I think this could be a useful exercise for you. For this exercise, you can either prepend or append improvisations to your scales. My personal preference is to append improvisations as scale endings or modulations.
This example video demonstrates two traditional unenhanced scales followed by two enhanced scales. The first of the enhanced scales adds an "ending" to the scale that's in the same key as the scale. The second of the enhanced scales demonstrates an improvisational modulation from one scale to the next. For example, once the G scale ends, the improvisational element finds its way to the V chord of the following D scale (ie: A chord) and immediately continues up the D scale without stopping.
When adding improvisational enhancements to your scales, vary the improvisations from scale to scale to avoid repetition. Challenge yourself to invent a new ending or modulation for every scale.
I've been away from home for an unexpectedly long amount of time working on a personal project. I'm relieved the project is finally behind me and I can get back to improvising and composing again. These two back-to-back pieces were improvised and recorded on June 19, 2024.
The ventilation fan in my bathroom had an epic hum for a while that produced two pitches an octave apart. The lowest pitch was in the bass range and the upper pitch was in the tenor range. I couldn't help but reflexively hum a tune above the hum of the fan whenever I heard it.
I thought this would be a great improvisational exercise not only for those who are learning how to improvise, but for those who already know how to improvise and want to put their skills to the test in a fun way.
The associated video demonstrates this exercise where the hum of the fan is represented by middle C. Your improvisation can be performed on any musical instrument, provided you have a steady pitch to improvise around. If you're playing a keyboard or string instrument, you can use any pitch to represent the fan hum. If you're playing the organ, you could hold down a pedal throughout your entire improvisation. If you're playing bagpipes, the "hum" is already built-in!
The sheet music containing my improvisation is provided below merely as an example. However, like with all of my improvisational exercises, it's important for you create your own improvisation without referencing mine.
If you're learning how to improvise, or if you already know how to improvise but want to improve your improvisational counterpoint skills, I think a great exercise is to practice your improvisations with one hand. In the example video below, I'm demonstrating a right hand improvisation that moves between one and two voices.
If you're learning to improvise and you're concerned about what notes to choose so that your improvisation fits together harmonically, don't be.
Have an idea in your mind of what you want your next note to sound like.
Think of the interval (minor 3rd? perfect fifth?) you need in order to jump from the current note to the next note.
Play the next note. If the note you end up playing is not the note you wanted to play, find the note you wanted. Once you find it, determine what the actual interval is. Play the interval by itself so you can become accustomed to the sound of the interval. This will help you build your improvisational arsenal.
I provide the sheet music below to my demonstration video. However, your goal should not be to sight read my improvisation, but to instead create your own improvisation.
(This piece was improvised and recorded on January 12, 2024.)
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