Improvising in double time is very effective for slow to medium tempos. Shifting from regular to
double time requires a shift of beat perception, in which your even eighth note turns into your
quarter note. There are a few challenges along the way though. You need a good sense of time and a pretty good
technique not to mention the ability to create interesting jazz lines that you can play at speed.
Today, let's work on a three-bar phrase using many of the concepts we usually discuss on this
channel, and create a full workout using double time improvisation. Let's listen to the entire
phrase. First, I'll play the progression in regular time and then change to double time
by playing a jazz line. Remember the temple will stay fixed at a hundred
and twenty beats per minute. To make it more obvious, I will double time the walking bass
and the drums will also switch to double time. But the harmonic rhythm will stay unchanged.
So, if you want to learn, not only how to play a line like this, but also how to create it, and
practice it, I'll show you all the steps that I take. Let's start with a very often used harmonic
progression: two five one with a two five of five preceding it. You'll find this progression
in hundreds of tunes the first thing that I'm going to do is add a turnaround cord so that I
can repeat the line in a loop when I practice it in any key. So let's add a five seven of six, which
will anticipate the first chord of the phrase. So then you can practice the line in a loop like this!
We can change it to any key and play it, but don't write it down! I'll show
you how to practice it so that you don't have to do that. This is an essential part
of playing these lines; write it down only in one key and then play it in all keys without
any written music. So if we change to the key of Eb, the harmonic progression becomes...
Later on, we'll use a different cord at the end and adjust the line to modulate
a perfect fifth down in order to create a twelve key workout. Okay, so how do you
create a line like this? Here's your first tip, define the melodic shape. For example, a
curve that goes up and comes back down. Then use target notes tracing your shape! So here
I used 1 and 3 on the G minor, and then 1 and b7 on B7. Then I used a 5 and
a b3 on C minor, and 5 and 3 on F7. And finally 3 on Bb and b7 on the D7.
So all these target notes are chord-tones and I made sure at least one of the guide-tones was
used on each of the chords, because guide-tones contain the essence of the chords sound. If
you're not versed on target notes, I suggest you check out our target notes book series with more
than a thousand jazz standards with target notes from chord tones to tensions and tone lines. Okay!
So now we've created a framework with which we can develop our line. For simplicity's sake,
let's devise our line using only sixteenth notes. This is a very common technique for double time
improvisation, and it will make it easier to play, since you're just playing a stream of sixteenth
notes throughout the entire phrase. Let's start with approach notes, or approach note groupings.
So let's trap this Bb using diatonic approach notes. If we were using triplets, we could have
trapped the Bb by just adding A and C. The A approaches the Bb from below and the C
approaches the B from above. This is a diatonic trap because both the A and the C belong to
the G Dorian Scale. But, since we want to play only sixteenth notes, we can double trap the Bb like
this! Now to get to this C up here, since there's a large gap between the notes, the best option is
to use an arpeggio. So we take the extended Gm7 arpeggio starting on Db like this.
From C to Bb, we could use approach notes, or if we want to create a more angular line, we could use
a scale going up to Bb by first skipping down from C. So this C7 would take Mixolydian.
We can add the three notes before Bb in the Mixolydian Scale and get this. All right, let me
show you guys a nice trick! See how this C7 turns into a Cm7? You'll find these dominant
chords turning into minor seven chords with the same root everywhere. When you see this, always
replace the Mixolydian Scale on the dominant chord with a Lydian b7 scale. So instead
of having a fourth degree in the scale who've have a #4 or #11. This #11 approaches
the 5 much better, increasing the tension that can then be released once the dominant chord turns
into a minor 7 chord. This is very effective. You can also think that you're approaching the 5th
of the dominant chord with a #11. Either way remember that this F# is a great note to use
on a C7. So we can exchange this F for an F# and we're getting to the Bb using an ascending
scale. At the same time, we're creating an angular line by adding this downward leap here. To get to
this G, we can use another arpeggio again. So if we add three more notes above the Bb using
the arpeggio from our C7 -- now C7#11 -- we have Bb, D and F#, and an A. And this works great
because it resolves to the G on the C minor 7, and at the same time the F# and the
A are trapping the G. Next, we need to find a way to get from this C to this E. Let's try something
different this time... We've talked extensively about reharmonization techniques in the past.
If you want to find out more about reharmonizations, i'll put a link to the series in the description.
below, or you can click on the icon! Ok, when you're improvising you can reharmonization the chords
in a chart just a little bit. Mind you, this reharmonization
is not meant to be played by the other players or even your left hand, if you're a piano player.
These re-harms are only meant to be played by the soloist. So instead of thinking you're in C7 let's
interpolate a 57 of that C7, a G7. So now we can use a G7 arpeggio to connect this G to this Eb.
So we're thinking G7 on top of the G note and C minor 7 on top of the Eb. So we can shift
the arpeggio's octave to target the Eb like this... The cool thing about this line is that we
are reharmonization the C minor 7 with a G7 to C minor 7 and also we are trapping the Eb with D and F.
Now we need to connect this Eb to the C note below F7 with three more sixteenth notes. So
far we've been connecting notes. This time, let's try something different. Instead of filling out
the space between the target notes, we can add approach notes before our targets delaying them.
By doing this we create more tension that will resolve later. So let's trap the Eb with a
chromatic trap from above and below like this... So now our resolution is delayed by half of a
beat, which creates a nice balance between tension and release making the line much more interesting...
And we can keep this displacement if we want also. So let's connect the Eb to the C
under the F7 with another arpeggio. If we play the C minor arpeggio starting on Eb,
we get Eb, G Bb, and D. And let's shift the octave again to target the C like this... Again, the
arpeggio works great and it also traps the C note with Bb and D. Notice that our target note is
still shifted a half beat, and that's awesome! Because we're playing with the harmonic rhythm
to create tension. Notice how under the F7 we now have a Bb of 4, which is a note
you would never use on a dominant seventh chord because it sounds so bad. But it is resolving to
the expected C-note in the end... Now if we wanted to release this tension created by the displacement
that we've created, we could connect the C to the A with only one sixteenth note. But I'm
gonna take an even more drastic approach and simply play the A on the following sixteenth
after the C. So now we're anticipating this target note A... And now we have an entire beat to connect
the A with the D. So let's add a real harm here by substituting the F7 which is the five seven
with the sub5, which is B7 with a Lydian b7 Scale. And connect the notes with a
descending B7 Lydian b7 Scale. And so we get A, G#, F#, E#, D#, to D. I'll write
it using flats since it makes more sense than the current key because actually we should be
talking a Cb7 as the sub5, but B seven is easier to think about in the current key.
Okay, so now we have a D half note as the target. If we want to fill out these two beats with sixteenth
notes, we can use what I call a Super Chromatic Trap! And this is how you do it. Approach the target
chromatically from below and then trap it with a triple chromatic approach from above and one
chromatic from below like this... You can create this trap using any pattern you'd like. They'll become
more familiar to you as you play them and they will become part of your playing without having
to think about it. Now we just need to connect this D with the C. Actually, in real life you might be
switching targets as you go and sometimes target substitution is very handy! So I'll replace the
C target which is the b7 of the D7 with the b13 or a #5 if you want to think
about it that way also. So instead of targeting the C let's target the Bb, this will give us
a nice opportunity to use the same trapping we used at the beginning of the line. Remember this?
We can use it again here like this... and land on the Bb but now it's functioning as the flat
13 or #5 of the D7 which works great. Now we can target the beginning of the line so we can
practice repeatedly in a loop without having to stop. We need five more sixteenth notes, the easiest
way is to play a descending D7 Mixolydian b9, b13, which is the scale we should pair
the 5 seven of 6 with. So we count five notes up from G and we land on Eb. So let's add that
descending scale starting on Eb to target the G. Notice that this Eb is the b9 of the
D7, this will become handy when we transpose this line into different keys. So our line is done!
If you've come this far in the video, congratulations!!! I know this is a lot of
information and it might seem a bit elaborate to just improvise over three bars. But, my goal
is not to just present the line but rather go through the entire process so you can learn how
to start tackling improvisation and how to think about it. Which brings us to an important point
in the video. What's the first step? Learning how to create a line like this, or being able
to play it? Just try playing this line in the key of Eb to see what happens. It's not that easy
unless you can really handle all the techniques present in it, and by handle I mean hearing them,
feeling them in your fingers. Trust me, once you've played a few lines like this in all keys from
the perspective of target notes, approach notes, and other techniques we talked about, you'll be
a master at this, but it requires effort! On the next video we will look at the walking
bass line and how to practice this line in each key separately. Thanks always for watching, don't
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