RON BOSSE

The following are thoughts and concepts on subjects we all face as musicians. I've broken this page into the following 5 categeories:

• Improvisation
• Composition
• Performance
• Practicing
• Arranging

Bear in mind that what follows is not intended to be the "end all be it", and that mastery of anything is a result of the balance of a multiplicity of approaches and ideas.

Improvisation:

Tetrachords:

Tetrachords are 4 note fragments that consist of scale and chord tones. Tetrachords are an ideal improvisational tool as they clearly outline the sound of the chord you play them over. Although they can sound great when employed in modal situations, they are especially useful when playing over tunes that have a harmonic rhythm of two chorfds per measure. The following are the tetrachord formulas for some common chord types:

• Major 7: 1,2,3,5
• Minor 7: 1,b3,4,5
• Dominant 7: 1,2,3,5
• Minor 7b5: 1,b3,4,b5
• Dominant 7b9: 1,b2,3,5

Using the above formulas, you can see that for Cmajor7 you would play C,D,E,G; for Cminor7 you would play C,Eb,F,G; for Cdominant7 you would play C,D,E,G; for Cminor7b5 you would play C,Eb,F,Gb; and for Cdominat7b9 you would play C,Db,E,G.

A great way to practice tetrachords is to first master them for all major and minor II-V and II-V-I chord progressions. From there, you can move on to the I-VI-II-V progression. Since these progressions provide the backbone of jazz harmony, by practicing them you will then find it easier to move on to the jazz 12 bar blues (major and minor), rhythm changes, and jazz standards.

I can't overestimate the usefulness of tetrachords. They have no avoid notes like many scales do, they are easier to facilitate than arpeggios, they are compact, and they clearly outline the sound of the chord you are playing them over.

John Coltrane is one of the masters of tetrachord playing. Listen to him rip them over the fast moving changes in his classic tour de force "Giant Steps". Jerry Bergonzi, the great Boston tenor player who I've had the pleasure of performing with, wrote a great book called "Melodic Structures" which is an in depth analysis of this concept.

Practicing:

Establishing a Comprehensive Approach:

To master certain concepts, one must dedicate considerable time to practicing. Practicing by way of a regimented approach consisting of scales, technique, arpeggios, chords, reading, improvisation and repertoire is ideal. Always look for the next logical step with respect to these topics and then move ahead accordingly. The beauty of a professional, college-educated instructor is that he or she will be able to determine what is the next logical step which can be difficult for students without guidance.

The most important thing I've learned about practicing is what I call the law of "Negative Neutrality" which is the notion that nothing stays the same, you are either moving forwards or backwards. Simply put, if you cease to practice, you're playing will not remain at the same level, it will eventually diminish. Some of this has to do with the fact that playing an instrumenta is a physical activity and when you stop excerting yourself your muscles will lose strength and memory. Couple this with the fact that others who continue to practice will gain an advantage over you, and the concept of moving backwards becomes even more clear.

When practicing, consider yourself an athlete who needs to constantly warm up, maintain and push the limits of what you're capable of.

Burning, Ron

Composing:

Where do I start?

Time and time again students ask me the same question, "How do you write tunes? Do you start with the melody, chords, or the rhythm?". Having written over 100 full scale compositions now, I can say with experience that the inspiration for a composition can come from any of these musical components, none of them being any more important than another. I have written tunes that were clearly inspired from a chord progression, and I've written tunes that were based off of a rhythm or melodic line. By using all these possibilities as a catalyst for composing, your tunes will take on multiple dimensions, therefore not sounding that they were all written with the same approach.

Burning, Ron