Improvisation in the Orchestra Classroom – Using Arpeggios – Part II

In my last post we discussed the benefits of creating opportunities for students to experiment with improvisation. We also explored some simple concepts to use with students to begin to encourage them to improvise. In this post, I will present another concept for working on improvisation with students and how I used this concept in a lesson and performance that I did with my own students.

Just as some background, in our last post we discussed setting limitations and creating clear parameters for students to begin to improvise with. While this may be restrictive, I think it’s helpful to give students some guidelines to use when beginning to explore improvisation. I create guidelines for my students so they don’t become totally overwhelmed by the process or unsure of what notes to use or what to do. We also discussed the importance of modeling for students when improvising. Model the concepts you want your students to improvise with, vary the rhythms you use, and demonstrate ways to create using the parameters you have set for them. I think this helps to give them a reference point and some inspiration. Lastly, we also discussed improvising using a few notes found in the scale and only over one chord. Now here is another concept for getting your beginning students to improvise.

Practice arpeggios? Improvise with them.

I am sure that many of us, if not all of us, have our students practice arpeggios. To begin, I remind my students that an arpeggio is a broken chord. The notes in an arpeggio outline the chord. We discuss the fact that a piano or guitar can play the notes in a chord simultaneously, but as string players, we are limited to how many notes we can play at one time, therefore we must play the notes in the chord separately, or broken up. Since students are able to play various arpeggios through various keys, we can have our students improvise using their knowledge of their arpeggios. 

In this exercise, I keep things very simple and only allow students to improvise by arpeggiating notes up to a fifth. Of course, you can allow your students to arpeggiate up to the seventh, ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth. However, in this beginning stage, I limit the students to three notes or a simple triad arpeggiate chord – root – third – fifth. You can start by playing a given chord on the piano or by creating a groove or rhythmic foundation for your students. Encourage students to explore the sound of each note in the arpeggio against the chord. Model ways to vary the rhythm or give students a specific rhythm or arpeggiated pattern to play at first.

Have students hold out the root against your voiced chord, then the third, and then the fifth so they can feel and hear how each note sounds against the voiced chord. Once you encourage them to explore each specific note in the triad, allow them to be free to experiment with the notes in the triad by arpeggiating them on their own.  

Personal Example

I incorporated this idea of improvising with triads and arpeggios through an arrangement I did of the tune “El Pinazo” by the great composer, bandleader, and flautist, Johnny Pacheco with my middle school orchestra. This tune is from Pacheco’s period in which we was writing for his charanga orquesta. This type of ensemble traditionally featured percussion, piano, bass, flute, and violins. The tune has a solo section that moves through the chords – A minor, G major, F major, and E major. I taught the students the chord progression and had them arpeggiate up to the fifth for each of the chords in the progression. I then wrote out very simple ideas using chord tones in each of the chords. I had the students practice playing only the root, then the third, then the fifth, as we discussed earlier. We then practiced varying the rhythms they used and stringing together several ideas into musical phrases. I also wrote out ideas for the students and had the students improvise using only the ideas I gave them. My goal in this was that they would start to develop a beginning improvisatory vocabulary from which to create ideas from.

Once I had students play through my examples, I had them write their own “improvisations” or mini-compositions over the chord progression of El Pinazo. Again, they were only allowed to create using the root – third – and fifth of each of the chords. This exercise was to promote student choice and ownership of what they were playing. My goal was also to promote their own personal creativity using the concepts we had covered and their knowledge of arpeggios, chord tones, and chord progressions.

I programmed this piece for one of our spring concerts and students volunteered to perform their written “improvisations” during the solo section. It was definitely a cool moment to witness students performing what they had written and putting into play what they had learned in a live setting.

Conclusion

So, if you are beginning to introducing your students to improvisation – start simple, give your students clear guidelines for which to create in. Take things you may do in class every day such as arpeggios and encourage your students to play them in a new way or with a different rhythm.  Model for them, give them some inspiration, and see what they can come up with!