This course is part of the Music Education for Teachers Specialization

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769 ratings

Gary Burton

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Offered By

Music Education for Teachers SpecializationBerklee College of Music

About this Course

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Learn the basic concepts of improvisation from Gary Burton, one of the most renowned improvisers in the jazz world, including the mental, melodic, and harmonic processes that contribute to the instinctive skills that an improviser puts to use when taking a solo.
While many people are fans of jazz and understand that musicians are often “making up” the notes they are playing during a performance, most people—often including musicians, themselves, who are beginning to learn improvising—aren’t clear about what exact processes take place to enable this to happen. The purpose of this course is to introduce the basic concepts of modern improvisation and how to go about mastering the different musical and mental skills involved. 

Course author Gary Burton codifies a sought-after approach to improvisation that has been at the core of Berklee College of Music's curriculum for decades. Students who complete this course will know what to practice and how to practice the various aspects of improvising, in addition to understanding how the improviser spontaneously communicates to the listeners through their musical creations.

Flexible deadlines

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Course 2 of 4 in the

Music Education for Teachers Specialization

Intermediate Level

Students should be able to play an instrument at a beginner level and be familiar with basic music notation.

Approx. 15 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: French, Chinese (Simplified), Portuguese (Brazilian), German, Russian, English, Spanish

What you will learn

Use storytelling as a tool to improve your improvisation

Practice and use various scales to improve your improvisation skills

Identify harmonic motion in a song

Use guide tones and guide tone lines when you're improvising

Skills you will gain

Music Performance
Music
Jazz
Jazz Improvisation

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Course 2 of 4 in the

Music Education for Teachers Specialization

Intermediate Level

Students should be able to play an instrument at a beginner level and be familiar with basic music notation.

Approx. 15 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: French, Chinese (Simplified), Portuguese (Brazilian), German, Russian, English, Spanish

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.8/5 (62 Ratings)

Gary Burton

Course Author

84,926 Learners

3 Courses

Offered by

Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music. For more than half a century, the college has evolved to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. Berklee serves distance learners worldwide through its award-winning online extension school, Berklee Online.

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating98%(12,859 ratings)

Week

Week 1

1 hour to complete

Welcome to Jazz Improvisation

Welcome to the course! Here we will cover all the details about the course and what you'll need to know to get the most out of your experience.

1 hour to complete

3 videos (Total 9 min), 5 readings, 1 quiz

2 hours to complete

Improvisation as a Language

Since everybody who is taking this course starts from a different place in terms of their experience as an improviser, it's important at first to cover some basic material. We'll begin our journey by exploring the language used by jazz improvisors. Improvisation is analogous to language in many ways. With music, we become fluent when the vocabulary (scales and chords) and grammar (harmonic progressions) are assimilated into conversational content or story (melodic themes and structure) and we no longer have to consciously think about them while we play.

2 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 14 min), 2 readings, 2 quizzes

Week

Week 2

3 hours to complete

The Improviser's Vocabulary

In this lesson, we'll explore the improviser's lingo. We'll identify the most common chord scales and the type of harmony they relate to including major, minor, and dominant 7.

3 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 24 min), 4 readings, 3 quizzes

Week

Week 3

3 hours to complete

Making Scale Choices in Real Time

Improvisers must be able to quickly recall chord scales and be able to play around on them fluently. This becomes important when choosing which chord scale to use on a given harmony—another thing we must be able to determine immediately. When a new tune is put in front of you at a session or a rehearsal, there isn't time to take the music home and spend an hour or two working out the correct scales. Improvisers need a quick, mostly intuitive way of making these scale choices in real time as the tune is being played. This week, we'll explore my method for making these quick musical decisions.

3 hours to complete

7 videos (Total 18 min), 1 reading, 3 quizzes

Week

Week 4

3 hours to complete

Harmony for Improvisers

It is important for an improviser to clearly imply the harmonies when improvising. It is not enough to just play correct notes on each chord. In this lesson we'll examine how the improviser helps the harmonies move. Part of the improviser's job is to help the listener follow the changes as the chords move from one to another.

3 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 20 min), 2 readings, 3 quizzes

Reviews

4.8

267 reviews

5 stars
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TOP REVIEWS FROM JAZZ IMPROVISATION

by MGNov 19, 2016

This was a truly great course, I learnt so much. And I have been playing piano for almost 60 years! Thanks to a wonderful teacher and musician (brilliant rendition of Chick Corea's Crystal Silence)

by LLDec 29, 2015

I really loved taking this extremely inspiring and informative course. Gary Burton is a fabulous instructor. I learned so much. Really wonderful. Thank you. ~ Lisa Lukas

by IIApr 18, 2017

It was productive and interesting time. I learnt a lot of new things and got much fun improving my improvisation skills. Cite from course: You will have plenty to keep you busy in the months ahead.

by NLMar 20, 2017

Just a perfect improvisation course from Gary's heart! Thank you Gary!! There's only one con, the assignments are peer reviewed only (not teacher feedback at all).

View all reviews

About the Music Education for Teachers Specialization

In the Music Education for Teachers specialization, you will explore ways of integrating popular music into your teaching. You'll begin by learning from two highly experienced teachers, Krystal Banfield, the Vice President of Educational Outreach for Berklee College of Music, and David Alexis a Berklee Professor and long-time instructor for the Berklee City Music Program. They will take you through their process of incorporating popular music, improvisation, arranging, and music technology into the classroom while still fulfilling the common core learning standards.

You'll continue with a deeper dive into these topics that will help you build your popular music curriculum. In Jazz Improvisation taught by Grammy-winning Gary Burton, you'll learn how to use improvisation as language and story-telling. You'll also learn how to use a variety of chord scales, modes, and improv techniques. Next, in Arranging for Songwriters taught by renown Berklee faculty Bonnie Hayes and Sarah Brindell, you'll learn how to create arrangements of songs. Finally, in The Art of Music Production, taught by producer Stephen Webber, you'll learn how to begin to record music in a meaningful, yet approachable way. This specialization will give you the tools you'll need to develop effective, relevant, and compelling lessons for your classroom, online learning space, or private lesson instruction.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Do I need to play an instrument before I enroll in this course?
Yes. Learners should have basic proficiency on an instrument before enrolling in this course.
Do I need to know music theory before I enroll in this course?
While prior knowledge of music theory concepts is not required for enrollment, it would be helpful for you to have a working knowledge of basic concepts, such as key signatures, chord scales, the circle of 5ths, etc. If you feel you need to review these concepts before enrolling in Jazz Improvisation, we recommend first enrolling the our Developing Your Musicianship course offered on Coursera.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Jazz Improvisation