Some cool arpeggio patterns

[lostinidlewonder]

I was asked so often by student to give them examples of riffs written on the BLUES SCALE at the piano which sound cool and are not too hard to produce. I would really like to hear some more from any of you. Heres one of a lot that I like, the numbers are the fingers used. These are in C Blues scale form, of course we can transpose for any key but ill just use C as a refference point.

Going down the keyboard:

a)  (Gb2 Bb4) F1 Eb3 C1 Bb3 G1 (Gb2 C5) F1 Eb3 C1   etc

Of course the Rhythm and Key you play in is flexible

Any more? help!

[pianonut]

you know, i never thought of it, but i think you're helping me with a 5000 word paper on cadenzas.  improvisation is basically just that.  taking chords you like to hear and expanding them.  what would be the jazz equivalent of a 'cadenza?'  is it a riff?

my favorite riffs come from trumpeters and vocalists because they not only play or sing arpeggios but modify the notes themselves.  leading tones seem quite deceptive and seem to go along with the story flow.  i suppose, like in mozart, you have the chromaticism going on, therefore an ability to go wherever you feel like in the music.

[lostinidlewonder]

Improvisation is also strongly associated with particular useage of scales(I think if you play random notes/chords on the Blues Scale you can hardly play a dissonant note). I also really think also a good array of riffs, thats sorta why I was hoping some people would have some idea of some that they have themselves or have heard/read.

With trumpets and voice the people have only one note to care about, with piano you have to care about that note and also more to make your playing in a jazz style, which I think makes things a bit harder. It leaves me, a predominantly "classical" musician lost quite often and I have to just rely on my ear more than thinking which sorta makes me feel like a kid at the piano again.

[pianonut]

i'm also very inept at creating jazz sounds (more classically oriented), but when the 'alphabet song' came on sesame street for my three year old and some famous lady (forget her name now, it's a shame) did a jazz rendition, i thought 'ok jazz is not just notes but (as you mention) expanding on those keys/notes (making any note ok).  the basic skeletal pattern is always there, but hard to find with really good jazz musicians.

[allthumbs]

i'm also very inept at creating jazz sounds (more classically oriented), but when the 'alphabet song' came on sesame street for my three year old and some famous lady (forget her name now, it's a shame) did a jazz rendition, i thought 'ok jazz is not just notes but (as you mention) expanding on those keys/notes (making any note ok).  the basic skeletal pattern is always there, but hard to find with really good jazz musicians.

Were you thinking of Ella Fitzgerald? https://www.ellafitzgerald.com/

[pianonut]

wouldn't she be fairly old today?  it was a younger singer, but not sure who it was.

[allthumbs]

wouldn't she be fairly old today? it was a younger singer, but not sure who it was.

Well, Sesame Street has been around a long time (since the 1970's, I think). Ella Fitzgerald passed away in 1996 and was in her mid 70's, although she looked much younger. It still could have been her if she appeared in the early years.

[pianonut]

yes!  she was so good, it must have been her or someone just as good.

guess what!  i just bought (never would have without someone asking this question) 'patterns for jazz' by jerry coker, jimmy casale, gary campbell, and jerry greene.  it explains 'the care and feeding of ears'

"our ears assume the important function of deciding what will be pre-heard...improvisers are highly spontaneous, so that the music they hear in their mind or in the mind's memory at the moment of creation  has everything to do with the content of the next musical idea...consequently, the student will want to imbue his memory with choice musical sounds."

this sounds right.  ok here's how cool this book is.  it starts with the basics (major chords and major scales) and expands on them.  i can pretty much understand the book as it progresses.  it shows alternating ascending and descending forms and gets you used to playing them.  i would highly recommend this book for teachers and students because of how easy it is to understand and the step by step patterns that you start learning to hear (in your minds ear).

you can order:  warner bros. publications, 15800 nw 48th ave., miami, fl 33014
as i'm learning, spontaneous is a professional practice of the art. being sort of wasteful (not being a jazz artist) i also bought 'thesaurus of scales and melodic patterns.'  you wouldn't believe how many there are and the names!  there are some interesting 'new' chords in the synopsis of chords (ie pandiatonic - contains all seven diatonic tones) (mother chord - contains all twel chromatic tones) these things are just wild. 

i will come up with a 'riff' someday.  maybe a cadenza of my own.