I’ve been able to take the concepts in this lesson and apply them to just about any project I’ve been involved in since then. I hope to show you a gateway to getting rhythmically and harmonically deep into playing in static keys, in eight-measure phrases. In the following examples I’m playing over loops taken from a pair of my favorite drummers, Eric Harland and Mark Guiliana. I’ve provided audio examples of each concept with transcriptions. These are simply what I was feeling that day. It always changes for an improviser. Sometimes it’s more edgy or more melodic.
Use these as launching points for your own ideas. I happen to play all these ideas in the key of G—at least as a general concept. Be sure to practice these ideas in eight-measure phrases with a metronome (the examples all sit at 92 bpm) or with a drummer who has the metronome in his or her ears.
You can add complexity, remove notes to add space, anticipate, shorten notes, increase note lengths, use a pick for sonic differentiation, etc. There are endless ways to vary up the concepts. Have fun exploring each zone!