How do improvisors communicate when performing in a band?
How do improvisors communicate when performing in a band?
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- In this lesson, we will consolidate our learning about band musicianship by examining how blues bands communicate with each other. We will learn about what makes a great blues musician and improviser, and how to improvise our own phrases within a structure.
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8 Questions
Q1.
What types of instruments were used in early blues music?
Brass and woodwind
Concertina and vocals
Q2.
What technique is often used in blues singing?
Slap
Tremolo
Q3.
How is the drum kit often played in blues music?
With sticks
With their hands
Q4.
What technique describes this: 'when the player uses their hand to make a sound on the fretboard when they play bass'
Tremolo
Vibrato
Q5.
What is a bottlenecking?
Moving your fingers very quickly when holding down the string so that the sound ‘wobbles’
Sliding on the same string to the next note to make it smooth
Q6.
What is a string bend?
Moving your fingers very quickly when holding down the string so that the sound ‘wobbles’
Sliding on the same string to the next note to make it smooth
Q7.
What is a vibrato?
Bending the string on the fretboard to alter the pitch
Sliding on the same string to the next note to make it smooth
Q8.
What is a crushed note?
Alternating really quickly between two pitches/chords
Bending the string on the fretboard to alter the pitch
10 Questions
Q1.
What is improvising?
Copying another musician
Following a score
Q2.
What should you do to communicate when playing in a band?
Make hand signals
Shout across to the other players
Q3.
In blues, how do you decide what pitches to improvise with?
Use a major scale
Use random notes and see what sounds good
Q4.
Which pitches are heard in the G major blues scale?
G A B C D E F# G
G A B D E G
Q5.
When do you improvise in "Bags' Groove"?
All the way through.
At the end.
Q6.
Choose the correct option for the 12 bar blues.
IV, IV, I, I / I, I, I, I / V, IV, I, I
V, IV, I, I / I, I, I, I / IV, IV, I, I
Q7.
What is a turnaround?
When chord V at the end of the 12 bar blues changes to chord I to take us back to the beginning
When your repeat a section in the blues
Q8.
How do blues players know how to improvise in C jam blues?
They follow the sheet music
They play a question and answer
Q9.
What is a typical head arrangement structure?
Coda, head, chorus, head, chorus, head
Intro, head, chorus, chorus, chorus, head, coda
Q10.
What two pitches are used in the melody of C Jam Blues?
C and D
C and E