5 ways to improve your jazz improvisation using a drone
In this blog post I want to give you 5 ways you can improve your jazz improvisation by using a drone in F. The drone is a backing track that I uploaded to YouTube and this website which I’ve used myself many times, not only to improve my playing and practice certain things, but also just for fun. The trouble is, not many people would even think to use it to practice jazz, let alone know how to practice with it and what to do. So this is why I’ve written this short guide, of course, if you prefer watching to reading do go ahead and watch the video at the top of the page, as that gives all the information, plus some demonstrations. Let’s get to it.
1. Use it to practice scales and modes
The drone is in F concert, so the root of all the scales will be F. However, when you think about it and you take into account all of the many different modes that there are, you’ll actually be covering a lot of ground. But, I’m not talking about using it to practice technique and fingering. Rather, I’m talking about using it to hear how the scales sound and feel against the tone. Each of the 12 notes has a distinct sound in relation to the root. And when you start joining these notes in different combinations i.e. in scales, then you get different expressions of sound: from bright to dark to intriguing. So I think it’s important to explore all of that.
2. Use it to sing the different scales and tones
This is very similar to the first, but it gives an even deeper understanding. If you’re learning your modes, then this is a brilliant way of hearing and feeling the difference between each mode as they go from bright to dark. I recommend starting with the major scale. Then try the Lydian, which you’d get by sharpening the 4th note. This is all about making you think about the relationship between each note and to the root, and how it sounds and feels. Then I recommend going back to the major scale and then working through each mode in order of brightness to darkness i.e. how many flattened notes it has. That’s all the major modes, but of course, you’ve got the Harmonic and Melodic Minor, even the Harmonic Major scale. And then each of these have modes too. So there are a lot of scales and modes to work through. If you want to learn more about scales and modes, then yes you can, because I’ve written a couple of books on this very subject. They’re available to buy from here.
3. Practice long notes (your sound, tuning and intonation)
You can use the drone as a backing tone for when you’re holding long notes. So you could be working on your tone or your sound, maybe your vibrato. Or you might want to work on your tuning or your intonation. Whatever it is, the drone is a nice way to practice this stuff, because you can easily hear and feel when something isn’t right, and when it is right it’ll sound good. So one nice exercise you might try is to play some big intervals, such as 6ths, 7ths and even octaves.
4. Practice note groupings
This is a really cool way to use the drone, as there’s no beat or metronome and you feel a lot less restricted than usual. What I mean by note groupings is playing phrases which contain a certain number of notes. So it could be groups of 3 notes, 5 notes, 7 notes or whatever. This is a great way to get to grips with these odd numbers as you’re not pressurised by a beat. However, I would definitely recommend you playing these odd note groupings with a metronome or backing track once you’re feeling more comfortable with them, but that’s for another day.
5. Enjoy playing in a Classical Indian style
This final way of using the drone is one that I really like, which is to just enjoy playing over it in a style that is similar to classical Indian music. Classical Indian improvisation is a massive topic, and I’m not really qualified to teach it. But you can still take some elements from it. My advance would be to pick a scale, doesn’t matter which. Then start with some long notes, playing slowly and thoughtfully. Then gradually build it from there, getting faster and more intense, adding embellishments and using groups of notes and repeated phrases.
So that’s it, 5 ways to use the drone in F. I hope you enjoy practising and developing your jazz improvisation skills with it. Here it is for your to get straight into your practice: