How To Improvise On The Piano Using Chords

Improvisation means "freedom of ideas", so in music that would mean you are not limited to the traditional music nor to the written music. Pros often play from "fake books" -- a type of music notation (also called a lead sheet) that uses only the melody of the song along with chord symbols. Once a person knows chords, then they can play any note of a chord almost at random, plus scale notes and connecting passing tones that move between the chord notes.

For piano players, the right hand will usually play the improvised part using various piano notes, while the left hand plays the chord. But the improvised part is created from, and around, the chord. You'll learn how to use chords notes, neighboring notes, scale notes, and non-harmonic piano notes in your improvisations, and how each type functions in the overall scheme.

For more information on this facinating skill, go over to Piano Improvising Using Chords.

Improvisation: Creating a New Melody & More

Improvisation (also known as improvising) is the act of making something up as you go along -- an act with which we all have a little experience. Remember playing House or Doctor as a child, letting the game go wherever your mind would take you? That was improvisation. No rules, no boundaries, just the limitless potential of your imagination.

Similarly, musical improvisation is the act of creating a new version of a song while performing it, a technique found most often in jazz and fusion (but can be traced back to renowned classical improvisers like Handel and Bach). Of course, it's a little more complicated than an imaginative children's game. Though improvisation is a highly creative and flexible technique, it requires great skill on the part of the musician. A musician involved in an improvisation must have a detailed knowledge of chord structure and complicated scales and modes. The musician must also have an intuitive ability to structure a song on the fly; great improvisation thrives on its ability to sound not improvised but rather wholly composed. That illusion, the ability of a song to seem anything but spontaneously made up, is part of improvisation's allure.



There are two basic forms of improvisation: structured improvisation and free improvisation. Structured improvisation, though a contradiction in terms, is the most common of the two. In this form, musicians will use a pre-determined series of chord changes, usually held down by the rhythm section, as the song's base. The lead instruments in the improvisation (also pre-determined) then have the freedom to create new melodies from these pre-determined chords. The flexibility of this improvisation form is dependent on the flexibility of the chord changes, and the musicians involved must be able to play exactly what they hear in their heads, as some complicated changes may not allow for large deviations.



Free improvisation, on the other hand, is far more like a game of House or Doctor -- it has no rules. Instead of focusing on harmony or melody, free improvisation focuses on the feeling and texture of the music and the way the instruments complement each other. This form tends to be far more experimental and rarely adheres to one style or genre or music -- it is, quite simply, what it is. Notable musicians who play have used free improvisation include Lennie Tristano, Ornette Coleman, and John Coltrane, among others.





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