David's Tip of the Day: Creativity & Improvisation

Here's the other post in regards to yesterday's discussion that students asked to be re-posted...

Student
"My question about Creativity comes in the improvisation. Most of the players I know and watch seem to be able to channel something other than the Melody of a particular song, that is what I am missing at this point. I can play familiar melodies and even alter them a bit to my preference, but how do I find those lines that work with the rhythm or the bass, the lines that don't sound like the song but somehow fit and then come back to the melody? That is my quest for now! My friends simply say "I don't know I just do it" or " it just comes out."

My Response
"When I learn a song, I listen to, study, and then play the melody part, the rhythm part and the bass part. Studying each of the instruments in the ensemble leads to a greater understanding of the whole. Within time you'll recognize what's happening quicker and not have to work so hard, you'll have earned the skill to "hear it." Next, I have studied 1000's of songs, and in many cases memorized 100's of them (can't play all of them now of course, but their pieces live within me). Each song I learned provided me with vocabulary, new movement ideas, dynamic and textural options and a greater insight into the mind/process of that player. Our memories and skill sets are very weblike, so the more experiences you have, the more been-there-done-that moments there will be, and the easier it will be to create something exciting when improvising (improvising is not ALL new ideas, they're old ideas strung together in a way that sounds fresh at that moment, influenced by the structure of the music and all the other x-factors surrounding that moment of performance). So, the simple answer, ALWAYS have a song you're working on... every day... something that challenges you and take the time to memorize your favorite songs and artists. After learning a song, apply the Chorus Forms that I taught you on the website and practice for success by placing those licks into what we know to be good phrasing. This is what it takes, there is no substitution for hard work and TIME."