Jazz improvisation

Jazz improvisation is the spontaneous creation or variation of music during performance, shaped by a tune, harmonic structure, rhythmic feel, and interaction among musicians.

Chord changes: A sequence of harmonies that forms the changing foundation of a tune. Improvised lines often outline or reinterpret the tune’s moving harmony.
Jazz standard: A widely known jazz composition commonly performed and reinterpreted by musicians. Standards supply familiar melodies and harmonic forms for improvised performances.
Jazz solo: An extended passage in which one jazz musician is featured over an accompaniment. A solo is the most familiar setting for sustained individual improvisation.
Louis Armstrong: An American jazz trumpeter and singer who helped establish the soloist as a central figure in jazz. His recorded solos demonstrated how personal invention could transform a familiar tune.
Composed music: Music whose principal pitches, rhythms, or structures are determined before performance. Improvisation creates or alters musical material during the performance itself.
Jazz scales: Scales used in jazz to organize pitches over melodies and harmonies. Scale choices offer pitch material for navigating particular chords.
Lead sheet: A compact musical score showing a melody, chord symbols, and often lyrics. It gives performers a tune’s essential framework without prescribing every part.
Trading fours: A jazz practice in which musicians alternate short improvised phrases, often four bars long. It turns soloing into a compact exchange among performers.
Charlie Parker: An American alto saxophonist and composer who was a leading figure in bebop. His intricate lines became a defining model for modern jazz improvisation.
Classical improvisation: Spontaneous musical creation within European classical traditions, including practices such as cadenzas and figured-bass realization. It shows that improvisation exists beyond jazz, with different conventions and histories.

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