Short time lurker, first time poster.
In my experience, learning licks, idiomatic expressions, and the like from transcription /can/ be a prelude to regurgitation of those sounds, but a higher form of this work is to develop technical fluency. If I learn, say, a Scott LeFaro bass line from a record, the point isn't to play Scott's licks when I improvise, but rather to gain insight into how he approached the bass. By incorporating another's playing into one's own, it's possible to develop a wider range of expression and an enhancement of one's own style and sound.
Scott
On Apr 15, 2008, at 10:10 AM, Krispen Hartung wrote: Out of my own curiousity, once you do learn how to play a part on your bass, what do you do with it then? How does it improve your improvisation skills? I'm assuming you don't copy what you learn, as that isn't actually improvising. In short, if you are not actually copying anthing, notes, approach, etc, what is it that you learn that helps you be a better improvisor? I'll have to be careful here, because we may also be confusing two types of improvisation, which Bailey and others have discussed. I just have done this a long time ago in this thread. I apologize. One type of improv is totally free and spontaneous improvisation; the other is where players memorize morifs, cliches, phrases, etc - all a part of their bag of tools and tricks - and then they re-apply those bits and pieces in an improvisational setting. But there is no "creatio ad nihilo" in this latter context; rather the improv is in the application of the pre-learned tools, not creating completely new things on the fly. I am more interested in the spontaneous form of improv. Kris ----- Original Message -----
I've been improvising for about 6 years now and I'll concur with the 'transfered transposing' approach as a worthwhile. I listen to a record (being a bassist, I'm partial to that instrument) of William Parker, Peter Kowald, Wilbert De Joode or non-bassists like Eddie Prevost, Steve Lacy, Derek Bailey, etc. and when I hear something interesting, I wonder 'how did they make that sound and how can I make it on my bass.' I don't usually end up even close to that sound but I usually discover something interesting along the way. Ted Harms.
-- "Divination is not a method of predicting the future, but a way of connecting with higher wisdom and helping one make informed decisions." - Robert M. Place
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