Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils listen to improvisation in jazz ensembles. Using the minor pentatonic scale on pitched percussion, they learn a minor pentatonic melody and practise tools to guide successful improvisation including repetition and sequencing.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to play the ascending and descending minor pentatonic scale and know this scale is often used as the framework for jazz improvisation.

Key Notes

• Jazz music often uses syncopated and swung rhythms.
• The D minor pentatonic scale is made up of the five notes D, F, G, A, C.
• Improvisation means created new musical ideas in-the-moment.
• Improvising can mean choosing small changes, such as changing from playing on the beat to playing on the offbeat.

Vocabulary To Learn

• syncopation: rhythms that emphasise the offbeat
• offbeat: weak beats or notes between the beats
• swing rhythm: where the rhythm Ta-di is divided into unequal parts, creating a "long-short" pattern
• improvisation: creative, in-the-moment musical composition
• minor pentatonic scale: the five tones, la, do, re, mi and so arranged in an ascending or descending order

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• A scale uses all the notes in step with no leaps.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• Creating and performing an improvised jazz piece Study Guide
• Improvisation and the minor pentatonic scale Study Guide
• Improvising a phrase using the D minor pentatonic scale Study Guide
• Improvising longer phrases using the D minor pentatonic scale Study Guide
• Playing a minor pentatonic jazz melody Study Guide