In Search Of The Wrong Notes

A colleague of mine recently asked me what I was working on. "What have you been practicing?" Well, these days, that is a tough question to answer.  While my most intense practice years were probably the early 90's when I kept a daily journal and practiced 4 to 8 hours a day, I admit I haven't been able to do that for a long time. Generally speaking, I'm mostly just practicing music that I plan on performing on future concerts.(For example, I was asked to play TRUMPET on a gig which featured music from the Lennie Tristano school. The melodies were VERY challenging and fast, and there's no way I could have gotten through the gig without doing some serious homework.)But in terms of improvisation, there are a number of rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic concepts that I still want to develop. Sometimes, it's better to have a general philosophy than a a bag of tricks. So, since I never really answered the question in the moment, I'm answering it to a certain extent right now; I'm trying to play more wrong notes.

"Wait a dang minute!", you might be saying to yourself. "Why would you want to play WRONG notes? I thought we were supposed to play the RIGHT notes!" Well, here's the thing. These days, jazz students tend to spend a lot of time on learning the "correct" way to play changes and rhythms. Scale A works over chord B, etc.....And I admit that I end up teaching this way more often than not. This is mainly because I find that many of my past and present students are so lost as to "what to play". And I think that the fundamentals are really important. You can't run if you can't walk, that's for sure. So students need to be able to play the right notes, the right chords, the right rhythms; otherwise, they probably shouldn't pass their classes!

However, I believe that once a player has a foundation, and is somewhat experienced, then it's time to figure out how to get to the next level. And in some ways, the next level is how to set oneself apart from the crowd. I think this applies to life in general, depending on your ambition. History is filled with successful people who weren't afraid to "break the rules" and "think outside the box". The great writers, painters, inventors, and scientists have all tried to push the limits of what is known. Are we encouraging young musicians to do this?

When I was first learning about jazz, I was once advised that jazz players who sounded "out" were actually playing "very inside". What he meant by this is that an advanced player can manipulate the dissonances (as related to each chord of a song) at will, as long as he is relevant to the changes.(You can also relate this to rhythm and harmony.)But I think even advanced players can get bogged down in the typical traps of chord-scales, bebop cliches, and so on.  So how does one get out of it? Well, if we understand the notes in the scale, why not isolate the notes NOT in the scale, and really get to know how they sound against the chord. For example, if the chord is D minor 7, then the chord scale tones are D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D. The notes that are "not" in the chord are Eb,Gb,Ab,Bb,Db. Instead of thinking of these as dissonances, why not start on one of the notes in the latter group? (I used to call this an "opposite" scale, but I question that nomenclature.)

I believe that the student improvisor should be comfortable with how any chromatic note will sound against any given chord. There are so many possibilities; why be limited to one scale for each chord? I believe as long as the foundation is there, that trying to balance the "wrong" notes with the so-called right ones is a great way to find new things to play.

Furthermore, once you get comfortable with the "wrong" notes on a scale, you might want to see how the "wrong" shapes, patterns, or triads work over chords. For example, can you play a Bb minor triad over a E minor chord and resolve it? Or take a C#triad over a F major chord, and resolve it to a C# diminished chord, and THEN resolve to a "correct" note in the F major chord. Hopefully, you can see that the sky is the limit if you want to try unexpected sounds over a chord progression.

Rhythmically, this philosophy can work as well. If you can play WITH the groove, why not play AGAINST the groove to create tension and interest? Hopefully, you won't lose your place, but experiment with staggered triplets, or playing purposely behind the beat. If you do it with a sense of tension and resolution, you will be surprised at how useful this approach can be. Some players, like Gary Bartz, or Joe Henderson, or even Trane and Bird, sound like they are playing rubato over the groove. And it sounds perfectly natural.

Stravinsky, although I don't think he was arrested for wrong notes......

Look at the greats who played "wrong" notes: Stravinsky, Debussy, Bartok, Monk, Ellington, Parker, Coltrane, Tyner, Ornette Coleman, Jimmy Hendrix....they break the rules, but this is precisely WHY we are interested in them. Their music goes against the grain. Much of the academic study of music is teaching rules that follow logic. But educators need to encourage breaking the rules. Otherwise, we risk (and this is already somewhat the case) producing legions of players who "play it safe". I suppose it is not in everyone's nature to go against the grain. (Look at the Occupy Wall Street protest: I'm sure many more people agree with the protesters, but most people either don't have the time or are afraid of their head being busted by the NYPD. I fall into both categories.....Either way, to actually go against the status quo takes effort.)

This is related to why I love to play wrong notes. In creative music, the consequences of playing the "wrong" or "shocking" notes are so much less than if you were to do something "shocking" in your life. Doing something "wrong" can bring attention to what you are doing. On the bandstand, you will get musicians to take an interest in what you are playing. In life, you might go to jail, or you'll lose all your money, or die of a drug overdose. So save the "risk taking" for the bandstand, if you can....