A Cross-intervallic
Chromatic Concept

Stretch your improvisational thinking by rising
wide-interval leaps and chromatic elements:

by
George
Garzane
'72

and
Joe
Viola

'53

fter initial inspiration from my teacher

Joe Viola, and the experiences of my

own 20 years of playing and teach—
ing, I have developed a method which helps to
expand upon the traditional approaches to im—
provising over chord changes. I call it the
“cross—intervallic, chromatic approach.” It in—
volves playing both small and large intervals
coupled with chromatic approaches to, and de—
partures from, the notes as a method of ex—

contra-33:.

 

George Garzone, left and Joe Viola. Viola is chair emeritus of Berklee's
Woodwind Departmen‘tand Garzone's mentor. An associate professor and
widely renowned saxophonist, Garzone has just released It's Time farthe
Fringe on the Soul Note label with his free jazz trio the Fringe.

20 Berklee to da y

 

panding the traditional bebop style of soloing
over chord changes.

To learn it, increase your fluidity by prac—
ticing leaps of fourths and fifths in succession.
Working on them in all keys Will develop facil—
ity and prepare you for playing wide—interval
figures: such as those found in example 1. After
practicing in a constant eighth—note rhythm,
vary the rhythms a little to keep the intervallic
leaps from sounding repetitive.

Once you have mas—
tered this Wide—interval
concept, start introduc—
ing some chromatics. In—
serting them in strategic
places will keep your
lines from sounding too
pattern—like and create
melodic flow (see exam—
ple 2). These chromatics
are also instrumental for
passing subtly from one
unrelated harmonic area
to another and for su—
perimposing various
harmonic structures
over an already-estab—
lished tonality (see ex—
ample 3). This provides
freedom from the bebop
approach, opening the
door to a non—harmonic
or even atonal approach.

Depending on the
musical situation you

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Summer 1994