My Romance Tutorial – Creating An Intro
In this final part of the My Romance tutorial, we explore how to create an improvised introduction using parts of the melody for inspiration.
All jazz standards will have a recognisable or memorable motif in the melody. These motifs are useful to repurpose and use in your introductions or endings.
We start by identifying a suitable motif, in this case the 4 bars of the tune. We play through as written and then add a 1625 progression to take us back to the top of the form.
We then experiment with transposing the motif up a full step, and then another full step to begin to create an interesting introduction.
Related Lessons
251 progressions are essential components of the jazz language and so taking the time to memorise them will greatly benefit your playing.
Upper structure triads are complex sounding altered dominant chords. They will add texture and sophistication to your playing.
To play a rootless voicing we leave out the root of the chord and play one of the upper extensions to get a richer, more colourful sound.
Practice Tips
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The melody of the tune is always a great place to look for inspiration.
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You can take one of the chord progressions and repurpose this as the introduction
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In the same way, you can take a recognisable melodic motif, and repurpose this as an introduction
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transpose the motif, add to add, and ultimately... make it your own!
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The final 4 bars of the tune are also a great place to start your intro. These 4 measures will lead you smoothly and convincingly into the start of the tune.
