When you first start learning to improvise, the focus is often on which notes work over a chord…which scale to play, finding the key, or memorizing chord symbols. But over time, something deeper begins to take shape…
You start to realize that soloing isn’t just about hitting the right notes or outlining the changes – it’s about motion. The sense that your solo is going somewhere…telling a story.…moving forward through the form.
It comes down to the simple and timeless concept of tension and release. And this is something the best players don’t leave up to chance, they have specific techniques to create musical momentum.
It’s the feeling that keeps a listener hooked — that sense of forward motion, of something unresolved that begs for resolution. Whether it’s harmonic tension, rhythmic push, or melodic direction, great improvisers know how to build and release energy in a way that tells a story.
As an improviser, the more tactics you have for creating this kind of motion, the more powerful your solos will become.
In this lesson for PRO members we’re going to explore how to shape not only the larger arc of your solos, but the specific movement through the established form of a tune.
Inside you’ll learn:
- 7 essential dominant resolutions for creating forward motion
- The key transition points in the blues
- Specific lines utilizing these concepts
- And how Herbie Hancock & McCoy Tyner manipulate tension and resolution in the blues with transcribed solo excerpts
Let’s jump in…
Forward Motion in the Blues
Today, we’ll focus on the concepts of harmonic tension and forward motion within the context of a 12 bar blues – a familiar and concise form that features some common resolution points.
A useful way to look at any tune that you play is in terms of arrival points – the big “goal posts” that define the progression or song form – and more specifically, the resolutions that get you there.
…one way to do this is by dividing a progression into two basic types of chords – you’re either arriving at a chord or in the process of resolving to one.
To begin, let’s take a quick look at the blues form, identifing some arrival points in the progression and places where you can utilize forward motion and harmonic tension:
In the space of this 12 bar form you might add tension on the:
- I moving to IV in the 4th bar
- IV returning to I
- VI moving to ii in the 8th bar
- Final V7 to I
- End of form back to the top
Glancing at the big picture, you’ll find a general pattern of tension and resolution alternating back and forth – the transition or tension propelling you forward to the next harmonic section of the tune.
This is the glue that connects your musical ideas and pushes your solo through the progression. Remember, you don’t have to hit every transition in every solo, a great way to practice is by focusing on just one transition at a time…
As you develop your solo you can create tension and resolution wherever you see fit, but it’s useful to start with the fundamental form ingrained and then gradually explore variations.
Here are a few resources on the Blues:
- 10 Charlie Parker Blues Heads Everyone Should Know
- How to Play the Blues like a Pro: A Lesson with Wynton Kelly
- 8 Awesome Blues Solos for Beginners to Transcribe
*Keep in mind, we’re looking at a blues here, but this idea can be applied to any tune with harmonic arrival points!
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