{"id":8103,"date":"2022-07-01T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/?p=8103"},"modified":"2023-05-05T10:57:43","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T17:57:43","slug":"melody-improvisation-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/melody-improvisation-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Improvise a Beautiful Melody: 9 Tips From Jes\u00fas Molina"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In our time working with pro pianist Jes\u00fas Molina, I&#8217;ve noticed something magical. Jes\u00fas can <em>pull a beautiful melody out of thin air<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How does he do this?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, a lot of it is practice. Jes\u00fas spends 30 minutes of every practice session on free improvisation. He gets to know his keyboard very well during these periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He has other insights, which we&#8217;ll break down in this lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\"><center><h2 style=\"font-size:22px\"><b>\ud83c\udfb9 Your Go-To Place for All Things Piano<\/b><\/h2><p>Subscribe to <i>The Note<\/i> for exclusive interviews, fascinating articles, and inspiring lessons delivered straight to your inbox. Unsubscribe at any time.<\/p><iframe class=\"email-form-include\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weeklyemail\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Tip #1: Know your scale<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The first thing Jes\u00fas asks me to do is pick a scale. We pick F Major, which has one flat.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/How%20to%20Improvise%20a%20Beautiful%20Melody\/F%20Major%20piano%20keyboard.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"198\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s important to know your scale <em>very well<\/em>. That&#8217;s because we&#8217;ll pull our melody from these notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, if you&#8217;re a beginner, improvise with a scale you know well first. Scales without a lot of sharps and flats, like C Major or G Major, are good for beginners. Eventually, though, you want to be able to improvise in all keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can warm up by practicing your chosen scale a few times before improvising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Tip #2: Know the grades of your scale<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After we pick our scale, Jes\u00fas reviews with us the grades of the scale. This is just a fancy way of assigning numbers to each note. For example, A is the third grade (or third note) of F Major.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/How%20to%20Improvise%20a%20Beautiful%20Melody\/F%20Major%20grades.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"319\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Another word you may have heard is \u201cdegrees\u201d of the scale. They\u2019re essentially the same thing, grades and degrees, and you can learn more about them in our lesson about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/the-number-system\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">piano number system<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Since melodies are different combinations of different scale grades within a scale, knowing your grades will help you figure out melodies, and then later, harmonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Tip #3: Hear the melody before you play it<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Jes\u00fas always tries to hear the melody in his head first before he plays it. Then, with his knowledge of scale grades, he can quickly bring the melody to life on the keyboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re a beginner, this step can feel like a big leap. It takes practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll notice that Jes\u00fas sings along to what he\u2019s playing. You can try this too! In fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jazzadvice.com\/lessons\/3-reasons-why-you-should-sing-everyday\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">singing along to what you\u2019re improvising<\/a> links what you hear in your head and what you play on your instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Tip #4: Don\u2019t forget rhythm!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s a great saying from one of Jes\u00fas\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/jesus-molina\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">interviews<\/a>: \u201cWith good tempo, literally everything sounds good!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, we get so preoccupied with the notes that we forget the rhythm part of our playing! Notice that Jes\u00fas pays attention to the rhythm of his improvised melody right away. Without the unique rhythm he\u2019s chosen for his melody, it would sound very different.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\">\n<center><h2 style=\"font-size:22px;\"><b>Learn From One of the Top Pianists in the World \ud83c\udfb9 <\/b><\/h2><\/center><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/How%20to%20Improvise%20a%20Beautiful%20Melody\/lisa%20and%20jesus.jpg\">\n<p>We\u2019re proud to announce Jes\u00fas as our Pianote Coach. His exclusive course on Improvisation and Musical Freedom will change the way you think about the piano.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s broken down the lessons into different levels of difficulty. So it doesn\u2019t matter where you are in your piano journey \u2014 you CAN learn how to improvise.<\/p><p>Jes\u00fas&#8217; course can be found in the Pianote Members&#8217; Area. But if you&#8217;re not sure whether you want to join Pianote yet, try it for free first.<\/p>\n<center><a class=\"join\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/trial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PIANOTE TRIAL<\/a><\/center><br><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:8px\">Now it&#8217;s time to harmonize&#8230;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The next tips have to do with harmonizing our little melody. If you\u2019re new to chords, you may want to refer to these lessons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/all-piano-chords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Play ALL Piano Chords<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/chord-extensions-made-easy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chord Extensions Made Easy<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Tip #5: Use your scale grades to find harmonizing chords<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Knowing your scale grades will help you find harmonizing chords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, our melody starts on the fourth grade of F Major (B-Flat) and that part of the melody harmonizes well with a B-Flat Major chord too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:80%\">\n<video playsinline=\"\u201c\u201d\" autoplay=\"\u201c\u201d\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/How%20to%20Improvise%20a%20Beautiful%20Melody\/beautiful%20melody%201%20-%20minimized.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re not sure what chords harmonize with your melody, explore the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/diatonic-chords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">diatonic chords<\/a> in the scale you\u2019re improvising in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<iframe class=\"email-form-include-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weekly-email\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Tip #6: Make your chords more colorful with extensions\/suspensions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Diatonic chords sound great, but let\u2019s make them more unique. One way we can do this is by using <strong>chord extensions<\/strong>. You can also play these as suspensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, Jes\u00fas takes an F Major chord (F-A-C) and adds a ninth (F-A-C + <strong>G<\/strong>). The G is nine notes up from F.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/How%20to%20Improvise%20a%20Beautiful%20Melody\/F%20chord%20extensions.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"295\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>You can also play it right next to the F, in place of the A. This makes the chord an Fsus2.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/How%20to%20Improvise%20a%20Beautiful%20Melody\/Fsus2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Note that Jes\u00fas doesn\u2019t play these chords in exactly the same order of notes. For example, he skips the seventh (E) and he plays his F chord over A in the bass, making it technically an Fsus2\/A or a chord in first inversion. These little touches further make Jes\u00fas\u2019 improvisation uniquely his.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn more:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/sus-piano-chords-101\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sus Piano Chords 101<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/slash-chords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What Are Slash Chords?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-chord-inversions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Piano Chord Inversions, Explained<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Tip #7: Pay attention to voice leading<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason Jes\u00fas uses Fsus2 is because it incorporates the G in his melody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is <strong>voice leading<\/strong> at work. When certain notes pull the chord progression of a song a certain direction, that&#8217;s voice leading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One way to practice hearing voice leading is to practice inversions of your favorite chords. In this example, Jes\u00fas takes Fmaj7(sus2) through a series of inversions. You can hear how voice leading pulls the ear through the inversions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:80%\">\n<video playsinline=\"\u201c\u201d\" autoplay=\"\u201c\u201d\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/How%20to%20Improvise%20a%20Beautiful%20Melody\/beautiful%20melody%202%20-%20minimized.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Tip #8: Find melodies from your chords<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that we\u2019ve explored ways to make our chords more interesting, here\u2019s a trick: pull them apart again and make melodies out of them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jes\u00fas sums it up nicely: \u201cAll melodies are chords.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s simple: chords that sound nice can be turned into melodies that sound nice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2022\/How%20to%20Improvise%20a%20Beautiful%20Melody\/jesus%20molina%20screencap.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Tip #9: Do this every day!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The way Jes\u00fas comes up with melodies looks magical, but it\u2019s a skill he practices. In fact, Jes\u00fas spends 30 minutes of his daily practice routine exploring like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For beginners, improvising complex melodies and harmonies may seem intimidating. It takes time, practice, and ear training. If you want to start on the right foot (or hand!), make sure you check out Jes\u00fas Molina\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/improvisation-with-jesus-molina\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Improvisation and Musical Freedom<\/a> course included in the Pianote Members\u2019 Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you\u2019re not sure whether you want to be a member yet, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/trial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">try it out for free<\/a> or check out these other free lessons with Jes\u00fas Molina:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/how-to-improvise-on-piano\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Improvise on Piano: A Beginner\u2019s Guide<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/jesus-molina-speed-challenge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Jes\u00fas Molina Speed Challenge<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/intros-outros\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Epic Piano Intros &amp; Outros<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\"><center><h3 style=\"font-size:22px;\"><b>Learn Piano, Step By Step \ud83c\udfb9 <\/b><\/h3><\/center><p>As a Pianote Member, you\u2019ll get access to our 10-step Method, song library, and growing community of piano players just like you. Plus: get coached by world-class pianists who have played with rock stars.<\/p><center><a class=\"join\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/trial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TRY PIANOTE FOR 7 DAYS<\/a><\/center><br><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do you find melodies? World-class pianist Jes\u00fas Molina shares sage advice on how to improvise beautiful melodies on the piano.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":10863,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110,1108],"tags":[1133],"class_list":["post-8103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-improvisation-musicianship","category-musicianship","tag-survey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8103"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10864,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8103\/revisions\/10864"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}