Practice-led research reveals enhanced expressive freedom in jazz improvisation through focused dissonance constraints, highlighting the viability of all twelve chromatic tones over any chord.
Key Points
Investigate how deliberate practice constraints focused on melodic dissonance can foster intuitive, real-time awareness and spontaneous application of all twelve chromatic pitches during jazz improvisation.
Conducted practice-led artistic research in jazz improvisation structured in two distinct developmental phases.
Constrained initial improvisation exclusively to dissonant pitches across harmonic forms to disrupt consonance-oriented habits and deepen understanding of individual tonal tensions.
Integrated dissonant and consonant tones fluidly in subsequent performance phases, testing the framework across four live jazz festival performances and one commercial recording.
Focusing exclusively on dissonant tones generated a conceptual shift where all twelve chromatic pitches became viable expressive options over any harmonic structure.
The method facilitated fluid and spontaneous integration of dissonant intervals, producing richer and more nuanced melodic lines during live ensemble performances.