WOODWINDS
Dr. Daniel Schnee is a multi-instrumentalist who has performed worldwide with 21 different JUNO and
Grammy Award-winning musicians. He has been internationally recognized as a graphic score composer
and is a former student of Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz musician Ornette Coleman.
By Dan Schnee
Vocal Ornamentation
W
ith all of the focus on extended soloing in jazz impro-
visation, little is written about a significant aspect of a
working saxophonist’s skill set: the ability to “soloistically”
support and interweave with a vocalist during stanzas
and choruses of a song.
In this case, I am referring to jazz and pop vocalists, but the principles
behind this art of vocal ornamentation remain the same in other styles
such as blues, rock, reggae, and so on.
The Benefits
There are many benefits to focusing on this kind of playing. Most impor-
tantly, it teaches us to play with restraint, as overplaying immediately
ruins the mood and flow of a song. It also teaches us to have “conver-
sations” with the vocalist, which increases our ability to contextualize
others’ musical ideas – a more sophisticated skill than merely mimicking
the vocalist. It also creates greater clarity and economy of thought
in our playing, which eliminates overplaying and conserves energy.
For example, a profound demonstration of this is the plaintive yearn-
ing of John Coltrane’s tenor saxophone as he floats through Johnny
Hartman’s rendition of “Lush Life,” creating an unforgettable feeling of
heartbreak and loneliness. Another excellent example is saxophonist
Michael Brecker and bassist Jaco Pastorius’ wistful ornamentations
throughout Joni Mitchell’s “Hejira.” Each helps create a haunting, at-
mospheric mood that takes the music to a potent, seemingly divine
place. As well, Sting’s Bring on the Night is laden with some of the best
individual jazz/rock saxophone accompaniment ever, performed by
Branford Marsalis.
Getting Started
So what is the secret to creating such amazing, supportive saxophone
playing? The answer lies in what we might call the flow of “melodic
energy.” To understand this flow, it is important to know three key
terms. These terms essentially refer to a tripartite set of actions within
continuous flow, like how one inhales, pauses for a split second, then
exhales, or a golfer’s backswing, forward motion, and follow through
after striking the ball.
Anacrusis refers to a brief set of notes – a “pickup” that sets up
the flow and feeling of the main melody. In vocal ornamentation, the
anacrusis is the energy set up by the vocalist – the feeling that sets up
how you will respond. Thus, the vocalist’s “energy anacrusis” prepares
you for your own phraseology to follow. It is like the vocalist’s singing is
an in-breath and your playing is the out-breath, the crusis, the feeling
W W W. C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N . CO M
of the phrase and beat that you continue the vocalist’s energy with. The
momentary space between the vocalist’s cessation and the beginning
of your playing is the metacrusis – the (empty or energized) space
between beats and phrases, which creates anticipation and interest
when properly considered before playing the crusis. Another meta-
crusis comes into play before the vocalist returns, and thus you leave
a space for a new vocal anacrusis to set up the next crusis of your own.
It is this process (and feeling) of forward flow that makes the interac-
tion between vocalist and woodwind so powerful when done properly.
Rather than a vocal phrase mixed with or followed by a little solo, this
crusic approach is more sophisticated and artistic.
The reason this happens is because crusic ornamentations cre-
ate what are known as agogic (melody-based) accents, rather than
strictly rhythmic ones. This means that your improvisation is dictated
more by the flow of the melody than the strict meter of the song.
Thus, when considering the flow of melody, you begin to stretch out
single notes longer or shorter than usual, or delay anticipated notes
in a phrase. This not only gives you greater creative freedom, but also
creates unexpected twists and turns around the vocalist’s singing,
giving them reciprocal inspiration in kind. Knowing this then, one can
continue to develop a better sense of agogic flow by learning how
to properly scat sing.
Charlie Parker once said, “If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of
your horn.” This is very true with being able to scat sing in the manner
it is meant to be done, as a true art form: the vocal expression of the
sound of an instrument. Rather than the often fatuous and unmusical
“skooby-du-wahs” that make scatting look like a cheap novelty, the
great vocalists always emulated a saxophone or trumpet, and chose
vocal sounds that flowed like the trumpet of Miles Davis or the ebul-
lient alto of Charlie Parker. This is because these artists understood that
great scat singing is sounds and not words, ergo not trying to make
various syllables “fit” into music. The former is art; the latter ends up
being insipid. Once you’ve learned to properly emulate an instrument
with your voice, you can phrase your improvisations more musically
and “humanly,” similar to how blues guitarists strive to make their in-
strument “talk.”
Thus, it is essential to sit down with albums such as Davis’ Kind of
Blue or Dave Brubeck’s Time Out and literally learn to sound like Davis or
saxophonist Paul Desmond with your voice, however you can achieve
that goal. In doing so, you will not only be much better prepared to
work around a vocalist; your musical and economic options expand if
you happen to be considering a side career as a jazz vocalist.
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