Back to the discussion of Surface vs. Deep Structure in improvisation...
In the last entry, I discussed distilling a transcribed line down to its essential construction. Shown below are the original line and one solution for its "Deep Structure".
Original:
Deep Structure:
Using this raw material one can quickly see that the Deep Structure for this line involves using an Eb Major triad over the Fmin7 chord and an E9 chord over the Bb7. Both of these are quite standard superimpositions, the Eb Major outlining the upper structure of the Fmin7 and the E7 being a tri-tone substitution for the Bb7. Using this schema as our roadmap, the next step is to compose our own lines based on Warne's Deep Structure.
Some solutions follow:
As we develop more material from Warne's Deep Structure, each of the lines developed should be taken through the transformative processes discussed in the previous post.
For a very comprehensive discussion of the pedagogical value and use of transcription as well as a recommended list of solos to transcribe, I recommend this article from Dave Liebman's website as well as his video: "An Improviser's Guide to Transcription" (available through Caris Music Services). Both of these references, as well as my experiences studying with Dave have helped to solidify my thoughts on transcription and informed many of the processes described here.
