Dan Hermes 

(The following are excerpts from Dan Hermes' workbook series on Classigroov improvisation for musicians.)

What is Classigroov?

Classigroov is a bridge for classical musicians to cross over into contemporary music.  Study of Classigroov allows a classical performer to improvise in modern groove-based styles, with a focus on classical phrasing, technique, and virtuosity.  These skills are developed through a pedagogy laid out in this workbook.  These exercises and course of study equip a classical musician with the skills necessary to improvise in modern groove-based performance and recording situations. 

Improvisation 

I’m a classical musician.  How do I improvise?

The fundamentals of  modern improvisation involve harmony, melody, and rhythm.  An improvisor must learn to navigate chord changes comfortably, sounding consonant chord tones and  passing, suspended, or dissonant non-chord tones as the case demands.  Developing a firm sense of improvisatory rhythm requires careful and repetitive navigation of simple but varied chord progressions.  This workbook is the first leg on the journey.  

Harmony

What do we need to know about harmony for Classigroov?

Improvisation in any style requires a firm grasp of harmony.  In the initial stages of study, you should be intellectually aware of the chords you are playing over and their harmonic meaning.  We won’t go into music theory in this workbook, as there are many texts on the topic, but it will help you to be knowledgeable about I, IV, V chords, dominant and subdominant harmonies, as well as rules for voice-leading.  Ordinarily these things are important primarily to composers, but, as an improviser, you are now the composer.

So while I’m improvising, I just think of the chord I’m playing?

Yes, initially.  You will get it into your fingers and ears with improvised arpeggios and careful voice leading.  Presently the harmony will become second nature and you’ll simply play what you hear.  It will move from an intellectual exercise to an emotional expression of melody.

Can I just freestyle over the chords until I get it?

That’s one way to go about it, but eventually, you’ll probably need a more disciplined approach.  All trained composers and improvisers settle down at some point and work through exercises like those in this workbook to develop their ears and playing.  After practicing rote exercises, and understanding the concepts of harmony and voice leading, you can create your own exercises, then your own melodies.  If you do these things first, your freestyling will be more expressive and virtuosic.

Melody 

What kinds of melodies are in Classigroov?

Melodies from classical repertoire mixed with rhythms and other qualities found in groove music.  By groove music, I mean rock, pop, funk, blues, dance, and hip-hop.

Do I need to know about composition to make good melodies?

Study of composition can never hurt an improviser, but it’s not necessary.  You should study melodies that you love, and discover their secrets for yourself.  There are many excellent texts on harmonic and melodic analysis.  Both listening and book study can help you form shapely and interesting melodies, as well as build convincing and well-crafted solos.  The Exercises will provide you with a foundation to create Classigroov melodies, but development of Classigroov as an art will require an earnest study and reabsorbtion of classical and contemporary scores and recordings to rediscover them anew.

Groove

What is groove?

Groove is a combination of rhythmic figurations and performance styles that form the basis of modern dance music.  Groove comprises the technical and emotional aspects of music which induce the inclination to dance.  We will address how groove applies to your instrument in the exercises. 

Groove starts with the rhythm section, and how it performs and interacts.  Melodic musicians, such as flautists, must learn to listen to the overall feel and to every note occurring in a rhythm section and hook into whatever is occurring at the time.  In turn, they will do the same for you.

Accompaniment

Why must I learn accompaniment?

The foundation for an improviser’s skill lies in accompaniment.  Learning how to accompany in Classigroov gives you a firm foundation in the essence of groove, melody, and harmony on your instrument.  From there it’s a small step to begin solo improvisation.

Soloing

How do I solo?

There are many approaches to improvised soloing, but the one used most commonly in Classigroov is motivic development.  The development of brief musical ideas has served musicians well since the dawn of Western Music.  Learn how to copy, steal, memorize, and invent motifs, then apply them to the harmonies and song form at hand to create a solo.  After mastering motivic development, there are a host of higher-level aspects to soloing such as tension and release, song structure, alternating sounds and textures.  These skills can be learned and applied both emotionally and intellectually. 

But first we must be able to play along with the chord progression with rhythms and melodies that fit.  We’ll examine how to do this in these exercises.

Classigroove
    Why is Classigroov misspelled?

Because in double-blind Classigroov vs. Classigroove laboratory tests conducted at New York City’s Knitting Factory and Berklee College of Music, the performances of the Classigroov musicians were 98.6% funkier.