Is part of creating the passion in learning generated by the joy and excitement of discovery? To explore the theory and experiment with what one finds? I believe. Do you? These two terms are found throughout all of the theory discussions in this text, periodically prompting the reader to ponder and investigate various theoretical principles and connections between our musical elements. The two part nature of the explore / experiment dynamic combines to provide a solid closure to the learning process, the expanding of one's musical vocabulary and the internalization of the musical sounds this vocabulary represents. In this text we each can simply explore the theoretical principles within the music, extracting what relationships are potentially important for the creation of our work, then experiment with the new relationships to better define their musical properties and discover ways to employ them in the creation of our art.
An example of this explore / experiment dynamic as used within this text would be to explore the intervalic theory of the major scale grouping of pitches, create an intervalic formula, then experiment by projecting that formula from each of the positions of the chromatic scale. Example 1.
| interval | root | whole step | whole step | half step | whole step | whole step | whole step | half step |
| C major scale | C | D | E | F | G | A | B | C |
| D major scale | D | E | F# | G | A | B | C# | D |
Here is the sound of the above chart. Example 2.
Is the above idea illustrative of one of the most important concepts in the text? That one theory idea is projected from each of the 12 points of the chromatic scale? Totally. Is this idea what oftentimes sets the jazz vocabulary apart? Pretty much.
Another explore / experiment idea will be the extracting of the seven church modes from the major scale / Ionian group of pitches. Then experimenting with these modal colors in creating modal flavored compositions and also their application to soloing over chord changes. Another will be exploring the four different pitches of the fully diminished seventh chord and viewing them as leading tones to four different tonal centers. Then experimenting by resolving that diminished group to each of the four major and minor tonics associated with those tonal centers. There are many of these explore / experiment theoretical dynamics.
So we simply explore the theory and the principles that connect the musical elements, then experiment with theses ideas on our own instruments, within the style of music we are creating. Embracing what we dig while, we often set aside those elements which seem incongruous to our our present creations, gaining a sense of their character for potential use later on down the road. This process is simply a part of the evolution of any artist in any art form, I simply choose these terms, explore and experiment, to remind the learner of the two part process involved in creating one's own vocabulary in the world of improvised American music.
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Other artistic considerations within this section? How about artistic techniques?
They who conquer others are strong, Those who conquer themselves are mighty. Lao tzu
