A 6-Step Guide to Improvisation for Singers

Instrumentalists aren’t the only ones who get to improvise. Vocalists can do it too, ranging from adding subtle vocal embellishments to scatting or even all-out improv. In this article, we’ll be taking a closer look at the various ways you can improvise and inject ad-libs.

This blog includes the words of Alfons Verreijt, the developer of the VocalFeedback method and author of the book The Essentials of the Voice.

What Are Ad Libs?

First things first. If you ask Alfons, everyone’s using the term ‘ad lib’ a little too freely, which is ironic, because ad lib, which is short for ad libitum, literally means ‘as you see fit’. If you come across ‘ad lib’ in your notations, it’s up to you how you fill in that specific part. “The jurors of singing competitions on TV often get it wrong whenever they call a contestant out for getting the ‘ad libs’ wrong, because you technically can’t get an ad lib wrong. If you follow that logic, copying original embellishments like ‘oohs’, ‘ahs’ and ‘yeahs’ is singing a lick. It’s not ad-libbing. Also, if I were a juror, I personally would appreciate it when a contestant pulls off a proper ad lib and gets it right, both technically and musically that is.” Ad libs have actually carved out their own little spot on the improvisation spectrum, but more on that in a bit because they’re only step 4 in our little 6-step guide to vocal improv.

Interpretation

Let’s start at the bottom. Step 1 is singing a cover in the exact same way as the original or, in the case of a written composition, singing it as described and sticking to what the composer intended. More or less that is, since most music is impossible to notate down to the smallest details. Take a jazz tune. If you play it exactly as notated, it’s probably going to lack that jazz-defining swing feel. In other words, interpretation is essential, which gets us to step 2: a singer’s personal interpretation. Let’s stick to jazz for a minute. An important part of this style are the jazz standards: songs that are commonly played and that every jazz musician puts a personal spin on in terms of timing and melody. Just look up Summertime by Gershwin and you’ll find countless different renditions. Going with a personal interpretation gives vocalists a bit more freedom than sticking strictly to a notated piece of music, and it’s not only common in jazz, but in pop. Now we arrive at step 3: covering a song and sprinkling it with little embellishments here and there, for instance by playing with melodic figures and creating variations in the melody and timing. David Bowie’s live performance of ‘Heroes’ seen below is a good example.

Ad-Libs

For step 4, you’re going to take things even further by deliberately varying the melody and timing. One way to do this is to sing the first verse as intended, with maybe a little personal interpretation here and there. Then for the second verse, you’re going with a self-invented variation of the original melody (Ella Fitzgerald’s version of ‘Mack the Knife’ is a great example). Ad-libs actually aren’t part of any of the steps explained in this article, in part because there’s no clear-cut definition that everyone agrees on. One person might feel like changing up the melody of a tune is ad-libbing, while others might disagree and feel like ad-libbing also requires deviating from the original lyrics, for instance by scatting (see step 5). In any case, the fact is that ad libitum literally means ‘as you see fit’, which by definition goes beyond embellishments and personal interpretation.

Scat singing

Time to move on. We’re going to leave pop music behind and focus exclusively on jazz and other improv-based styles, since step 5 is all about lyric-less singing and self-invented melodies. In jazz, this is also referred to as scatting or scat singing. While scatting seems to come with a high degree of freedom and flexibility, you’re not exactly given free rein. That’s because an understanding of, or at the least a feel for harmonics is a must. After all, your scatting needs to match the harmonies in the chords and bass lines that your band backs you up with. Fortunately, there’s a large number of options on the table here, including pentatonic scales, blues scales, chromatic scales, gypsy scales and church modes. Alfons’ advice? Use your ears. “Harmonic insight definitely goes a long way, but in the end, your ears play the most important role. That’s why hours and hours of practice and experience are crucial.” In addition to jazz, scatting works really well for other styles that originated from African-American culture, like blues. In some cases, it’ll even work in ‘white’ styles like country.

Complete Freedom

Step 6 is the final step and that means enjoying complete freedom. You’re free to improvise away, singing whatever you want without worrying about the harmony – just like original free jazz singers did before the style was ironically restricted with a bunch of rules. “Complete freedom sounds simpler than it actually is,” Alfons remarks. “To seize it, you’ll really need to know what you’re doing, which requires a ton of artistic baggage and music-making experience.” Joey Blake and Bobby McFerrin’s performance seen below makes for a great case study. Even complete freedom can come with certain agreements. If there’s a band that’s backing you, you might want to establish a few ground rules regarding the extent to which the band follows your lead and how much freedom you’ll be taking.

Practice

That does it for the theory behind improvisation. Now let’s look at improv in practice and how you can hone your improvisation skills. In addition to looking at what others have done before you to get a better idea of the various options, you can take a song you already know and add melodic figures to it within the boundaries of the key that the song is in. Before you get started, however, it’s important to find out the key and whether it’s in major or minor. As soon as you know what you’re dealing with, you can work out the notes available to you for experimentation. A piano or a guitar can be a great aid here. If you have a good feel for music, your gut and your ears can also get you quite far. You can then take things a step further by adding leading notes. Leading notes, or sub semitones, sit a semitone above or below the note you’re aiming for and can be used as stepping stones of sorts. That said, leading notes can’t be used whenever and wherever. They don’t always suit the song and should only be opted for when they lead up to more significant notes, so notes that have some weight to them and are essential for the phrase that you’re singing. Required study material definitely includes all of the standard scales, the pentatonic scales and the blues scales, both the major and minor versions. As a singer, being able to play an instrument is also a plus. Preferably a chord-based instrument like a guitar or keyboard. This way, you can accompany yourself while you’re experimenting with improvisation.

Arpeggios

Here’s another exercise. Pick a note and sing it for as long as you can while you play different chords and see how well they go with the chosen note. What you can also do is sing arpeggios, which are basically chords broken up into the separate notes. Be sure to start slowly though. Sing just the root note as you play a chord. When you’re ready, you can take it a step further by singing the root note and the third, before adding the fifth and seventh. This way, it’s easier to learn the chords. Once you’re familiar with a chord and the notes it’s made up of, you can start experimenting with other notes. This’ll happen pretty much automatically since it can be boring if you don’t. You can also go with what Alfons calls the ‘complete chaos method’. “Take a chord progression and improvise a melody based on that progression as fast as you can. What you sing doesn’t matter, but don’t forget to listen to what you’re doing. The easiest way to do this is to just keep going. Don’t stop to think about what you’re doing. You’ll notice that your brain can do a lot on auto-pilot. There are no wrong notes here so don’t worry about things that don’t sound completely right. You’ll get it right next time. This method will help you conquer your fear of making mistakes.” Ultimately, it’s all about putting the hours in. Fortunately, there are various helpful tools available, including an app called iReal Pro, which is basically a Real Book in digital form, complete with jazz standards and pop tunes. The app sets you up with a customisable backing band where you can adjust the tempo, the style and the key.

Good to Know

Improvisation in Pop Music

Jazz-based scatting is literally something else. Thankfully, improvising in pop music doesn’t have to be that difficult. If you can sing a pop song as written and you’re able to improvise based on pentatonic and blues scales, you can go a long way in pop. That goes for both vocalists and instrumentalists.

Solfège

A good musician needs a good set of ears, which is why training them is always a good idea. You don’t necessarily need to be able to instantly recognise intervals and chords either. Simply being able to tell that a song progresses from the first interval to the fourth or fifth along will get you pretty far, especially in pop music. Thinking in steps is a great way to approach music-making and gives you a mental image of the chord progression regardless of the key.

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is the queen of riffs and melismas (vocal runs), and represents an entire generation of R&B singers that generously sprinkle their music with vocal embellishments, which can be traced back to gospel music. The video included below offers a great little roundup of Mariah Carey’s skill.