BEGINNINGS: A Process to Jazz Improvisation

[...]with an understanding that this is a long process), there are things that you should do, and skills you should be mastering, that are fundamental to the whole process. Theory: You need to have a strong sense of outlining chords (functional, nonfunctional, modal, et cetera) using chord tones, the understanding of jazz language and how it works, and the history and tradition of jazz - learning repertoire; unconsciously knowing what all the jazz chord symbols mean and what tonalities go with them. To get started, you need a basic knowledge of jazz theory, such as modes of the major scale, the diatonic ii V I progression, and chord tones.