Improvising Using The Popular Song Form
Last time we talked about how musicians improvise on the 12 bar blues. The other standard form on which improvisation takes place is the popular song. Each popular song has its own distinctive chord progression, plus its own unique melody. In the 12-bar blues form there was only the chord progression structure — no melody.
Most popular songs fall itno one of thress categories:
ABA form — in other words, theme A, theme B, and theme A repeated
AABA form – theme A, theme A repeated, theme B, theme A
ABAC form – theme A, theme B, theme a, theme C
The largest percentage of popular songs fall into the AABA category, the usual length of the song being 32 bars:
A – 8 bars
A – 8 bars
B – 8 bars
A – 8 bars
Musicians improvise from the chord structure of the popular song, often making reference to the individual melody in their improvised creations.
There are other forms, of course, such as verse-chorus, and you find this form typically in folk songs and hymns, as well as in some pop songs.