Blanketing

v. Blanketing: 

        1. To cover with or as if with a blanket

        2. To cover so as to inhibit, suppress or extinguish

        3. To apply generally and uniformly without exception

It was not often that I have thought about music as a blanket of some sort, not until this semester.

In my studies, I learned that jazz musicians use a technique called blanketing much of the time. To blanket! What has ever gone wrong that involved a blanket? Blankets are warm and cuddly. They can be used for forms of adventure pitched up like a tent. And, they have a feeling of safety and comfort. Many of us braved our young years with a blanket companion. My husband's was named Mr. Blankey, and mine was Hamie.

The blanket technique in jazz is a form of uniform coverage. One can play notes that are in a particular key while improvising rather than think of every chord change. For instance, if you are playing a piece in Bb Major, you can improvise in all of the notes in Bb Major and you will be safe from playing notes that might not sound like they fit in. Jazz players also learn to blanket in other scales that fit in with the key signature - in the key of Bb Major, you could also blanket in the Bb Major pentatonic scale (Bb, C, D, F, G), the Bb minor pentatonic (Bb, C, Db, F, B), and the the Bb Blues scale (Bb, Db, E, F, Ab). You can use notes from one of the scales for a while to create a particular flavor and then move on to the next scale. This is also a very good way to get familiar with playing in a scale. I found it extremely helpful for finger patterns in runs. For example, if I know what fingering I use for each of the notes in the Bb Major Pentatonic scale, I can play a fast run and feel comfortable that I am playing notes that will sound good in the key and I don't have to imagine what each note sounds like before I play it (this helps speed up the process slightly). Of course it is still helpful to be able to hear ahead what your solo will sound like, but with fast notes, this is an error proof way to make sure you don't play something wonky.

I started by practicing blanketing the Bb blues in Bb Major pentatonic scale:

After a while of practicing, I enjoyed how quickly I could insert runs in the piece and have it sound decent. This is because I was only playing a few notes and I began to know the finger pattern well.

The hardest scales for me to learn how to blanket in were Bb Major and Bb Blues . I think the reason was because there are many more notes in Bb major or Bb blues than in the pentatonic scale. Below is some video footage of improvisation in Bb Major that I am pretty happy with. I still am behind the beat sometimes and need to work on playing in rhythm even if I haven't had the chance to process whether I will be playing a correct note or not (the note that is in my brain).

 

The thing to remember is that I have to be comfortable and confident. Easier said than done, but the more I blanket, the more comfortable I become  . . .