Lord willing, in a few days I'm going to be trying to communicate a musical idea to someone who is a trained musician...but to whom English is not a first language. What I'm going to ask him to do is "play the melody". However, I don't want an exact copy of my vocal melody. Heck, I'm not even going to do it exactly the same way every verse...and he's on a different instrument.

So how do I ask him to "play the melody" but with his own "feel"? Or will that be understood with "play the melody"?

Also, I'm going to ask him to do a verse and chorus pass playing anything that moves him--except for a three-note phrase that would be under the title line. Is the word for this "improvization/improvise"? And what about the three-notes that I want played? Is that a "quote"?

Is "improv" different from "interpret", and if so how?

I hope someone can set my head straight so 1. I don't sound like an idiot and 2. I get back what I want.

Last edited by Tangmo; 04/30/19 08:55 AM.
BIAB 2021 Audiophile. Windows 10 64bit. Songwriter, lyricist, composer(?) loving all styles. Some pre-BIAB music from Farfetched Tangmo Band's first CD. https://alonetone.com/tangmo/playlists/close-to-the-ground