The Improviser · Lesson 4 — The Right Phrases ← Course

The right phrases — which examples to show.

Which phrases you show matters more than how many. Two sets of the same size can play completely differently.

Last page counted phrases. This one chooses them — and the choice matters more. The model treats your examples as the definition of the job, not loose hints, so the phrases you pick quietly decide what it thinks you are asking for.

Show it three easy, in-key major triads and it learns an easy, in-key move — "land on the plain chord tones." Fine, until a tense chord comes along: a G7#9, where the sharpened ninth wants a bluesy, clashing note against the third. The player that only saw sweet triads will land on G B D — pretty, and wrong for the harmony.

The fix is to choose phrases that mark the line where the harmony bends: include one that resolves an altered chord and one clean landing that contrasts with it. Now the model has heard where the tension sits, not just the easy middle — and it phrases the tricky chord right.

Same number of phrases either way. The difference is entirely in the choosing.

Show the player each set of three, then hear how it resolves the same tense chord. Only one set has heard where the harmony bends.

Two sets, three phrases each. Pick one and hear how it resolves the tricky chord.
example phrases shown3 phrases
↓ then the tricky one ↓
the tricky chord · a tense, altered chord
↓
the player's phrase

Same count, different phrases.

Both prompts hold three phrases. Swapping which three — not how many — is what flips the tricky resolution from wrong to right. 


      

    


    

      
It's which, not how many.

      

        Three easy phrases teach an easy move, and the model breaks on the first tense
        chord. Three well-chosen ones — one that resolves an altered chord, one clean
        landing beside it — show where the harmony bends, and it holds up. Same count,
        very different phrasing.
      

      

        Choose phrases that mark the tense moments, not just the obvious middle.
        A contrasting pair — one each side of the line — is worth more than a pile of
        look-alikes.
      


      

        
Quick check · your ear

        
Both sets held exactly three phrases, yet only one resolved the G7#9 right. What made the difference?

        

          
          
          
        

        

      


      

        Next: bad phrases →
        
      

    


  


  

    

      ▸ Go deeper — choosing phrases well optional
      

        
Cover the tense moments, not the centre

        

          A model generalises from what it is shown. If every phrase is a clear-cut,
          in-key landing, it never learns where "clear-cut" ends. Deliberately include
          phrases near the line — the altered chords a player would have to think about —
          because those are the ones it will get wrong otherwise.
        

        
Contrast teaches the move

        

          A pair that goes opposite ways on a small difference (a bluesy resolution over
          an altered chord vs a clean landing over a plain one) teaches far more than two
          phrases with the same feel. The contrast is the lesson: it shows the model which
          note choice actually decides the phrase.
        

        
Diversity beats volume

        

          This is why the last page's rule holds: a few varied, borderline phrases beat
          many similar ones. When you are tempted to add a fourth phrase, ask whether it
          shows the model something new — or just repeats a move it has already
          heard.
        

        
Test on the chords you fear

        

          Pick your phrases, then try the prompt on the awkward chords, not the easy ones.
          Where it plays wrong tells you which phrase is missing. This is the same instinct
          the course returns to much later, when it asks how you'd measure whether a
          player is any good at all.