Tarquin Velde —
teaching improvisation
without the mysticism
Guitarist, educator, and writer at Bonusfront.
Based in Melbourne. Working with musicians since 2016.
The background that shaped the teaching
Studied at the Victorian College of the Arts, then spent several years playing in small venues across Melbourne and regional Victoria — not touring, just working.
The gap between conservatory training and actual improvisation became obvious quickly. Theory courses explained what notes fit over a chord. They rarely addressed why a phrase lands, or how to recover when it doesn't. That gap is where most of the writing here begins.
Bonusfront started as a set of personal notes — fingering charts, practice logs, ideas about phrasing that didn't fit neatly into any textbook. Over time those notes became guides. The guides became a site.
The focus is narrow by design: melodic improvisation across jazz, blues, and related forms. No lifestyle content, no gear reviews. Just the mechanics of making something up in real time and getting better at it.
By the numbers
How the guides are built
Each piece of content follows the same sequence — from a specific problem to a testable practice method.
Identify a concrete sticking point
Guides start from a real obstacle — not a topic. Losing the beat during a phrase, running out of ideas after two bars, defaulting to the same lick in every key. The problem has to be specific enough that a practice drill can address it directly.
Test the explanation against actual playing
Written explanations that sound logical often fall apart at tempo. Every method described here has been tested — slowly, then at speed, then in a musical context with other players. If it doesn't hold up in practice, it doesn't appear in a guide.
Write for the intermediate player, not the beginner
Most improvisation content targets complete beginners or advanced players. The guides here assume you already know basic chord shapes and scales — and are stuck somewhere between knowing the theory and actually using it. That gap is where the writing lives.
Reference published research where it applies
Cognitive science and music psychology have produced useful findings on motor learning, auditory feedback, and mental representation in musicians. Where that research is relevant and accessible, it gets cited. The journal review section covers those sources in full.