When we improvise, we are improvising a melody. If we want our improvised melodies to be expressive, then we need to work on melodic expression. One of the best ways to do that is to be able to play standards expressively.
I've compiled a list of tunes that have interesting melodies, and arranged them more or less in order of increasing difficulty (ME1 being easiest, ME9 being hardest). Of course, difficulty is subjective. You may wonder why some tunes that are easy to execute have a high number. That's because, though they are easy to play, they are hard to play expressively.
| 1 | ME1 | Afternoon In Paris |
| 2 | ME1 | Bessie's Blues |
| 3 | ME1 | Black Orpheus |
| 4 | ME1 | Blue Bossa |
| 5 | ME1 | Blue Illusion |
| 6 | ME1 | Blue Trane |
| 7 | ME1 | Comin' Home Baby |
| 8 | ME1 | Gentle Rain |
| 9 | ME1 | Here's That Rainy Day |
| 10 | ME1 | Sometime Ago |
| 11 | ME1 | Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most |
| 12 | ME1 | Worksong |
| 13 | ME2 | A Child Is Born |
| 14 | ME2 | All In Love Is Fair |
| 15 | ME2 | Blue In Green |
| 16 | ME2 | Blues Ala Mode |
| 17 | ME2 | Can You Read My Mind? |
| 18 | ME2 | Chronic Blues |
| 19 | ME2 | Darn That Dream |
| 20 | ME2 | Dindi |
| 21 | ME2 | Easy Living |
| 22 | ME2 | Forest Flower |
| 23 | ME2 | God Bless the Child |
| 24 | ME2 | I Thought About You |
| 25 | ME2 | I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face |
| 26 | ME2 | If You Never Come To Me |
| 27 | ME2 | In Your Own Sweet Way |
| 28 | ME2 | Jordu |
| 29 | ME2 | Just Friends |
| 30 | ME2 | Like Someone in Love |
| 31 | ME2 | Milano |
| 32 | ME2 | My One and Only Love |
| 33 | ME2 | Peace |
| 34 | ME2 | Someday My Prince Will Come |
| 35 | ME2 | There Will Never Be Another You |
| 36 | ME2 | West Coast Blues |
| 37 | ME2 | Willow Weep For Me |
| 38 | ME2 | You Are Too Beautiful |
| 39 | ME3 | Boplicity |
| 40 | ME3 | Dolphin Dance |
| 41 | ME3 | Doodlin' |
| 42 | ME3 | Falling Grace |
| 43 | ME3 | Midnight Sun |
| 44 | ME3 | My Foolish Heart |
| 45 | ME3 | Scrapple From The Apple |
| 46 | ME3 | Swedish Pastry |
| 47 | ME3 | Triste |
| 48 | ME4 | A Night In Tunisia |
| 49 | ME4 | Anthropology |
| 50 | ME4 | Blues For Alice |
| 51 | ME4 | Bright Size Life |
| 52 | ME4 | Dexterity |
| 53 | ME4 | I Remember Clifford |
| 54 | ME4 | Sweet Rain |
| 55 | ME4 | Turn Out The Stars |
| 56 | ME4 | Whisper Not |
| 57 | ME5 | April Joy |
| 58 | ME5 | James |
| 59 | ME6 | Ceora |
| 60 | ME6 | Upper Manhattan Medical Group |
| 61 | ME7 | Chega de Saudade (No More Blues) |
| 62 | ME7 | Confirmation |
| 63 | ME7 | Joy Spring |
| 64 | ME7 | Round Midnight |
| 65 | ME8 | Body And Soul |
| 66 | ME8 | Bones From Jones |
| 67 | ME8 | Lush Life |
| 68 | ME8 | Peggy's Blue Skylight |
| 69 | ME9 | Donna Lee |