Language of Jazz pdf

Matthew J. Skaggs, Dave Shelton, and Danny Cecil
 
Most public school students are introduced to
jazz via their middle or high school’s jazz
ensemble. However, even well-trained
classical pianists often struggle with the
challenges of understanding the jazz pianist’s
role in an ensemble. While nothing will ever
replace hours spent listening to jazz as a
means to learn the language, the basic
concepts below can serve as an initial guide
for the beginning student or music teacher.
NOTATION
  Pianists typically encounter three types of
notation, as follows:
Fully realized
 
Fully realized
◦  With inexperienced students and/or an
inexperienced director, piano parts that include
both voicings and rhythms are helpful. When
purchasing new literature for your jazz ensemble or
combo, inspect the rhythm section parts (piano,
bass, drums and sometimes guitar) for this level of
detail. As the students gain experience, this
becomes less important.
Suggested voicing
 
Suggested voicing
◦  Parts such as these are a compromise between fully
realized and professional piano parts. It is up to the
performer to make rhythmic choices. Generally
speaking, the rhythms should be syncopated, and
notes played on the last 8th note of the measure
should anticipate the chord that follows. One
exercise for young comping musicians is to play on
the “and” of a particular beat throughout.
Chord symbols only
 
Chord symbols only
◦  Professional-level piano parts are notated with only
the most necessary information. The performer
makes rhythmic and harmonic choices based on
what they hear. Only sections that require exact
rendition, such as a melodic line or tutti rhythm, are
notated in detail. If an experienced pianist
encounters a part such as this, it is appropriate for
the student or director to flush out the part by
writing in specific voicings.
VOICING
  In general, jazz guitar and piano voicings
omit the root, which will be played or implied
by the bassist. The most important notes are
the 3rd and the 7th, if applicable, and pitches
are generally not doubled within the voicing.
  Except for half-step “dissonances” (see
example), the pitches are usually evenly
spaced throughout the chord, whether the
density is closed (within an octave) or open
(spread apart).
VOICING
  Similar to basic counterpoint, basic jazz
voicings sound smoothest when pitches are
kept in common between successive chords
and move as little as possible when they must
change. Pianists usually voice chords within
the two octaves surrounding middle C.
  As with any rules of or theories about music,
these suggestions can be and often are
ignored. Nevertheless, these remain good
guidelines for beginning players.
 
Most jazz harmonic progressions are based
on quartal root movement, which produces
the most common of chord progressions: the
ii7-V7-I. Examples of basic voicings are as
follows:
 
Shell voicings (3rd/7th only):
 
3-note voicings:
 
4-note voicings:
4-note voicings introduce half-step
“dissonances” into the chords. These
seemingly dissonant notes are actually
consonant chord extensions. Students
should practice these routines slowly and
methodically at first while saying the names
of the chords aloud. Each of the above
should be practiced in all inversions.
The chord progression used in the previous
example may be practiced along with the first
track of Aebersold’s Play-A-Long Vol. 3, “The
ii-V7-I Progression.”
 
Quartal and diminished voicings:
PERFORMANCE SUGGESTIONS
  The volume of the piano cannot compete with the
other instruments, and it is best that the pianist
tacet for much of the composed section of jazz
band arrangements.
  The piano becomes most important during solo
sections, when it “comps” (“accompanies”) for the
soloists and may also solo.
  While some arrangements are orchestrated such
that the piano does play a significant role
throughout, most of the material included in
piano parts is unnecessary and might even
obfuscate the more important parts.
While there are examples of guitarists and
pianists successfully comping for a soloist
simultaneously, this requires great musical
sensitivity from both musicians.
  A general rule for young rhythm section
musicians is that only one instrument should
comp at a time.
  If your jazz ensemble includes a guitarist,
instruct the pianist and guitarist to take turns
comping for alternating solos.
 
When comping, the pianist or guitarist should
not play too much.
  The goal of comping is to reinforce what the
soloist is playing and to make the soloist feel
comfortable, either by reacting to what is
being played or by being a subtle part of the
rhythm section’s texture.
  It is vital that the accompanist listen to the
soloist always and creatively find ways to
make the soloist sound as good as possible.
 
It is important that your rhythm section be
allowed to rehearse and even perform as a
unit or with a horn or two as a combo.
  The Hal Leonard Jazz Combo Paks are a great
place to start.
  Eventually, your students will progress to
using lead sheets, their own transcriptions
from albums and eventually their own
compositions.
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One of the most crucial decisions for the director
is the repertoire to be performed.
Young students typically lean toward
contemporary rock and funk grooves, because
that is with what they are the most familiar.
However, the director should ensure that his or
her students have the opportunity to perform in
every style, including ballads, waltzes, and
especially swing charts at every tempi.
In addition, there exist very good jazz ensemble
arrangements of standard tunes that can
introduce your students to the established
repertoire as they learn how to play and
improvise.
SOLOING
  Because of the relative ease for the pianist to
play notes as intended as well as “see” the
harmony, directors often rely on them to solo
during the improvisation section of an
ensemble arrangement.
  In order to do so, all students should
transcribe the playing of great players. There
are advantages to transcribing entire solos as
well as phrases in isolation
 
Students should play complete solos along
with the recording, and phrases should be
practiced in all twelve keys. Just as a child
learns to speak, the student will evolve from
regurgitating the sounds of others to creating
their own phrases and eventually telling a
complete story.
 
Students should practice scales and
arpeggios exhaustively, to such a degree that
they need not think about them while
improvising. This is similar to an actor
rehearsing lines or an athlete practicing
fundamental drills. In performance, the
musician, actor or athlete is best to be “in the
moment.”
 
Early exercises for improvisation may be
practiced over the same progression as
above, as follows:
As in chord voicings, the 3rd and the 7th are
the most important pitches, harmonically
speaking.
  It is good to advise the beginner improviser
to emphasize these pitches by beginning or
ending phrases on them, by sustaining or
repeating them, and by playing them on the
beat, especially the strong beats.
 
 
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The best advice any teacher can give an
improvisation student is to listen, both to
recordings of more experienced players and also
to the other musicians while they are playing.
Perhaps the second best advice one can give is to
leave space in the music. Miles Davis and Ahmad
Jamal come to mind as improvising musicians
who were particularly adept at using silence
effectively. All great solos, compositions and
speeches employ silence as well as sound, but
the young improviser is often hesitant to rest,
lest others think they have lost their place.
 
It is important for the young musician to
know that there is no scorecard of missed
chord changes, and that it is not necessary
that the soloist play over every chord,
measure or even measures. Just as in spoken
or written language, the most interesting
solos or stories involve phrases of varying
length that build over time to a climax and
eventual release.
SAMPLE LISTENING LIST
  No amount of spoken or written advice can
replace hours spent listening to jazz. Like any
language, the jazz language can only be
learned by hearing others say (play) it.
 
The following is an incomplete list of
influential pianists to whom young pianists
should listen:
Earl Hines
Red Garland
Duke Ellington
Wynton Kelly
Bud Powell
Horace Silver
Herbie Hancock
Bill Evans
Oscar Peterson
Chick Corea
Thelonius Monk
McCoy Tyner
Gene Harris
Monty Alexander
Kenny Barron
Kenny Kirkland
Mulgrew Miller
Brad Mehldau
SAMPLE LISTENING LIST
  The Jazz Language – Dan Haerle
  The Jazz Piano Book – Mark Levine
  The Jazz Theory Book – Mark Levine
  Play-A-Long Vol. 3, “The II-V7-I Progression” – Jamey
Aebersold
  Play-A-Long Vol. 21, “Gettin’ It Together” – Jamey
Aebersold
  Play-A-Long Vol. 54, “Maiden Voyage” – Jamey Aebersold
 
What do charts look like?
 
What do charts look like?
 
What do charts look like?
 
What do charts look like?
Gain a basic knowledge of musical styles
  “Most” charts will give the performers an
identifying musical style, it is the performers job
to be able to perform the style.
  Styles to have a working idea for modern and
classic Jazz Ensemble arrangements:
Rock, Swing, Funk, Waltz, and Latin
Two excellent resources to help develop a
student’s since of style study are Tommy Igoe’s
“Groove Essentials” and John Riley’s “The Art of
Bop Drumming.”
 
What is what on the chart?
  Unfortunately, there is NOT one specific
method of music notation for the drumset.
  In most cases the Bass Drum is notated on
the bottom space, the snare drum is notated
on the 3rd space, and cymbals are notated
with an X. However, these are NOT universal.
Players/students should look for the “Key” or
“Legend” that describes the notation for the
drum chart.
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 
How is a chart/lead sheet played?
 
How is a chart/lead sheet played?
Independence/Interdependence: “A
technique where each limb knows exactly
what the others are doing and how they work
TOGETHER, not independently.” – John Riley
  Through the method books of Riley, (“The Art
of Bop Drumming”) and Ted Reed
(“Syncopation”) students can begin to develop
a musical vocabulary for comping and soloing
that is described through this
Interdependence.
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One of the BEST learning tools for any young musician, are
his/her very own ears.
“Listen to some good music, and steal from the best!” – Dave
Farris
Gaining a “working aural knowledge” of players, their
individual sounds, styles, and playing habits is a wonderful
encyclopedia of things practice and help an individual
develop their own skills.
 
The following is a list of players that you or your students
may enjoy listening to, and stealing licks from for jazz and
many other styles of music (for a more complete list visit
www.drummerworld.com).
Jack DeJohnette
Max Roach
Jeff “Tain” Watts
John Riley
Elvin Jones
Kenny Clarke
“Papa” Jo Jones
“Philly” Jo Jones
Gene Krupa
Chick Webb
Buddy Rich
Joey Baron
Brian Blade
Ed Blackwell
Jimmy Cobb
Vinnie Colaiuta
Billy Cobham
Terri Lyne Carrington
Billy Drummond
Peter Erskine
Steve Gadd
Al Foster
Bill Hart
Roy Haynes
Jeff Hamilton
Billy Higgins
Paul Motion
Shelly Mann
Adam Nussbaum
Sonny Payne
Bill Stewert
Antonio Sanchez
Art Taylor
Ed Thigpen
Marvin “Smitty” Smith
Kenny Washington
Tony Williams
Lenny White
Steve Smith
Bernard Purdie
John Bonham
Charlie Watts
Ringo Starr
Ginger Baker