From whiteboard notes and exercises I sent to students this week. 

​David

Super video demonstration but...

Let's consider the assumptions he is making about you the student/listener. 

1. You can play your instrument.
2. You have experience playing music in multiple keys. Though jazz is mostly in C, F, Bb, Eb, and Ab and related minor keys, he goes farther afield.
3. You can play jazz.
4. You can play by ear.
5. You are familiar with the seminal recordings he references.
6. You are familiar with the songs he is playing.
7. You understand musical rudiments, including key signatures, intervals, time signatures, transposition, cadences and much more. 
8. You have advanced solfege and piano skills so you can play bass lines and sing the melody over it.
9. You understand harmonic theory and are able execute chord progressions in time, with a beat, and use the appropriate jazz facial expressions.
10. You know of Ray Brown and his significance.
11. You understand following terms and their musical significance: melody, bass lines, transposition, diatonic, tonic, major 7th intervals, root-7 root-6 movement, Bebop shells 3rd and 7th, the tritone, 5ths, half-steps, interval inversions, 5 in the key of G, lineage of the tune (?), perfect 4ths, non-diatonic ii-Vs, half diminished, 3 of a key, original "changes", "Miles, " Ab7#11 chords, keys, closely related keys, major 3rds, major scales, circle of 5ths, root movements, ii-V of IV, bridge, "key of music."
12. In Peter’s defense, he offers practice suggestions around 9 minutes mark. 
13. On the other hand, as all Vloggers do, he downplays the complexity of what he is doing. Sigh.

What is my job?

I prepare students to understand and execute what he is talking about. The first thing we will do is assess your situation and then we'll draw up a logical plan. 

1. If needed, I will teach you to play your instrument. We will work through a solid canon of piano works that explore multiple keys. 
2. I will teach you to play jazz.
3. I will teach you to play by ear. Can you play jingle bells by ear? If so, great you are on your way. If not, I will help you get started. 
4. I will introduce you to 100+ years of jazz recordings. If your knowledge is a bit spotty, start here: The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World | Jazzwise and Double Time Top 100 Historically Significant Recordings article @ All About Jazz. It is important to note the absence of early jazz recordings on these listings. Jazz has a history spanning 3 centuries, but jazz education seems stuck in, at best, a 30-year period from 1945 to 65. The first list has a number a modern recordings from the last 40 years. 
5. I will help you get your theory together.
6. We will do solfege together. I use both moveable doh system and the number system. Solfege is widely taught in Europe, but unfortunately not so much in North America. 
7. We will study jazz harmony when you've got your theory together.
8. Ray Brown is an important bassist.
9. Working on steps one through nine will answer all the questions you may have from step 11 above.
10. I will teach you how to practice.
11. I will encourage you to get outside feedback and advice from other sources. 

Call me, 

David

BTW: in 2017, I studied with Peter Martin in Rome Italy. He's a great guy and a very skilled musician. When I grow up, I want to play piano like him. FYI.  I was in Rome studying jazz drumming with Greg Hutchinson. Greg played in Ray Brown’s last group. ​

If you are curious about this, click here. 

Creating a "roadmap" gives you a visual representation of the form or structure of a performance. You will discover the: who, what, when, and how much in the recording. This is valuable information. You will learn to count, recognize the instrumentation and more. You will begin to develop an awareness of how musicians organize their performances and recordings. 

First Steps. 

1. Pick a favorite piece
2. With a pop song listen for the following sections and their order; introduction, verse, chorus, bridge, ending (tag). With a jazz piece, notice how many times they play the "head" or main melody and then note the order of solos. How many times do they play the head after the solos? 

Second Steps.
1. Make a note on your "map" of dynamics.
2. In a jazz piece, count how many times each musician solos on the form. 
3. Do they trade "fours" with the drummer? If you are unsure what this means, click here.

Third Step.

1. Make a note on your "map" of anything interesting you pick up or hear. 

Have fun. 

David

Here is a more detailed roadmap that includes a guide to my drum part. 

This etude will help you practice the correct finger patterns for Royal Conservatory Level 1 and 2 techniques. I would play them slooooooowly; hands separately. A metronome is recommended. 

Things to notice:

1. The accents
2. The slurs
3. The dynamics
4. The fingering

In the video I demonstrate the hand motions required. 

Have fun. 

Sight singing is fun when we sing along with something great like the fifth symphony of Beethoven. We might call this tympani karaoke. 

Trivia question: What does C jam blues and the Tympani part for Beethoven's 5th symphony have in common?

This etude will help you to create a beautiful singing line in pieces with slow moving melodies. None of the notes are played with the fingers going up and down in the usual way, it is played all with the arm.

Harmonizing chords using the strict rules of chorale writing (SATB) is a time-honored way to get started with harmony. I'd be happy to help you, just call me. 

Rules 

1. Spacing between SA and AT cannot exceed an octave
2. Range of SATB should be reviewed before starting.
3. Double the root, but never in consecutive voices. 
4. No voice crossing within a measure.
5. All chords must have a 3rd.
6. Common tones repeat, most of the time. 

How amateurs might up their game in rehearsals
 
Jazz jamming is fun. Sight reading tunes each week is ok, but it is often difficult for the ensemble to improve because there will not be enough week to week repetition. So, I’m putting forth these suggestions. 

1. Agree on ten tunes to start with. Vary the keys, tempos, and styles.
2. Discuss and agree beforehand on the tempi, introductions, and endings of each piece. Consider the role of dynamics when you play the head because too many amateur bands play mezzo forte tune after tune. Make a note of these deliberations in your parts so that the following week you can remember them. 
3. After the next rehearsal, replace the two strongest tunes with two new ones repeat step 2 and carry on. 

 
The idea is that with weekly repetition, improvements can be heard. Bonus: folks will know what to practice between “jams” while flipping over two pieces each week will keep it fresh. 
 
Have fun. 

Look what I found tucked away. You can hear examples in the Bill Evans YouTube video below. 

Louis Armstrong key of Ab
Doreen Ketchens, Preservation Hall Dr. John, Rebirth, Al Hirt, Wynton, Tuba Skinny key of F
Fats Domino key of Eb

A fine tutorial for students. 

Tempo:

1. Lang Lang: Half note =112
2. Wuja Wang: Half note =100
3. Cory Hall: Half note =113
4. Qi Zhang: Half note =110

None of the artists played with a completely steady beat, in other words, the tempo varied both from section to section and within sections. 

Seven unique recordings of the same tune that are worthy of our time and study. This is a tune to learn by ear, without a fakebook, paying close attention to variations of the chord progression.

1. Parker starts with a "Latin" intro and sets the standard for the recordings that follow.
2. Green keeps the "Latin", but switches to swing.
3. Stitt plays the melody swing over the "Latin" groove.
4. Haynes goes Calypso/Latin.
5. Cohen goes sloooooooooooooooooooooooooow. Really slow. This is a complete reimagining of the piece. 
6. Grasso gives it a buttoned-down big band reading. 


7. Have Fun. 

What to practice, how to practice, how much to practice, when to practice can be sources of anxiety to students preparing for a piano exam. To succeed one must spend time on each area of study.

1. Repertoire
2. Etudes
3. Theory
4. Sightreading
5. Technique
6. Ear Training.

This short blog focuses on working at the piano. 

Try dividing up your time on the piano bench as indicated in the drawing; give equal time to each area. Now if you are like me, your attention span is long as a puppy's. No worries, jump around. But keep track of your time in each area. 

1. Technique includes the assigned scales, chords, arpeggios, and etudes. Remember to use your metronome!
2. Sightreading includes rhythmic as well as written exercises from your "Four Star" books. 
3. Review at least one piece of completed repertoire. I suggest reviewing a different piece in every practice session to keep your repertoire performance ready.
4. New work, the heart of practice. Remember to listen to a professional recording before starting. We all need a fresh impression before beginning. Try to fix at least one passage in each practice session. 

Good luck

David 

There is much to learn from listening to each of these recordings, especially the counter-lines played by John Lewis. I would encourage you to learn, by ear, the diverse ways musicians approach the simple blues melody. 

​David

When learning to play Brazilian jazz it is best to go to the primary sources, the original and other seminal recordings recorded in Brazil, both past and present. At the end of this sample of Brazilian recordings is a fine recording by Kenny Barron, who it must be said, has listened to the original recordings.

Practice routine?

Spend an afternoon playing the melody with the recordings, mimicking as much as possible what you hear. Then add the chords.

​David

The following is a series of exercises to help you "experience" intervals, taking them out of the theoretical and into the practical. I recommend that you transpose these passages as you learn new patterns. 

David

The Major 3rd, Minor 3rd, and Perfect 5th is just theory until we hear them, experience them, and then apply this understanding to our playing. The following exercise is one way to "experience" these intervals. 

Mimic the melody, as interpreted by each recording below. Chords will come later.