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Tips, free lessons, and inspiration

How to be a jazz musician, a roadmap in five steps

12/26/2022

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There are no secrets to discover as the steps to becoming a jazz musician have already been mapped out by previous generations of musicians and educators. My first suggestion? Don't waste your time online looking for "the secret."

Here are my top five non-secrets to learning to play jazz. 
​
  1. Learn to play your instrument. A few students have tried to skip this step. You might ask, "how good do I have to be to play jazz?" Depends on who you want to play with. Therefore, if your skills are a little short or rusty, call a music teacher and get to work on your keyboard skills. I have several students learning to play piano and jazz simultaneously. They don't sound like Oscar Peterson, but they are having fun while learning to navigate the piano keyboard. 
  2. Learn theory. Students frequently ask theory questions without the background knowledge required to understand the answer. This is especially an issue when trying to make sense of YouTube music education videos. 
  3. Find someone to play with and learn together. Jazz is a contact sport; a partner makes it more fun. You will learn to listen to each other, which is a prime prerequisite to playing jazz. 
  4. Learn how to practice. I've written many blogs on this topic, but I would encourage you to seek out many different views on this important subject. 
  5. The number one step to becoming a jazz musician is to learn as many tunes as you can, as fast as you can, because the musician who knows the most tunes wins. Get a list of the most important jazz tunes and get to work. Learn the melodies by ear. Learning chords by ear can come later. If this is difficult, call me and we will work on your aural skills. And you will be on your way. 

Project suggestion. Investigate the jazz curriculum outlines of jazz colleges and compare. Here is a start. 
​
Jazz in America Lesson Plans through the National Jazz Curriculum - Hancock Institute of Jazz 
TRADITIONAL JAZZ CURRICULUM - Jazz Education Network (jazzednet.org)
Yearly Program Study Plan; B.Mus. Jazz | Music - McGill University
Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies - Education - Capilano University
Jazz Studies (BJazz) | Explore UM | University of Manitoba (umanitoba.ca)

You will note the following areas are common: lessons, theory, ear training, ensemble playing, history, and improvisation. 
​
If I can help you call me, I teach piano, and jazz. 

David
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A week in pictures

12/21/2022

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Articulation Etude

12/20/2022

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I wrote this for an adult student preparing for her Royal Conservatory of Music Grade 3 exam. She is working on Clowns by Kabalevsky and needed a short etude to practice her mixed articulations. Passages with mixed articulations are common throughout piano literature. 

To utilize this etude for yourself, start very slowly. Eighth note = 60 BPM and work up from there. The video will help you along. 

Have fun. 

​David
Free Download
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Less stress in piano lessons

12/18/2022

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This week an adult student came to class in a state of agitation. They were frustrated that they didn't have time this week to practice, and they felt embarrassed.

Five things to consider.
  1. You do this for fun.
  2. Sometimes the only practice that week will be at lessons.
  3. This is not a race.
  4. You are not a child.
  5. I gave guilt free piano lessons. 

I said, "John, think of this hour as an oasis without responsibilities". That worked, he had a fun lesson. He even sent a thank you email after class. 

David
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December 15th, 2022

12/15/2022

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​Learning Blue Bossa in 6 Keys

Materials required:
  1. Fake book
  2. Recording from YouTube
  3. Piano 😊
Knowledge required:
  1. Strong knowledge of musical rudiments. This lesson was written for a student who has his Royal Conservatory of Music Grade 8 piano and advanced rudiments.
  2. Knowledge of at least one jazz chording system.  Rick used these chords in his left hand.
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Lesson to play in 6 keys:
  1. Learn and memorize the original melody and chords in C minor as written in the fakebook. Being able to play from memory is imperative. Here are some tips to help you.
  • Note the melody is in C natural minor and that the third phrase modulates up ½ step into the major key of Db.
  • Note that the first phrase starts in the fifth note of the minor scale, jumps an octave and walks down. Then the melody jumps up a 7th and down a 2nd to complete the first phrase.
  • The second phrase starts on the last note of the previous phrase and repeats the same shape in this new starting position. This is called a diatonic transposition.
  • The third phrase starts on the last note of the previous phrase and plays down the major scale a half step above the original minor key, in this case C minor. This is called modulation.
  • The last phrase is back on the original key of C minor.
     2. The harmony: The harmony is notated using Roman numerals. This facilitates the transpositions to come. Minor chords are marked lower case and major chords in upper case.
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    3. Play the melody in the following keys: Cm, Am, Em, Dm, and Gm. Follow the instructions in step 1 after you review the natural minor scales and the major scales ½ step above these minor scales. 
    4. Now add the chords. To transpose the chords, you must do the following steps. Write out the c natural minor scale: C D Eb F G Ab Bb C. Directly below these letters write the scale of the new key, say f minor: F G Ab Bb C Db Eb F. Be sure the letters line up. C is directly above F and so on. Then, C minor chord becomes F minor chord, F minor chord becomes Bb minor and so on. Write out the scale of Db: Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db and then the scale ½ step above f minor, in this case Gb: Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb. The chord qualities, of course, remain the same. 
    5. What do we learn?
  • We reviewed our intervals, key signatures, relative minor, transposition.
  • We are transposing by combining ear, skill, and knowledge.
  • Most importantly, we are learning visual pathways on the keyboard of chords and melodies, which will help us to transpose and visualize our jazz “licks.”
Call me, I can help.
 
David
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Comparative Study of Mozart's Sonata in C K425

12/12/2022

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What to listen for.
  1. Tempo
  2. The constant dynamic shaping of the melody.
  3. The varying articulations of legato, staccato, and detached playing. 
  4. For pauses at the end of sections. 
  5. The starting dynamic level at the beginning of each section.
Questions.
  1. Does the artist return to the original tempo when the music returns to the theme of the first section?
  2. Can you mark in any notes that they accent or linger on?
  3. Can you mark in tempo changes?
  4. Do they pedal?

Activity.
  1. ​Learn the first 8 measures of each section by ear.

Follow-up.

Yesterday my student and I listened to the first two measures of each recording. What a revelation. The differences in the performances became more obvious with each listening and these differences were large. I invite you to try the same. 

Have fun, 

​David
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This week's artwork

12/4/2022

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

​David
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    You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.
    Charlie Parker

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    I'm a professional pianist and music educator in West Toronto Ontario. I'm also a devoted percussionist and drum teacher. 

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                                                ©2022 David Story
  • Homepage
  • Tips, Ideas, Stories, Free Lessons
  • Adult Lessons
  • Jazz Workshop #Eleven March 5, 2023
  • Contact form, fees, calendar, policies
  • Philosophy
  • Testimonials
  • Children's Winter Concert 2023
  • My Story
  • Student awards and compositions
  • Classical downloads
  • Classical outline for beginners
  • Jazz downloads
  • Jazz outline for beginners
  • Video Library of Piano Techniques
  • Breakfast Piano Minute
  • Books, Apps, Websites, Music
  • Ear Training and Sight Singing Resources