​The teacher practices Jazz
 
Last weekend I went to my first jazz jam with my Vibraphone aka my Malletkat GS Grand. We were a quartet of Tenor Sax/Flute, Vibes, Bass, and Drums. I survived with my dignity intact, but I’ve a few discoveries and confessions to share.

1. My skills on the piano are not necessarily transferable to the vibes.
2. My four-mallet chord playing will need further work.
3. I was unable to execute the solo lines I could hear in my head.

On the plus side, I knew all the tunes from years of playing and teaching jazz piano plus my jazz time and feel is strong.

Here is the practice regime I began to follow to improve my jazz experience.

Tune: Satin Doll by Ellington/Strayhorn

1. I practiced the melody, by ear, with the original recordings on YouTube. I discovered that after 45 years, that I’m dragging some notes. They are now corrected; I’m locked into the sax melody.  
2. I reviewed the piano licks played on the head by Duke Ellington.
3. I figured out bits of his piano solo.
4. I practiced all the broken chords like I instruct my students and I quickly discovered that this took a lot longer than I anticipated.
5. I practiced what I’ve learned by playing along on YouTube. 
6. I’m ready for another piece next week.  My goal is to learn a tune a week for 52 weeks. 
7. I'm continuing with my mallet study books to develop my manual skills. 

If I can help you with your jazz piano journey, call me. 

David

BTW: In the era of Ai content generation, a human wrote this blog. 

It is a good day to revisit the elements of musicianship. These are the areas of practice and/or reflection that successful musicians and earnest students consider, do, and follow. 

1. They listen to professional recordings and mark up their scores in response to what they hear. This is the shortest way to develop stylistic awareness in your playing. 

2. Theory helps musicians understand what they are listening to, communicate with their colleagues and teachers, and see the structural patterns within the music.

3. A fine sight reader takes less time to learn a new piece. Furthermore, a fine sight reader can play music for fun, without preparation. 

4. Technique is the pillar of success; nothing is worse than hearing music in your head that you cannot execute. 

5. Aural skills are ear skills connected with theory skills.

• As a professional musician I have a challenging time playing well without a clear aural impression before I start.
• Without strong aural skills it is difficult to memorize music.
• Ultimately, all musicians play by ear.  

6.  Historical awareness is the depth of knowledge and experience a musician/student brings to a project. If you want to play country music you have to know the players, repertoire, and historical styles of the genre, or your performances will always lack insight and finesse. Ditto for jazz and classical music. 

​7. However, your emotional commitment to the project is the most crucial element of musicianship. You must have faith that, with time, your goals are reachable. Students who follow the curriculum, practice correctly, attend concerts, listen to music, hang with other adults on the same path, seek additional information to support what they learn in lessons, ask questions, and persevere will win.

​If I can help, call me. 

David

The real estate coach Tom Ferry, says if you have three or more goals for your business this year, you have no goals. Ditto for piano. ​

Here are some realistic goals for my students. 
​

1. Adult starter: Complete the first volume of Piano Adventures for Adults, play in one workshop, and attend one professional piano recital.
2. Adult Classical piano student Grades A to 8: Complete one grade this year, sit for the exam, play in a recital, and attend one professional piano recital.
3. Adult Classical piano student Grades 9 or 10: Complete 50% this year, sit for the exam, play in a recital, and attend one professional piano recital.
   
4. Adult Jazz student with basic piano skills: Memorize 10 tunes and play three of them, from memory, in a workshop/masterclass, and attend one professional jazz concert or visit a jazz club.
5. Children: End the year as enthusiastic as the year began, play in three recitals, and move through at least one level of Piano Adventures for kids, or one RCM grade level. 

Call me, I can help.

David

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

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

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

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.

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.

​

    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

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

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. 

What is the Blues?

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.