Learning To Play Jazz ?

[The Chosen Few]

Okay I don't even know how to start this thread,

This has got to be such a diverse question, but yet I just had to ask it.

Now listening to Jazz and improvising over it is one thing. But building a good ground of building block is another.

Can any one suggest some material ? Perhaps, that has a nice rounded look to knowing the ins and outs of Jazz.

I owed a fake book a while back and I just realized I had NO idea what song's it was talking about. I had no way of tracking down what songs where in it and it was just a waste of my time.

So anything you guys can throw at me would be great.

Hail the almight II-V-I

[blue2blue]

What instrument?

 

 

I'm guessing guitar...

 

(I'm a guitar player, so, you know. I can joke. )

 

The songs in a fake book are typically standards. Standards are the songs most likely to be requested and played. Or they're supposed to be. They evolve over time, of course, passing in and out of fashion. Different genres have different standards associated with them. Again, there's overlap. A song like "How High the Moon" might well be considered a jazz standard, a pop standard, or a latin jazz standard -- as it's been a hit a number of times in each genre. "I Did it My Way," on the other hand, is pretty much only a pop standard. "Stairway to Heaven" or "White Wedding" (widely requested at weddings to this day, I'm told) are rock standards. I think you get the drift.

 

Jazz players use the body of jazz standards as a sort of common bed of experience, allowing them to get together and play music collaboratively on an ad hoc basis, trading solos and support, because everyone more or less knows that common bed of material.

 

You may notice many fake books have extremely skeletal representations of the songs. Of course, the original fake books were hand-copied (as they were illegal then as now, except when licensed properly by song publishers) or sometimes crudely printed so it was natural for them to be pretty over simplified (and not always the same as the published version).

 

But it also turns out that that skeletal/minimalist representation can help in the memorization process. If you try to remember every little feature of every little song, your head will explode. So you remember the basic layout, the chords, the melody.

 

 

Anyhow, I'm certainly not someone to be giving advice on this but I will say this much: it seems to me that a knowledge of harmony will be pretty crucial for any would-be jazzer (with the possible exception of percussionists and drummers). A good knowledge of time probably won't hurt anyone, either.

 

 

As important as the common body of knowledge is, the ability to communicate clearly in musical terms is also really important.

 

There have been a number of great players who were not necessarily conservatory educated; more than a few who could barely read standard notation. But probably almost none who weren't conversant in the musical fundamentals of rhythm and harmony.

[The Chosen Few]

Well I get the concept of standards. But I do not think that is what MAKES a good Jazz player.

Sure it's nice to have some standards in your back pocket, but you need to know a lot more about Jazz then a few chord progressions.

I've heard a lot about the II - V - I progression in Jazz and I've played around with it enough to know that's a Jazzy sound.

But I know I need to learn how to key change up and down with different lengths. I need to substitue chords and use lots of chromatic " flavour ".

That's the stuff I want to learn.

Any suggestions on tracking that stuff down ?

[gogo]

Most people start with play along book/cds (Aebersold or Hal Leonard & others.) There are tons of instructional books and videos out. Tracking down classic recordings and listening are key. It can be a lifetime quest; I know, I've been at it.

[The Chosen Few]

 

Most people start with play along book/cds (Aebersold or Hal Leonard & others.) There are tons of instructional books and videos out. Tracking down classic recordings and listening are key. It can be a lifetime quest; I know, I've been at it.

 

 

I realize Jazz is an improvisational art. So that kind of tells me books and things arn't really going to help me develop that.

Any books you found useful in giving good theory ? Ones that didn't waste your time with bull{censored} examples that don't sound good ?

[The Chosen Few]

Anyone have an opinion on this book ?

http://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Theory-Book-Mark-Levine/dp/1883217040/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209517532&sr=8-1

[EnemyofSilence]

I don't know that book, but you might want to track down a copy of 'Listening to Jazz' by Jerry Coker. It's actually very insightful. You'll want the albums he analyzes as a reference.

[slight-return]

 

Any suggestions on tracking that stuff down ?

 

 

you are probably not going to like my answer

 

 

instructor and ensemble work

[The Chosen Few]

 

you are probably not going to like my answer instructor and ensemble work

 

 

Well in all honesty I was waiting for something like that. I think having someone to throw ideas back and forth with will be one of the best ways.

Again though it does seem like I should have some ground work. Some knowledge of what chords can be sub'ed for each other. How to jump keys in certain situations. I think that's something I should learn before I try and get into an ensemble.

[slight-return]

 

Again though it does seem like I should have some ground work.

 

 

That's EXACTLY WHERE an instructor really helps - not ony learning things BUT WHAT to learn and HOW to learn them effectively

Fundamentals are a part that can really benefit from close coaching

 

 

like you say

But building a good ground of building block is another.

 

that's where direct guidance is going to be super important

 

(consider that you are ASKING how to learn jazz, not the right time to be DECLARING)

 

 

 

 

I think that's something I should learn before I try and get into an ensemble.

 

 

instructional ensembles are designed to allow you to work with th practice of what you've learned in a relatively risk free and guided environment

 

The ens room in school...everyone's "woodshedder" side fears it - exposure - it's AFTER you start you see the value and realize it isn't that scary

 

contxtual fear baby - don't let it eat your future

[The Chosen Few]

Sweet , Thanks !

I'll start looking around .

[nat whilk II]

I also suggest just diving in and writing your own jazz tunes. You know II-V-I, so mess with that, write a half-dozen little tunes with it. Then try II-V-VI, or IV-VI-II-V-I and on and on.

 

In other words, develop your own little repetoire on your own, following your taste and what feels good instead of following a curriculum. Do this in tandem with the school-larnin'

 

In the long run, your own stuff, whether songs or improv style or just the voicings you use for cover tunes, should take over after you've learned enough to take away the educational training wheels. It's a LONG process, hopefully lifelong.

 

nat whilk ii

[bongfodder]

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=40

Look through the lesson stickies if you haven't already lots of good stuff to give you an idea of the basics and beyond.It's hard to give you specific examples as you haven't said what instrument you play.

Creative Melodic Techniques Used in Jazz Improvisation by Phil Rizzo is pretty good I don't know if it's still in print though.

Playing over cycle 4(up a fourth) II V I is good practice to see which notes change between keys,only one note changes at a time here.

[Dmin7-G7-Cmaj7]-[Gmin7-C7-Fmaj7]-[Cmin7-F7-Bbmaj7] so on through the twelve keys.

Listen to jazz,learn standards as well as everything else mentioned in this thread,should get you started.

The whole progression is I IV VII III VI II V I chords are often borrowed from other keys.

[franknputer]

If you play guitar, try here: http://www.jazzguitar.be/jazzguitar_lessons.html

 

Bad-In-A-Box is also a good tool for learning jazz, as it can accompany you as long as you like while trying out different things.