Month: August 2014

List Taken From “How To Listen To Jazz” by Jerry Coker.

Criteria For Appreciation

Jerry Coker uses three different basic approaches for serious jazz listening.  They are as follows:  1. Criticism, 2. Evaluation, and 3. Appreciation, which can be broken down further into Sound, Technique, Time, Tonal Materials, Spirit/Drive, Lyricism, Repertoire, Versatility, & Innovation.  The qualities expressed under Appreciation are what Jerry Coker primarily uses to describe the artists on his list.  The list is in Chronological Order, with the artists nicknames provided as well.

Louis Armstrong, 1900-1971 (Dippermouth, Satchmo, Pops)

Louis Armstrong has a rather unique position in the Hall of Fame.  His career as a jazz musician started nearly simultaneously with the beginning of recorded jazz.  Also, unlike all the other musicians on this list, Armstrong did not have many predecessors to provide him with inspiration, therefore most of his style had to evolve internally.

Coleman Hawkins, 1904-1969 (Hawk, Bean)

Coleman Hawkins was a contemporary of Louis Armstrong’s, but unlike Armstrong, who’s stylistic developed remained the same from the 30’s, “Hawk” continued to absorb new styles into his playing for the remainder of his life.  He continually showed flexibility when approaching new musical challenges and ideas.

Lester Young, 1909-1959 (Prez)

Some have described Lester Young as a second generation jazz musician.  His style contrasted with early jazz styles, and Young is probably best known for his long-term involvement  with the Count Basie Orchestra.  He was often the featured player, being given multiple solos throughout a tune.

Charles Parker, 1920-1955 (Bird)

Jerry Coker writes about Charlie “Bird” Parker,

In this writer’s opinion, as well as the opinion of many others, Charles Parker was the greatest jazz musician who ever lived.  Ironically, his playing career was shorter than that of the other players covered in this chapter.  Bird began making records around 1940, chiefly backing blues singers and playing with large swing orchestras like Jay McShann.  But his major output really began around 1945, when, after a five-year incubation period, he and Dizzy Gillespie unveiled the be-bop style, a style which has continued to be a thriving influence for nearly sixty years!

Miles Davis, 1926-1991

Miles Davis created an unusually relaxed sound in his playing that was both misunderstood and mimicked by many.  He had to win over his audience with a new sound and technique that made him sound like no-one who came before him, and reportedly, a cool attitude to match. However, when listeners finally did listen to him, they discovered musical purity, economy, and originality.

John Coltrane, 1926-1967 (Trane)

John Coltrane’s dedication to his music, in both practice and performance, were legendary.  Playing any instrument at Trane’s intensity level was considered a workout in and of itself, especially for brass and woodwind instruments that require the use of stomach muscles to drive air through the instrument.  It is entirely plausible that these tremendous expenditures of energy attributed to the shortening of his life.

There are so many impressive players, each making some sort of contribution to the idiom, that it is difficult to reduce the number to what would be reasonable for the scope of this book and for the capacity of the reader to absorb.

Melodic Development-Tension & Release

The ultimate goal of music is to communicate to the listener

When improvising, using the notes of any given scale can usually keep things interesting… to a point.  When playing melodies of any kind, both performers and listeners find that the creation of tension, and the release of that tension, makes for more interesting music.

“Tension” is anything that builds intensity or excitement in music.  It could be a change in volume, use of leading tones, duration of notes played, silence, or many other elements.

However, you shouldn’t overuse tension in your playing.  It’s like the garlic of the musical world.  If you use too much, it’s overpowering and nasty.  But, when used sparingly, it can make your music delicious. I mean food… it can make your food delicious.  Tension is the same way.

An improvised solo should work itself to a tension filled climax, and then release to a finish.  When you listen to skillful jazz players, they will often construct solos and melodies with back-to-back tension and release sections to tie them together.

The Golden Mean

The diagram above, and the ones that Jamey uses on page 71 of Volume 1, show the “direction” that an optimal solo using tension and release will look like.  This ratio of approximately 2/3 is known as the Golden Mean (also known as the Golden Ratio, Fibonacci Numbers, or the Divine Ratio), and is used in all types of art forms and can be expressed mathematically as well.  Obviously, a ratio is used differently in visual arts, architecture,  or music.  In music, it’s usually a length of time.  Most songs hit their musical climax 2/3 through the tune, or a solo will reach max tension 2/3, and so on.  Most people find things that adhere to this ratio to be inherently beautiful. The Golden Mean has been used throughout history to find the most aesthetically pleasing shapes. The Pyramids in Egypt and the Parthenon in Ancient Greece were built using the Golden Mean.  Plants naturally adhere to this ratio as the most efficient way to grow.  Even the construction of the human body has many visible examples of the Golden Mean.  Observe the length between finger tip to elbow and length between wrist and elbow, or the length of the face and width of the face. I know you tried at least one of those measurements!  While this information is not in Volume 1, it’s something I studied in my music history classes.  I believe that knowing the past helps us going into the future.

One of the simplest things that I have done in my own playing is to play my solo/riff, what-have-you, and then use the leading tone 7th to bring me back to the tonic.  Often I will increase the intensity (physically) of my playing at the end of a solo, and drop off suddenly.  Neither of these techniques are hard or complex, but they add a little bit of interest to the end of these lines and usually sound fairly good.  Every time you use tension, it should feel like it’s going somewhere.  Ideally, each line should sound new and more exciting than the last.  Imagine you’re telling a dramatic tale with your instrument.  You want it to keep getting better and better.

Improvisors should keep in mind the traditional musical sequence, which is as follows:                                  Statement Of Theme >> Development Of Theme >>  Climax >> Release (Relaxation of Tension)

Elements Which Produce Tension

• Increased Volume
• Ascending Lines
• Emphasis On Passing Tones (non-chord/scale tones)
• Extreme Register Of Instrument
• Wide Intervals (especially ascending)
• Repetition (of almost anything)
• Alternating Directions
• Jagged Articulations
• Non-Chord Tones (4ths, 6ths, 7ths, & 9ths)
• Dramatic Devices (swoops, glissandos, shakes, trills, etc.)
• Dissonant Harmony

Elements Which Produce Release (Relaxation)

• Decreased Volume
• Descending Lines
• Notes of Longer Duration (quarter-notes, half-notes, whole-notes)
• Rests (space)
• Smoothness (legato)
• Emphasis On Chord Tones (root, 3rd, or 5th)
• Silence
• Consonant Harmony

It helps to know in advance when and where you want the melodic line to go.  You can use tension and release to help get you to your musical destination.

Points To Keep In Mind When Improvising

• Music is communication – improvisation is a special way of communicating.
• Don’t play everything you know in every solo.
• Listen to yourself play – develop the idea you just played!
• Does your playing contain too much tension – too much release?
• Would you ramble on with words the way you do with notes? (My parents, professors, and employers would probably say, “Yes”)
• Every time you improvise you have a chance to say something.  Do you?
• We can usually remember what we just said (verbally).  Can you remember what you just played musically?
• Your instrument is merely a  means of delivering the thoughts of your mind.
• Make your melodic lines SING through your instrument.

Conclusion

This blog post will conclude my four week study of Volume 1 for Jazz Guitar.  In no way am I implying that I have mastered everything in the book that I’ve talked about, or even that I’ve written about everything in the book!  This was a quick sprint into the marathon that is learning jazz music.

Hopefully my introduction into jazz guitar has interested, entertained, or amused you (all of thee above?).  Click here to order your own Volume 1 for Jazz Guitar.

Until the next post! Keep practicing!

Coming soon: “How To Listen To Jazz” by Jerry Coker

Chromaticism

For those who are unaware, chromaticism means moving using half step intervals.  Because the Chromatic Scale contains all twelve notes, there is only one Chromatic Scale.  The shapes outlined on page 51 are moveable and still have a “tonic.” For instance, a “C” Chromatic Scale would contain the same pitches as a “G” Chromatic Scale, but the “C” chromatic would start and end on “C”, whereas the “G” Chromatic Scale would start and end on “G”. When writing a Chromatic Scale, “#’s” are used when ascending, and “b’s” are used when descending.  Therefore, an “A#” Chromatic Scale is the same ascending as a “Bb” Chromatic Scale descending.  Make sense? Alright! Now that we’ve established what a Chromatic Scale is, how do you use it?

Keep in mind that any note can be played against any chord symbol if it is properly led into and properly released…tension and release.

Taking this into account, the next six pages are devoted to various ways to employ the Chromatic Scale in your playing.  I’m sure these pages are not the only ways to use the Chromatic Scale, but merely some of the simpler ones.  For instance, approaching chord tones from a half step below.  Personally, I like this one quite a bit.  Or, if you’re trying to play a fast arpeggio and you miss your notes by a half-step, just say you were improvising with the Chromatic Scale! Another way you can employ it is by using the scale tone above each chord tone, and using the half step leading tone from below.  These are just the first of many ideas presented in the text.  Chromatic lines can add a mature sound to your playing, but, like anything else in jazz, take time to learn and memorize.  Major jazz players will be able to fuse scales and chord tones, but I know they didn’t learn that overnight.

On a side note, as I have mentioned, I am but a wee fledgling jazz player, and do not perform often with other jazz players (an advantage of having the play-a-longs).  However, I do play every weekend at my Church.  When the band is playing a worship song, and the congregation is singing along, and someone improvises with a little chromaticism, it may or may not be appreciated.  Not that this happened to me, of course… But I have this friend, who, well… Anyway! I feel it’s important to know why you’re playing, and who you’re playing for.  Which leads us to…

Playing The Blues

Blues, like jazz, started as an aural, rural musical tradition. Learned from other players and by “jamming” with each other, these styles encourage emotional and improvisational playing.  The styles and forms of blues music are often used as a gateway style for many players wanting to learn jazz.  I was playing the blues long before I ever thought about venturing into jazz music.  It’s a very natural transition.  However, jazz blues is a fast evolving music in a vast arena of tonal possibilities.

One tip that Jamey gives on page 58, is to sing improvised phrases.  In many ways, this is closer to the “Real You” than improvising on your instrument will achieve.  Also, Jamey says it is hard to sing wrong notes.  I’m not saying it’s true, I’m just saying that’s what Jamey says… There are reasons I’m a guitar player.

Anyway, try to record your voice, then go back with your instrument to copy these phrases.

Knowing your instrument inside and out will also help you convey your musical ideas.  This volume is geared specifically for guitar, but all the musical principles still apply to any instrument.  Many times, when people find out I’m a musician, the first thing they ask is, “What do you play?” Almost always, my answer is something like, “I can play many instruments, but I play guitar well.”  Some people laugh, some look confused, and a few get annoyed.  I see it like this; if you have to constantly think about how to play your instrument, how can you be expected to improvise or embellish chords and phrases? Ask me to improvise on guitar, I’ll be fine.  Ask me to improvise a keyboard solo, you’ll be lucky to get some triad arpeggios.

Now, the blues can have many different chord progressions, varying from simple to complex harmony in the chords.  The more notes you add to the chords (Harmonic structure), the jazzier it sounds. In jazz, it’s expected that the music will change.  Here are Jamey’s steps to practicing the blues, without using the Blues Scale.

1. 1. Get the feel of the roots first
2. 2. Then the first five notes of each scale
3. 3. Then the triad (root, 3rd, and 5th)
4. 4. And finally the entire scale

Jamey advises using this method of practice when approaching any new song or chord progression.  After imparting a few more bits of wisdom to us, we are provided with some original blues melodies by Jamey himself to play starting on page 66.  These melodies can be played respectively over the Bb, or F blues tracks provided.

Be methodical in the way you approach your practice sessions

Hmmm… maybe some chromatic blues? It’s a thought! Please keep checking up with me as play through Volume 1 for Guitar!

I’ve been practicing with the first set of exercises in Volume 1 for Guitar, and I’m feeling pretty good about them.  I’ve been using the Dorian Minor scale shapes to improvise with the play-a-long tracks, and it’s sounding alright, if I do say so myself.  But on page 42, we move into a scale that not only has an added note (8 rather than the standard 7), but is supposed to be played on certain beats to acquire the “jazzy” sound. Here we go…

The Bebop Scale

I’m not going to lie, I’ve never used the bebop scale before… And that made me a little nervous.  The bebop scale only adds one note to the four most used scales, the major, dominant 7th, minor, and half-diminished.  To get the desired uplifting jazz sound we are looking for, the added scale tone must always land on the upbeat.  For each of these scales, a different note is added (for Major, you add a #5, for Dominant 7th, you add a natural 7th, and so on).  Many of these scales contain the same combination of notes, and can therefore be used interchangeably, G7=Dm=B Half Diminished.  Because it wasn’t already complicated enough.

For myself, the bebop scale is not intuitive.  I’ve got to really think about what I’m doing to fit it into my music.  But, perhaps that’s why it became such an iconic sound in jazz music?  This whole section of the book, while only three pages, is packed with information on this scale, and how much it’s influenced the sound of jazz music.

Make friends with scales, especially the bebop scale.  It’s the “glue” of the jazz language. Don’t leave home without it!

Maybe the next book I should look at is “Bebop Scales?” *Insert shameless plug here*

Ear Training

Following directly after the uniquely sounding bebop scale is a section of helpful hints on page 45 how to train your ears.  One of the greatest traditions in jazz music is playing by ear.  In fact, jazz music being written down in a book is a fairly recent development.  Early jazzers had no choice but to learn by hearing the music.  Now, some might tell you that a “good ear” is something you’re born with.  It cannot be learned.  Thankfully for me, that is not the case.

There is a reason ear training is required by every university music program that I know of.  Just like anything else in music, it can be learned and developed, and should be.  Let me clarify, by no means do I have a fantastic natural ear for picking out a tune.  However, through quite a lot of practice, I learned, and I got better.  It’s still something I work on to this day, but I have seen enormous progress.  A little back story to help.

I come from completely non-musical stock, absolutely no natural talent in the realm of music.  In fact, my dad’s toneless whistling is something of a joke among my siblings, my mom, and I.  My brothers and me (who respectively play drums and keyboard) did not grow up around performing musicians, bands, instruments, live music, or anything of the like.  But one day, my older brother Thomas decided he wanted to learn to play keyboard (just like his favorite artist, Sir Elton John), and Sam, my younger brother, and I jumped right off the musical cliff with him.  We all started learning music together.  If only we’d had a fourth brother, we needed a bass player!

About three years ago, I sat down in my first ever college course, “Sight Singing and Aural Training.”  Probably not the best choice for my first class, but I didn’t know any better.  To say I learned a lot would be a tad of an understatement.  While this is a good place to start, listening to real players, and figuring out how they do what they do has helped me more than anything.  My point in giving this little abridged history is this; if I can learn to train my ears, just about anybody can.

In music, your ears are your best friend.  The sound comes into your ears and your mind processes the music.  Well-trained ears can be had by everyone if they take the time to develop them.

The Pentatonic Scale And Its Use

Ah yes, the pentatonic scale.  Now that your brain is sufficiently wrung from thinking about the bebop scale and training your ears, we can move on to something a little simpler.  This is probably the first scale that many guitarists (if not all musicians) learn.  For those who don’t know, the word “penta” originates from the Greek word “pente”, meaning “five.”  As you may have guessed, the pentatonic scale consists of five tones.  Because of its simplified nature, the pentatonic scale can be widely used in many genres of music without much adaption.  Especially popular amongst blues players, a pentatonic scale based on the “I” of a I/IV/V progression will work fantastically well.  You can play a major or minor pentatonic scale, and so it can be used over major or minor chord progressions, not to mention Dominant 7th, Half Diminished, Diminished, and Whole Tone scales.

People use the pentatonic scale more during a blues progression than in any other harmonic sequence in jazz- especially young players.  There are books on the market which advocate using the pentatonic scale as a means to solo on the blues progression.  The pentatonic scale should be thought of as a small part of the overall musical spectrum.

The tracks that we first used to practice our Dorian Minor scale can also be used to practice the bebop and pentatonic scales, and improvise with them in various keys. I’ve got some new things to work on!  I’m just scratching the surface (not to mention my head!). Please check back for more updates as I work through Volume 1 for Jazz Guitar

One…two… a one, two, three, four!