Jazz Festivals » Jazz Bass

Bass Guitar – Jazz

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:39:37 +0000

This Bass Guitar Jazz was first discovered in 1960.This guitar was named as Bass Guitar Jazz because of designing in its neck and narrow and it is more rounded than that of other type of Bass, which appeal good to the musicians. Jazz bass has double coil pickups with two pole arrangement for each string, which gives bass a strong midway sound so that musician will get more melody music. This Jazz Bass neck was very much narrower at neck than that of other Precision Bass neck. The original Jazz Bass has two knobs with separate volume and tone controlling for each pick ups.These original instruments with its simple configuration is more valued in today’s guitar market. In 1961 a new Jazz Guitar comes into existence which has three knobs, two of them are used for controlling the volume and one for controlling the overall tone of the instrument.

There are lot of changes occurred when one of the company called CBS company purchased this Bass Jazz making companies. There is also push button control is also available in some of the American made Bass Jazz which occurred in the year middle of 2003 to 2008.This type of guitar are known as S1 switch and this type of configuration allow the pick ups to operate in standard type of wiring, in parallel type of wiring, in series type of wiring when the switch is depressed. In this type of Guitars both the pick ups are functioning as a single volume control that gives the Jazz guitar same sound as that of other type of Bass. Both the pick ups are located opposite from each other both in magnetic field and also in electric field so that when we are hearing the sound with clarity. In the year 2008 some of the American standard Guitar came which are much more differ from that of firstly produced guitar models which are produced in the year 1994.This type of American standard guitar which come into existence in 2008 are having the same type of the neck which is rolled with highly enlarged nut, it also has rounded shapes which has round body radius.

Some of the American standard guitars produced in the year between 1994 to 1999 have a single pole arrangement. This type of Guitars are designed by John Sohr.The standard Bass Guitar Jazz was sanded, painted and assembled in California along with other type of standard guitars.Some of the other characteristics of this type of Guitar is two bipolar single pick ups with an arrangement to black control knobs. The models produced before the 2003 came into existence for some period with black Stratocaster control knobs.

This Bass Guitar Jazz is giving the bright sound, with high ends than that of other type of Bass. This arrangement makes it ideal for slap playing and also for finger style players.

By: Or Kynan

Practice Jazz Bass Lines by Making a Play List

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:23:01 +0000

Jazz falls in the spontaneous forms of music. Nobody is a Jazz expert from birth; rather it is rigorous practice and love for Jazz music that extracts an expert from a common Jazz lover. Take the example of any Jazz expert, you will find that continuous improvisation and repeated practice have made them the master of the art. First they learn all genres of Jazz and then they tried to specialize and have expertise in one form.

On the path of specialization, your interest plays a significant role. Once you know the basics, step forward to have mastery in one. The logic behind it is very simple. One lifetime is perhaps not the enough tenure to excel in all forms of jazz and having expertise in left hand Jazz piano playing like Art Tatum, thundering blues lines like Oscar Peterson and the harmonic complexity of Bill Evans. Hence, specialization leads to excellence. This article comprises of beneficial tips that make your Jazz piano practice easier.

1- Expose yourself to a variety of Tempos

When you practice jazz piano, Practice at a variety of tempos like slow, medium and fast. From quarter note = 40 to 360- never be scared of any tempo.

2- Be creative

While using the metronome, let the creative part of your Jazz-love perform its best. Click on the upbeats (beat two and four) instead of downbeats (one and three). Set the metronome in your comfort zone and practice Jazz piano for all patterns in both hands. It helps you to be more creative and develop a greater level of dexterity.

3- Apply the golden “Five Time” rule.

While practicing Jazz piano or baselines, play the scale, chord, lick, pattern, phrase or song five times in a row without committing any errors. If you commit any mistake (whatever negligible it might be), you are lacking in concentration. Practice this rule until you have not attained mastery.

By: Akhila Choudhary

Practice Jazz Piano With Useful Instructions

admin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:32:40 +0000

Jazz music has had a checkered history. It is widely believed that jazz was possibly born in New Orleans sometime in the 1920s. It is said that early African Americans, probably slaves, stumbled on to jazz music while trying out a fusion between their native folk music and the European form. In its early days jazz was more popular in bars. Perhaps it was this dubious association which prevented the growth of jazz music till the advent of the radio. The instruments popularly used were accordion, fiddle, flute, guitar, various percussion, wind, string and chord instruments. The most popular of them all were the guitar and the piano.

Today jazz music is popular once again. The main reasons for the popularity of jazz are two. Firstly, jazz has an individualistic style of rendition and secondly, jazz has a natural rhythm which is lilting and captivating. Amateurs and would be professionals today practice jazz piano using a variety of means. The obvious choice is of course the internet. One common method is to use websites which have a wide selection of songs using the piano as the prime instrument. You as the learner have a number of options. First of all you can select your favorite song. Secondly, you can select your choice of accompaniment and then you can practice jazz bass lines. Your options do not end here. You can also select the pitch, the song duration and its rhythm as well. Therefore, you could use a metronome as a guide for the rhythm or the beat. Since the metronome’s beat is adjustable you could increase the beat gradually while you practice jazz bass lines. You can practice to your heart’s content till you are satisfied. Once you are convinced that the result is satisfactory you could download in either the MIDI or MP3 formats.

An amateur wanting to practice jazz piano no longer faces the insurmountable task of looking for a teacher and commuting to his school during each visit. In the comfort of his home he can now learn jazz music.

By: Akhila Choudhary

Tips to Learn Jazz Music

admin — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:10:43 +0000

There would barely be any human being on earth who doesn’t like music. God has been veritably benevolent for his creations like this. One form of musical art originated in African American cultures is jazz, a lively music with ultimate rhythms. It was formed when some African slaves experimented to contrast folk music with American music. Unlike other music, jazz requires immense interpretation by those who want to learn to play jazz music. The tremendous variety comes in jazz music because of the fact that its rhythm has a forward momentum, commonly referred as “swing”. The musical assembly affiliated with jazz music is big band jazz music.

Jazz has gained so much of importance that people want to learn this music, specifically practice jazz piano, guitars and jazz bass lines. To learn jazz music one needs to follow certain things which will be beneficial for becoming a true music lover. Those who want to learn jazz music must adopt the habit of listening. Do the researches for the type of music you like i.e. old musicians such as Art Tatum, Count Basic etc or some new musicians and try to listen what you like as much as you can. Listening to the solo musicians will give the clear idea of the notes, for beginners this is the good option. For those who want learn to play jazz piano, they must get themselves familiar with all the 12 scales and when you get comfortable with them, learn pentatonic scale for the key you like the most. This will help them like wonders if they are dedicated. Have a start with playing very small notes and basic stuff.

The more you will practice; more you will sound like the things written in front of you while practicing, without knowing them. At last, improvisation is the key for learning the music, after learning one instrument it will be easy a lot to learn another. You should know what you want. Finding out how to play necessary chords at what time and how to sound the strings of the rhythm will make you master of the art.

By: Akhila Choudhary

Learning Jazz Piano: Pleasure or Discombobulating?

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:17:27 +0000

Jazz piano is a built-in part of the jazz dialect because it has been originated in solo as well as group. Due to the melodious and consonant nature of jazz music, people of all ages are keenly taking interest in learning to play jazz and practice jazz piano, jazz bass line, jazz guitar etc.

Learning jazz piano is not dependent on age of a person; the music just comes from within the soul. If someone wants to practice jazz piano, he must initially learn to play chords, then he can learn to play it with swing rhythm. The chords can be learnt just as ordinary piano chords like learning main intervals and building the chords. By learning these, one can practice broad forms of jazz music. But in actual practice when, one starts learning chords , its not just few riffs and licks because when advanced chords like 9th,11th and 13th make it little confusing. No one is born with natural power and piano isn’t easy. To make it easy to learn jazz piano, there must be some fixed rationales and formulas which make it comfortable to remember.

There are a few points that should be remembered while you learn to play jazz piano. While practicing jazz piano, addition of the 6th tone and harmonization of chords makes the music extremely melodious. Try to provide the swinging rhythm as clear as possible. The learners should strike weak beat with their left hand and then a beat with their right hand. Establishment of the guide tones have also proved to be excellent at the course of cord changing. To provide your jazz music a harmonic multifarious ness, the technique of circle of fifths is used which involves planning of chord in such a fashion that firstly a chord is shifted and frequently voiced, and then the scale goes upwards giving it a recurring pattern.

After following these few tips one can definitely improve his art of playing jazz piano.In conclusion, it is not required that to learn jazz piano, you must first learn how to play a regular piano or you should first have the classical training about any instrument, music comes from within.

By: Akhila Choudhary

Big Band Jazz Music- Entertaining Music Lovers Worldwide

admin — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:14:57 +0000

Jazz music is a kind of popular music that is mostly liked by well established or the elite class. However, it has now become a popular taste for all kind of listeners. Big Band, a popular musical group, is widely known for its jazz music. From early 1930s to late 1940s, the group was one among the most famous jazz bands and has offered some of the best touching music pieces loved by everyone till date. Big Band Jazz music was played by musicians ranging from 12-25 in number.

One of the specialties of Big Band is that the group utilizes all the musical instruments that are required in composing a jazz music. Whether it saxophone, trumpets, rhythm section or the trombones, Big Band jazz music group has some of the most renowned players.

Moreover, jazz midi files can easily be downloaded via Internet or CDs can be purchased that are available in markets at an affordable rate. Some people who have interest in singing can also get karaoke CDs that consist of only jazz music. By buying such CDs, the music lovers can enjoy the Big Band Jazz Music as well as sing with the famous beats composed by them.

Many offline and online stores provide Jazz midi files of Big Band and they offer maximum numbers of files with excellent quality. One could also practice jazz bass lines using these jazz midi files offered by Big Band. Walking jazz bass lines are the most melodious and the neatest sounding parts being offered. One can practice jazz bass lines by studying original music beats composed by Big Band.

There are also many sources that distribute pirated CDs and popular music files of Big Band illegally. So, jazz lovers should check the copyright and the authenticity certification in order to get the original version. Jazz, as a form of musical art, has expanded beyond its genre definition and it keeps on transforming to remain in tune with the changing era. It originated as a moody music from the African American communities residing in the southern part of America. Formerly, the jazz music forecasts the moods and the struggle of the African American living in New Orleans. Around 1920s jazz music spread over the northern part of US and most of the jazz bands perform before the common society.

By: Akhila Choudhary

Big Band Jazz Music – Mesmerizing Mind, Body and Soul

admin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:59:23 +0000

Jazz music has become universally popular as it sounds mesmerizing to the ears. It follows numerous rhythmic patterns of music, including blues, reggae as well as swing patterns. In particular, the call and response pattern used in jazz is its USP and attracts major attention of music enthusiasts. And when the entire assembly gets connoted with jazz music, it emerges into the big band jazz music. This ensemble is also referred as jazz orchestra, jazz band and jazz ensemble.

The most amazing part of big band jazz music is that music combo notes are prepared in advance and only sometimes created spontaneously. They are the rich cultural blend of African as well as American music. This is because jazz music has its origin in African nations and once experimentally it was mixed with American music themes. It ended up successfully and since then it is being used with both mixes. Thereafter, its influence spread all over the world and it became one of the most popular music bands across the globe.

Big band jazz music generally comprises 12-25 musicians in order to play different musical instruments, including trumpets, trombones, saxophones, rhythm section and guitar to name a few. Although, the jazz music was associated with interests of elite groups, but with the easy availability of jazz midi files, it has reached almost every corner of world. This is because of the fact that jazz midi files can easily be downloaded from the internet for free. Even you can buy jazz cds at a cost effective price. So, people take a full advantage of this privilege and have complete access to the music of their choice.

Jazz music is gaining gradual prominence so much so that people are learning different forms, including practice jazz bass lines, guitars, and jazz pianos. All these popular forms have found strong ground in the hearts of music lovers and that is why they tend to learn and practice jazz bass lines to a large extent.

If you are interested in learning jazz music, you can also buy karaoke cds which have the basic essence of jazz as they play pure form of big band jazz music. So, learn your favorite band of jazz music and play it throughout your life.

By: Akhila Choudhary