Jazz Festivals » Jazz Standards

Jazz Music Composition

admin2 — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:14:29 +0000

Jazz music composition is the work of expert musicians with the ability to write, and create about the most memorable subject matter. What is more, Jazz music Composition is a course included in colleges and universities who deem it a valued subject to study. Composing Jazz music requires the theory of constructing chords that’re altered or substitute that would fit within the rules of thumb of composition.

Meaning, experimentation is fine given that you know how to actually be fitted into the musical shocks in the piece in a way to not disrupt the flow. It is mandatory to look after the essence of Jazz music a component of you when creating, and keep all considerations to restrict creative imagination out of your head. The purpose of Jazz music composition is to create what you feel about any subject into the reasonable of your musical work. To find your way into the making of Jazz music composition you should observe the ability of basic theory in ear training, notes on various instruments, key signatures, scales, chords, intervals, counterpoint, harmony, melody, music terminology, clefs, meters and time signatures, transposing of various instruments, and music reading.

Being attentive to Jazz music from various artists will present you with a feel for the sort of composition you will need to create. You can begin with music arranging which is recreating an old song with new ideas. For example, it has been done over and over by professional musicians to use a public domain song, or ask permission to use a particular song. One example is Chaka Khan’s ” The End Of A Love Affair” written for Billie Holiday by Edward C. Redding in an arrangement that fit Chaka Khan. There are many versions of Jazz standards like “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”, “Misty”, and “Stormy Weather” by different people who desired to either keep the elementary structure or interpret the song in their own personal special way. The basic rules to composing a Jazz Composition is to make a subject matter and plan the music around it.

Meaning, as in basic songwriting structure you will require a beginning, middle, bridge, and ending. The order is invariably up to the person(s )creating the music. You can start with the themes most frequent in notated Jazz and Blues sheet music or fake book forms. In addition, use the standard theory structure you find on sheet music as a format, but use your own personal ideas. In arranging, you can examine the standard format, and embellish on areas you think needs it. The direction one can go in music arrangement is infinite in keeping with the history of how each style of jazz music was created.

When making Jazz music composition one must continue to remember the essential element present in all true Jazz music which is improvisation. Jazz Improvisation is not notated in any shape, way, or form. As a matter of fact, the improvisation in Jazz composition is invented by pure emotion of the musician moved by the accompaniment. Improvisation in Jazz composition can be in the beginning, the bridge and also at the end of the piece. Most frequently there is embellishment in the heart of the piece, but it all depends on the mood of the creator of the music.

Once you learn the theory behind Jazz music composition, you can discover the shortcuts on creating. For example, lead sheets ordinarily have the Jazz chord symbol above the melody underneath it as an elementary structure to follow. When all is said and done, you will have made your own personal masterpiece as a gift to the world from your heart.

By: Norbert Elliott

How to Play Jazz Guitar

admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:40:56 +0000

There are many ways of starting to investigate how to play jazz guitar. Some guitar players see jazz as a way to learn improvisation. Others see jazz guitar as an instrument that accompanies a certain repertoire of songs. But once you start to actually study jazz you are confronted with a head-spinning array of odd looking chord shapes and endless discussion of modes and scales.

Just what is your average beginner guitar player supposed to think when all he wants to do is learn how to play jazz guitar? Well, jazz kind of grew like Topsy from its beginning as part of Black American culture in the early twentieth century. The rest of America and the rest of the world started adding their own interpretations of jazz music.

So now under the heading of jazz guitar we have widely diverse styles as those of Wes Montgomery, Lenny Breau, Joe Pass, Charlie Byrd, John McLaughlin, Herb Ellis, Pat Metheny and Charlie Christian. This list is just off the top of my head and these guys’ playing styles are as different from each other as cheese is from Shinola.

So where is the starting point for anybody who wants to learn how to play jazz guitar? I would have to say the repertoire. There is a body of songs and instrumental pieces that are called jazz standards. There is a website called Jazz Standards dot com that has twenty pages listing one thousand jazz standards.

Here is a list of familiar titles from the top one hundred jazz standards: Body and Soul, All the Things You Are, Summertime, ‘Round Midnight, My Funny Valentine, What Is This Thing Called Love?, Yesterdays, Stella By Starlight, Autumn Leaves, Star Dust, Willow Weep for Me, Honeysuckle Rose, Sweet Georgia Brown, Caravan, The Man I Love, St Louis Blues, How High the Moon, Oh, Lady Be Good!, Take the “A” Train, Embraceable You, On Green Dolphin Street, These Foolish Things, Sophisticated Lady, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Night and Day, Georgia on My Mind and Satin Doll.

So the jazz repertoire seems to be the one common thing amongst the diversity of styles of playing and levels of innovation. Of course you need to get into subjects like what jazz chords are and why they have evolved and the various movements in jazz music but in order to keep it simple start with a list of your favorite songs. Once you have a list of maybe twenty or so songs from the repertoire of jazz standards you can listen to how jazz guitar players have interpreted the songs on your list. From listening to interpretations you can go to learning the chords that you need to play your songs and start practicing them.

As for improvisation, many people feel that in order to learn jazz guitar improvisation you need to learn to play a multitude of exotic scales and modes. A much more enjoyable alternative is to simply play along with your favorite songs. Learn licks from other jazz guitarists. You can always put what you have learned into the theoretical framework later if you feel that you need to. As a general rule, while you are learning, stick to the major scale all over the fretboard.

So, as with any style of music, if you want to learn how to play jazz guitar the jumping off point is the jazz standards and how you want to interpret your favorite pieces.

By: Gyorgy Huba

Practice Jazz Using Space Age Online Tools

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:09:27 +0000

It is not unusual for young men and women who are full of God given talent and music enthusiasm to want to dive right in and begin sitting in with musicians who have been around for many years and know how to capture an audience with their playing. To the young “want-to-bees” they just can’t wait for their chance to show what they can do. But for many of these young musicians, their first sit-in with experienced musicians did not yield a happy ending.

One of the problems young musicians have with trying to break into the jazz scene, accord to many seasoned jazz musicians, is they don’t know the tunes. It just stands to reason, “How can young musicians play with seasoned jazz musicians if they don’t know the tunes?” The only way for up and coming musicians to learn and memorize a large number of jazz tunes are through hard work and many hours of practice. Practice, practice, and more practice is the key to becoming an exceptional jazz musician who will eventually be able to play with the best, anywhere at anytime. Getting to that point is not an impossible feat, but it takes a level head and strong determination to achieve. But first, above all you must learn the correct changes for every song you play. This is key!!

In the old days, there was no internet, nor sophisticate music software applications, nor notation software that could bring the music to you in a laid out form. Musicians of old had to spend the time necessary to figure out chord changes, melodic patterns and solo arrangements. Many musicians put an album on the turntable and turned the speed back in order to “cop” the runs and solo changes played by Oscar Peterson and many other great jazz pioneers.

Today it’s a different story. If you want to learn the tunes- which basically mean the jazz Standards- and play them well, there are a number of internet based sites available to get you there. An internet site that is very visual and jazz education based is the site sponsored by Doug McKenzie at http://www.bushgrafts.com/jazz/home.htm. Doug McKenzie also has great educational videos on YouTube for jazz pianists. It’s a great online tool for all jazz instrumentalists.

A great new online jazz practice tool is provided at www.studiobypass.com. StudioBypass allows you to select from over 400 jazz and Latin tunes, listen to and manipulate the song of your choice, edit the final output, then download it onto your computer for future practice sessions. It is a fantastic practice tool for new up-and-coming jazz musicians, and also for seasoned jazz professionals. It’s a new day for jazz musicians, and space age tools are available to help you to become better-than-average jazz musicians.

By: Akhila Choudhary

Jazz Piano Chords Make a Night Come Alive

admin — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 04:08:39 +0000

Everyone has their favorite style of music that really makes them come alive and no matter what genre is the one that you choose, there is no doubt that jazz music has the ability to delight and infuriate people the world over. Some people are unable to take to this form of music but many people truly adore jazz and would rate it as their favorite genre of all the option available today.

There are many great artists making jazz today but for many people, the old jazz standards are what truly appeals to them and many budding jazz musicians are looking to learn the styles of the original artists who made the classic jazz records that have inspired thousands of musicians and fans throughout the years and generations. Jazz is one of the most exciting and inspirational styles of music around and being able to play in the style can be a great bonus for the musician, their friends and family and countless people they may encounter through the music. Jazz is a type of music that allows people to get together and share their passion and love for this exciting and much loved genre.

Learn Jazz Piano Chords with ease

Jazz may at times seem to be a puzzling and confusing style of music but this can create an ever bigger challenge and increase the desire for a great number of people to learn how to play this innovative and exciting style of music. Yes, jazz music can be more challenging than a great number of musical styles but this does not mean that it is impossible to learn. Anyone who is capable of mastering the music of jazz can take an immense pride at being able to bring together many of the intricate styles that make up jazz standards.

A great way to learn about jazz is to study the styles of some of the great musicians and try to learn some of their styles and techniques. Over time you can develop your own musical style but it can speed up the process of learning if you attempt to bring some skills from respected musicians as a basis for your own development.

There is a fine history and tradition related to jazz and a list of musicians who would make up a jazz hall of fame would be ranked as some of the finest musicians of all time. Whether its their startling innovation skills or the way they manage to conjure up new sounds and push the boundaries of music, jazz has the ability to bewilder and bewitch people all across the land. Having the ability to join in with other jazz musicians is a great talent in itself and having the talent to make music with others is something that many musicians crave.

Develop Jazz Piano Chords as part of your repertoire

Being able to meet like minded individuals and sharing a hobby with them can be a great benefit to people who may find it hard to meet other people and developing a range of skills in an instrument can be a fantastic way to break the ice and make friends. This makes jazz music an ideal hobby to take up regardless of your situation and background as jazz is a musical genre that manages to transcend genres.

So whether you want to play the best type of music you can think or just get an understanding of the jazz standards that have delighted people throughout the years, there is not a better style of music to learn.

By: James Hanna

Jazz Guitar Chords Online

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:20:38 +0000

Learning jazz chords online can be confusing and frustrating to
say the least. Just when the budding jazz guitarist thinks
they’ve stumbled onto something along comes another version of
the same song with a completely different set of chords.

For our present discussion, we’ll limit our observations and
suggestions to learning jazz chords online, however a quick
browse through any well stocked sheet music store will reveal the
same issues that any aspiring jazz guitarist must learn to
overcome.

The choice of chords the guitarists selects has a significant
effect on the soloist’s choice of notes in their solos and
presentation of the melody.

There’s an endless list of possible chords, chord inversions,
chord substitutions etc. that can totally blind side the newbie
jazz player. In fact, the task is often so overwhelming that the
avalanche of information swamps the guitarist with an enormous
amount of stuff they do not have to learn.

So,before trotting off to another jazz guitar website in search
of the lost chord, here’s a few things to think about to pin your
ear on straight!

Focus your jazz studies on specific objectives: a great idea is
to learn the chord changes to “jazz standards”.

Jazz standards are tunes that working musicians are likely to
encounter at any time. Too often, guitarists with a rock or
country background wishing to move into jazz don’t know the tunes
that are the common currency of players in all styles of jazz.

Here’s a sample list of 20 jazz standards:

1. Autumn Leaves

2. All The Things You are

3. All Of Me

4. Ain’t Misbehavin’

5. C Jam Blues

6. I Got Rhythm

7. Have You Met Miss Jones

8. Out Of Nowhere

9. I Cover The Waterfront

10.Satin Doll

11.Misty

12.Summertime

13.St.Louis Blues

14.Watch What Happens

15.Lullaby Of Birdland

16.Sweet Georgia Brown

17.Georgis

18.Take The ‘A’ Train

19.Stormy Weather

20.There Will Never Be Another You

There are many books that show how to use chord substitutions,
but if the basic chord changes are not known, substitutions and
embellishments often confuse the improviser and the listener.

When the musician is learning jazz guitar chords online, it’s
essential to learn the basic set of chords for the jazz
standards.

Chord substitutions to basic chords are usually determined by the
melody notes and the style of music being played.

The point is that guitar players can become totally absorbed in
jazz chord manuals that teach chord substitution etc., without
firstly learning the basic set of chords.

Keep in mind that while the melody of a jazz tune is usually
presented in an accurate manner in standard sheet music, the
harmonic changes are rarely suitable for a jazz performance.

Once the guitarist learns the skills of being able to uncover the
basic chord changes to jazz standards, they can then re harmonize
the harmonic background many different ways to reflect the way
they wish to present a particular piece of music.

Understanding how to strip back the chords also helps the
guitarist see many similarities in the small number of chord
templates that thousands of jazz tunes are composed over, which
helps us remember tunes.

I repeat, The essential skill to learn is to be able to ’see’
(de-code), and ‘hear’ the basic set of chords.

The purpose of learning the basic set of chords when you are
learning jazz chords online is to help the jazz player learn the
basic changes and allow the player to add embellishments and
substitutions on a solid framework.

By: Mike P Hayes

Utah Jazz Must Improve to Contend

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:34:29 +0000

By the Utah’s Jazz standards their season was a bit of a disappointment going 48-34. If a team wins 48 games and considers it to be a disappointment that displays the level of success they had in previous seasons. The Jazz finished the 08′-09′ season 7th in scoring and 18th in scoring defense – very low by Utah Jazz standards.

Deron Williams is the main man on the Jazz averaging 19 points per game and 10 assists – Williams is one of two players – the other Chris Paul – to average double digits in points and assists last season.

The Jazz were over matched against the L.A. Lakers in the first round of the 2009 playoffs and bowed out rather quickly. Losing in the first round to a Jerry Sloan coached team isn’t acceptable and he will look to have his team ready for a strong season. The three previous season the Jazz had digressed – in 07′ Jazz lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals – in 08′ the Jazz lost to the Lakers in the second round – in 09′ the Jazz lost to the Lakers once again in the first round.

The Jazz bring back virtually the same exact team they had in 08′-09′ which has many wondering – Why? If the Jazz failed to make it out the first round of the playoffs winning only one game – Why would they not make any major off season trades? Jerry Sloan knows his team better then anyone and he might be hoping everyone plays up to their abilities and will peak collectively together. The Jazz have a better team then many – Paul Millsap, Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko, Kyle Korver, Mehmet Okur and Ronnie Brewer.

If all can stay healthy the Jazz should be a 50 win team in 09′-10′.

By: Felicia Cranston