Jazz Festivals » Professional Musicians

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

Tips To Use Jazz Accompaniment Tracks

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:21:15 +0000

Jazz music originated and later popularized by Americans of African origin are still a rage because of two main reasons: it’s ‘rhythm’ and its ‘individualistic style’. Two jazz music compositions will never be the same. One can therefore improvise jazz. But, how do you learn jazz on your own? Learn from jazz accompaniment tracks online. Thanks to the modern age of digitization now you can be independent, stay at home and take lessons online. The biggest advantage of learning online is that you could be young or old, you could be a total beginner or higher up on the learning curve, you can learn from jazz midi files. Further, this applies to wind instruments, percussion instruments and string instruments equally.

Say you would like to learn jazz on the guitar. Get online and select a suitable set of jazz accompaniment tracks. The video will show the hands on the guitar and the exact positions of your fingers even as you listen to the strumming of the guitar to the tune of the particular jazz composition. You can stop the music when you like by hitting the pause button and start again when you are comfortable. You can replay any number of times without the fear of annoying your teacher! Yes, there is a teacher who gives you the instructions as you follow the lesson on video. These are professional musicians who have been in this game for years and they know how pupils can be different.

Let’s say you wish to play jazz on the piano or any other similar reed instrument. Select a set of jazz accompaniment tracks as mentioned for the guitar. In this case the teacher will mention if it’s C minor or major 7. At the same time visually the positions of your left and right hands will be clearly indicated. Not only that, clear indications will be provided indicating LH: C and RH: B G B D (2) so that there is no doubt in your mind how the left hand and the right hand move on the keyboard. Playing jazz is child’s play now!

By: Akhila Choudhary

Jazz Guitar Lessons Review – Play What You Hear by Chris Standring

admin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:25:01 +0000

The Purpose of the Play What You Hear jazz guitar lesson program is to teach the student to, dramatic pause, to play what they hear.

Seriously, the author, Chris Standring, makes a great point that many guitarists learn to master the fretboard through visualizing shapes and patterns. The unfortunate result is that solos improvised in this manner can sound contrived. Chris goes on to say that he believes that many guitarists often have no idea that they do not hear what they play.

About The Author Chris Standring

In the Authors own words, Chris Standring is a contemporary jazz recording artist, after spending 15 years as a touring sideman and studio guitarist in London and Los Angeles. He has recorded for several record labels as an artist including Sonic Images, Instinct Records, Mesa/Bluemoon Recordings and more recently Trippin n Rhythm/V2 records. Chris is successful in the USA as well as the UK, his homeland, and performs there in concert venues annually. His music also appears on many compilation CDs.

Who Will Benefit Most From This Jazz Guitar Program?

Play What You Hear is geared for intermediate guitar players that have at least a basic knowledge of the guitar fretboard as well as some ability to read music.
This instructional course has been designed for enthusiastic bedroom guitarists, college and university music majors as well as working professional musicians who want to refine their jazz skills.

Is This Jazz Guitar Course For Acoustic Or Electric Guitar Players?

Most of the audio examples use an electric guitar but the course is appropriate for acoustic guitars as well.

The Lesson Format

Most lessons contain a written explanation, written music and tabs and audio examples. When appropriate an additional play along version of the audio examples with a back-up band is also included.

Computer Compatibility:

This program, in both the CD and instant internet download versions, will work with all Macintosh or Windows PC operating systems.

The Contents of Play What You Hear

The Physical Parts

(1) CD Bonus #1 Jazz Guitar Talk: Great jazz guitarists discuss what it takes to play great. Bonus #2 Chord Finder and Ear Trainer Bonus #3 Guitar Codex – Find any scale or chord in any key and see it displayed on a fretboard diagram along with clickable audio. Bonus #4 Guitar Decoder – Play a series of random notes and the decoder will tell you the name of the chord they form. (2) Printable PDF files of all the lessons for convenient reading away from the computer.

The Lesson Categories

Melody Harmony Playing Over Changes Phrase Development And now to the music – example jazz standard sequences

The Negatives:

The Play What You Hear Jazz Guitar Instructional course does not include video. While this is a little disappointing I believe that with intermediate level skills and above this is much less critical.

If you only have a desktop computer then you are bound to practice at that desktop in order to hear the audio portion of the lessons and to use the built in tools. However, included on the CD are printable versions of all the guitar lessons for viewing away from the computer.

The Positives:

The author is a formally educated musician yet is also an in-the-trenches performing and recording guitarist. When I received this course Standring had a Jazz guitar song in the top three on the Jazz charts. In other words, he not only knows this stuff but he lives it too.

While this course is packed with lots of jazz theory lessons it strives to go beyond just learning more stuff. This Chris Standring CD emphasizes playing at a much higher artistic level.

The guitar lessons on CD are extremely well organized and therefore easy to navigate.

There are over 300 well produced audio examples that really bring the written word to life.

Many of the audio examples have an alternate play along version where you play the lead part to a back up band. This nice touch provides a realistic band experience.

The price is especially reasonable considering the significant volume of information included and Chris Standrings experience and standing in the Jazz community.

The Price Analysis:

The CD Version and The Instant Download Version are both priced at $97 USD, as of this writing, and include all of the items mentioned above. The contents of both versions are exactly same.
Play What You Hear by Chris Standring contains the equivalent of 6 months to one year worth of guitar lessons if you were to space them out as if you were taking lessons from a local guitar instructor. A local instructor typically will charge anywhere from $20 to $50 per weekly lesson. Your minimum cost at only $20 per lesson for 6 months would be at least $520.
The choice comes down to:

The Play What You Hear DVD Jazz Guitar Program at $97 or A local instructor at $520 to $1040.

Guarantee:

Satisfaction guaranteed or 100% money back including shipping. There is no shipping charge on the instant download version.

The Bottom Line:

This Jazz guitar course offers a way to significantly increase the knowledge and tools at your disposal for improvising solos in almost all situations. But I love the fact that This course does not stop there. There are many guitarists that are technically or rather mechanically developed but few ever cross over into the realm of the artist.

This course does an excellent job of presenting this concept in an easy to understand format at a very reasonable price for such a specialty instructional course taught by a Jazz leader. It is for these reasons that I can easily recommend the Jazz guitar lessons instructional course called Play What You Hear by Chris Standring.

By: John Mackinnon

What is a Good Jazz Guitar?

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:37:12 +0000

You really enjoy those smooth driving rhythms and tasty solo riffs of the jazz guitar. The guitar is an incredibly diverse instrument that can serve as an accompaniment or solo role, and it produces a wide range of sounds. Good jazz guitarists have a completely unique sound, and trained ears can identify players by their signatures tone and technique. So what is a good jazz guitar?

The Arch Top

The arch-top guitar is a distinctive guitar that is a jazz classic. With its f-holes, it can often resemble a stringed instrument, like a violin. The f-holes and arched design are intended to allow for maximum sound production and resonance. Before the days of amplification, big bands of the swing era wanted their guitarists to have big sounds, hence the large body style that can be found in some jazz guitar models. Typically, arch-top guitars do not provide a great deal of sustain. They are designed to speak with a strong and forward voice, and that voice is not meant to last like the driving and distorted sounds that are commonly heard in rock guitars.

Remember that all arch-top guitars are not the same. Their tones can change with the method of construction and the type of wood used to make them – not to mention the fact that any hardware like machine heads, bridges, and pickups will also contribute to the sound. In general, however, the arch-top construction is preferable for a good jazz guitar. Some notable makers include Eastman, Hofner, and Gibson.

Solid Body Electrics

While the arch-top guitar represents the historical sound of jazz, it can also be played on a solid body electric as well. One of the most popular and affordable options for a good solid body jazz guitar is the Fender Telecaster. Professional musicians sometimes fit a humbucker in the neck of their instrument to produce a tone more characteristic of jazz. Other companies like Ibanez and Yamaha also make solid body guitars that are appropriate and popular in jazz music. If you are opting for a solid body, make sure to experiment with the sound of the instrument at a lower volume than you might for heavier music styles. One characteristic of jazz guitar is that it is generally played at a more controlled volume, and therefore the instrument needs to produce a clear, consistent, and resonant tone when it is played moderately.

Acoustics

Acoustic guitars can also have their place in jazz music. Jazz greats like Django Reinhardt and Charlie Byrd popularized the appearance of standard flat-top acoustic guitars in jazz. Again, look for something that produces a crisp, clear tone, and if you choose to amplify, you’ll want to make sure that the instrument does not produce a great deal of feedback or distortion. Ovation makes quite a few flat-top acoustics that perform well as good jazz guitars.

Spend some time listening to jazz recordings and make note of the characteristic guitar tones that you hear. Make sure you choose an instrument that produces a pure and clean tone, and you can’t go wrong.

By: David Smithe