Jazz Band Techniques for the non-jazzer FMEA Convention 01/09/10

1. Jazz Band Techniques for the non-jazzerFMEA Convention01/09/10 Presented by Chris Sharp Director of Instrumental Music: Santa Fe College Gainesville, Florida Russ Weaver Director of Bands Osceola County School for the Arts Kissimmee, Florida

2. Special thanks to…. Jack Wilkins USF

3. Russ Weaver teaches at: The Osceola County School for the Arts. Located in Kissimmee, Florida. Grades 6-12

4. Chris Sharp teaches at: Santa Fe College Located in Gainesville, Florida.

5. Survey questions…. • How many directors have limited or no jazz performance experience? Reasons? • How many directors had no college coursework in jazz pedagogy? • How many directors do not currently have a jazz program but would like to start one? • Would you start a program if you were more comfortable with the genre? • What specific training might help with this?

6. Focus Points • Does playing a non-traditional jazz band instrument keep directors from starting jazz programs? • Non-traditional jazz band instruments can be used effectively in a traditional jazz band. • Some MS and HS level charts use or can incorporate non-traditional jazz band instruments.

7. Publishers providing jazz music for non-traditional instrumentation. Alfred 1st year charts for jazz ensemble, Young Jazz Ensemble, and Jazz Band series charts include extra parts for flute, clarinet, French horn and treble clef baritone. FJH Beginning Jazz Ensemble and Developing Jazz Ensembleseries charts include extra parts for flute (oboe), clarinet, French horn and treble clef baritone.

8. Getting familiar with Jazz • Listen to jazz recordings. • When learning a new language, the best way is to hear it spoken by a “native.” • Refer to MSBandDirector handout for recommended listening. Place these documents in each student folder at the beginning of the school year. • Then, expose your students to these recordings. • Very Important!! Do not attempt to teach the jazz language without suitable aural references! This is where an understanding of both style and interpretation are born for players of ALL instruments.

9. Getting familiar with Jazz continued • Listen to jazz recordings. • Use reference recordings provided by publishers to assist in the understanding of performance practices after the students have attempted to read the chart. • Avoid applying concert band performance practices to jazz music -- work to establish a clear delineation of styles (“left-brain/right-brain”)

10. Where to find reference recordings from publishers. • jwpepper.com 1000s of recordings • Smartmusic Users of this program have incredible access to program recordings from the publishers. • Individual publishers • alfredpublishing.com • fjhmusic.com • halleonard.com • kendormusic.com • sierramusicstore.com • walkingfrog.com • barnhouse.com

11. Resources for continuing jazz education • Workshops for educators in many areas of jazz education including pedagogy.

12. MSBandDirector.com has forums and resources covering all of these topics: • How to properly set up a jazz band. • Beginning jazz handouts. • Forum topics including jazz improvisation. • Best recommended jazz music list (charts) with • links to recordings! • Recommended jazz listening list for students. • Access to active jazz composers/arrangers. • Opportunities for collaboration with experienced • jazz educators Worldwide! • •Appropriate Educational videos with worksheets. • Free jazz charts through collaboration and networking!

13. Jazz Artists who create jazz on Non-Traditional jazz instruments: • Rich Matteson: Jazz Euphonium • Marc Dickman: Jazz Euphonium • John Allred: Jazz Euphonium/Tuba • Dave Gannett: Jazz Tuba • Joe Murphy: Jazz Tuba • Nat McIntosh: Jazz Tuba

14. Jazz Artists who create jazz on Non-Traditional jazz instruments: • Julius Watkins: Jazz French Horn • Giovanni Hoffer: Jazz French Horn • Maynard Ferguson: Jazz French Horn, Valve Trombone, Baritone • John Luc-Ponty: Jazz Violin • Stephan Grapelli: Jazz Violin • Paul McCandless: Jazz Oboe, English Horn (Oregon) • Paul Hanson: Jazz Bassoon • Jean "Toots" Thielemans: Jazz Harmonica • David Baker: Jazz Cello • Valve Trombone: Bob Brookmeyer • Valve Trombone: Rob McConnell

15. Jazz Warm-ups Warm-ups for developing Jazz Ensemble by Chris Sharp

16. What Were You Thinking? • Straight Eighth note style is best to begin with for the younger jazz artists. • Most student listening has been in this area. • Latin or Rock style works best. • Uniformity of Articulation is easiest to establish. • Swing style should be dealt with after the ensemble begins to perform well together. • Let’s Play!

17. If your group is having swing interpretation issues, here’s a method for addressing it: Instruct the ensemble to play the line slurred, with no triplet subdivision. Once they are able to perform the line in a smooth and connected fashion, reintroduce the triplet subdivision. Teach the players to slur into the downbeat notes from the offbeat notes, while maintaining full duration notes on the downbeats. Encourage players to emphasize the offbeat notes using the syllables “doo-dah”. Select certain notes at high points within the phrase to emphasize, to produce authentic jazz inflections. From Straight to Swing!

18. The Bass

19. Arrange the 4 notes.. Blues! You can place this on the board, memorize ASAP.

20. Limited chord tone movement Here’s the music! Eventually this should be in everyone’s folder. Limited movement.

21. Rhythm Section Concepts Start a Jazz Band JAZZ Concept Review Drums: Swing! “Play” with the rhythm and keep great time.•Bass: Straight Quarter notes and drop the egg occasionally. Work with drums for locked in groove.•Horn Players are now ready to learn the “Head” or melody of C Jam Blues in Bb by ear. In case you forget the rhythm of the melody…

22. C Jam Blues Place on your I-pod http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOlpcJhNyDI If learned by ear, they will “Recall” the information from which you will build.

23. What Next? Form One chorus of Blues w/just rhythm(section) Horns Play the head 2x through. Harmony? Solos w/backgrounds (blues scale) Have 2 people solo at same time… (overlapping dialogue or trading 4’s) Build into final “Head” 2x Button Ending or Ellington Ending (taught by ear) Empowering your learners through teaching by ear. Now you have your first tune and no printed music!

24. Improv Blues Scale Self Expression through Improvisation 1 b3 4 (b5) 5 b7 1 and back down. Teach it by ear…• A scale that sounds bluesy and covers the entire form for beginners.• Backgrounds are created from it.• Students can’t make an Improvisation mistake using this scale. Let their ears guide them.• Builds confidence in your performers… from day one.•http://www.jazzbooks.com offers the complete scale syllabus for free download as a .pdf file. I recommend that everyone use this resource to better educate your students. It’s really very comprehensive and free to everyone interested.

25. Place this in Your folder To assist with Remembering What to play For call and Response. Teach concepts! Soloing vocabulary from Jazzbooks.com (free download) Place in Student Folders When you believe them to be Ready.

26. Where from here?1. Great way to do your Bb scale warm up each day.2. Blues scale warm-up after that.3. Everyone improvises together (softly) for vocabulary practice.Do call and response with your students4. Make it become what students like to do when they enter jazz band rehearsal.5. Find more videos or recordings to reinforce. For most this is less than 10 minutes at beginning of rehearsal, time to input attendance, etc..

27. Scale Syllabus from Jazzbooks.com (free download) Allow Each Student The Key to Understanding Chord/scale Relationships.

28. Tuning the MS Jazz Band Bass and Guitar come to rehearsal already tuned with digital tuner. (for starters) Check the pitch of the piano against the bass. Have the bass/guitar tune to the piano if need be. Next tune lead players to the piano. Lead Alto, Bone and Trumpet tune with each other. Each of these players tunes their section as a whole or down the line individually. They are in charge of this daily. Don’t be afraid to stop and go through this procedure several times during rehearsal as temperatures change.

29. Some Thoughts as you rehearse. • Try and rehearse the same time each week. • Begin with a Bb blues chart to reinforce what • has already been internalized. There is a • free chart on Cyberwindsmusic.com entitled • Kissimmee Blues • It is a grade 2.5 chart that can function like a • March… please allow for this explanation:

30. Choruses of blues can be interchangeable, as they are all 12 bars in length. For the most part, bass lines can work over any chorus of blues, Provided the chords are the same. If your students can not handle the shout section of any chart (Kissimmee Blues), leave it out and rearrange it in a sensible fashion. With a minimum of arranging skills and score analysis, blues charts can be rearranged to meet your band’s needs. Blues conventions are similar to march conventions in concert band.

31. Jazz! • Allow your students to explore American Music through the freedom of getting off the page. Improvisation IS the freedom in Jazz Music.

32. SmartMusic: Contains Great Jazz Charts plus • access to Aebersold play alongs for students • to practice improvisation. • Band in a Box: Allows intuitive students to • create their own accompaniment tracks so that • they can practice their improvisation solos at • home. • Finale: Allows students access to a notation • program for writing music and creating • smartmusic accompaniments. • MSBandDirector.com: allows directors to • share information via internet 2.0. Useful technology

33. Interactive answers to your questions regarding ANY subject in middle school band. • Collaborative literature lists that allow you to hear the selections as you browse the list. Google: best middle school jazz list • Unparalleled professional networking among just Middle School band directors. • Free! Access to free quality charts. You find a free chart, let them know, within minutes everyone has access to this download. • Free all-county jazz audition material complete with play-along tracks. It’s never been easier to start an all-district jazz band. The audition material is a free download to all your students via the internet at their homes. They practice and play along with the tracks on their own to prepare for the audition. At the audition, simply use a laptop and audition the students. • Over 100 hours of relevant information dealing only with teaching Middle School Band MSBandDirector.com

34. MSBandDirector.com

35. Questions? • What kind of culture do you have in your jazz rehearsal? • What are the conceptual expectations? • Are you playing “with” you students each day or each week? • Do your students have the freedom to read and understand chord symbols and to address chord symbols as improvisers?

36. Before taking a jazz group to FBA, please consider Reading through Don Zentz’s powerpoint on the Subject. It is available at: www.Zentz.org along with many other helpful handouts and Powerpoints, all on the subject of programming Jazz charts for festival. This is the definitive presentation on this subject and should not be overlooked. Taking a Band To FBA Festival?

37. Great Reference! DVD By J.Richard Dunscomb and Dr. Willie L. Hill Jr.… continuing lessons are available here, including follow up activities to today’s lesson.

38. All of Today’s Materials are available for reference at: MSBandDirector.com Join the largest network of Middle School Band Directors in the World.

39. Doubling Instruments Do not double the Lead part in any section. For 6 saxes: TS1, AS2, AS1, TS2,TS2, B For 7 saxes: TS1, AS2, AS2, AS1, TS2, TS2, B Trumpets: Double lower parts, not 1st or 2nd Bones: Double lower parts… 3rd or 4th. Work for exact instrumentation. Rotate Players in and out if there are too many.

40. Selecting Middle School Jazz Literature • #1 Collaborative reference is on MSBandDirector.com • Take notes on your programs as you listen at FBA and other festivals. Save these for future chart ordering. • Check the Midwest Clinic and Conference website and see what has been played there. • Avoid ‘dance’ tunes such as In the Mood, A String of Pearls, Penn 6-5000 as well as pop tunes of the day.

41. Selecting Middle School Jazz Literature • All directors go through this process each time we begin a new semester, quarter or school year. • Technology gives us easier access to information. • SmartMusic is a great way to listen to charts that the good folks at Smartmusic believe everyone should be performing. You can request for them to add selections! • Remember, just because it is no SmartMusic does not mean that it is suitable for FBA festival. That is up to each director to determine for their clients.

42. Selecting Middle School Jazz Literature • Middle School Directors need a place to go on the Internet that provides them a list of suggested jazz charts for JUST middle school level. • MS Directors need to be able to hear charts without switching websites or tabs. • Directors would like to save precious time and minimize the amount of time it takes to consider new programming for their bands. • Directors need access to other directors in an internet 2.0 setting that allows them to discuss any subject, as it pertains to middle school band. • MS Directors need collaboration to make the profession more exacting. The Website…..

43. All of Today’s Materials are available for reference at: MSBandDirector.com Join the largest network of Middle School Band Directors in the World.