Jazz Workshop

Jazz Workshops

The pulse is the thing!

What makes a good player different from a bad or mediocre player?

You might think that its playing the right notes (though not necessarily in the right order! (UK readers))

There is some truth in that, but its playing with a pulse thats is so important.

What does pulse mean?

I guess its the beat of the music - but beat has come to mean so many other things- the pulse actually drives the player to play, if you like, in time to the beat.

This pulse is so important in (most) classical music,  but its VITAL in jazz!

How to check whether you're playing to a pulse, well one simple way is to play a familiar piece, one that you know well, and record it at the same time.

Listen back to the recording, maybe with a metronome, and see if all the notes are played to a pulse, you will soon see, if you listen carefully, if the piece you played had a pulse!

Come on a jazz workshop and you will soon see how the pulse works in jazz!

Peter Willson

Jazz Workshop

Jazz Workshops


Starting to think about scales and chords


Before going on a jazz workshop, make sure you know all 12 major scales on your instrument
A major scale can be defined by its sound, try singing Doh Ray Me Fah So La Te Doh and you have a major scale.

For example C D E F G A B C. Now there are eleven others to find starting on each one of the eleven notes in an octave - eleven notes in an octave you say? I thought there were eight (OCTave) no there are 12 altogether, on a keyboard, look at all the notes including the black notes.

Using your 12 major scales, (there are seven different notes in each major scale) and by starting on a different note (say the 2nd in the scale) you are now playing a mode, (very useful in jazz!)

You now should know 12 major scales, plus seven different starting points, making 72 scales/modes in all!

If you play the mode starting on the 6th not of the major scale, you are now playing a natural minor scale. Sharpen the seventh note and you have a harmonic minor scale.

To build a chord from a major scale play the 1st 3rd and 5th note of that scale at the same time and you have a major triad chord - you can call it chord 1 of that major scale

Other chords can be built from a major scale, ie 2nd 4th and 5th note will give you a minor triad - this one is chord 2
Sit down and play these on your instrument, if you've never done it before it will take time, but when you are improvising in jazz, these scales and modes are invaluable!

Peter Willson

Jazz Workshops - Listening to Jazz

Butlers Jazz Workshops

Jazzworkshop.biz

Listening to jazz, and learning to play from the recordings

Don't listen to a piece once, and think that is sufficient for you to play it, you may well have to listen very carefully to the same piece many times to get a real feel for it!

After listening carefully here are some tips that might be useful.

Take a simple piect to start of with and then find out key that the performer is playing in, (go the end of the piece and see what chord it finishes on may help) . You would need to know if its a major or minor key.

Here it would be good if you have a knowledge of all the 12 major keys as scales (see previous posts) and by using the mode starting on the 6th note of the scale, would gie you the relative minor key (as a natural minor scale).

A useful thing to know, the relative minor (the minor key with the same number of sharps or flats as the major) is always the same as the mode starting on the 6th note of the major scale. Determine whether the piece is in a major or minor key. (Some jazz, especially more 'modern' might not be in a key at all), so maybe stick in the first instance to jazz standards.

Find, by playing along with the recording, the melody or improvisation that you hear, and try to memorise it. If you read and write music you can write it down, but its much better anyway to try and get it into your head!

You might well notice that the notes don't always follow the major or minor scale that the piece is in, that may be because the tune might 'visit' other keys during the piece, to give it interest.
(A process called modulation) This is all part of the understanding of thispiece of music.

Hopefully, with due diligence, this will give you a basic idea of the piece, but to get to the heart, you will need to undersatnd the chords that support the melody, or improvisation, and this can be quite a challenge, and will be the subject of later posts.

All this work may be made easier by going on a jazz workshop and interacting with other players as they learn.

Good luck!

Peter Willson

 Jazz Workshops

www.jazz-workshop.co.uk

Who goes on a Jazz Workshop?

Simply, anyone who plays any instrument, and who would like to learn or develop their skills and interests in Jazz.

Even if you've just started to play your chosen instrument, the beauty of jazz is you are able to play a jazz tune, or improvise a jazz tune to your level of ability.

The real fun is meeting everyone else of the workshop, and seeing how they play their way.

The tutors on the workshop understand how jazz works, and are able to encourage players to get the best fun out of playing jazz their instruments.

What instruments will you see on a jazz workshop?

Almost any instrument can play jazz, the most popular being

Piano, Saxophone, Clarinet, Guitar, Flute,Trumpet, Trombone, Violin, Double Bass, Drums, Vibes, Hammond Organ, and of course the human voice.

The beauty of a multi day workshop, see Butlers Jazz in Varengeville is that you get time to immerse yourself in jazz and really benefit from being away from other distractions of day to day life!

Don't be afraid of playing in front of others, everyone on the workshop will be supportive and friendly, because they know exactly how you feel, they have been there themselves.

Email me Peter Willson if you would like to know more about Jazz Workshops