What you really need to know:

Fundamentals for Jazz

Introduction:
The following ideas are intended to be a starting point. Like most things jazz--and music in general--there
are exceptions and variations. The idea here is for me to provide you with some basic tools that will allow
you to achieve initial success and above all, sound idiomatically correct. There are many aspects of jazz
education that are still based in the oral tradition, so dont be afraid to ask questions.

Teaching Style: Establish a Default

Articulation: I find that the general error here is that students tongue way too much!! Here are a few
ways I address this problem:
1. Have students play the line completely slurred (they will resist thismake them do it!)
2. Once you have them slurring everything, add in tonguing only the 1st and last note of a phrase (or
just tongue stop). This is a good general rule for all of your swing repertoire.

Inflections: Once again, I find that the most common problem here is that students do way too much!!
Ive always referred to my method of correcting this as Sterilizing the Sound. Heres how it works:
1. Have students completely cease the use of any scoops.
2. Have students completely cease the use of any vibrato. (Students will resist these the same way
they will having to slur everything)
These two things, combined with the above articulation guidelines, will achieve a very safe and
idiomatically correct contemporary jazz style. What little jazz music most students have listened to makes
them feel as if every note must be scooped and every long tone must have heavy vibrato. The major
issue with this is that the students dont know how to do a correct scoop and they use a classical style
vibrato.

Rehearsal Techniques:
Warmup: There are a lot of ways you can go about this. What I like to do is warmup on a standard
blues. Every day we pick a blues melody that weve learned, we play the head twice, and then 4 or 5
students will take a 2-3 chorus solo. Many times, we will play an impromptu background behind several of
the soloists. I like this method for several reasons. 1.) It allows students to warmup organicallyplaying a
tune! 2.) Its an historically accurate depiction of the way much of riff-based big band jazz was created. 3.)
It gets everyone in the ensemble soloing. 4.) Students enjoy it.

Listen/Transcribe: Probably one of the most spoken phrases in relation to jazz pedagogy is You
have to listen! And well, its true! Here are a couple of strategies I use to get my band listening and
transcribing:

For any big band chart that Im doing thats not a commission, I play an example recording for the
class. I tell them which recording I chose (artist/album) and why. I always find a recording they
can access on Youtube. I will play this recording for the class prior to working on the chart for the
first time and multiple other times throughout the process of learning it. This allows them to refine
the detail of their listening and catch more intricate style and phrasing concepts as they become
more familiar with the chart. I always STRONGLY encourage my students to spend time playing
their part along with the recording during their individual practice. This makes a big difference.

In order to get my students transcribing, I assign them things that are accessible to them. For
example, Ill have each student transcribe the MELODY ONLY for a blues that I choose for them.
That limits them to just 12 bars of actual transcription, but forces them to deal with things like
matching tone, style, articulations, and inflections. And guess what? Theyre learning those
concepts from a master performer on their instrument! Doesnt get any better than that.

Improvising: This goes along with my warmup methods. I feel that the most accessible and easy to
use vehicle for teaching beginning improvising is the blues. Teach your students the minor blues scale,
talk to them about the call-call-response form of the 12 bar blues and have them go for it! The biggest
thing here is to get your students to begin improvising. Once they begin to feel successful, it will catch on.
Teaching more advanced improvising and playing over different chord progressions is a different thing,
but this is a start.

Guest Clinicians: While this is commonplace in both marching and concert band, I find that most HS
jazz band never bring in a guest clinician. The same principals apply here as they do to marching or
concerttwo sets of ears is better than one. I regularly bring in local professional musicians to work with
my band. The students love it, and I become a better teacher from listening to them. Its a win-win. Just
ask around for recommendations.

Repertoire:
Classics: Its difficult to go wrong here. Go to the libraries of Basie, Buddy Rich, Ellington etc. Just do a
Youtube search of these artists and see what you like. Google the title and see who publishes it. There
are usually simplified arrangements of the more popular titles. I learn something new every time I do this.
There is so much great music out there.

Commissions: This is one that I feel is my best kept secretCommission a new work for your group!!
Theres nothing that gets students to buy in like having a part with THEIR name on it. There are a lot of
great arrangers in the state of Texas that will work with you for much less than you might think. Ive
commissioned 4 charts in the past 3 years and never paid more than $350 for any of them. Ask around
for names of composer/arrangers.

Equipment:
I think that this is one of the most overlooked aspects of idiomatically correct jazz ensemble sound.
Namely rhythm section sound. For me, having the correct cymbals, guitar/bass amps, and
keyboard/piano sound is just as important as all of your wind players having a good tone.

Drums:

20 or 22 bass drumSmaller than 20 can lack the punch needed in a big bandLarger than
22 will tend to sound more like a rock/hip-hop kit. 20 is the best of both worlds.

2 Toms is plenty. A good general rule would be to have a floor tom no bigger than 16(max) and
your rack tom no smaller than 12(10 can work).

Cymbals: The most important part of your kitBY FAR!! For me, when I hear jazz ensemble drummer
playing with a thick, rock-oriented ride cymbal, I can hardly focus on anything else. The ride cymbal is
such an important part of the sound of the bandits played almost all the time!! Here are my
suggestions:

Ride: 20 or 22-- We use a Zildjian K Constantinople Renaissance 22 which sounds fantastic.

Crash: 16, 17 or 18-- We use a Zildjian K Custom Dark Crash 18 which works well.

Some other options to check out: Sabian Jack DeJohnette Series. Meinl Byzance Jazz.
Bosphorus Turk Series.

The best thing to do is go and play them!! Another option is to check out cymbalsonly.comThis
website allows you to listen to the actual cymbal you would be purchasing and has good pricing.

Sticks: A bad pair of drumsticks will make even the most amazing cymbal sound bad. This ones not
complicated just avoid the following: Nylon tipsmarching sticksthick rock-oriented sticks. A good
place to start is Vic Firth American Jazz Series.

Guitar Amps:

You'll need something that's at least 15-20W (tube) or 40W (solid state). It's probably

better to have more power than you need, otherwise you'll have an amp that's trying to keep up volumewise. Look for an amp with a good clean sound, a few knobs that take care of the basics, and maybe
some gain (distortion). We use a Peavey Classic 50 (but Id recommend the smaller Classic 30). Here are
some other models to check out: Fender Blues JuniorEgnater 15W TubeBugera V22 Tube.

Bass Amps: There are a lot of options here, and I probably know the least about this. We use a
Hartke 12 combo amp that sounds good and was recommended to me. A couple more models that were
recommended to me are: Orange Amplifiers CR100BXTand the MarkBass MiniMark Series.

Bass Pick-up: For upright bass, the type of pickup you use makes a big difference. Far and away the
best choice that Ive found is this: The Realist Double Bass Transducer pickup. If you have a tab style
pickup, such as the Fishman, do yourself a favor and throw it away. They do nothing but sound thin and
feedback a lot.

Creating Bass Lines: The above example illustrates a basic walking bass line over an F blues. As
you can see, it utilizes the notes of the basic triads (1-3-5) of the chords. The (chr) symbols indicate a
chromatic passing tone. If your students are uncomfortable with the passing tone at first, then its totally
fine to just repeat the 3rd again. If youre ever in doubt about what notes you want you bass player to play,
stick to the ROOT and FIFTH. There are endless variations to what you can do over a chord, but sticking
to the chord tones on the downbeats, and ALWAYS playing the root at a change of chord, works almost
all the time. If the tempo is fast, you can play root and fifth half-notes on beats 1 and 3.

Piano Voicings: The above example illustrates basic chord voicings over an F blues. In the example,
Ive labeled the notes as they relate to the chord. As you can see, each voicing contains a 3 rd and 7th.
**IMPORTANT**having your voicing contain the 3rd and 7th is the most important thing to remember. Also
notice that the voicings ALTERNATE between either 7-3-5 or 3-7-9. This allows you to maintain multiple
common tones in your voicings as long as the roots are moving in 4 ths. (like in a ii-V-I or blues
progression). If the progression is not moving in 4ths, then simply choose either the 7-3-5 or 3-7-9 voicing
based on where youre starting or going.
Spend a little time yourself at the piano working on this. Once you get visual and aural picture of how this
works, youll feel very comfortable teaching your piano player. And trust meit will make a HUGE
difference in how your rhythm section sounds.

Questions?: Please feel free to contact me! Its time we open a dialogue about secondary jazz
education. You wouldnt hesitate to ask another director about what march or grade 4 to play. Dont
hesitate to ask for help with your jazz bandthere are many people who are happy to help.