Bass Clef - Rhythms and Melodies
Bass Clef - Rhythms and Melodies
Bass Clef - Rhythms and Melodies
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F: Swing Variations ........................................... 15
7. Mistaking Three Eighths for Triplets .............. 8 Four-Measure Rhythm Exercises .....................26
8. Handling Dotted Eighths & 16ths ................... 8
9. Waiting for 16ths ............................................... 8 Eight-Measure Rhythm Exercises....................29
10. Miscounting a Single Downbeat 8th.............. 8
Triple Meter....................................................... 31
D: Swing Rhythms.............................................. 9
Mixed Meters ....................................................32
D1: Quarter-Notes and Quarter-Rests ................ 9
D2: Eighth-Notes and Eighth-Rests.................. 10 Additional Rhythms ..........................................34
D3: Dotted Quarters, Longer Notes, Triplets.. 10
E2: Articulations for Long Notes & Triplets.... 13 1: Know Your Key Signatures............................. 41
Why does sight reading jazz music cause so many problems for ____________________________________
performers and so many headaches for ensemble directors? ____________________________________
Anyone who has fought through the strange maze of jazz ____________________________________
rhythms and melodies can relate to these challenges.
____________________________________
Picture yourself in one of these situations:
____________________________________
• Everyone in your group plays the same printed music ____________________________________
differently, resulting in a ragged sound.
____________________________________
• Your director stops rehearsal repeatedly to demonstrate how ____________________________________
to play a swing rhythm, taking up valuable rehearsal time.
____________________________________
• You seem to make the same kinds of mistakes each time you ____________________________________
sight read a tune.
____________________________________
• Other players get recommended for gigs instead of you, ____________________________________
because they sight-read better than you do.
____________________________________
Sound familiar? You’ve probably faced one or more of these ____________________________________
challenges already. So why is jazz music so hard to sight read?
____________________________________
____________________________________
G A Little History ____________________________________
Let’s briefly dig in to jazz history for some clues the answers. In ____________________________________
the early 1900’s, jazz developed in America as a blend of African ____________________________________
and Western European music. Here are some of the
contributions of each of these cultures to jazz: ____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
African Sources Western European Sources
____________________________________
Improvisation Modern instruments
____________________________________
Blue notes, pitch inflections Chromatic harmony ____________________________________
Rhythmic freedom Balanced form and structure ____________________________________
Music learned by ear Written notation system ____________________________________
Merging of duple/triple meters ____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
Probably the hardest thing about writing out jazz music is trying
to capture “swing” – the combination of duple and triple meters. ____________________________________
These rhythms can be notated in 12/8 time, which captures the ____________________________________
duple and triple feeling, but that’s a cumbersome notation system.
____________________________________
____________________________________
The guidelines below will help you handle some of the common ____________________________________
problems you’ll face in sight reading. ____________________________________
____________________________________
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G Tempo
____________________________________
1. Keep counting and keep the tempo steady, especially when the ____________________________________
rhythm section drops out or when you have rests in the music.
____________________________________
2. If your conductor counts off a faster tempo than you can handle ____________________________________
well, keep up with the tempo, even if it means dropping certain
____________________________________
notes. Make sure to play the downbeat of each bar correctly and
in time, then try to play beat 3 in each bar correctly. Remember – ____________________________________
if you’re consistently behind the tempo, all the “right” notes you ____________________________________
play are still wrong, because they are late.
____________________________________
____________________________________
G Tune Form and “Road Signs” ____________________________________
____________________________________
(“Road signs” are directional markings in a tune, such as repeats, DS,
codas, etc.) ____________________________________
____________________________________
1. Watch for tunes with odd-length phrases (other than 8, 12, or 16
measures). ____________________________________
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____________________________________
____________________________________
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G D3: Dotted Quarters, Longer Notes, Triplets
____________________________________ Dotted quarter-note values in swing are not all the same length, even
when they are side-by-side in the music.
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
In the example above, you can see that side-by-side dotted ____________________________________
quarter values are not equal. Getting these subdivisions right will ____________________________________
greatly help you get a more authentic swing feel. ____________________________________
____________________________________
*6 Longer notes (half-notes, etc.) get the correct amount of
triplets: ____________________________________
____________________________________
3+2 1,+3+2 1, + 6 6
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
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Objective: You’ll recognize and solve common problems that occur ____________________________________
as you sight-read pitches in jazz music.
____________________________________
____________________________________
1: Know Your Key Signatures ____________________________________
____________________________________
Memorize the key signatures of all major and minor keys; learn to
recognize them instantly. Always check the key signatures in a piece ____________________________________
in advance to avoid surprises. ____________________________________
____________________________________
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A – Across the Page | B – Down the Column | C – Upside Down | D – New Key | E – New Rhythm
Combinations: AC, AD, ACD, ACE, ACDE, BC, BD, BCD, BDE, BCDE, CD, CDE, DE
A – Across the Page | B – Down the Column | C – Upside Down | D – New Key | E – New Rhythm
Combinations: AC, AD, ACD, ACE, ACDE, BC, BD, BCD, BDE, BCDE, CD, CDE, DE
A – Across the Page | B – Down the Column | C – Upside Down | D – New Key | E – New Rhythm
Combinations: AC, AD, ACD, ACE, ACDE, BC, BD, BCD, BDE, BCDE, CD, CDE, DE
A – Across the Page | B – Down the Column | C – Upside Down | D – New Key | E – New Rhythm
Combinations: AC, AD, ACD, ACE, ACDE, BC, BD, BCD, BDE, BCDE, CD, CDE, DE
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A – Across the Page | B – Down the Column | C – Upside Down | D – New Key | E – New Rhythm
Combinations: AC, AD, ACD, ACE, ACDE, BC, BD, BCD, BDE, BCDE, CD, CDE, DE
A – Across the Page | B – Down the Column | C – Upside Down | D – New Key | E – New Rhythm
Combinations: AC, AD, ACD, ACE, ACDE, BC, BD, BCD, BDE, BCDE, CD, CDE, DE
A – Across the Page | B – Down the Column | C – Upside Down | D – New Key | E – New Rhythm
Combinations: AC, AD, ACD, ACE, ACDE, BC, BD, BCD, BDE, BCDE, CD, CDE, DE
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