How to Be a Jazz Musician
Listen to a lot of jazz music., Listen night and day., Find out where you can see live jazz performed in your city, and go see performances often. , Jazz often have a triplet feel called 'swing.', Train your ears and brains: Try to follow the rhythm...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Listen to a lot of jazz music.
Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Pepper Adams, Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, McCoy Tyner, Art Tatum, Sidney Bechet, Oscar Peterson Al Jarreau, Ray Brown, John Scofield, David Benoit, Cannonball Adderley, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck and Peter White are all excellent and very different jazz artists. -
Step 2: Listen night and day.
Go for days without any other music.
You will notice the difference. ,, It can be explained many different ways, but the best way to learn it is just to listen to jazz.
However, be wary; artists such as Monk and Mingus have distinctive styles of swing that may not sound good on all charts. , Start with a simple 4 measure beat, swinging track by Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (check the syncopation on "Moanin'").
Move on to tracks and both. , Listen to the interaction of great tightly interacting jazz groups, like the ones of Bill Evans or Dave Holland, in live contexts.
Notice how they "feel" each other in the group, how they react to one another.
The musical experience will be more and more rewarding and gain depth as you do so.
Try approaching more complex music. , Write down the differences you hear in how the notes are being played. , There are many different blues scales.
Here is "C":
C, E flat, F, F sharp, G, B flat, C. ,,), and play it repeatedly with your right hand at the same time as you play the chromatic scale with your left. , After a few times through, add "E flat" while playing. , Make your way up through all the notes in the blues scale above. ,, This takes a lot of patience, but will take you great steps ahead. ,, Go to Jam sessions to try out new ideas. ,, This will not only help your reading and improvisational skills, it will help you become a better ensemble player. (i.e. learn to play in tune, balance with other players, etc.) Some of the best things you can learn are from other jazz musicians, so be sure to assemble the best players you can to perform in your group.
Ideally, they should be better and more experience than you.
You won't learn anything by trying to be the "star" player in your ensemble.
Visit http://www.pdfjazzmusic.com for some free downloadable big band and combo materials. -
Step 3: Find out where you can see live jazz performed in your city
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Step 4: and go see performances often.
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Step 5: Jazz often have a triplet feel called 'swing.'
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Step 6: Train your ears and brains: Try to follow the rhythm of a song throughout.
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Step 7: Only after this analytic approach
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Step 8: synthesize.
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Step 9: Compare a jazz track to a modern pop track or a classical piece.
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Step 10: Play a blues scale.
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Step 11: Play your chromatic scale in your left hand
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Step 12: and hold each note for two beats.
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Step 13: Choose a C note (middle
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Step 14: Experiment with different rhythms.
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Step 15: Play C and E flat together or separately.
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Step 16: Learn the blues scale at least in the seven major keys.
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Step 17: Try to memorize solos on recordings that you like
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Step 18: and re-play them yourself.
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Step 19: Register at http://www.learnjazzpiano.com and absorb it.
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Step 20: Try things out and find stuff that sounds good.
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Step 21: Practice as much as you can.
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Step 22: Assemble a small jazz combo or even big band to rehearse on a weekly basis.
Detailed Guide
Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Pepper Adams, Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, McCoy Tyner, Art Tatum, Sidney Bechet, Oscar Peterson Al Jarreau, Ray Brown, John Scofield, David Benoit, Cannonball Adderley, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck and Peter White are all excellent and very different jazz artists.
Go for days without any other music.
You will notice the difference. ,, It can be explained many different ways, but the best way to learn it is just to listen to jazz.
However, be wary; artists such as Monk and Mingus have distinctive styles of swing that may not sound good on all charts. , Start with a simple 4 measure beat, swinging track by Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (check the syncopation on "Moanin'").
Move on to tracks and both. , Listen to the interaction of great tightly interacting jazz groups, like the ones of Bill Evans or Dave Holland, in live contexts.
Notice how they "feel" each other in the group, how they react to one another.
The musical experience will be more and more rewarding and gain depth as you do so.
Try approaching more complex music. , Write down the differences you hear in how the notes are being played. , There are many different blues scales.
Here is "C":
C, E flat, F, F sharp, G, B flat, C. ,,), and play it repeatedly with your right hand at the same time as you play the chromatic scale with your left. , After a few times through, add "E flat" while playing. , Make your way up through all the notes in the blues scale above. ,, This takes a lot of patience, but will take you great steps ahead. ,, Go to Jam sessions to try out new ideas. ,, This will not only help your reading and improvisational skills, it will help you become a better ensemble player. (i.e. learn to play in tune, balance with other players, etc.) Some of the best things you can learn are from other jazz musicians, so be sure to assemble the best players you can to perform in your group.
Ideally, they should be better and more experience than you.
You won't learn anything by trying to be the "star" player in your ensemble.
Visit http://www.pdfjazzmusic.com for some free downloadable big band and combo materials.
About the Author
Sarah Turner
Creates helpful guides on creative arts to inspire and educate readers.
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