Monday, October 26, 2015

Jazz Curriculum, Changes and Thoughts

I've been thinking about how I teach jazz in applied lessons. Every semester I run into a problem: my students are eager to learn tunes that they really aren't ready to execute. Particularly when transcribing the solos and learning changes for improv.
I want to keep my students involved in learning jazz and excited to do so. Often students get discouraged when involved in big band or combo chamber groups because they aren't quite at the same prepared place as some other students. I've been rethinking my curriculum and trying to organize it just a bit more, hopefully easing some of the transitional materials for students will be better. Check out what I've created and feel free to leave comments, I'm interested especially in what tunes other professors are having students learn and why.
Thanks!

In addition to following this course of study, students interested in jazz are expected to enroll in Jazz Combo Chamber Ensemble (insert course number) for a total of 3 semesters.  Students with a jazz emphasis on the music major are expected to enroll in Jazz Combo Chamber Ensemble for a total of 6 semesters.

Year One:
-       Jazz Literature
o   Basic Chords Handout
o   Maiden Voyage, vol. 54  (Aebersold)
o   Patterns for Jazz (for bass clef instruments) (Coker, Casale, Campbell, Greene)
o   Lip Slur Melodies (Edwards)
o   Jazz Fragments: for the beginning improviser (Elkjer, Robert)
o   Doodle Studies and Etudes (McChesney)
o   Melodious Etudes for Trombone (Rochut)
o   Intermediate Jazz Conception for Trombone (Snidero)
o   Trombonisms (Watrous)
§  Specific useful studies, intro to multi tongue, ghost notes
o   The Real Book

All of Me (Basie)
All the Things you Are (Kern)
Blue Bossa (Dorham)
Summertime (DuBose Hayward and Gershwin)
Take the A Train (Ellington/Strayhorn) 
Out of Nowhere (Green)
Bye Bye Blackbird (Henderson)
Cantaloupe Island (Hancock)
Autumn Leaves (Kosma/Mercer)
Straight, No Chaser (Monk), slow tempo version

o   Recordings (applicable to Real Book selections)

-       Jazz Software
o   iReal Pro App (sheet music and play along MIDI for Jazz Improvisation). Technimo LLC.

-       Jazz Duets
o   Famous Jazz Duets for Trombone and Bass Trombone (OR two tenor trombones) Vol. 1-3 (Aldcroft)
o   Beginning Jazz Duets (Aldcroft)
o   Double Dip, Twenty Dynamite Duets for two Trombones (Davis)
o   Bone Kill (Davis)
o   Just Add Trombone (Davis, Feder)
o   Ten Duets for Tenor Trombone (Pederson)
o   Ten Duets for Bass Trombone (Pederson)
o   Ten Duets for Tenor and Bass Trombone (Pederson)

-       Transcription Projects (adding rhythm changes)
o   Kind of Blue (Davis)
o   Solar (Davis)
o   Soul Stirrin (Green, Benny)
o   Footprints (Shorter)
o   Cantaloupe Island (Hancock)
o   Chameleon (Hancock)
o   Tune Up (Davis)
o   Satin Doll (Mercer)
o   Minor Blues (Johnson)

-       Recordings to listen to for style
Wycliffe Gordon- instructional videos on YouTube.
Robin Eubanks
Frank Rosolino
Carl Fontana
Bob Brookmeyer
Conrad Herwig
J.J. Johnson
Jack Teagarden

Year Two:
-       Jazz Literature
o   Basic Chords Handout
o   II, V, I (Aebersold)
o   Contemporary Techniques for the Trombone (Vol. 1, Foundation Exercises for Jazz) (Baker)
o   Lip Slurs (Edwards)
o   Patterns for Jazz (for bass clef instruments) (Coker, Casale, Campbell, Greene)
o   Doodle Studies and Etudes (McChesney)
o   Melodious Etudes for Trombone (Rochut)
o   Jazz Conception for Bass Trombone (Snidero)
o   Jazz Conception for Tenor Trombone (Snidero)
o   Sight Reading Jazz (Bass Clef) (Taylor)
o   The Real Book, Bass Clef
All Blues (Davis)
All of Me (Basie)
Anthropology (Gillespie)
Blue Bossa (Dorham)
Summertime (DuBose Hayward and Gershwin)
Take the A Train (Ellington/Strayhorn) 
Out of Nowhere (Green)
Bye Bye Blackbird (Henderson)
Cantaloupe Island (Hancock)
Autumn Leaves (Kosma/Mercer)
Satin Doll (Mercer)

o   Recordings (applicable to Real Book selections)

-       Jazz Software
o   iReal Pro App (sheet music and play along MIDI for Jazz Improvisation)

-       Jazz Duets
o   Famous Jazz Duets for Trombone and Bass Trombone (OR two tenor trombones) Vol. 1-3 (Aldcroft)
o   Beginning Jazz Duets (Aldcroft)
o   Double Dip, Twenty Dynamite Duets for two Trombones (Davis)
o   Bone Kill (Davis)
o   Just Add Trombone (Davis, Feder)
o   Ten Duets for Tenor Trombone (Pederson)
o   Ten Duets for Bass Trombone (Pederson)
o   Ten Duets for Tenor and Bass Trombone (Pederson)

-       Transcription Projects
o   My Funny Valentine, Proof Positive (Johnson)
o   Minor Blues, Proof Positive (Johnson)
o   Kind of Blue (Davis)
o   Soul Stirrin’ Soul Stirrin’ (Green, Benny)
o   Blues March Meet the Jazz Sextet (Fuller)
o   Alone Together, Gallery (McKee, Paul)
o   Blue Monk, New Friends (Knepper)

-       Listening resources
Curtis Fuller
Tommy Dorsey
Jack Teagarden
Kai Winding
Slide Hampton
Urbie Green
Wayne Henderson

Year Three:
-       Jazz Literature

o   Killer Joe (Aebersold)
o   Patterns for Jazz (Coker)
o   Sight Reading Jazz (Bass Clef) (Taylor)
o   Doodle Studies and Etudes (McChesney)
o   Reading Key Jazz Rhythms (Lipsius)
o   Basic Chords Handout
o   Real Book
§  Charts assigned by need and level
A Night in Tunisia
Fly Me to the Moon
Footprints
Michelle
Ornanthology
Confirmation
Scrapple from the Apple

-       Jazz Software
o   iReal Pro App (sheet music and play along MIDI for Jazz Improvisation)

-       Duets
o   Bonezilla (Davis)
o   Family Tree (Davis)
o   Trombone Institute of Technology (Davis)

-       Transcriptions and Tunes Based on Skill Level and Theory Knowledge
o   As assigned with listening projects
§  Examples:
o   Blue Room, The Sermon (Fuller)
o   Solitude, Ellington Songbook (Johnson)
o   A Day in Copenhagen, (Hampton)
o   Blue Monk, New Friends (Wesley)
Curtis Fuller
Conrad Herwig
J.J. Johnson
Frank Rosolino
Carl Fontana
Paul Desmond
Ray Anderson
Robin Eubanks
George Lewis
Conrad Herwig
Jimmy Cleveland

Year Four:
Materials in year four are dependent on student level and expertise.  Students should have a strong understanding of chord progressions and jazz listening.  Chamber ensemble work (Combo) is the key to continuing performance and improvisation learning.

-       Jazz Literature

o   How to Improvise (Aebersold)
o   Jazz Pedagogy, for teachers and students (Baker)
o   Patterns for Jazz (Coker)
o   24 Jazz Etudes (Gale, J.)
o   Dance Band Reading (Raph)
o   Real Book
§  Charts assigned by need and level
A Night in Tunisia
Cottontail
Days of Wine and Roses
Fly Me to the Moon
Footprints
Girl from Ipanema
Groovin’ High
Michelle
Ornanthology
Confirmation
Scrapple from the Apple

-       Jazz Software
o   iReal Pro App (sheet music and play along MIDI for Jazz Improvisation)

-       Transcriptions and Tunes Based on Skill Level and Theory Knowledge
o   As assigned with listening projects
§  Examples:
o   Echoes of Harlem, Right There (Turre)
o   Reelin’ and Rockin’ (Dickenson)
o   A Caddy for Daddy (Fuller)
-       Listening and other transcription examples
Ray Anderson
Curtis Fuller
J.J. Johnson
Carl Fontana
Frank Rosolino
Bill Reichenbach
Trombone Shorty

Jiggs Wigham

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