Summer Study: Jazz August 7, 2008
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Jazz books really do deserve a post of their own, since there are so many viable sources for help with practicing improvisation skills and playing in the jazz idiom. Instead of focusing on individual books, however, I’m mostly going to direct attention to some of the more prominent series of books and a description of their approaches.
- Jamey Aebersold Jazz. Jamey Aebersold has been recording play-along tracks and releasing books on jazz improvisation for around 40 years now, and they’ve become some of the most widely used jazz resources around. There are several volumes dedicated to the fundamentals of jazz playing (e.g. #1: “How to Play Jazz and Improvise,” #2: “Nothin’ But the Blues,” or #3: “The ii/V7/I Progression), as well as a host of volumes dedicated to particular artists’ music or particular styles. There’s a ton there, and it might seem a bit overwhelming, but you can’t go wrong sticking to the fundamentals books!
- Jim Snidero’s Jazz Conception. Jim Snidero is widely in demand both as a jazz saxophonist and a teacher, and his Jazz Conception books are, along with the Aebersold books, some of the most widely used out there. The Jazz Conception books feature jazz etudes based either on common styles or on specific jazz standards. They’re a great way for students just starting out to learn common phrasing techniques and patterns that tend to show up in jazz–and that can be used to help with the development of improv licks. They’re graded by level of difficulty, so there’s something for every level of expertise–and every instrument.
- Playing the Changes for Guitar. Yeah, this one is a specific book, for a specific instrument. But I was so impressed with its author, Mitch Seidman, when he presented the techniques from his book to a group of maybe ten of us at the MMEA Conference earlier this year that I had to include it. It focuses very heavily on training the ear to be able to hear pitch tendencies and to develop an improvisatory language out of tetrachords–groups of four notes within a scale. This book takes a simple, step-by-step approach to improvisation and was written specifically with guitarists in mind.
- The Real Book, 6th ed. The Real Book was initially a huge compilation of jazz standards gathered together by students at the Berklee School back in the 1970s. After years of poor editing and trouble with copyright laws, the Real Book has finally been released commercially, in what is referred to as the “Sixth Edition.” Any student who wants to learn jazz standards should own this book, in the key of their particular instrument (C for piano/guitar/vocals, for instance, Bb for trumpet/tenor sax, Eb for alto sax, Bass Clef for bass/trombone). You’re getting the agreed-upon melody and chord changes for around 400 tunes for around twenty bucks! Please note that the link above refers you to the C version–click through to the links for Bb, Eb or Bass Clef for your particular instrument!
Website Updates August 6, 2008
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- I’ve begun updating some of the tags on individual posts in order to make it easier to find information on the site. This is largely an invisible improvement, but it will be going on through the rest of the summer.
- You should notice a couple of updates to the links sections on the right hand side of the page, most notably the addition of a Performances/Events section. This section will be especially useful for Music Appreciation students who are looking for that last concert credit or anyone who wants to hear more live music!
- Our links should shortly be restored to the NHS website proper. Thanks to everyone in the central office who helped make that happen! The website is an important part of our daily operations, and I’m glad to see it back up and running at full strength again.
Hope everyone is having a great summer!
Summer Study: Saxophone August 4, 2008
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As always, for more personalized selections, try studying with a private teacher! Still, you can’t go wrong with the following suggestions for saxophone enrichment books:
- Teal, The Art of Saxophone Playing. This book is one of the great saxophone methods that includes, alongside a wide range of exercises covering all of the major aspects of sax performance, a wealth of explanatory text to help any player understand and learn how to execute the techniques that need to be mastered in order to perform effectively. Teal shows a deep understanding of the fact that the player must develop great technical facility before being able to fully exploit the range of expression of the instrument. A must have!
- DeVille, Universal Method for Saxophone. Granted, this is an older text, and there are some mechanical differences between the saxophone in DeVille’s time and our modern instrument, but his Universal Method is still one of the most complete works of its kind. While it lacks some of the extensive explanatory text of the Teal book, it covers the whole range of the saxophone experience, from complete beginner to advanced performer, and it is still relied upon by many serious students.
- Klose, 25 Daily Exercises for Saxophone. Klose’s book is another standard text and is recommended mostly for intermediate students looking for a fun way to master some of the technical elements of saxophone playing. These etudes work finger speed and dexterity as well as phasing, tone, breath control and chord awareness.
- McLean, Daily Warm-Up Exercises for Saxophone. The world of jazz saxophone was sad to lose one of its giants, Jackie McLean, back in 2006, but thankfully he left behind a host of great recordings and (among other things) this short book of daily warm-ups designed to help build muscle memory and pattens in all 12 keys, a valuable skill for any player but especially the jazz artist.
Good luck, and hope the summer is treating everyone well!
Summer Study: Trombone August 2, 2008
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As always, this should serve as a jumping-off point for enrichment studies, but see a private teacher if you want individualized selections!
- Kleinhammer, The Art of Trombone Playing. Kleinhammer was part of the celebrated brass section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for many years and established himself during that time not only as a very fine trombonist but as a teacher of some renown as well. Unsurprisingly, he stressed the vital importance of studying with a private teacher, but his book is designed to help a playing self-teach the art of fundamentally sound and artistically robust trombone performance. The book has extensive diagrams, photos and descriptions of a huge range of the technical aspects of trombone performance.
- Rochut, Melodious Etudes for Trombone. Rochut’s book was originally a collection of vocalises by tenor vocalist Marco Bordogni, but they have been adapted successfully for a range of brass instruments, most notably the trombone. They are musically fulfilling as well as a great way to practice breath control, tone production and legato tonguing.
- Arban, Famous Method for Trombone. Like the Arban trumpet omnibus, this volume weighs in at well over 200 pages and has extensive exercises for literally every facet of brass performance. Although it is adapted from the trumpet version, the exercises should still be well-suited to improving any player’s execution of technique.
