IAJE MI - Jazz in the Classroom

Band directors and music teachers..........rejoice.
A timely opportunity exists for expanding approaches to jazz education.

Endless thanks to Dave Nixon at Banddirector.com.
An instructional archive of articles, videos, and educator links launched the past year.
From instructional text to live webcasts, Banddirector.com aims
to benefit all band directors, including those in our IAJE Michigan unit.

A continuous goal here is to address challenges in the classroom and promote
insightful tools, resources, and instructional aids for music teachers. For middle
and high school educators, an invitation for expert advice awaits you.

If you can make available instructional content to support other
IAJE Michigan educators, then contribute to our site.
--> Submit an instructional idea here <--
We'll review it and post it to service our Great Lakes jazz education network.

What follows is our links for Jazz in the Classroom -- a refresh on strategies for music education. All contributed content is written by noted jazz educators and respected clinicians in their specialty area.

IAJE Michigan Band Director Q&A

Banddirector.com Instructional Video

Banddirector.com Instructional Text

Banddirector.com Performance

IAJE Michigan Band Director Question & Answer

Teacher/band director queries receive sound recommendations from IAJE Michigan educators in a proactive delivery of ideas and solutions for their needs.
[Editor note: this Q&A section will have its own page once additional submittals are posted]

Educator: Cara Boden, Saline Middle School, Saline (outside Ann Arbor)

Teacher Description:
Cara inquired,
"My middle school jazz band is trying to play the piece "I Got Rhythm", a Gershwin arr. by
Ralph Ford - an easy middle school jazz band arrangement.
The piece has the key signature of Eb major, but centers on Ab chords a lot. The phrases are 8 bars.
What I'm trying to figure out is how to teach my students to improvise in this piece,
instead of playing the canned solos that are written in a few parts?
Any advice you can give, or perhaps a referral to a resource to help would truly be appreciated!"

IAJE Michigan Resource (1 of 2): Brian Coyle, director of jazz studies, Hope College, Holland
Brian replies,
"You are doing Rhythm Changes in Eb. Cool. No problem. The form is A-A-B-A
and the basic chord progression should be something like this:

A Sections:
Eb C-7/F-7 Bb7/Eb C-7/ F-7 Bb7/ Bb-7 Eb7/ Ab Db7/ G-7 C7/ F-7 Bb7/

B Section:
G7/G7/C7/C7/F7/F7/Bb7/Bb7/

Over the first 4 bars of the A section, your students can get by, by playing Eb Major.
On bars 5-6 it basically shifts to the key of Ab.
On bars 7-8, back to Eb.

These 2 keys are really closely related so the simpler the better. Have them
make up little melodic ideas in a call and response format. If they want,
the first 5 notes of each scale would work fine or Eb and Ab pentatonic.

When you get to the Bridge (B section), have them use each chords Mixolidian scale
(Major scale with a lowered 7th).

The most imortant thing is for them to keep it simple.....create nice little melodies. Antecedant/Consequent phrases.

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IAJE Michigan Resource (2 of 2): Danny Jordan, director of jazz ensembles, Oakland University, Rochester
Danny replies,
""I Got Rhythm" is a standard jazz tune - in fact became the chord progression for a lot of bebop tunes that use the same chord progressions - known as "Rhythm Changes".

I don't know your chart, but if the tune is in Eb, I am not certain how it could center on Ab chords. If you could either type out the chords, or scan part of the piano part and email it, I would be happy to help you.

Here is what the chords would look like in Eb on the A sections: The form should be AABA --

A Section: Eb Cm7/Fm7 Bb7/Eb Cm7/Fm7 Bb7/Eb7/Ab Db7/ Eb Bb7/ Eb Bb7

B Section: G7/G7/C7/C7 F7/F7Bb7/Bb7

There are some simple ways of using ii V I progressions to find the right scale for the right chords (tonal centers).

# # #

Chris Collins/UMEA Interactive Jazz Workshop
Recorded February 2, 2007, WSU-Detroit
Wayne State University director of jazz studies Chris Collins interacts with band directors at the Utah Music Educators Conference via instant messenger in this Banddirector.com live jazz workshop webcast. Collins leads a student rhythm section through various elements in improvisation on stage at Schaver Music Recital Hall.

Jazz Improvisation Part 1: Beginning With Rhythm
Part 1 of 3
Chris Collins is a professional jazz woodwind player, along with being associate professor and director of jazz studies at Wayne State University, Detroit.
He has toured throughout Japan, South Africa, Europe and North America as the leader of his own ensembles and as a featured soloist. In the past year Collins has performed original works in 7 countries covering 4 continents. He has played professionally with various artists including the Phil Collins Big Band, Doc Severinson, Mel Tormé, Michael Feinstein, Rob McConnell, Lou Rawls, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Collins has also headlined the Guinness Jazz Festival (Cork, Ireland), the Montreux Jazz Festival (Geneva, Switzerland), the Pori Jazz Festival (Finland), Nice Jazz Festival (France), North Sea Jazz Festival (Rotterdam), and the Glasgow Jazz Festival (Scotland).

Jazz Improvisation Part 2: Using the Melody
Part 2 of 3
Chris Collins is a professional jazz woodwind player, along with being associate professor and director of jazz studies at Wayne State University, Detroit.

Jazz Improvisation Part 3: Intermediate Harmonic Techniques
Part 2 of 3
Chris Collins is a professional jazz woodwind player, along with being associate professor and director of jazz studies at Wayne State University, Detroit.

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Banddirector.com Instructional Text

Learning Swing Feel or How to Sculpt an Elephant
-by Antonio J. Garcia
Helping students capture this elusive concept is as much about recognizing incorrect swing style as it is studying the jazz masters
Teaching someone how to swing eighth-note lines in jazz is comparable to dictating how much seasoning to include in fine food. We know it's right when we taste it, but even what's "right" is subject not only to cultural traditions, but also our own experiences and beliefs. Easier than describing what's right is declaring what has gone wrong: too much spice.
-more-

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Jazz Pedagogy: How To Evaluate And Select Music That Fits Your Ensemble
-by J. Richard Dunscomb
Where to Begin
One of the most important aspects of our jobs as jazz ensemble directors (and the most difficult at the same time) is the selection of music. When done properly, this process makes a significant impact on the success of the ensemble.
-more-

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Essentials of Learning to Play Jazz Well
-by Don Braden
Description:
Learning to play Jazz well is a long process -- a LOT of fun -- but long, because Jazz is a diverse, powerful and sophisticated music form. Listening for and practicing the essential elements (usually over a number of years) are key, but how does one prioritize this process? Below is an outline that will help the student understand and organize the central elements of authoritative Jazz expression.
-more-

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Improvisation Is Not Just for Jazzers!
-by Larry Panella, Associate Professor of Music, The University of Southern Mississippi
I teach students to improvise, some of whom are classical musicians. It amazes me that more classically-oriented students don’t consider that learning to improvise is an important part of their training. Many of these same students take to it fairly quickly, as long as they are given a clear explanation as to how to get started. For the most part, their teachers do not improvise nor do they encourage it. In addition, many students think they must have a jazz theory class before they can improvise. That isn’t entirely true, since there have been many great improvisers who knew little or nothing about theory.
-more-

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Listen Closely
-by Robert Baca
Teach your students the finer points of jazz with the help of recorded music
In many respects, building a jazz program is much the same as any other area of music. Some teaching methods, however, can be more useful than others when working with a jazz ensemble. One that I've found to be particularly effective employs guided listening.
-more-