Here is the current list of classes offered to students of the Summer Jazz Week 8. They vary in difficulty level. There are 4 classes offered in each improv hour (1-2pm), (3-4pm).
Improvisation Classes for 2016 Metro-Detroit Jazz Workshop's Summer Jazz Week 8
MONDAY 8/11
Improvisation for the Non-Improviser- Chuck Newsome
LEVEL 1
This Clinic Will Focus on breaking the ice and dispelling the dogma of improvisation. We will discuss use of rhythmic repetition, scales, arpeggios, basic developments, basic developments of melody, etc. We will also explore some uses of free playing to develop ideas.
Creating Melodies- Russ Miller
LEVEL 2
Understanding the elements that contribute to a good melody can be an important part of improvisation. This clinic addresses some of the basic melodic elements such as rhythm, phrases, intervals, repetition, sequence, etc., with the goal of students creating their own melodies.
Making Your Lines Fit the Chord Symbols- Dr. Scott Cowan
LEVEL 3
We'll dig into the basic nuts and bolts of improvisation utilizing voice leading, chord tone timing, and harmonic tension and release. Do you ever why a jazz master always sounds so good? This topic is one of the keys to unlocking harmonic sophistication in jazz.
Applying "Free" to Straight Ahead- Dr. Miles Brown
LEVEL 4
This clinic will explore ways to transferring the feeling of playing "free" to the traditionally more stringent traditions of bebop tunes and other jazz standards. We'll explore motivic development, dissonance treatment, and concepts of form with the goal of liberating the improviser from the shackles of traditional educational systems.
The Jam Session (Panel and Questions)- Entire Faculty
LEVEL 1,2,3,4
This panel will divided into two groups; one for beginners and one for intermediate/advanced students. Discussions of tunes, expectations, manners, preparation, goals, importance, as well as answering questions will be of importance to this panel.
TUESDAY 8/12
Playing By Ear- Russ Miller
LEVEL 1
Learning to hear intervals, melodies, and harmony as one plays is very important to learning how to improvise. This clinic focuses on learning simple melodies and moving them to different keys so that students can begin to develop the aural skills so important to improvisation.
Improvisation Elements: Listen, Learn, and Apply Now!- John Hill
LEVEL 2
This clinic will explore the strategy of listening to selected recordings and then incorporating specific improvisation elements. These elements will include: use of specific rhythmic ideas, articulation, hemiola, dynamics, interaction with the rhythm section, and using space. Participants will be involved with experimenting with the elements while playing over simple modes and the blues.
Seminar of Comping Styles- Chuck Newsome
LEVEL 3
An in-depth discussion of various aspects of accompaniment. Differences between piano, guitar, and vibraphone will be discussed and students will attempt to emulate various styles like: Wynton Kelly, McCoy Tyner, Jim Hall, John Scofield, and others
Slash Chords- Dr. Scott Cowan
LEVEL 4
Do you ever wonder what a Cmaj7/B in the bass means? We'll take a look at a variety of slash chords and figure out how to find common scales for usage as well as appropriate improvisational approaches.
Master-Class- Rayse Biggs
LEVEL 1,2,3,4
Rayse will discuss, demonstrate, and include students of every instrument on his approach to jazz trumpet.
Instrument Class- Entire Faculty
LEVEL 1,2,3,4
Students will break into groups headed by their instrument instructor or instructor of closest type of instrument. Practice goals, technique, and various subjects will be discussed. You will need your instrument.
WEDNESDAY 8/13
Call and Response- Dr. Scott Cowan
LEVEL 1
This clinic will build on blues vocabulary using the techniques of "call and response" and "riffs". We'll transform these techniques into an exciting, highly artistic experience.
A Step By Step Method For Learning Tunes- Chris Buzzelli
LEVEL 2
This method for learning tunes focuses on internalizing the tune so that the player is truly "hearing" the tune and not simply "remembering". Melodies are learned by scale degrees and chord changes are learned by function, so once the tune is learned, it can be played in any key.
Shifting Gears: Mixing Tuplets with Duple Rhythms in Improvisation- Chuck Newsome
LEVEL 3,4
This clinic will explore various uses of triplet, quartuplet, quintuplet, etc. rhythms to create syncopation. We will also explore some applications of polyrhythms to create similar effects.
A Way to Memorize Tunes, The Easier Way- Scott Gwinnell
LEVEL 3,4
There are a core group of chord-progressions that are found in multiple jazz tunes. This clinic explores these progressions and which tunes contain them. You will learn which tunes are necessary to unlock the chords to hundreds of other standards.
Master-Class- Paul Mundo
LEVEL 1,2,3,4
Paul will discuss, demonstrate, and include students of every instrument on his approach to jazz trombone.
How to Practice (Panel Discussion and Questions)- Entire Faculty
LEVEL 1,2,3,4
This panel will be divided into two discussions, one for beginners, and one for intermediate and advanced students. Elements of practice routines, listening, transcription, motivation, and inspiration will be among the topics, as well as specific questions answered by you.
THURSDAY 8/14
Major Scale Modes for Beginners- Scott Gwinnell
LEVEL 1
This clinic will involve mostly an overview or introduction of the major modes and how they pertain to improvisation. There, however, will be a more in-depth exploration of the dorian and mixolydian scales and how they apply to soloing.
Scale Use in Improvisation- Dr. Scott Cowan
LEVEL 2
You will learn what primary scales are used in improvisation. You'll be able to identify the relationships between chord symbols and their scales, resulting in a fun, melodic, improvisational approach.
Working With an Idea- Russ Miller
LEVEL 3
Permutation and reorganizing preexisting materials can provide new ways to create sounds. This clinic focuses on how to play variations on a given melody and how to extract portions of a melody, working with them, exploring the potential of the given source material.
Time Is Not Just a Magazine- John Hill
LEVEL 4
This clinic will provide an in-depth analysis of the way time is played over a rhythm section. We will explore how specific jazz masters phrase and control their sense of time.
Master-Class, Andrew Bishop
LEVEL 1,2,3,4
Andrew will discuss, demonstrate, and include students of every instrument on his approach to jazz saxophone.
Importance of Transcribing (Panel Discussion and Questions)- Entire Faculty
LEVEL 1,2,3,4
This important panel discussion will explain the importance of transcribing and the various methods in how to do so. The panel will be divided into two parts for beginners and intermediate/advanced students.
KEY TO LEVELS
LEVEL 1
Students with little experience in improvising or jazz. Level 1 students have just memorized or are working on major chords and scales. They may be familiar with the pentatonic scales. Level 1 students have not transcribed music or are too familiar with different jazz artists or recordings. They are dipping their toes into jazz improvisation and theory.
LEVEL 2
Level 2 students have soloed in their school jazz bands or community groups. They might play in big bands but are not too familiar with the building blocks of jazz improvisation. They know their major and minor scales and are familar with some of the major modes. They have a knowledge of jazz artists and their styles. Level 2 students might be 2nd year students at the jazz workshop.
LEVEL 3
Level 3 students are familiar with modes, chords, and are more familiar with soloing. They are comfortable with taking solos in their big bands and community groups and might play in jazz combos. They know some of the tunes in the jazz repertoire and can perform with lead sheets. Level 3 students might be familiar with jazz patterns like ii-V-Is and have skill with different grooves with a decent feel. These might be advanced high school students, beginning college students, or professional / intermediate level adult muscians.
LEVEL 4
Level 4 musicians are familiar with their instruments and jazz music. They might have transcribed jazz musicians and are familiar in soloing in different environments. Playing in different grooves and time signatures might be comfortable as well as knowledge in reharmonization, and skill with melodic minor harmony and melody. Level 4 students might be advanced college students or professional adult musicians. They might have skill in playing "out" as well as extensive repertoires.
NOTE:
A schedule with class times and available clinics will be available soon.