2019 DJW CLASSES/CLINICS

2020 Schedule to be posted in June


T-F Theory Classes (10-11am)

 

Level 1 Theory

Delaine Gwinnell, instructor

Tuesday-Friday, 10-11am

Theory 1 is a T-F class for beginning theory students. You will work on reading treble and bass clef staff notes, reading rhythms, key signatures, to intervals and basic triad chords. A lot of time is given to students to answer questions and prepare them for jazz theory.

 

Level 2 Jazz Theory

John Hill, instructor

Tuesday-Friday, 10-11am

Jazz Theory 2 is a T-F class for beginning jazz students who can read music and an intermediate level but are new to jazz. You will work on diatonic and chromatic intervals and how they relate to jazz melodies, triads and seventh chords.

 

Level 3 Jazz Theory

Scott Cowan, instructor

Tuesday-Friday, 10-11am

Jazz Theory 3 is a T-F class for intermediate jazz students who are familiar with intervals, triads, seventh chords, but might not be certain of their application. Chord Progressions, voice leading, basic/guide/color tones, and major modes might be discussion topics.

 

Level 4 Jazz Theory

Russ Miller, instructor

Tuesday-Friday, 10-11am

Jazz Theory 4 is a T-F class for intermediate/advanced jazz students who are familiar with basic chord progressions, voice leading, major modes, and basic/guide/color tones. Jazz Theory 4 will analyze standards and jazz-standards for melody and harmony, as well as studying things like: melodic-minor modes, less used chord progressions, chord substitutions, and exotic scales. Considerable time will be devoted to student questions.

 

Jazz Composer’s Workshop

James Hughes, instructor

Tuesday-Friday, 10-12pm

 

The Jazz Composer’s workshop is a collaboration of students under Hughes’s direction to perform each other’s compositions; whether as simple as lead sheets or more involved arrangements, you can participate in the workshop or audit it. If you are auditing, you still might be asked to participate in Q&A as students investigate what makes their compositions work and how to incorporate techniques to become better composers. If you are interested in participating or auditing, please contact Scott Gwinnell (postbop@hotmail.com) to sign up. Limited space available.


T-F Morning Electives (11:05am-12pm)

These elective classes are all similar in degree of difficulty and are designed to present a 4-day introduction to a subject that you might not be familiar with.

 

Jazz Arranging/Composing

Russ Miller, instructor

Tuesday-Friday, 11:05am-12pm

Jazz Arranging/Composing is a survey class to teach the basics of jazz arranging to new students. Learning arranging techniques by studying small and large ensemble works as well as understanding bandstand arranging will not only help you if you wish to compose or arrange in the future, but will assist you immediately in understanding the structure of jazz tunes and how that understanding will make you a better jazz musician.

 

Jazz History and Musician Study

Scott Gwinnell, instructor

Tuesday-Friday, 11:05am-12pm

This class will study four musicians, their musical contribution to jazz, and their historical context. Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis will be the subjects, and we will discuss their influence, play excerpts, and listen to the examples of why they deserve to be studied.

 

Jazz Ear Training

Scott Cowan, instructor

Tuesday-Friday, 11:05am-12pm

This class will discuss the importance of your ear in relationship to learning jazz, and how you can use it for everything from transcription to interval/song/chord recognition. Ear development strategies will be discussed as wells as how to assess your own ear.

 

Jazz Keyboard Harmony

John Hill, instructor

Tuesday-Friday, 11:05am-12pm

 

This class is for non-keyboardists and instrumentalists/vocalists with limited piano skills to learn chords. A secret of jazz is that almost every professional horn player/vocalist can play the piano or guitar because they use it to voice out chords or progressions as a writer or work out improvisational ideas. Learn how to do this for yourself and speed up your learning curve in jazz.


Lunch (12-1pm)


Tues. Improv Clinics (1-1:55pm) (2-2:55pm)

“Don’t Be Afraid to Improvise!”

Scott Gwinnell, instructor

Level 1

Tuesday, 1pm

A hands-on approach to improvisation for the beginner, this clinic deals with groove, rhythm, and projecting clear ideas. No knowledge of chords and scales necessary.

 

“The Blues Scale”

Russ Miller, instructor

Level 2

Tuesday, 1pm

A workshop of the blues scale in improvisation. This will help students appreciate this collection of notes as more than just a scale for beginning improvisers.

 

“Jazz Improviser’s Ear Training Strategies”

Scott Cowan, instructor

Level 2,3

Tuesday, 1pm

Jazz improvisers rely heavily on their ears. We will explore techniques to develop improviser’s ears through singing (or whistling) melodic and harmonic material like chords, scales, melodies, extensions, etc.

 

“Playing with a Vocalist”

Chuck Newsome, instructor

Level 3,4

Tuesday, 1pm

This class is designed for people who would like to develop their ability to accompany vocalists in a jazz context, including vocalists and horn players! Different size groups will be touched upon as well as how to improvise introductions, endings, and form.

 

“Swing: What it is and What it Isn’t”

Russ Miller, instructor

Level 1

Tuesday, 2pm

Exploring common misconceptions of what “swing” is, this workshop is strong with exercises and practical applications that will help you develop a natural swing feel.

 

“Using Repetition as a Communication Tool”

John Hill, instructor

Level 2

Tuesday, 2pm

Are you just going to play scales or are you going to tell the listeners something interesting? This clinic will provide specific rhythmic and melodic ideas in order to help you create memorable solos.

 

“Creating Stock Endings”

Jordan Schug, instructor

Level 2,3

Tuesday, 2pm

There are ways to end jazz tunes, commonly known as “stock endings.” In this clinic, we will explore the different stock endings that can routinely happen on a gig.

 

“Triads of the Melodic Minor Scale”

Chuck Newsome, instructor

Level 4

Tuesday, 2pm

 

This is an in-depth workshop of the “jazz minor” scale, centering on the diatonic triads that it generates. We will improvise over jazz standards where these triads can be easily applied.

Wed. Improv Clinics (1-1:55pm) (2-2:55pm)

“Improvising Over the Blues”

Ellie Martin, instructor

Level 1

Wednesday, 1pm

In this clinic, we will learn a few blues melodies and then explore how to improvise using the blues scale. We will play and sing through a few excerpts to get you into improvisation.

 

“Chord/Scale Connection”

Chuck Newsome, instructor

Level 1,2

Wednesday, 1pm

This clinic will focus on how to practice connecting scales over chord/key changes. We will address beginning and intermediate ways to practice these techniques.

 

“Having a Conversation with Myself?”

John Hill, instructor

Level 3

Wednesday, 1pm

This clinic will explore the skills needed to make your improvisation more of a communication tool. The focus will be to increase your awareness of the rhythm section and to develop more of a dialogue with them.

 

“The Tri-tone Substitution”

Scott Cowan, instructor

Level 4

Wednesday, 1pm

Tri-tone substitution was an innovative improvisational technique that bebop masters like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell and others incorporated into their styles to add color and harmonic interest. We will examine the masters and their use of tri-tone subs and use this technique, ourselves.

 

“Jazz Articulation”

James Hughes, instructor

Level 1

Wednesday, 2pm

We will examine the foundations of basic jazz articulations. This clinic is extremely helpful for classically trained musicians who want to be more comfortable with jazz phrasing.

 

“What Classical can Teach Jazz”

Jordan Schug, instructor

Level 2,3

Wednesday, 2pm

In this clinic we will explore differences between classical musicians and jazz musicians, in their practice and work. What can we learn from each to be better jazz musicians?

 

“Major 7, Dominant 7, Minor 7”

Russ Miller, instructor

Level 3

Wednesday, 2pm

An in-depth look at the three primary 7 chords, Major 7, Dominant 7, and Minor 7; we will explore their construction, relationship to each other, and related scales. Further exploration includes adding upper chord tones and altering the fifth.

 

“16 Ways to Play the Cycle of 4ths/5ths”

Vincent Chandler, instructor

Level 4

Wednesday, 2pm

 

Coming from a clinic by jazz trumpeter/educator Kris Johnson, Vincent will explore 16 ways to explore the cycle of 4ths/5ths. This is a great information for jazz musicians who are familiar with harmony and know their major scales.

Thurs. Improv Clinics (1-1:55pm) (2-2:55pm)

“How to Build Interesting Melodic Phrases”

James Hughes, instructor

Level 1

Thursday, 1pm

Through the use of antecedent and consequent phrases, we will improve the melodic effectiveness of our solos. This hands-on clinic will inspire players to create interesting melodies.

 

“Learning to Improvise over ii-V-I’s”

Scott Cowan, instructor

Level 2,3

Thursday, 1pm

We will examine this critical harmonic sequence found in tunes from the American Songbook, Jazz Standards, and Bebop. Basic improvisational line-construction skills we be studied.

 

“Triad Mixture / Hexatonic Scales”

Vincent Chandler, instructor

Level 3

Thursday, 1pm

This clinic will examine triads and hexatonic scales. It will be explained and we will work through examples.

 

“Jazz in Odd Meters”

Chuck Newsome, instructor

Level 4

Thursday, 1pm

This clinic will examine the process of setting jazz tunes in 5 and 7 meters, including manipulation of the melody and chord changes, and how to improvise. We will go over different subdivisions of and feels of each meter. We will set a jazz standard to each meter and play it.

 

“Modal Jazz”

Scott Cowan, instructor

Level 1

Thursday, 2pm

We will examine one of jazz’s most popular genres, as exemplified on the Miles Davis album, “Kind of Blue”; modal jazz. Basic improvisation skills will be approached through scales, and melodic and rhythmic development techniques will be pursued.

 

“How to Memorize Music”

Jordan Schug, instructor

Level 2,3,4

Thursday, 2pm

In this clinic, we will discuss effective and ineffective ways to memorize music with tips and tricks to make the process easier.

 

“How to Personalize a Melody”

Scott Gwinnell, instructor

Level 3,4

Thursday, 2pm

This clinic instructs you to the methods in personalizing a given melody. We will explore ways to rhythmically and melodically adapt it while still respecting the source material.

 

“Free Jazz”

James Hughes, instructor

Level 4

Thursday, 2pm

 

This clinic addresses how to incorporate Free Jazz into a combo setting.