learning/teaching jazz to intermediate drummers
Doug Crooks
> I agree with rob about the spang a lang rhythm in the cymbal being dated.
> Learn to play jazz with quarter notes in the ride cymbal and hi hat foot
> first, before putting the extra swing beat on the upbeat of 2 and 4, and
> before leaving out one and three in the hi hat. Treat those additions and
> ommissions as variations and exceptions that you decide to play for a
> purpose when you play them and it will swing better. To me, the
downbeat and
> back beat are in the cymbals in bebop, whereas they are in the drums in
> rock, so learn how to drive the band with cymbals first and then add the
> drums as you would spices in a stew.
I've been thinking about this topic a lot the last month or so. I'm
currently teaching jazz band to both middle school and high school
students, and I always find teaching the drumset player is the hardest.
Most of those intermediate players have decent time, coordination, and
can play rock and funk stuff good enough. But they have no CLUE how to
swing. My first thought was along the lines of most others here, which
is to play a ton of music from the old jazz standards of the 40's, 50's,
and 60's. Big band, swing, and that kind of thing seemed to me to be
the epitome of what those kids would think of as jazz.
After reading Rob's assessment of the situation (regarding the passé,
irrelevance of 'spang spang-a-lang' in modern jazz, as well as people
focusing on a musical style that was hip half a century ago instead of
the more modern style of jazz), as well as George's above thoughts, I've
been rethinking my approach. Is it short changing the students'
education to not include modern jazz in the teaching? Should I bother
teaching spang spang-a-lang to beginning jazz students? Or should I
pass up that 'old' stuff and instead focus on the modern style?
I think the best approach is to do both. I remember when I was in
college studying music history, my professor started talking about
Stravinsky, and how 'against the grain' he was as a composer. He, and
other composers from that era redefined what could be done (anything you
can think of) from a musical composition stand point. But a quote I
remember (I think it was from Stravinsky) really rings out: "To change
something, you have to really understand what it was originally"
(paraphrased, of course). The theory being you can't redefine a style
of music if you don't have a thorough knowledge of what you're
redefining. How can an intermediate student understand and appreciate
the new heights drummers like Stanton Moore or Billy Martin have driven
the new medium of jazz without knowing what those drummers changed, or
where they came from?
So my 'new' approach? I've de-emphasized 'spang spang-a-lang,' though I
don't ignore it. I have been emphasizing feel and groove, while playing
the best musical choice around the kit (don't automatically go into
spang-a-lang for a jazz song; quarters on the ride can be just as tasty,
etc). I mix up the listening to include more modern stuff as well as
the big band standards. I've even decided to 'experiment' with some of
the 'standards' we're playing, to give the kids opportunity to 'create'
their own 'style' of music while using a standard as their basic road map.
Unfortunately (depending on how you look at it), if you take a night and
go out to the clubs around here, a lot of clubs that feature 'jazz' play
the "moldy oldies." You know, the same arrangements of the same ol'
songs. I guess it's the equivalent of Top 40's cover bands (which I
don't like or 'understand' either). You have to really search to find
the cool jazz clubs, and they are usually filled with their loyal
patrons looking to find/hear the next new and interesting sound. But so
many people want to hear the retreads of the old tunes, I feel it's not
giving the kids their full education without exposing them to the
'classic,' big band style jazz. However, I've also decided it's a grave
disservice to not expose them to a lot of current jazz, as well. I've
decided that it'd be like teaching a kid rock drumming to Beatles,
Zepplin, and other old style rock, only to turn them lose into the
modern world and have them come back and ask 'what the hell is punk or
grunge?' The kids need to get the full education.
Now, the big question:
I'm definitely not as hip with the current jazz stuff as I am with the
moldy oldies (my jazz teachers were into Buddy Rich, and not really
anything else past 1965). So I have a huge collection of old stuff,
even some of the older 'modern' stuff (Miles, Chick Corea, some of that
stuff), and even a little bit of the modern guys (some of Vinnie's
modern fusion jazz stuff, Stanton Moore &Garage a Trois, MMM).
What CD/s would you all say is the epitome of modern jazz? I really
don't know, but want to find out to help my students. A lot of them
want me to make them a mix CD, and I want to put some modern stuff on it
as well as 'standards.'
Thanks for all the input. It's really made me re-think my approach in
the last month to teaching jazz band in school! I look forward to
further discussion and recommendations!
--
doug
Steve Turner
just wish I didn't have to wade through all the of off-topic junk to get to it!
I too found George's post to be a very good description of getting right down
to the basics of swinging. The thought that his words struck into me at the
time (and what may be a useful thing to impress upon your students) is how
important the role of the bass player is in a good swing (of course, we all
know that, right?). To me, a drummer that really *swings* is a drummer that
gets true inspiration from that walkin' bass line, and dances right on top of
it as though his every stroke was the life force behind everything the bass
player does. I sorta see it as the bass player and the drummer playing "each
other", as it were.
--
Free bad advice available here.
To reply, change the chemical designation to its common name.
JaKe
>
>SNIP<
>
> Now, the big question:
>
> I'm definitely not as hip with the current jazz stuff as I am with the
> moldy oldies (my jazz teachers were into Buddy Rich, and not really
> anything else past 1965). So I have a huge collection of old stuff,
> even some of the older 'modern' stuff (Miles, Chick Corea, some of that
> stuff), and even a little bit of the modern guys (some of Vinnie's
> modern fusion jazz stuff, Stanton Moore &Garage a Trois, MMM).
> What CD/s would you all say is the epitome of modern jazz? I really
> don't know, but want to find out to help my students. A lot of them
> want me to make them a mix CD, and I want to put some modern stuff on it
> as well as 'standards.'
>
> Thanks for all the input. It's really made me re-think my approach in
> the last month to teaching jazz band in school! I look forward to
> further discussion and recommendations!
> --
> doug
Hey Doug,
Here's some "modern" jazz listening recommendations with bios taken from
http://www.allmusic.com:
Russell Gunn:
Biography by Jason Ankeny
Trumpeter/multi-instrumentalist Russell Gunn was born and raised in
Illinois; weaned on rap, he turned to jazz in his professional pursuits,
although hip-hop remained a primary influence on his work. First
attracting the attention of critics and audiences through his
contributions to Wynton Marsalis' Blood on the Fields, Gunn also backed
the likes of Jimmy Heath, Roy Hargrove, James Moody, and R&B hitmaker
Maxwell, appearing on the latter's MTV Unplugged session. After a
handful of independent releases, he signed to Atlantic to issue the solo
Ethnomusicology, Vol. 1 in early 1999. That album was nominated for a
Grammy in 2000. Smokingunn followed a year later and, in 2001, Gunn
explored more of the same themes as the first volume of Ethnomusicology
with Ethnomusicology, Vol. 2
Marcus Printup:
Biography by Scott Yanow
A talented trumpeter with a lot of potential, Marcus Printup was
discovered by Marcus Roberts at the University of North Florida in 1991.
Printup started on trumpet in the fifth grade, played funk as a
teenager, and in college was part of a ten-piece band called Soul Reason
for the Blues. Since that time, he has toured and recorded with Roberts,
played with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, recorded with Carl Allen,
performed with Betty Carter, and cut a number of excellent albums as a
leader for Blue Note.
Jason Moran:
Biography by Heather Phares
Brooklyn resident Jason Moran brings a distinctly artistic touch to his
jazz compositions and piano playing. The impressionistic approach of
visual and musical artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Maurice Ravel
inspire Moran's playing and writing style, on both his own compositions
and his work with jazz contemporaries like Cassandra Wilson, Steve
Coleman, Greg Osby, and Stefan Harris. Moran's debut album Soundtrack to
Human Motion appeared in 1999; Facing Left followed a year later. In
2001 he released Black Stars, which featured his trio, comprised also of
bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits, joined by saxophone
legend Sam Rivers. A year later he took a much different approach on
Modernistic, offering an album of solo piano recordings. The Bandwagon,
a live disc recorded at the Village Vanguard, followed in 2003.
Jacob Freed Jazz Odyssey:
Biography by Alex Henderson
When novices discover the experimental music of the Jacob Fred Jazz
Odyssey, they are surprised to learn that there is no one named Jacob
Fred—the group's name is meant to be clever and ironic. Novices also
learn that the Tulsa, OK outfit's mildly avant-garde blend of jazz, rock
and funk draws on a wide variety of influences; JFJO has been influenced
by everyone from electric Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix to Sun Ra, John
Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, Larry Young and John Scofield. Often quirky,
eccentric and abstract, JFJO favors an inside/outside approach but is
usually more inside than outside. JFJO isn't atonal free jazz, but at
the same time, no one will mistake the Oklahoma residents for
retro-boppers who play a lot of Tin Pan Alley standards. JFJO was formed
in Tulsa in February 1994, which is when Brian Haas (keyboards, piano)
joined forces with Reed Mathis (electric bass). Both Haas and Mathis had
been classically trained in their pre-JFJO days; Haas, in fact, had
played Beethoven's "Second Piano Concerto" with the Oklahoma
Philharmonic when he was only 17. But even though playing with a
classical orchestra when he wasn't old enough to vote looked good on a
resume, Haas realized that he didn't want to be a full-time classical
pianist—he found the European classical tradition to be rigid and
yearned to play music that satisfied his need to improvise. So he made
jazz his main focus, and after meeting Mathis, Haas learned that the
fellow Tulsa resident had similar tastes. Although both wanted a
jazz-oriented approach, neither were jazz snobs—both of them also
appreciated rock and funk. After forming JFJO, Haas and Mathis became a
fixture on the Tulsa scene (where they played mostly instrumental music
but sometimes featured rappers). Haas and Mathis have always been the
core of the group, although JFJO has had different lineups along the
way. Improvisers who were with JFJO in the ‘90s included trumpeter Kyle
Wright, trombonist Matt Leland, percussionist Matthew Edwards and
drummer Sean Layton, all of whom have since left the group. JFJO's debut
album, Live at the Lincoln Continental, came out in 1995 and was
followed by Live in Tokyo in 1996. The group's best known and most
widely distributed ‘90s release, however, was Welcome Home, a live album
that was recorded for Accurate in 1998. That CD was followed by Mama's
House and Bloom in 2000 and Self Is Gone in 2001. After that came All Is
One: Live in New York City, which was recorded live at New York's
Knitting Factory in March 2002 and released by Knitting Factory Records
four months later.
I also suggest you listen to the archived modern jazz program on
Seattle's KEXP:
http://tinyurl.com/6eo4c
--
JaKe, Seattle
Blog me @
http://drummerjk.blogspot.com
Mark D
Jazz are right on.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, one has to start somewhere, and
should start with basic patterns/beats.
Spang Spang a Lang was where I started 40 years ago at age 9, and I'm
pretty sure both George Lawerence, and Rob Schuh did too.
If not, I believe they should've.
I don't disagree with George, or Rob at all that Jazz has evolved, just
like many other styles of music has evolved over the last 40 years.
No, I'm not a professional drummer, and I don't believe I need to be to
have a sound, sensible opinion about this like Rob earlier claims one
must.
Because I'm not a professional, and chose not to make music my means of
making a living, does not mean I, or anyone else cannot understand, and
also play.
I can relate this to the fact, that no one can come along and steal/take
George's, or Rob's (Or any one else's) knowledge/experience from them,
just like no one can come along, and take mine.
The development of aquiring one's own style I believe is the most
important aspects of playing any instrument. This is something that
comes with time, involvement, and interest. Mark