August 30, 2010 in Blog, Learning Jazz
I’m getting ready to go back to teaching mode soon, so this week I will be focusing on sharing some of the teaching handouts I have been developing for various instruments. This is a list of 20 Jazz Chords for the Guitar:
PDF of 20 Basic Jazz Chords for Guitar
20 Basic Jazz Chords (.pdf)
It is organized as follows:…
July 29, 2010 in Jazz Originals, Jazz Standards, Swing Era & Dixieland
Nice changes, I think. They are fun to experiment with. Please comment and let me know what you think of them!
-Camden
Take the A-Train Reharm
Take the A-Train-C Instruments (.pdf)
Take the A-Train-Bb Instruments (.pdf)
Take the A-Train-Eb Instruments (.pdf)
Take the A-Train-Hip Alt Changes Jazz Track
…
July 22, 2010 in Blog, Learning Jazz
Teaching improvisation can be a daunting task. How do I teach kids how to invent a solo from thin air? I am the lead instructor at the Great Basin Junior Jazz Camp this week (I am also on faculty for the big camp, which is held a different week), and I created this handout to do just that. I do …
July 2, 2010 in Blog, Learning Jazz
There are 3 important resources to help you learn tunes: recordings, fakebooks/chord charts, and play alongs. All three are helpful, if you understand their proper place. The following article deals with the place of each resource when you learn tunes.
by Dimitri Mikitenko from photoxpress.com
Have you ever heard a great jazz musician say that they believe in learning jazz …
June 16, 2010 in Jazz Originals, Jazz Standards, Swing Era & Dixieland
This is such a great standard when done right. However, “In a Mellow Tone” Don’t Mean a Thing, If It Ain’t Got that Swing! Listen to the way Dizzy and his group does it. What a burnin’ chart! I changed the way I do my play alongs today, and I’d like some comments. See if you like it better. I …
June 15, 2010 in Blog, Learning Jazz
Here’s the rest of the video Brent Jensen, Origin Records recording artist and Professor of Jazz, did to explain step one of his Seven Steps to Heaven handout on learning and mastering tunes. Enjoy!
Brent Jensen’s Recordings
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Brent has made some awesome recordings! It’s just fun to hear a sample of what he has recorded. Also, any purchases of …
June 14, 2010 in Blog, Learning Jazz
Brent Jensen, Professor of Jazz at the College of Southern Idaho and saxophone recording artist for Origin Records, has graciously done a handout for us explaining how to improve your improvisation. He also explains several of the steps in videos! Here’s Step 1 (A). Stay posted for more videos!
Brent Jensen’s Recordings
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Feel free to listen to some of …
June 11, 2010 in Jazz Originals, Jazz Standards
My Little Suede Shoes is a very catchy, lyrical tune. It’s one of the most accessible tunes Bird wrote. Many of his tunes had angular melodies that some people unaccustomed to bebop have a tough time following (not you or I, of course, but some listeners have a tough time with bebop. Try singing Donna Lee…). However, this is a …
May 31, 2010 in Blues, Jazz Originals, Jazz Standards
Great easy blues tune! Check out the youtube recordings of Monk and Johnny Griffin with Wes Montgomery at the bottom of the page.
Blue Monk-C Instruments (.pdf)
Blue Monk-Bb Instruments (.pdf)
Blue Monk-Eb Instruments (.pdf)
Blue Monk-Roman Numeral changes (.pdf)
Blue Monk Play Along
Blue Monk-Thelonious Monk, viewed by Basie and others!
Blue Monk-Johnny Griffin and Wes Montgomery
…
May 26, 2010 in Jazz Originals, Jazz Standards, Latin Jazz
Nice easy latin tune by Sonny Rollins. Here are some nice resources to help you learn the tune!
St Thomas pdf
St. Thomas-C Instruments (.pdf)
St. Thomas-Bb Instruments (.pdf)
St. Thomas-Eb Instruments (.pdf)
St. Thomas Roman Numeral Changes
For some great left-hand piano voicings to use on St. Thomas, go to:
http://www.learnjazzstandards.com/learning-jazz/left-hand-comping-handout-st-thomas/
For Sonny Rollins’ Solo Transcription of St. Thomas, …
