JimKetch,DirectorofJazzStudies UniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHill jketch@email.unc.edu Objective Thisclinicisdesignedtoencourageeachofustodevotesignificantpracticetimeto thedevelopmentoffluencyinallkeysandtothepracticeofmanytunesinalltwelve keys. Materialstoassistyouindevelopingpracticestrategies Yourvoice! Developamindsetthatstates:IfIcansingit,Icanplayit. Inordertodevelopyourear,singalloftheexercisessuggestedinthisclinic. Singscales,singchords,singtunes,scatsingsolosinallkeysetc. Oursingingisoftenfreerthanourplayingweallowthemusictoflowourideas mayexhibitmoredaringourtimemightbemoresecureisntthisthevoicewe wishwouldemergefromourinstrument?

t? IneveryAebersoldVolumeyouwillfindinthetextbookthe10BasicPreparatory Exercises.Starthere.Useametronome(tryquarternote=80,then100,120,140) Notethe6recommendrootmotionprogressions:practiceeachofthe10patterns followingall6progressions.(thissheetisavailableasahandoutatthisclinic). Makesurescalepracticeevolvesfromquarternotes,toeighthnotes,toeighthnote triplets,tosixteenthnotes.Itisreallyimportanttoexecuteallyourscalarand chordalwithprecisesubdivisionsandstrictpulse. AsignificantnumberoftheJameyAebersoldPlayAlongVolumesaddresstheneed topracticeinalltwelvekeys.HerearethevolumesIhavefoundtobethemost helpfulindevelopingandextendingmyfluencyandtechnicalfacility.Ilistthemin theorderIwouldrecommendforstudy(beginningtoadvanced). Scales,Chords,Patterns Volume24MajorandMinor Volume21GettingItTogether Volume3TheiiV7Iprogression Volume16Turnarounds,Cycles,andiiVIs Staplesofthejazztradition Volume42BluesinAllKeys Volume47IGotRhythminAllKeys Volume57MinorBluesinAllKeys TunesinAllKeys Volume67TuneUp

DevelopingFluencyinAllKeys

(Four,TuneUp,NewBossa(blue),SweetGeorgiaBrown,AutumnLeaves,Rhythm, Perdidoinall12keys) Volume68GiantSteps (ThisIDig,GiantSteps,Confirmation,StellaByStarlight,ItsYouOrNoOne,AllThe ThingsYouAre) Volume61Burnin(containsafastCherokeeinalltwelvekeys) Book KeysUnlocked!AuthorJerryCoker;PublisherJameyAebersoldJazz WheretoPurchase www.jazzbooks.com Examplesofexploringthesematerials Volume24MajorandMinorLetsselectasanexamplethetrackonconcertBb major Letsfollowthischecklistoftechnicalskillswewishtopracticeineverykey. 1. Themajorscaleinwholenotestothe9thandback;repeatinhalfnotes, quarter notes,eighthnotes,andsixteenthnotes. 2.Themajorscaleinthirds(13,24,35,46,etc.) 3.TheHerbertClarkeStudy#2pattern(1231,2342,3453,etc) 4.Diatonictriadsonallscalenotes(1353,2464,3575,etc) 5.1235patternsoneachscalestep(1235,2346,3457,etc) 6.Diatonic7thchordsoneachscalestep(1357,2468,etc) 7.Improviseoverthetrackplaywhatyouhear Volume3TheiiV7Iprogressionthemajorii7/V7/I/Iprogression 1. sustainrootsofthechords 2. 123patternsfromrootsofeachchord 3. 135patternsfromrootsofeachchord 4. 1357patternfromrootsofeachchord 5. fullscale(roottoroot)oneachchord 6. resolutionexercise exampleinCmajor: D7DFACresolvingbyhalfsteptoB(73resolutionDtoG7) CM7CEGBresolvingbywholesteptoA(76resolutiononCM7) 7.Improviseoverthetrackplaywhatyouhear Volume16Turnarounds,Cycles,andii/VsLetsuseTrack1:PlainOldTurnaround (IviiiVoriiiviiiV) 1. Sustaintheroots(halfnotes)ofeachchord

 Volume42BluesinAllKeysletsuseconcertBb 1. Sustaintherootsofeachchord 2. 135patternsoneachchord(rootpositiontriads) 3. 1357patternsoneachchord 4. 351(firstinversiontriads) 5. 513(2ndinversiontriads) 6. entirescaleovereachchord(forhalfnotechordsuse1235patterns) 7. improviseovertrackplaywhatyouhear SimpleTunesinAllKeysplayphrasesfromorentiretunesinall12keys 1. Row,Row,Row,YourBoat 2. HappyBirthday 3. MaryHadALittleLamb 4. TwinkleTwinkleLittleStar 5. HereComesTheBride 6. WhenTheSaintsGoMarchinIn Startinacomfortablekey.Progressupwardsbysteps. Volume67TuneUp! LetsselectIGotRhythm 1. Startbyimprovisinginallkeys. 2. Seeifyoucanplaythemelodytothefirstphraseorfirst8barsinallkeys 3. Nowstartdiggingintothechangesstartwithsustainingtherootsofeach chord 4. Now123patterns,followedby135triadicpatterns 5. Now1235patterns(12345321patternsforwholenoteduration chords) 6. Now1357patterns(iftheplayalongtrackistoofastuseametronomeata slowerspeed) 7. Try1stand2ndinversiontriads(351patternsand513patterns) 8. Startimprovisingagain,howdoestheworkon#37impactthesechoruses? SeemKEYinsights Notedjazzsaxophonist,educatorandauthorJerryCokerwouldseemanunlikely candidatefordevelopingfluencyinallkeys.Heiswellknownasanextremely accomplishedartistwithathoroughknowledgeofbothtraditionaland contemporaryjazzlanguagematerials.YetJerryCokerwritesinhismostrecent publicationKeysUnlockedthefollowingassessmentofhisownrecordingofabebop tuneplayedinalltwelvekeys:

2. 3. 4. 5.

1212pattern(4eighthnotesperchord) 135patterns(2eighthsand1quarternoteperchord) 1235patterns(4eighthsoneachchord) Improviseoverthetrackplaywhatyouhear

MyimprovisationonthetuneintheoriginalkeyofconcertBbwentsmoothly,filled withquick,familiarlinessharedbymanyotherplayers.Theresultstephigher wasverydifferent.Ididntplayanywrongnotesorfailtokeepupontheroadmap (theformofthetune,butIperceivedotherseriousshortcomings: (1) therhythmiclevel(oftheimprovisedlines)wasgenerallyataslowerpace (2) thereweremorespaces/rests (3) thenotechoicesweresimpler,lessimaginative (4) triadicandpurescalarcontentweremorecommonplace,ratherthanchord extensions(9ths,11ths,and13ths) (5) therewerefarfewerinstancesofarbitraryalteringchordsandscales (6) passingchordsofshortdurationwerebeingomittedinfavorofharmonic generalization (7) themelodiclinesbecamewhatmightbetermedarchaic (8) virtuallyallfamiliarsubstance(thetypesoflinesandcommonpractice devicesreadilyapparentinthesolooverthetraditionalhomekey) disappeared. JerryCokerwantedtobeabletoimproviseequallywellinallkeys.Asaresultof Jerrysdiscoveryhewritesthefollowingstatementinhisbook:

Ofallthepotentialelementsofdailypractice,Iknowofnomore importantelementthantwelvekeystudyofasmanytunesaspossible!
ConcludingThoughtsAListofTen 1. Iamincrediblyinspiredbythefreedomandauthorityofthefollowing improvisers:LouisArmstrong,LesterYoung,CharlieParker,MilesDavis, SonnyRollins,JohnColtrane,JJJohnson,WesMontgomery,CharlieChristian, andothers.Theinstrumentalproficiencyandcommandofthelanguageof themusicdemonstratedbyeachartistshowsclearlyhowfreedomflows fromdiscipline.Forweknowfrominterviewsandwrittensourceshow seriouslytheseartistspracticed. 2. WhenMuttCareyspokeaboutLouisArmstronghestatedthefollowing:I neverknewtheblueshadsomuchmusicinititwasapleasurejusttolisten toLouiswarmuphishorn.Itisamazinghowyourhearingandcreativity expandasyouacquireamorecomprehensivetechnique. 3. JazzpianistandmasterteacherBarryHarrisspeaksofhowColeman Hawkinspracticed.HesaidHawkwouldsayIpracticemotions.Whenyou practicescalesandchordsdontforgettopracticetheseoverthosecommon rootprogressionmotionssuchaschromatic,wholestep,minorthird,fourth cycles(ascendinganddescending). 4. PianistKennyWernertalksaboutthewaytechnicalpracticesharpenshis solo.Hedoesntwanttosoundlikehispractice,ratherhelikesthewayhe hearsandcreateswhenhedoespractice.Thedifferencebetweengoodand

greatimprovisersseemstobethatabilitytohearunexpectedintervalsand thefacilitytoconnectangularandasymmetricalphrasesfluidly. 5. Asyouexpandthenumberofscalarandchordalideasyoucanplayinall keysfluently,youwillbegintofeelthemusicinaperformancesettingslow down.BythisImeanthatyouwillretaintheabilitytoallowthe subconsciousmindtobeapartofthemoment.Toofewrepetitionsforcesa playertoTHINKtoohardaboutwhattoplaynext.Theconsciousmindcant listentotheflowandcollectivesoundsofthemusicthesubconsciousmind remainsopenandresponsiveinthemoment. 6. Repetitionisoneofthestrongesthabitsofthedisciplinedpracticing musician.Trytoconceiveoftheinvestinginyouronstagehearingand performingaccount. 7. Takealongtermapproachtoacquiring,developing,andpolishingtechnique. Select12itemsforeachindividualpracticesession.Therepetitionwillcarry overintootherskillsets.Ifyouhavethecapacitytoviewyourjazzartistry asalifestyle,youcanbegintoembracethepleasureandjoyofdailypractice. Grantingyourselfthepatiencetoimproveandenjoytheslowandsteady improvementisawonderfulgifttoyourself. 8. Dontbesurprisedathowyourtranscribingskillswillevolveasyour technicalskillsetsexpandandimprove.Greatplayersusethefundamentals inverycreativeandpersonalways.Themoreyoupracticetechnique creativelyandsystematically,themoreyouwillbegintoheartheideasand linesofplayerswewishtoemulate. 9. Alternatepracticesessions:onedayimproviseearlyinthesessionbefore doingscalarandchordalwork,onedayhittheexercisesbeforeimprovising. Monitortheoutcomes. 10. Improviseandplaynewtunesdaily.Dontgetcaughtupfeelingthatthereis amagicallevelofexercisesthatyouMUSTconquerbeforegrantingyourself privilegetoenjoysoloing.Techniqueisameanstoexpression.Havingasolid groupoftunesunderyourbeltprovidesyouwithanoutlettocreateandto enjoyplayingwithothermusicians.