PIANO SCRATCHFirst published in 1998 by The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (Publishing) Ltd 14 Bedford Square, London WCLB 3JG Reprinted 1998 © 1998 by The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music ISBN 1 86096 015 4 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form of by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ‘Music and text origination by Barnes Music Engraving, Bast Sussex. Printed by Caligraving Ltd, Thetford, Norfolk. Extracts from the following copyright works are reproduced with permission: Miles Davis, ‘All Blues’. © 1959 by Jazz Horn Music Copyright renewed All rights administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, 8 Music Square West, Nashville, TN 37203 International copyright secured. All rights reserved. ‘Tim Richards, ‘Barrelhouse Blues’. © 1997 by Schott & Co. Ltd, London. Moises Simons, ‘Peanut Vendor’. © 1931 E. B, Marks Music Corporation, USA. EMI Music Publishing Limited (L. Wright) London WC2H OEA. Reproduced by permission of International Music Publications Led. Billy Strayhorn, ‘Take the ‘A’ Train’. © 1941 by Tempo Music Inc., USA. Reproduced by permission of Campbell Connelly & Co, Ltd, 8/9 Frith Street, London W1V STZ.Preface In assembling the materials for this book, I hope we have been able to reflect some kind of emerging consensus, as well as start a debate. Putting it together has been a long and complex team effort and, like all worthwhile projects, it has been a learning experience for everyone concerned. Three years ago, we wouldn’t have been able to define what we meant by Grade 1 jazz improvisation; now we think we can. Rather than try to say anything startlingly new, we have aimed to synthesize the best practice from classrooms, workshops and jam sessions from around the country. We are setting new standards and also establishing a fresh approach nationally to the teaching and learning of jazz. It is most unlikely that everyone will agree with every word, and indeed, I would be rather disappointed if they did. But I hope that consultation has been wide enough for at least the majority of jazz musicians and educators to recognize something in the ideas and find them usefull and practical in their work. I hope, too, that teachers and learners will find this book accessible and clear. Above all, I hope they will be challenged to be creative in using it. Heartfelt thanks are due to Michael Garrick, Eddie Harvey and Richard Michael, for their long experience, their honesty, their unfailing support, and for contributing at various points substantial chunks of the raw material of the book. ‘Thanks are also due to the many people who read and commented on drafis, in particular Trevor Tomkins, Pete Churchill, Nikki Iles, Barak Schmool, Mike Welsh and Kevin Jackson, all of whom steered the book important ways. Special thanks to Trevor Tomkins for allowing the Board to use several of b rhythm charts. To the staff and students at Brunel, my thanks for giving me the time to write, and for acting as willing guinea-pigs to my ideas. My thanks also to Philip Mundey, David Blackwell and Kathryn Oswald at the Associated Board. ‘And finally, my thanks to Yuwrajh, for putting up with all my nonsense. British jazz education is full of pioneers, committed and determined musicians who believe in what they do, and they have rarely been given their due in the past for the important contribution they make to the many lives they touch. As someone whose life has been touched in the past by their love for jazz, I hope all those who read this book will feel that at least something of the free spirit of the music we all love and believe in has been captured but not caged in its pages. Charles Beale June 1997 itiContents INTRODUCTION Part I Starting Out Carter 1 — Opening Rhythm Workshops CuarTer2 Pitch CHapTER 3 Introduction to Chords CHarrer4 — Using Chords in Chord Sequences Carrer 5 — Doodling CHAPTER 6 — Putting it all Together Part IT Moving On Carrer 7 — Rhythm Skills CHAPTER8 — Melody and Harmony CHaPTER9 — Playing Standards CHarTER 10 Using Modes CHAPTER 11 The Twelve-Bar Blues CHAPTER 12 Key Principles Part II] Preparing for the Exam CHapTER 13 Introduction to the Jazz Piano Syllabus Carrer 14 Pieces CHAPTER 15 ‘The Quick Study CHarTER 16 Scales, Arpeggios and Broken Chords CHAPTER 17 Aural Tests ‘Vamps and Bass-lines Listening Guide Glossary List of Quotations Further Reading CD Track Listing Index vii 3 19 30 43 53 57 71 92 109 119 135 144 149 154 162 167 173 180 185 187 191 192 193 195cD Introduction Jazz. is not just Well, man, this is what I feel like playing’. It’s a very structured thing that comes down from a tradition and requires a lot of thought and study. WYNTON MARSALIS Welcome to Jazz Piano from Scratch. This book is intended for anyone interested in learning jazz piano from the very beginning. Perhaps you are a potential student, with little knowledge but some enthusiasm, or perhaps you already play classical music and want to learn how to play jazz too. You may be a teacher, wanting to learn new skills over the shoulder of your pupils, so you can prepare them better for our new jazz exams. Or perhaps you are just generally interested and musical but have never had the courage to attempt jazz before. Whatever you are, this book is a simple, practical, step-by-step introduction to the discipline and free spirit of jazz playing. If you're willing to put in the work, it should be an enjoyable read, and will give you the skills and understanding you need to get started. Asa jazz teacher, workshop leader and attender of summer schools, I find the question everyone asks is what book to buy. Other jazz books can often seem complex and full of jargon, intended perhaps for more advanced players or those who already have a basic grasp of the style. We hope this one plugs a gap because it starts from the very beginning, Through a structured series of activities, it will lead you into jazz playing and improvising, building early confidence through getting an initial flow of musical ideas going, and then gradually adding in the various elements that will give your jazz playing a solid rhythmic, melodic and harmonic foundation. It is the product of a long consultation process, and top jazz educators nationally have contributed their ideas and experience—we feel confident this tried and tested approach will work for you! ‘There are some other important first principles. This book is not something you can read in an armchair—you need to be by a piano and preferably with a friend or teacher, ready to sing, clap or play. It’s full of musical things to do, because in jazz you show you understand how to play by playing. Secondly, the best way to learn to play jazz is by listening to other players and imitating them. So if you have a CD player, put it by the piano if you can. We've provided references to various CDs and recordings, names of key players and styles, for you to follow up. We've also provided our own CD with this book, where professional players and teachers give examples of the sound-world, go through a number of the exercises and demonstrate the key styles in simple ways, Listen to it carefully because it is the sound of the music that’s most important—the CD is as important as the book itself, The relevant track is indicated in the CD symbol alongside the example or activity Introduction viially this book, like the graded books of pieces, is designed for anyone wanting to learn jazz piano and not simply those wishing to enter the Associated Board jazz piano exams. Of course, if you want to enter for the exams, this book will help you, and indeed the short final section (Part IIT) goes through the exam in detail, giving pointers and showing you how to prepare and what examiners will be looking for. But the bulk of the book is actually simply about playing jazz P and progressive way. The pieces in the graded books cover all the main styles, from the carly masters to the present day. They have been designed to be played outside the exam context as well as within it, so you can play them in school concerts or even at your own gigs. Many of the music examples in this book are taken from these pieces and you may find it helpfull to work through the books of pieces and this book at the same time. ‘The book is in three parts. Part I, ‘Starting Our’, leads the absolute beginner progressively through simple but effective mi ‘ses to introduce the main concepts, and takes the learner from scratch through to approximately Grade 3. ‘This is followed by more advanced chapters in Part II, ‘Moving On’, which build on initial progress and suggest ways of exploring the musical materials of jazz in more depth. Part III, ‘Preparing for the Exam’, focuses specifically on the exam itself and on the needs of candidates and the teachers who prepare them. At the head of each chapter and part you'll find a quotation about jazz. These represent a range of opinion: some are quotations from jazz musicians or composers; some give a view from the past. Some give useful advice, some will make you think, and some—we hope!—will make you laugh. no itself, about what the skills are and how to acquire them in an enjoyable sical games and © foo Before we get into the detail, here are some tips to help you to make quicker progress: 1 Practise your instrument regularly. Do at least some practice every day to gain the flexibility you need to become really expressive. In particular sing what you play, play what you sing, and listen carefully to what you play, making continual improvements. ‘Iry recording yourself from time to time so you can really listen hard to how you sound. Each practice rhythm exercises, some scales, some doodling, some work b notation and definitely some improvising! sion should include some warm-up car and from 2 Listen closely to recordings, and sing or play them back. Close study of a recording, and direct imitation on an instrument or by singing the line, is the only way to work out how many jazz effects are done; even if it’s only by repeating your favourite two bars over and over again to begin with. Indulge your own musical obsessions, and get deeply into the playing of key musicians (use our Listening Guide as a start)—hum their tunes in the shower, play their recordings in your bedroom, in the car or on your walkman, immerse yourself in the sounds 3 Get into a band with some friends. There is no better motivation to practise than to be playing regularly with others, once a week or more—it brings the music alive by re-creating the classics, or making up your own tunes. Jazz is a music which often occurs in groups, and you will learn at least as much from viii Introductionplaying with others as you will from books or notated music. 4 Find a teacher or mentor. A ‘critical friend’, someone who really understands the style, can save you a lot of trial and error by inspiring you and pointing you in the right direction. If you are really dedicated, it may only take a few lessons, or one now and then, but all jazz musicians will tell you that the odd piece of advice from a respected fellow musician is invaluable. Attendance at workshops, summer schools and other short courses can also be a great help, 5 Go to hear jazz musicians play. Whenever possible, get out there and hear the real thing live. Enjoy the vibrancy and emotion of the sounds, feel the communication, follow a player who you really like, share your enthusiasm with others. 6 Work regularly on your musical memory, As you learn, you will be continually involved in identifying, absorbing, reproducing and generally internalizing rhythms, melodies and chord sequences, singing them to get them in your ear, and using them in structured improvisation, Musical learning in jazz depends crucially on having a good musical memory. Finding your own way ‘Many prominent jazz musicians taught themselves mainly by playing in bands in constant interaction with others, listening and imitating them. This is undoubtedly the best way. Learning to play jazz is in that sense rather like learning a language. When learning to talk, we are not taught too many organizing principles to begin with. Instead we learn to speak through trial and error, by listening hard to what others say and by asking questions when we are ready to learn something or where we don’t understand. If someone stopped us every time we made a mistake in the early stages, perhaps we would never learn to speak at all! The same process should be at work as you learn to play jazz. This book is designed to get the musical flow going confidently—the learning should then happen naturally. The grammar of the harmony and the rhythm of jazz will emerge gradually in your development and can then be tightened up and formalized through your own recognition of the structures that underlie what you do. Being ‘on the edge’ In any kind of improvising, we have no choice but to learn by making mistakes. ‘Making mistakes fosters the self-awareness from which we begin to discover what we need to learn next, or to paraphrase a famous quotation from Miles Davis, every jazz performance, however polished, is in that sense a rehearsal, a chance to try something new, to take a risk. Of course jazz musicians set themselves high standards, but they do this by finding their own musical boundaries and then striving to break through them, to play even more inventively or with even more technical assurance than before. Being ‘on the edge” ixSo we end with an entreaty to push yourself as a musician, to find your own limitations and then conquer them, to make hundreds of confident mistakes, and so to learn from them. The more you become aware of your own areas of strength and weakness, the easier it is to practise effectively, to solve the problems and to make swift progress. This is both an enjoyable and a frightening process, and makes for music and learning that is always exciting, dynamic and ‘on the edge’ But then again, you can do what the hell you like... EDDIE HARVEY x IntroductionSTARTING OUT Feel the fear and do it anyway SUSAN JEFFERSChapter 1 Opening Rhythm Workshops Has anyone ever heard a metronome that made you want to dance? ‘TREVOR TOMKINS (drummer) Jazz. begins and ends as rhythm. Understand the rhythmic language of jazz and the rest will take care of itself. So we begin with a set of simple rhythm games and exercises, which are fun to do, feel natural and will get you moving, both literally and metaphorically. Use these workshop exercises as the basis of five minutes regular rhythm work in every practice session. Once you have the basics under your belt, you'll find ways of developing them further for yourself, to practise rhythmic improvising on particular pieces. They will help you understand why the rhythms in the given parts sound as they do, and help you play the given music stylishly and in time. Come back and dip into this chapter regularly once you get going on the rest of the book, and remember, you are not expected to finish this chapter before moving on to the rest of Part I. Workshop 1: Feel the beat From the very start always be physically and mentally positive and energetic in your rhythm. Don’t hold back! Consciously put aside any inhibitions, and move your body gently but positively and dance along with the pulses and rhythms you make. Try to get the rhythms into your body as well as your head, literally to feel the rhythm through the movement of your limbs; your learning will then become more effective as well as more enjoyable. Learning to let yourself go bodily is as much part of the process in jazz as developing musical self-discipline, and the ideal jazz musician achieves both: a controlled but relaxed ease with the music. Activities 1 Listen carefully to the piece of music given on track 1 on the CD. As you listen, clap along or tap on the table or dance around. Don’t worry too much about being in strict time to begin with—just feel the beat and move your body along with it. 2 Now listen again and focus on the beat itself. Clap, tap and move along with it evenly and positively, but always in a relaxed fashion. 3. Once you have the pulse clear in your mind, tap on every beat (crotchets), then every two beats ( 8), and finally twice within every beat (quavers). Workshop 1: Feel the beat 3