opus 1, no. 3: actual playing

Before you read: I don't really have 3 blog posts worth of stuff to put up. It's really only one post, I'm just breaking it into three because they're separate topics and I don't want to throw too much information at everyone. Since that would kind of make this more like a lecture.

Maybe I should actually not put these under the 'bonus blog posts' category and just say they're all one f u s e d post. Or maybe not. I should probably ask. Anyways, back to

I'm sorry. Did I say actual playing? Whoops. I meant the stuff I have to know before I play. But the playing will come soon, I promise. 

If somehow you have enough time to actually want to figure out what I'm learning, I am currently using two sources (since I can't decide between them).

• This Jazz Theory handbook is pretty useful for the actual theory stuff. I'm skimming through it for things that I don't understand.
• This Jazz Handbook is less theory and more direct information. It gives me all the scales I need, some suggested listening, and practicing tips.

I'll probably use both. Don't worry, I won't actually be reading through the literal jazz theory textbook. I don't want to lose my sanity over this project (although honestly, maybe I already have). I'll most likely just skim through a bit each week, choose some exercises, and play some scales. Easy stuff.

I'm Sorry. I Am Rambling Again. I Was Trying to Make This Post Short and To the Point. (she said, failed, and also died.)

ANYWAYS. Jazz theory. Yep. What did I learn? 

a comprehensive list of things that Jasmine learned

• I.........................have learned nothing at all.
• I've learned that it's better to have organized blog posts, and yet, once again, this post is an utter mess. A big mess. Messier Than Any Mess Ever™️️.
• Maybe I should start organizing my posts.

JAZZ STRUCTURE
The author of the book I'm using, Stuart Smith, starts out by calling jazz 'rigid', so I guess that means my entire view on the style is wrong. Oops.

He also says that there are three parts to jazz structure, so I'll just trust him for now. Apparently, the third part, harmony, is really complex, so I've chosen to skip it for now. (It's the first week. I really don't want to confuse my brain even more.)

rhythmic jazz structure: three general layers and their rhythms
1. bass: the actual beat of the song, so usually played in quarter notes. (if you don't know what quarter notes are... there's really no quick way to explain it, since I'd have to go into time signatures. Maybe I'll make a crash course music thing later.)

haha, just kidding. I've got a terrible extended metaphor to help understand.

2. melody: plays twice as fast or even faster, so usually eighth or sixteenth notes. pretty fast.

I'm so sorry, I don't actually know how to draw cars. And if going by proportions, the actual driving speed would usually be around 80 mph. Whoops.

3. chords: normally slower than the bass. usually, will be twice as slow, so normally at half notes. sometimes whole notes.

once again, do not try this at home.

Anyways, ignoring my terrible analogy for musical speed, let's move on to the actual usage of this in Real Jazz. The way these layers are distributed depends on who's playing. 

If it's a solo pianist like me, I'm somehow going to need to learn to grow three hands, or play with a leg.

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

(The logical way would just be to combine two layers into one hand, or not include one of the layers.)

If you've got a trio of oboes, then each person can have one layer. Easy! The hard part for this scenario is to find three jazz oboe players. (Sorry, Olivia.)

And, of course, if you've got a big band like WHS's very own, then multiple people can play the same layer. Now, moving on.

form in jazz structure: themes and variations
So, if you've ever heard music in your life, you probably know that most songs will have repeating sectors, or 'themes'. Not necessarily exactly the same, but the same general tune. 

Jazz, in this way, is no different than every other style. It also has recurring themes, although throughout the song these will be changed slightly through improvisation/solos. But even improvisation will match the song's theme.

Think of it like poetry - take Shakespearean sonnets, for instance. No matter what the subject is, the rhyme scheme will still follow the same ABAB CDCD EFEF GG format.

image credit: SnidgettheSalty on redbubble

Now, using letters for themes instead of rhymes, here are some common jazz forms. If you don't understand the letter notation, here is an example that I will make for each form:

AABA: the most common. Each letter here is an 8-measure theme. If you don't know what measures are... think of them like stanzas in poetry. Except stricter, because they all have to be the same length.

Songs with AABA form: Ain't She Sweet, As Time Goes By, The Birth of the Blues, and more that I don't want to list out.

ABAC: Once again, each letter is 8 measures. However, the song sounds more like it's split into two 16-measure sections that start the same but end differently.

Songs with ABAC form: But Not For Me, Days of Wine and Roses, Fools Rush In, and more that I don't want to list out.

Thorough-Composed: this is almost like a 'misc' category. Basically, it doesn't really have any repeating themes, and if the melody is split into 4 8-measures like the other ones, it's usually in 'ABCD' format. Example: Avalon

That's pretty much it in terms of forms that I'll actually use. There's one called Ternary in ABA form, but that's pretty rare.

For Week One, that's all the jazz theory I've learned. From the second handbook (look at the top), I've printed out a few pages to start learning blues chord progressions, as well as some jazz warm-ups. Since I haven't learned jazz chords yet in theory, I've only been practicing the relatively simpler chord progressions.

Here's what they sound like:

F7 F7 F7 F7 Bb7 Bb7 F7 F7 C7 C7 F7 F7

F7 F7 F7 F7 Bb7 Bb7 F7 F7 C7 Bb7 F7 C7

F7 Bb7 F7 F7 Bb7 Bb7 F7 F7 G7 C7 F7 C7

Finally! Some actual playing. Sorry for all the boring theory stuff. I've also got an

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
I've decided to change my final project to converting a non-jazz song into something that sounds like jazz. This, I think, can better demonstrate that I actually know the patterns in jazz, rather than just reading the sheet music.

I've discussed this with a few friends already, and the non-jazz song I choose will probably be either pop or classical.

This idea change obviously leads to a change in schedule. I still want to practice an existing (small) jazz piece before I start. I'll choose this piece from the lists of pieces I have above under the 'form' section. 

For Week Two, I will practice the smaller jazz piece and hopefully finish it by Week Three. I want to have my non-jazz piece chosen by Week Three, and I will work on that for the last three weeks.

Also, note: there will not be a musician bio for this week, since I started kind of late. Hopefully, I'll have one for Week Two. :)

i'm so sorry this post was so long

Sources: 
Jazz, Jamey Aebersold, ed. "Jazz Handbook." Jazz Handbook (2010): 31+. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Smith, Stuart. "Jazz Theory." Jazz Theory (2014): 9-14. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.