Technically, I gained the knowledge base for this blog about two weeks ago, but ironically, I've spent too much of my time on this project practicing the saxophone (and A LOT of clarinet), and not enough time getting these blog posts up.
Anyway, with Region Band aside, I moved on to learning what exactly were "jazz" chords. And my teacher's response was really quite unexpected, but also very validating to myself as a musician. The first thing to understand about so-called "jazz" chords is that there is no such thing as an absolute "jazz" chord. Now, don't get me wrong. Certainly, there are chords of all types, intervals, and progressions, and within the genre of jazz, some chords and progressions have become and so common and so iconic in how we hear a "jazz" sound that they are considered by many to be "jazz chords".
However, in all truth, since the development of jazz in past few decades in straying away from the more defined forms of bop, the definition of what is accepted as "jazz" has expanded drastically. In today's dynamic modern jazz, there's really no such thing as a "jazz chord". Really, there are just chords and scales, nd what makes something "jazzy" isn't nearly as much what you play, but "how" you play it.
Youtube and Spotify have been invaluable in demonstrating this to me. I saw a video of famous clarinetist Eddie Daniels speaking about how to "loosen up" for jazz. He took a simple tune that was known quite universally - "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". To be honest, I didn't know what to expect. The theme to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" just seemed so common, and while it did have potentially to be played as beautiful melody, I was a little wary. But then Eddie Daniels played the tune, only he added his own spin, his own ideas, and his own improvisation. And as if by magic, I was hearing jazz. The personifcation and character of the music changed completely - it was awesome, and I couldn't wait to try it myself.
Really love this guy... AMAZING classical and jazz musician!
So naturally, I couldn't wait to try it out myself. I started just with another commonly known simple tune - the theme to "Happy Birthday".
* I apologize for the poor video quality... wrong settings :(
** And awkward ending is awkward
So okay, I know that the second time I played it, it wasn't quite as fluid or natural as I would have liked. I might have lost a sense of definite rhythm a couple times in here, and DARN flubbed that high note near the end. But I suppose that's the pressure of recording, and besides - I'm still learning anyway. There's lots of room for improvement, and I don't see myself stopping with playing jazz improv at the end of this project. I mean, I'm already just doing it for fun. In terms of the chords and scales I was using, I didn't know much more than the fact that "Happy Birthday" revolves around the three easiest scales to play on almost any instrument: G, D, and C. Not to say that I haven't looked more deeply into common jazz chords and their progressions, but for this, that's about all I really needed to know about the "jazz chords" I was using. The rest was all based on the variety of rhythms and colors I was trying to use.
My point is, this is why I've really just been enjoying jazz. When I take out my saxophone to "practice" jazz, it really isn't practicing. It's more just having a lot of fun. For jazz improvisation to be good, it has to come naturally, and on a expressive musical instrument, that's probably one of the easiest and greatest things that you can do.
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