Sunday, November 21, 2010

Jazz Mini-Lesson




I'm posting this little conversation I'm having with a reader who posted anonymously regarding a bad gig experience he had recently. This is a common issue that rhythm section players have with playing for singers.

Anonymous said:


I'm a bass player. I did a gig last night with a singer that didn't bring her book. She called tunes in different and obscure keys. I didn't do to well.
The drummer told me it's not my fault. He said when you work with a singer for the first time, she needs to bring her book and have a set song list.
I thought it's my fault regardless because my 'ears' weren't big enough to fake through the tunes. Will somebody comment on this. So did I lose this steady gig because of my weak ears or she didn't bring her book?


GC:
Anonymous bass player: I think it's a combination of things, which is often the case in jazz. I believe that singers SHOULD have charts, especially if they have a lot of obscure tunes and weird keys. HOWEVER, I think you have to develop that skill set at home of being able to transpose tunes on the spot. Now, if somebody asked me to play Chick Corea's You're Everything in another key, I might have a hard time, but standards should be manageable. The way I do it is to think of the theory. For example, If the tune is Green Dolphin Street, instead of thinking:

EbMaj7 GbMaj7 FMAj7 E Maj7 EbMaj7
(G-7 C7 )F-7 Bb7 EbMaj7
Ab-7 Db7 GbMaj7 F-7 Bb7

It's better to think:

IMaj7 bIII Maj7 IIMAj7 bII Maj7 Imaj7
(iii-7 vi7) ii-7 V7 IMaj7
iv-7 bVII7   bIIIMaj7   ii-7 V7

Do you see what I mean? Roman Numeral Analysis is something that classical music students do in theory class. I think it's very helpful for jazz players, maybe even more so, because we actually have to know what's going on harmonically.

While having better ears helps as well, it might be a question of understanding the theoretical analysis behind the standard tunes. This sort of analysis works well with all the tin pan alley stuff. It might be tougher to analyze  something like an obscure Wayne Shorter tune this way, but it is possible. I think this way is easier than just straight transposition, although that's a good skill to have as well.

Shelia Jordan
But this doesn't let the singer off the hook! Singers are notorious for just showing up and expecting everyone to fall in line by some magical means. Back in the 90's, I was involved in a workshop with legendary vocalist Shelia Jordan. This was her mantra: singers, get thy charts TOGETHER! Pay someone to help you if you must. It makes showing up to the gig a whole lot easier. Yes, we should all know tunes and so forth, but you'll save time and your band will thank you. It's a two way street.

Anna-Lisa Kirby, getting on singer's cases!
I actually believe that this has changed a lot due to the amount of singers that come out of jazz programs now.  Many of the vocalists at the University of Manitoba are well prepared, thanks to instructor Anna -Lisa Kirby getting on their case!

Anonymous, another trick is to stand BEHIND the piano player and watch his left hand. You'll notice that Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal always set up that way with that idea in mind. It makes it easier to change up the harmony spontaneously. But in this case, you might be able to follow along.

I hope this helps. I remember what a rude awakening it was when I first started dealing with singers. But sometimes a rude awakening will kick your ass to get into the shed and practice. Sometimes the desire to avoid embarrassment can highly motivate.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, Practice, Practice!

11 comments:

  1. Ron Elliston was my class piano teacher in college, and he drilled us on the Roman Numeral Analysis, over and over, emphasizing that if we got that down we would never have any trouble playing any song in any key. (This was a piano class for non-piano playing music majors.) These days, as I've been spending more and more time with the piano, those lessons have been really helpful. It works, being able to think in terms of "the one chord" and "the five chord" in any key.

    Here's a link to some of Ron's music, with his late wife, Ronnie.
    http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/wells

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  2. As in any endeavor, clear communication is important and the singer should have brought her book. But I love this way of looking at transposing music! It's something that, as an amateur, I hate doing and try to avoid whenever possible. But this is something worth remembering.

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  3. Singer sits in with a trio and calls Girl From Impanima. "What key" asked the bass player. "F sharp" she replied. A groan comes from the trio, Singer replies, "what? is that too fast?"....

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  4. Why don't I see myself having this problem? HA!!!

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  5. George, You lost me with all those notations!!! I say this with all sincerity: I am so glad I don't know harmonic theory and thus my analytical mind doesn't interfere with my ability to enjoy music deep in my soul.

    On the other hand, it is geniuses like you, and the rest of the jazz playing community, who did the work, that give me the greatest joys I experience. So thanks!!!

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  6. This is excellent George a real world scenario for what I learned in Gary Thomas' Jazz Fundamentals class. That class is always very relevant to me, but still trying to figure out what the hell do Bach four part voice writing has to do with jazz,lol. I think most students don't have problem working hard as long as they know the real world connection. Yes we wish we can always play with our souls but a large part of paying dues is playing music u don't necessarily dig. From what I gather from CONSISTENTLY working musicians is that they have the raw technique & skills to consistently perform at a high level no matter the style or emotional connection. Even Miles Davis said you can only play so much u hear. (Now how did Chet Baker do what he did is what I'd like to know bcuz I am personally tired of parallel fifths haunting me,lol)

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  7. I have a vocal student who brought her chart in all 12 keys, just in case. Now THAT'S prepared!

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  8. There's also a difference between an experienced singer who expects rhythm sections to be able to reasonably transpose standards as a standard of competency, and one who's not experienced and doesn't know or care that playing whichever tune he or she happens to have learned in all keys is not as simple as it seems. The former will probably get a much better reception than the latter.

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  9. website design priceForumLinkBuildingGeorge, You lost me with all those notations!!! I say this with all sincerity: I am so glad I don't know harmonic theory and thus my analytical mind doesn't interfere with my ability to enjoy music deep in my soul.

    On the other hand, it is geniuses like you, and the rest of the jazz playing community, who did the work, that give me the greatest joys I experience. So thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Italienisch lernenForum Link Building scamThere's also a difference between an experienced singer who expects rhythm sections to be able to reasonably transpose standards as a standard of competency, and one who's not experienced and doesn't know or care that playing whichever tune he or she happens to have learned in all keys is not as simple as it seems. The former will probably get a much better reception than the latter.

    ReplyDelete
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