Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Centrum Educator Track 2016 - Part 1


George Cables plays during the inaugural Jam

I'm collecting different vantage from our participants and posting feedback to serve 2 main purposes:

1) Jog our memories during the school year when we have lost our way in the weeds
2) Help future prospective students/teachers consider attending the Jazz Port Townsend Workshop

Randy Halberstadt at the piano with Jeff Clayton listens to "Ow" by Dizzy Gillespie


Thanks to the educator track participants for contributions as time permits. The following is a stream of consciousness entries by myself and other participants.


DAY 1 - Here you go! 

First day of camp! And what a day it was! After our morning meeting our crew attended Kelby MacNayr's incredibly engaging seminar on waking up your body to play. He started off strong by leading the group in the brain dance and I was right at home. It felt like being in elementary music and not having to teach it, hah! I really enjoyed the next layering exercise that we built up together as well as the exploration of different counting methods and would love to try teaching them to my own students.

After lunch I hopped into the drum master class. While I played a kit a bit as a student I never felt the drive to pursue it and after this class I feel a bit of regret that I gave up on it so easily. Listening to 4 amazing musicians talk about something as specific as ride cymbal patterns for 45 min made me want to pull my own kit out of storage and just explore.

I then wandered over to the vocal master class which I heard had been rearranged a bit to make better use of the time (lucky me, I snuck right in.... And only interrupted a little...). Not only was I blown away by the talent of the singers but also the warmth and clarity with which Ms. Daniels expressed her observations. She described how you want to convey a story to the audience and how by imaging that imagery in your own head you can better communicate and evoke reminiscence from the audience. I feel like this can apply to instrumental improvisation as well, it's just more abstract. I also noticed a lot of parallels between the vocal and drum master classes, specifically the discussion of intent and choice. You must make the choice to play or sing a specific way, you can't allow limitations or habit make that choice for you. Simple and yet so important. After finishing up with these lovely ladies and gentlemen I dashed over to Wheeler for a killer concert then off to dinner.

After dinner I was back in 204 for Teaching Improvisation. I don't have a very firm grasp on improvisation so I feel that right now this class is much more for my benefit than my future students. lt gave me some great tools I can work with to begin building my skills.... Which I put to use for the next 2 hours! I ran back to the dorm, grabbed my sax and sat in on what looked like a low key jam. I feel like I learned as much in those 2 hours as I did all day. I got to practice my sight reading, improvising and transposing.... My theory brain hurts a bit... It hasn't work this hard in a while now.... But I am eager to try it again tomorrow. 
See you tomorrow

Emily



Bass Masterclass - Monday
John Clayton - JC
Harish Ragahavan - HR
Jon Hamar - JH
Christoph Luty - CL
Chuck Deardorf - CDJohn Clayton - JC


JC  -Ray Brown …. “if the bass is kicking you in the &$%, we are gonna have a problem”

Ask questions as many will be facing the similar issues.

Let’s play a number first.

Sings and shows finger signs … Christoph you start on a B and go down chromatically ..

ba ga doo dah …. 6 x then bomb

Then “In a Mello tone in G” I’ll play the first half, you play the second half …..

How to deal with a blister .. John Clayton said - sterilize a needle and then drain it yourself. If you choose to wear a bandaid, take it off at night.

Ron Carter’s bass book has a great right hand exercise which I do every day. (Harish)

Add to what we already do … there is no wrong way (unless it’s physically painful).

Henry volunteered to play first… came up and asked for anyone who wants to play “you are my sunshine” - Ben volunteered and played a great solo and bass line too with much authority!!

JC took notes on his Mac laptop and gave feedback from his notes after each demonstration.

“Watch the masters right hands to get more control”

Make sure you play in a musical fashion by not overwhelming your partner.

Clamp down the left hand to create big tone … Chuck Deardorf

JC … always double check your posture … I’m not saying you were or weren’t … demonstrated the leaning of the bass to ease posture in upper register.  Get your thumb behind the neck … “choking the chicken” police :) It’s actually less work to play with proper technique with the thumb in the back of the neck.

Sing and play what you sing … the music is in us … the bass just happens to be the best instrument on the planet :)

Everyone in the room does something better than someone else …. JC told the story about Ray Brown telling the story about Art Tatum riding across town to hear a pianist who played only 1 finger solos … support each other no matter what they have to say at this point in time.

Never feel insecure about your level …

Luis Ross and Kenneth Jimenez … Nardis

JC - be more deliberate when soloing and play around more with the vibe of the melody.  Ken you start to go that way by making more space … guys hand your trading off … make it a natural tendency to share it … play more melodies and harmonies in life.

Christoph - ditto about the groove - it was there throughout.  Remember that your solos need to demonstrate that you’re playing with other people .. offer your solo to the other person.
E can get a little muddy because the high octave is so challenging up there … maybe experiment in some other more bass friendly keys.  All the Things or Misty are typically called in many keys but some tunes seem to always be a bit sacred … challenge that.

CD - couple of things … Ken during Luis’ solo I felt it was a bit too busy and distracted a bit from what Luis was doing … Luis try to keep your top knuckles in line with the edge of the fingerboard.

Learn the melody and don’t be afraid to steal more vocabulary from other soloists.

JC always told me to create my own exercises! Just because you learn this tune it’s doesn’t mean it’s not going to apply in another instance on a different tune.

JH - the most intense part of some solos is when someone is not playing.  Create intensity by not playing… space makes your phrase more meaningful.


JC - connect yourself to the silence … breath, then play.

CD - I don’t have a ton to say. It was great! I also think your time was really enjoyable even though you’re not tapping your foot.  Even though its a rental, it sounds great.  The sound is in you …

Harish said … your intro was so great. It really drew me in … I would say use this as a vehicle to explore all the chords…
Steal some stuff from Bobby Timmons live at the vanguard.

JH - Your left heel is off the ground.  Stand with equal weight. Great great sound and pulse in the melody was super clear.

Christoph - the clarity of the performance was evident. Think carefully about how you approach the harmony. Check out Israel Crosby and open up things a little more harmonically … demonstrates. Think about the bass line having a shape much like a melody does. Anything from 1958 - 60 with Ahmad Jamal.

JC - Beautiful performance man.  That was killin’!

There’s no room for shy when you touch music. It’s okay to reflect the groove in other parts of your body. Lovely right arm… you give us the intensity without too much effort. Loved that you soloed first and then walked.  Experiment with your posture …

Here are some highlights from Randy Halberstadt's Educator Track session on Improv on Monday night in Room 10.

Teach your student melodies by ear. "My Ideal". Require them to sing it!

When learning melodic phrases chunk and combine slowly! Especially the first time you're learning it.

Have your students pick out melodies by ear! Ray in a maze metaphor. 

Improvise with chord tones!!
Stay in the box. Slowly!

2-5 repeat 
Experiment with major scales

Then work on repetition games worksheet!

Repetition is the opposite of boring. 
Good example is Joe morello on take 5

Swing! Legato rules
Don't end lines on a downbeat

Upbeat accentuation is more important than triplets


High notes sometimes act as accents when playing very fast - not like Itzak Pearlman

Day 2:
I took a fairly long break from jazz, not necessarily by choice but perhaps by failure to pursue it in my own time regardless of what my schedule could accommodate. That being said, the music has never left my head. It just never got to my fingers. I'd like to imagine that I can absorb things through osmosis without dedicating the hours of practice but we all know that's just not true. The first two days of camp have given me a kick start back into my own playing and feeling of belonging in the music world (and maybe even the jazz world). I think it's the community element that I have been missing for so long. It's also exciting to be challenged by some of the ideas we've been discussing. I understand the theory and get how to apply it to my instrument, I just need to get my fingers to believe me, hah! Then play it again and again and again and again... But when do we have the time?!?

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