How do we move beyond chords and scales, to teach students to play real, jazz-based lines in their improvisations?
Most aspiring, student jazz players are introduced to the blues scale, before moving on to Miles Davis’ modal masterpiece, “So What.” Beyond learning the two required scales for “So What,” these same students may have been exposed to other chord-scale relationships presented in a Jamey Aebersold play-a-long book & recording set. Still, there’s something missing.
This workshop addresses the questions:
Beyond chords and scales, what can we give to our jazz students?
MacDonald will dispel myths by demonstrating how to identify, practice and assimilate the jazz vocabulary played by real jazz musicians. He will use recorded examples and solo transcriptions to find and extract licks. Then, he will demonstrate how to practice and incorporate this material into one’s own playing.