things a jazz musician should know if they've never played jazz before

[king_xanadu]

i'm trying out for a jazz band at my school
in my 5 or so years of playing i have never played jazz
any tips or other things i should know?

[bigblondeafro87]

get a real book, listen to and learn lots of walking lines and jazz melodies, know arpeggios like the back of your hand, it isnt necessary to ALWAYS hit the root on one, just make sure the note you hit makes sense. Playing chugging quarters with solid note choice is MUCH better than trying to make up for you walking inabilities by playing lots of triplets, eighths, whatever.

Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Charles Mingus. Learn em, love em.

[DudeistMonk]

One Word: Instructor

I'm not very far into studying Jazz but I'm finding its not too hard to play Jazz bass if you are sitting down and composing a walking line, the challenge comes in playing off the chart on the fly like a real jazz musician....which requires hours of practice, drilling progression segments, studying arpeggios and modes, ext.

[BigOldHarry]

Originally Posted by bigblondeafro87

get a real book, listen to and learn lots of walking lines and jazz melodies, know arpeggios like the back of your hand, it isnt necessary to ALWAYS hit the root on one, just make sure the note you hit makes sense. Playing chugging quarters with solid note choice is MUCH better than trying to make up for you walking inabilities by playing lots of triplets, eighths, whatever.

Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Charles Mingus. Learn em, love em.

+1

When I'm doing a walking part, I always think "steady, steady, steady" - meaning don't get all frisky - Stick with quarter notes and until you are VERY comfortable, don't go all modal/tritone substitution! Maybe stick with pentatonic forms - once that is natural for you, branch out.

I also like to remember to "breath" - the occasional rest you throw in is better than the flurry of 8th/16ths/triplets. Part of walking is resisting the temptation to overplay - think of a walking part as a marathon, not a sprint.

Hope that helps

[StyleOverShow]

Not bad advice from Big Harry. The walking bass line has to flow and the comments about steady and resting are pertinent.

It was useful for me to listen to Ray Brown and figure out what he repeated and how he changed the turnarounds (II-V). After I figured out what a master was doing I just aped it and then my own instincts, likes kicked in. It's not hard, just different.

-richard

[Ed Fuqua]

I'd think that the first thing they should know is NOT to call themselves a jazz musician

[fdeck]

I assume it's a typical school jazz band -- essentially a "big band" setting in which tunes are rehearsed from charts. The only skill that's absolutely vital is reading. Most of the kids in the band, e.g., all of the horn players, will have learned reading as part of their regular instruction, so it is simply taken for granted.

I played cello -- strictly classical -- but I got into the jazz band because I could read. Then I got an electric bass and spent a summer figuring out how to play it. On the first day of jazz band, we got out a chart and played it. Learning how to swing and play jazz came later, as we progressed.

[bigblondeafro87]

Oh and if you're up for the task, learn upright. A steep learning curve, but if you stick with it you will surely develop greater prowess on both the electric and acoustic bass.

Think of walking lines like a big wave with smaller ripples on the wave. The bass player plays a huge role in how the particular tune 'breathes' by controlling this wave. The ability to control this wave greatly increases with experience and with the developing ear.

[slybass3000]

I would say start to learn how to read especially walking bass lines.
Then play them with the click on 2&4 and FEEL the bass part.

The things I learned by playing with Big bands was that the bass player has a lot to do with the Time Feel of the band because Brass have a tendancy to drag a lot so you have to play ahead of the beat most of the time to keep the pulse alive. But this is something more advanced that you'll get by feeling the bass part.

Then try to come up with your own walking bass part during the solos sections,

Good luck,


Sly

[onlyclave]

Originally Posted by bigblondeafro87

Oh and if you're up for the task, learn upright. A steep learning curve, but if you stick with it you will surely develop greater prowess on both the electric and acoustic bass.

Yup. I got many more gigs as a double bass player than as electric bass. People love the doghouse.

[Jim Carr]

I assume you meant "Aspiring Jazz musician who hasn't played Jazz yet."


1) Listen to past masters. That is essential.

2) Learn how to spell ALL chords. By that I mean, you should instantly know what the chords tones are for any given chord symbol in any key, and where those notes are on your instrument.

3) Get a good Jazz/bass teacher, as was suggested above, and the Real Books. Build a recording collection.

4) Band-in-a-Box is a good way to practice keeping your eyes moving through a chord chart.

5) Knowing as much piano as possible is a good thing.

6) Learn how to walk without playing the root on every strong beat--build long fluid lines.

PS. check out the Jamey Abersol books: http://www.aebersold.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

[smeet]

I think this applies to all forms of music, but I don't think enough bass players (especially electric) transcribe walking lines. Take a Ray Brown tune (probably a blues) and figure out every note, and write it out. Then try to analyze how and why his note choices work.

keep doing this and your walking (and everything else) will improve quickly.
It's a great way to work on your ear, your reading, your theory, and your technique all at the same time.

[j.a.e.r.i.p]

Listen until you can't stand to listen any more, and then keep listening.