Jazz harmony, ear training and ensembles: advanced
Break week: 24th May.
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- Course Code: MG603C
- Dates: 26/04/24 - 05/07/24
- Time: 10:30 - 15:30
- Taught: Fri, Daytime
- Duration: 10 sessions (over 11 weeks)
- Location: Keeley Street
- Tutor: Della Rhodes
Course Code: MG603C
Choose a start date
Duration: 10 sessions (over 11 weeks)
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
Develop your ability to hear, play and understand melody, harmonic progression, style and time feel in the jazz idiom. Detailed study of jazz standards will be supported by listening, singing activities and playing solo.
Develop your ability to improvise well. Learn challenging repertoire. Perform and record your musical efforts.
What will we cover?
- Exercises to explore and practise approaches to improvising
- Improvising with the voice, transcribing chord progressions, guide tone lines, exploring scale choice and tensions
- Practice routines will be established for ear training
- Explore tools and devices like forward motion, backing riffs, enclosures
- focus on listening and responding in the ensemble.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Recognise simple & compound intervals, natural and altered tensions over chords
- Develop short-term memory for motif, pattern, etc.
- Sing, write and use modes of major and melodic minor scales, altered and diminished sounds
- have mastered some challenging jazz repertoire
- Invent solo and backing ideas by ear
- show greater expertise in matters of writing/arranging.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
You should have good working knowledge of aural and academic harmony, easy recognition of intervals and chord types (major, minor 7, dominant, half-diminished) and minor and modal harmony. You need to be accustomed to reading, playing, and improvising in jazz, funk and Latin styles.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
All practical - lots of singing, transcribing musical ideas, and playing exercises and jazz standards together. Weekly practice of improvising solos. Recording and submitting samples of your solo work.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
Bring your instrument and a folder for manuscript, lead sheets & notes. Use a device to record parts of our sessions.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
You may continue with this group study next term.
Della has enjoyed working at City Lit for over 3 decades, teaching, managing, learning. After training in contemporary dance, Della became consumed by drama and music work. Music came to dominate, playing in bands, song writing, teaching for, and advising, the Youth Service and Adult Education. Performing and writing arrangements for pop and jazz a cappella has been a 30 year journey. So too the teaching of jazz musicianship. Gratitude is due to early mentor Amit Sen for introducing 'the jazz thing'.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
