Re: [Harp-L] Questing For a Basic Competency in Jazz

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

OK, I'll bite.

Jazz tunes tend to use certain types of chord sequences, and oft-used forms. The 
obvious chord sequences are the circle-of-fifths things (ii-V-I, etc.) and 
common forms include the 12-bar blues tricked with all sorts of variations, and 
the 32-bar AABA form known as "rhythm changes" after I Got Rhythm. There are 
more, but those are the two biggies.

One interesting approach to both of these facts is the "Harmony with Lego 
Bricks" approach taken by Conrad Cork and some associated English musicians. 
When he gets off his soapbox rant, he has some useful ideas. The main things 
are:

1) Jazz tunes tend to be made up of several indentifiable interlocking "bricks" 
or chord progression component segments.

2) Each brick can be identified by its structure, independent of key

3) Each brick has a specific function in moving the tune forward, delaying, 
returing to a previous point, etc.

4) Each brick has a sort of emotional signature (that's probbly not the best way 
of saying it) that you can learn to identify by ear. 

The same types of chord progressions, amde up of li pop up again and again in 
different tunes and different keys

http://jazztools.org/?page_id=52 (for the book/CD combo)

Winslow
 Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
Harmonica instructor, The Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance
Resident expert, bluesharmonica.com
Columnist, harmonicasessions.com




________________________________
From: Elizabeth Hess <TrackHarpL@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

My current Mt. Everest is these lists of songs that the books recommend one 
learn.  So many!  I have more or less resigned myself to the fact that unlike 
blues songs, which all share a (nearly) identical chord sequence, the way one 
learns jazz songs is "one at a time".  SOME are different tunes (heads) over the 
same set of changes ("I've Got Rhythm", for example), but most are unique.  I 
have my eyes open for the Unified Theory of Everything Jazz that will tie things 
together.  The question that sums it up is, "What does a decent jazz player do 
when a song is called that he/she doesn't know?"  What SHOULD he or she do?

Thanks in advance,
Elizabeth (aka "Chrome Lizzie"?)