Beginner Jazz Course 2008
Monday 21st - Thursday 24th July
Brochure & Application Form
You can download and print the course brochure (which includes an application form) below, or pick one up from the school office.
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Course Details
This course is aimed at musicians who have always wanted to try their hand at jazz but have never quite got there.
It's also for those who have had some experience but want to improve and explore their capabilities.
All ages will be welcomed, and the four-day course will end with a short concert providing a platform to display all that has been learnt.
At the end of the course the students will have:
- learnt to improvise and developed skills allowing for free and creative improvisation
- developed their use of scale patterns and chord progressions, and general musical knowledge
- learnt awareness and group skills through working with others and reacting with others through musical performance
- built up a working repertoire of music both original and standard
- developed technical ability on their given instrument
Course Director
Marie McNally has been teaching jazz for ten years in and around Worcestershire and teaches extensively from the Guildhall jazz syllabus. She is an examiner for Trinity Guildhall, plays sax, clarinet and flute (both classical and popular). She is also a freelance writer and you can often read her work in the magazine Music Teacher.
Refreshments
Light refreshments will be provided, but it is suggested that you either bring your own lunch, or take advantage of the many restaurant outlets in the immediate vicinity of the School, including the Art House Cafe across the courtyard.
Course Fees
The course costs £120 for the four days, with a deposit of £30 payable by Friday 11th July. The balance will be payable by Friday 18 July. Late entries will be accepted after this date only if there are places available.
Timings
Each day will start at 10am and finish at 4pm, with a lunch break from 12.30 to 1.15pm. Light refreshments will be provided but lunch is not included.
The concert on the last day will start at 3pm, and is expected to last under an hour.
Children under 16 must remain at the school during lunchtimes or be supervised by a parent.
Programme
Day 1
We'll start with basic blues patterns and simple three or four note riffs, building improvised melodies around basic chords. The day will end by learning one or two jazz standards and putting the improvisation into practice.
Day 2
The second day will start with a recap of the first, warming up with the tunes learnt and reworking some improvisation, before moving on to some more basic patterns, and further work on the "tunes".
Day 3
We will now be adding simple three-chord "tricks" so that students can learn to improvise over a melody, and splitting into smaller groups if necessary. Patterns relating to different tempos and moods will be explored, experimenting with cross-rhythms. A compositional aim will be included, encouraging students to write their own tunes.
Day 4
Continuing work with jazz standards, students will each build a repertoire of their own, learning more about cross-rhythms and chord progressions. Work will centre more on smaller groups of three to four. Students will also be encouraged to develop their own melodies from the previous days, and to explore moods through decisions over scales used. Finally, rehearsals for the final concert will take place.