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    The Classroom Guide to Jazz Improvisation

    The Classroom Guide to Jazz Improvisation by McNeil, John; Nielsen, Ryan;

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    Estimated delivery time: In stock at the publisher, but not at Prospero's office. Delivery time approx. 3-5 weeks.
    Not in stock at Prospero.

    Why don't you give exact delivery time?

    Delivery time is estimated on our previous experiences. We give estimations only, because we order from outside Hungary, and the delivery time mainly depends on how quickly the publisher supplies the book. Faster or slower deliveries both happen, but we do our best to supply as quickly as possible.

    Product details:

    • Publisher OUP USA
    • Date of Publication 29 August 2024

    • ISBN 9780197614655
    • Binding Paperback
    • No. of pages168 pages
    • Size 287x218x12 mm
    • Weight 431 g
    • Language English
    • Illustrations 400 musical examples
    • 533

    Categories

    Short description:

    The Classroom Guide to Jazz Improvisation dispels the misconception that one must be a jazz expert to give students a solid foundation in jazz improvisation. Authors John McNeil and Ryan Nielsen argue that all individuals possess an innate ability to improvise and that, given sufficient exposure and repetition, anyone can improvise in music as successfully as they improvise in life. Drawing on their shared 54 years of teaching experience and extensive work as professional jazz musicians, McNeil and Nielsen offer classroom-tested lesson plans for music educators of all backgrounds, removing the guesswork and mystique along the way.

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    Long description:

    You don't have to be a jazz expert to give your students a great introduction to improvisation.

    The Classroom Guide to Jazz Improvisation provides what music educators have sought for decades: an easy, step-by-step guide to teaching jazz improvisation in the music classroom. Offering classroom-tested lesson plans, authors John McNeil and Ryan Nielsen draw on their combined 54 years of teaching experience and extensive work as professional jazz musicians to remove the guesswork and mystique from the teaching process.

    Each lesson is founded in the authors' realization that the brain responds differently to improvisation than it does rote memory. The resulting lesson plans are flexible, easy to use, and equip students with a quick understanding of the simple choices they can make to create effective jazz lines. Lessons are designed for a range of settings, from ensemble rehearsal to private instruction. Music educators may find relief in the concrete, straightforward materials on rhythm section instruments like bass, drums, piano, and guitar. Beyond the nuts and bolts of improvisation, this book contains carefully curated listening lists, honest discussions about the meaning of the music, and talking points to advocate for jazz programs to administrators and parents.

    With an inviting and conversational approach, The Classroom Guide to Jazz Improvisation is an essential resource for all music educators, from early career teachers to seasoned instructors.

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    Table of Contents:

    Chapter 1 Getting Started
    Everyone Can Improvise
    Training the Subconscious to Make Choices
    Beyond Rote Memory
    How to Use This Book
    Tips for Getting Started
    Reconsidering Beginning with the Blues
    Chapter 2 Basic Concepts: The Root Triad and Jazz Rhythms
    Chord Versus Scale
    Reading Jazz Chord Symbols
    Lesson Plan 1: Improvising on the Root Triad
    Rhythm Section Tips
    Lesson Plan 2: Adding Rhythm
    Teacher's Notes
    Why Start with the Root Triad?
    Choosing Chords to Begin With
    Adjusting Range
    Designing Rhythm
    Rhythm Section
    General Tips
    Piano: Basic Voicings
    Guitar: Basic Voicings
    Bass: Walking Bass Lines with Triad Pitches
    Drums: Basic Ride Cymbal Technique, Hi-Hat Usage, and Kicks
    Chapter 3 Adding the 2nd (1-2-3-5)
    Lesson Plan 3: Adding the 2nd Degree
    Lesson Plan 4: Building Longer 8th-Note Lines
    Teachers' Notes
    Other Possibilities on 1-2-3-5
    Moving from Chord to Chord
    The Metronome in Rehearsal
    Tunes to Begin With
    More Advanced Rhythms (3/4 + 2/4)
    Chapter 4: Approaching Chord Tones from Below
    Lesson Plan 5: Approach Tones (Half-Step-Below)
    Teacher's Notes
    Upbeats and Anticipation
    Different Chord Qualities (Major)
    Rhythm Section
    Drums: Lightly Kicking the Upbeats
    Piano/Guitar: Approaching 3, 5
    7, 9 Voicings from Below
    Chapter 5 Approaching Chord Tones from Above
    Lesson Plan 6: Approaching Chord Tones from a Scale Step Above
    Lesson Plan 7: 8th-Note Lines with Approach Tones
    Teacher's Notes
    Rhythm Section
    Bass: Adding Approach Tones to Bass Lines
    Chapter 6: Approaching Chord Tones by Two Notes
    Lesson Plan 8: Two-Note Approach Tones (Above/Below)
    Lesson Plan 9: Approaching Chord Tones from Two Notes Above or Two Notes Below
    Chapter 7: Approaching Chord Tones by Three or More Notes
    Lesson Plan 10: Approaching with Three Notes (Part 1)
    Lesson Plan 11: Approaching with Three Notes (Part 2)
    Lesson Plan 12: Approaching the 7th
    Teacher's Notes
    Approaching with Four or Five Notes
    Simplifying Three Note Approaches for Less Experienced Students
    Chapter 8: Improvising on the Entire Chord/Scale (Part 1)
    Lesson Plan 13: Diatonic Thirds
    Teacher's Notes
    Singing Tetrachords
    Adding Syncopation to Diatonic Thirds
    More Advanced Use of Thirds
    Descending Lines
    Rhythm Section
    Bass: Using Diatonic Thirds in Bass Lines
    Piano: Using Diatonic Thirds in Comping
    Chapter 9 Improvising on the Entire Chord/Scale (Part 2): Longer Lines and Harmonic Changes
    Lesson Plan 14: Creating Longer Lines with Thirds
    Lesson Plan 15: Moving from One Chord/Scale to Another
    Chapter 10 General Scale Skills: Triads, 7th Chords, and Other Intervals
    Lesson Plan 16: Triads and Other Structures
    Lesson Plan 17: Mixing It Up
    Teacher's Notes
    Organizing Other Structures in the Chord/Scale (7th-Chords, Intervals)
    Combining Lessons
    Chapter 11: Understanding Chord Symbols and Respelling Chords
    First, Chord Symbols
    What Is Respelling?
    How to Respell
    Examples of Respelling
    Extra Credit: Parallel Structures
    Teacher's Notes
    Respelling the Dominant
    Respelling the Altered Dominant
    Respelling the Half-Diminished Chord
    Respelling Lydian
    Rhythm Section
    Bass: Only Respell When Soloing
    Piano/Guitar: Voicing the Altered Dominant, When to Respell
    Chapter 12: The II-7
    V7
    Id7 (Part 1) - Using 7 to 3 to Move from Chord to Chord
    Lesson Plan 18: Hearing 7 to 3 on the II-7
    V7
    Id7
    Lesson Plan 19: Using 7 to 3 to Improvise on a II-7
    V7
    Lesson Plan 20: Using 7 to 3 to Improvise on a V7
    Id7
    Lesson Plan 21: Using 7 to 3 to Improvise on a II-7
    V7
    Id7
    Teacher's Notes
    Singing Backgrounds
    Tips for Building 8th-Note Lines
    Rhythm Section
    Piano/Guitar: Using Stepwise Motion
    Chapter 13 II-7
    V7
    I (Part 2): Melodic Arpeggios and Dominant Cycles
    Lesson Plan 22: Towards Improvising on a II-7
    V7
    Id7
    Lesson Plan 23: Introducing 9 and 9 on the V7 Chord
    Lesson Plan 24: Dominant Cycles (Part 1) - 1-2-3-5 and 1-5-3-5
    Lesson Plan 25: Dominant Cycles (Part 2) - 3-5-7-9 Arpeggios
    Lesson Plan 26: Dominant Cycles (Part 3) - Adding and Dropping Beats
    Lesson Plan 27: 3-5-7-9 + Approach Tones - Dropping and Adding Beats
    on a II-7
    V7
    Id7
    Chapter 14: Playing the Blues (Part 1)
    Why We Didn't Start with the Blues
    What the Blues Means to Us
    Lesson Plan 28: Using Approach Tones to Hear the Harmonic Form of the Blues (Less Advanced)
    Lesson Plan 29: 1-2-3-5 on the Blues (Less Advanced)
    Teacher's Notes
    Harmonic Options on the Blues
    The Turnaround
    Rhythm Section
    Piano: An Example of Comping on the Blues
    Chapter 15: The Vocal Form of the Blues
    Lesson Plan 30: Introducing the Vocal Form of the Blues (Less Advanced)
    Lesson Plan 31: Instrumental Blues (Part 1 - Less Advanced)
    Lesson Plan 32: Instrumental Blues (Part 2 - Less Advanced)
    Lesson Plan 33: Instrumental Blues (Part 3 - More Advanced)
    List of Blues Tunes
    Teacher's Notes
    Rhythm Section
    Recommended Blues Tracks for Piano
    Chapter 16: A Guide to Transcribing (Learning by Ear)
    Getting Started
    Make It Their Own
    A Few Examples of Creative Practice Inspired by Transcribing
    Chapter 17: The Benefits of Play - Why We Teach Jazz
    A Word About a Word: Play
    The Effects of Jazz: Talking Points for Admin and Parents
    Appendix: Chord Symbols
    Index

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