Using Jazz Music and Improvisation in Doublebass Teaching
Abstract
Jazz music contains different musical elements. In this respect, it contributes to the person’s sense of rhythm, intonation, improvisation ability and the ability to play in different styles. It is important to include jazz music and improvisation in the education process. The increasing interest in jazz music, which is composed and interpreted with an improvisational approach, brings with it the necessity of developing didactic methods for teachers and professionals related to this field. Jazz is a music that has a special importance with its harmony, rhythmic structure and improvisational melody style. However, jazz has become a genre that is used all over the world, even included in educational music, with its developmental stages and interaction with other musical styles. Jazz is a type of music that uses improvisation extensively. Use of different examples of jazz music in the education process will create new perspectives for both the teacher and the student, and will enable students and musicians to gain self-confidence, expression, creativity, musical techniques and skills. Students and musicians will be more motivated and experience a more enjoyable learning process as they explore and learn.
Key Words: Jazz music, Imrovisation, Doublebass Teaching
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Video Article Transcript
The musical possibilities for double bass are increasing day by day. As interest in jazz, rock, and other popular music styles continues to grow, more double bass students and musicians want to learn to improvise methods and techniques, as well as performing prominent composers and works of classical music. Improvisation has been a skill for musicians to express themselves musically through their instruments. Today, it is widely used in the genre of improvised jazz music. The double bass, which is a member of the string instruments family, has begun to be used more widely in jazz music than the violin, viola and cello. The double bass in jazz music undertakes the functions of both forming the basis of harmony and supporting the rhythm together with the drums. We see that the tuba, which played bass parties in early jazz music in New Orleans in the 1920s, began to be replaced by the double bass. Although the tuba was stronger in terms of sound power, the double bass was able to express the swing rhythm, which is the basic rhythm of jazz, more skillfully. The outstanding playing performances of Pops Foster and Wellman Braud, the two important double bassists of the period, paved the way for the conductors to show interest in the double bass instead of the tuba. Pizzicato bass accompaniment, played according to chord codes on double bass are actually a kind of improvisation. During accompaniment, the contrabassist can sing the basic sounds of a chord, other important degrees, or related scales. This harmonic and rhythmic accompaniment, which we can also call the jazz bass technique, can be performed with a bow or in the form of pizzicato.
In the late 1930s; Jimmy Blanton, a jazz bass virtuoso who recorded numerous records with Duke Ellington made the first attempts of the progression from Gospel and Blues style to jazz music, with simple, clear and basic pizzicato touches in melody and rhythm. Blanton went beyond the understanding of accompaniment and started to use solo structures for the first time. Slam Stewart and Paul Chambers came to the fore in the development of jazz double bass. These two important names use the bow technique as well as playing pizzicato on double bass in jazz music. Although the bow is used less frequently in jazz music, some master double bass players have used the bow technique skillfully in their improvisations. Especially the improvisations played by Paul Chambers and Slam Stewart with the bow are quite remarkable. Paul Chambers participated in the recordings of Miles Davis’s “Kind of Blue” and John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” albums, which are considered to be monumental albums in the history of jazz. One of the most effective and frequent user of the bow technique in double bass is Paul Chambers. The song “Yesterdays” in the album of “Bass On Top” recorded by Paul Chambers Quintet in 1957 is a very good example of this. When we come to the 950s, the name of Ron Carter, an African-American musician, comes to the fore. Carter is a musician who studied classical music and whose instrument is the cello. In this respect, he developed a technique in which he placed the double bass between his legs while sitting, like a cello. In his quintet, the double bass is in the foreground as a solo instrument and there is usually a second double bass accompanying it.
Most of these mentioned names of double bass are trained themselves in jazz music and improvisation. They developed the theory and practice of jazz music by listening and imitating other improvised solos instead of learning from a teacher or method.
In improvisation, composition, performance and active listening skills are all developed simultaneously. In traditional forms of education, where improvisation activities do not take place, a separate effort is required to develop each type of skill. Improvisation requires knowledge and preparation in theory and practice. For this reason, the person is expected to have a certain knowledge about that music genre or style. The increasing interest in jazz music, which is composed and interpreted with an improvisational approach, brings with it the necessity of developing didactic methods for teachers and professionals related to this field. Jazz is a music that has a special importance with its harmony, rhythmic structure and improvisational melody style. However, jazz has become a genre that is used all over the world, even included in educational music, with its developmental stages and interaction with other musical styles.
Jazz music contains different musical elements. In this respect, it contributes to the person’s sense of rhythm, intonation, improvisation ability and the ability to play in different styles. It is important to include jazz music and improvisation in the education process. Improvisation is a motivating method for students in developing their own skills. In this way, they can improve instrumental technique and active listening skills. Using jazz music and jazz-based improvisation activities in the double bass education will contribute to the technical skills and musical achievements of the students. It will positively affect their musical creativity and expression techniques. Students and musicians will experience a more motivated and fun learning process as they explore and learn.
Planning Improvisations Activities
Improvisation activities can be organized in different ways according to the level of the students. At the beginning of string education, improvisation is a relatively unexplored field. Although Orff and Kodaly Methods are two popular methods used in early childhood, improvisation needs to be adapted to all levels as a basic teaching tool. Another purpose of these activities is to relieve the anxiety of many musicians and students about improvisation. Many musicians and students fear improvisation for different reasons. But it is important to eliminate anxiety and fear and let our minds play musical games. Musical hearing and skills can be developed through improvisation, especially at the beginner level. Technical gains related to the instrument can be achieved. In this way, one’s ability to express himself and his creative aspects will also be improved. The inclusion of improvisation in the education program is a tool that can uniquely contribute to the student’s creative thinking skills and musical development.
Conclusion
Jazz is a type of music that uses improvisation extensively. Use of different examples of jazz music in the education process will create new perspectives for both the teacher and the student, and will enable students and musicians to gain self-confidence, expression, creativity, musical techniques and skills. Students and musicians will be more motivated and experience a more enjoyable learning process as they explore and learn.
