Essential Jazz Pedagogies and Resources

by Jeffrey Benatar, DMA

EEvery jazz ensemble is evaluated on its ability to groove, its ability to interact in the moment, and its ability to articulate. The following three pedagogies are essential for success: (1) bass/drum “lock-up,” (2) effective “comping,” and (3) swing phrasing and articulations. A strong bass/ drum lock-up requires matching quarter notes and the development of playing “backside,” “frontside,” or in the middle of the beat. Effective comping requires systematically expanding rhythmic capabilities. Swing phrasing and articulations require democratic decision making. In this article, I describe these three essential pedagogies that will take your jazz musicians to new levels. First, the bass/drum lock-up is essential for groove. In swing music, the drummer plays a specific “spang-a-lang” ride pattern while the bass player’s walking quarter notes must line up to create enough of a pocket that the whole band can swing along with them. One technique to make sure that the quarter notes in that swing feel line up is to reduce the drummer’s ride pattern and the bassist’s walking line to only quarter notes. After doing 30 to 60 seconds of this technique, the bass/drum lock-up is immediately stronger. Higher level musicians should also be able to play on the backside, frontside, or right in the middle of the beat, utilizing only quarter notes before reintroducing more complicated fills or ride patterns. These variations on the quarter note pocket allow the bass/drum groove to help hold the band back from speeding up the tempo, keep a fast-paced tune from slowing down, and/or permit soloists to push or pull on the time without the rest of the band/backgrounds losing their clarity. Second, seasoned ensembles employ effective interaction. The basic building block of interaction is comping, referring to ‘comp’lementing or ac’comp’anying the soloist.

Essential Jazz Pedagogies and Resources

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This is a standard role of chordal instruments—piano, guitar, or vibes. The most commonly taught comping rhythm is the Charleston rhythm, a dotted quarter followed by an eighth note. Particularly in the swing idiom, this is a relatively appropriate standard rhythmic device to employ. A common beginner problem is that students, after learning the rhythm, always play only on beat one and on the “and” of beat two, not realizing that other options are available. This downbeatcentric rhythm puts too much of an emphasis on the downbeat of every measure and does not always align with what the soloist might be playing.

To expand the comper’s rhythmic arsenal, practice applying the Charleston rhythm starting on other beats of a 4/4 measure of swing time. More specifically, have your students take a simple 12-bar blues (or perhaps a piece they are already playing in your rehearsals that has a relatively short form) and have them go through playing the same Charleston rhythm on beat one and the “and” of beat two in the first chorus, the “and” of beat one and beat three of the second chorus, etc., where each chorus moves the Charleston rhythm over one eighth note (through the eight possible iterations). After becoming comfortable with these eight combinations, you may call out a different starting beat (or point them out on a board) and change them every four or two measures until compers are comfortable mixing and matching themselves. Mastery of this simple rhythm (in eight different places in the measure and switching between them in a variety of ways) allows compers to better interact with soloists. In order to preserve rehearsal time (if you have many horns), simply write out pitches for the different sections of your band based on the piece and challenge trumpets, trombones, and/or saxophones to try these exercises at the same time. Consider layering them as well.

Third, strong jazz ensembles articulate clearly. See Figure 1 to view a short chart indicating the common articulations and the syllables one can use to describe them.

I suggest using the exercise described in the second pedagogy previously mentioned—utilizing the Charleston rhythm—to highlight the difference between varying articulations. In some cases (if you put some of the shorter articulations on the first note, the dotted quarter), you should rewrite that dotted quarter as a quarter note or shorter. Clarifying articulations in rehearsals implies that pitches, rhythms, and general phrasing are already occurring at a high level. To help students buy in to specific articulation decisions, try several versions, defer to the lead trumpet player (or most experienced student), and/or reserve the right to overrule as the director on how you’d like any specific phrase to be articulated. In experienced ensembles, the democratic majority will likely find the most effective option.

Similarly, swing phrasing, as it relates to eighth note feel, should be discussed. Figure 2 is a chart showing the slight accents on the downbeat (older/swing style), the upbeat (bebop pieces), or for post-bop (post 1960s) phrasing.

These are generally the way continuous eighth-note phrases are accented.

Figure 1. Articulations

Discussing which decades/time periods and/or which bands or musicians phrased this way is a good way to begin to provide historical contextualization when learning new music.

Three resources are important for helping students to contextualize jazz pieces. The first way to incorporate deeper understanding of any work is listening. The first question every jazz musician should ask themselves every time they learn a new piece is “have I listened to this song?” Ideally, students should identify a version with a vocalist (if it is an American Songbook standard), an instrumental take (can be anyone, but often the Miles Davis interpretation is standard listening), and the arrangement they are playing (if available). Assign listening to your students to do outside of class or, if necessary, incorporate it into rehearsal time. Deep listening is a routine that all strong musicians employ. Challenge your students to listen an hour per day, or consider having a shared Spotify or YouTube playlist for your band, department, or private studio. One thing I developed, and I now ask all my jazz pedagogy students to develop, is a top 50 jazz albums list. This should be presented as “if you are starting a jazz program and you need to buy 50 albums that showcase the breadth and depth of jazz as a genre, which 50 records would you purchase?” Think about which instruments, musicians, and styles must be represented. Save it in a word processing document and continue to tweak it as your band grows.

Second, understanding the history of jazz and/or a piece is another way to contextualize what your students are learning. One way to do that is to simply read the liner notes and distill that into your explanation of the piece. Another way to do this with minimal effort and very little rehearsal time is to look up a short biography of the composer and share it with your students. If you want an even broader understanding, feel free to reference what was going on politically, socially, economically, or historically when the piece was composed. Finally, another way is to relate it to material that students might already know. For example, when I have lots of new jazz learners who are classically trained musicians, I often try to relate things to Western music history. I discuss terraced dynamics and how it relates to the Basie Band’s large range of dynamics. I also talk about cadenzas at the end of concertos and how they are idiomatic—appropriate to the style of the piece. For example, playing twelve-tone row material in a Mozart cadenza would not be appropriate. Similarly, playing with Basie simplicity might not be the best choice for a burning version of Giant Steps. Third, the iReal Pro application is the best $15 I have ever spent! This play-along app allows anyone to download more than 1,200 songs (and input your own) and play those pieces in any key, at any tempo, with any feel, and with any combination of rhythm section instruments (bass, drums, piano, or guitar). This is a fantastic tool that all students should purchase and use to practice. It saves time in rehearsal by allowing soloists and rhythm section players to practice their parts individually. Additionally, practicing privately with more than just a metronome results in higher level music when reconvening in rehearsal. This is a required purchase in almost all of my jazz classes. It is a tool I still use whenever I’m preparing for a recital, masterclass, or guest residency.

To summarize, these three essential pedagogical techniques will improve the sound of your jazz ensemble. First, require your bassist and drummer to play only quarter notes to ensure they lock-up every time they play, allowing the rest of the band to groove with them. Second, teach all compers the Charleston rhythm and show them and challenge them to manipulate it by placing it in different parts of the measure on different beats. Third, emphasize articulation and explain which era of swing accenting the students should be using for which pieces. Finally, in terms of contextualization, encourage listening—to at least three different recordings—and develop a top 50 album list. Insert relatable and historical cues into your explanation of pieces. Use the iReal Pro app as a practice tool for all musicians. Happy rehearsing and practicing.

Jeffrey Benatar, DMA, is a jazz pianist with a passion for teaching. He is assistant professor of music, director of jazz studies, and coordinator of music management at Florida Southern College. Dr. Benatar directs FSC’s big band and combos, leads the Jazz Piano Studio, and teaches jazz and music management courses. October 2022 33