NCBA Update

Paul Herrera

CAJ Representative Director of Bands, Gregori High School

CAJ Update

It is wonderful that the 2022 California All-State Music Education Conference will be in-person. More information of what that will look like and how it will be done safely will be posted on the CBDA website soon. For directors that have students interested in auditioning for these jazz ensembles, the audition music and submission information have been posted on CAJ and CBDA websites. Our conductors will be Matt Falker for HS Vocal Jazz, Jill Geist for JHS Jazz Band, and David Beatty for HS Jazz Band. This year CBDA and CAJ are co-sponsoring the commission of one piece for the JHS jazz band in Mike Gangemi’s memory. If you are interested in honoring him, please consider donating to his memorial scholarship fund on the CBDA website.

It is wonderful to see Jazz and in-person teaching is in full swing this year across the state. Below is my approach to engaging students not seen on campus since March of 2020 and my preparations for getting them into transcriptions and improvisation.

While I find myself worrying about past performances that have been lost or anxious about the possibilities of them happening this year: I am reminded that education is a journey and not a destination. Rehearsals are where the magic happens: concerts are a way of showcasing the end result. As a result: I am focused on laying a solid foundation for learning to take place.

Week one was dedicated to establishing a welcoming and supportive culture. I dedicated time for icebreakers and team-building exercises. I know that many of my younger students are in need of support: so I have made sure to establish a student leadership/apprenticeship program that is working toward bringing those students most affected by the year away from playing/singing in an ensemble with students in pairs where possible.

Week two was dedicated to going over basics. I constantly have students do call and response on any given pitch with me on my horn with rhythms that are found within their music and with various jazz articulations. I have slowly branched out to adding a few other pitches within a given scale or mode that has opened the door to talk about transcriptions and how they can learn tunes or melodies in multiple keys.

In the weeks, and year ahead students and I will reverse the role where they lead us in a two bar phrase and the ensemble echo them. They’ll learn how to best incorporate these sound bites and lay the foundation for full on improvisation in a twelve bar blues form and then in any styles/genres/forms that we encounter later in the school year. I hope you find these tips and tricks helpful in preparing your younger students ready for improvising.