Jazz Clues – Rhythms
Found in: Jazz Clues
Maureen K,. California
In Jazz Clues, the second song in the collection, Solace of the Wind, seems to be the only piece in which the lead instrument plays a very different rhythm from the written score. I think the horn player came in on the second or third beat of the measure and interpreted some of the eighths as sixteenths, stuff like that. I would appreciate any tips for teaching this one.
Neil Moore
Eighth notes (in a jazz interpretation) are usually always played with a swing rhythm, as is the case here. And nothing about that would affect the ‘dropping-in’ aspect of playing along. The intent of all the recordings was to mostly provide a music arrangement/interpretation that could be played along with. Eight notes are ‘swung’, and all written notation merely provides a melodic and rhythmic guide that ultimately is interpreted however the player choses, in the moment.
Kym N., California
Playing dropping-in with the audio is very hard when the horn comes in on the second beat but the lead sheet shows the melody comes in on the first beat. My first couple times playing with the track were a mess because I was listening to the horn. I got quite confused with the beats by the horn. So, I listened to the track again and found out that I should listen to the bass which gives very steady beats. I think we need to have the students be aware of that and address that at the lesson.
Laurie Richards, Nebraska
The click track will help with that. It’s an opportunity to talk to students about how this is just the nature of jazz music. It’s good to learn the melody exactly as written first. But then ‘artistic license’ and some freedom with the rhythm is completely normal. I simply have a short discussion about this with students and we practice counting “1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +” along with the recording.