I'd like to welcome Christian Crawford on trumpet. He's going to assist me in demonstrating different theoretical concepts and techniques of improvisation. Most jazz musicians will probably agree with me that having a good sense of time is key to successful improvisation. By using idiomatic, rhythmic figures in your improvisation, characterized by the emphasis on upbeats, different syncopated figures, and swing eighth notes, can vastly improve the quality of your improvisation. Even with limited melodic and harmonic resources. Not only is playing with a good sense of time and rhythm essential to performance. It is also crucial to effective practicing. So in order to keep us in check, jazz musicians often practice with a metronome in the absence of rhythm section. So let me demonstrate how to practice with the metronome. So if you set up your metronome on 50 and start clicking. [SOUND] Each of these clicks indicate half note. But unlike classical music we place those click on beat two and four. So if you count, it should sound like this. One, two, one, two, a one, two, three, four, and now we have established sense of time and those clicks indicate beats two and four. So Christian, do you often practice with a metronome? >> I like to as much as I can. >> Yeah, playing with a rhythm section is a luxury that we all cherish. But in the absence of live musicians, this little device can keep us honest. So I strongly recommend to practice with a metronome. So again, clicks on two and four when we're dealing with swing music. When we deal with different types of music it's a little bit different but we're concerned here with swing, eights, so that's our two and four. So again, one, two, a one, two, three, four. So underlying beats. One, two, three, four. This a quarter note. Again, highly recommended. Now, let's talk about jazz notation and jazz articulation. In jazz, we use the term swing eighth notes to indicate that eighth notes are performed unevenly. Kind of a rolling feel to it. And because the exact notation of swing eighth-notes is neither possible nor very practical, jazz musicians use regular eighth-notes with the indication, swing to the note, swing eighth-note. So on the screen you can see a very simple, melodic idea, not dated and using regular eight notes. So now I'm going to ask Christian to play that figure using straight eight notes. Our time. One, two, and one, two, three, four. [MUSIC] Notice that Christian played those eighth notes evenly, just as they are annotated, but know that in the left top corner, you have indication swing, which means that these eighth notes should be played A swing eighth notes. So let's demonstrate the swing eighth notes. One, two, one, two, three, four. [MUSIC] All right, so see the difference between straight eighth notes and swing eighth notes. So now Christian one more time. Play the same figure using straight eight notes and then immediately play them with swing eight notes. >> Okay. >> Okay. One, two, three, four. >> [MUSIC] >> Okay. In addition to swing eight notes, Christian is doing something special to emphasis the quality of these eight notes, so Christian can you tell us what you're doing in order to be more idiomatic with your phrasing. >> What I like to do is I like to internalize two and four and when I subdivide the eight notes I like to put a little pop on the offbeats. >> Yeah, pop on the offbeat. So on the screen you can see that these offbeats are indicated with the little marcato marks meaning that this arm bits are little bit emphasize in your playing, right? So now can you play? We're spending a lot of time discussing these details because they're really, really important. Playing your phrases with good articulation as opposed to no articulation. It's a night and day difference. So, Christian, lets demonstrate the same figure, without the pop. Play them as swing 8th notes, without the pop. One, two, three, four. [MUSIC] Okay, so we could hear swing 8-note, but without these characteristic accents on the upbeat. Now the same thing, with the accents on the upbeat. [MUSIC] >> You hear the difference. It's completely different, and that's very idiomatic when you listen to the great trumpet players from the bebop era, or even earlier, to Louis Armstrong and others. You can hear the quality of eighth notes, that they're exactly what Christian had demonstrated. Now let's talk about jazz rhythm. On the screen you can see some idiomatic rhythmic figures, one bar in length, that you can use in your practicing and in your improvisation. S, in keeping with jazz notation principles, they are notated as straight eighth notes, but we're going to perform them as swing eight notes. And notice, when you look at these figures, there are lots of upbeats emphasized. There are consecutive 8-note, emphasis on syncopation. Okay, so, what I like Christian to demonstrate right now, let's pick a single note, and play the first figure. Just play one measure, take a one measure break and then repeat that figure using B flat as your note, okay. Using all the articulation we've discussed. With the accent and upbeat we've talked about, using single note. One, Two, One, Two, Three, Four. [MUSIC] That's fine so here that figure very idiomatic in jazz vocabulary. So these six figures right here are ready to be used in your improvisation and often you practice. So the point here is to familiarize yourself with these figures and other figures so they become part of your rhythmic vocabulary. Just for fun let's try the third one with the four eight notes and the emphasis on beat four, okay. But instead of playing on the single note let's use couple of notes from the blues scale. Okay. In B-flat. One, two, three, four. [MUSIC] Okay. Good. You can hear now the four consecutive eighth notes played with a pop, [INAUDIBLE]. Used on the second note, and then accent on beat four. Probably the most challenging figure of them all is the last one, with the upbeats only. And this is quite challenging, because you have to keep in mind that the quarter notes, the beat is subdivided into triplets, right? But you're using the first approximate, the first and the last part of the beat. So even though it's notated evenly, you'll be kind of playing closer to the next beat, right? So lets try then maybe we can see if we can do it with the metronome. Softer, but see if you can find those RB beats with the metronome, okay? One, two, one, two, three, four. [MUSIC] Excellent, excellent, that sounds easy, but it ain't. Yeah, it's not that easy to keep, because the tendency, especially with beginners is to actually try to speed up, right? And find the next beat. Try to rush right. So let's try just playing up beats for the first four bars of the blues, okay. And you just use the notes from the blues scale. Okay, so let's see if we can do that. Just play upbeat, one, two, a one, two, three, four. [MUSIC] Yeah, very good. Very good. And notice also that even though these eight notes are notated you know short, Christian is playing them short long. Now can you demonstrate them like short, short, short? And also it's not correct, but just for comparison, just play them very sharp. One, two, three, four. [MUSIC] So those 8th notes are too short. They need to be played with more emphasis. Now Christian, can you add anything about the importance of rhythm and articulation and the importance of internalizing those different rhythmic figures? >> I think as long as you sub divide the beats in a ways and as long as you just internalize it. I feel like it'll be much easier to catch those offbeats and not have the tendency to rush, but more laid back into the beat and really feel it. >> As far as historical figures, your favorite, trumpeters, whom would you recommend? >> I would definitely recommend Louis Armstrong, he's definitely a very strong influence in my playing. Another one would be a little later, but Fats Navarro. Definitely, I think he has very good blues influences, and he's very inspirational. >> Okay.
