Do any other piano jazz teacher/student feel that they are missing out on the group element of the jazz pefromance. With all the other instruments, they get to go in with an accompanist (if they can find one who is able to do jazz piano) or they can use the AB cd for their backing. Well how about a rhythm backing track for pianists?
All the books that I tend to use for teaching have a play along cd some with missus tracks. It just gives a bit more life and soul to the playing and helps with timing.
I use keyboard rhythm backings for many of the exam pieces and jazz studies, again to them more flavour of the styles.
I have been working my way through the jazz syllabus and now attempting Grade 5 and I play much more in the idiom of a jazz pianist with some back up.

Classical piano teacher/student for 23 years.
Jazz teacher/student for 6 years.
Managed recorder to Grade 8. Play Bass in a recorder orchestra.
Being taught cello by my daughter.
Keyboard teacher for county (Just passed Trinity Initial with Distinction)

Just a passing question, but how can one be a "Jazz student/teacher"

I am not a pianist (I play sax), but I can sympathise with these sentiments. To 'level the playing field' across all instruments I think it would be fairer to allow pianists to also have the option to use backing tracks. I used backing tracks for Grade 5 jazz sax, and I think it is a great idea. If nothing else, it saved me the trouble and expense of having to find an accompanist. I'd like to see this option for the regular exams also.

In reply to Jazzman340, I would say that to describe oneself as a student AND teacher is very honest, and also humble. As musicians we should never stop learning, and always be students, whether we teach or not.

Well said...I'm classically trained on the piano and as well as having the odd lesson to keep me in check, I am also learning the basics of jazz and enjoying it!

Not sure I'd want to teach jazz, Id' pass them over to a jazz teacher, but I find it useful for helping to interpret alot of repertoire out there, such as Martha Meir Jazz Rags and Blues. Just gives a basic backgroung understanding of the rhythm which , I have to say, I'm just breezing along with and enjoying.

Mind you, I do love Jools Holland and have listened to so much Jazz over the years that I'm sure that's helped and why I seem to be able to access it pretty well.

Love the stuff...and can't get enough!!

I answer to it being solitary. At the moment it is. I would have thought there are Jazz groups dotted around though.

I may be way out of line because I have not experienced studying at this ABRSM, but do you not have any small ensemble classes where students of piano, bass, drums, and horns get together and play tunes and practice interacting with one another on the spot? From what I understand, students give public performances with the accompaniment of backing tracks? Correct me if I'm wrong, but where is the interaction in a backing track that cannot listen to the performer?

Very true.

I use backing CDs to practise at home and they work best as tools to play technical exercises over e.g. practise a dominant 7th lick in 4 keys over the bridge of a rhythm changes tune. I also use the CDs to learn and internalise the changes of tunes by playing arpeggios over the chords as the CD plays.

I do, however, occasionally suffer from "Aebersolditis" when I've used the CD playalong so often that I'm listening for particular cues that are in that recording and get thrown when I play with real people.

D'oh! Silly me. I was thinking you were a student "under instruction" and not refering to self-improvement from an already high level as a teacher.

Intonation is rather difficult as one can imagine.

However, I certainly agree, considering I now see the context.

So do something about it, you guys are the professors at these schools aren't you? Isn't it all about the better the education for your students? You must have some bass and drum students or know of some people you could get in a on a regular basis to workshop with the students? ?? ? ????? ?/

Sorry, not a teacher myself.

I do attend jazz courses / workshops, but almost everywhere you go there are tons of sax players and a lack of brass, bass players and especially drummers.

Damn, that sucks. Maybe some teachers of this conservatory would know where to look into finding some rhythm section teachers and students. Hrm...

Why don't we do something about it? Well, I have two responses.

First. My students who do exams (very few, as they take my advice aka, they're ######) are not learning the pieces with background rhythms, so when they do the exam, they are at ease without a rhtyhm. If there was suddenly a double bass bopping away with a brush kit, I think it might throw them. However, in counter-argument to my own sentence, yes, it would be good to have the LESSONS, and EVERY lesson with backing (decent backing), but my argument against that is, the backings are too artificial. I'm sorry, but my stance on Jazz is extremely set in the sense that I respect it. I worship it. It's mental stability to me. Now alot of people would't understand that, but thats just my level. I dig it so much, and listen so much to the changes and melodies and the bass, the drum, the intonations.. I listen for hours a day, to so many recordings, and I have now got a stage where I respect it so much and understand it so well that I take offense when people (not that they are here im just on a roll) badmouth it, or say its easy, or give weak-formed comments about how to play it, when really its an incredible art to master. So, in conculsion of this first point, live backings in an exam would have to be suited so well to the chords being used (should they be enhanced from the original score), there timing would have to be so tight etc, that kind of situation is beyong grade 1 2 + anyway! And second, I don't disagree that having backings in Lessons would not help, but I have had no problems with students having no backing, lessons or exams, and still get distinctions at any level.

Second. It's not hard to find a drummer and a bass player. There are things called directories, and if my student wanted to pay extra for two live band members to learn the peice (ok, it might take 10 minutes but thats Jazz musicians ) and cost about 100 quid but is it worth it?

Thinking further about this, it would be good if the ABRSM had solo and band jazz exams. That way, students specifically learn how to deal with a Band environment, and learn to share 8s, and work along the bass player etc, and lessons could well be with a band rehersal, or the band record the backing track themselves and that is used in the lessons so it's less artificial.

Interesting babble though I think.

Or maybe the institution could hire some musicians for the benefit of the students' overall educational experience. That way the students wouldn't have to pay large amounts of extra money in addition to their tuition.

And as far as backing tracks in a lesson environment. There's nothing wrong with that. I believe I was aiming more at the live performance situation. Let's put it this way. Would you give a live jazz recital with yourself, a piano, and an Aebersold CD? And on the topic of backing tracks, what do you mean when you say "live backings in an exam would have to be suited so well to the chords being used (should they be enhanced from the original score), there timing would have to be so tight etc, that kind of situation is beyong grade 1 2 + anyway." ? Honestly now, I don't know what backing tracks you have been listening to, but to my ears, Aebersold CD's among others use very high quality musicians and are very rhythmically and harmonically accurate. Sure, they don't always use the original changes for every tune but the substitutions are always incdicated in the accompanying book, along with an explanation of how they were derived.

Very interesting babble, please continue... I'd love to hear more on your new level of listening to and understanding jazz as well and how you incorporate this into your playing.

...and I am sure that you would love to know my shoe size with just as much interest. You are constantly confrontational and sarcastic and I find it rude, completely pathetic and just so unnecerssary.

Either you understood my stance on how I listen to Jazz or not. If not, keep listening. Still if not, go listen to Green Day. If so, I really think you're wasting your own time to respond and my time to read.

For goodness sake be a musician and speak in the Jazz medium, not an anybody who'd rather talk about rock and heavy metal...