Has anyone else had any similar experiances to me?..............

I am a trained classical musician, playing mainly piano and flute. I have always wanted to learn to play jazz but never knew how to get started until 3 - 4 years ago when I attended a workshop by Charles Beale which was given when the jazz piano syllabus first came out. I was really inspired but still found improvising on the piano quite difficult. Then I took up the clarinet and played jazz on that right from the start - learning a lot from the jazz clarinet exam books. I enjoyed doing this so much and I am really pleased I gave it a go. My jazz piano playing has now also taken a real leap forward and I feel that I am going into new musical territory that I never thought I would be able to explore.

I read a lot on these message boards from people who are thinking about trying jazz but not sure how to get started. I'd just like to say "do give it a go. It takes a while to get into it, but it is really worth the effort and so rewarding"

I am totally opposite to you! lol!

i started out playing sorta jazzy/blues stuff but i have got influenced and inspired by some classical musician.
now i am training myself to be a classical musician instead as i love it so much!
I think different people discover their favourite music genres later in life;...like me! lol

Are they so very different?. . .Anyone who's studied 16th C counterpoint will know how important "syncopation" was even then (and thus before).

That's another great thing about music - the variety is endless. I've recently started piano arrangements of standards - effectively jazz in that they are "arranged" improvisations that you can add to or whatever.

Some of them are almost Lisztian...at least grade 10 if there were such a thing! Others are thankfully easier. And out of these eventually will come one's own style.

I sometimes think it's because brit music came up the Germanic route that "classical" music is taken so seriously. If it had been via the Italians we might have fared differently.

hi, I also come from a classical background and now studying a DipABRSM in piano but I also do play jazz. I have been playing it on and off but it is really the past year I have been working quite hard learning some jazz chords, improvising and playing the well known jazz standards.

I sometimes get asked to play at functions and I found playing classical music was a bit restrictive as some people don't always appreciate it. This the main reason i have branched into this area. I tend to play a lot of swing type jazz and a lot of Gershwin as well.

hi, Luke43

thanks for your reply.
I too like the idea that more people will want to listen to me playing if I play jazz than if I play classical music.

When you play jazz, do you play from lead sheets, or from written out copy or a bit of each. I find that although I know many chords well it is often difficult to make a really convincing solo performance from a lead sheet. I probably need lots more practise - but have you discovered any "short cuts" / hints /tips etc?

Regards
HMBach

I tend to play from a bit of both, lead sheets as well as from a written out copy. I find playing from a lead sheet much more difficult as you have to know the chords and also be able to improvise at the same time. If it is a written out copy I will use this more as a basic template and improvise a lot on top of it.

When it comes to learning jazz chords yes it is difficult and I am still learning new things all the time in jazz. I will sometimes sit down at the piano trying different combinations of chords and work on my improvising.

One piece I found useful to develop jazz improvision was the jazz piece Misty when I first started. This piece isn't too hard to play and I found it quite good for developing jazz improvisation. I have heard some recordings from famous jazz pianists where they put in some fast runs up and down the piano with the occasional arppegios thrown in as well.

I find Eb Major and F Minor normally quite good to improvise in. You can incorporate these two keys quite well with the Db note sounding in certain chord combinations and some runs as well.

I am just like you though still need loads of practise.

Hey luke43

Just curious.... What Gershwin do you play? What kind of stuff do you play at functions?

Sven

Hi,

The gershwin I do play tend to be from his show pieces such as summertime, i got rhythm, Fascinating Rhythm, i've got plenty o' nuttin, They all Laughed, etc. Also they have become well known jazz pieces as other jazz musicians have used a lot of songs originally composed by Gershwin, such as Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Artie Shaw, etc.

I also play a lot of Cole Porter, Count Basie and Duke Ellington stuff just to name a few.

People at these functions tend to appreciate this type of music as they can tap to it as well.

Other gershwin pieces I do play such as some of the preludes and also Rhapsody in Blue for solo piano, but I don't normally play these at functions, really for my own enjoyment.

I don,t seem to know how to express the feelings and swings of jazz. can anyone tell me how?

Start by listening I think is good.

QUOTE (sbhoa @ Dec 16 2004, 02:40 PM)

Start by listening I think is good.

do you play jazz? what would you reccomend for a beginner like me?

Hi
Ive just passed my grade one jazz piano exam last november and now studying for grade two, however being quite new to jazz I'm not sure what pieces to learn outside of the syallabus that are well known,as with composers too, I tend to enjoy the swing feel.
Hope someone can help
Jules

Starting jazz and trying to get the feel of it - I would recomment anything by Pamela Wedgewood, Marth Mier anr Alison Bowditch for lots of good jazzy tunes that will have you swinging in no time. If you actually thinking about the jaxx exams, then try the abrsm cd's which will give you really good guidance!
good luck