Drums and Bass

In the rhythm section, your main focus needs to be on the drums and bass. All instruments (including piano, guitar, vibes, etc.) are important and have unique roles, but the drums and bass are most important from a listening and style standpoint. 

The bass is, in essence, the timekeeper, as their parts typically consist of steady quarter notes, eighth notes, or a similarly repetitive pattern. That’s typically something everyone can follow from a time perspective and gives us a clear anchor point with which to listen for tempo.

We know the drum set must also play with great time, but is even more responsible for feel, style, and dynamics of the music. The rhythms being played by the drummer usually go hand in hand with the style of each tune: swing, samba, funk, contemporary, shuffle, ECM, etc. Likewise, the dynamic range of any given band will often begin and end with the drumset. 

Where to Listen

When the wind players are listening to the rhythm section, they have to key in on the relationship of these two voices. While the bass is the primary timekeeper, it’s important that the bassist also puts their quarter notes/patterns in time with the ride cymbal pattern and with “2 and 4” on the hi-hat. This not only helps overall time, but gives us the “groove” and “pocket” that is needed to produce a compelling performance. 

Once this is established, the role of the wind players is to listen across the band for this sound and consistency of time. As they get used to this approach, they will become much more sensitive to time and tempo overall. Because most jazz groups do not rely on a director to conduct for time, the listening responsibility is quite high in this type of ensemble. It’s very common for this skill to transfer to all ensembles they play in and is another strong reason why jazz ensembles provides so many positives for musicians and their development. 

The Wind Section – Who Should Lead?

All of the first part players – alto 1, trombone 1, trumpet 1 – are a priority when it comes to defining style in the traditional jazz ensemble. However,  trumpet 1 –the lead trumpet – is the voice, the sound that most often has to guide the ensemble. Not just from a dynamic standpoint, but equally important, from a style standpoint. 

It’s the one instrument that’s going to speak above the rest in the texture. In addition, it’s often the highest melodic instrument sound in the ensemble. The projection level of the trumpet along with the drums combine to dictate style, balance, blending, phrasing, and dynamics. 

It’s important to note that the trumpet player with the highest range may or may not be the best selection for the primary lead trumpet voice. 

Ideally, in the case of the lead trumpet, the player who plays with the best style and has the best understanding of jazz interpretation should be the one leading the section. The legendary trumpeter, Bobby Shew, spent much of his career as a jazz player before being forced into the lead chair of a very prominent big band by happenstance. Because he was such an accomplished musician with great style and phrasing, this ultimately became a natural fit for his career. We now view him as one of the greatest lead players (and well-rounded jazz musicians) of all time.

If your lead player does not have much range in the beginning, you can get around this through careful song selection. Most jazz publishers list the highest written note for Trumpet 1 on their scores and this, along with some creativity, can help you fill in the gaps as needed. Ultimately, the player can/will develop range as needed, but having someone with great style in this role will make all the difference long term in the way your band plays and swings.  

Jazz Ensemble Rehearsal Tips

I have a couple of simple jazz ensemble rehearsal tips that I would recommend using with any group. One thing I will do in rehearsal is to have my just my lead players (alto sax/trombone/trumpet) play along with the rhythm section on certain phrases. If those lead voices don’t agree on style and phrasing, then the rest of the band will have a harder time playing as a cohesive ensemble. This also allows the rest of the band to hear how their parts fit in and to learn to listen more closely to the subtleties of style at the highest level of performance. 

If it needs to be even more clear, I may have just the lead trumpet play to hear how they’re interpreting phrasing.  It’s often been said that if you have a good drummer and a good lead trumpet player, you have a good band. I think in many cases, that still rings true with all levels of jazz ensembles. If both of these musicians agree on the aforementioned principles, then you are on your way!

Something else we will do often is to sing rhythms with specific syllables, like “doo-daht” and “doo-bah-doo-bah” making sure that the approach to style is correct before we turn these into sound and articulation on the instruments. Having a strong sense of articulation and swing eighth note subdivision is a tried and true way to develop style quickly with all levels of students. If your group can play swing style well, then most other straight eighth tunes should come together more quickly. 

Other tricks, such as “bopping” and “clapping”, have been discussed in previous blogs and are among other techniques that work across a variety of instrumental ensembles.

Balance/Hierarchy of Melody and Harmony

Also important in this discussion is the overall musical and ensemble balance. It may seem obvious, but if you can’t hear the lead trumpet, then chances are the balance between melody and harmony is lost. Jazz employs many unique colors due to the extended harmonic nature of the writing, but we still have to focus on the basic concept of a hierarchy of priorities. Is the melody clear? Is the harmony supporting well, but not overplaying? Can everyone hear the drums and bass? Are we blending within each section and across the ensemble? Are all of the “color notes” coming through the texture easily? Can we hear the soloists during background figures?

From a basic ensemble balance approach, all of the inner voices must support, but not overplay, the lead voices. If the lower voices are playing a lot louder or softer than the lead voices, the ensemble is going to be unbalanced and we run into more issues with intonation, volume, etc. If the rhythm section is much louder than the winds, that creates its own inherent challenges. 

Lastly, The delicate balance between acoustic and electronic instruments is another byproduct of modern technology. This must be treated as a factor in the overall blend and balance of a jazz ensemble. If you can’t hear the acoustic instruments or solos, the balance needs to be rethought and adjusted. The benefits both the performers and the audience. 

The next time you are thinking about asking the bass player to turn up the volume because you can’t hear them, instead have them turn up their volume of articulation and “dig in” more into their sound. Electronic volume is there to boost the inherent sound of the instrument, not make them sound better overall. Bass, guitar, and keyboard amps should be used on the lowest levels possible to still project the sound but not overpower the acoustic instruments.

In Closing 

In any musical situation, listening should influence everything we do and understanding our relationships to time, style, phrasing, and balance will go a long way in the growth and development of a musician. Jazz ensembles provide many opportunities and different environments with which to improve and develop these skills and will help improve all aspects of individual musicianship and foster quicker musical growth in your programs. 

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Blow Your Troubles Away

One of the most important things to focus on in brass playing is air production. Sounds simple, right? Wind instruments obviously need WIND to produce sound. However, most of the common issues associated with poor tone, weak technique and lack of range and endurance can simply be attributed to our inability to use air correctly. I have found that in my professional career, returning often to this foundation of air-flow and breath support is key for continued success.

Arnold Jacobs, the legendary brass pedagogue, advocated the concept of “Wind and Song,” meaning that by focusing on beauty of tone and air, all other aspects of performance will begin to follow. To play a wind instrument successfully, you must focus more initially on the wind aspect and less on the muscular aspect.

As building muscular strength is highly important for brass players, even more so is the approach to air and playing with a beautiful, resonant and relaxed sound. Let’s talk about some pedagogical tools, listed below, that we can use to improve our beauty of tone and our ability to perform efficiently as a brass player.

Simple Breathing Exercises

To promote this “beauty of air concept,” breathing exercises have become more and more common in band programs across the world. Having a simple routine that focuses on various aspects of the breathing process can aid in the development and improvement of tone at all levels. And, while we don’t have to do breathing exercises to play with a great sound, they can help us better understand how the body functions and how this relates to generating sound on a brass instrument.

I like to use exercises from the Breathing Gym (Pat Sheridan and Sam Pilafian) that focus on what we call “flows and therapies.” Flow exercises focus on our ability to move air evenly and consistently, aiming for open oral shapes and tonal resonance and relaxation. Therapies are designed to make us work harder, essentially overtraining our bodies to do something that is very simple in the long run.

I like to incorporate at least 1-2 of each of these daily with my students (and in my own playing). This can help us to further understand how the body and air work together to create a great brass tone.

Humming, Singing and Resonance Exercises

Understanding how our bodies vibrate and resonate when playing a brass instrument can also help us develop a fuller, more relaxed and rich sound. I like to start with some basic humming, thinking about a tall “AH” syllable. I combine this with matching pitch to a drone, which is also a great way to get the ears dialed in and teach you how to really HEAR what in-tune sounds like. Audiation is the concept of prehearing a note before you play, and should be stressed when beginning to hum and sing.

I typically begin with a simple concert F in the staff, which should be achievable by all levels of brass players. Once our hum is resonant and we understand the sound concept with vibration, I have them open up and sing a very full, yet still relaxed sounding, “AH.”

We then work on getting this sound to resonate and ring the room, listening for overtones and sonority. The goal is allowing the vocal sound to come out without force while maintaining fullness, a key component of great brass playing. Once we have begun to achieve good pitch and good resonance with the singing, we then will carry this concept over to the mouthpiece.

To Buzz or Not to Buzz, That Is The Question!

There has been healthy debate over the years on the value of mouthpiece buzzing. I subscribe to the philosophy that when buzzing is both approached and taught correctly, the positives outweigh the perceived negatives. We can learn much about balance and resistance through mouthpiece work. The key is to produce a very relaxed, free and somewhat “reedy” sounding buzz. If the buzz is tight and too focused, it can have negative effects on tone production and cause a pinched and thin tone. If under-supported, it will not create the same resonance or help us play in tune and project.

The ear training component is a byproduct, but one that can really pay off in tonal development. The more we are able to audiate the pitches before we buzz, the faster we will be able to hear in-tune and play in the center of the horn.  All of the aforementioned concepts fit neatly into the brass ideology that if you can “sing it and buzz it, then you can play it.”

Play in Tune = Play in Tone

I believe in a simple truth as a brass player: if my students are playing with their best sound, it’s very likely they are also playing in the center of their instruments. Likewise, if they are playing in tune, they are likely playing with their best sound.  Focusing on exercises that help us to play more “in tone” are a great way to improve individual sounds and develop a higher level of ensemble skills across your brass section.

To put this concept to use, have two of your students match tone. Ask one of them to play with the same sound and same sense of dynamic/intensity/energy as the other control model. After a few attempts, the students will invariably get closer to blending and, as often happens, playing more in tune together.

Many educators, myself included at times, fall into the bad habit of just sticking a tuner into a student’s bell and expecting them to play in tune across the horn. Such an approach takes student ownership out of the mix and encourages them to rely on the teacher telling them if it’s right or wrong. In contrast, matching exercises put the focus back on the students, allowing them to grow faster and really hear what in tune and in tone sounds like.

I’m always amazed at how quickly students will grow when we allow them the opportunity to improve themselves. Over time, those tuning slides that were all over the place begin to align much more closely as a true sense of playing in tune is developed in each player.

Modeling with Professional Recordings

While all of the above concepts are important tools in sound production, modeling is perhaps the most basic and crucial element to achieving a great sound. Simply put: PLAYING with a great sound requires HEARING a great sound. While we can certainly debate the merits of style and the appropriate sound for each musical setting, there is no denying that all great sounds have similar elements in common. Things like resonance, sonority, playing in the center, fullness, core and ringing overtones are all elements of a great individual sound. So how do we achieve this?

Creating sound models for students at all levels is important, and what may begin as simply matching older players in your band should develop into listening to professional musicians and recordings of the highest quality. As educators, it’s our responsibility to help provide students with these models. In essence, if your young brass players are listening to the likes of the Chicago Symphony Brass Section, Count Basie Orchestra and Tower of Power Horns, then they are much more likely to develop a stronger aural image of a great sound than those without these models.

Through repetition, students become part of an acclimation process.  In time they’ll sound more and more like their models, as their brains and bodies figure out how to do some of this acclimation on its own. Modeling examples and recordings should be used from day one and can be very powerful tools in helping to develop a correct and appropriate tone.

In conclusion, developing young brass players comes down to a few simple, yet important, daily concepts. Find ways to promote improvement through breathing, listening, matching and modeling habits. Many of these concepts can be taught in interactive ways that allow students to improve and also have a good time in the process.  The faster the improvement, the more likely that your students will stay invested in your program. As a famous band director once said,” it’s fun to play music, but it’s a lot more fun when you’re good!”

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Use Your Strengths

A great way to select initial music is to look at the individual strengths within your group. Do you have a great saxophone section? Or do you have a great soloist?  A great drummer? How about a really strong lead trumpet player? Identifying your strengths can help you select a few pieces that will highlight the talent in your ensemble. Programming to your strengths is a great way to approach selecting music for any concert.

Does It Mean A Thing?

I always try to include something that focuses on the roots of big band training, swing music. Anything from the library of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Sammy Nestico, etc. will not only give you music that is playable by a wide range of levels, but more importantly, music that requires great STYLE to play well.  Getting your band to swing should be one of the most important goals of jazz training and selecting music that focuses on this is always a great place to start.

Variety/Educational

Another important goal is to provide a variety of musical styles and a wide range of opportunities to grow musically. Creating a program with enough variety for your audience and members alike can be quite challenging. Selecting music with a variety of different styles, genres, meters, keys and tempos, is paramount to a successful performance.

Much like each musician has unique tastes, so does each audience member. While one person may love swing, another may love contemporary music. Their neighbor might prefer Latin-influenced music. The key is to create enough variety in your program so performers and audience alike can grow and enjoy a mixture of styles and influences.

From an educational standpoint, variety also allows your group to develop more musically and stylistically.  Having the ability to read and understand rhythms in a variety of styles is one of the chief benefits from playing in a jazz ensemble.

I’ve found in my career that many of the best sight readers I’ve encountered were in jazz programs during high school and were exposed to not only swing rhythms, but funk, rock, Latin, etc. These rhythms often look quite different from what we typically see in a concert band, so being able to pick these up quickly will raise your overall level of musicianship.

Length and Flow

One of the common mistakes with programming, is a lack of understanding how pace musical selections. Pacing has a direct effect on the overall flow of a concert. Jazz concerts can run into trouble quickly as many standard swing tunes fall into a similar tempo. As you begin planning your event, look closely at tempos and styles to create as much variety as possible. For example, opening with a ballad would not create the same level of excitement as a more uptempo piece would. Likewise, avoiding too many tunes at the same tempo will keep the flow of your concert balanced.

Understanding the length of your program and how your audience will stay engaged is equally important. Be sensitive to their attention span. Luckily, most jazz arrangements are short (4-5 minutes) in comparison to many of the large-scale wind ensemble and orchestral pieces, so this works on our favor. If you are planning a longer concert, I’d suggest the second half being shorter, perhaps 45 and 30, with an intermission in between. Overall, length and flow should a top priority in programming your concert.

Sample Program

Below I have created a sample program for a jazz ensemble concert. I have taken into account many of the aforementioned concepts.

• Groovin Hard – Don Menza , Arr, Dave Barduhn (straight ahead/ up tempo opener)
• The Chicken – Arr. Kris Berg (funk tune)
• Samantha – Nestico (ballad, alto saxophone feature for great soloist)
• Stolen Moments – Oliver Nelson, Arr. Paul Jennings (medium tempo swing, lot of style)
• Afro Blue – Mongo Santamaria/Arr. Mossman (great Afro-Cuban Latin style, in ¾)
• Take The ‘A’ Train – Ellington (authentic swing, having your soloists learn some of the original solos and integrate into their ideas)

This program covers a variety of styles, while providing room for solos, section features, style differences, and a mixture of harmonic and rhythmic challenges.

Keeping your players as well as your audience in mind when programming a concert is top priority.  Over the years I have discovered that my successful concerts had great variety, and that the audience and musicians walked away feeling like they truly learned something.  If the audience’s toes are tapping and their hands are clapping, you’ll know you’ve been successful.

Keep On Swingin’!

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