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Gridley on Jazz Appreciation

• put yourself in their shoes
• all jazz sounds free to them
• bebop sounds like free jazz
• new students have very weak skills
• teach them to detect rhythm
• teach them to identify instruments
• motivation is usually low to study/attend concerts
• quizzes help
• encourage sustaining attention
• most students are used to listening in background
• need to teach musical elements
• it is a foreign language (give a few basic phrases)
• show/play inst

2 most vital aspects of appreciation (not history or bio)

• 1 improv
• 2

elements to focus on

• comp/solo
• ride pattern
• timbre of each instrument
• performance practice
• use class time to coach not lecture
• live demos are best
• instrument scavenger hunt-movie soundtracks
• visual search photos or live
• dissect drumset
• drum label quiz
• 1 example is not enough-be repetitive
• ask them to write instruments while listening
• historical aspects should be covered by reading
• 1/2 of each class should be on deep listening

course goals

• turn them on (even if only to1 style)
• improve hearing (less is more)
• play examples of the same tune different players
• play examples of same tune same player

african stuff

• tone quality
• overlapping call and response
• syncopation

form

• aaba
• sing flintstones underneath "I got rhythm" etc.

general

• repetition 5x is needed for items to sink in
• jazz is like football: there are plays and the players help each other get to goal; rules apply
• consider following a non-historical sequence
• focus on 5-10 artists max
• quizzes only for grading (weekly)
• show instrumental demonstration sample video
• revise title of the course-understanding jazz