Below you will find some suggested resources for an entry level student of jazz.
These have been chosen from our Virtual Academy library of online resources. Please feel free to explore the entire collection here.
Our definition of ENTRY LEVEL:
As with any learning resource, the best thing you can do is work with a teacher who can explain the material and help you to develop techniques to practice and internalise the music.
Please share your learning journey with us via the #NYJOVA hashtag on Instagram.
Thanks for joining the NYJO Virtual Academy! We’re really pleased you’re getting stuck into all of the material we have prepared for you.
Here’s a guide to help you use what we have selected for players beginning their jazz journey.
The 12 Bar Blues is a jazz fundamental – a great place to start but also something jazz musicians will play over for their whole lives, and it never gets boring. There are lots of different tunes that people have written over the 12 Bar Blues chord sequence and we have chosen a simple ‘riff’ based tune called Centrepiece and a more challenging tune from the Bebop era called Straight, No Chaser. The first one is in the key of Bb and the second is in F: these are common keys for this chord sequence in jazz.
If you would prefer to listen along via Spotify, you can find the same playlists here:
Each performance included should take you on an important journey of learning and appreciation (no matter how many times you’ve heard it before!).
To get the most out of the experience, ensure that you take note of how each performer approaches the tune in question. Study and observe all aspect of their individual approaches to playing their chosen instrument. What makes them unique?
This application is much closer to the way people learned back in the day rather than relying on notation; so take the things that resonate with you for whatever reason and use them to influence your next practise sessions.
This will only serve to make you a more responsive, thoughtful musician over time.