Make a song your song...

This first clip is of Billie Holiday with the Count Basie Orchestra performing a song she co-wrote with Arthur Herzog entitled "God Bless the Child." Listen to the way a vocalist like Billie Holiday sings a melody, then try to mimic that phrasing on your instrument.

Billie holiday
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The second clip is of Eric Dolphy performing the same song on Bass Clarinet. Eric Dolphy was one of the leaders of a style of jazz known commonly called "free jazz." Free jazz musicians usually try to alter, extend, or break down the conventions of jazz, often getting rid of fixed chord changes or tempos. The style came about in the 1960's as a reaction to bebop and modal jazz. Free jazz is fun, give it a try. To get started, take a duet and have each player play the notes but at different tempos. Speed up or slow down wherever you feel like it. You'll find you get some pretty modern and interesting harmonies. The more you open up your ears to different sounds and tonalities, the more you will grow as a musician.

Swing it Ella!

The One Note Samba featuring Ella Fitzgerald scatting away. In class we have you sing your parts, in hopes that you'll internalize and solidify musical passages and then put them on your instrument the way you sang them. It also doesn't hurt your future sight reading. Perhaps (and by "perhaps" we mean do this) you might try scatting a few choruses over the 12 bar blues track on your jazz band disk (in the safety of your own room). Next if you want to take it to a higher level (also a strong suggestion), record yourself and transcribe what you sang. (Note to self: destroy tape before sister finds it and makes copies for her friends). One other option, put the CD in your car stereo, and trade vocal fours with your friends on the way to Jazz band practice. If you're into the female jazz vocal thing, there are three you should check out first...Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. All three are legendary.