Big Band Swing has been back in favor recently and you just can’t beat that sound. Gone are all the production effects, loops  and synthezisers used in today’s music and the quality rests solely upon good arranging and good playing. We’ve had a lot of fun arranging Big Band music for a dance show, which will be touring the USA and Canada.

This particular 16 piece band actually consisted of  5 musicians, multi-tracking their parts and  joined via the internet!
Our job has been to write the arrangements and make sure that they sound stylistically authentic and are easy to read.
These excerpts are completely unmixed  but you can clearly hear the quality of the playing and hopefully, the writing too

If you’ve ever sat down to work out the notes of your favourite tune then you’ll have some idea of the daunting task of transcribing and arranging  individual notes for 5 saxophones, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones and rhythm section. When it all comes together and you hear that sound, there’s nothing to beat it.
So if you need a Big Band sound but don’t have a Big Band budget…all is not lost

The “Holy Grail” for pianists is to find an “effortless” technique which allows them to be at one with the instrument. This is something that has interested me for the past 20 years and which I believe I’m beginning to gain some understanding of.

I’ve been meaning to blog about this for ages but it’s such a huge subject! Most of what’s written below is taken from an email I sent to a colleague regarding piano students and how this may be of benefit to some of the more advanced pianists.

The whole subject of technique is extremely complicated and is not simply understanding the mechanism by which we play the instrument, but relies hugely on how we hear and think about music too.

For me, there is a distinct difference between “technique” and something which I shall call “mechanism”.
By “mechanism” I mean an efficient use of the muscles of the hand and arm which allows for “effortless” playing by means of gaining maximum effect with minimum input of energy.  Of course this is “technique”, but that word has other implications  such as ability to play thirds, octave passages and other specific technical difficulties which are a different concern.

Jazz musicians don’t need to build a formidable “technique” in the same way that a classical musician does but the ability to play accurately with precise rhythm and good tone, without conscious awareness of technique is vital. Although applicable to any good musician, this is a specific area of concern for improvisers because we cannot fall back on knowing  the notes .  Any physical discomfort is a barrier to improvisation as we need almost all of our conscious mind devoted to creating the notes in the first place. We also need to learn how to combat unwanted tension.  I once asked a very well respected teacher what one should do if experiencing tension and the reply was “play through it!” which is a familiar response and one I find at best unhelpful and can in extreme cases lead to focal dystonia.

Another problem which arises more often with students of Jazz/ improvisation is that they usually come to the piano at a later age and haven’t built up a technique at a time when their hands and wrists are more supple and still growing. As a result, many students play the piano with tension or at the very least a highly inefficient technique which wastes energy and produces a bad tone, usually with muscle stiffness.

My own approach is based upon:

• Firstly “timing” the key correctly – nothing to do with rhythm, but rather, feeling the point at which the hammer strikes the string so that one can input the minimum required energy to gain the maximum affect.
• Maximising the use of the small muscles of the hand (which are very weak but allow great independence) while minimising the work done by the long flexors and extensors which are joined to the forearm. This system of muscles and tendons is very strong and yet impedes finger independence, results in a stiffened wrist, finger  insensitivity and can result in pain if overworked. Most students I see (and many professionals) overuse these long flexors and extensors.

For me, the basic piano playing mechanism relies on:

• allowing the hand to drop completely -thus allowing a loose wrist and removing unnecessary work from the Flexor Digitorium System in the arm.
• For the finger to strike the key (“timing” the key/ hammer precisely)
• The finger then supports the weight of the hand (rather like a house resting on stilts).
• The fingers do not press at all- they support (they are never passive).
• The next key is struck by a finger and the weight of the hand is transferred from the first finger to the next with no break – producing an “effortless” legato.
• Additional energy required for most playing can be added by pushing from the arm or adding additional weight from the arm.

The “feeling” of playing a legato phrase is to drop onto the first note, then feel a  continuous connection with the keyboard throughout the phrase and finally pick the hand up at the end. Playing is effortless, with a good tone and extremely rapid.Although this sounds simple, most pianists are unable to achieve the correct results due to an overuse of the long flexors. These give the pianist a feeling of strength and security but they also “take over” work that needs to be done by the small, far weaker muscles within the hand. This means that the pianist may look as though he or she is performing the correct action but the work is done by the wrong muscle groups and the correct feeling will not be achieved.  Work must e built up from a very small sound,  learning to time the hammer precisely and to allow the arm to completely let go of the hand at the wrist. Only then can additional power be added.

Obviously this is only part of a comprehensive technique but the “mechanism” is essential.

This is a huge subject and one which produces much disagreement among pianists!
This is a really an introduction and I’ll be adding to this subject with images and video.
I’d love to hear the thoughts of other pianists.

Have you’ve ever needed to convert your audio files quickly and not had the right software to hand?
We know exactly how frustrating that can be so we’ve just added a really cool feature to SMARTassMusic which allows you to convert all of your music into the most useful audio formats, and it’s REALLY fast

You can see here that in my account I’ve converted “Urban Symphony” to MP3 (128kbps) and I’ve chosen to convert “Insomnia” to all available file formats.

If you login into your account and navigate to your “downloads” page you’ll now be able to download your purchased music in the following formats:

• WAV (CD quality)  to
• AIFF (CD quality),
• FLAC (lossless compression),
• MP3 128kbps (good for web use),
• MP3 256kbps (higher quality, compressed) and 
• MP3 320kbps (“professional” quality MP3).

For explanations of each file type click here 

The converter is incredibly quick and when I tested  a 4 minute WAV  the site converted it to AIFF in 6 seconds!!

In your account area you can quickly review each purchased track by pressing the play button and  download the WAV file at any time. To convert the WAV file choose an alternative format from the drop-down menu an additional download button will appear in a few seconds.
To save server space your converted files are deleted after 24 hours but your WAV files are always in your account and you can revisit and convert/ download as many times as you want.

Holidays are well and truly over now and although I’m hanging onto the last of the Indian summer we’re having in Britain (I’m still in shorts!), there’s no denying the workload which is building and it’s time to get back to the blog

The summer has been full of arranging for a variety of ensembles, managing the royalty free music site (more of that later) and the gig diary has been pretty continuous – culminating in a great evening with vocalist Sue Rivers last Friday.
Apart from the fact that the gig was a mile from home, it was a great evening for me because Sue is a great natural musician with excellent pitching and natural time. Very few vocalists are so reliable  that they allow the accompanist complete freedom to use frequent harmonizations and in particular, space!

Playing in time is NOT about playing on the beat – in fact I have a pet hate of that. It’s about knowing where the beat is and either playing in front, on or behind  it, depending upon the mood/ style of the music and the instrument.

Groove and swing is all about the rhythmic “pull” between a group of good live musicians which relies upon their ability to hear the “invisible” internal beat. You must hear the constant, imagined beat although you may never play on it.

For me, when musicians are able to do this, everything starts to flow, musically and technically. You can stop “fighting” the groove and trying to jostle musicians into hearing right time or feel. Sometimes it happens immediately and sometime never, but it’s the most rewarding experience when it occurs because ideas flow naturally and you are able to use the musicians most powerful tool……..space.

The key to all of this is not the ability to hear the notes – but the ability to hear the space that surrounds them. It took me years to understand what this means and it’s not always easy to do. I first heard Keith Jarrett talk about it with reference to his period in the Miles Davis band. Miles was “all about space”. If you learn to hear the silence, the notes are easy.
Some very good musicians never understand this although their natural gifts allow them to play very well, but for me their music it never artistic – it just does the job.

You must first imagine the beat (and “groove” or various subdivisions of the beat), then the harmony……. and only then you start to play! If you cannot conjure up these aspects before you play then it’s highly likely that you’re music won’t be very good.

If you’re a visually inclined thinker then the image to the left may make sense to you. This is quite literally what I see very often when playing. If you’re not visually oriented…. don’t be put off!

videoproductiontips.com

I came across this today and was so impressed-I signed up immediately and then found myself engrossed in the video tutorials and I’m a guy with very little time! And no, I’m not being paid
Video Production Tips is one of the best video orientated blogs around and they’re giving away a free online video production course (worth $67).
Don’t be put off if you get the pop up window – personally I hate those things but I couldn’t resist and I happily gave away my email address.
I was given a password to the protected area of the site which contains some really great tips (in the form of videos)  on all aspects of video production, including lighting,  scenery, titles, stop-motion, editing and lots more. There’s also some additional tutorials (which are available on YouTube) covering things like Windows Movie Maker, green screen techniques, file formats and camera info.

Video Production Tips is run by video professional Lorraine Grula, who has over 30 years  experience in video production, working primarily in the Nashville, Tennessee Video and TV News market.  Lorraine has  created video stories on every subject imaginable and has worked  primarily  as a hands-on field producer,  photographer and video tape editor.

Lorraine took her expertise into the classroom and spent two years teaching high school TV Production, building a small-town program into a nationally recognized one. Her students won over forty-five awards in just two years worth of teaching, including the National Association for Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) Student Award of Excellence, the equivalent to a high school Emmy.

Even if you don’t sign up, there’s loads of information here that’s useful to anybody and everybody interested in video production!

How to get Beyond Music Theory?
The subject of balancing a knowledge of theory with “instinctive” playing came up in a music forum the other day. It’s obvious that musicians have strong views on this but I really don’t see the two aspects as being in conflict with each other. In fact, I have very strong views on the matter! )

Learning How to be a Natural:
My whole teaching approach is based upon how to play “naturally” or “instinctively” but it’s also based in a very sound knowledge of theory.  When you learn an instrument you have to do a great deal of conscious work because you need to tell your hands what to do. We learn this by moving through small conscious steps until each element is allowed to be controlled by the subconscious. We can then move to the next level. If you put in enough hard work you may eventually reach the stage where you can forget everything and just play – but  there’s really nothing instinctive about it. 

When playing Jazz, I’m only content  if I’m able to play utterly within the moment and play only what I’m hearing in my head. As a result I may improvise within the chords, or outside of them. I’ll play whatever I feel at that moment and even though it appears and feels “instinctive”, it’s really no such thing, as this ability has been very hard earned and I’m still able to explain what I’m doing in terms of theory afterwards.

Learning to Hear:
A knowledge of scales and harmony not only helps you understand the logic within different styles and helps you discuss musical ideas, most importantly, it allows you to HEAR the music better!
Very few people  have the ability to hear music and immediately and replicate it. For the rest of us the ability to hear music accurately can be made far easier by breaking it down into smaller elements.
If you familiarise yourself with the sound of a basic chord (for example C minor-C,Eb,G) and then add the 7th (C,Eb,G,Bb), add the 9th (C,Eb,G,Bb,D). It doesn’t take long before you can recognise this chord precisely, anywhere at the keyboard by recognising a combination of the chord quality and it’s texture (or voicing). For example a Cm9 played in closed position in the middle of the keyboard (Middle C,Eb,G,Bb) will sound rather ordinary but open that up so that you have C in the bass with G above, then Eb, Bb and D – you have a large resonant chord. You could invert it so that you have C in the bass the add Bb (below middle C), D,Eb,G. It’s the same quality chord (minor) with a different texture. Learn all your keys and you can now recognise a minor chord with any extension in any position on the keyboard. (See Jazz harmony posts).
There’s no real difference between this method and recognising a particular model of car in different colours. Some cars may have slight modifications but it’s still the same car and you’ll recognise it every time. Instead of hearing a bewildering array of notes, you’ve brought it down to thinking about the smallest possible elements. When you come to play, you don’t think at all-you hear and you’re subconsious does the work that you’ve taught it.

Knowledge of scales and harmony enables students to make sense of the bewildering amount of patterns that we use in music. These patterns are entirely man made and many of them are learned in our childhood without knowing it. To western ears, Arabic music or Chinese music can sound very out of tune but it’s because the westerner’s brain hasn’t learned the same patterns. The same applies to Jazz. Many people don’t like Jazz because their brain can’t work out the patterns and it sounds discordant and agitated. This type of learning is below the conscious level and might be described as “instinct” in exactly the same way that we learn a language (and accent) when young. When we talk, we don’t think about how the words and sentences are made up (because we learned that when young) , although in order to teach somebody else we need to have a very good understanding of spelling and grammar.

Thinking Orchestrally:
It should be said that the piano lends itself to thinking theoretically because of it’s visual, logical layout. We can think orchestrally the whole time-and by “orchestrally” I don’t care if it’s Ravel or Bob Marley. You can hear the notes and mentally overlay them onto the keyboard. The mistake that most pianists make is to play the piano! The best pianists are trying to emulate orchestras or Big bands or other instruments. It adds colour and another dimension to piano playing. Vladimir Horowitz is the most wonderful “orchestral” pianist. An example of pianistic playing is the wine bar “Jazz” that you hear, with loads of pointless runs and arpeggios. 
Guitarist’s approach their instrument differently and it is literally more of a “feel” instrument because they can’t really look at what they’re doing. Also, guitarists don’t have to learn a completely different shape for each key, anything like the extend that a pianist does. This does mean that they can learn faster without the need for much theory- but beware. I can’t tell you the amount of amazing guitarists that earn a fraction of what they could,  because they can’t read music properly.

Don’t Limit Yourself:
My point is that a thorough knowledge of theory helps you HEAR music better and learn how to forget the rules and play from your heart. Without this, even with a lot of talent you’ll probably be stuck within one style and be musically restricted. I’ve seen it time and time again.

I thought this may be useful for the musicians amongst you. I’ve produced some blank manuscript paper for you to download and print out.
The links below are single stave versions in treble and bass clef as well as double stave piano manuscript. They’re also in US and UK paper sizes.

Single stave Manuscript paper- treble clef. US
Single stave Manuscript paper- treble clef. UK

Single stave Manuscript paper- Bass clef. US
Single stave Manuscript paper- Bass clef. UK

Double stave Manuscript paper- US
Double stave Manuscript paper- UK

Simply click the link above, download the PDF and save a copy o your hard drive.

Download Jazz Harmony Tutorial
Fig 1 shows the basic II-V-I progression in closed, root position and you should always be aware of this in the back of your mind.
Fig 2 Shows these chords opened up in 2 ways, to provide a more resonant chord using only the same notes.
Fig 3 is an example of Bebop voicings, which are usually very sparse using only 3rds or 7ths and thus known as “shells”.
Fig 4 extends the harmony by the use of added 9ths and 13ths. Notice that this is still based on the basic “open” voicings.
Fig 5 extends this idea and shows chromatically altered extensions.
Fig 6 shows the rootless voicings used by most modern Jazz pianists. These take the important notes of the open chrods (3rd,7th and possibly 9ths,11ths,13ths) and inverts them to produce intervals of 2nds and to enable the chord to fit within one hand. These voicings are only effective in the tenor register of the piano.
Fig 10,11 shows how these voicings may be used when “comping” in a rhythm section. The right hand adds a stronger trumpet like element with an octave and 4th or 5th, boosted by the thick rootless voicing of the left hand.
If you’re familiar with these approaches in all keys then you’ll have plenty to work with, especially for solo piano.

Our harmony downloads are proving popular so here’s another Jazz Harmony PDF.
This sheet is titled “Practise Worksheet – intermediate” but it’s vital for all serious Jazz/Commercial pianists to know these chords inside out.

The first exercise is a simple series of II-V-I progressions in closed position, around a cycle of fifths. These are vital and even if I’m playing a weird large chord with loads of extensions and no root-I’m still am aware of the closed position voicing underneath it all!

When this is familiar, move on to the next exercise which then opens out these chords using an interval of a fifth in the base and adding the 3rd and 7th (or 7th and 3rd) above.
These voicings are absolutely vital to good jazz piano and indeed, good arranging. This style of opening out a simple chord uses the least amount of notes (in Jazz harmony) to the greatest effect.
The next exercise goes on to add extensions to these chords, utilising a bass note in the left hand and chord in the right.

The final exercise is to play the previous chord shapes in the left hand with the intention of leaving the bass notes to the bass player so as to allow the right hand to improvise.
There we have it-most of Jazz harmony, all on a single sheet of paper!

Jazz Harmony PDF download 

If you create your own podcasts then you will certainly need great music to accompany your fabulous new show.
There’s actually a great choice of music available on the Internet for podcasters but there’s two vital things to watch out for: is it legal? and is it good quality?

To be sure that your podcast music is “podsafe” or legal, you really need to buy music from a royalty free music library or independent musician who specifically gives you the rights to use his or her music.
The SMARTassMusic standard license gives you the right to use our music as much as you like in your podcasts and many other projects too!
And did I mention….there’s free tracks too and yes, you’re welcome to use these in your podcasts absolutely free.

The other important point is that of quality. Our music is crystal clear audio quality and available for instant download as both WAV and high quality MP3 files (192kbps).
You shouldn’t sacrifice quality for bandwidth when producing your podcasts and any audio compression less than 128kbps containing music, is going to be noticably poor.
Good luck with your podcasting!