Practice This!
June 2009

Preparing for Summer Jazz Workshops

If you are attending one of the many popular summer jazz workshops in the area, there are some things that you can be doing now to both fine tune your existing skills and prepare yourself for maximum results during your workshop of choice. In talking with both veterans and teachers of the UW Jazz Workshop and Port Townsend Jazz Workshop, we came up with a few tips to keep you ahead of the curve.

In these weeks prior to your workshop attendance, you have a great opportunity to “work out some of the kinks” in your playing. Why wait for the instructor to tell you that you need to work on your dominant scales when you already know that? To get the most out of your self evaluation, follow these guidelines:

• Record yourself every time you play. Listen back and critique yourself objectively. In an ideal world, what isn’t perfect? Make a list and get to work! Veteran Seattle pianist John Hansen still can regularly be found with a small portable recording device whenever he performs.

• Review your basic requirements for playing changes and ensemble music: modes, chord-scale relationships, arpeggios, sight-reading, etc. If you are just starting out, make sure you are very comfortable with all your major scales at the very least.

• Review songs and song forms like Blues and Rhythm changes. Most workshops have some sort of live placement, and they generally involve standards and jazz standards, so reviewing your repertoire will be of great benefit.

• Make a list of three “hitches” or “kinks” in your playing that between now and the workshop you can address that will improve your playing. Try to tackle them as much as you can before the workshop.

While in attendance at your selected workshop you will undoubtedly feel overwhelmed by the vast amount of information flowing at you, and that’s a good thing! But sometimes it’s hard to keep focused with so much coming at you, and it’s helpful to be armed with a few strategies for yourself while attending:

• Try to give yourself a personal agenda for the week. For example, “I’m going to learn how to (fill in the blank) this week”. Make sure you get the information you need to move forward after the workshop is over.

• Record every master class and rehearsal – you never know what nuggets of information you might miss in the midst of all the action. Seattle Drum School Georgetown’s Marc Fendel recalls specifically learning about Pete Christlieb’s line playing from his own tape recordings of Port Townsend Jazz Workshop master classes and performances.

• One-on-one time with instructors is a rare commodity, so try to make a list of specific questions you can ask. You may not get the opportunity to ask them, but if you do, you’ll be ready with something that is important to you.

Follow our Practice This! guidelines for summer jazz workshops and you’ll be sure to capitalize on your experience and come out a much stronger player, not just have a great time!