Blue Matter: Ten Weeks of the Blues
This is a “Past Presentation” of a Learning Club™ that “aired” live in 2022: Blue Matter: Ten Weeks of the Blues!
“There is no jazz without the blues.” (Louis Armstrong)
The blues has permeated jazz music: not only in the feeling, phrasing, melodies and harmonies prevalent in all jazz, but also in the repertoire and song selection that jazz musicians have always loved to use for improvisation.
Some of the best-known and most loved jazz songs are, indeed, blues songs.
In this deep dive into jazz blues playing, we will be working on ten songs: “Bag’s Groove”; “Bessie’s Blues”; “Blues for Ike”; “Blue Monk”; “Creole Love Call”; “Now’s the Time”; “Tenor Madness”; “Wholly Cats”; “Things Ain’t What They Used To Be”, and “Swing 48”.
The songs present a diverse array of treatments of jazz blues, in a wide variety of keys, tempos and flavors.
As always, we will use the songs as a jumping off point to study guitar playing and improvisation. In this Learning Club™, we will take a look at a variety of concepts: melody, rhythm, groove, accompaniment techniques, harmonizing, chord melody, using different chord substitutions and extension choices to create different musical effects, and much more.
This is a “Past Presentation” of a Learning Club™ that “aired” live in 2022: Blue Matter: Ten Weeks of the Blues!
“There is no jazz without the blues.” (Louis Armstrong)
The blues has permeated jazz music: not only in the feeling, phrasing, melodies and harmonies prevalent in all jazz, but also in the repertoire and song selection that jazz musicians have always loved to use for improvisation.
Some of the best-known and most loved jazz songs are, indeed, blues songs.
In this deep dive into jazz blues playing, we will be working on ten songs: “Bag’s Groove”; “Bessie’s Blues”; “Blues for Ike”; “Blue Monk”; “Creole Love Call”; “Now’s the Time”; “Tenor Madness”; “Wholly Cats”; “Things Ain’t What They Used To Be”, and “Swing 48”.
The songs present a diverse array of treatments of jazz blues, in a wide variety of keys, tempos and flavors.
As always, we will use the songs as a jumping off point to study guitar playing and improvisation. In this Learning Club™, we will take a look at a variety of concepts: melody, rhythm, groove, accompaniment techniques, harmonizing, chord melody, using different chord substitutions and extension choices to create different musical effects, and much more.
This is a “Past Presentation” of a Learning Club™ that “aired” live in 2022: Blue Matter: Ten Weeks of the Blues!
“There is no jazz without the blues.” (Louis Armstrong)
The blues has permeated jazz music: not only in the feeling, phrasing, melodies and harmonies prevalent in all jazz, but also in the repertoire and song selection that jazz musicians have always loved to use for improvisation.
Some of the best-known and most loved jazz songs are, indeed, blues songs.
In this deep dive into jazz blues playing, we will be working on ten songs: “Bag’s Groove”; “Bessie’s Blues”; “Blues for Ike”; “Blue Monk”; “Creole Love Call”; “Now’s the Time”; “Tenor Madness”; “Wholly Cats”; “Things Ain’t What They Used To Be”, and “Swing 48”.
The songs present a diverse array of treatments of jazz blues, in a wide variety of keys, tempos and flavors.
As always, we will use the songs as a jumping off point to study guitar playing and improvisation. In this Learning Club™, we will take a look at a variety of concepts: melody, rhythm, groove, accompaniment techniques, harmonizing, chord melody, using different chord substitutions and extension choices to create different musical effects, and much more.
My Learning Clubs™, with their ten-week duration, are the perfect way to really dig into the songs and make a lot of improvement while having a lot of fun. The interval and regular sessions provide you a sustained look at the material. The formula provides real results: with consistent practice, so you can make consistent and measurable progress.
Here’s how it works:
When you sign up, you receive access to a wealth of downloadable material for you to learn and practice the songs to get ready for the weekly jams. You get pdf chord charts for each of the ten songs, video lessons where I demonstrate how to play the songs, and sound recording play-a-long files of each of the songs so you can practice playing the melody and improvising with me.
Best of all, each of the ten weeks features a live, one-hour jam session over Zoom that I lead.
The virtual jam room always opens up 30 minutes before the session, so you can say hello to other participants and “do the hang.” I sometimes play a recording, tell a story or make myself available for questions before the jam session starts.
During the sessions, we focus on the songs. Repetition leads to mastery. So we play them over and over in different ways, putting them under the microscope and having a ball while doing so.
I am really, really excited about the new Learning Club™ and about this new way of approaching guitar study!
So, what are you waiting for? Sign up today and let’s get into the Blues!
