Post 562: USING MOLESKINE MANUSCRIPT NOTEBOOKS FOR JAZZ

Until recently, I was only vaguely aware that in the stationers' shops there was a variety of elegant notebooks made by a company called Moleskine. Then I discovered that Moleskine produces a neat pocket-size (9 centimetres x 14 centimetres) notebook for the writing out of music. It has 192 pages of quality paper, each ready printed with eight staves. 

There is also a 'pocket' in the back that can be used to store business cards, for example.

Perfect, I thought, for making copies of the trickiest tunes and the ones easily forgotten because they are not often played, and also the tunes that have a Verse that is sometimes needed in addition to the more familiar Chorus.

So I bought three of these notebooks and have been filling them, to my great satisfaction. They are becoming - to me at least - little treasures.

Moleskine Pocket Music Book

I began by numbering the pages. I tried to keep the tunes roughly in alphabetical order, though I am also maintaining an Index which directs me to any tune at a moment's notice.

A typical 32-bar tune can usually be contained within one page. But for the longer tunes (with three parts, for example), I allow a couple of pages.

I shall also enjoy looking through the tunes and memorising some of them during bus journeys, of which I undertake plenty.

I think these little books will be extremely useful to me. Maybe I can recommend the idea to you too, if you don't already have something of the kind?

Post 517: BEGINNERS' FAKE BOOK

I have written before about the value of fake books (sometimes called 'busker's books') to traditional jazz musicians, especially in the early stages of mastering your craft.

But beware. Some fake books - though crammed with tunes - are not as helpful as you may expect. They contain very few tunes the traditional jazz musician is likely to play.

But you can find less pretentious books that provide the leadsheets (words, notes and chords) of quite a few essential tunes. Such is 101 Pub Favourites for Buskers. Pub favourites tend to be in most cases traditional jazz favourites too; and they are often among the simplest tunes you need to master.

So from this book, for example, you can learn such tunes as After the Ball, You Always Hurt the One You Love,  Ain't She Sweet, Bill Bailey, On a Slow Boat to China, Nobody's Sweetheart Now, I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter, I Can't Give You Anything But Love, and so on. Here, for example, is On The Sunny Side of the Street - as you can see, very clear and easy to learn from. AND it even includes the Verse (which many musicians don't know).

I bought this book way back in 1986, would you believe, when I was at the stage of getting started and trying to play a few simple tunes in a group formed by three friends. It was produced by Wise Publications. There were several others in the '101' series.

I doubted whether these books were still on sale three decades later. But a quick internet search showed me that you can easily still order a new copy for about £18 (i.e., U.K. price) or you may obtain a used copy much more cheaply.
==========
By the way, if you may be interested in reading my e-Book called 'Playing Traditional Jazz', which is for jazz players and would-be jazzers, click here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MS38JVI
This will let you sample-read a few pages.

Post 450: JAZZ TUNES - WHERE CAN I FIND THE SHEET MUSIC?

I often receive emails from people who ask me whether I can help them by providing music, usually for particular tunes that have taken their fancy. More often than not, I am unable to do so.

I was also approached after a performance by a young man in the audience who said he was learning the trumpet and asked whether he could 'borrow the music for a few days' so that he could learn the tunes our jazz band had just played. Unfortunately, I could not oblige: the 'music' was in our heads and not on paper.

So, if you are learning to play a musical instrument and want eventually to be in a traditional jazz band, where can you get the music? 

Unfortunately, it is virtually impossible these days to go into a music shop and buy off the shelf a dixieland band arrangement of, say, Maple Leaf Rag, or sheet music for Steamboat Stomp.

So picking tunes up from old recordings by ear is one solution. And it is a method we occasionally resort to.

But if you hunt on the Internet, you can find some sites that will help you. In particular I recommend the site of that fine, generous, Swedish musician Lasse Collin:

CLICK HERE.

If you use Lasse's materials, you will have enough to keep your band going for years. He provides clear lead sheets, giving the melody line and the chords in a simple form. That's just what you and your band need.

Another possibility is to buy buskers' books (fake books). These also provide collections of lead sheets.

Second-hand copies of these are cheaply available on Internet auctions. But be careful to buy those that contain tunes that will definitely be of use in traditional jazz. Many fake books - despite their bulk - contain very little that will be of use to you.

Post 359: GO BUSKING - TRY SOME OUTREACH WORK

Here's an unusual and wonderful sight - An ENGLISH band busking on the streets of ENGLAND:

It's Bazzer's Jazzers recently photographed in Lancaster.

I run up against surprising language problems occasionally. After I last wrote about busking, an American reader e-mailed to tell me it took him some time to work out what busking was. But it's a common enough word here in England.

When I refer to jazz bands 'busking', I mean 'giving impromptu un-booked concerts in the streets, to promote their bands and pick up some tips' - in the manner of the many street bands in New Orleans.

'Busking' is a word of ancient and obscure origins. It probably came originally from a Germanic word of medieval times. It seems to have entered English via the old Spanish word buscar or the French busquer (meaning seek out or go about selling things). Of course, in addition to musicians, there are other forms of buskers (street performers). And the word 'busking' is also sometimes used by musicians in a slightly different way, meaning 'having a go at playing something by ear, without having seen or properly learned the music'.

But for the purposes of this article, I mean simply giving an un-booked concert in public.

Some of the best venues in which traditional jazz groups can be heard are outdoors, in streets or open spaces, where members of the public are passing by.

Scene in America

We should make a greater effort to take traditional jazz into the streets. That's the way to increase its appeal to the younger generation and give pleasure to the masses.

In the September 2014 issue of Offbeat Magazine, there was an article by Geoffrey Himes in which he sought the views of Tuba Skinny. This band no longer needed to busk for tips: it had plenty of good gigs on offer from all round the world. And yet the players still loved to perform in the streets.

Shaye Cohn told him: It’s important to every single person in the band that we keep playing on the street. If we stopped, something important about the band would be gone. We can take more risks and play more freely when we’re busking. No one’s telling us what to do or what to play when we’re on the street; no one’s telling us when to start or when to stop or how much we should talk. It’s our time and we do what we want to do. When people stop on the street to listen, it’s because they’re drawn to it. It’s not because they’re a tourist in a bar trying to ‘experience’ New Orleans music.

When we travel, we try to busk a lot, because it connects us to the place we’re in. If we’re out in the open, people are going to pass by and react. People bump into you and say, ‘What kind of music is that? I never heard that kind of jazz.’ Which I can relate to because, at one point, I had never heard this kind of jazz either. You’re outdoors, which is nice, and it’s acoustic so we don’t have to worry if someone’s amplifier is drowning out someone else. Some spots are better: small streets with fewer cars and more pedestrians—which are easier to find in Europe than in the States.

I had burned out on classical piano; I had spent so many, many hours practising in a tiny rehearsal room going over the same four measures again and again. I needed more social activity in my life. Until I started busking, I had never achieved such a special rapport playing music with people.

Another joy of playing in the street is that small children are fascinated by the music and react to the rhythms. Toddlers can't stop themselves dancing.

The music also gives pleasure to many elderly people for whom it brings back memories. Street performing is indeed 'Outreach Work' and very important.

To hear an example of three friends of mine attempting a street performance with me CLICK HERE.

If you play al fresco in this way, you give a delightful surprise to people of all ages. Many passers-by (accustomed to ipods and disco music) will never have seen and heard anything like this - live - before.

You will be heard by two thousand people in a couple of hours. (Isn't that better than playing to 25 people in a club or pub?) And a young lady in those two thousand could well book you to play at her wedding reception, so you will attract a good gig too.

As Shaye says, you will not have to meet the demands of a promoter. And you can choose your own programme, even including a few 'experimental tunes' if you like. You can start and finish at any time and maybe take a break in a bar or coffee shop.

In my country (England), there are plenty of buskers on the streets. Yet I hardly ever see a traditional jazz group among them. The few I have spotted attracted great interest.

Things are very different in other countries (especially America) where such street performances as this are welcome and commonplace:-

I don't know why English musicians are reluctant to get out there. It seems such an obvious way of keeping in practice, having fun and spreading joy.

Maybe the English are too reserved and too ready to imagine obstacles. It is a myth that you need some kind of 'permit' or 'licence' (other than in a very few places), though of course you must not cause an obstruction or play in a spot where you could disturb nearby businesses.

(Sadly, correspondent Robert Duis tells me, the situation is bad in Holland, where he says playing music on the streets is permitted only in rare circumstances.)

In England, most people and local authorities will give you a warm welcome for brightening up the scene and making everyone feel cheerful.

If you pick an appropriate location in an English high street, with good acoustics, preferably on a sunny day, you can enjoy a terrific concert and soon have a delighted audience. A reader has told me it is possible in some places to colonise a disused shelter or bandstand, like this:

Another reason why some musicians are reluctant, I suppose, is that this is not a money-making enterprise. You can put down a collection box and hope for donations, but you will be lucky if you collect more than enough to pay for the band's travelling expenses and a drink.

However, I wish more bands (or small groups) would try this form of performance.

It is a great way of keeping the music alive and it can bring you bookings, so it's a way of publicising yourselves too.

I stumbled upon a lovely YouTube video which graphically and movingly demonstrates the points I am trying to make. Please have a look at it:

CLICK HERE.

When a passer-by sees and hears you, the first ten seconds are the most important. Think about this vital point and it will help you get everything else right.

Choose carefully the spot where you set up. It is not fair to play in the same spot for more than an hour. (You may annoy a nearby shopkeeper who tolerates you but is not really happy to have you there.) And it is neither fair nor sensible to set up in a spot with another busker already performing nearby. Similarly, don't get too near someone who is collecting for a charity: people will think you are together.

Have a small repair kit with you, in case there are any problems with your musical instrument.

If you want to attract bookings, have a clear and visible notice; and have business cards available.

When people take an interest, make eye contact. Smile and say thank you if they put a coin in your box - even if it means missing half a bar.

Carry a notebook and pen: somebody may talk to you about a possible booking.

Be clean and smart. You could wear something distinctive – but don’t be scruffy.

When in a busy main thoroughfare, such as a high street, perform if possible between 10am and midday. Between those hours the public is most receptive. Later, people grow wearier and less responsive.

When there are plenty of people around, play merry tunes that you know you can play well.

Choose music that is mostly bright and cheerful.

Do not use amplification, or at least keep it minimal. You will attract complaints from shopkeepers and annoy your potential listeners if you are 'too loud'.

Don’t try to sell CDs unless you are licensed. In England, this does require a licence.

Don't make the excuse that your instrument is difficult to transport to such a venue. The lady below goes busking on her bicycle. It is a very pleasant tall, upright loop-frame model, complete with dynamo lighting and a very sensible chain-guard. I am a bicycle enthusiast.  I like cellos. I like ladies, especially ladies who play musical instruments. So this is the perfect street scene for me.

The lady cycles with the chair, stool, clothes pegs and CDs in her panniers. But how does she manage to carry the cello? In a cello bag on her back. And what about these chaps? An inspiration to us all!

Finally, here's Hannah - a great happiness-spreading street musician.

For a treat, watch her playing and singing by

CLICKING HERE.

Post 249: HOW TO IMPROVISE IN JAZZ

If you're wondering how on earth to go about learning to improvise, may I suggest you watch a wonderful tutorial on YouTube? It is given by the American trumpet-player Charlie Porter. It is full of wisdom, inspirational and also entertaining.

Charlie is a thousand times better at improvising on the trumpet than I am. And he is a natural gifted teacher. He's the man to follow (in this and other YouTube tutorials that he has generously given to the world).

To see the video
CLICK HERE.

And another super little video that gives you some idea about how the trumpet, trombone and clarinet go about collectively improvising is this one:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW.

As for me, I took up trying to play traditional jazz too late in life. I had no Charlie Porter to advise me and my learning processes were more pedestrian.

A wise old friend and jazz musician - Bill Stevens, who alas died several years ago - got me started by telling me there were two ways to improvise when playing jazz. He said you can improvise either on the melody or on the chords. Bill said that if you improvise on the melody, you will sometimes sound terrible but you will also achieve some exciting things. If you improvise on the chords, he said, you will always sound 'right' but will not be so exciting.

Since then, I have come to the view that there is a third way and that it is used (wittingly or unwittingly) by most jazz musicians: it is a mixture of the two above.

My advice will be less useful to you than Charlie Porter's but it may just give you a further means of support if you are really struggling.

Let us take for an example the first four bars of All of Me. And let us have it in the key of C. Written in 1932 by Seymour Simons and Gerald Marks, this song has long been a jazz standard. Here's how the melody and chords for those first four bars appear:

So the chords are two bars of C major and two of E7th:

To improvise on those four bars, you could simply play notes from the chords over the sixteen beats. Indeed, this is perhaps a good exercise for complete beginners. You might come up with something like this:

But when you feel confident, move on to something with a bit more sparkle. You must still work round and through notes from the chords but don't be afraid to throw in notes adjacent to them; and build in some syncopation, to keep things swinging. For example:

Now you are on your way!

Bill Stevens' 'chord' method of improvising over a complete tune involves doing this kind of thing with all the bars. The great majority of 'standards' (such as All of Me) comprise 32 bars, which you come to feel as four eights. There is usually some repetition of chord patterns within the tune, so this helps.

When learning a new tune, you may feel more confident if you memorise the notes of the melody and the chord sequence. You may be clever enough to work these out by yourself. But I find it easier to learn from 'busker's books' (sometimes called 'fake books') - obtainable in music shops or from the Internet, where there are many resources.

Post 87: BUSKERS' BOOKS AND FAKE BOOKS

I was playing in a traditional jazz band in a Cambridgeshire pub when a young man in the audience told me he was a trumpet player and wanted to learn to play traditional jazz. Could I please lend him 'the music'?

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. The 'music' has to be inside your head. It takes months to build up a repertoire and much of your learning may have to come from picking tunes up by ear, as many of the old-time tunes are virtually unobtainable in sheet music form.

But a good starting tactic is to buy some busker's books (also called fake books).

They do not contain piano-type music, with two staves. They simply give you what is known as a lead-sheet - the melody line and the chord sequence.

That's all you and your band should need. Provided that you are all working to the same melody and chord pattern, you can improvise to your heart's content and also work out - if you like - a 'head arrangement' (i.e. a plan for who will do what, and when).

Of course, these books have their limitations. They sometimes leave out the Verse of a song, giving you only the Chorus. That's all right if you want to play only the Chorus; but it's irritating if you want to include the Verse, to provide some contrast or variety.

And with more complex old tunes (such as rags with three or more themes), it is annoying if the fake book gives only one theme and omits the rest.

Another warning: there are so many busker's books on the market. Do not waste money on chunky books that claim to contain 500 or 1000 tunes if there are not more than four or five tunes in them that you will ever be likely to play with a traditional jazz band. There are many such books available. Don't be fooled by the bulk.

Over many years, I have built up a bunch of fake books. They can be quite expensive when new; but I have noticed recently that plenty of them are available on internet auctions, so you should now be able to pick some up cheaply. Simply type 'Buskers' Books' or 'Fake Books' into your search.

After that, there are also resources on the internet where you can freely download the music for some of the rarer old jazz tunes.

For an example of dozens of tunes generously provided by a very remarkable Swedish gentleman - a musician and artist named Lasse Collin - go to this website:
  http://cjam.lassecollin.se/

It is also possible - if you search - to find downloadable books of tunes, sometimes generously provided by particular bands.

Also be warned that, when you come to play a tune with other players, you may find the band uses a version with slightly different chords or melody notes from those in your fakebook. They may even use a different key. So be prepared to adapt.
============

15 April 2013

Post 46: GETTING THERE AT LAST!

It’s a sad thing to report but I have to tell you I had to wait until I was 80 years old before I at last got to play in a really good six-piece traditional jazz band.

Why was that? Partly because I left it late in life to take an interest in the music.

When I was eight years old, my parents forced me to have a few piano lessons. I hated the tedious business of practising scales night after night, as required by my teacher. I pleaded with my parents to let me give up and they eventually did so. But at least I had learned the rudiments of music.

Fast forward to when I was over fifty years old. I happened to attend a jazz concert given by Kenny Ball and his Band. I was so excited by it that I suddenly had the crazy ambition to play in a jazz band.

Over the following months, having bought a second-hand trumpet, I worked hard – with the help of books – at mastering the blowing and the fingering. Soon I was able to play a few easy tunes.

I bought several ‘Busker’s Books’ in order to obtain tunes and lead-sheets.

I advertised in the local paper to find other people who might care to join me. Soon we had a band of half a dozen players, four of whom were complete beginners. We got together once a week, practised a great deal and soon were able to play a few simple tunes. We must have sounded awful but the hobby gave us enormous pleasure. Eventually we had the courage to offer ourselves to play free of charge in local care homes and a pub.

One day I sat in for a couple of tunes with a good jazz band that was in town. I managed fairly well, and one of the musicians took my phone number. This led to invitations to deputize and eventually play in a couple of reasonably experienced bands.

At the time I was still working hard learning tunes. It also dawned on me that chord sequences were vitally important and needed studying.

I bought a lovely cornet and went on to discover that I preferred it to the trumpet. After that, I increasingly played the cornet.

Over the years, I gradually became known among band-leaders for miles around. With older players retiring or dying, by the time I was 65 years old, I was offered many opportunities with various bands. I continued to study the music, learn more tunes and to practise regularly. I visited New Orleans to learn from the playing of the bands there.

I played many gigs in pubs, at jazz clubs, at bandstand summer concerts, at weddings and private parties. Many of the groups in which I played were quite good, though not remotely in the same league as the best young bands (such as The Shotgun Jazz Band and Tuba Skinny) currently established in New Orleans.

When I reached the age of 80, I had met and played with many fine musicians based in the English Midlands, where I now live. One of these was a clarinet player whose music was both very tasteful and also grounded in excellent technique. One day he was asked at short notice to put together a band to play at a jazz club near Derby, because the regular band had suddenly become unavailable. He phoned round among his musician friends and kindly invited me to be the cornet player.

I turned up apprehensively at the gig because I did not know some of the other players and I had never even been to that jazz club. I need not have worried. The other five were superb musicians – three of them (the rhythm section) accurately providing that four-in-a-bar steady pulse that I consider so important, pumping the band along. The trombonist was perfect in every note, complementing what I was trying to do and moving the music along with understated power. Our leader, the clarinet player, offered exquisite decorations and the top-end excitement that our music needs.

My task was easier than I had expected: for much of the time I was able to concentrate on tone and to play a simple line for the clarinet and trombone to decorate.

The leader had sent us in advance a tune list – with keys – so the presentation of our programme on the night was smooth and impressive.

Here were six people who had never played or even rehearsed together as a band before. But, because they were fine musicians and great team players – all willing to listen and respond to what others in the band were doing – it was a great evening. At the end I was on a high. But good news was that the other players were all well pleased too: they felt the evening had been something special. Several members of the audience told us how much they had enjoyed it and they hoped we would return.

I was 80. But I had got there in the end!

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