Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Freedom from the tyranny of jazz theory

Yesterday was the final exam in my jazz theory class. I feel like I did solid 'B' work and I feel like a B is what I will get in the class, but I have to say, I worked harder in that class - far harder - than in any class I took to earn my BSBA (which was a finance minor for a while). Part of that has to do with the fact that I have a solid financial background just from having read the Wall Street Journal basically everyday for the last 23 years, but certainly a large part of that has to do with the work ethic I was able to apply to my music. I like music more than I like, say, economics or accounting, so naturally, I was willing to expend more effort in its pursuit. The other drawback though was that I don't have a very solid theoretical background in music. Sure, I've been playing for thirty some odd years, and sure, I've studied with private teachers and read books and looked at websites and whatnot, but formal training is a whole other kettle of fish.

If I had to do it all over again, I probably wouldn't. I'd probably find some way to take a regular music theory class first, then tackle the jazz after I got those real pre-requisites out. That would have made the going much easier and would have reduced the time factor involved. So, my advice to this blog's readers is simply, get the basic music theory out of the way before trying to study jazz. (Go ahead and play as much jazz as you want, just don't study until you've done the foundation work.)

With the end of that class, I am now completely free. No songs to learn, no parts to practice, no rehearsals to rush through, no homework to polish. I can just play tunes that move me, or that don't, and listen for pure enjoyment. It's bliss.

Next semester is jazz arranging, if we manage to get some more students signed up. That was actually my forte in the jazz theory class, and even knowing how hard I'll have to work, that I really am looking forward to.

But for at least one month, FREEDOM!

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