Jam bands are musical groups whose albums and live performances relate to a fan culture that originated with the 1960s group Grateful Dead and continued in the 1990s with Phish. The performances of these bands often feature extended musical improvisation (“jams”) over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns and long sets of music that cross genre [...]
Cut time is a source of confusion for many musicians. What exactly does it mean and how do you apply it?
Too often cut time is thought of as having two beats in a measure. There are not two beats in a measure of cut time – there are four beats in a measure of cut [...]
Improvisation is at the heart of jazz. Too many people consider it a mysterious art that they can’t appreciate.
In reality, this art form is simply spontaneous conversation between friends. A listener no more has to understand the intricacies behind it, than they have to understand the details of brush strokes to appreciate a painting.
Just listen [...]
This question was posed on The Jazz Network. This was my response.
Blues can be typically described as a 12 bar song structure based on the I, IV and V chords. These fundamental chords appear at specific locations within the 12 bar format. The function of the I chord occupies bars 1 through 4. Bars 5 [...]
Al Stauffer was a giant musician but a gentle and supportive human being. Someone asked me recently what was it about Al that was so important to me. I must admit that no one ever asked that question of me before. It wasn’t difficult to answer but it was important that I got the words [...]
Every individual is unique. Talent must reflect individuality. This unveiling of the unique individual reflects varying degrees of depth, perception and maturity. The uniqueness of an individual does not primarily center on physical ability. The physical ability to play is a mechanic and can be acquired by most with sufficient work and determination. Physical aptitude [...]
Music is basically a type of self reflection, a communication form intended to convey the uniqueness of the individual player. The uniqueness of an individual is the sum total of his experiences. These experiences shape the personality of the individual to a great extent and it is this personality which is reflected through music. The [...]
One of the most fascinating aspects of music is its diversity. By diversity, I don’t mean styles of music. Certainly, there are many forms of music available – Classical, Jazz, Rock, Folk, Blues, Country and on.
In this context, I’m talking about the many levels of music. How many ways there are to enjoy and appreciate [...]
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