THINGS to THINK ABOUT for Wed Morning

I hope you have read ALL the posts on the blog. Please think about these parts especially:
1. WHAT I SENT TO YOU:
REREAD the Frank Griffith improv debate AND the POWERPOINT by Charlie Beale.

2. FROM KEN P:
I just wonder how much different it would be if we threw kids into a classroom and said "play" - let them figure out the tunes, tempos, etc. Give them some guidance now and then, but let them go at it. ...At UNT (when I was there - might be different now, but I don't think so), you had to pass jazz theory before you could take improv class. And you had to take a year of improv before you could do a combo. That means students were in their third year before they played in a combo! No wonder they haven't moved beyond a theoretical style - they never learned anything else (and so as not to single out UNT, this is a very common, accepted method of organizing curricula in jazz education, one that is sanctioned by NASM). This seems to me to be the complete opposite of how one should learn. That's only my opinion, of course, but I think students ought to be playing in combos from day one. Theory should follow practice, not the other way around.

3. FROM ALEX C:
...Both areas place such an emphasis on the material that the actual experience of playing or reffing is overlooked.
When a student enrolls in a jazz studies program, is their goal to learn the jazz vocabulary, or is it to become a jazz player? One might think these two are the same thing, but I would like to contest that they are not. ...A great jazz player is not one who simply knows the jazz vocabulary inside-and-out and can demonstrate it on their horn. Clearly, knowing the language is a significant component of playing jazz, but it's not the ONLY component. Being able to interact musically on a bandstand, to listen to the other members of the band while playing, to play with a sense of purpose/feeling, and to be aware of the audience: these are also essential parts of being the "complete package." However, there aren't many "ensemble interaction" courses being taught.

SEE YOU TOMORROW/WED at 11am.
Lewis