Private instruction in jazz piano. ... To instruct the intermediate piano student in
the art of jazz piano. ... own a copy of the complete Hanon exercises for piano.
SYLLABUS MUSC 1191-305, MUSC 1192-305 (non-majors) MUSC 1201-305, MUSC 1202-305, MUSC 2201-305, MUSC 2202-305 (majors)
PRIVATE JAZZ PIANO Fall 2012
Instructor: Carl B. Curtis Email:
[email protected] [email protected] Phone: (918) 408-‐9609 Room: SE 6265
Performing Arts Division: Kelly Clark, chair Phone: (918) 595-‐7752
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Private instruction in jazz piano. Students enrolled in one credit hour will receive one half-‐hour lesson per week. Students enrolled in two credits hours will receive one hour lesson per week. COURSE OBJECTIVE: To instruct the intermediate piano student in the art of jazz piano. This includes developing the ability to read chord changes, voice chords in a variety of styles, comp in a rhythm section, improvise melodically, re-‐harmonize, and accompany other musicians in a jazz setting. For students new to jazz piano, emphasis will be placed on learning and applying theory at the piano through chord voicing, simple improvisation exercises, and jazz standards. Advanced students will focus on building repertoire, reharmonization, textural approaches, transcription, and performing in a variety of settings. Students are encouraged to understand the history of jazz and the role of the piano in jazz history. MATERIALS: All students should own a metronome and bring a notebook exclusive to jazz piano for recording lesson assignments. Other material will be assigned as necessary. These materials will not be available through the TCC bookstore because of the individual nature of their assignment. All piano students are highly encouraged to own a copy of the complete Hanon exercises for piano. Some resources for locating materials are: Saied Music 3259 S Yale Ave. (918) 742-‐5541 www.jazzbooks.com
www.amazon.com www.hanon-‐online.com/the-‐virtuoso-‐ pianist/
TCC Private Jazz Piano Syllabus - Carl B. Curtis, Instructor
PREREQUISITES: Students must have either advanced through the four levels of class piano or be accepted into study by instructor approval. Students must enroll and pay fees prior to the first lesson. TEACHING METHOD: Individual instruction with occasional teacher demonstration. Each lesson will conclude with an assignment for the following week based on the lesson and the overall course of study. PRACTICE SPACE AND TIME: All students enrolled in piano lessons have access to practice rooms at TCC. Successfully passing this course will take regular, organized practice. Although no strict outlines are given for the amount of practice time, successful progress on an instrument only comes through daily organized practice. The recommended minimum practice times are forty-five minutes per day for a one credit-hour lesson, and ninety minutes per day for a two credit-hour lesson. Each practice session should include technical exercises (scales, Hanon, finger crunches, etc.), review of material previously covered, harmonic exercises (voicings, progressions, etc.), and new material. All students are highly encouraged to practice on an acoustic piano as much as possible instead of an electronic keyboard. EVALUATION TECHNIQUES: With the exception of the first lesson, all lessons will be graded according to the grading system below. The final grade will be a combination of the weekly lesson grade and the jury grade. GRADING SYSTEM: Weekly lesson grade- 75% Final Jury grade- 25% Guidelines for weekly lesson grading: A: Thorough preparation of all assignments B: Partial preparation of all assignments C: Some assignments not prepared D: Little to no preparation F: Unexcused absence At the discretion of the instructor, the weekly lesson grade may be waived once if practice time is severely compromised due to personal illness or emergency. Make-‐ up lessons will not be graded higher than “B”. These grades will be on a four-‐point scale (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0) and will be rounded to the nearest grade. Final Jury At the end of the semester all music majors will perform a jury based on material covered throughout the semester. This may take the form of several exercises,
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TCC Private Jazz Piano Syllabus - Carl B. Curtis, Instructor
demonstrating techniques covered in lessons, and/or jazz standards played during the semester. ATTENDANCE POLICY: EXCUSED ABSENCE: An absence is considered "Excused" if the student has notified the instructor at least twenty-‐four hours prior to the scheduled lesson time -‐ except in the case of an emergency that precludes communication. Notification must be in the form of a phone call, voice mail, text message, or email. Make-‐up lessons will be scheduled as time permits. It is the responsibility of the student to contact the instructor and set up a make up lesson time. UNEXCUSED ABSENCE: An absence is considered "Unexcused" if the above criteria for "Excused Absence" is not met. All unexcused absences will result in a weekly grade of F and will not be rescheduled. After two or more unexcused absences, the student is subject to being dropped. ASSIGNMENTS: It is the student’s responsibility to keep track of lesson assignments. Students are required to bring a lesson notebook -‐ dedicated exclusively to jazz piano -‐ to each lesson to record short and long term assignments. COURSE WITHDRAWAL: The deadline to withdraw from a course shall not exceed 3/4 the duration of any class. Check the TCC Academic Calendar for the deadline that applies to the cours(s). Begin the process with a discussion with the faculty member assigned to the course. Contact the Advisement Office at any TCC campus to initiate withdrawal from a course ('W' grade) or to change from Credit to Audit. Withdrawal and/or change to an audit from a course after the drop/add period can alter the financial aid award for the current and future semesters. Students may receive an outstanding bill from TCC if the recalculation leaves a balance due to TCC. Students who stop participating in the course and fail to withdraw may receive a course grade of “F,” which may have financial aid consequences for the student. The last day for withdrawal or to change to audit for the fall semester is November 9th. SOME NOTABLE JAZZ PIANO RECORDINGS: *available through the Tulsa City-‐County Library Art Tatum (1909-‐1956):
Any of the Pablo solo piano recordings*
Bud Powell (1924-‐1966):
The Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 1* The Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 2* Jazz Giant Our Man in Paris (Dexter Gordon)*
Thelonious Monk (1917-‐1982):
Any of the Blue Note recordings Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall* Thelonious Alone in San Francisco*
Red Garland (1923-‐1984):
‘Round About Midnight (Miles Davis)* Milestones (Miles Davis) Lush Life (John Coltrane)
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TCC Private Jazz Piano Syllabus - Carl B. Curtis, Instructor
Bill Evans (1929-‐1980):
’58 Sessions (Miles Davis) Kind of Blue (Miles Davis)* Sunday at the Village Vanguard* Explorations Waltz for Debby* Moonbeams* Undercurrent (w/ Jim Hall)* Alone* The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album*
Wynton Kelly (1931-‐1971):
Kind of Blue (Miles Davis, on “Freddie the Freeloader”)* Someday My Prince Will Come (Miles Davis) Friday and Saturday Night at the Blackhawk (Miles Davis)* Full House (Wes Montgomery) Smokin’ at the Half Note*
Hank Jones (1918-‐2010):
When There is Love (Abbey Lincoln)* Kids (w/ Joe Lovano)*
Tommy Flanagan (1930-‐2001):
Dave McKenna (1930-‐2008): Left-‐Handed Complement Giant Strides Live at Maybeck Recital Hall
Chick Corea (b. 1941):
Now He Sings, Now He Sobs* In a Silent Way (Miles Davis)* Bitches Brew (Miles Davis) Return to Forever* Light as a Feather Three Quartets* In Concert, Zurich (w/ Gary Burton) Expressions* Play (w/ Bobby McFerrin)*
Keith Jarrett (b. 1945):
Belonging* Koln Concert* Standards Vol. 1 Standards Vol. 2 Still Live* Whisper Not Jasmine (w/ Charlie Haden)*
Saxophone Colossus (Sonny Rollins)* Thelonica* Our Delights (w/ Hank Jones) Together (w/ Kenny Barron)
Kenny Kirkland (1955-‐1998):
Herbie Hancock (b. 1940):
Fred Hersh (b. 1955):
Seven Steps to Heaven (Miles Davis) My Funny Valentine/Four and More (Miles Davis) Live in Europe (Miles Davis) Highlights from the Plugged Nickel (Miles Davis)* Speak No Evil (Wayne Shorter)* Empyrean Isles Maiden Voyage* Speak Like a Child Headhunters The Piano River: The Joni Letters*
McCoy Tyner (b. 1938):
A Love Supreme (John Coltrane)* Night Dreamer (Wayne Shorter) The Real McCoy* Sahara*
Michael Brecker (Michael Brecker)* Crazy People Music (Branford Marsalis)* Kenny Kirkland* Songs without Words* Only Trust Your Heart (Toots Thielemans)* Whirl
Mulgrew Miller (b. 1955):
From Day to Day* Beyond the Wall (Kenny Garrett)* Pass It On (Dave Holland)*
Bill Charlap (b. 1966):
Bill Charlap plays George Gershwin* Mosiac (Blue Note 7)*
Brad Mehldau (b. 1970):
Art of the Trio 4: Back at the Vanguard Don’t Explain (w/ Joel Frahm) Day is Done Live in Mariac*
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TCC Private Jazz Piano Syllabus - Carl B. Curtis, Instructor
CRITERIA FOR PRIVATE JAZZ PIANO LESSONS: 1000 Level (freshman): Performance Requirements: Jury – once a semester Recital – once a semester (memorized at least one semester) Repertoire Examples: Blues in C, F, Bb, Eb Rhythm Changes Blue Bossa Maiden Voyage So What/Impressions All Blues Here’s That Rainy Day Song for My Father Autumn Leaves All the Things You Are Take the “A” Train Satin Doll Girl from Ipanema Groovin’ High
Jazz Techniques/Styles: three and four note ii-‐V-‐I’s in all keys, left hand only all major modes in all keys, right hand only, four octaves walking bass line stride style boogie-‐woogie styles
Technique: Hanon (book I nos. 1-‐20) major and minor scales – four octaves, hands together major and minor arpeggios – four octaves, hands together chromatic scale sight-‐reading
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TCC Private Jazz Piano Syllabus - Carl B. Curtis, Instructor
CRITERIA FOR PRIVATE JAZZ PIANO LESSONS: 2000 Level (sophomore): Performance Requirements: Jury – once a semester Recital – once a semester (memorized) Repertoire examples: Blues in all keys Rhythm changes in Bb, Eb, Ab, F Confirmation Donna Lee Stella By Starlight Body and Soul Desafinado Someday My Prince Will Come Giant Steps Shorter/Hancock tunes
Jazz Techniques/Styles: four note ii-‐V-‐I’s in all keys, both hands five-‐plus note ii-‐V-‐I’s in all keys, both hands major, minor, and dominant bebop scales in all keys, right hand over ii-‐V-‐I progressions, four octaves transcriptions walking bass line latin style boogie-‐woogie styles stride style ragtime Technique: Hanon (book II [if book I completed] nos. 21-‐31) major seventh arpeggios -‐ 4 octaves dominant seventh arpeggios -‐ 4 octaves minor seventh arpeggios -‐ 4 octaves diminished seventh arpeggios Omni-‐book transcriptions sight-‐reading
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