Participants in this level will be encouraged to learn and identify basic triads and scales. The stress for percussionists, not necessarily needing to know theory, will be on time. Following a short piano performance and introductory remarks, participating instrumentalists will then be invited to perform. Participants will be worked with individually and in group. After that to find common tones for succeeding sequences, and so on, learning to work with those tones and then to shape with common tones a simple improvisational solo relative to the melody.
Confidence is key to relaxed playing.
Knowing common tones helps build confidence. Playing relaxed is primary to physical retention of what has been practiced and, consequently, when performing. As their accompanist, the clinician can also help the player to a deeper feeling of jazz as a music of time - not just a music of notes. The focus of this program will contain elements from Level I, but adapted for the more advanced improvisator. The primacy of time and common tone with this player is more internalized and automatic.