The Basics of How To Play Jazz

How To Play Jazz is something i've worked on extensively, and sometimes exhaustingly, in my college years.

There are many, many different schools of thought on the subject, but i've been really fortunate to have mentors and teachers whom i could trust. Still, when you're learning to play jazz there is just tons of personal work involved.

Sophomore year alone, i logged over 1000 hours playing on my two ride cymbals. Time has to be spent getting each one of your limbs to be in tune with the others.

I've been playing drums for twelve years now, but for the first eight of these I concentrated almost exclusively on rock drumming. Its really just in the past four that i've been able to consider myself a jazz drummer of any skill.

And over the past few years, i've begun to develop my own thoughts on how to play jazz.

The best things you can do when learning jazz are living it, breathing it, collecting it, and attending as many jazz concerts as you have available to you.

And chances are, if you live in an area with much population density, there is probably a lot more jazz activity occuring than you know about.

The more you listen to musicians who have completed the journey upon which you are about to embark, the more you will begin to realize that- just like with spoken language- the best way to learn music is by listening to it.

True jazz improvisation, no matter what notes you are actually using, means to play music which is contextual and completely in the moment.

Jazz musicians use rhythms, tempo and pitches as expressive tools, but it is really the inflection and subtle connections between different musical ideas which matter.

When you're playing jazz, you have to listen and be genuinely interested in what someone else has to say.

And you have to be prepared for them to talk your ear off!

This listening concept is quite a bit different than what we are used to in our daily lives. Interactive listening like this requires concentration, and a relaxed mindset.

Cater to what the audience wants. At a jazz concert, do you think they would rather hear seven musicians interrupting each other and showing off, or playing nice and listening?

As it turns out, jazz musicians are actually encouraged to do either of these, depending on the nature of the gig.

But if you listen to jazz, and you learn to interact dynamically and spontaneously with other jazz musicians, then you will be well on your way to being one.