At the risk of sounding very cliché, I would like to offer a list of 10 approaches to adding jazz education to your music curriculum. Every time I read a “10 Best Ways” list, or a “Top 10” list, I see two to three clever ideas and seven or eight that don’t appeal to me at all. If even one or two of these ideas helps you add an element of jazz education to your classroom, then this is a good list.

I asked several of my colleagues for their suggestions on which jazz education concepts they thought could be used in any classroom, at any level. I am completely in their debt! They offered outstanding examples of techniques and approaches they have used or have seen being used that are not only essential to the jazz curriculum, but might also be incorporated in any music curriculum and work in a variety of settings.

Their questions to me about what I was actually seeking from them helped me clarify my approach to the presentation of this list. Admittedly, the traditional concert band and jazz band is the setting most of my close friends and colleagues know best. Finding sound classroom practices that work in a jazz band setting, but might also apply in a middle school choir setting, for instance, proved to be challenging. Hopefully, the list includes techniques all of us can use!

Two questions arise before building a list of classroom practices. First, what do we want our student to know? Or, put another way, why am I teaching my students this stuff? And second, what are the major learning objectives that we teach when we utilize these techniques? In my previous article, I mentioned that theory, history, culture, style, and performance practices are all large objectives that can be taught in a “jazz setting”.

To tie these questions together, the three primary objectives in jazz education are 1) understand the historical/cultural context of jazz; 2) understand the theoretical, harmonic, rhythmic components of jazz; and 3) perform jazz individually and collectively with appropriate style and technique. Understanding history, theory, and performance should be goals for all of us in every music classroom. Adding the aspects of jazz history, jazz theory, and jazz performance only serve to enhance the goals we are striving to achieve as well as providing wider exposure to jazz for music students at all levels and in all settings. Plus, the added benefit is that the students usually really enjoy jazz!

Without further discussion, here is a list of 10 ways to familiarize your students with jazz and incorporate jazz into your music classroom:

1. Play recordings of jazz performances in your music classroom.

At one time or another, most of us play recordings for our students: our own concerts, exemplary performances of music we are programming, examples from specific historical periods, and simply great pieces of music. Use those listening sessions to play landmark jazz performances. Have your students learn the names of the jazz greats, innovators, performers, composers, and band leaders. Ask them to keep a log of all the recordings you play for them, and have them write two sentences giving their subjective impression of the music and performance.
2. Recommend a great jazz recording for your students to purchase.

We all occasionally ask our students to buy supplementary supplies for class. Within reason, it is not out of the question to suggest that they purchase recordings from either old fashioned “brick and mortar” stores, or from the internet. Give extra credit for a well written review of a recording they have added to their collection. Allow time in class for students to share recordings they own, and/or use that as your class listening session. Some specific suggestions for band and jazz band students: Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, Count Basie, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Gordon Goodwin; for orchestra students: Turtle Island String Quartet (Yes! They play Coltrane!), Regina Carter, Stephane Grapelli; for choir students: the New York Voices, the Real Group, Manhattan Transfer, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall.

3. Show a video in class which presents an introduction to jazz, features a jazz performer, or explains some aspect of jazz history.

Many excellent jazz related videos are now available on DVD. The Wynton Marsalis “Jazz for Young People” set of DVD’s, or the PBS series created by Ken Burns are two excellent examples of in depth presentations suitable for use in a variety of classrooms. Select a segment or two to show, and use that as an introduction to a composer or a piece of music which you might schedule to perform (see below). Hand in hand with video resources are the many internet resources which present jazz history, theory and performance clearly and accurately.

4. Encourage your students to attend a live jazz concert and report to the class.

Live performances are one of the best ways to introduce your students to any musical genre. Concerts and recitals can be not only enjoyable (and even inspiring), but they can also clearly demonstrate the interaction and musical “conversation” that is taking place between the musicians. Nothing is more important in jazz than that interaction. Watch for significant upcoming concerts in local venues and at nearby colleges and universities and announce those concerts in your classes. Organize a field trip to hear a performance or clinic/demonstration. With older students, suggest they get together with friends and attend a jazz concert, making it a nice change of pace evening. Sharing the experience is always more enjoyable! Extra credit for a brief report on the concert is also a nice incentive for most students.

5. Program a classic jazz selection on one of your school concerts.

Selecting appropriate performance literature is an ongoing challenge and opportunity for all of us. We look for music which engages our students, offers teachable moments of us, expands their understanding of the world, and stretches their knowledge of music. Many, many compositions by Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin are available, and their tunes are well arranged for ensembles at all levels. Songs that have been performed by great jazz musicians countless times for decades are very appropriate additions to concert programs. As mentioned above, connecting the music to the composers/performers of the past is easily done through recordings and videos.

6. Invite a jazz performer or jazz clinician to your classroom.

Live performances in your classroom engage and inspire music students like very few other activities. To familiarize your students with jazz, invite local professional jazz musicians, a college or university group, fellow educators with jazz backgrounds, or groups specifically tailored to present a school program (like Young Audiences). You can often arrange performances for little or no cost, and there are programs that share the cost of bringing performers to your school. Ask your administration or parent organizations to assist with the cost (and emphasize the benefits for your students!).

7. Sing and play exercises by ear, without spelling out every note.

Using exercises in your rehearsals that require students to learn “by ear” is not a bad thing. Most of us do some of that anyway! The notion that “ear players” are lesser musicians is very common, but they have something to teach us. Hearing a tune and responding is their trademark, and an essential skill in jazz performance. Instrumental teachers can take a lesson from choral teachers: have your students match a sequence of pitches that you play for them on their instruments. Choral and instrumental students can sing chord tones (starting with major triads) from a given root note pitch. More advanced students can begin singing the chord tones in a complete harmonic progression. Eventually, complex chord and scale patterns can be taught by ear. The great jazz players all started by playing back something they heard someone else playing!

8. Develop improvisation skills in your students, beginning with simple call and response rhythm exercises.

Improvisation is a combination of imagination and the ability to produce what you imagine. Young musicians benefit from exercises that require them to produce what they hear from their teacher. Gradually they develop the skill to produce what they hear within their own mind. Play a simple four count rhythm for your students and have them play, sing or clap the rhythm back to you in time. I have done that this way: with a drummer playing time on the ride cymbal I count off the exercise. I play the simple four count rhythm, and in the next four counts the students play it back. I gradually play longer and more intricate rhythms for them to mimic. Later students take turns playing rhythms that the others play back. You can also play a phrase from a familiar nursery rhyme and have them play it right back to you. Jamey Aebersold, a very well known jazz educator, strongly encourages “call and response” exercises and playing familiar tunes from memory. There is also information available in a handout provided through the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic website. In 2002 at Midwest, Lisa Fleming May presented strategies which specifically addressed teaching improvisation within a classroom or ensemble. And don’t forget: improvisation is standard three of the national standards for musical arts!

9. Send you students (and yourself) to a jazz camp or jazz clinic.

Music educators who have little or no experience performing or teaching jazz are often very reluctant to either perform or teach jazz. It is intimidating at first, but please don’t be afraid to branch out and familiarize yourself and your students with something new, fun, and rewarding. There are many well organized jazz camps and clinics in Missouri, and also some one day events, that are ideal for newcomers and accomplished jazz educators alike. Camps also provide the opportunity to network and get acquainted with educators who can help you gain confidence and develop classroom strategies. There are demonstration/performance clinics at many jazz festivals, which are wonderful events to introduce your students to jazz. Even if you don’t have a group performing in the festival, or if the festival is organized for younger or older students, take a group of your students to hear other groups and the festival “headliners”.

10. Propose a jazz history class, jazz improvisation class, or jazz theory class to add to your school’s course offerings.

While not something that is possible in every situation, a semester long course in jazz history, jazz improvisation, or jazz theory can offer your students the opportunity for concentrated study of jazz. The fringe benefit of such classes is the potential for increased enrollment in music classes and possible additional staffing. In high school settings, students could also earn a half unit fine arts credit toward graduation. In middle school settings, a course dedicated to jazz history might not be possible, but a unit on jazz history could be included in a music exploratory class. Most colleges and universities in the state already offer jazz classes in a variety of formats, including introductory classes on the history of jazz, pop, and rock.

There are certainly many more ways to incorporate concepts of jazz education into your music classroom. This list may have even inspired you to come up with ways to expand one of my suggestions, or to take one of the ideas in an entirely different direction. Sound music classroom practice can include learning objectives that are not directly tied to the short term goals we all contend with daily. Jazz education offers something for everyone, and your classroom will be a richer learning environment by incorporating even just one new jazz education approach!