jazz RESOURCES

Jazz Articulations

These are the four jazz articulations. Unlike Concert Band articulation, in Jazz Band we will stop the air with the tongue on "dit" and "daht". You'll need to practice vowel releases, as well as tongue-stop releases.

Concert Band = "dee" "dee" "dee" "dee" <- Vowel Release

Jazz Band = "dit" "dit" "dit" "dit" <- Tongue-Stop Release

Swingin'

In swing style, we tongue the up-beats ("ands") and slur the downbeats. This is the opposite of how we would tongue/slur passages in Concert Band. Look at the above example.

Sycopation

Syncopation is a staple of Jazz Music. Syncopation is more up-beat ('and' of the beat) focused. When tapping your foot, this means more of the notes will fall on the 'ups' rather than the 'downs'. Being able to 'see' syncopated rhythms is essential.

*Hint: Look for measures or licks that start with single eighth notes, or measures or licks that contain lots of ties.

Combining Jazz Articulation with Rhythm is the next step!

Jazz Rhythms

2026 ALL-STATE BAND

Here you will find the requirements for the 2026 All-State Band:

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS

*** Students auditioning for All-State should be studying privately if possible ***

Auditions will be held on Saturday September 20th @ TBA

Event Dates

Rehearsals @ Tampa, FL:

1-18; 1-19

Concert @ Tampa Bay Convention Center Ballroom A:

1-20

MakeMusic - online practice suite

Students can use MakeMusic along with their Accent on Achievement Book as well as Concert and MPA Music for Advanced Bands. Students will "log in with google" and use their school board login credentials to access the class. Parents and students, check your emails!

METRONOME ONLINE - free online metronome

A free metronome to practice your rhythm complete with time signatures, subdivisions & patterns. Practice tips by master musicians.

INSTRUMENT TUNER ONLINE - free online tuner

Playing with a tuner will help develop your intonation and an understanding of the tendencies of your instrument. To use this instrument tuner, make sure the built-in microphone has web access.

MUSICTHEORY.NET - free online music theory exercises and lessons

Get better at reading music! There are lessons and exercises for Note Identification, Key Signature Identification, Interval Identification, Scale Identification, Chord Identification, and more!

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