Mr. Craven

Jazz Studies at Kwalikum Secondary School:

a Summary for Course Evaluation and Revision

Dan Craven

Kwalikum Secondary School

Kwalikum Secondary School is a public school serving Qualicum Beach and surrounding communities in BC School District #69. It is one of two secondary schools in a greater community of 46000 people in the central Vancouver Island region, and offers a comprehensive educational program to 700 students. Like many schools, it hosts a vibrant music program that offers diverse opportunities for its students, including concert and jazz bands, choral and vocal jazz ensembles, chamber music and jazz combos. Music courses are guided by the BC Arts Education Curriculum. (BC Ministry of Education, 2016, 2018)

In 2011 a jazz studies course was developed by KSS music instructors David Stewart and Dan Craven to complement an existing performance-based jazz combo program at the school. The performance-based combo program placed an emphasis on the aural tradition, reflecting the instructors’ individual personal experiences learning jazz. As a result, students in the program were led to learn jazz exclusively as a performance art. Theory, history, and cultural elements were delivered to support the performance aspect which prioritized listening and transcribing, instrumental fluency, and improvisation. This model of instruction was haphazard and inefficient, as jazz concepts were being taught as needed - and when possible - during combo rehearsals, hindering sequential planning and reducing rehearsal time while fostering inconsistent knowledge and skills among different groups of students. In early 2012 a proposal was made to the Board of Education of SD#69, seeking and ultimately receiving approval to offer the locally developed jazz studies course to students, thereby formalizing instruction of jazz concepts in a classroom setting at Kwalikum Secondary School.

While the success of the course is indicated by those students who have developed into very respectable jazz stylists and improvisers during their tenure in the program - evidenced in part by their acceptance to auditioned national and provincial ensembles, and their recognition through awards at festivals - the effectiveness of the course as a device intended to broaden the scope of a performance-based program must be considered. Preliminary reading on the subject has been enlightening for an educator who has spent 25 years entrenched in the acts of rehearsing and performing. Reading has included an article on discursive methodologies (Whyton, 2006) which has served as a catalyst to explore how jazz education is (and could be) viewed within our program, and has sparked an interest in discovering how then to best serve every student within relevant cultural frameworks while respecting individual motivations. Also, Chad West’s work on jazz education research (West, 2015) provides a comprehensive summary of findings from numerous academic sources, and has been helpful in guiding thought toward future research.

To facilitate a greater inquiry into current and future practices in jazz education at Kwalikum Secondary School, it is important to establish a starting point for further study by outlining the main intended outcome of the course, summarizing resources, and discussing models of delivery that have been employed over the years. Future examination of the course design through an academic lens will facilitate improvements that reflect current research and pedagogy in jazz education, with the intent to refine the purpose and efficacy of the KSS jazz studies program as a whole. 

The curriculum presented in the original course proposal included: practical concepts relating to rhythm, tone, and style; ear training, ranging from recognition of intervals, rhythmic cells and basic chord qualities up to melodic and harmonic transcription of tunes and solos; jazz theory and improvisation; jazz history, key figures and important recordings; music business concepts including branding, marketing, and booking gigs; and performance skills including rehearsal techniques and stage etiquette. (An excerpt from the course description included with the original course proposal is provided at the end of this paper as a summary of activities and expectations.) Combined with the practical jazz combo element, the intended outcome was to provide learners with a comprehensive readiness to perform comfortably and authentically in a small group setting.

An important factor in reaching this performance outcome was the establishment of professional qualities as a culture in the program. Students were encouraged to observe and model professional musicians in their attitudes and actions during practice, rehearsal and performance. The efficiency and efficacy of a focused and organized rehearsal improves the experience of both musicians and audience members alike. An attitude of support and respect for others in the ensemble is important if rehearsals are to be productive, if less experienced improvisers are to experiment with improvisation in a non-threatening environment, and if the atmosphere during ensemble rehearsals is to be positive. These highly regarded attitudes and behaviors are generally associated with and demonstrated by successful professional musicians and are traits that students are expected to emulate.

A culture of focus and respect in rehearsals enables the development of leadership skills, and students can learn to become both independent thinkers and team players by planning and executing their own rehearsals. After the course instructor has established with students a firm basis of understanding in rehearsal techniques, some rehearsals will be directed by the students themselves, working on musical concerns that they identify through self assessment. Students learn that working as a team allows them to achieve higher standards of performance.

Efficient and productive rehearsals that occur with more frequency than is usually allowed by instructors’ restrictive schedules enable students to learn, rehearse, and perform a wide variety of jazz combo literature. Jazz is a musical art form with its own unique language of interpretation and expression; as Chase Sanborn writes in his book Jazz Tactics, “Jazz is a language. It has vocabulary, grammar, slang, and accents.” (Sanborn, 2002). Understanding a language makes literature native to that language accessible, and so with adequate time to explore that literature in a productive environment, students can build a formidable repertoire of performance material. As a direct result of repertoire building, students are exposed to and begin to develop fluency in a wide range of musical styles.

Student musicians who know essential repertoire, perform with accurate style, and conduct themselves in a professional manner are ready to perform regularly outside the school setting. Gigs are found at community events, care homes, private functions and local businesses, and students are able to practice the act of performing, building their skills through repetition. At the conclusion of their studies, KSS jazz students are generally confident and seasoned performers with an academic grasp of how jazz works, where it came from, and who contributed to its evolution. The intended performance outcome is achieved to a degree appropriate to each individual student.

Resources used in the course range from established and respected jazz education materials to those developed and accessed locally. Notable among these resources are: The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine (Levine, 1995) and Chase Sanborn’s book Jazz Tactics (Sanborn, 2002) which provide an overview of content for the course as does the Vancouver Island University Music 281/282 Course Pack developed by VIU professor Greg Bush (Bush, n.d.); Volume 3 in the Jamey Aebersold Jazz playalong series, The II-V7-I Progression, (Aebersold, 1974) which provides both a theoretical and applied approach to understanding harmonic progressions; The Real Book (Hal Leonard Corporation, 2004), used for analysis and as a reference collection to aid students in repertoire development, and its companion text How to Play From a Real Book by Robert Rawlins (Rawlins, 2012); and The Real Easy Book (Sher Music Co., 2003) which provides almost everything that students new to the jazz combo setting need to know in order to begin understanding and playing jazz. Challenges specific to rhythm section players are addressed through resources including Stan Smith’s Jazz Harmony on the Guitar (Smith, 1999), Ray Brown’s Bass Method (Ray Brown Music, 1999), and Voicings for Jazz Keyboard by Frank Mantooth (Mantooth, 1986), while books like Joe Riposo’s Target and Approach Tones (Riposo, 2009) and Jerry Coker’s Patterns for Jazz (Coker, 1970) provide melodic instrumentalists with linear and harmonic exercises to develop their grasp of jazz improvisation concepts. While a multitude of other resources are employed throughout the course, the materials mentioned here are those that most strongly guide its delivery.

At its inception, the academic component of the course involved students at all grade levels in a single instructional group as there was a need to establish a common baseline of jazz theory and aural skills among students despite differences in their practical abilities and experiences in jazz. The class met weekly, and students applied concepts and techniques newly learned in the classroom to their grade level combo rehearsals, which proceeded efficiently without interruptions by instructors seeking teaching moments. The following year, new students were placed in a beginners’ group while continuing students learned intermediate concepts together. This also went smoothly, through the efforts of both music instructors. 

The third year presented a problem, as the need to offer three levels of content was hampered by the availability of only two instructors, and facility use prevented expansion of the class schedule. Attempts were made to combine groups, but these groupings resulted in younger students being overwhelmed and feeling intimidated while older students were held back by younger learners in the room. This system threatened to enable feelings of resentment among more advanced learners in any grouping, contrary to the expressed goal of fostering respect for all classmates. The concept of mentorship was promoted and practiced, and the intermediate students eventually settled into the beginner group as role models to the younger students under one instructor, while the advanced students worked on their own with the second instructor. This model marginalized the intermediate students and was unsustainable.

A solution was found in a partial return to the single multi-level class. Activities were redesigned to suit all students as a full group, with rotating breakout sessions allowing each learning group time to work separately at their own level with an instructor. Since 2017, common class activities have been employed with level-specific expectations, for example: an ear training activity might see younger students work to identify the quality of a chord they hear while advanced students identify that chord’s extensions and communicate the correct chord symbol; transcription assignments are modified in length, complexity, and presentation criteria to suit individual students; group analysis of harmonic progressions requires junior students to identify key centres while advanced students determine harmonic function of all chords; and junior, intermediate and senior jazz combos perform in class and receive feedback from other students. While not ideal in all situations, this model seems to have found a balance that works for most students, most of the time.

“Most students most of the time”, however, is not an acceptable option. This compromise does not reflect the passions of the teachers in their design and delivery of the program, nor does it properly serve the learners for whom the program was designed. Much work has already been done to provide an exceptional jazz education to students at KSS, and investigation into current research and practices in jazz education is a natural and sensible next step. 

References

Aebersold, J. (1974). The II-V7-I progression (Vol. 3). Jamey Aebersold Jazz, Inc.

BC Ministry of Education. (2016, 2018). Arts Education. BC's Course Curriculum. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/arts-education

Bush, G. (n.d.). Vancouver Island University: MUSC 281/282 course pack. Self Published.

Coker, J. (1970). Patterns for jazz. Studio P/R, Inc.

Hal Leonard Corporation. (2004). The real book (6th ed., Vol. 1-3).

Levine, M. (1995). The jazz theory book. Sher Music Co.

Mantooth, F. (1986). Voicings for jazz keyboard. Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation.

Rawlins, R. (2012). How to play from a real book. Hal Leonard Corporation.

Ray Brown Music. (1999). Ray Brown's bass method. Hal Leonard Corporation.

Riposo, J. (2009). Target and approach tones. Jamey Aebersold Jazz.

Sanborn, C. (2002). Jazz tactics. National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data.

Sher Music Co. (2003). The real easy book (M. Zisman, Ed.; Vol. 1). Chuck Sher.

Smith, S. (1999). Jazz harmony on the guitar. Houston Publishing Inc.

West, C. (2015, May). What research reveals about school jazz education. UPDATE: Applications of Research in Music Education, 33(2), 34-40. 7p. Academic Search Premier. 10.1177/8755123314547825

Whyton, T. (2006, March). Birth of the school: Discursive methodologies in jazz education. Music Education Research, 8(1), 65-81. Academic Search Premier. 10.1080/14613800600570744

Kwalikum Secondary School

Jazz Studies

Summary of course Information

Hours of Instruction:  120 Hours: One 90 minute class per week, two 45 minute rehearsals per week, concerts, clinics, master-classes, and performances.

Learners:  Existing learners at Kwalikum Secondary School who have current jazz combo experiences, students in grade 9 or above who have an interest in jazz, and students at Ballenas who wish to further improve their jazz skills (Ballenas students would travel to K.S.S. to participate in the Academy program, but remain in the Ballenas music program).

Components of the Jazz studies program: Jazz studies will provide comprehensive instruction in the jazz idiom, jazz-related rhythm, tone, style, concept, listening skills, jazz history, jazz business (gigs, contracts, marketing etc.) and improvisation. The ultimate goal of the course is to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of jazz performance skills and jazz theory, and to give interested students an opportunity to study and perform in smaller jazz combos. Instrumental and vocal performing groups at appropriate levels will be established within the class.

Instrumental/Vocal Technique: Students will study a comprehensive technique program that will focus on melodic technical skills, including major and minor scales, major and minor jazz scales, and scale modes. Students will also learn harmonic skills involving chord structure (major, minor, dominant, diminished, augmented), and conventional chord progressions and elements thereof. Advanced performers will study harmonic extensions and their role within music compositions. Emphasis is on individual skill and style development.

Jazz Appreciation and Listening: Various media will be used to create a formal study of jazz appreciation and listening skills.

Music Improvisation Component: Individual knowledge, skill development and comprehensive directed listening will set a strong foundation for learning the art of jazz improvisation. Improvisation will be explored in a variety of large and small group settings, and will be practiced in Lab Jazz Combo.

Lab Jazz Combos: (comprised of various small groups derived from students in the class directed by Crystal-Anne Howell/Dan Craven):  Lab Jazz combos will divide students into various degrees of performance and expectation that will allow them to develop and further advance their skills at an appropriate level.

Community Jazz Performance: Students will work to develop a set(s) of jazz literature that contain a variety of contrasting styles.  As students develop a comprehensive set list (two hours of performance literature) to a sufficient level, they will be placed in the community for performances. Work Experience credit will be earned through the district career education program.

Performances Outside the Community: Jazz Studies students will participate in activities outside the local community. Students will travel to music festivals within the region, and to one major national or international festival.

Music Industry Promotion and Marketing: Students will develop a simple business plan for marketing their groups, including promotional materials, recording, advertising, business cards, posters, etc.

Individual Private Lessons: Jazz Studies students will be encouraged to pursue optional private study with affiliated music instructors in the region.

Master Classes:  Jazz Studies students will have access to Masterclasses hosted by professional musicians, both locally and through video conference