The Blue Zone
Check the bottom of the page for a link to the drum track that I use in this recording. While playing these jazz etudes with a metronome is useful, playing with a drumset giving you the correct style is even better in order to help your preparation.
This swing etude has some great suggestions at the bottom of the page, most importantly to LISTEN to the Count Basie Big Band playing “Splanky.”
One of the most important things that you can do when you are learning to play in a jazz style is to listen to as much as you can. If you go back to the early beginnings of jazz, players were working much more by ‘the seat of their pants’ than we do now. There weren’t jazz etude books. Musicians listened to other players, both live and on recordings, and copied what they heard. Now we have transcription books and other jazz methods, but none of these are a substitute for listening and trying to imitate what you hear. This works for classical music as well, so keep listening to everything you can!
On the Beach
This example is marked Latin with no other specific style indicated. I chose to play it in a pretty simple bossa feel. Notice the difference in the eighth note rhythms between this example and the swing example above. In Latin styles, we play with even eighth notes instead of an uneven swing feel.
Again, check below for a link to the drum track that I use in this recording. While playing these jazz etudes with a metronome is useful, playing with a drumset giving you the correct style is even better in order to help your preparation.
Drum Tracks
As you heard above, I made a drum track to accompany myself in place of using a metronome for both of these examples. For these styles of jazz etudes, it is important to play as if you are playing with a rhythm section. Rubato really doesn’t work for these unless you are playing a ballad, and even then, the rhythm section will still be chugging along as you play.
The links below are downloadable mp3 files that you can use to practice with.
The Blue Zone – Drum Track Only
On the Beach – Drum Track Only