Guide to Playing in Jazz Combo

tallan

Junior Member
I'm a self taught drummer that cannot read sheet music and have no formal knowledge of Jazz theory, form, song structure, etc. I'm playing in Jazz Combo for the first time and have already been embarrassed/interrogated about details on the sheet music. So I need to get up to speed on all of these terms, important markings, and other things.

Just wondering if anyone knows of any good study material for a person in this position. I'm finding it pretty hard to find anything. Not looking for material teaching drum grooves, patterns, fills, etc. And not looking for material teaching chord progression, scales, etc. Not looking for hitorical material about Jazz lefgends. Just want be able to understand what the combo instructor tells me, and to know what to do, and when from looking at shhet music (not drum charts).
 
Unfortunately, there's really nothing else you can do, but get some sheet music, and start reading it. If you studied piano, not only would that be good, but everything you're wanting to know, would be covered there. You need to put in the time reading like everybody else.
 
I'm a self taught drummer that cannot read sheet music and have no formal knowledge of Jazz theory, form, song structure, etc. I'm playing in Jazz Combo for the first time and have already been embarrassed/interrogated about details on the sheet music. So I need to get up to speed on all of these terms, important markings, and other things.

Just wondering if anyone knows of any good study material for a person in this position. I'm finding it pretty hard to find anything. Not looking for material teaching drum grooves, patterns, fills, etc. And not looking for material teaching chord progression, scales, etc. Not looking for hitorical material about Jazz lefgends. Just want be able to understand what the combo instructor tells me, and to know what to do, and when from looking at shhet music (not drum charts).

As the drummer in a jazz combo, the only things you need to know about reading a lead sheet (I assume that's what you're looking at, a head chart written for horns?) are:

-- The length and phrasing of the form. How many measures long is it, and how many sections, and how long are the sections?
-- How to read the rhythm of the melodic line, and play it with a jazz interpretation. Swing the 8th notes, accent tied notes, accent the melodic high and low points, mix up your accents on runs of 8th notes.
-- How to read any arrangement elements-- mainly kicks and stops.
-- That the chart gives the melody of the tune (which is played at the beginning and the end), and the harmonic structure that will be used during the solos (which happen in the middle).

If you can do those things, and sing the melody of the tune (badly, even), you'll be fine. Assuming you know the basics of what to actually play on the drums in a jazz setting-- you could try John Riley's Art of Bop Drumming for that. If you can't read rhythm, even, then get yourself a copy of Syncopation by Ted Reed, and get a few lessons, until you can read every rhythm in it. If you still want to get the theory together, try Mark Levine's Jazz Piano Book.
 
http://www.brianfullen.com/jazzstyles.htm

Brian Fullen has a very good book/cd package (see link) where he discusses some Jazz Standards, song formats, discusses musical terms. Ideally it would be best if you could read music ( take some lessons is strongly suggested).
You will get enough out of the book's notes and accompanying cd to get you going till your reading chops are adequate.
 
Thanks. This is all very helpful. Maybe I will ask some more specific questions as I attempt to read the music and learn the arrangement.
 
After you get a new leadsheet, listen to a number of youtube recordings of the tune, especially the first minute or so where they play the opening 'head'. Listen mostly for the melody, but also check out what the drummers are doing too.

Then you'll also be able to make suggestions like "Coltrane did a great version of this as a bossa - let's try that..."

Also try playing the tune on a piano or (vibraphone), even in slow motion/note by note, until you get more proficient at scanning the music and predicting how it will sound. Humming the melody to yourself is good too.
 
not looking for material teaching chord progression, scales, etc. Not looking for hitorical material about Jazz lefgends. Just want be able to understand what the combo instructor tells me, and to know what to do, and when from looking at shhet music (not drum charts).

I think this is the problem right there, you need to understand this stuff to understand jazz. Jazz drumming is going to focus more on the melody than rock/pop drumming. You're going to want to accent certain chords and tensions that the melody players are using, and you want play fluidly, in a way that allows you to interact with the other players.

You get this by listening and studying jazz recordings (or live concerts), by understanding jazz theory, and by studying the jazz legends.

You've said you aren't getting drum charts, you're getting lead sheets, so you need to have *some* music theory knowledge, specifically jazz theory. You need to be able to see the melody parts and understand how the players are interpreting them.

You can't learn how to play jazz without studying the rich history, learning the theory, and starting with the fundamentals.
 
Wear Shades and a Beret and don't speak. Just Grunt when you play.
 
I believe Frank Zappa had a dvd called Does Humour Belong in Music. Maybe i should watch it again. Frank wore shades and he could jazz it up. so what's the problem? sheesh! Quick Edit, i just checked and yes it's on You TUBE. Maybe we should all watch it. Have a nice day Hep Cats.
 
One bit of advice: be prepared for heartbreak. I haven't played in a lot of bands, but my experience is that jazz bands are mostly seething pits of resentment. All of my rock bands have been friendly and respectful. All of my jazz bands have been drummer jokes from pianists and sax players, nobody communicating, people being replaced behind their back, and no sense of unity.

(Yes I'm a bit bitter) :p
 
One bit of advice: be prepared for heartbreak. I haven't played in a lot of bands, but my experience is that jazz bands are mostly seething pits of resentment. All of my rock bands have been friendly and respectful. All of my jazz bands have been drummer jokes from pianists and sax players, nobody communicating, people being replaced behind their back, and no sense of unity.
I know what you mean. I actually had this sort of bad experience trying to play in a combo about 5 years ago.

By now I have developed all of the playing ability I would need, but still cannot be handed some sheet music and know exactly what to do and when 30 seconds later. But I would say that my playing, aside from not being able to always nail the intros and the endings, is exceptional. I can play almost anything I've heard in a Jazz tune. But the combo is like you say, nobody communicates, no greetings, no goodbyes. The instructor always seams like he's in a bad mood, and seams to me, to be very single minded and ridged in how he wants everyone to play. I have the feeling he may be deliberately trying to trip me up, embarrass me and discourage me so that I'll quit.

Anyways, can anyone explain some of the not so obvious aspects to this music (attached)? Like what does the circle with the cross over it mean? What do the right angles labelled '1.', and labelled '2.' mean? After going through the form the first time, then what? How do I know when the ending will be? What does "D.C. AL (circle with cross)" mean? Where it says "(To Solos)" it seams that the bar before is not actually played right before going into the solos. What does the horizontal dash below '(To Solos)' mean?
 

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Anyways, can anyone explain some of the not so obvious aspects to this music (attached)? Like what does the circle with the cross over it mean? What does the right angle labelled 2. mean? After going through the form the first time, then what? How do I know when the ending will be?

The "circle with the cross over it" Is a coda. A coda (which I think is Italian for tail) is the opposite of the head. It's a passage of music designed to end the song.

The "right angle labelled 2" is indicating the second ending. As a section repeats, the arranger has come up with different endings for each repeat. So the second time you play that section, you go to the second ending.


By now I have developed all of the playing ability I would need, but still cannot be handed some sheet music and know exactly what to do and when 30 seconds later. But I would say that my playing, aside from not being able to always nail the intros and the endings, is exceptional.

You're saying that your playing ability is exceptional, but that you have trouble nailing intros and endings... In jazz the intros and endings are almost more important than the rest of the song. I don't think it's fair to say that your playing is exceptional at this point.

As for reading the music, these sheets dictate the form of the song. These are your instructions. The music shows you what the melodic players are playing, tells you when to go to different sections, and lets you know where everyone is in the song. It isn't critical that you be able to read the melody lines (although it helps, and will make you a better player), but this is your map. Sure I can drive from Boston to California without a map, just playing it by ear. But if I'm coordinating with other people and want to get there at the same time as them, I have to be able to understand the map, and where they are going...
 
That's why I said 'aside from' ;) But it's just that if I don't know the song, and have only just been handed the music, I have no clue what is the intro or ending is.
 
That's why I said 'aside from' ;) But it's just that if I don't know the song, and have only just been handed the music, I have no clue what is the intro or ending is.

Intros and endings, more often than not, are 'worked out' with the group rather than written. Those (more the intro than the ending) tend to be what makes a particular cover of a jazz tune unique.

A good example of this is "Recorda Me". The Joe Henderson version has that awesome, understated intro that is very unique. I've never seen it on any lead sheets or Real Book charts, my group just listened to it a few times and figured it out. I think that's pretty common.
 
By now I have developed all of the playing ability I would need, but still cannot be handed some sheet music and know exactly what to do and when 30 seconds later.

Those things contradict each other-- if you don't know what to do, you don't have the playing ability. You can't be said to have learned something apart from your ability to use it correctly when you're actually playing-- at least as far as jazz is concerned.

But I would say that my playing, aside from not being able to always nail the intros and the endings, is exceptional. I can play almost anything I've heard in a Jazz tune. But the combo is like you say, nobody communicates, no greetings, no goodbyes. The instructor always seams like he's in a bad mood, and seams to me, to be very single minded and ridged in how he wants everyone to play. I have the feeling he may be deliberately trying to trip me up, embarrass me and discourage me so that I'll quit.

Maybe he sees that you are overestimating your own abilities, and is trying help you understand some areas where you need to improve. The fact that you don't know some extremely basic things about notation suggests to me that he's right. Don't take it personally, take it as a challenge, and rise to it.

It's very easy to wash out and never learn to play, and have lots of people on the internet to commiserate with about how jazz people suck and are mean and no fun. It's easy, but it sucks. Failure sucks.

Anyways, can anyone explain some of the not so obvious aspects to this music (attached)? Like what does the circle with the cross over it mean? What do the right angles labelled '1.', and labelled '2.' mean? After going through the form the first time, then what? How do I know when the ending will be? What does "D.C. AL (circle with cross)" mean? Where it says "(To Solos)" it seams that the bar before is not actually played right before going into the solos. What does the horizontal dash below '(To Solos)' mean?

OK, here we go, Jazz Charts 101:

1) What's the title? Have you heard this one before? You should have-- it's PENT-UP HOUSE, one of the most famous tunes in the world. Remember how it goes on the record and play that.

2) Upper left. Is there a style indication? Yes. It says "medium-up swing." Play that until it's time to stop.

3) What's the meter? 4/4. If no style is indicated, and you don't know the tune, you can guess that it's going to be a swing feel, or maybe a straight-8th feel, or maybe a ballad. You can go with your best guess when somebody counts it off-- and quickly correct if you're wrong--or you can ask what the feel should be.

4) What's the form? How many measures is it, and what is its structure? In this case, it's 16 bars long; four 4-measure phrases, structured AABA. Count up the number of measures, looking for obvious repeated sections, double bars, and/or rehearsal letters. Forms are often 12, 16, 32, or 36 bars long, with AABA, AB, or AAB structure.

5) What's the road map? This chart has some repeat signs, first and second endings, and a coda sign. TC explained what those are, so you should be able to figure out when to go where. On this chart, it's completely linear and self-explanatory:

a) Start the tune.
b) Play through the first ending, where there is a repeat sign.
c) Jump back to the last repeat sign, in measure 2.
d) Play through the song again, skipping the first ending and playing the second ending.
e) On the second ending it says "to solos", and below that is a 16-bar repeated passage that says "solos" at the top-- play that section many times while different instruments solo.
f) At the bottom of that solo section, there is an instruction: "After solos, D.C. al [coda]. Take repeat." That means "jump to the beginning of the chart and play up to the coda sign, at which point jump to the coda." The "take repeat" instruction means just that-- play the melody twice, with both endings. When you get to the crosshair coda sign, jump to the coda sign at the bottom of the page and play that. That's the end of the tune.
6) What do the chord changes tell you? Not much, at this point in your development. There is one symbol that will be important: N.C.. That means "no chord", and it usually suggests there is a break-- the rhythm section rests on that measure.

7) What does the written melody tell you? This is a rhythmically active melody, and if you choose, you can help outline it on the drums. Listen to some recordings of it to get an idea of what is expected.

8) What do your ears tell you? Probably 90% of the tunes I know, I've never played with a chart. I don't know the title of half of them because I often didn't hear it called before it was counted off. I huge part of jazz drumming is playing with no chart and no information. This tune is very distinctive and pretty straightforward, and you can easily play it by just listening to what the band is doing.

You now have 100% more information about jazz charts than I had when I started playing jazz. I think you should sit down with a recording of the tune, and the chart, and keep listening until everything here makes sense to you. Good luck.
 
Thanks, I've already learned a lot. I don't mean to sound arrogant about my playing ability; I'm just trying to explain what is / isn't my main issue. I meant basically that I have the drum technique, but need work fitting in with the combo and deciphering the music.

The instructor was much nicer today, and I did a not-so-bad job after having listened to the tunes over and over again.

That may be more information than is needed to play, but the instructor is frequently referring to some of these types of details when giving me suggestions, so I thinks it's better I learn them to take advantage.

Still not sure what the bold dash means? And I thought the number of bars in the form counts repeats? At least last session, I was asked to tell how many bars were in the form, and he expected me to include the repeated bars. Also, if there are more bars after the solos, do they count as part of the form?

Where is DC. AL, is this an abbreviation? On two other sheets we are using, it says DS. AL FINE, PLAY PICKUPS. And then the word FINE is written under one of the bars. What is the difference between DC. and DS., what does AL FINE mean? And what are pickups?

Also, on several notes there are small dots above them, do you know what these mean?
 
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