“What makes jazz… jazz?” This was the first question I posed to my music teacher after he foolishly agreed to mentor my Eighth Grade Independent Study Project. I had chosen the topic of music composition. We had just entered his office. After a few minutes of back and forth about rhythm and dominant-seventh chords, he turned to his bookshelf and plopped four thick volumes down on his desk: A New History of Jazz, Jazz Anecdotes, The Jazz Book, and The New York Times Essential Library: Jazz.
Jazz is one of the most popular styles of music. If you are a classically-trained musician looking to expand your repertoire and skillset, learning to write jazz songs will add to your musicianship and provide you with new tools for creativity. Alternatively, if you are a complete beginner to music, learning how to compose and improvise in the jazz style is also rewarding introduction to music theory and practice. Jazz was the foundation of my music education. In fact, I never studied classical music theory before I started composing my first jazz song; since then, I have gone on to study music composition at Yale and in Paris.
Tip: if you are serious about building your skills as a jazz composer, you should meet with a dedicated jazz composition teacher online.
Here is my guide for learning to write jazz music.
Outline of Jazz History (Simplified)
- 19th c: Gospel, African American spirituals
- Late 19th c: Ragtime (Scott Joplin)
- Early 20th c: New Orleans (Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton)
- Early 20th c: Blues (Louis Armstrong, Ma Rainey)
- 1920s: New Orleans in Chicago (King Oliver)
- 1920s: Dixieland (ODJB)
- 1930s: Swing (Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Glenn Miller)
- Early 1940s: Bebop (Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk)
- 1950s: Hard Bop (Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus)
- 1950s: Cool Jazz (Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck)
- 1960s: Free Jazz (Ornette Coleman)
- 1970s: Funk, Fusion (Herbie Hancock)
Best Books for Learning to Write Jazz
- Method Book—”Intro to Jazz Piano” (Mark Harrison): https://www.amazon.
com/Intro-Jazz-Piano-Leonard- Keyboard-ebook/dp/B00JZNNC6W - Reference/advanced—”Jazz Theory Book” (Mark Levine): https://www.amazon.
com/Jazz-Theory-Book-Mark- Levine/dp/1883217040/ref=sr_1_ 1 - For practicing—”The Real Book”: https://www.amazon.com/
Real-Book-Hal-Leonard- Corporation/dp/0634060384/ref= asc_df_0634060384/
Other Resources for Learning to Write Jazz
- Helpful YouTube video: https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=lCAdCneGK5A - Quick online introduction: https://musictheory.
pugetsound.edu/mt21c/ IntroductionToJazzTheory.html
Listening Suggestions for Learning to Write Jazz
Jazz is all about listening, repeating, and changing. Start by listening to these albums and artists:
- “1923/24” (Jelly Roll Morton)
- Anything by Fats Waller
- Hot Fives & Sevens (Louis Armstrong)
- Ella & Louis (Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong)
- Live at Carnegie Hall, 1938 (Benny Goodman)
- Some early Duke Ellington (pre-1945)
- Zodiac Suite (Mary Lou Williams)
- Kind of Blue (Miles Davis)
- Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (full album)
- Giant Steps (John Coltrane)
- Genius of Modern Music: Vol. 1 (Thelonious Monk)
- Solo Monk (Thelonious Monk)
- Piano Starts Here (Art Tatum)
- Mingus Ah Um (Charles Mingus)
- Maiden Voyage (Herbie Hancock)
- Time Out (Dave Brubeck Quartet)
How a Teacher Can Help
To properly learn how to write jazz music, it is important to get personalized feedback from an experienced music composition teacher. Jazz is essentially an oral tradition that cannot be fully learned through books without interacting with and receiving feedback from other musicians and composers. Luckily, online lessons are available. I am a composer trained at Yale University and in Paris. If you are looking for a dedicated teacher to improve your jazz composition skills, contact me now and I will respond as soon as possible!
If you have any questions about how jazz composition lessons would work for your particular situation, contact me online and I will get back to you right away.