By Russ Nolan
Jazz as a Second Language
Just like English, Spanish, German, French, Latin, etc., Jazz is a language. Did your parents sit you down one day when you were a toddler and say, “OK, Son/Daughter, now we are going to teach you English”? NO! We all learned by listening to it since we were born, well before we understood what we were hearing. We could speak it before we knew what we were saying and before we could write it.
Jazz is the same way—you just start listening to it, and then gradually figure out what it is you are actually listening too. With the Internet at your disposal you have more educational resources available than any Jazz Legend ever had. Visit iTunes, YouTube, and other music/video sites and search for Jazz. Many sites have free downloads as well. Many jazz radio stations have streaming audio on their websites so that you could listen to music from anywhere! Search for your favorite jazz musician. If you don’t have one, search for your instrument and add ‘Jazz’ in front of it. This will bring you to a number of sites—Jazz fan websites, jazz artist websites, and places to purchase Jazz CDs.
Teaching Jazz as a Language – 3-Part Series:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Russ Nolan Jazz Blog
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