instructional jazz standards

[MandoNicity]

I've been away from the mando for quite some time and want to get back into it. I'm looking for sugestions for instuctional materials for jazz chordings for standards. Ideally I'm looking for tab as my standard notation reading level isn't that great.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[MandoNicity]

I guess I asked a stupid question...sorry

[groveland]

Isn't that odd... It was a good question, give it a little more time, someone will chime in. Possibly the 'tab' constraint limited the possibilities.

There are chord tabs available everywhere, this site included. I think matching those resources up with your favorite Real Book will give you a lifetime of work.

[onassis]

MandoZine site has a number of tabs for jazz standards. You'll need the TablEdit tab viewer to use them, but it's a free download. The site is here

http://www.mandozine.com/home.php

Click on the "TablEdit Files" link on the right to access the tabs. I think you can also download the TablEdit viewer from there. Good luck!

[Don Stiernberg]

The jazz column in Mandolin Magazine may be of assistance. The latest issue looks at "All of Me", an earlier one covers "Honeysuckle Rose". Just about every issue handles some aspect of playing standards, from melodic embellishment to improv concepts to rhythm parts and chord melody.The column is called "On a Jazzy Note" Joe Carr's column on chords also covers some of this same territory.

[Perry]

This may also be of help:

http://http://www.petimarpress.com/d.../JazzChord.pdf

[Flattpicker]

Perry,

that link seems to have issues--
I tried a few variations but couldn't get through

thanks.

[blawson]

Perry,

that link seems to have issues--
I tried a few variations but couldn't get through

thanks.

There are two instances of "http://" in the link -- just make sure it reads "http://www..."

[Doug Hoople]

One of the best ways to learn chords for jazz standards is to find and master a few chord-melody solos. No easy feat, but well worth the effort.

I don't have a tab source, but others here might chime in with suggestions.

Even the simplest chord-melody solo will have several of the really essential chord shapes and, by definition, the chords will all fit the melody, so the whole exercise should be reasonably educational.

Once you've learned a few of these chord shapes in the context of a real song, you can:

1) start figuring out how these shapes can be moved around to be used as other chords (e.g., if 5-4-5-x is a D7, then 7-6-7-x will be an E7, and 3-2-3-x will be a C7).

2) go back to the chord dictionaries and theory texts and start making sense of how they work.

I'd recommend this approach fairly strongly over the dictionary-first approach, in which you learn a lot of disconnected chord forms first and then try to use them in real tunes.

[Doug Hoople]

Just thinking about it a bit...

Check out Mike Marshall's two books on the topic, "The Chord Book" and "Improvisational Concepts". He has a couple of chord melody solos in there, and he digs into the topic of chords in a pretty accessible and constructive way.

I actually think of the two as one book, meaning I think the one's a little incomplete without the other and vice versa. For example, there's a lot of information in "Improvisational Concepts" about chords that could just as easily be in "The Chord Book." But together, they make a good resource.

[Flattpicker]

blawson,

I believe that was the first variation I tried, and I just tried again, but I'm not getting through to the server...did you?

[wellvis@well.com]

This may also be of help:

http://www.petimarpress.com/downloads/JazzChord.pdf

I've adjusted the link so the dual http at the beginning is removed. This should now be usable. It looks like a very good resource.

[Flattpicker]

wow--can't wait to jump in to this! Thanks!

[MandoNicity]

Thank you all for your replys. Since I am just beginning to get back into mandolin and have been away from the scene I was just looking for guidance and thought there might be some instuctional books/vids/sites I was unaware of and you kind folks have pointed me to some. Having played bluegrass mostly ages ago, I am mostly interested in working on a jazz foundation now which is so much different then the chop chords I know. I just ordered Teds book too. Thanks again.

[Pete Martin]

You can find my books at my web site, listed below.

[John Gardinsky]

Pete's jazz chording book is a good one. I am working on it. Very intuitive.

[SincereCorgi]

The Dix Bruce gypsy jazz mandolin books have a good sampling of appropriate chord shapes for jazz. I took his introductory jazz workshop and I liked his approach to using three-string voicings when playing rhythm.

[Baron Collins-Hill]

not for chords and not solely for mandolin, i have been working with the book "The Jazz Musician's Guide To Creative Practicing" by David Berkman. It is chock full of great information that is presented in a very readable and often humorous manner.

Baron

[gypsykat]

I've been away from mandolincafe for several years. Following this thread I'm surprised that no one has suggested Band In A Box as a tool for learning jazz standards. There is a huge library of BIAB jazz tunes of varying difficulty. BIAB will generate a mandolin solo for any tune in a variety of styles (pick a jazz guitar player, eg. Joe Pass). It will then notate and/or tab that solo (or melody) and print it with chord diagrams for the mandolin. I use it for both guitar and mandolin. Regrettably it doesn't tab for Greek bouzouki tuning (CFAD). Pretty handy if you work with horn players, too. You can transpose any tune with a couple of mouse clicks.

[jmatthewman]

MandoZine site has a number of tabs for jazz standards. You'll need the TablEdit tab viewer to use them, but it's a free download. The site is here

http://www.mandozine.com/home.php

When I started looking for resources to learn some jazz standards it didn't occur to me to search on MandoZine; thanks for the reminder!

But perhaps somebody could recommend the names of some standards that might be good to learn first? Or that are better suited to beginners? (Mando beginners and/or jazz beginners )

This may also be of help:

http://www.petimarpress.com/downloads/JazzChord.pdf

Thanks for this, too. I've been reading it for the better part of this morning, itching to go home and start learning some chords and tunes.

[MandoNicity]

"But perhaps somebody could recommend the names of some standards that might be good to learn first? Or that are better suited to beginners? (Mando beginners and/or jazz beginners"

Jmatthewman, I started a thread about just that subject that you might find useful. The quick answer to the question btw is "Autumn Leaves", or "Blue Bossa". There's some great information in the thread. Enjoy!

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...for-a-beginner

JR

[jmatthewman]

And I was looking for just such a list -- thanks! Not sure how I overlooked it while I was skimming through the thread list..

[jasonanick]

If anyone is interested, I do online jazz mandolin lessons through skype! Here is an overview of some of the concepts I teach.




Jason Anick
jason_anick@yahoo.com