JB Dyas Jazz Pedagogy Workshops

for current and future teachers

What is Jazz, Why is it Important to America?         

Detailed description of the five quintessential elements of jazz, as well as an overview of the music’s history and the deeply held American values that jazz represents – teamwork, unity with ethnic diversity, the correlation of hard work and goal accomplishment, democracy, persistence & perseverance, and the vital importance of really listening to one another – and effective methods to teach the subject matter to middle school, high school, and college students.

Jazzing Up Jazz Band

Most high school and many college jazz bands are not really jazz bands at all, but rather "concert bands with a swing beat." That is, on any given tune, most of the students are unable to improvise (arguably jazz's most important element), nor do they know the chord progression, the form, or even what a chorus is – essentials for the jazz musician. They're just reading the music that’s put in front of them, certainly not what jazz is all about. Since most high schools don't have the luxury of offering separate jazz theory, improvisation and history classes, jazz band rehearsal needs to be a “one stop shop," that is, the teaching/learning of jazz theory, improvisation and history needs to be an integral component of every rehearsal. This would be in addition to sight-reading, phrasing, blend, feel, time, dynamics, intonation, articulation, rhythmic interpretation and the like. In this workshop, utilizing a high school or college big band, renowned jazz pedagogue Dr. JB Dyas presents his step-by-step methodology for actually including the teaching of jazz at every rehearsal!

Directing a Jazz Combo

Effective methods for starting and directing a jazz combo.  Included is instruction on working with each member of the rhythm section, interactive techniques, head-arranging, tune repertoire and memorization, and improvisation.

Rhythm Section Workshop

Aural and visual demonstrations of effective methods for teaching the roles of each member of the rhythm section.  Included are essential rhythm section grooves (swing, samba, bossa nova, rock, funk, and ballad).

Jazz Theory and Nomenclature as it Pertains to Jazz Improvisation

Comprehensive explanation on chord/scale relationships, including the difference between basic and specific chord symbols, an easy-to-use formula for teaching the most important scales used in jazz improvisation, and effective methods for teaching “instant” memorization.

Tune Learning

Demonstration/lecture on how to teach the memorization and retention of jazz’s must-know standard repertoire.  Includes instruction in expeditious memorization, tune categorization, ear learning, and instant transposition.  Tune learning/review schedule check-off sheets and a definitive recording list of the 104 must-know jazz standards (along with a listing of the personnel on each recording) are provided to all participants.

Transcribing

Demonstration/lecture on how to teach students how to transcribe solos of the jazz masters (and just what solos to transcribe), and how to use this experience to increase jazz vocabulary, improve solo development, and better grasp the language of jazz – all in an effort to inform and inspire one’s own unique voice.

Jazz Piano

One-handed and two-handed jazz piano chord voicings, idiomatic comping patterns, appropriate fingerings, and a systematic method to teach jazz piano to pianists and non-pianists. 

Jazz Guitar

Jazz guitar chord voicings, fingerings, “instant” transposition, homonyms, idiomatic comping patterns, and a systematic approach for converting rock guitarists into jazz guitarists.

Bass Line Construction

A systematic approach on how to teach the construction of walking bass lines from chord symbols.

Rhythm Reading

Visual and aural demonstration of effective and fun ways to teach students how to read jazz rhythms, particularly syncopated eighth notes, triplets, and sixteenth notes.

Ear Training

Overview of effective methods for teaching students how to play what they hear in their mind’s ear, how to know what they’re hearing when listening to others play, how to hear in their mind what they’re seeing when reading music, and how to sing on sight (i.e., improvising, aural recognition, audiating, and sight-singing, respectively).

Small Group Arranging

Overview of methods for writing for small ensembles.  Includes scoring techniques for two, three, and four horns; composing intros, endings, and backgrounds; and writing for the rhythm section.

Jazz in America – the National Jazz Curriculum

Overview of the Jazz in America website and how to use it to teach American History via jazz history and appreciation to elementary, middle, and high school students.  Includes instruction on how to download the free teaching materials contained within – lesson plans, student handouts, tests, and more.  Also includes audio and video examples, featuring an animated Herbie Hancock taking you back in time in his virtual “jazz time machine” to see how jazz began!

Evolution of Jazz Styles

Utilizing seminal recordings, the instructor presents an “informance,” highlighting stylistic differences in the development of jazz from its inception to today.

Getting the Big Scholarship

Systematic method on how to prepare students for college auditions and secure music scholarships.  Insight into what audition/scholarship adjudicators want to hear.

Leadership Through the Jazz Paradigm

Designed for current and future leaders outside the music realm (in business, government, healthcare, higher education, etc.), the clinic elucidates the ways leadership and cooperation occur in the jazz space, all in an effort to build better partnerships and coalitions among executives and their employees outside the jazz space, resulting in increased company morale, productivity and profits.

Road Rules – Tour Etiquette for Young Musicians

Professional tips, decorum, and responsibilities for honor bands and other touring young musicians. A step-by-step guide on professionalism and how to teach your students what they need to do and be able to do – as well as how to comport themselves – in order to be considered a pro.

Living the Dream – How to Get a Job in Jazz Education

Comprehensive description of the various opportunities in the field of jazz education and a systematic method for finding, preparing for, applying for, and landing these positions.

Blues ‘n Rhythm

Description and demonstration of the evolution of blues and rhythm changes chord progressions from their inception to today’s variants.  Includes teaching methodologies for the memorization of blues heads and I Got Rhythm contrafacts, as well as concepts for improvising on their chord progressions and variations thereof.

Countdown to Giant Steps

Demystification of “Coltrane Changes” (the infamous John Coltrane chord substitutions) and how to use them to modernize solo improvisation.  Includes methodologies for the teaching and learning of such Coltrane classics as Countdown and Giant Steps.

Zoom Teaching

Pedagogical approach, procedures, and tips for teaching jazz theory, improvisation, and history – as well as methods for teaching private lessons and directing large and small ensembles – online via Zoom.