[Dixielandjazz] RE.: school program

[tito martino]

Steve Barbone informed:
<<<<<<Dear List mates;
I am in the final stages of successfully completing a contract signing
with several local school districts to bring a jazz music appreciation
assembly program to kids at the grammar school level in the Philadelphia
Metro Area.
(snip)  Is there any advice out there for me? (snip) 
GOAL? To get the kids interested in Jazz, America's Music, when they are
young, and I welcome your suggestions. Cheers,  Steve>>>>>>>

Wonderful work Steve that's exactly the ONLY way to keep our OKOM flame
alight and expanding.
 I try to do the same down here under, whenever possible (but the
culture is different, the economic and social situation is peculiar). I
am assuming that you will bring your whole Band.

Suggestions:
a) use "Happy Birthday to You" song as model for a live square Band
rendition and compare with improvised Jazz rendition. Make the kids sing
along - also with the Jazz version, keeping accent in 2 and 4. Teach 'em
to clap at 2 and 4!
b) as an important subject, explain and show how African musical culture
entered Jazz in the form of "talking drums" complex rhythms, and changed
to basic jazz drum-set and basic 4/4 beat. (here is the place for a
drums solo) .
c) talk about Jazz "roots": blues, ragtime, spirituals, street marches,
folk songs from France, England, Spain.
d)show the importance of musical freedom with a focus on solo
improvisation; then show how the individual Freedom only works inside
the whole Band when coupled with Responsibility regarding others (each
instrument has a role and don't steps the other's parts)
e) show the role of each instrument in the Band Collective
Improvisation: trumpet plays lead; clarinet answers with counterpoint;
trombone puts connecting notes; guitar sets chords; bass puts chord root
and rhythm pulse; piano syncopate riffs; drums keeps all together.   
f) ask the kids to suggest a melody or ask to four of them to say a
musical note; then you put the four notes together forming a melody and
improvise a Blues with this theme. 

If you don't have them hooked for life by then you can go fishing...and
get a life!  ;-)  

  Well, that's only my suggestion, I'm sure you can have other ideas and
any would be as effective. 
Others can have better ideas too. Let's hope only that the ideas will be
put to work by many in many places.

Thanks for doing that, Steve!
 

Tito"wannabe teacher" Martino
clarinet, s.sax, a.sax,
Tito Martino Jazz Band
São Paulo  Brasil

P.S.: please don't tell the kids WE italians invented Jazz, it's not
still fully confirmed.   


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