Tyler Jensen and Professor Ray Smith, Jazz

The study of jazz is a relatively new pedagogy in our educational system. Much of what has been established has been the result of applying classical and existing pedagogical practices to the subject of jazz. The majority of this teaching approach is theoretical in nature, using knowledge of chords, structures and designed systems to analyze and perform music. All too often the aural methods of learning and teaching are neglected. This is also evident in other studies of music were the learning of improvisation is often considered mythical.

Ten highly developed recorded jazz musicians were chosen by Dr. Ray Smith and Tyler Jensen for this study based on talent, influence, and availability. Many of these musicians are the top performers in their genre. These musicians each participated in a fifteen minute interview to determine whether theoretical learning or aural learning 1) had a greater influence in their musical development and 2) had a greater influence on their students. The musicians interviewed were Phil Woods, Ed Calle, Jeff Hamilton, Steve Call, Lars Yorgason, Gregg Floor, Brian Booth, Jay Laurance, David Halliday, and Phil Marcowitz. They were asked:

· Do you feel your leaning of jazz has been predominantly theoretical or predominantly aural
in nature?
· What formal music schooling do you have?
· What is your favorite exercise to improve your ears?
· What is your favorite etude or theoretical reference?
· What types of transcribing do you prefer (playing along, transcribing without writing out, transcribing with writing out, other)?
· Do you do any teaching?
· Do you consider yourself more a theoretical player or more an aural player?

The musician’s responses varied greatly from a heavy reliance on the ears to an equal balance between theoretical and aural methods. All the musicians interviewed considered the aural methods extremely important in their development. There were a few arguments made for theoretical learning, strictly on the basis that it help develop aural skills by giving a greater variety and depth to their playing. All the musicians interviewed taught private lessons. In their private teaching most used a balanced study routine consisting of both ear development and theoretic learning. This was interesting considering their formal education varied greatly. Some had no formal education and learned to play on the job (performances) while others had attended many prestigious universities receiving Ph.D.’s in music and taking lessons from many outstanding performers. The majority had learned to play by ear while in their youth and later used theory to expand their musical palette. Though there were differences in the finer details of their teaching, the importance of ear training was expressed by all.

From this study, it can be concluded that ear training was an integral part of all the interviewed musicians’ development and continues to be an important skill in their profession. The importance of theoretical learning, however, should not be undermined as that many felt this gave their playing greater depth and an expanded musical vocabulary.