RJS - Guitar Intermediate
C00228
Come and join our Saturday Jazz School. If you are a guitarist who is already competent in other styles, or has recently started to play jazz, this course will equip you with the basic technical skills and musical knowledge for playing jazz on the guitar.
The course is "hands-on", designed to help you develop your guitar technique and expand your knowledge of chords, scales, arpeggios and melodic patterns on the guitar. From the start you will learn to play jazz tunes - their chord progressions and melodies - and begin to improvise on them. You will receive guidance in developing your improvisation, accompaniment and performance skills and an understanding of music theory. We also study the work of the major jazz guitarists and other leading jazz artists.
Course Content
Your course will have a practical focus and offer you opportunities to learn and further develop your jazz guitar skills
Topics will include:
1. Basic chords for jazz guitar: Major; minor; dom.7; major 7; minor 7; half-diminished; dim.7; chord embellishment: maj 6; maj 7th; maj 9; 6/9
2. Chord voicings for common progressions: 11,V7,1; 111,V1,11,V7; etc.
3. Basic music theory for the jazz musician: Intervals; Cycle of 5ths; Harmonising the major scale; chord/scale relationships.
4. To identify and play common rhythms.
5. Basic scales - Major, minor, pentatonic in several positions and fingerings; Scale variations e.g. scale in 3rds; scale in broken 7th chords.
6. Major, minor and 7th chord arpeggios over 1 octave and 2 octaves with inversions.
7. 4-in-the-bar rhythm guitar style: using 3-note and 4-note chord voicings.
8. To play chords, melodies, chord melodies, accompaniments and to improvise on several jazz standards such as the following: 12-bar blues (in F major); 12-bar blues (in Bb major); Honeysuckle Rose; Perdido; I Got Rhythm; Sweet Georgia Brown; Saint Thomas; Pennies From Heaven; One Note Samba; Yardbird Suite; Take the A Train; Satin Doll, Blue Bossa, Nuages, Autumn Leaves, It Had To Be You, Oh Lady Be Good, All of Me, Scrapple from the Apple, There Is No Greater Love.
There may be opportunities for class members to perform at one of the Student Concerts that takes place on the evening of the final class of each half-term.
Entry Requirements
To be eligible for this course you must be 19 or over on 31st August prior to the course start date.
You will have played guitar for at least two years and have a good basic working knowledge of the guitar including chords and scales and be able to accompany songs, pick out melodies, etc. You will probably have some practical playing experience. This course is not for beginners on the guitar. Level 1 literacy is an advantage as handouts will be distributed at different times to reinforce learning.
First Class Requirements
Notebook, pencil and music stand if you own one.
Attendance Requirements
Attendance throughout the course will help you gain maximum benefit from the course.
Assessment Methods
There is no formal assessment on this course although you will be able to identify individual goals and later reflect on your development. Your tutor will assess your learning and progress through the practical nature of the classes.
Further Study Options
You may wish to progress to further practical jazz courses at RACC.
Additional Information
If you require further course information or advice and guidance that is not answered in this outline please email art@rhacc.ac.uk.
If you would like general information about the college, for example, fees and finance, funding, term dates or opening times please email info@rhacc.ac.uk or drop in to our main reception area.
Please note that whilst most of the classes in your course will be classroom based, the final session of the course may be in the form of a cross college jazz concert evening and so may not be on the same day and time of your course .