The Jazz Improvisational Approach: A New Method For Learning A Classical Piece Of Music By Employing Jazz Education Methods

Thomas, Candace Nicole

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Description

Title

The Jazz Improvisational Approach: A New Method For Learning A Classical Piece Of Music By Employing Jazz Education Methods

Author(s)

Thomas, Candace Nicole

Issue Date

2014-10

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Scully, Bernhard David

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Professor Stephen Taylor

Committee Member(s)

• Solis, Gabriel
• Pugh, James

Department of Study

School of Music

Discipline

Music

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

A.Mus.D. (doctoral)

Keyword(s)

• jazz
• music
• imporovisation
• education

Language

en

Abstract

The purpose of this document is to introduce a novel way to learn a new piece of classical music by use of a jazz improvisational approach. Within this document, a jazz improvisational approach (JIA) is defined as a method of learning music through common practices utilized by jazz performers and educators. The musical language and style of the learned piece of music will not be of the jazz idiom, but will remain classical in nature. I began the process by transcribing, without access to the printed music, Johann Michael Haydn's Concertino For Horn and Orchestra in D Major from audio recordings. After I transcribed the piece, I continued to more fully learn the piece by using the JIA, which included the following steps: composing cadenzas, creating derivative etudes to solve technical issues within the piece, and creating improvisatory exercises and patterns that draw from the musical content of the work. My research will show the effectiveness of using a JIA to learn a piece of classical music as a pedagogical and performance tool as an alternative to the traditional way of learning unfamiliar classical music.

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/74810

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