PREFACE

“You can do anything you want to do, if you know what to do.”
-Betty Carter
What does it mean to be a jazz singer? What is jazz? Why do I
want to improvise?
I could quote from respected sources to give social proof to my
ideas of what a jazz singer is, but will instead offer my own bent
on the definition: I believe that a singer must improvise to be a jazz
singer. Those who have chosen to not scat (improvise with
syllables), still have, or should have, a thorough understanding of
many concepts, including either the ear for understanding, or the
intellectual understanding of form, harmony and feel (rhythm). Let
us also recognize that when one uses the word “improvise,” we
could be talking about rhythmic, melodic or harmonic
improvisation. So I think a jazz singer is one who employs and
understands (on some level) the common elements found in this
music called Jazz, in addition to the emotional ideas found in the
text, and improvises in one or more of the aforementioned ways.
The word Jazz encompasses many genres, yet contains common
elements. Jazz has been called African American classical music,
and I strongly agree with this description. However, the joy of
playing jazz has nothing to do with being African or American,
just as Opera is not only performed by Italians, the pioneers of that
form. Music transcends race and country. Let us not forget the
origins of this music we call jazz and the many disservices done to
those pioneers of this great African American art form.
Jazz is a musical dialogue between musicians, based on African
rhythms and nuances, with the implementation of predominantly
Western harmony and instruments, producing an exploratory art
form based upon the performers’ interpretation. I personally enjoy
improvising, because it allows me to further express emotions with
the subject at hand, over the harmonic and rhythmic landscape of a
song, and doing so in conversation with others.
One other important distinction is the difference between jazz
singing and the singing done in the era of pop music that was
called the Jazz Age. The Jazz Age technically was a movement
that took place from the 1920s to the 1930s. Dance forms emerged
along with the music. This period was fueled with the introduction
of the radio and the end of WWI. While the era by name lasted
only about 10 years (up to the Great Depression) as a popular
music, it lived on for decades going by the names “The Swing
Era,” and “The Big Band Era” into the early1960s. Big Band
music with singers was the pop music roughly from the 20s,
waning in the late 50s to early 60s with advent of Rock and Roll
and the electric guitar. So now we have the ongoing debate of who
or what is or is not a Jazz singer, and what is Jazz singing.
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I leave this debate up to you. There are many gray lines involved.
While it may not be my opinion, one example of the question of
who is a Jazz singer can be illustrated by a self- effacing quote
from Sarah Vaughan. “I don’t know why people call me a Jazz
singer, though I guess people associate me with Jazz because I was
raised in it, from way back. I'm not putting Jazz down, but I'm not
a Jazz singer. Betty Carter is a Jazz singer, because that's all she
does.”
I think Sarah is a great example of a Jazz singer, and have always
loved what she does. Her singing certainly contains the elements of
Jazz, yet there is a “classical vibe” to her vocal production.
My point is that we have many singers who sang when “Jazz” was
the popular music, yet they might be considered by some to be Pop
Jazz singers of that era. We also have “crooners,” whose
mellifluous voices graced the Jazz era as well. A few examples of
this style are Bing Crosby and Johnny Hartman. Great sounds,
wonderful instruments, wonderful styles, but not quite the “Jazz
singer,” or the type of Jazz singing we are talking about in this
text, yet still contribute valuable aesthetic to the art form.
Challenges unique to the Jazz singer
As singer, we have no buttons to press or positions to learn. The
advantage for instrumentalists is that they can engrain the sound of
an interval, scale or chord in their mind’s ear by repetition. They
do not have to hear the sound in order to repeat or reproduce it. A
singer must hear in order to produce or reproduce a sound.
With that in mind, I have found that complete understanding for
my students, and me, has been to digest any musical concepts with
this 4-fold understanding:
1. Intellectual understanding – being able to verbally demonstrate
understanding of the construction of intervals, chords, scales and
rhythms.
2. Aural understanding – being able to identify intervals, chords,
scales and rhythms by ear.
3. Vocal understanding – being able to sing or demonstrate
intervals, chords, scales and rhythms concepts a capella.
4. Piano (or chordal instrument) understanding – being able to
play intervals, chords, scales on the piano or chordal instrument at
hand.
It is imperative that you get your hands on a piano or keyboard for
most of the ideas presented in this book. Without doing this, much
of the information concerning harmony and its inner workings will
just be intellectual information that is of little help to the real
development of complete understanding. It is also vital that a
metronome is used for ALL practice.
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Chapter 1. Fundamental rhythmic understanding

It is appropriate that I start off talking about rhythm. From my
teaching experience, I find this the most neglected aspect of vocal
jazz training. Jazz is a rhythmic-based art form, and rhythm should
be one of the building blocks of our learning. I have heard great
jazz musician after great jazz musician say that they could play
good rhythms before they could play “good” note choices. If the
text of a song doesn’t feel good without the notes, how can it feel
good with them?
What does it mean to swing? Swinging is an esoteric concept, so I
will try to provide helpful analogies as well as exercises to further
your understanding. (How does one explain the concept of balance
on a bicycle to one who has never ridden a bike?)
The Jazz Eighth Note
Let us first look at the idea of the Jazz eighth note as written:
The Jazz eighth note however is interpreted closer to these two
examples:
Just like a map is not the territory, the written eighth note pattern
and feel is not swing, but merely a guide, and I feel compelled to
provide more examples. It is not enough to say that swinging is
playing behind the beat. It is a lilt, a dance with time that is done
with consistency. There are different types of swinging, from a ”
bouncy” style to a “straighter” style, from “laying back” farther on
the beat to remaining closer to the beat. The discrepancies of swing
can depend on factors such as the era of Jazz that one is
interpreting, or personal choice.
The best place in my opinion to learn the swing feel is to listen to
the masters. For one to swing, there must be steady time, either
implied or played, to swing against. In jazz, the

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drummer and bassist, pianist and/or guitarist frequently lay down
the time that is swung against. The drummer generally establishes
time with a consistent 2nd and 4th beat on their high hat cymbal,
and variations of the eighth note swing pattern on their ride
cymbal. In big band music, it is essential that the band hears the
drummer’s 2 and 4, and in many instances historically, the
drummer would play “four on the floor,” playing beats 1, 2, 3, and
4 on the bass drum. This is the foundation of time. The bass player
plays 1 and 3 or beats 1, 2, 3 and 4, with the pianist further
reinforcing the swing pattern accentuating the upbeats. Also,
before the advent of the electric guitar, the role of the guitarist was
to further establish or lay down the time feel, frequently playing a
comping time pattern that was similar to the drummer’s ride
cymbal pattern. (Listen to Freddy Green on Count Basie
recordings.) This is why these instruments, as a unit, are called
“the rhythm section.”
SUGGGESTED LISTENING for understanding swing:
Count Basie: “Live at the Sands” Ahmad Jamal: “Live at the
Pershing” Dexter Gordon: “Go” Miles Davis: “ Kinda Blue” Nat
“King” Cole Trio recordings (with no drums)
EXERCISES: While listening to a SUGGESTED LISTENING
piece (listed above),• Feel the 2 and 4 with your left hand tapping
on your leg or finger snapping.
Feel how the band is “pulling” behind the beat.
• Next, with your right hand, imitate the ride cymbal pattern on
your leg. Once again, notice the melody against your pattern.
• Once you have felt the “swing” with each of your hands
separately, try the 2 and 4 with your left hand, and the ride pattern
with your right hand at the same time. If this presents a problem,
be patient and perhaps tap 4-quarter notes with your right hand
until you feel comfortable moving on.
Verbalizing swing patterns
• Using the syllables “doo-ga” or “boo-da” (or syllables of your
own), imitate the ride cymbal pattern.

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• Experiment, using different syllables with the ride pattern.
• I also recommend verbalizing the pattern on a legato “1 & 2 & 3
& 4 &,” with the accent on the “ands.”
Sing a Jazz tune a cappella
• While singing a Jazz melody a capella, play the above described
hand-pattern on your legs. Do you feel the groove or pocket that is
created by pulling behind the beat with your voice?
• Take your time, listen and imitate the melody instrument, but you
must also realize the time that is being swung against (keep time).
Use a metronome and set the clicks to 2 and in your mind.
Rhythmic options for ballad singing
I think it necessary to address ballad singing and the rhythmic
possibilities we can use to explore a song more in depth. I include
this information while we are talking about rhythm, but many of
the skills needed to do the following should be tried after certain
harmonic information that will follow is understood.
Of course we have spoken about the use of rhythm and exercises
that relate to swing, but the balled can be a different entity because
of the tempo, and relationship to other genres. What do I mean by
this relationship to genres? The question we have to ask ourselves
is: What is the difference between how a Cabaret singer, a
Broadway singer, a Pop or Blues singer interprets a ballad? I’m
not talking about vocal production or stylistic ornamentation. You
need to examine this question for yourself, but there are a few
definitive ways Jazz singers can and do approach ballads. I have
never been taught these things but they are my observances, and
students seemed to have benefitted greatly from this perspective. It
is not enough to speak of “timing,” or of taking ones time when
singing a ballad. We can see certain rhythmic devices used,
whether consciously or not, by the great Balladeers in singing. I
like to break it down into 3 areas of rhythmic consideration.
1. Floating: This is basically singing with no respect to time
regardless of whether the accompanist is playing rubato and
following you or playing with a set tempo.
2. Swing interspersion: Even though the tempo may be slow, the
swing rhythm is still there for you. Yes, even quarter notes can be
swung.
3. Douple time interspersion: Duple-time is a compound time
equal to 6 /8 over 4/4. (Count to four, and then make each beat a
triplet)
The most effective use of these rhythmic tools is in combination
with each other. Again we must view them as tools or options
available to us. It is important to reiterate that we try using these
exercises in practice, so that when we are performing, we have
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internalized all rhythmic possibilities and use these concepts
unconsciously. With the exception of the floating concept,
verbalize the lyrics with the swing feel and duple feel before we
add the notes.
1. Sing a ballad using the floating concept. Do not be concerned
with singing “in time.” Cross bar lines with lyric and melody for
added tensions (of course we will have studied the chords to the
song at hand, so if notes need to be altered to conform to the next
chords we are prepared for this). There is great freedom to
“floating,” but we want to be careful not to over-use of any one
device.
2. Sing a ballad in time and make the eighth note pulse, or swing
feel, apparent. We don’t need to constantly pound out the swing
feel, but rather intersperse it here and there. Again, even quarter
notes can swing.
3. Sing a ballad, rhythmically interspersing triplets in your phrases.
This is a little tricky at first, so I suggest singing it in time, and
start with a phrase here and there. We can also sing more then one
note to a word when practicing this. We would never want to do
this for a whole piece, but for practice, we will try it as much as
possible.
4. Sing a ballad alternating floating and swing, floating and 6/8,
swing and 6/8, and finally all three. This will open up many
possibilities for ballad interpretation that you might not have
experienced before.
Again, these are exercises to merely show you options for
interpretation of ballads. I like to view ALL rhythmic exercises we
practice, in swing and ballad singing, like a bonsai tree. To shape a
bonsai, we need to have something to trim back and to shape by
cutting. So it is with these exercises. When listening to the great
singers, we often hear the melody as written, and then we might
here a simple rhythmic deviation from the written that is hip or that
stands out to us. This is the gist of what we are practicing for; to
over use these concepts in practice, and then start to become more
selective when using them. Surely the Greats honed these skills on
the bandstand (the greatest teacher of all), but we can also hone
these skills in the practice room. I have found these exercises to be
highly useful, and have seen impressive results with students.
SUGGESTED READING:
Modern Reading Text in 4/4
by Louie Bellson
This book is all single note rhythms ranging from quarter note
patterns graduating to 16th notes etc. With the engrained eighth
note pattern verbalized in a whisper (use syllables I’ve suggested,
or use “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &...”), pronounce the written notes louder
then the pattern. All of this should be done with a metronome on 2
& 4.