Bob Stoloff is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music. This book is a comprehensive how-to on vocal jazz scat technique. Beginning with an introduction to the history of scat and its evolution, it contains a virtual library of scales and exercises. Rhythmic, melodic and harmonic concepts, including modes, are discussed, with recommended methods for practice given. Also, vocal bass and percussion routines are explained. The accompanying CD allows the student to listen to examples, and then work on the exercises with rhythm-section accompaniment. "Scat!" is an intensive program, based upon application, not dry theory. Fundamental sight-reading ability is required to do the exercises. This book is an excellent resource for the jazz vocalist seeking to develop their style.

Songlist: Rhythmic Considerations, Melodic Considerations, Melodic Solos, Vocal Bass Lines, Vocal Drum Articulations, Solo A Cappella Technique, Sing Along Patterns, Vocal Drum Grooves

This awesome follow-up to the popular book Scat!, Blues Scatitudes is packed full of vocal improvisation techniques on the Blues. Focuses on blues solos in variety of contemporary grooves, while also covering syllable articulation, accents and ties, Blues etudes, and more.

Songlist: Musical Terms, Scat Syllables, Using Accents, Major and Pentatonic Scales, The Blues Scale, Eight Blues Scatitudes

Eight famous scat solos over standards, transcribed and notated with the original verbal syllables over each note. These vocal solos are wonderful pieces to use for the study of phrasing, scat vocabulary, and be-bop lines.

Songlist: Introduction, But Not For Me, Dancing On The Ceiling, Do It The Hard Way, Everything Happens To Me, It Could Happen To You, Just Friends, You Make Me Feel So Young, This Is Always

This book and CD examines some of the problems that vocalists encounter and how to deal with them. For the vocalist that feels alone in the world of instrumentalists. Includes chapters on Jargon, Preparing Songs, Chord Voicings, Scat Singing, Scales and Chords For Scat Singing, Ear Training and Tips . . . all supported by actual examples on the demonstration CD. A great introduction and way to give you the solid knowledge so you are able to "hold your own" with the other musicians.

Songlist: Preface, Introduction, Chapter1: Jargon, Chapter 2: Preparing Songs, "Ed The Dog" Lead Sheet Example, Chapter 3: Chord Voicings, Chapter 4: Scat Singing, Major And Dominant Chord Voicings, Blues Voicings, The II/V7/I Progression Voicings, Scatting By Ear (No Knowledge Of Harmony), Chapter 5: Scales and Chords For Scat Singing, Chapter 6: Ear Training, Chapter 7: Tips, Chapter 8: Pitch Pipe, Ten Preperatory Patterns, Ear Training / Interval Charts, Intro To The Scale Syllabus, Scale Syllabus, Nomenclature, Soloing By Jamey Abersold, Practice Prcedure For Memorizing Scales / Chords To Any Song, Song list For Beginners

Jazz Phrasing is a perfect workbook for all jazz vocalists. It covers: Specific Rhythm Phrasing - interpreting 8th notes, specific rhythm figures; Open Phrasing - exploring tempos and styles, working with ballads; Tips on Performance - choosing a tempo and counting off, telling the song's story, working with your ensemble; and more. The accompanying CD lets you: compare transcriptions to recorded examples, listen to vocal and instrumental examples, sing along with the rhythm section, create backgrounds and analyze arrangements.

Songlist: Specific Rhythm Phrasing, Interpreting Eighth Notes, Specific Rhythm Figures, Open Phrasing, Exploring Different Musical Environments, Ballads, Working on a Complete Arrangement, Anlyzing the Form, About the Solo Section, What Have We Learned About Jazz Phrasing?, Vocal and Instrumental Discography, About the Composers, Lyricists, Musicians, and Authors

If you have ever wanted to learn to scat, try this book! Dr. Scott Fredrickson presents the basics of vocal improvisation in his book Scat Singing Method. This detailed book and two accompanying CDs include step by step instructions and exercises on how to use syllables, melody and rhythm for jazz singing. At the end of the method are eight arrangements for voices (solo with back up), piano, bass and drums. This book is great for individuals as well as the classroom. This new approach is based on the technique of theme and variation. By using the elements of vocal improvisation: syllables, melody, and rhythm, and applying the techniques, musical objectives can be met and instant success achieved.

Songlist: Syllables, Melody, Rhythm, Integration, Phrases, Rehearsal Techniques & Ideas, Practice Tunes

Evoking Sound set new standards for its vision of the choral conductor's role when it was published in 1998. Now significantly revised and expanded, James Jordan's groundbreaking book incorporates more than ten years of new conducting insights, pedagogy, and philosophy to create a resource that is not only informative but transformative. Unique to this edition is the inclusion of a revolutionary DVD with Dr. Jordan and Eugene Migliaro Corporon of the University of North Texas. For the first time, a conducting text contains visual examples of patterns that-with the help of state-of-the-art animation and multiple camera angles-guide you to a deeper understanding of how conducting gesture influences sound. You will come away from Evoking Sound with a renewed sense of the totality of the conducting experience and also an understanding of how to better evoke honest and meaningful sounds from your choir.

Songlist: Foreword by Morten Lauridsen, Preface to the Second Edition, Preface to the First Edition (1996), Introduction, Part I: The Foundations of Conducting, Beginnings, The Role of Self for Beginning Conductors, The Essences of Gesture: To Advocate and Connect, Allignment: Creating the Inner Space for Breath, Essential Understandings: Primal Building Blocks of Conducting Technique, Consistent Tempo: A Prerequisite and Essential Skill, Part II: The Mechanics and Architecture of Conducting, The Anticipatory Process: Readiness to Receive Sound and Breath, Breathing and Dropping In: Gesture Informed by Breath, The Architecture of Conducting Patterns, Initiating Sound through the Breath Impulse Gesture: Definition and Importance of the Ictus, Understanding the Saito Conducting Method, Pattern Mechanics and Geometry, Part III: Additional Understandings to Refine Conducting Technique, Skill, and Awareness, Your Movement Potential and Conducting: An Application of the Work of Rudolf von Laben, Teaching Body Awareness to Conductors: The Use of the Swiss Ball, Adding Weight to Conducting Gesture: Experiencing Kinesthetic Transfer, Creating Integrative Conducting Technique through Core Distal Connectivity, The Morphology of Sounds: Conducting Note Attacks, Releases, and Fermatas, Listening, The Left Hand, Receiving, Listening to, and Reacting to the Sound, Initiation of the Musical Line, Music Aptitude: Realizing Your Music Potential as A Conductor, Part IV: Score Analysis And Instrumental Conducting, and more

Vamps are one or more chords repeated over and over again. Since the harmony doesn't change much, you have time to hear ideas and develop a solo as well as find new ways to articulate and build your personal vocabulary. There are eight piano vamps on this practice CD. Each one has a different feel and character and chord progression.

Why don't classical musicians improvise? Why do jazz players get to have all the fun? And how do improvisers develop such fabulous technique and aural skills?

With this book, Jeffrey Agrell and Patrice Madura Ward-Steinman open the door to improvisation for all non-jazz musicians who thought it was beyond their ability to play extemporaneously. Gently, step by step, Agrell and Madura lead us through a series of games rather than exercises. The game format takes the pressure off of classically trained musicians, steering them away from their fixation on mistake-free performance and introducing the basic concepts of playing with music itself instead of obsessing over a perfect rendition of a written score.

States authors: "Playing duets from the ink is fun and full of musical vitamins, but it needs a complimentary aural approach to develop all-around musicianship." Vocal Improvisation Games for Singers and Choral Groups provide that complementary approach.

Songlist: Warm-Up Games, Rhythm Games, Melody Games, Harmony Games, Aural Games, Depiction Games, Style Games, Timbre Games, Dramatic Games, Text Games, Composition Games, Miscellaneous Games

Jazz Conception is a method which includes scat singing, jazz phrasing, interpretation and improvisation that helps singers at all levels to learn the language of jazz! This book/CD set features 21 solo etudes based on standard chord progressions and blues, demonstrated by Amy London, accompanied by one of todays finest, swinging New York rhythm sections: Mike LeDonne on piano, Dennis Irwin on bass, and Kenny Washington on drums. See and hear how the solist phrases and articulates, sing along with or without the vocalist on the CD and learn the language of jazz first-hand. Start out fairly easy, then get progressively more difficult. Use the etudes as a bridge to solos of the masters that are usually more complicated and involved. Learn melodies and lines that will give you a solid jazz vocabulary and musicality. The Jazz Conception Series is also perfectly suited for the class room. It can be used to develop younger students jazz style in a big band or small group. In an improvisation class the teacher can use the etudes as studies in improvisation. The Study Guide provides an analysis of each etude, along with practice assignments for each.

Songlist: Groove Blues, Amen, A Doll, Total Blues, Grease, Rose, Joe's Thing, Proxy, Father Song, Ind Line, Miles, Blue Minor, Autumn, Friends, Great Love, Two Plus Two, Lunar, Tunisia, Bird Blue, Somewhere, Passage

Michele Weir : Vocal Improvistation

Calling all current and would-be jazz musicians - you have some serious reading and woodshedding (practicing) to do, 232 pages worth! A former member of the Grammy-nominated Phil Mattson Singers, Michele Weir currently teaches at UCLA, and has taught at USC, CSU Long Beach and the Phil Mattson School. "Vocal Improvisation" is designed for singers, students and teachers of vocal jazz. There is a CD that contains vocal examples with rhythm section background. The exercises are appropriate for all levels of experience, from beginning to advanced, and also be useful to instrumentalists for developing jazz articulation. A tremendous resource of information for any jazz musician!

Songlist: Part One: Jazz Fundamentals, Chords and Scales, Chord Progressions and how They Work, Other Basics, Jazz Keyboard, Part Two: Beginning Improvisation, Getting Started, Rhythm and Syllables, Creating Melodies, Diatonic Chord Progressions, Learning to Hear the Changes, Part Three: Intermediate Improvisation Articulation, Melodic Structure, Non-Diatonic Chord Progressions, Hearing the Changes, Part Four: Advanced Improvisation, Other Aspects of Rhythm, More About the Bebop Language, Hearing the Changes Even Better!, Improvising on Jazz Standards, Part Five: Other Considerations, Creating and Retaining Interest, Practice, Part Five: Vocal Improvisation In The Classroom, Working with Groups of Students, Group Activities and Games, Appendix A: Interviews with jazz Singers, Appendix B: Solos for Transcribing, Appendix C: Index of Exercises

Learn to improvise like an instrumentalist! Artful vocal jazz improvisation requires knowing the changes, and all musicians need to understand what is happening on the musical landscape. This book will help you hear, understand and apply jazz theory so that you can solo as a complete musician. Each lesson offers a core musical concept related to harmony, melody and rhythm, integrating skills such as conducting and analysis, and reinforcing them with practical exercises. The accompanying audio tracks demonstrate techniques and let you practice improvising with piano accompaniment. The audio is accessed online using the unique code inside each book and can be streamed or downloaded. The audio files include PLAYBACK+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right.

Songlist: Creating Awareness, Groove, Swing and Vocal Sounds, Improvising Over Forms, Intervals, Scales and Chords, Improvising Over a 12-Bar Blues Form, Functional Harmony, Tensions amnd Chord Scales, Turnarounds, Patterns, Analyzing Chord Progressions, Improvising on Non-Diatonic Chords and Tensions, Patterns and Dominant Resolutions, Jazz Practice Exercises

This book in the Ramon Ricker Jazz Improvization Series is for the Advanced singer. The interval of a fourth is an integral part of jazz Improvisation and the sixty pages of reading and exercises will give the musician a good understanding of the interval's uses. The serious student should use this book as a supplement to aid and expand his harmonic and melodic vocabulary. When fourths mare mastered, They can ce applied directly to jazz improvisation and ultimately increase musicianship.

Songlist: Introduction, Application Of Fourths To Chord Changes, Exercises, Discography

'Jazz Style and Improvisation for Choirs' is an exceptional DVD designed to assist your students in achieving a comfort level witht he performance of jazz stlye and improvisation techniques within your choral program. Your students will learn and sing along with other students and on their own using this interactive DVD. Subjects and tecniques covered include: Chords Within the Blues Stle, Use of Scat Syllables, Improvising on Three Notes, Traing Fours - Listening and Learning, Putting It All Together, and Ballad Style.

Songlist: Introduction, Chords in the Blues, Adding Jazz/Scat Syllables, Part 1, Adding Jazz/Scat Syllables, Part 2, Using Three Notes to Improvise, Call and Response, Trading Fours, Part 1, Trading Fours, Part 2, Putting It All Together (Let's Sing Some Jazz!), Jazzin' it Up! (and Jazzin' it Down!), Days of Wine and Roses, Conclusion

The Scat Singing for Kids teacher's guide contains a detailed step-by-step process that creates a 'safe zone' and leads the most insecure student to uninhibited scattin' fun! Scat singing is the easiest way for kids to begin developing their jazz chops, but singing nonsense syllables as a soloist can be unnerving. Freddie the Frog and the Flying Jazz Kitten storybook introduces kids to scat singing. This teacher's guide extends the learning with group scatting, flashcard instruction, scatting partners and classroom rhythm instruments.

Songlist: Why Teach Jazz to Kids?, Jazz education sequence, Introduce Fredie the Frog, 4/4 Beat, Stress on beats 2 & 4, Swing feel, Introducing scat through a story, Echo scat - Leader/group, Echo scat - Partners, New scat words, Call and Response

How to integrate jazz and to jazz rhythm into chordal and solo repretoire. An exciting an innovative guide to learning to sing jazz. Stephanie Nakasian is listed in the Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz as one of the world's leading jazz singers. She first came to international attention in the mid-80s when she sang and toured with the vocal jazz master Jon Hendricks and Company - her "vocal jazz apprenticeship." She teaches jazz voice and vocal jazz improvisation at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. She has directed and coached vocal jazz ensembles and gives numerous workshops each year to schools and conferences. Find out things like Why an 8th note is not an 8th note, or Where are the hidden rests? A great resource for any jazz singer. Includes sample CD with practice exercises.. "All musicians (singers and instrumentalists) will sharpen their rhythm skills through this instruction." Dr. John Kuzmich, Jr. Jazz Educators Journal (IAJE)

Songlist: Outline, Introduction, Defining Jazz, Elements Of Jazz Style, Listening, Vocal Technique Ideas, Improvising And Scat - Getting Started, Examples Of Re-Interpreted - Getting It To Swing, Summary / Conclusion, Exercises Presented In The Accompanying CD

Instrumentalists, get ready for some fun. For the first time ever, you can play the exact lines as scatted by some of the greatest jazz legends of all time: Karrin Allyson, Louis Armstrong, Ann Hampton Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Roberta Gamarini, Dianne Reeves, Mel Tormé, Sarah Vaughan, and more! Of course singers can get in on the fun, too, with this unique songbook. Omnibooks are comprehensive collections featuring the most accurate note-for-note transcriptions right from the recordings and are spiral-bound for easy usability. They also include chord symbols, metronome markings and record information. This Scat Omnibook features 74 arrangements of 63 songs exactly as they were recorded. Includes an artist index and introduction on the history of scat vocals.

Songlist: You'll Have To Swing It, West Coast Blues, A-Tisket, A-Tasket, Air Mail Special, All Blues, All Of Me, Centerpiece, From This Moment On, All God's Chillun Got Rhythm, Nature Boy, Clementine, Schulie A Bop, St. Louis Blues, Bernie's Tune, Billie's Bounce (Bill's Bounce), Blue Skies, Bluesette, Body And Soul, Honeysuckle Rose, Stolen Moments, Bli Blip, Just Friends, There Will Never Be Another You, Suddenly In Walked Bud, Crazy Rhythm, Dinah, Sing, Sing, Sing, I Got Rhythm, Flat Foot Floogee, Flying Home, and more

Approaching the Standards for Jazz Vocalists is an innovative, user-friendly approach to vocal jazz improvisation. Designed for the individual or group and male or female vocalists, this book and sing-along CD contains ten classic jazz songs selected from and correlated to Approaching the Standards Volumes 1, 2 and 3. Included are the same essential features as the instrumental books: CD demo, clearly written improvisation examples, jazz vocabulary, transcription opportunities, informative composer insight and a useful discography. Whether beginning their studies or improving their vocal jazz skills, all serious singers must have this book!

Songlist: Billlie' Bounce, On The Trail, Cantaloupe Island, Summertime, Satin Doll, C Jam Blues, I Got Rhythm