Last week I participated in the AMIS (The Association for Music in International Schools) Jazz Workshop, which was an intensive 3-day program teaching students about jazz which culminated in a performance for our friends and family.Even though I’ve been playing piano for well over 10 years, I’ve only been classically trained. I started listening to jazz over the summer and I am trying to step outside my comfort zone and thus I joined the AMIS Jazz Workshop. The workshop lasted from 8 am to 8:30 pm every day, so I practically spent over 36 hours playing, listening and learning about jazz. It was also the most piano I’ve ever played in that short amount of time.
The teacher that worked specifically with my group was a drummer and experienced jazz musician, Jeff Pellaton. Him and many other teachers gave me advice on how to comp during solos of different instruments (eg. how I could afford to be louder during a brass solo, but should voice my chords as high as possible during a bass solo), as well as how to voice my chords so they would be more varied and interesting. It was a crazy three days in which I did my very best to absorb all the new information thrown at me – don’t put the root on the bass, place 3rd and 7ths on the left hand, leave the roots to the bass player, utilize the full range of the instrument, use 7ths and 9ths, etc.
A key element of jazz music is improvisation. I went into the workshop not really knowing how to improvise, but with the mindset that I would improvise loudly and confidently, regardless of how nervous I felt about playing the wrong note. I turned out, I played so, so many wrong notes, but the important thing was keeping a good rhythm, which I could do, and eventually finding my way back to a “prettier” note. Because I let go of my inhibitions, I found that by the end of the first day, I could improvise pretty decently. The whole thing led up to an informal performance in which I played two jazz standards, Autumn Leaves and Blue Bossa.
The AMIS Jazz Workshop was a great experience and taught me a lot about jazz, but more importantly, about myself. I realize now that there is no point in being afraid to make mistakes, especially when learning a new thing, as everyone makes mistakes and our inhibitions and fear of judgement will only hold us back. My goal is to continue to learn to play jazz piano and improve for next year’s AMIS Jazz Festival.
