About this course: The blues is an American art form and the most important musical form in jazz. Although there are other formal paradigms of the blues, such as 8-bar or 16-bar, this course focuses on different incarnations of the 12-bar blues. There are considerable differences between Early Jazz blues, Swing blues, Bebop blues, Modal blues, and Post Bop blues. Each type has its unique harmonic syntax, melodic vocabulary and, associated with them, improvisational techniques. While other aspects of jazz performance practice have been constantly changing from one stylistic convention to another, the blues has never lost its identity and expressive power, and continues to exert a powerful influence on the harmonic and melodic syntax of jazz. This seven-week course explores important aspects of the blues, blues improvisation, basic keyboard textures, jazz harmonic and melodic syntax. Topics include: (1) Blues Progressions; (2) Blues and Other Scales; (3) Improvisational Tools, and others. This course will also cover valuable theoretical concepts enabling the student to master the art of jazz improvisation. Each topic will be introduced from a practical perspective with the clearly stated goal: to improve one’s improvisational skills. Jazz improvisation is rooted in spontaneity, creativity, self-expression and, at the same time, self-control and order. A unique pedagogical approach based on a one-to-one musical interaction conducted with different instrumentalists will help to reinforce many of the concepts introduced in this course and realize its stated objectives.
Taught by: Dariusz Terefenko, Associate Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media
Eastman School of Music
| Commitment | 7 weeks of study, 1-2 hours/week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
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So many ideas for blues and jazz.
Great course for anyone who is interested in music and music history. Well done.
Excellent course, not only to understand and learn about the Blues form, but also as a primer for Jazz.
Dariusz Terefenko is a great pedagogue. He makes all concepts very accessible, easy to understand and to put into practice. The course is nicely put together: packed with theory, practice tips and live examples.
I do not hesitate to recommend this course to anyone interested in playing Blues and Jazz.
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This course is more than a great introduction to blues, one of the most idiomatic genres in history.
I enjoyed it a lot and learned even more than I expected.
This course is perfect for beginners like me, who want to get familiarized with such a beautiful way of expressing ourselves.