I'm trying out for my High School's Jazz Band and want an awesome piece to play on the Bass Guitar. Does anybody know some good ones?|||Most jazz band auditions concentrate on two things: sight reading and improvisation. Unless you've been told to prepare a solo piece, you may not need one at all. Ask your band director for info on what he's looking for out of auditionees.
If you do need to perform a solo piece, play any piece you play well. Concentrate on playing musically, not on the actual piece you are going to play. By "playing musically" I mean playing with steady time, good tone, and appropriate dynamics. You'll do better to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" beautifully than to butcher a Jaco Pastorius tune.
Finally, don't plan to become an awesome jazz player overnight. Playing jazz, like playing anything well, takes sustained effort over years of practice.|||It would depend on your level of playing.
If you don't listen to much jazz, start now. I recommend starting with Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Stan Getz.
As a bassist, you will definitely enjoy Jaco Pastorius, John Patitucci, Jeff Berlin, Paul Chambers and Ray Brown.
As for a good piece to play, Pitter Panther Patter by Jimmy Blanton (of the Ellington Band) is not too difficult, but very impressive. If you want something REALLY challenging, try Havona by Jaco Pastorius and Weather Report. If you need something simpler than these two, I recommend just being able to play the head and walking lines of Miles Davis' So What.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment