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Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by BRIGGS
I've been tasked to create some cheery jazzy stuff for the youtubez!!
I'm not used to programming jazz, but I have a jazz background.
I have the instrumentation down...
Acoustic drums, double bass, piano...I doubt I could program a convincing trumpet!
I'm thinking of grabbing some jazz progressions and maybe some loops.
Any advice will be considered!
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by diminished
What exactly are you asking for?
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by Djstarski
BRIGGS wrote: ↑30 Aug 2019
I've been tasked to create some cheery jazzy stuff for the youtubez!!
I'm not used to programming jazz, but I have a jazz background.
I have the instrumentation down...
Acoustic drums, double bass, piano...I doubt I could program a convincing trumpet!
I'm thinking of grabbing some jazz progressions and maybe some loops.
Any advice will be considered!
if you PM me your Email address , i can send you a demo track made in reason some time ago by an amazing musician .
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by BRIGGS
diminished wrote: ↑30 Aug 2019
What exactly are you asking for?
I'm not sure, I'm just so used to making electronic music...jazz seems like a huge challenge.
I guess, I'm just trying to figure out what I'm getting myself into!
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by BRIGGS
Djstarski wrote: ↑30 Aug 2019
BRIGGS wrote: ↑30 Aug 2019
I've been tasked to create some cheery jazzy stuff for the youtubez!!
I'm not used to programming jazz, but I have a jazz background.
I have the instrumentation down...
Acoustic drums, double bass, piano...I doubt I could program a convincing trumpet!
I'm thinking of grabbing some jazz progressions and maybe some loops.
Any advice will be considered!
if you PM me your Email address , i can send you a demo track made in reason some time ago by an amazing musician .
Done
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by NekujaK
This is potentially a big can of worms, but there are some simple ways of creating a quick & simple jazz-sounding track:
- Definitely borrow a chord progression from an existing track. Chord progressions aren't copyrighted, so you're not stealing.
- Drums: get some style-appropriate drum loops. EZdrummer has jazz MIDI packs, Loop Loft has quite a few jazz loops, and there are others.
- Bass: Try to compliment the drum groove, keep it simple, but if you want to occasionally get adventurous, stick to the pentatonic scale.
- Piano: This will be the most challenging part. EZkeys is your best friend here, with the jazz MIDI expansion. But if you don't have EZkeys, listen to some jazz piano to hear how the chords are being comped. Chord voicins are important - one simple approach is to avoid including the same notes between the left and right hand. For solos or melodies, just use your ear and improvise some lines, using pentatonic and ionian scales. That's just the basics - it can definitely get more complex very quickly.
Good luck!
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by Timmy Crowne
Since your background is jazz, you probably know how many sub-genres there are. I'd suggest really narrowing it down to a specific era to draw some inspiration.
30s: early standards like Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Fats Waller
40s: big-band swing stuff like Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Benny Goodman
50s: bebop and modal stuff like Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, John Coltrane
60s: latin jazz like Tito Puente, Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz
70s: jazz fusion like late Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorius, Sun Ra, Pharaoh Sanders, Dexter Wansel, Steely Dan
80s: progressive and smooth jazz like Grover Washington Jr, Joe Sample, George Benson, Pat Metheny
(Of course there's a lot of greats I'm leaving out and there's also a lot of overlap between eras, but that categorization helps me make some sense of it. )
Now as far as programming something convincing in a DAW, it's probably going more challenging the farther back you go for inspiration. There's also a fair amount of orchestration, especially in the 40s stuff. If you can, you're probably gonna want to play in as much as possible because the dynamics are CRUCIAL in this kind of stuff. Get used to playing swung 8th notes. Experiment with drop and rootless voicings for your chords. Secondary dominants and 2-5-1-s are pretty much standard in everything except the modal stuff. There are a ton of YouTube tutorials that delve into all these concepts. There are also MIDI files of jazz standards floating around the web you can probably get your hands on. NekujaK's suggestions are very practical too.
Congratulations on the work, wish you the best!
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by esselfortium
If you happen to own the full version of Kontakt,
Carpenter Trombone is a great freebie and
Sensual Sax is only $20. Those are both very capable of playing melodic lead parts.
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by BRIGGS
NekujaK wrote: ↑30 Aug 2019
This is potentially a big can of worms, but there are some simple ways of creating a quick & simple jazz-sounding track:
- Definitely borrow a chord progression from an existing track. Chord progressions aren't copyrighted, so you're not stealing.
- Drums: get some style-appropriate drum loops. EZdrummer has jazz MIDI packs, Loop Loft has quite a few jazz loops, and there are others.
- Bass: Try to compliment the drum groove, keep it simple, but if you want to occasionally get adventurous, stick to the pentatonic scale.
- Piano: This will be the most challenging part. EZkeys is your best friend here, with the jazz MIDI expansion. But if you don't have EZkeys, listen to some jazz piano to hear how the chords are being comped. Chord voicins are important - one simple approach is to avoid including the same notes between the left and right hand. For solos or melodies, just use your ear and improvise some lines, using pentatonic and ionian scales. That's just the basics - it can definitely get more complex very quickly.
Good luck!
Thank you!
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by BRIGGS
Timmy Crowne wrote: ↑30 Aug 2019
Since your background is jazz, you probably know how many sub-genres there are. I'd suggest really narrowing it down to a specific era to draw some inspiration.
30s: early standards like Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Fats Waller
40s: big-band swing stuff like Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Benny Goodman
50s: bebop and modal stuff like Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, John Coltrane
60s: latin jazz like Tito Puente, Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz
70s: jazz fusion like late Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorius, Sun Ra, Pharaoh Sanders, Dexter Wansel, Steely Dan
80s: progressive and smooth jazz like Grover Washington Jr, Joe Sample, George Benson, Pat Metheny
(Of course there's a lot of greats I'm leaving out and there's also a lot of overlap between eras, but that categorization helps me make some sense of it. )
Now as far as programming something convincing in a DAW, it's probably going more challenging the farther back you go for inspiration. There's also a fair amount of orchestration, especially in the 40s stuff. If you can, you're probably gonna want to play in as much as possible because the dynamics are CRUCIAL in this kind of stuff. Get used to playing swung 8th notes. Experiment with drop and rootless voicings for your chords. Secondary dominants and 2-5-1-s are pretty much standard in everything except the modal stuff. There are a ton of YouTube tutorials that delve into all these concepts. There are also MIDI files of jazz standards floating around the web you can probably get your hands on. NekujaK's suggestions are very practical too.
Congratulations on the work, wish you the best!
Oh, you had me at "40s: big-band swing stuff"!!!
Rootless voicings on piano should work! Or, maybe some inversions!
Thanks!
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by NekujaK
If money is no object, and you're looking for that 30s-40s big band jazz sound, check out the Swing and Swing More Kontakt libraries from ProjectSAM:
https://projectsam.com/libraries/swing/
https://projectsam.com/libraries/swing-more/
They're loaded with all the instruments you'll ever need, and horn ensembles playing chords, appropriately voiced. They're expensive libraries, but are perfect for this style of music.
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by Djstarski
BRIGGS wrote: ↑30 Aug 2019
I've been tasked to create some cheery jazzy stuff for the youtubez!!
I'm not used to programming jazz, but I have a jazz background.
I have the instrumentation down...
Acoustic drums, double bass, piano...I doubt I could program a convincing trumpet!
I'm thinking of grabbing some jazz progressions and maybe some loops.
Any advice will be considered!
This is the demo i sent you . All made in Reason 2.5 . Believe it or not .
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by motuscott
Help!!! Jazz is a great song title.
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by BRIGGS
Djstarski wrote: ↑30 Aug 2019
BRIGGS wrote: ↑30 Aug 2019
I've been tasked to create some cheery jazzy stuff for the youtubez!!
I'm not used to programming jazz, but I have a jazz background.
I have the instrumentation down...
Acoustic drums, double bass, piano...I doubt I could program a convincing trumpet!
I'm thinking of grabbing some jazz progressions and maybe some loops.
Any advice will be considered!
This is the demo i sent you . All made in Reason 2.5 . Believe it or not .
Amazing!
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by BRIGGS
motuscott wrote: ↑30 Aug 2019
Help!!! Jazz is a great song title.
lolz!!!
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by BRIGGS
The youtube demos sound great!
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 30 Aug 2019
by BRIGGS
Guys, It looks like I have everything I need! Thanks for the help!
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 31 Aug 2019
by Djstarski
BRIGGS wrote: ↑30 Aug 2019
Guys, It looks like I have everything I need! Thanks for the help!
Did you get the email i sent you ?
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 31 Aug 2019
by BRIGGS
Djstarski wrote: ↑31 Aug 2019
BRIGGS wrote: ↑30 Aug 2019
Guys, It looks like I have everything I need! Thanks for the help!
Did you get the email i sent you ?
Yes, Thanks!
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 31 Aug 2019
by diminished
I just wanted to mention ChordLine. It helps me a great deal in assembling my "chord colours" for a track.
Because it gives you access to basically every chord there is, I'd just browse inside the RE and look for unconventional or jazzy sounding ones. Then I'd save them to keys and play around: which chord could follow which one? And soon enough nice and new chord progressions/musical patterns/themes will emerge.
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 31 Aug 2019
by Djstarski
BRIGGS wrote: ↑31 Aug 2019
Djstarski wrote: ↑31 Aug 2019
Did you get the email i sent you ?
Yes, Thanks!
ok good . i`d love to hear the finished track .
Re: Help!!! Jazz
Posted: 31 Aug 2019
by BRIGGS
Djstarski wrote: ↑31 Aug 2019
BRIGGS wrote: ↑31 Aug 2019
Yes, Thanks!
ok good . i`d love to hear the finished track .
We'll see what happens!!