Updated learning contract

Updated Learning contract




Aim of Honours project

The overall aim of my honours project is to explore how harmony shapes the course of improvisation and how it defines the sound quality of the scales being used. The project will focus on the common jazz chord progression I,II, II,V,I in order to make the project of manageable scope. By perusing this project I would aim to create an accessible guide which would explain fully the effect of harmony on improvisation, rather than the improviser simply accepting the effect through their own trial and error. This should ensure that the project is of high educational value. In addition there will be performance based examples of what is explained in the guide. The project should therefore be of appeal to jazz academics and musicians wishing to improve their improvising through a full awareness of the underlying principles of harmony. There is therefore a desire that the finished project should take a unique slant on what is already available.

Objectives of project

The subject area of my project focuses on jazz improvisation and harmony. I will concentrate my research on these areas and relate the results of the research to the focus of my project. I will study what material currently exists regarding guides on improvisation to see what common approaches to the subject are currently taken. I will also identify any limitations of these common approaches with a desire that in my guide this will be filled. I will research harmony both in terms of music theory and the natural conditions that facilitate it. My project will draw on elements from all of these subject areas and I will seek the opinion of my piano teacher who is an expert in jazz so that I can see if he can identify any further research material or offer contrary opinion. I will apply the research so that it meets the focus of my project. This would comprise of applying the research done on harmony and improvisation to explain the effect of harmony on improvisation by producing a guide. I will also seek to make performance an integral part of the outcome so that what is explained in the guide can be heard. I will focus on the common I,II,II,V,I progression used in standards such as The Girl from Ipanema, Take the A train and Mood Indigo. In order to test the project, it will be measured against the critical framework which hopefully will become established as a result of using just one chord progression. (EG,explaining the effect of harmony by referring to what is normally done in these standards that use the progression) The underlying end goal is that I produce an important educational resource as well as improving my own improvising and hopefully become an expert at the particular chord progression that I am focusing on.

Major tasks


In compiling research material I will prepare a bibliography that contains all of the resources that I think are relevant to my project. I will then document all the relevant literature obtained and looks for examples of what is listed in practice, eg common approaches to improvisation. If I find research material that I think would be beneficial to my project then this will be listed. To do this I will keep in mind the scope of my project. I would further discuss this with my piano teacher who is an expert in the field of jazz in order to obtain a second opinion. This should also help with identifying limitations that I wish to fill in my project. I will study and produce my own transcriptions in order to further contribute to the objective of understanding approaches to improvisation within the chosen chord progression. This should help contribute towards the critical framework I am measuring my project against. In researching harmony I will again identify the range of literature and write commentary on aspects which are relevant to my project. I will test the knowledge acquired about harmony and then by means of experimentation and by referring to the critical framework, test what approaches work. One of the objectives is to make performance an integral part of the project. To implement this, I will compose so that the performances accurately represent what is being explained in the guide and decide whether this will be done with an ensemble or a soloist. I will then have to record these. One of the objectives is that the project is of high educational value. In order to fulfil this I will study pedagogy to ensure that the guide uses appropriate teaching theory in explaining concepts.


Submission Deliverables

In preparing a bibliography, this could be done effectively using the blog and all the research material placed into categories. (E.g Improvisation guides, books on harmony, books on psychology, transcriptions, journals) Any commentary would therefore use these categories. In producing the guide, I will have this printed, hopefully professionally as a hard copy will be the best format for a teaching guide. In testing the knowledge acquired about harmony, this would probably be best shown on the blog as it will show the testing process stage by stage and give a realistic impression of the time scale. This process could then be described in the dissertation. As performance is to be an integral part of the project, I will have any performances and compositions recorded and handed in on disk so that this can be measured.


Resources

The resources that I need would comprise of musicians for any ensemble performances and a means to record these. I am already in a jazz trio and could probably have access to recording facilities at Stevenson in order to record compositions. If I am to get the guide printed professionally then this will probably cost some money which I am willing to fund myself. I also have a wide range of literature to refer to, most of which can be borrowed from libraries.