For countless music students, and even many musicians and teachers, music like this is a scary thing.
It shouldn’t be. It doesn’t need to be. And it isn’t for us. But, how do we get there? There’s good news and bad news. It’s actually pretty easy to get there, that’s the good news. The bad news, there are no short cuts. If you learn music from the ground up, which includes learning how to properly read melodic notation, intervals, rhythms, interpretation of rhythms in different feels and genres, all of your scales, and then all of your chords, and then chord scales, it pretty much will flow naturally and it will seem like you were born for this! And you were, but just like learning any other language, it takes time.
I am a member of some very music teacher’s groups online, and you would be amazed how often even other music teaches are frustrated when a student shows up with music like this and they are desperately asking, what do we do? How can I help my student play this? The sad answer is, if they haven’t been learning everything above already, there are no short cuts.
But here’s the great news. We have students that are 10 years old and up that could play charts like this. Why? Because they have learned to read, they have learned all their scales, modes, and chords, and they have learned all their chord scales. They’ve learned to read well, including how to interpret swing rhythms, and they’re ready to put it all together. Just yesterday I was working with a young student in the 7th grade. She’ll be ready for this music by the time she hits high school. Probably in about 6 months to a year actually. She knows how to read, interpret rhythms, all her scales and modes. Right now she is mastering her 7th chords. Jazz Band charts are just a stones throw away!
By the way, this is not just jazz band music that requires this kind of reading and work. A great deal of music written for live performance and recordings follows a similar pattern, a combination of written piano music, often with cues and little bits of lines from other instruments, sections, or vocalists, written chords and also chord symbols requiring extensive understanding of four part chords with tensions, and improvisation. Playing in a military band, a cruise ship, a wedding band, or in many recording situations will often all be quite similar. Be ready for wherever the music takes you!
Need help? Even if you are an adult or a music teacher yourself (we work with many), we are here to help! But please, no short cuts. Students deserve to learn it all!