Study what made Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea’s compositions timeless and unique
Saturdays 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm January 16 to March 6, 2021

This class will take a classic, traditional approach to composition and look at how to apply this to modern jazz. Tunes from different eras will be studied and broken down so the student will recognize common compositional elements. These will be used in the student’s own composing. Basic musical elements – melody, harmony, rhythm, form – will be discussed and identified in classic tunes across the jazz spectrum. These techniques will inform a comparison of the compositional styles of Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, two important composer/player/leaders whose long careers began in the 1960’s. Stylistic elements will be studied, then applied. Additionally, students will be introduced to a method I call compositional calisthenics and be invited to write, write, write. There will be a focus on the melodic language of bebop, and we’ll take a look at jazz keyboard harmony techniques.