Lesson 1: Articulation and Vibrato

Jazz is played legato, smooth and with no gaps between the notes. If you are playing from written music the notes are always assumed to be legato unless marked otherwise. When playing long strings of eighth notes during an improvisation they are almost always legato and may be played with the articulations “Ta Da” with “Ta” on the downbeat and “Da” on the upbeat. Quarter notes may be played long or short depending on the situation but when you play them short you use the articulation “Dot” so that the note takes up the whole beat. A series of quarter notes may be played “Dot, Dot, Dot etc. so though you are articulating the beginning and ending of each quarter note THERE IS NO SPACE BETWEEN NOTES. For the beginner this is harder than it sounds and requires practice. Quarter notes are also sometimes played long short, long short. Below is a sample of articulations. You may click on the picture of the sheet music to get a full size image.



Most beginners leave space between notes which sounds horrible and also has the unwanted effect of making the downbeat eighth notes too short ruining the swing feel which I will be discussing in the next lesson. You should strive to play evenly without sudden increases or decreases in volume when improvising.

Where and how much you use vibrato is a matter of personal taste. Jazz musicians use what is called “Jug vibrato” where a long tone begins with no vibrato and when added later in the note it is started as a slow vibrato that gradually becomes a faster vibrato by the end of the note. This again takes some practice, some players can do it naturally, others have a more difficult time learning how to control their vibrato. A good way to practice is just pick a scale in the middle of your instrument and play each note so that it begins with a slow vibrato and slowly quickens and then slows again.

If you are a beginner the best thing you can do for yourself is buy a cheap cassette recorder with a built in condenser mike. TAPE EVERYTHING YOU PRACTICE and listen to it. I know this can amount to nothing less than torture for some but it will save you hours and hours of practice and more importantly you will learn how to listen to yourself objectively. Many people who just listen to jazz are attracted to the romance as in dark smoke filled bars with candle-lit tables blah, blah but if you are really serious about playing it is time to set such nonsense aside and approach your music with a no-nonsense attitude and to develop a habit of self honesty when you listen to a recording of your practice efforts. No one lives for ever and time is short so be as ruthless with yourself as possible if you want to advance quickly.