I spent this past week at the UNC-Chapel Hill Summer Jazz workshop, and I would say it was quite the experience.
We spent the first hour and a half of the day with Dan Davis, who taught us about jazz history and even got us to improvise on the piano to the tune “So What.” We learned about journalism with Andy Bechtel in another class, which leads me to this post about what I learned from the UNC-Chapel Hill Summer Jazz workshop. There were many takeaways from the concerts to the people that teach here to the passion of the students that attend, but here are my top 4 takeaways from this workshop.
1. It don’t mean a thing if it don’t got that swing.
I wasn’t really big into jazz styles of music until this week. I would say that I was exposed to a lot of different types of jazz and really liked fusion jazz from the 1970s. I had a good time learning about the history of jazz and how it was influenced by the socioeconomic status of different groups in the U.S. Dan Davis made it engaging and so interesting to listen to while going through the significant events and important people of jazz. I would say that I never knew how interwoven jazz was with the journey African Americans had in this country and how apparent it was in the music of jazz once it was pointed out.
2. Live tweeting was very enjoyable.
This was my first time tweeting or even having a Twitter account in the first place. It was cool to explore social media sites and see how journalists use and gather information from these platforms. I went to a jazz concert on Thursday while live-tweeting, and it was actually very engaging. I paid more attention and tried to capture the big moments in the concert. Although my Twitter account was brand new and had 0 followers, it still felt very much so like I was documenting and sharing the moments of the event to whoever wanted to see what it was like in the future.
3. Improve is hard.
In our piano class, Dan Davis gave us a very simple modal-style piece to improve over. He gave us two chords to play which were Dmaj7 and EbMaj7. I had a fun time learning the chords and learned about what notes sounded good with those chords. But the last performance and playing test really gave me a taste of what these jazz musicians live through. The quick thinking on your feet trying to convey stories and emotions through your note choices without getting caught up in the technical details opened my eyes and gave me a deeper understanding of jazz. I would say it made me appreciate the soloists more than I ever had before.
4. Live music is a special thing.
I was never a person that went to concerts of any kind of music. I only really heard the music live through street performers while walking by. But seeing live music in this format, from being in the audience while a band played on stage, or dancing in front of the band while they jam together, it was really an experience I have never thought of it being. I would take away that I would like to go to more events for live music and the atmosphere it created was really a joy to experience.
Overall, I would recommend that people take this course and come to the workshop. It’s a great way to get your college credits, and doing so while having a good time spells a win-win in my book. 10/10 would do it again.