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July12th,2016

TheBeginnersGuidetoJazzArticulation:ColtraneTechniques
Demystified
ByForrest

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8/19/2016 TheBeginner'sGuidetoJazzArticulation:ColtraneTechniquesExplained|jazzadvice.com

Itsthesubtletiesofarticulationthatmakemelodiescomealive

But,beingsosubtle,articulationisoneofthoseconceptsthatsdifficulttograsp,orforthatmatter,even
teach.

Anditspersonal.Nearlyeveryplayerhastheirowndistinctmethodofarticulating,whichyieldsadifferent
result.

Withallthisambiguity,howcanwestarttogetaconceptofarticulationandpracticeit?

Asalways,findingaclearmodelgivesusadirectionandstartingplacetounderstandwhatitiswere
dealingwith,andofallthesolosIvelistenedto,onesticksoutinparticularwhenIthinkofarticulation

Theconceptofvariedarticulation:LearningfromColtrane
JohnColtranehasawidevarietyofarticulationtechniquesthatvaryfromalbumtoalbum,buthissoloonI
HearaRhapsodymakesuseoftheprimary3stylesthatheandothergreatplayerstendtouseinaclearand
definitiveway.

Itslikethissolowasmadetobeastudyinarticulation.Itspackedwithwaymoreinformationthanwe
needtolearnthefundamentals.

GoaheadandtakealistentoJohnColtranessoloonIHearaRhapsody:

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8/19/2016 TheBeginner'sGuidetoJazzArticulation:ColtraneTechniquesExplained|jazzadvice.com

John Coltrane - I hear a rhapsody

Ifyoulistenedclosely,youllnotethathesnotexclusivelyusingonetypeofarticulation.Ingeneral,aswell
delveintoshortly,hemixes3differentstylesofarticulation,evenwithinonephrase.

The3typesofarticulationare:

Hardarticulationanattack(tonguingforhornplayers)atthebeginningofeachsequentialnote
Slurredarticulationslurring(notonguingforhornplayers)agroupofnotestogether
Jazzarticulationthecommonlytaughtwayofarticulatingbyattacking(tonguingforhorns)on
theupbeatsandslurringintothedownbeats,heresanexample.

Mostofthetime,teacherswillsaytousejazzarticulationoneverything,butacloselookatthemasters,
andyoullquicklyrealizethattheirlinessoundalotmoreinterestingbecausetheyrenotadheringtothis
rule.

Theyreconstantlymixingthese3stylesofarticulation,likeColtranedoesinhissoloonIHeara
Rhapsody.

Theresult?

Hismelodiclinescometolifeinabeautifulandclearway.

Combininghardarticulationandslurs
ThefirsttechniquethatColtraneusesalot,istoswitchoffbetweenhardarticulationandslurring
articulation.Inotherwords,forpartofhisphrasehellusehardarticulation,andthenforanother,helluse
slurring.

Beingopposites,playingbothofthesestylesofarticulationwithinonelinehasanawesomeeffect.

Listentothisexamplefrom00:42secondsintohissolo.Firstatfullspeed:

00:00 00:00

Andnowathalfspeed:

00:00 00:00

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8/19/2016 TheBeginner'sGuidetoJazzArticulation:ColtraneTechniquesExplained|jazzadvice.com

Inthisline,hescombininghardarticulation,withslurringarticulation.Althougharticulationmarkingscant
accuratelydepictwhatTraneisdoing,Illdomybestthroughoutthislessontogiveyouanideathroughthe
notation.

YouMUSTlistentotheexamplesoverandovertohearthesubtletiesweretalkingabouthere.

HearhowTranemovesfromthestrongattacksofthe5fivenotesintothe3noteslurandhowthese
articulationtechniquesgivehislinedirectionandshape?

ContrastthattousingonekindofarticulationthroughoutthelineandyoullunderstandwhatImtalking
about.

Imagineifheplayedwithhardattacksforthewholeline.Wouldntsoundthesame,wouldit?

Itsthecontrastthatmakesitinteresting.

HeresanotherexampleofColtraneswitchingoffbetweenthesetwostylesofarticulationat2:20

00:00 00:00

Andathalfspeed:

00:00 00:00

Again,hesmixingslurswithhardattacks,butthistimehestartsoutwithslursandworksuptousingthe
hardattacks,andfinishestowardtheendofthelinewithadescendingslur.

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8/19/2016 TheBeginner'sGuidetoJazzArticulation:ColtraneTechniquesExplained|jazzadvice.com

Learningtousebothofthesestylesofarticulationisamust.

Herearesomearticulationexercisestolearnhardarticulation,slurredarticulation,andhowtomixthem
together

ARTICULATIONEXERCISE#1HardArticulation

Hardarticulationisrarelytaughtordiscussed,andsometimesevenfrownedupon.

But,youllnoticethatmostofthearticulationinthissoloishardarticulation,sothatprobablyshouldbea
signtoyouthatitsworthlearning

Foralloftheseexercises,wellmaketheharmonyeasy.Welluseasimpleminorchordvamp.Remember,
yourefocusingonarticulationrightnow,somakeeverythingelseaseasyaspossible.

UseametronomeorabackgroundtrackthatloopsaGminorchordandstartslow,perhaps80bpm.

Now,playuptheminorscalestartingfromthemajor7thuptothe9th,usinghardarticulation,beginningon
theupbeatasillustratedbelow:

Then,workonincreasingthetempoandrepeatthisoverandoveruntilplayingwithhardarticulation
becomesautomatic.

OnceyoucanconsistentlydothisinGminortoyourliking,movetotheother11keys.

ARTICULATIONEXERCISE#2Introducingslurredarticulation

Nextyoullpracticemixinginslurswithyourhardarticulation.

Slurthefirst3notes,thenusehardarticulationonthenext4notes(really5becauseyoullarticulatethe
eighthnoteonbeat1ofmeasuretwo)andthenslurthreenotes,andarticulatethelastasshownbelow:

Yes,technicallyslurringisusingnoarticulation,butformeitseasiertoconceptualizeslurringasatypeof
articulation,ratherthannoarticulation.

Asalways,conceptualizethingsthewaythatworksforyou.
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8/19/2016 TheBeginner'sGuidetoJazzArticulation:ColtraneTechniquesExplained|jazzadvice.com

Onceyoucanperformthisexercisetoyourliking,movetotheother11keys.

Bringingjazzarticulationintothemix
Jazzarticulation,asmentionedbefore,isthecommonwaythatarticulationistaughttoday.

Now,itsnotbad,infact,itsessential,andwevediscusseditbeforehere...

Themainproblemisnotwiththespecificstyleofarticulation.Itsthatweforgetthatitsonlyonewayto
articulate.

Andtomakeitmosteffectiveandsoundinteresting,itsbestmixedwithotherstylesofarticulation.

Inthefirsttwoexamples,Coltranereallydidntuseanyobviousjazzarticulation,buthedoescertainlyuse
itplentythroughoutthissolo.

Takealistentothis:

00:00 00:00

Andsloweddownforyou:

00:00 00:00

Youllhearthatinthislineat2:13,hestartsoutwithjazzarticulationbeforeheplayswithhardarticulation
andslurs.

Itsthemixingofall3stylesofarticulationthatmakethingsreallyinterestingandTranedoesthis
mixingthroughouthissolo.

Heresanotherexampleat2:51:

00:00 00:00

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8/19/2016 TheBeginner'sGuidetoJazzArticulation:ColtraneTechniquesExplained|jazzadvice.com

Andathalfspeed:

00:00 00:00

Again,hesmixingall3stylesofarticulation,reallybringinghislinetolife

Nowthatwevegotahandleonhardattacksandslurs,wellworkthroughsomeexercisestopracticejazz
articulationandhowtocombineall3stylesofarticulation

ARTICULATIONEXERCISE#3JazzArticulation

BegintopracticejazzarticulationbyusingthesamelineweusedinExercise2,onlythistime,youllapply
jazzarticulationtotheentireline.

Again,useametronomeorabackgroundtrackthatloopsaminorchord.Playupfromthemajor7th
attackingtheupbeatsandslurringintothedownbeats.

Onceyoucanperformtheexercisecompetently,practiceitinallkeys.

ARTICULATIONEXERCISE#4MixingHardandJazzArticulation

NowPracticemixinginhardarticulationwithyourjazzarticulation.

Youllplaythesameline,butmovefromjazzarticulation,tohardarticulation,andback,asshownbelow:

ARTICULATIONEXERCISE#5MixingHard,JazzandSlurArticulation

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8/19/2016 TheBeginner'sGuidetoJazzArticulation:ColtraneTechniquesExplained|jazzadvice.com

Andfinally,practicemixingall3stylesofarticulationwithinonemelodicline.

Startwithhardarticulation,thenjazzarticulation,followedbyaslurofthe3notegroup:

Playthislineoverandoverpayingcarefulattentionto:

Thecontrastbetweeneachstyleofarticulation
Theshapeoftheline
Thewaythearticulationaffectsthedynamicsoftheline

Onceyoucanperformtheexercisetoyourlikinginonekey,expandtoallkeys.

Harnessingthepowerofvariedarticulation
Articulationtrulyistheingredientthatmostpeoplearemissingbecauseitssuchadifficultconceptto
explainandwritedownonpaper.

Thenumberonewaytolearnmoreaboutarticulationistotranscribeanduseyoureartospecifically
beonthelookoutforhowYOURfavoriteplayersarticulate.

Asyouheardandsawinthislesson,itsnotascutanddryasyoumighthavethought,orhavebeenledto
believe.Thecommonjazzarticulationmethodisjustonetool,anessentialone,butjustone.

Learningtonotonlyuseallofthe3typesofarticulationwediscussedhere,butcombiningthemwithinone
continuousmelodiclinewillgiveyourimprovisedmelodiesnewlife.Itsalmostlikemakingyour
melodieschangefrom2Dto3D!

Ifyouvebeenpracticingandyoureplayingalltherightnotes,butsomethingsmissing,chancesare
workingonthesearticulationtechniqueswellhelpaton.

Practicethearticulationexercisesoneatatime,andinjustafewshortweeksyoullseehugeimprovements
inthewayyouarticulateandconceptualizeyourownmelodiclines!

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