Swinging On The Shoulders Of Giants
(2025)
author(s): Jacob J Johnson
published in: Research Catalogue
This work is intended for those who want to learn more about the methods and arranging techniques that can be used to play the same composition in different ways and how to arrange one's drumming within jazz music. This work is not only aimed at drummers. All the concepts, methods, and analyses I present in this work are also applicable to other instruments.
The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between transcription and creative improvisation in jazz drumming. In order to fulfill this aim the following research questions where formulated:
In what ways does transcribing and analyzing my favorite drummers' playing enhance my musicality and personal musical voice?
What characterizes the idiolect of these four drummers?
How does an established jazz drummer accompany a soloist, and is it possible to hear a clear interaction in their playing with each other?
How does my comping and solo playing develop through the process of transcribing and emulating the performance of these iconic drummers?
In this master's thesis, I have chosen to analyze how four different jazz drummers play the same composition. The song I have selected is one of my favorite jazz standards, titled You & The Night & The Music. This is a fairly well-played jazz standard with several different versions and arrangements.
The drummers I have chosen for this thesis are Gary Novak, Niclas Campagnol, Philly Joe Jones, and Jukkis Uotila, who, in my opinion, are some of the best drummers in the world. I have transcribed these drummers’ comping and solo playing, and I have also learned to play the transcriptions myself.
I have done this to analyze what I can learn from it and to absorb the knowledge and skills of these drummers so that I can apply them to my own playing. I have also recorded myself imitating and replicating my transcriptions. This was done to observe what I can come up with spontaneously when improvising and how I interpret and perform the same composition and arrangement as they do.
In this work, I have also analyzed the equipment that drummers use. I have done this to understand what equipment I need to achieve a certain sound or feel in a song. As a final step, I have recorded my own version of this song together with a jazzband to demonstrate my hopefully newly acquired knowledge and interpretation.
This work has developed my musicianship and has also expanded my personal musical toolbox, enhancing and improving my bag of licks. I have also gained a deeper understanding of how interaction works between different instruments in a jazz band, as well as how improvisation and interplay function between a soloist and accompaniment.
The transcriptions have also improved my technical ability in both my hands and feet, and I have had to practice intensely to be able to play some of the drum grooves and solo phrases that they are playing. My sight-reading ability has also improved, and I have become much faster at reading advanced drum notation. The work has also given me an expanded knowledge of the equipment drummers use and why they choose their drums, cymbals, drumheads, and drumsticks.
Authenticity in Transcribing
(2024)
author(s): Marie-Lou Debels
published in: KC Research Portal
This research explores the concept of authenticity in transcription. It is applied to Béla Bartók's Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm, movements one, two and five. By prioritising different aspects, the overall look of the transcription is shaped. Examples of these aspects are the sonic possibilities of the chosen or original instrumentation, the general style of the composer and the piece, one's own musical context, the technical abilities of the players... All these aspects could be considered as a form of authenticity. The first chapter elaborates on the concept and discusses methods of transcription. The second chapter analyses the history of the classical guitar, including its transcriptions. The guitar's search for a place in the classical mainstream has encouraged guitarists throughout the centuries to write transcriptions. Throughout history, the concept of authenticity in these transcriptions has changed. The final chapter discusses the entire process of transcribing, from the intentions behind selecting the piece to the obstacles and dilemmas that arose during the process. It shows that the transcribing part is as important as the individual practice and rehearsals. They alternate and influence each other. The Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm were of great importance to Bartók. Today they are not as popular as his Six Romanian Folk Dances but given their historical context they deserve to be heard more in today's classical music scene. Finally, it becomes clear that the abstract musical idea of the composer should be kept clear from the beginning to the end of the transcription process.
FRIEDRICH GRÜTZMACHER Editions and transcriptions for cello
(2016)
author(s): Ivan Nogueira Martinez
published in: Codarts
The cello - as the violin or the string instruments in general - has a long and important tradition from hundreds of years. We know about many masters of the cello who could really master the instrument and contribute with something significant for its development in technique and style of playing. I could mention many names: Boccherini, Duport, Kummer, Popper, Tortelier… All these cellist lived in different moments of the history, and they did important contributions to the cello. Those contributions made the cello be like it is today, the way we play it and the way we practice it in classical music. Are we aware of that?
In order to be a good player, we need to spend a lot of time working on the technique. It needs to be so good that we can master our instrument for playing the great repertoire of the instrument. Nowadays, one of the most spread ways of practicing the technique is by playing studies. Every instrument has its studies, which every professional classical musician must have played in order to become a good player.
I always enjoyed playing studies on the cello. During my growing period as a cellist, I played many of the most important works of this kind: starting with S.Lee or Dotzauer, continuing with Duport, Franchomme, Popper, Grützmacher… Every method has been written in a different time, for a different purpose, and to develop different technical skills.
Some years ago, my curiosity about this topic became more intense. It happened in a period where I came back into the practising of the Duport studies after many years of having done so. I realized that the edition I was using was made by the cellist Pierre Fournier (French cellist, 1906-1986). I wondered how the original version of Duport would be like, and where my edition came from. What I found out was something that changed my vision of the work and woke up my curiosity on the field of editions. All the modern versions of this Duport work are based in the edition made by F. Grützmacher. His edition is very different to the original. It reflects the way of playing and the aesthetics of other different period of time and it also reflects the strong personality of this cellist. Those modern versions are closer to the Grützmacher version than to the original, what made me think that this edition may have been so important and popular at its time that it became the standard version of the work. At that moment I started to be interested about Grützmacher. Who was him? How much did he influenced the modern cello style of playing? What can I learn from him?
Jazz Drummer Elvin Jones: His Musical Heritage
(2016)
author(s): Peter Primus Frosch
published in: KC Research Portal
Abstract
Name: Peter Primus Frosch
Main Subject: Jazz Drums
Research supervisor: Patrick Schenkius
Title of Research:
Jazz Drummer Elvin Jones – His Musical Heritage
Research Question:
What are the methods of Elvin Jones' playing and how did famous jazz drummers deal with his heritage?
Summary of Results:
The American jazz drummer Elvin Jones is one of the most famous musicians in jazz history. Nevertheless due to the writers' lack of ability to play the drums the existing research is very unsatisfying from a jazz drummer's perspective. Based on a wide array of transcriptions I put together several methods and concepts for accompaniment as well as drum solos developed by Elvin Jones. I also identified two predecessors to specfic stylistic approaches. The second chapter is about Jack Dejohnette, Jeff 'Tain' Watts and Brian Blade and how they dealt with his heritage.
My main conclusion is that aspects of Elvin's style especially the method of 'play the drum set as one instrument' completely changed the approach of playing the drums in Jazz. Specific characteristics can be found in the better part of contemporary jazz drummers and therefore it is essential to deal with his concepts and ideas. This research helped me to increase my awareness of various stylistics of modern jazz drum set playing and at the same time I got an idea on how to apply those methods.
CV:
Peter Primus Frosch (drums)
born on the 11.12.1990
He started playing drums at age 5. After school in 2010 he enrolled at the Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität studying with the likes of Mario Gonzi and Walter Grassmann. Since fall 2014 he is now continuing his master studies at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, where he is under the guidance of the great dutch jazz drummer Eric Ineke.
Awards: Fidelio competition finalist in 2012 and 2013, winner of the audience award in 2012; Most promising award“ by Marianne Mendt Jazznachwuchsförderung; winner of „New faces of Slovak Jazz“
2014 best drummer at Generations International Jazzfestival Frauenfeld (Switzerland) - Jury: Lewis Nash, Seamus Blake, Don Friedman
2015: Winner of the Herbert Schedlmayer Jazz Stipendium
workshops with Louis Hayes, Jimmy Cobb, Lewis Nash, David Hazeltine, Don Friedman, Seamus Blake among others;
played with:
Roman Schwaller, Clemens Salesny, Stephan Plecher, Jure Pukl, Daniel Nösig, Oliver Kent, Franz Hautzinger, Adrian Mears, Peter Herbert, Reinhard Micko, Klaus Gesing etc.
Modern vertical thinking (Triad pairs over seventh chords)
(2015)
author(s): David Reschofsky
published in: KC Research Portal
Modern jazz uses triad chords a lot. I would like to know all possible triad substitutions over seventh chords, so I will also examine this in my thesis. What I hear and what I transcribed from modern jazz musicians is that they know the main music systems and the possibilities very well. I will listen to and transcribe solos from my favourite artists and find out what kind of scales and triad combinations they use. I will then examine these systems to discover what kind of triad chords there are and how we can use them in an irregular way. So my main question is, how can I use the concept of triad pairs to express the sound that is in my head?
Versions With Subconscious And Conscious Use Of Licks
(last edited: 2025)
author(s): Jenny Odermatt
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
The attempts to use the licks consciously and subconsciously are presented and analyzed here.
Here are some important criteria that help to evaluate an improvisation comprehensively and ensure that both technical ability and creative expression are taken into account. A musician who can master these elements shows not only that they know their craft, but also that they are able to spontaneously develop and express musical ideas. So it's not just about the ability to „hit the right notes“, but also about which elements are used and, above all, the „how“ and „why“ of the notes that are played. This includes left hand, phrasing, articulation, dynamics, timing, rhythm, motivic development, the art of repetition, the contrast between simplicity and complexity, licks and overall impression.
To evaluate an improvisation that includes conscious and subconscious elements such as licks, I use the following questions and criteria:
Conscious Use Of Licks: Were licks used purposefully and creatively to shape style, expression and structure? Were the timing and dynamic decisions made consciously?
Subconscious Use Of Licks: Does a natural, flowing improvisation unfold that reflects the player's personal musical language? Does the improvisation seem spontaneous and individual?
Overall Picture: Does everything fit together? Is the improvisation musically coherent and emotionally expressive?
Technical Realisation: Is the improvisation technically precise? Does the musician show flexibility and adaptability?
Evaluating Improvisational Skills: A 10-Point System
Award points (1-10 points):
1-3 Insufficient: The improvisation shows major deficiencies in the aspects mentioned.
4-6: Sufficient To Good: There is recognizable progress, but also weaknesses in some areas.
7-9: Very Good: The improvisation shows strong control and creative approaches, with few weaknesses.
10: Excellent: An exceptionally well thought out and executed improvisation that is both technically and musically at the highest level.
Left Hand:
Phrasing: / Articulation:
Dynamic:
Timing:
Rhythm:
Motivic Development:
Art of Repetition:
Contrast of Simplicity and Complexity:
Licks:
Overall Impression:
Remark:
Modern jazz uses triad chords a lot. I would like to know all possible triad substitutions over seventh chords, so I will also examine this in my thesis. What I hear and what I transcribed from modern jazz musicians is that they know the main music systems and the possibilities very well. I will listen to and transcribe solos from my favourite artists and find out what kind of scales and triad combinations they use. I will then examine these systems to discover what kind of triad chords there are and how we can use them in an irregular way. So my main question is, how can I use the concept of triad pairs to express the sound that is in my head?open exposition comments (0)