Menu

Reasons to learn jazz singing

“Jazz music is the power of now” – that’s how jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis sums up the unique character of this genre. Improvising, composing music on the fly, letting the music just flow out of your mind is what makes jazz so special. Using your voice to perform in this genre can be a great opportunity to learn and grow, not only musically, but also as a person. Let’s take a closer look at why jazz singing is definitely worth discovering.

Broaden your musical horizon.

Playing jazz is a unique experience. While it is easy to get started, you learn a bunch of musical skills along the way.
Firstly, jazz is rich in harmony: you can discover the entire harmonic spectrum even beyond the diatonic scale. Triads, seventh chords, extended chords or altered chords – knowing how they work will change the way you listen to music. Plus, this knowledge can be applied to all kinds of music, for example, it will be very useful when performing a pop song. There are a lot of jazz standards that will guide you.
Secondly, jazz is a great place to improve your musicality. Since you are singing by ear and not reading from sheet music, your ear for music and the right notes will definitely get better.
Thirdly, improvisation plays a big part in jazz. Imagine if you could just start scatting out a whole song that you have just made up in your head, wherever you are! As jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis said about the improvisational nature of jazz: ” There is no script. It’s conversation. The emotion is given to you by musicians as they make split-second decisions to fulfill what they feel the moment requires”. These skills are not only great for music, but also for your personal growth in becoming comfortable and confident in making spontaneous decisions.

Express your personality.

Josh Rocklage, 4/4/2018 – https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1522863602463-afebb8886ab2?ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=870&q=80

Jazz singing gives you the freedom to use your voice in every way that’s possible. You can sing, hum, scat, scream or cry to express your emotions. Putting your soul into jazz singing can help you process your feelings.
Another aspect of the freedom to experiment with your voice and explore what you can do with it is that you can learn a lot about your singing abilities. Along the way, you can develop your own unique singing style that is instantly recognisable, something you can identify with and that expresses your authentic personality.

Make music with others.

Like any kind of music, jazz can be performed together. But in jazz, each instrument is equal to the others – including the voice. It is not just you singing the melody and the rest of the band accompanying you – you are all creating the music together, maybe even improvising and inventing it in real time! This requires not only a great deal of musical knowledge and intuition, but also teamwork.

Learn about the fascinating history of jazz.

Jazz has its roots in gospel, blues and ragtime, and its origins are linked to the history of the African-American community. The fight for freedom, equality and other human rights is reflected in many legendary jazz songs, such as Mississippi Goddam by Nina Simone. By exploring jazz singing, you will discover valuable history and important messages. This innovative musical form has also shaped and deeply influenced many modern genres such as rock and pop – as the ‘mother’ of these related genres, it opens the door to many other types of music.

To sum up, jazz singing is a musical genre for explorers and adventurers: Not only can you develop great musical skills, but you can also have a lot of fun screaming, humming, scatting or imitating instruments however you like! And if your audience or your inner voice is not so impressed with all your vocal experiments, remember this inspiring quote from jazz great Ella Fitzgerald:

“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”

It’s time to put some swing in your life!

References: