Yes, He Really Can Carry a Tune

Spring 2000 Volume 1

Yes, He Really Can Carry a Tune
by Dean Sorenson

Since the release of the Standard of Excellence Jazz Ensemble Method, I have taken a healthy amount of good-natured ribbing over the quality, or lack thereof, of my singing. Many directors and students have expressed confusion to me that the examples I sing in the rhythm studies are “non-pitched”, despite the exercises being notated at specific pitches in the books. I would like to clarify the situation, and attempt to convince everyone that I really can sing a tune if I want to!
     There are different goals that we hope to achieve by using singing or vocalization as an instrumental rehearsal technique. One goal involves training students’ ears to hear the harmonies or melodies they will be playing. If this is the goal it is obvious that students must adhere strictly to correct pitches. A different goal is to teach rhythmic accuracy and consistent articulation. Since pitch is not a part of this second goal, it is not necessary to worry about it when singing exercises like the rhythm studies. It is better for the students to concentrate on getting the rhythms and articulations correct, without worrying about the pitch at all. Singing the rhythm is a great help in internalizing the “feel” of the rhythm, and singing actual pitches can hinder this process. In rehearsing a piece I will have students sing their parts for 8 or 16 bars at a time. These parts are, more often than not, out of the students vocal range. Another potential problem is that jazz ensemble parts, especially inner parts, can be very difficult to sing from a melodic perspective. By omitting the worry about singing correct pitches students concentrate on rhythm and articulation and can get comfortable with those aspects before they even put the horn to their face. Training students to “feel” rhythms in this way improves their ensemble playing as well as their sight reading.
     Early on in the process of creating the method, we decided that we would notate the rhythms using pitches rather than other common forms of non-pitched notation, such as “X” noteheads or parenthesized noteheads. The reason is clarity on the page. We thought these alternative forms of articulation were difficult to read and hard on the eyes. We thought we would do better by writing it in the easiest way possible to read, and demonstrate on the CD how the exercise was supposed to sound. While there is nothing wrong with singing the exercises at their written pitches (they are all in unison after all), students will be more comfortable rhythmically if they concentrate solely on the rhythms and articulations.
     In recording the exercises I wanted to provide as accurate an example as I could on the CD, thus the “non-pitched” wonder. Students who are self conscious about it can rely on the safety of the herd. They should be reminded that they will never be heard individually, only as a group, and they should always strive to emulate the RHYTHMIC feel of the singing when the time comes to play their instruments.
     Which brings us to the final sentence in the opening paragraph: Can I really sing a tune? Put it this way, I have been a professional trombonist all my adult life and have been hired by countless bandleaders and contractors. The only person who ever hired me as a singer was Bruce Pearson.

Dean Sorenson
School of Music
University of Minnesota

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