Suggestions wanted for some Dixieland / Jazz sheet music

[berntd]

Hello

Ok, I am still a beginner but I am itching to get my hands on some traditional jazz music just for trombone.
A couple of things like down by the Riverside , Muskrat Ramble etc. would be nice.

I did see a few books online but they moistly seem to require a band - which I do not have.

If anyone has any suggestions, it will be greatly appreciated.

Best regards
Bernt

[Grah]

I would suggest that you get yourself some software for practicing. The best program, with great accompaniment, is Band-in-a-Box. With this program you can enter tunes in treble clef and quickly convert to bass clef. Plus It solves the fact that you don't have a band. I have often said that Band-in-a-Box swings better than most of the musicians I play with. Actually, because you are playing with real musicians anyway when you use their RealTracks.

The best book of Dixieland tunes I know is "The Real Dixieland Book" published by Hal Leonard Corporation. Unfortunately there does not seem to be a bass clef version of this book as there is for many of the other Hal Leonard Real Books. But with the software I recommended, this would not pose a problem.

https://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.htm

[AndrewMeronek]

Good suggestions on the book and Band-In-A-Box.

But, don't discount the value of playing along with your favorite recordings, hundreds of times. You can really learn a lot doing that.

[berntd]

Whilst I would love to, I am not at a competency level to play along with my favourite music/artist (Gunhild Carling).
It is just too fast and too much going on to play along. I have tried a few times but end up just standing there listening. In fact,
In all that music, I have never figured out who actually plays what exactly.

That band in a box sounds interesting but will I not still require some sheet music to get started with that?

Regards
BErnt

[AndrewMeronek]

Whilst I would love to, I am not at a competency level to play along with my favourite music/artist (Gunhild Carling).
It is just too fast and too much going on to play along. I have tried a few times but end up just standing there listening. In fact,
In all that music, I have never figured out who actually plays what exactly.

Gunhild is pretty awesome.

The standard beginning is a choice of two places: the vanilla melody and the bass line. No ornaments/extra notes until you actually know the melody/bass (which ever you're working on) and then add or subtract one note at a time and (playing your modification to the melody/bass line several times) use your ears to judge whether you like each alteration on its own. You don't have to jump right into all the craziness that Gunhild can do right from the start.

[BGuttman]

I would strongly suggest you begin where most of the traditional Dixieland players began: with music of the New Orleans era and descendents. You can hear a lot of that stuff for free on www.redhotjazz.com. For trombonists, listen to Miff Mole, Eddie Edwards, Kid Ory, Tom Brown, and Jack Teagarden. These are the guys who were in at the beginning.

As to who does what, the traditional Dixieland lineup consists of a 3 or 4 horn "Front Line" and a "Second Line" that is primarily the rhythm instruments. The classic 3 horn Front Line consists of Cornet, Clarinet, and Trombone. A 4th horn would be a Tenor Sax. The cornet is the guardian of the melody. The clarinet does an obbligato over the melody. The trombone generally does takes the part of a Euphonium in a marching band: playing a countermelody.

There used to be books for small combos to show how Dixieland works. Often these had names like "Combo Orks" and were published in 2 books: Bb and C (the Bb book having parts for Cornet, Clarinet, and Tenor Sax; the C book having chords for piano/banjo and a trombone line) or sometimes in partbooks for each instrument.

Hope some of this helps.

[CharlieB]

Check out the site below.
They have a beginner's book with audio accompaniment called "From Dixie to Swing."
On the site, you can listen before you buy.
https://www.musicdispatch.com/index.jsp?subsiteid=325

Here's another one.
Can't listen Online, but I have it and it's good.
https://www.ellismusic.com/p-7574-dixie ... mbone.aspx

[berntd]

Those are all pretty awesome suggestions. I am looking into them all!

Regards
Bernt

[berntd]

@ChalieB:
I managed to get the one book on order but the second one (which looks great btw) is unobtainium at this stage.

[CharlieB]

Hmmm. Sorry about that.
Not sure which book you couldn't get.
I just checked the Ellis Music site for Dixieland Jam, and it's available there.
I found From Dixie to Swing at a different site. Here:
https://www.eastcoastmusic.com/From-Dix ... 400622.htm

At each site, I was able to load my selection into the shopping cart.

[berntd]

Thank you so much CharlieB!

I should have elaborated more. It is true, one can find the books but those shops/places do not seem to ship to Australia.

So what I did get is
From Dixie to Swing: Trombone
The Real Dixieland Book: C Instruments

No luck on the Dixieland Jam book (yet).

But, it is a start!

Regards
Bernt

[Grah]

For shipping to Australia, I recommend Jamie Aebersold's Jazz Books: http://jazzbooks.com/

With regard to your comment, "That band in a box sounds interesting but will I not still require some sheet music to get started with that?". Well yes, but most of we users have networks where we swap files. There are even some websites with free libraries for download, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Band-in-a-Box/info. For instance, Dusty was chasing a Band-in-a-Box file on our Trombone Chat site and I was able to oblige. And it's great when your band members have BiaB and you can distribute files for practicing. Or put them up on a website that allows you to load sound files.

BTW, I strongly agree with Bruce's post about listening to early jazz. Yes, I agree that Gunhild Carling is great for listening and entertainment, but I think not a place to start. Besides, to get the full Gunhild affect you would have to learn how to tap dance whilst playing.

[berntd]

Hi Grah

That is true. I would have to learn to tap dance.
But...
It is because I found Gunhild by accident on youtube that I ended up purchasing a trombone and wanting to play like that.

Trombone never even occurred to me before Gunhild. I owe her big time!

BTW: Thanks for the thumbs up on the BiB. and the book site.

Regards
Bernt

[berntd]

Hey Grah and everyone,

I followed the great suggestions by buying some of the books and the software. I now have "The Real Dixieland Book" and also Band-in-a-Box.

I entered a few songs' chords so far (Rose of Washington Square, Red Sails in the Sunset) but I am still not sure what I should actually play on the Trombone, apart from the melody line (from the sheet music).

If you have further suggestions, please keep them coming. It has been great fun so far.

Regards
Bernt

[Grah]

With regard to Band-in-a-Box, make sure you enter the melody line played by a trumpet. Some of the Dixie styles in BiaB actually have a trombone playing the correct trombone part on the Strings track. Also the clarinet playing around the lead line.

As Bruce suggested, you must listen to classic Dixieland to hear the typical phrasing of the trombone in the Ensemble. There is no better player of these basics than Kid Ory, since he was the one who formulated the trombone style - on record anyway. After you have got the basic phrases, you can move up to one of the later more complex styles - Jack Teagarden for instance. My own particular favourite was Lou McGarity with Eddie Condon. In fact, Chicago Style Jazz was my favourite 'Dixieland' style. Except Eddie hated the term Dixieland and preferred to say, "We called it Music".

A good Music Minus One Trombone book for this style is called "The Condon Gang - The Chicago and New York Jazz Scene" - www.musicminusone.com

When it comes to soloing, you must start with learning your chord structures and related scales. Then get yourself some books on how to play solos. One I would recommend is Trombone "Essential Elements For Jazz Ensemble" which is a comprehensive method for jazz style and improvisation with CDs. It is not specifically for playing Dixieland but covers the basics of improvisation.

If you can contact me by email, I am sure I can save you years of entry time getting your BiaB Dixieland library together. Also standards etc.

I have not lived in Sydney for twenty years, but there used to be some excellent jazz workshops, including at the Con. Just Google "Jazz Workshops for Sydney Australia".

I was lucky enough to have Owen Bryce in England and Freddie Wilson in Sydney as my main mentors, but these guys are long gone. Long may their influence on the jazz scene survive!

[berntd]

Hi Grah,

Thank you so much.
That is very nice of you to give me all those great suggestions and details.

I have sent you a PM.

Best regards
Bernt