A Practical Method for Serious Vocalists
Finally, a clear, step-by-step approach for serious singers who want to improve their grasp of jazz harmony and gain a deeper understanding of music fundamentals.
Learn to accompany yourself, write lead sheets, understand the structure of the music deeply, and improve your scatting.
The Jazz Singer's Guidebook covers all the instrumental, theoretical and ear training requirements that you need in order to gain control of the music you are singing!
The author of The Jazz Harmony Book, David Berkman is a top-notch New York pianist with years of experience playing with vocalists and helping them become real members of a jazz band.
Topics covered include:
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The basic piano skills necessary to accompany yourself.
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The harmonic basis of the melody of songs
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How to vary melodies
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How to develop a greater awareness of the important harmonic details of songs.
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How to write a lead sheet and how to evaluate the chord changes that are on a lead sheet
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How to hear tensions and chord tones on chords
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How to know and hear the appropriate chord scale for each chord change
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How to improvise from chord scales
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Ways to improve your intonation for scatting
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Plus hundreds of suggestions and exercises for scatting, composing, transcribing, understanding jazz vocabulary and increasing what you have to say as an improvising musician.
Also includes a CD download demonstrating many of the exercises in the book.
From the Author:
“I have a vision for you, and for some of you this is radically different from what your musical life has been like up until now. I imagine that you can spend hours productively studying, singing, playing the piano, analyzing harmony, writing changes, and ultimately arranging and composing interesting music. This isn't something that is reserved for genius singers, or something that only pianists and arrangers have the license to do. It's a kind of practice that you can do, and you can see steady progress and musical growth through doing it. This sort of practice can change the way you hear music and sing it. It will make you more fun to work with and it will enrich your musical life.” — David Berkman
Spiral-bound, 142 pages, Table of Contents.
Sample Pages: Becoming a Functional Pianist, A Tetrachord Approach to Chord Scales
Sample Tracks: Track 17, Track 18
Endorsements:
“One of my favorites — a great book with wonderful step-by-step exercises to help a singer be more fluent.”
— Kate McGarry
“I highly endorse this book for singers and sure wish it had been on the scene when I was growing up. David Berkman is a wonderful pianist and human being. How great of him to take the time to get a book like this together for us. Bless him.”
— Sheila Jordan, jazz singer
“David Berkman is one of the top jazz pianists working today and he brings his experience as an accompanist and as a teacher of jazz voice students to this incredible book - not only very useful to singers, but to educators alike!! A must have!”
— Dena De Rose, jazz vocalist, recording artist
“Great book! Insightful, practical, entertaining. Finally a book for vocalists that is very well organized and clearly laid out. Thank you David!”
— Christine Correa, vocal studies, Columbia University, NYC
