November 2010 Session 2

The Feeder students came together again at Exeter Corn Exchange for a session on jazz and improvisation with Keith and Julie Tippett.  The day started with an introduction and icebreakers with CEO Lisa Tregale, which saw the students making music with their bodies and working together as a team.

The students then introduced their instruments and themselves, and Keith gave a talk on chord symbols and their importance in improvisation. The group played through one of Keith’s compositions “Letters to Geoff”, where they learnt about riffing.  Julie led the singers and the different sections elected a riff-leader who made up a simple tune which the section then copied and harmonised with. The group learnt the importance of simplicity in riffs, and to listen to what everyone else is doing to make a good group sound with the individual riffs. The students practised improvisation and learnt about using the blues scales effectively. A few students volunteered to solo in the improvisation sections of the piece

After lunch, the group played through a different piece by a South African composer; “You ain’t gonna know me (‘cause you think you know me)” by Mongezi Feza. The band decided to start with riffs and improvisation before going into the main melody and countermelody. Later, all the instruments except the rhythm section had solos at the same time, using the blues scales before going back to the melody. The students each gave feedback about the day and how they had each decided to learn the instrument they were playing.

To end the day, the Feeder students gave a performance of the two jazz pieces for their parents. This enabled them to put into practise the things they had learnt during the day in a fun, informal setting.