Free Stuff

Level: 8th through 11th grade jazz band. These arrangements feature relatively simple chord changes for novice soloists, and are interesting melodically and harmonically. The ensemble parts are all playable by advanced junior high ("middle school") jazz band, and would be good sight-reading for high school band (or good for a last-minute addition to a program).

I used to charge $12 a piece for these charts, but frankly, since demand was running on the low side, I figure I'd rather have more students around the globe enjoying them than hold out for a few extra bucks. Feel to download them all, and send me an email to let me know where in the world you are playing them. If you get a nice concert recording of one, please send me a copy; I'd love to hear how your band sounds.

Here are some downloadable jazz improv lessons. They are similar to other play-along recordings you may have used, but are different in that the emphasis is on ear training and teaching students some basic jazz licks.

The lessons are in mp3 format, complete with rhythm section accompaniment, and include the necessary sheet music (pdf), geared toward the beginning improvisor. This was a short-lived project of mine which did not, how shall we say, enjoy an overwhelming response. My pain is your gain, so check 'em all out (there all free!) and let me know how it goes. NOTE: The demo download is about 4MB, but the lessons, which are about 20 minutes long, are rather large at around 25MB.

I use version 2003a of Finale® to do my music notation. The learning curve for that software is pretty steep, so I made this page of tips for my own benefit. If you have a newer version, much of this information may no longer be applicable. Even though I hadn't previously had a public link to this page on my site, a bunch of people throughout the world found it anyway and seem to find it useful, so here is the link for the rest of you. (And please don't email me questions about Finale®...)