While choosing what you listen to is incredibly important for learning jazz, I am going to take it a step further by saying that “how” you listen to jazz is equally important for aspiring jazz drummers.  In order to be a competent jazz drummer, you need to be intimately familiar with the most common song forms and conventions (i.e. intros, choruses, vamps, tags) used in the jazz idiom. This will require a great deal of “active” listening. You can read other active/how you should listen suggestions in Drum Fillosophy 101, but as it pertains to jazz song form, you must listen to (and play along with) a great deal of jazz with a focus on keeping track of where the musicians are in the form at any given point. It is not essential that you know the chord progression in order to keep track of the form (although I highly recommend it), but you do need to familiarize yourself with the most common ways that these chord progressions are organized. The two most common Jazz song forms are the 12 bar blues and the standard 32 bar song form.

In most jazz songs, both of the above song forms follow this simplified format:

1. Melody over the form (Often twice through on blues tunes)
2. Solos over the form (referred to as choruses or the blowing section)
3. Restatement of the melody over the form

I say simplified, because many jazz tunes also include compositional variations that may throw you off at first when trying to follow the form. One of the most common variations to listen for is an intro or verse (of varying length) prior to the melody. Also, the solos over the form may include instrumentalists trading phrases with the drummer or each other, usually in measure groupings of 4 (called trading 4’s), or 8 (trading 8’s). It is also common for bands to only restate the second half of the melody (coming in at the bridge) after solos.

If following along to the form of Jazz tunes is new to you, it is best to start with examples that have already been outlined for you. Expand the 12 Bar Blues Examples or 32 Bar Standard Examples on this page to start your training with songs that I have outlined for you – there you will also find a youtube link so that you can quickly access a corresponding recording for the outlined form.  The last example of each form is slightly different to start training you to listen for standard variations.  The 3rd blues example is in a minor key, and the 3rd 32 bar form example is written with a varied section organization (ABAB).

Your eventual goal should be to feel where you are in the form at all times, as opposed to counting individual measures. Keep in mind however that the natural process for beginners to develop the ability to feel multiple measure groupings, is to count them. I recommend saying (or at least thinking) the number of the bar at the beginning of each bar. For example: Instead of counting (verbally or mentally) “1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4 etc.…” for four measures, try saying “1 2 3 4, 2 2 3 4, 3 2 3 4, 4 2 3 4”. Practicing this way will lead to a better ability to feel 4 bar phrases, and eventually larger measure groupings.

*Being intimately familiar with the melody of any jazz tune, can significantly augment your ability to “feel the form,”  and starting with versions of songs that have vocal melodies makes learning tunes/following forms easier.

While choosing what you listen to is incredibly important for learning jazz, I am going to take it a step further by saying that “how” you listen to jazz is equally important for aspiring jazz drummers.  In order to be a competent jazz drummer, you need to be intimately familiar with the most common song forms and conventions (i.e. intros, choruses, vamps, tags) used in the jazz idiom. This will require a great deal of “active” listening. You can read other active/how you should listen suggestions in Drum Fillosophy 101, but as it pertains to jazz song form, you must listen to (and play along with) a great deal of jazz with a focus on keeping track of where the musicians are in the form at any given point. It is not essential that you know the chord progression in order to keep track of the form (although I highly recommend it), but you do need to familiarize yourself with the most common ways that these chord progressions are organized. The two most common Jazz song forms are the 12 bar blues and the standard 32 bar song form.

In most jazz songs, both of the above song forms follow this simplified format:

1. Melody over the form (Often twice through on blues tunes)
2. Solos over the form (referred to as choruses or the blowing section)
3. Restatement of the melody over the form

I say simplified, because many jazz tunes also include compositional variations that may throw you off at first when trying to follow the form. One of the most common variations to listen for is an intro or verse (of varying length) prior to the melody. Also, the solos over the form may include instrumentalists trading phrases with the drummer or each other, usually in measure groupings of 4 (called trading 4’s), or 8 (trading 8’s). It is also common for bands to only restate the second half of the melody (coming in at the bridge) after solos.

If following along to the form of Jazz tunes is new to you, it is best to start with examples that have already been outlined for you. Expand the 12 Bar Blues Examples or 32 Bar Standard Examples below to start your training with songs that I have outlined for you – there you will also find a youtube link so that you can quickly access a corresponding recording for the outlined form.  The last example of each form is slightly different to start training you to listen for standard variations.  The 3rd blues example is in a minor key, and the 3rd 32 bar form example is written with a varied section organization (ABAB).

Your eventual goal should be to feel where you are in the form at all times, as opposed to counting individual measures. Keep in mind however that the natural process for beginners to develop the ability to feel multiple measure groupings, is to count them. I recommend saying (or at least thinking) the number of the bar at the beginning of each bar. For example: Instead of counting (verbally or mentally) “1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4 etc.…” for four measures, try saying “1 2 3 4, 2 2 3 4, 3 2 3 4, 4 2 3 4”. Practicing this way will lead to a better ability to feel 4 bar phrases, and eventually larger measure groupings.

*Being intimately familiar with the melody of any jazz tune, can significantly augment your ability to “feel the form,”  and starting with versions of songs that have vocal melodies makes learning tunes/following forms easier.