JazzKids

 Blues For Kids

Baby Loves Jazz

KinderJazz

Jazz Kittens

Jazz Path

Jazz For Kids

Themes And Variations

Jazz-A-Ma--Tazz

Roll Play

Jazz House Kids

www.jazzhousekids.org

www.jazzhousekids.org

Jazz House Kids - History

Jazz House Kids (JHK) is a community-based arts organization that provides year-round musical, educational, and cultural programs to students in grades K-12, teachers, adults, and families from diverse backgrounds. What started as a straightforward idea nearly 10 years ago for professional jazz vocalist and JHK founder Melissa Walker-to open the window for students to understand, appreciate, and apply jazz and its rich cultural and international legacy-has become a rich gathering place of musical talent and shared promise. In less than a decade, JHK has become a highly regarded New Jersey arts education and performance organization, fostering a strong community of award-winning students, dedicated teachers, and first-rate professional musicians. JHK is committed to closing the gap in music education in our schools and communities by using America's homegrown music - jazz - to cultivate tomorrow's responsible global citizens and community leaders.

JHK has created and tested programming and learning opportunities aimed at boosting achievement, providing enrichment for students from largely underperforming schools, and awakening the musical sensibilities of young and old students alike. JHK's 125 school-based programs have served more than 15,000 New Jersey public school students and over 1,200 teachers and administrators. In 2009, Walker's vision became reality, when JHK opened its "Jazz House" studio school in downtown Montclair to augment its robust in-school and out-of-school programming by providing year-round instruction for students of all ages and levels. The Jazz House now serves students from more than 10 counties and over 20 communities across New Jersey, and provides instruments and scholarship support for 34 percent of its student body.

Notable Strengths
JHK has developed award winning big bands and combos and many of our students continue their studies at some of the nation's leading colleges and conservatories. What sets JHK apart from other arts organizations is the unparalleled access students have to professional jazz musicians, some of whom are internationally acclaimed, ensuring that JHK students receive an authentic jazz education and are mentored by a host of extraordinary talent. While JHK supports and trains some of the region's most talented students, unique to our organization is the capacity to serve a diverse student body with varying needs and musical abilities through creative and thoughtful programming.

JHK's notable strengths include vibrant partnerships among public schools, area universities, local arts organizations, individual and institutional funders, and a community of celebrated jazz musicians and dedicated teaching artists who share their time and talents with students. Melissa Walker, Jazz House Kids founder and executive director, believes that every student deserves a great arts education and has crafted JHK to bridge the gap in music instruction in our schools and in our community. World-renowned bassist and educator Christian McBride serves as creative director and on the Jazz House Kids board. The organization also boasts a talented professional staff, a strong and motivated volunteer core, and a top-notch board of directors, whose members are personally supportive of and committed to Jazz House Kids' success.

www.jazzhousekids.org

               JazzKids makes learning the piano and improvisation fun!                

JazzKids®, created by Berklee College of Music graduate Willie Myette, creates method books that show beginning improvisers how to improvise at the piano. Our books are designed to be used in conjunction with other reading curriculum like Alfred's Piano Course.

Even if you have never improvised before, JazzKids makes it easy to learn. The step-by-step instruction and jam-with-the-band tracks on the CD make learning how to improvise fun and easy.

Not that interested in Jazz? Well, guess what, JazzKids now features many different styles of music including Jazz, Blues, Pop, Latin, Rock and Klezmer! You can learn how to improvise over these different styles while learning how to read and translate those pesky chord symbols into a full arrangement.

JazzKids has been used with students around the world for the past decade. Click on a book below to see why people choose JazzKids to learn Jazz and improvisation.

How Does JazzKids Encourage Improvisaton?

• Rhythm - rhythm is key to successful improvisation because without an interesting rhythm, your improvisation will sound "flat". JazzKids creates a strong rhythmic foundation by teaching students how to read and vocalize rhythms. This is important because if you can "sing" a rhythm, you can play it. Students will then utilize the rhythms that they have been practicing in their own improvisation and compositions.

• Ear Training - it is important to really hear music to be able to improvise. The ear training exercises teach students to discern small differences in rhythm and melody which in turn helps them to listen critically while improvising.

• The Song - the JazzKids pieces are really fun to play. More important, they have been designed to allow a lot of possibility for the student to change what has been written. Often, students learning the JazzKids pieces, will change a note here or there. Sometimes they'll create their own composition or a "spin off" using the piece as a "spring board".

• Improvisation Exercises - these exercises give students a positive experience in improvisation. A lot of times, when learning to improvise, students are handed a scale and told, "Now improvise." Unfortunately, this works for only a few students. Most of us need further direction and coaching. JazzKids provides this by not only teaching the scales for improvisation, but also by giving written examples and fun play-a-long tracks.

www.jazzkids.com

Look Inside! View examples of Sing After Me and hear excerpts from the 20 track sing-a-long CD!

About the Author

Brian J. Kane attended the Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship, graduated magna cum laude in 1995, and later received an M.S.M. from Bridgewater State College. Brian is an active musician performing in jazz groups, rock and popular bands, and commercial recording. Also a dedicated music educator, Brian has taught classroom music in both public and private schools for over 10 years and given over 10,000 private lessons on saxophone. He has developed innovative teaching techniques for jazz styles, sight reading, and melodic improvisational concepts.
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Sing After Me contains ten fantastically funny, unusually useful, amazingly adaptive, excellent echo songs to help students learn to sing with practically perfect pitch and deliberately delightful diction. The book includes a sing-a-long and demonstration CD, reproducible student worksheets, and movement, art, and language activities for each song and simple piano accompaniment. Ages 6-13

$22.95 

www.jazzpath.com

Look Inside! View examples of Singing Tongue Twisters and hear excerpts from the 50 track sing-a-long CD.

Singing Tongue Twisters A-Z contains 50 fun filled wacky warm-ups to improve pronunciation, vocal range, and technique.  Perfect for teachers and kids, this fun sing-a-long book contains singing tongue twisters of variable difficulty levels, read-a-long worksheets, and a 50 track sing-a-long CD.  Singing Tongue Twisters is an excellent warm-up tool for choral groups and a fun practice workbook for individual singers.  80 pages with CD

$24.95 

Choral and Music teachers say..

"I start every rehearsal by Singing Tongue Twisters for a 5 minute warm-up. My groups work on diction, intonation, and range and have fun doing it."

Classroom Teachers Say..

"This book is great for practicing letters and letter combinations. Even though I can't sing, my students love singing along with the CD."
www.jazzpath.com

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