Term 3 Week 1-3

Week 1
How did you find the beginning of jazz according to you and how it was presented by the teachers?
I think the beginning and the roots of jazz were interesting. The fact that it was created by African-Americans made it unique and interesting for me to learn. The evolution from slave and spiritual songs to jazz was also intriguing. I think it was presented rather well too, due to the booklets, which helped a lot in understanding the topics. The slideshows were good for getting the point across, the performance was epic, and all-in-all I find it a good if difficult topic due to the improvisation required.

Week 2
How is my progress in learning jazz? (Roots of jazz)
The process of learning jazz is complicated, but we're taking it slow by learning the various chords first. My progress itself is rather good. We've read most of the paper that Mr. Herry has given us. We've also learned about the actual music of jazz. On the actual chords themselves though, I haven't got a good grasp, and I haven't learned anything new. I know how to play some of the seventh chords, but my expertise is limited. Improvisation is still a long way off though.

Week 3
How did I do my essay and how does it affect me on learning and applying jazz?
My essay wasn't the best work I've done. We had to write about the beginning of jazz again, which meant summarizing most of the information sheets we were given. I did my music essay the day that we first got it, because I was feeling very motivated. Unfortunately I didn't put too much effort into it, and all the info was gained from a single source (the info sheets). I guess it only affects my knowledge of the history of jazz, as I see no practical application of it.