On March 25 and 26, the Department of Music hosted a weekend of jazz featuring guest musician Marlin McKay. Music students and jazz enthusiasts outside of McMurry attended workshops led by Marlin McKay, learning the basic rules of jazz improvisation and what it\u2019s like being a jazz musician today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marlin McKay is a recording artist, member of Lou Orleans Brass Band, and Director of Bands at Georgetown College in Lexington, Kentucky and performs all across the United States. David Amlung, chair of the Department of Music, met McKay while studying music at Indiana University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McKay led two workshops on Saturday, \u201cThe ABC\u2019s of Improvisation,\u201d and \u201cMaking the Changes.\u201d Whilst sitting in the audience during the \u201cMaking the Changes\u201d workshop, it was amazing seeing all the thought and technique that create the unique jazz sound. Some misconceptions of jazz are that it is merely random noise, however, Marlin McKay says that music \u201clike the universe is endless and balanced.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McKay taught a derivative approach to jazz improvisation. McKay explained, \u201cThe idea [of starting with sheet music and basic scales is] that we have something that we want to play, right? And that takes away the mystery. Oftentimes\u2026 when we go to play a solo\u2026 all the possibilities are there, right? And that\u2019s very intimidating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McKay simplified the open-endedness of jazz improv into three parts\u2014the ABCs of jazz: statement material, linking material, and a signature. By making intentional choices about what beats to play and which to rest, the music takes on an organic, conversational sound with peaks, valleys, and pauses. \u201cJazz is like a language,\u201d McKay says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was impressive seeing some of the workshop students, some of whom have never played jazz before, get out of their comfort zone and improvise in front of the group. \u201cPlay strong and wrong. Loud and proud!\u201d McKay said. Even though they started with basic chords and scales, by following along with McKay\u2019s techniques and choosing when to play, rest, and deviate from the sheet music, the jazz sound came through! Some more seasoned jazz players returned to basics and made their solo more structured and complete as a result. It was a warm atmosphere of learning and growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c[The workshop] was pretty fun,\u201d said Kye Pyeatt, a music student at McMurry, \u201cIt\u2019s good to have an expert in jazz come along and teach us some new stuff\u2026 I learned more about how to go about which scales to link it all together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McKay encourages musicians to continue developing their musical skills. Like a baby learns language from their parents, modeling their sound and style of speaking, musicians develop their own sound by emulating other musicians\u2019 styles and sounds. McKay recommended that students follow along with artists they want to sound like; having a \u201csound model\u201d he calls it. With the amount of resources available to musicians today, it is easier than ever before to develop an ear for music; it all comes down to drive. \u201cWhat is in you that drives you to pursue what you want?\u201d McKay asks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Towards the end of the workshop, McKay talked about the entrepreneurial aspect of being a musician. \u201cI have to go out and find my work,\u201d McKay said, \u201cPay my own insurance\u2026 Things are changing to respect the folks that don\u2019t have the normal nine-to-five grind\u2026 It\u2019s getting there.\u201d Through teaching music lessons, playing gigs, and playing accompaniment, a musician can find work. \u201cLife is what you make it,\u201d McKay continued, \u201cAnd you need to have a plan. Set goals for yourself, short term goals, long-term goals, and then write it down. Set the goal. Change the plan but never the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The closing concert performed by the McM Jazz band and Marlin McKay was beautiful, lively, and fun. They exposed the Abilene audience to big band, combo, and New Orleans brass band music. Some songs were even composed by McKay himself! You could tell the musicians were having fun with each other as they winked, nodded, and smiled at one another during their performance. It was collaborative and dynamic. The room was alive and energetic, and the audience felt as much a part of the musical experience with the performers. If you haven\u2019t exposed yourself to the dynamic world of jazz, I highly recommend listening to Marlin McKay\u2019s music on Spotify<\/a> or YouTube<\/a>. It\u2019s an experience you shouldn\u2019t miss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On March 25 and 26, the Department of Music hosted a weekend of jazz featuring guest musician Marlin McKay. Music students and jazz enthusiasts outside of McMurry attended workshops led […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-issue-4-april-6-2022","clearfix"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=847"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":848,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847\/revisions\/848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}