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Leeds College of Music:
Jazz BA 3 year course
Moved here last summer, and half way through my first year. Overall it's fantastic, the place is great and you get to play with some fantastic musicians. Below is a breakdown of the stuff we cover in lessons, teachers, extra stuff that goes on, gigs, what Leeds is like, what the accommodation is like and some other bits n pieces.
Would advise if you want to do jazz (unless you're the one lucky and talented player on youR instrument to get into academy) then this is the place to be. If you do pop/funk/soul/rock etc there's one piece of advice - do a jazz degree! If you can play jazz you can play anything, it'll make you a much better player than doing a pop course and as such you'll get much more work out of it. Many session musicians etc. all did jazz degrees.
Theres some advice below of a few things to work on if you want to come here/are coming here, n if you need to know anything else if you get in touch with Blue Jam, they can put you in touch with me.
The course
Lessons below are all with groups of about 10-15 students
-Ensemble Studies - listening to recordings, analysing them and then playing the music. In this you cover jazz language, look at different techniques from backing vocalists, to playing in quintets/quartets, interesting harmonies, intros endings etc. Loads of different stuff n plenty of playing.
-Composition - lots of harmony theory, interesting guide tones, arranging for ensembles etc - we look at recordings again, and then go from there. We perform the recordings at the end, and learn loads we can apply in improvising etc too.
-Jazz Language - looking at transcribing, sight reading, good licks/sounds over chords, learning repertoire etc. Good lesson with plenty of playing.
-Harmony - heavy theory! but great at the same time, look at everything from the basic ii-v-i to the complex stuff like the coltrane matrix and crazy chord substitutions
-Studio environments - looking at using sibelius, then logic for writing and recording. OK lesson, but many people already know the stuff, so they're flexible on if you turn up or not.
-Aural Awareness - we look at rhythmic development, transcription singing lines, and being able to hear guide tones over chords etc. Really good lesson, but hard work at 9 in the morning.
The two lecture subjects we get lecture with the full group and then seminars with smaller groups of 10 or so to discuss stuff
-HCAS - Historical, Critical and Analytical studies. I think. Basically its jazz history, put into context. In the first term we loook at the development of modal jazz which included music analysis, and freedom in music. This terms its early stuff, looking at new orleans, ellington etc.
-Pop culture - many people don't like this, I think its alright, we look at everything from musicology to semiotics to philosophy surrounding music and look at what it means for music to be art music or popular music, and what jazz is etc. Its not always presented in the most relevant way, but much of its quite interesting and important. Usually.
The Teachers
The teachers are for the most part excellent. Mostly they're quite young (for jazz) performing jazz musicians, some who tour, and all who play locally, so you get to hear some fantastic playing. One to one tutors are again mostly excellent too, however there are a few duds. If you wanted to come here you can find out who the good teachers are (get in touch with me if you want) and try and request them, or if you get someone you're unhapppy with you can always change in the first few weeks.) But as I said most are really amazing.
Extra Curricular
Theres loads of extra stuff goes on. They do a workshop week each term where visiting musicians and teachers come and teach, and some of these are immense - we've had people like gilad atzmon, geoff berlin and jerry bergonzi, geoff gasgoine come to do workshops, and theres a load of extra stuff put on by the tutors on all sorts of different stuff from alexander technique to breathing to rhythm section work.
There's extra bands - most first years get into either a first year big band or a smal group led by the tutors, including things like latin groups led by omar puente - crazy violinist who gigs with courtney pine and the jazz warriors.
There are three college big bands which you can audition for at the start of the year. As a sax player you stand little chance of getting in in the first year, but often trombonists etc. get in. The bands are fantastic, very professional and very tight - there's the lcm big band, led by simon barnes, the lcm contemporary band led by Mark donolan (Who also runs CUK, the big band of the joint UK conservatoires which has just come back from the US) and the Latin big band led by Omar Puente
There's also a heap of student bands, a few sports societies (I play for what is officially the worst uni badminton team in the north, haven't won a game, but its all good fun n there's free food n beer) and plenty of other stuff to keep you off the streets
The Place
Leeds is a great city, reasonably safe, loads of night life, and loads of gigs. The market's just across the road and is massive, the best place to get food, though if you wanna be a bit more classy there a morrisons about 10 mins walk away. Bus station again is really close, and the train station is about 15 mins walk.
Gigs
So many gigs! In the college venue they put on a big programme of international quality acts, and you can go to those as an lcm student for £2 - I've seen Gilad Atzmon, Polar Bear, Jerry Bergonzi, Northern Underground Jazz Orchestra n plenty more there. There's a student run jazz club at Santiagos just up the road, they put on again international acts, but is much more avant garde - seen Jean Toussant, Kit Downs with Troyka, Jamie Taylor, Tam De Villiars etc there - £4, small room n great vibe, how a jazz club should be. The wardrobe room across from college puts on a load of free gigs with local bands playing. Often tutors ex students play there, n the standard is fantastic. There's a few more places in leeds too, inc Brunendale social club, an arts centre who's name I can't remember, n a wine bar called milos where student bands play.
As leeds is right in the middle of yorkshire, its really close to other places that put on great stuff too, inluding Wakefield Jazz (see Niki Iles, Gilad Atzmon, Clark Tracey, Empirical etc here) and is a fantastic club, and also sheffield, york, huddersfield and halifax are all close and put on some good gigs.
Accommodation
The halls (Joseph Stones)are nice enough, but are a total rip off. 86 a week plus 6 a week for the internet is a bit of a joke. However, if you wanna meet people etc, which is very important on a music course then there's not much other choice. It also means no commute as its joined to the uni, and means more practice time.
However, if you wanna avoid this place, which I would if I did it again, there are a handful of flats above the wardrobe opposite uni - much cheaper and independently run. Also theres the plaza - run by unite, who rob us of our 90 quid a week, but a bit further out of town. Its 10 mins walk, but you get a queen size bed, bigger room, rents much cheaper and you still get to meet people on your course. I would advise either of these really.
Bad Points
-Not the most organised college, but no music college is
-The old principal couldn't care less about music! however he leaves in a couple of weeks and we're getting a jazz guy from trinity in - so its set to get really good for jazz in leeds.
-theres an imbalance of instruments of the course - too many horn players esp saxes. It means the rhythm section players have too much work and the horn players not enough. On the up side the rhythm section players get plenty of work, n it makes us horn players work very hard. This is the same situation in the real world, so we've just got to get used to I guess. (If you play trombone or double bass you are sorted!)
-getting practice rooms can be a problem - 3 days a week if you come in early you can book one easy, but tuesdays and wednesdays are pretty full. But if you're in any of the halls above you can practice in your room so its not much of a problem.
What to work on if you want to/are coming here
Learn at least some jazz theory - theres a great book by Mark Levine you should read at least bit of that will give you a great head start on the course.
Transcribe - solos from recordings primarily, but also try to work out chord progressions for a tune you want to learn rather than leaning it from the real book
learn some standards off by heart, tune and chords.
And if you want to get in the big bands once you're here practise sight reading with your metronome, preferably on beats 2 and 4
And learn your scales