Sight-Reading Modern Rhythms: Rhythm Patterns for Pop, Swing and Latin Jazz - The Novel Method for All Melody Instruments

Do you play a wind instrument, just by yourself or already with a band or in an orchestra? Are you fond of swing and jazz standards, latin music, or the good old rock songs? Do you ever struggle with reading and playing those tricky rhythms correctly from written music? Do you ever get lost or can't seem to follow the others when a new song is played? Are you mystified about how to properly count those crazy syncopated melodies?

Too bad that there was hardly any material to systematically prepare beginning jazz musicians to sight-read rhythmically sophisticated music. This book does offer you such practical help: an intuitive method to be used in your music lessons or for self-study. Step by step you will learn how to recognize those rhythmic figures in written music and - with a few weeks' practice - how to play them reliably and with confidence.

Almost 200 examples and melodic exercises (in treble clef, not in percussion notation!) will help you to read and play more and more rhythm patterns, from the simplest tunes to complex syncopation in swing and bossa nova. You will encounter quite a few well-known themes, from the Beatles and George Gershwin to Glenn Miller and Charlie Parker - but you will comprehend the rhythms without needing to hear the songs first.

Demo sound files of all these examples are available for free download, appreciated by many readers as an immediate self-check during practice.

Finally, additional material is recommended for further practice, from groovy play-along music in different genres to difficult jazz etudes.

The original version of this book has appeared in German in late 2012 and was received exceptionally well. "Late-bloomers" and self-taught amateur musicians enthusiastically reported that they found the approach highly intuitive and logical, and that it was real fun to work with it.

But also music teachers quickly embraced the method and integrated it into their lessons. They saw it as the first systematic description of an approach which many professional musicians employ instinctively when sight-reading music, and they appreciated the graded set of special-purpose exercises which comes with it.

Peter has been a woodwind player (clarinet, saxophones) for more than 40 years. He has been active in many amateur ensembles and orchestras, ranging from classical chamber music and dance combos to wind orchestras and big bands. Time and again, he noticed amateur musicians struggle with the rhythmic challenges in "modern" music (pop, swing, latin jazz). Motivated by this, he developed this sight-reading method over the course of several years. He extended and refined it from practical experience with band colleagues, students, and in his rhythm workshops.