Fundamentals of Jazz Composition
An Exploration of Musical Language
Sam Jackson, 2022
 
This book presents an in-depth analysis of the vocabulary, methods, and tools of jazz composition. Written from the perspective of the composer, it explores the ways in which the jazz greats wrote the music that has become the standard repertoire.
 
Harmonic devices, the use of scale, modes, and chords, arrangement, and the vast array of compositional nuances are systematically laid out, explored, demonstrated, and explained, allowing the reader to build themselves a toolbox of compositional tools to bring to bear on their own work.
 
This is a beautifully presented paperback book with a pinched crown quarto trim. The 314 pages present a comprehensive, intellectual, and accessible account of modal and tonal harmony as it applies to the jazz canon.​
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As a textbook, it guides the student through the fundamental concepts required to build a functional compositional dictionary of jazz language.
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For experienced composers, this book provides a wealth of nuanced ideas, from simple chord substitutions to entire modulations, as well as providing a rich reference for the myriad tools available.
 
Fundamentals of Jazz Composition contains 23 chapters covering such topics as:
 
Rhythm and Meter
Pitch and Harmony
Turnarounds and Cycles
Key Modulation
The Blues
Melody and Song
Chord Tones and Non-Chord Tones
Harmonising Melodies
Melodic Phrases
Arrangement
Substitutions
Elaborations
Modes and Modal Jazz
Non-Functional Harmony
Scales
Melodic Techniques
More Harmonic Techniques
Chord Voicings
Writing for Rhythm Section
Writing for Melodic Instruments
 
 
Paperback, 314 pages.
ISBN: 978-0-9957273-4-2