Register for one of these early morning classes

You can also find out about the afternoon sessions.

That Some Blues

—Colleen Savage 

An exploration of the song form that underlies so much of our jazz and popular music. It's the soulful, moanin', cryin,' struttin', jumpin,' pleadin' and praisin' feeling that ignites our personal response.

We'll start with the most basic three chord 12 bar form and sing our way through several variations of blues structures. We'll sing blues tunes in major and minor keys, in swing and 'Latin' feels, happy blues and sad blues, old folksy blues and newer jazzy blues. We'll work melodies, harmonies, riffs, shots and bass lines with repertoire ranging from Ray Charles and Etta James to Monk and Miles.

Bring your ears, heart and guts.

Swing Piano

—Michael Creber 

Students must pre-register for these seminars and must bring portable keyboards and headphones to camp.

Beginner/Advanced This course is for swing pianists of all levels. The morning class will concentrate on the foundation skills: basic jazz harmony, understanding chords, working with lead sheets, building 3-note jazz voicings, and the pianist's role in the band. This would correspond to the first three chapters of Mark Levine’s The Jazz Piano Book (highly recommended!). As always in swing camp we are working on skills to help you have more fun playing in groups with other players!
 
Intermediate/Advanced This year we are trying something new—an Intermediate/Advanced swing piano class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. As in the morning class, we will tailor the material to fit the levels of the players, so expect to dive into advanced soloing over changes, Bill Evans left hand voicings, inner voice movements and all that really fun stuff!

Woodwind and Brass Workshop

—Tom Keenlyside 

This course will provide in-depth look at numerous aspects of playing brass and woodwind instruments in a collective jazz setting. Techniques to be discussed and practised include jazz phrasing, articulation, expression, and sound production on all wind and brass instruments. We will also focus on playing in tight ensemble. In addition, we will study various aspects of jazz improvisation...playing through many different types of chord changes, the II-V-I progression , chord recognition, and the blues. We will create a fun, supportive environment in which all players will be encouraged to improvise.

Arranging for the Guitar:
The Next Level 

—Bill Coon 

An in-depth look at ways to approach arranging standards on the guitar. Exploring the use of chord substitutions, and pedal notes will help us to find fresh ways to re-harmonize familiar melodies. We will also look at how changing the melodic rhythm can create a more intense sense of swing and how changing feels and even time signatures can inject new life into well-known songs. Intros and endings will be part this course as well. Sounds like a lot of work? It is! (But we’ll have fun too!)

Advanced Improvisation 

—MikeRud 

How do jazz soloists organize their ideas, their instrument, and their ears, when improvising? How do they simultaneously keep track of so many factors (chords, melodies, technique, etc.), while maintaining a relaxed, easy-going feeling in their playing? Come with Mike as he looks 'behind the curtain' on some of the great solos in the history of jazz guitar by masters like Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, Jim Hall and Grant Green, pointing out what makes their music work so well. Then work through the exercises that will help put these concepts into practice, while strengthening your technique, your theoretical understanding, your ears, and your own original musical personality. Learn the beautiful language of jazz by looking at how these masters solved the problem of spinning musical stories, seemingly out of thin air.

Advanced Comping 

—Ron Peters 

Guitar chords are more than just shapes on the fingerboard. As an accompanist you are supplying the harmonic texture of the song. This seminar is about chordal color and voice leading. Playing through common chord progressions and standards, we will learn to add harmonic extensions and substitutions to the harmony and connect the chords through proper voice leading. Other topics will include voicing type, string groupings and rhythmic placement. Learn some of the secrets that the pros use to play beyond the basic changes and make the song something special!

Fingerstyle Swing Solos 

—John Knowles 

We’ll choose some tunes and go through the process of arranging them as fingerstyle solos. We’ll explore topics like choosing guitar-friendly keys, voicing chords around melodies and bass lines, and establishing/implying groove. We’ll develop some techniques for freeing the melody from the rest of the arrangement and we’ll learn some lyrics to give our arrangements a vocal quality. I’ll provide some solos in notation/TAB that we can use for reference during the week.

Intermediate Soloing 

—Neil Fraser 

This class will explore soloing over simple blues and jazz changes, using scales, arpeggios and chord shapes to create colourful sounds. Knowledge of a major scale system and some 7th chord voicings on the top 4 strings would be helpful for this course.

Soloing from the Beginning 

—Craig McGregor 

Learn a systematic approach to jazz soloing that you can follow long after camp has ended. You'll learn two major scale fingerings and all seven diatonic Chords (maj7, min7 and min7b5) for each fingering. We'll apply patterns to the scales so you will know them on a deeper level and improve your ear/hand connection. We'll also play simple diatonic melodies by ear. Finally you'll learn to play "key center" and "arpeggio based" solos on choice standards.

Compin’ at the Savoy:
Chord Stylings for Swing Backup 

—Joe Vinikow 

You've learned some basic moveable swing chords, and are comfortable playing in a couple of flat keys. Now you're getting restless with four-to-the bar chunking. This class is a hands-on primer for passing chords, chord substitution, moving lines and other intermediate techniques for swing, jazz and western swing accompaniment. Practical chord-diagram arrangements demonstrate how to stretch out with harmonic variations that add color and drama to your playing. Examples from the classic repertoire, from Freddie Greene to the Sons of the Pioneers. Music reading not required.

Beginning Swing Style Rhythm Guitar 

—Nancy Thorwardson 

Expand your playing with this lively guitar style that sounds great with standards and western swing music. Learn swing chord forms and strum patterns, explore swing chord progressions and substitutions, and grow familiar with reading and playing from chord charts. Become a strong yet subtle rhythm guitar player, and you will be welcome in any jam session!

Smart Singer 101:
Practical Musicianship for Vocalists 

—Jennifer Scott 

This class is for the singer who wants it all! You can be more than a great sounding vocalist. We will take functional harmony and ear-training and make it accessible in five easy lessons. Over the course of the week, you will understand how to transpose a chart into your own key, figure out how to create your own intros and outros, learn songs with greater ease and understand what’s going on musically while you sing.

Your Voice, Your Instrument! 

—Karin Plato 

Learn how to protect and develop your singing voice as you learn ways to warm up, gain flexibility, develop wider range, vocal freedom and facility.

The Great Composers and Their Songs 

—Kate Hammett-Vaughan 

What makes some songs (and writers) unforgettable? In this class, you’ll learn about the lives and musical styles of some of the greatest composers of American popular song. Each day, you’ll thrill to the music of a different composer and find out what makes their songs special. We’ll workshop and then perform the timeless music of Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. A standard song will never seem ‘standard’ again! Suitable for singers of all levels. All you need to bring is your voice and your love of great music.

Swing Violin

—Paul Anastasio 

Although one generally thinks of swing music as being performed on brass and woodwinds, the violin can swing with the best of them. Paul will share what he learned directly from Joe Venuti, including Venuti’s ingenious fingering system, which uses the entire fingerboard and is specifically tailored for swing improvisation. He will de-mystify the elusive swing eighth note feel and show you how to combine swing eighth notes with Joe's hard-swinging off-beat bowing style. You will learn how to riff behind a soloist, Count Basie Orchestra style, and explore how to use single, double, triple and quadruple neighbouring tones to give your solos a traditional jazz, swing or bebop feel. You’ll explore syncopated rhythm as the driving force behind great solos and learn how to incorporate diminished and augmented chords and scales and the ‘real’ blues scale into our solos. The ability to read music and to play in tune using all four fingers will help you to get the most out of the class.

Mandolin Workshop 

—Bruce Clausen 

For experienced and not-so-experienced players, learn essential jazz chords and progressions, play rhythm and melody in a number of swing, jazz, and latin styles and learn to improvise using scale and arpeggio patterns. Music reading would be helpful but is not essential.

Swing Bass 

—Rene Worst 

The bass course this year will focus on the practical. We'll explore what we need to do to sound better, groove better and create a solo that "works".

Percussion 101 

—Phil Belanger 

This hands-on class will explore what it takes to play rhythms that "lock in the groove"—putting smiles on the faces of you and your band mates! We'll look at how rhythms are built over a pulse, get into beat-subdivisions, and work on exercises designed to strengthen our sense of time. You will learn the basic techniques for playing some of the most common percussion instruments—shakers, bells, tambourines, and other "toys", snare drum (using brushes and sticks), and the world of hand drums—congas, djembe, doumbeck, et cetera. We will also create some great group energy playing dynamic Brazilian and Cuban grooves. Bring your enthusiasm, instruments, and tunes that we can all listen to and play along with.

Special classes – open to all students registered at the BC Swing Camp

(note: the classes listed below take place in the late morning, following your main course;
they are open to as many participants who wish to join in; and Do Not require pre-registration)

Swing and Beyond Choir

—Brian Tate 

Lift up your voice with fellow vocal enthusiasts in exploring and performing swing, bebop, and the roots of swing: gospel, blues, African and Afro-Cuban music. All levels are welcome: music reading skills are not essential. There will be lots of opportunities for soloists.

Jazz Blues Band 

—Rueben Gurr 

This workshop will focus on blues with a swing feel. All instruments and singers are welcome. With simple, easy to negotiate charts, we will sing, play, and even compose a little through cool variations on the twelve bar form, as well as some classic jazz/blues standards. Horn charts, lyrics, harmony parts and choreography will be supplied as well, although there will be plenty of room for improvisation. Our focus will be on the groove, but soloists will have more than their moment in the sun. There will be a session on how to “swingafy” a tune and lots of ideas for those who wish to solo through the changes. All levels are welcome.

Swing Dancing for Beginners

—Kristina Olsen 

Did you know that one PE class is required at camp? Thank goodness for that dance class! Musicians are used to moving small muscle groups in precise rhythm. Come and learn to move large muscle groups in precise rhythm. We'll learn universal lead and follow techniques and try them out with swing/lindy, waltz, Cajun and Argentine tango. If you play dance music, come and learn the other side of the music by dancing to it! All levels are welcome.

Swing Dancing—Fancy Steps 

—Maggie Bretton 

Maggie will teach two classes every day — fun and useful for both beginners and dance veterans. In the mornings you’ll learn East Coast Swing, (sometimes referred to as Jive, Jitterbug, Lindy Hop, or Triple Swing) You’ll start with the basics and add new, smooth moves every day. This dance is fun and easy to learn. What’s more, you’ll get to try out your new moves at our two evening dances.

Afternoon classes will spice up your day with latin rhythms — rhumba and cha cha — taught by an expert.

Don't forget to find out about the afternoon sessions.