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Learn with Anton Schwartz
LESSONS - CLASSES - WORKSHOPS
| "Anton is an exceptional player and inspirational teacher, not to mention a lot of fun! He is organized and prepared, and so well versed in so many aspects of jazz performance and education... What more could a student want in a teacher?!" |
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| -- Susan Muscarella, Director, The Jazzschool |
"Anton Schwartz is Professor Powerbar -- so much nutritional info packed into each class!" |
 --Andrea Satin, vocalist |
"Anton -- It's rare to find a teacher who really knows the territory, much less one who can teach effectively, comprehensively, and energetically. Rarer still, one who is a model to learn from. Baby, it's you! |
| --David Altschul, songwriter |
"I truly appreciate your teaching, Anton... Thanks for your ideas, enthusiasm, and leadership. I am motivated to continue working on my music." |
| --John Papini, pianist |
Anton enjoys sharing his love of the music and the craft of jazz with aspiring musicians, both recreational and professional. He is a faculty member of the Jazzschool and the Stanford Jazz Workshop, and a frequent clinician for the Brubeck Institute. He also teaches privately out of his own studio.
(To learn about Anton's credentials as a musician, visit here.)
Private
Lessons |
Anton teaches lessons out of his studio in northern Oakland, California.
He works with intermediate and advanced students of diverse instruments who have an interest in some or all of the following:
- composing & improvizing melodies
- understanding jazz music theory and putting it to use
- expressing emotions powerfully through music
- playing by ear
- fluency in the many idioms of jazz, plus funk & blues
- [for saxophonists:] saxophone technique, including sound production, articulation, altissimo, inflections & effects.
- the physics of musical sound
- efficient practice methods for a busy lifestyle
Anton particularly loves working with musicians who have studied scales and chords but are frustrated in their efforts to use those devices to make great solos.
The studio has off-street parking and is located minutes from the Bay Bridge and highways 80, 880, 580, and 24.
Lessons are normally 75 minutes long and cost $80. |
Jazzschool
Classes |
Anton is on the faculty of the Jazzschool in Berkeley, California, where he teaches
weekly classes in jazz, as well as periodic workshops (see below). Upcoming classes:
"Jazz Intensive"
(Winter 2009, Tuesdays, 4:45-6:15pm)
Do you understand lots of theory but have trouble putting it to use when you solo? Do you hear an idea when you improvize but it doesn't come out right when you play it? Find yourself playing the same phrases more often than you'd like? This fast-moving, playing-intensive class for instrumentalists and vocalists will help you turn tacit knowledge into real-world skills and reflexes, through a combination of collective exercises and games. Bring your ears and your instuments!
Prerequisites: Facility on a pitched instrument or voice; a basic understanding of jazz chord theory; ability to identify intervals by ear and play all major & minor scales easily by memory.
"Playing The Changes" - formerly "Improvising Eighth Note Lines"
(Winter 2009, Tuesdays, 8:15-9:45)
This class is designed for students who wish to sound compelling and
coherent when they play streams of eighth notes, and not just sound like
they are running scales. Through discussion and in-class performance,
students learn the idiomatic techniques of bebop, coordination of rhythm
and melody, harmonic tension and resolution, smooth transitions from
chord to chord, non linear elements and modern improvisational devices.
Prerequisites: facility on an instrument, improvisational experience and
ability to play all major & minor scales easily by memory. Open to all melodic
instruments.
"Eighth Note Lines Workshop"
(Winter 2009, Tuesdays, 6:30-8pm)
"Playing the Changes" introduces students to techniques for constructing coherent and compelling eighth note lines over chord changes. This course, the sequel, is designed for students with a solid understanding of those techniques who wish to integrate them more deeply into their improvisations. Classtime will consist mostly of drills and exercises, supplemented by periodic discussion.
Prerequisites: "Playing the Changes"
Combo: "The Art of the Ballad"
(Fall 2008, Tuesdays, 6:30-8pm)
This intermediate/advanced level ensemble performs and discusses the
classic slow songs of the jazz repertoire, focusing especially on
phrasing and feel, and the rhythmic, harmonic and technical tools they
require. Students also explore double-time feel, rubato, cadenzas, and
unconventional slow grooves.
For more information visit jazzschool.com.
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| Workshops |
Anton periodically offers special one-time seminars. Upcoming ones:
"How The Saxophone Works"
November 9, 2008, Sunday, 2pm-4pm
This workshop explores the physical aspects of how saxophones and other
woodwinds create the sounds that they do, with practical applications for
players. It's geared toward woodwind players and anyone else who is
curious to learn about the saxophone, clarinet & flute from the "inside".
Subjects will include: the size and placement of the toneholes; the physics of overtones;
false fingerings; how altissimo works; the role of the airstream. We'll try out various
techniques such as growling, harmonics and glissando, and discuss them
in light of the physics of the instrument.
For more information visit jazzschool.com.
"Get your music career on track!"
December 7, 2008, Sunday, 11am-4pm
A practical look at how to build your career as an independent artist. Whether you have you have several CDs and years of gigs under your belt or you're just getting started and have never recorded, this workshop is guaranteed to let you understand the music business - and your place in it - in ways you never had before. Subjects will include selling and distributing your music, the role of a CD, conventional and digital sales, radio airplay and promotion, getting reviews and interviews, dealing with clubowners, using the internet to build your fan base. We'll have fun while we cover plenty of territory, with lots of good anecdotes and inside information!
There will be a 30 minute lunch break.
For more information visit jazzschool.com.
"Altered Dominant and Dominant 13-flat-9 Chords - The How, When & Why of Using Them"
March 1, 2009, Sunday, 10:00am-1:00pm
These two chords provide rich colors that are essential to the palette of intermediate and advanced jazz players. This workshop takes a deep look at the chords and their accompanying scales, examining how each is constructed, *why* they are constructed that way, and how they may be used to maximal effect. Their sounds are contrasted within the context of jazz (e.g. when should one be used rather than the other?), listening to examples of their use. Additional topics include: different types of "outness"; and lydian dominant, the "sister" of the altered sound. This workshop is appropriate for students without prior exposure to the subject, as well as students familiar with melodic minor and diminished harmony who wish to deepen their understanding. Guaranteed to show you ways of thinking about these chords that you haven't seen before.
Prerequisite: an understanding of basic theory and the mixolydian scale.
For more information visit jazzschool.com.
"Sus Chords - The How, When & Why of Using Them"
March 1, 2009, Sunday, 2:00pm-4:00pm
Prerequisite: an understanding of basic theory and the mixolydian scale.
For more information visit jazzschool.com.
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Private Lessons
