If we trace the birth of big band jazz music we have to go back in history to the 1920’s. Jazz music probably originated in Louisiana which was then a busy port attracting people from all walks of life from the world over. This gave the musicians ready access to different forms of music. The cauldron of recipes from South American to the American blues and European classical to folk music from far flung areas saw the birth of jazz. Louis Armstrong was probably among the first to popularize jazz with his fine trumpet solos. It was obviously due to improvisation that jazz music quickly gained in popularity.

The advent of the radio gave a fresh boost to jazz music with popular jazz bands in big cities like New York and Chicago in the 1940’s. The rhythmic jazz bands ushered in the “swing era” and the big band jazz music immortalized by the likes of Parker and Gillespie. The popularity of jazz music even today is indicative of our diverse cultures and spirit of the individual. Jazz music is truly the music of soul.

Jazz music is now a part of our music scene. Though its birth was in bars you can now hear jazz music in concerts, in street festivals, in movies and in clubs. It has been accepted globally as a fine form of personalized and individualistic music. Big band jazz music is still popular with guitar, piano, saxophone, flute, keyboard, percussion instruments and the trumpet among others adding to the tempo. The immense revival in the popularity of big band jazz music is adding to the growth in the numbers of amateurs wanting to learn principally jazz piano and jazz guitar among other instruments.

For amateurs of all age groups the internet has spawned a cache of websites making available the finest online courses. These courses taught by professionals help an individual to play along video recordings of popular jazz through jazz accompaniment tracks. So the learner can be taken step by step through his popular music track with his own selection of music instruments.

No matter what your preferences are, no matter what kind of disposition you have- you simply cannot refrain yourself from being mesmerised and enticed by music. Since its inception, music has been the most loved source of entertainment and people with different tastes and likings admire several kinds of music. It has different kinds and forms. Across the world different kinds of music has evolved with the emergence of distinctive civilizations and the characteristic nature of the people in different countries etc. The influence of music can be felt in every corner of the world. Various genre of music like rock, pop, classical, jazz etc have been immensely applauded by the people. Country Music

is also well accepted and admired by the music listeners across the globe. This highly melodious and mellifluous form of music is awesomely pure and subtle. Unlike the conventional pop and metal music, this genre is known for its flawless and soft rhythms that are soothing to the ears and pleasant to the soul. Many popular artists have given amazing performances and great albums that have remarkable influences from this music. These albums have achieved admirable success and recognition from the listeners.

Country music is a remarkably enticing genre of music that focuses on the melodies and the rhythms. It is identified by its immensely mellifluous tones and upbeat numbers. It is a blend of various distinctive music forms from across the world and mainly has influences from the music that was originated in the southern parts of the United States and the region of Appalachian Mountains. Around 1920, this category rapidly evolved and gained popularity among the masses. This kind of music has its roots in the various traditional and classical types like folk music, old times music, Celtic music, gospel and the blues. In the southern United States the various ethnic groups created music of different styles and the combination of all these styles emerged as the Western Music that comprises a major part of the country and western music.

There have been a number of artists and performers who have gained immense popularity with this genre of music. Elvis Presley, who was earlier known as The Hillbilly Cat was one of the biggest pop icons in the history of music. He won recognition through his immensely admirable country music performances. He was featured on the radio program Louisiana Hayride where he used to give amazing performances based on this music. Similarly Garth Brooke is one of the most appreciated country based music artist whose albums were chart toppers. He made short debut in other genres too. This genre saw its greatest high in the year 2006 when the country albums sales increased by the 17.7 percent to a whopping 36 millions.

The country pop has its roots in the soft rock and the country-politan which emerged as a sub genre of this music in the 1970’s. It was well accepted by the wide variety of audiences during the same decade. The singers like John Denver, Glen Campbell and Anne Murray were some of the most admired artists of this genre. “RhineStone Cowboy” by Campbell is amongst the best and biggest crossover music hits. The songs in this music CD are still hummed by the teenagers and youngsters. Olivia Newton John is considered as the best female country vocal performer.

Outlaw country revolutionized this genre of music completely with the derived Honky Tonk sounds of late 1950’s. After 1935, the Western Swing Big Band leader Bob Willis used drums as the major instrument in his band Texas Playboy. The drums were readily used by the country musicians and the rockabilly groups till 1955. Later, they became significant in the country bands also. The electric guitar was used in the bands that were originated in the beginning of 1938. Arthur Smith achieved immense success with the Guitar Boogie a MGM records album that declared the beginning of guitar as the most influential instrument in the country band.

The average person considers music to be a singular language. It is one of the oldest vehicles of communication, capable of expressing emotion and often having a profound effect on its listeners. However, the ability to appreciate music in its multiple forms is often ignored. We agree that bilingual people have an advantage over those who only know one language. In October 2001, the Juilliard School of Music, renowned for its unparalleled classical instructors and performers, added jazz to its academic curriculum. The world’s finest music institution is only one of a growing number of supporters backing a combined education in both classical and jazz for children and young musicians.

To express oneself in any language, one must first understand the language phonetically (learning by ear) before learning to read and write. To read and write a language, one must be familiar with its structure. In parallel, someone foreign to a language may have a more structured and scientific understanding than a native speaker. As a child, I was always fascinated when my uncle, a doctor of linguistics, would ask me, “How do you say that in English?” He was asking how to express the language colloquially and with English as my first language, it was natural to me.

Children learn foreign languages naturally by ear. On the other hand, adults tend to learn languages logically and methodically, referring back to their native language for comparison. It is obvious which method is easier; if one is brought up in a specific culture, it is easier to learn that culture’s language via naturally rather than via studious reading. Furthermore, when one understands and grows up in their native culture, one can understand the nuances of its language. For example, English speakers have varied dialects that differ depending on geography. There are noticeable differences in dialects between people from Canada’s west coast, east coast and the prairies. They all speak the same language but exhibit nuances that are inherent within their cultural structure.

Understanding music requires a similar method. Before learning to read or sight-read, one should be familiar with pitch. However, this is rarely the case in music education where the emphasis is on reading and not listening. Both classical and jazz artists employ a musical alphabet, but they use it in different ways. Jazz is a sophisticated language that is commonly overlooked in lieu of a “traditional” classical music upbringing. Growing up as the only Korean children in school, my sister and I were told by our Grade 1 teacher not to speak Korean at home, supposedly as it would confuse our understanding of English. Nevertheless, our father spoke English to us, and our mother spoke Korean. As a result, we can both understand Korean but not speak the language. This example demonstrates why I firmly believe children must learn both musical languages – that is, jazz and classical.