Long Beach City College Music Department and ASB hosted a jazz workshop opened to jazz musicians of all ages and skill levels who got to learn from featured guest musicians Nicole McCabe and Logan Kane.
Every seat of room H-110 was filled with students eager to learn from the guest speakers, many of whom were Professor Patrick Sheng’s jazz students.
McCabe and Kane, who have reached musical credibility separately, have joined forces in their band Dolphin Hyper Space.
The pair began the workshop by performing an original piece written by McCabe, titled “Landscape.”
With Kane on the upright bass and McCabe on the saxophone, the two captured the audience’s attention. As soon as the performance ended, hands shot up, with students enamored with their performance, ready to learn.
The students and speakers immediately fell into a conversational rhythm, speaking the same musical language, referring to the chords and notes within each song.
When asked about their songwriting processes they both shared their different routines.
“I like to start with a bass line, I write with a mini keyboard and sing a melody first. I tend to write the bassline, melody, root note under the melody, then core quality under melody,” McCabe said.
However, Kane seems to have a more relaxed approach. “I try not to think at all. The hardest part of writing is when you think to yourself ‘I don’t like this anymore,’ it’s natural to judge your conscious choices while you’re writing, so I try not to overthink it,” Kane said.
But both of their processes share one unique quality, which is the unconscious decisions that drive their songwriting.
They feel stray notes can redirect the music, forming the final version of their tune.
To keep their high skill level, McCabe and Kane make sure to carve practice time into their daily routines, practicing no less than one hour each day.
“Consistency beats one day of six hour practice,” said Kane, reminding students that even a short amount of practice each day, is better than an entire day of practice once a week.
After the guest speakers finished their presentation, students were invited to play and receive feedback.
Students from Professor Sheng’s jazz class were put into randomized groups to see how they could improvise together.
“I want people who have never played together before…if you know tunes you get to play,” said Sheng.
Incorporating the saxophone, piano, upright bass and electric bass, students both improvised solos and played established jazz tunes.
After each performance, students received detailed feedback from McCabe and Kane, where they advised students to be more experimental in their playing, especially when they solo, encouraging them to take that time to make a piece their own.
Students were able to use this knowledge at their jazz-concert on Friday, where they performed as a part of LBCC’s Big Band.