Dimitrios Smailis

Short Description

This research proposes the development of digital aids and user experiences for the effective teaching of jazz improvisation, specifically bebop improvisation, following the guidelines and structured work of jazz music educator Bert Ligon (1996). Bebop improvisation has been a major component of modern jazz since the 1940s. Therefore, learning the bebop language is considered a basic and important skill by the jazz community (Berliner, 2009). Bert Ligon, recognized internationally for his extensive writing and contribution to jazz music education, offered a structured way of studying bebop through which a musician can methodically approach and ultimately 'speak' the particular ' language". The research aims to produce digital aids for the effective visual and auditory demonstration of bebob melody and jazz harmony. The digital tools to be developed will facilitate easy access to information, facilitate effective transfer, minimize preparation and increase the musicality of the music lesson. Also, the proposed digital aids will offer new communication techniques between teacher and student and provide rich, graded, customized and appropriate musical material for practice. With the help of musical information retrieval techniques and machine learning, the possibility of designing innovative user experiences will be explored.