This article about how to inspire your students to embrace music theory was written by Joshua Zarbo. Joshua is a musician, music studio teacher and curriculum creator. He has played on numerous critically acclaimed recordings, and taught music courses at colleges and universities in Austin, Baltimore, Nashville and New York City. Joshua is the Associate Director of Content at TeachRock, where he creates free, standards-aligned, arts-integrated resources for students, teachers and schools everywhere. Learn more on his website at https://linktr.ee/joshuazarbo.
Have you heard of James Jamerson? No? Let’s change that today. Read on to meet the legend and see why he matters in my music teaching.
Although James Jamerson was largely unrecognised for his trailblazing bass playing during his lifetime, the bass guitar instructional book Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson (1989) by Allan Slutsky changed all that…especially for me.
Inspiring Students With Unsung Heroes
James Jamerson (1936-1983) is best known as the virtuoso recording-studio bassist for Motown Records during the record label’s 1960s and early 1970s Detroit heyday.
As Motown’s bassist, Jamerson pioneered the role of the electric bass guitar in popular music through his performances on Motown’s hugely successful and influential recordings.
Now that I’m a music teacher, I have the honour of sharing my admiration for this largely unknown musical genius with my students. I hope my experience and passion will inspire my students, too – not just to a love of music theory, but to a lifelong love of music itself.
Meet the Icon
In June 1987, the summer before my freshman year in high school, I bought a used bass guitar with all the money I’d saved working odd jobs over the previous few years. The local music store where I bought it was within walking distance from my home, so I’d had my eye on that bass for a while.
The store also offered private lessons. So as soon as I bought my bass, I signed up with a bass instructor. I knew that I’d need guidance to learn the instrument. Within a couple of years of taking weekly lessons, I had the fundamentals down and I was playing in bands both inside and outside of school.
Around this time, my instructor recommended we start exploring a recently published instructional book that was being celebrated for shining a light on an iconic bass player. It was Standing in the Shadows, the book about James Jamerson!
The Music of Motown
Fortunately for me, I was well familiar and liked the music of Motown. It’s what my dad loved, and I’d hear it when he was playing Mowtown on the radio.
But like many Motown fans, I wasn’t aware of James Jamerson. And as a bass guitar student, I didn’t realise how much he shaped the role of the bass guitar.
A Supportive “Lead” Role
With Standing in the Shadows, I was soon analysing and playing the bass lines Jamerson had created and performed on so many hit songs. This proved to be crucial to my development as a bass player and, later, as a teacher.
For instance, I soon discovered that the bass can play both a supportive role in the rhythm section as well as that of a bandleader, through the choice of notes and how the bassist plays them.
Making Music Theory Real
Now, as a music teacher, I’m able to share this discovery with my students.
For example, when exploring how the bass guitar could significantly inform the sound of a song with my bass students, we listen to the tonal differences that happen when I play a C major chord in root position on a keyboard, while my students play the third (E) or fifth (G) of the chord’s triad on their bass.
Wow! Now those students knew that they were still playing the notes in the chord (i.e. not doing anything too “weird”), but the specific note they used could really alter the sound of the chord.
Then when they pair their note choices with a snappy rhythm they’ve created, my students have an ”aha” moment. They discover that something as simple as playing a non-root note over a C major chord with a groovin’ rhythm adds a richness and depth to the music they were creating.
Who knew a bit of music theory could inspire students rather than elicit moans and groans?! 😉
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A Heightened Sense of Artistry
As I moved into a career as a musician and teacher, my years of studying Jamerson’s bass lines from Standing in the Shadows provided unlimited dividends to inspire my students to love the theory, showing them it’s much more than dry music worksheets.
For example, in order to be able to play his most advanced parts beyond just robotic regurgitation, I had to master complicated rhythms that challenged my technique and stamina and perform them with feeling.
Now I’m able to bring these rhythmic experiences into a variety of settings, including my teaching.
The Recording Studio
As a performer, I’ve been able to bring those highly-developed skills into the studio and onto the stage for the artists and bands I’ve played with over the years.
Furthermore, because I understand how Jamerson contributed virtuosic performances within a popular music context, I can imbue the bass lines that I contribute to a song with a heightened sense of artistry.
The Teaching Studio
It’s fulfilling and thrilling to share that experience with students in my teaching studio. I’m able to convey with authenticity to my students the importance of striving to master bass playing fundamentals, because I know it’s the foundation for how to scale your own artistic heights in the future.
Since I’d attained a level of expertise in crafting a compelling bass line through my Jamerson studies, I’m now able to provide my student bass players with practical information they can apply when creating bass lines in their own musical endeavours.
The Legacy Endures
When I began teaching music lessons, the years of dedication in learning and playing James Jamerson’s bass lines has provided me with an authentic voice to explain to my students the necessity of establishing good practice habits.
I also use biographical information about Jamerson that I’d read in Standing in the Shadows when conveying the importance of being a part of a music community.
It’s enlightening for my students to discover that cultivating social connections with other musicians is vital to their musical development.
Leveraging My Learning
During my graduate studies in musicology, I had the opportunity to write my thesis on James Jamerson. More than 25 years after learning my first Jamerson bass line, Standing in the Shadows became a bibliographic source for an academic paper (perhaps the first!) featuring the man himself.
Devoted fans and curious internet surfers have now accessed the online PDF of my thesis, James Jamerson: From Jazz Bassist to Popular Music Icon, thousands and thousands of times in places all around the world.
In the last 25 years, James Jamerson has begun to receive the recognition he so rightfully earned and deserved. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 and received a posthumous Grammy Award in 2004.
Standing in the Shadows has continuously remained in print since its initial publishing in 1989, and has inspired generations of musicians.
It’s now often considered a rite of passage to study the book as a new bass player – a kind of sacred text. Perhaps that’s why – within the bass player community, at least – it’s earned its nickname, “The Jamerson Bible.”
What musical heroes can you share with your own students?
Tell us about it in the comments so we can give these icons the recognition they deserve.
Music Theory doesn’t have to be boring. Learn more ways to amp up the fun for everything from chords and scales to ear training on Colourful Keys’ Music Theory hub page.