When it comes to Jazz, most people imagine instruments such as the bass, the piano or the saxophone. However, there is one fundamental aspect that is just as important: scat singing.
Jenna McLean hosted the workshop Scat Singing Fundamentals, as part of the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho on Friday morning. The workshop sought to introduce jazz musicians and attendants to scat singing.
This form of singing is very improvisational. McLean started scat singing 10 years ago while working on her undergraduate degree in jazz at the University of Wyoming. Currently, she is a freelance musician living in Colorado.
However, she said she has been unknowingly scat singing for a lot longer. She believes that scat singing is a fundamental for jazz music and was glad to have the opportunity to come to Jazz Fest and hold a workshop on it.
“I decided that would be a good topic to teach because young singers are trying to get a better grasp on it all the time,” McLean said. “It’s kind of one of the tougher elements of jazz singing for people most of the time, just improvising in general.”
She was accompanied by Reuel Lubag on the piano, Dave Bjur on the bass and Greg Williamson on the drums. She performed for the audience a few examples of scat singing techniques. She explained why scat singing is important to jazz and how it fits with the improvisation style of jazz.
“Improvisation in jazz is necessary,” McLean said. “It’s super fun to improvise as a jazz musician, and you really aren’t one if you don’t improvise. That’s what scat singing is for singers, that’s how they play the horn, so to speak. Like saxophonists or trumpet players would.”
During the workshop, members of the audience got to come up on stage and sing with the band.
Louis Sanchez, a high school senior from Manson High School in Manson, Washington, was one of the students on stage. He plays percussion instruments such as the vibraphone and xylophone. Sanchez said he had never done scat singing before.
“I think it’s really cool, it’s a niece way to branch into other types of singing,” Sanchez said. “But I know I probably didn’t sound as well as everyone else did.”
McLean hoped that the workshop helped the musicians understand how to articulate scat syllables and scat singing choices. She also hoped that it made students more confident in doing scat singing so they too can participate in an art that is a staple in in jazz music.
Ryan can be reached at [email protected].