Navigating the Challenges of a Community College Jazz Program

Junior and community college jazz programs offer courses that provide the means for students to explore the
genre without confronting the intense competition and comprehensive curriculum associated with a large
university jazz program. For teachers in these programs, care must be taken to provide instruction that is geared
toward each student's preparedness and helps each student meet his or her personal and/or professional goals.
Students with little or no formal training in music are commonplace in the community college jazz classroom.
Community college jazz instructors may have to deal with problems such as a multitude of players for one part,
non-traditional instrumentalists who want to play, and a lack of essential instrumentation. The lack of applied jazz
faculty is commonplace at a community college.