Midterm Flashcards
(42 cards)
Techniques jazz performers use to modify timbre
-Quality of sound/ tone color.
-Mutes (distort sound from instrument)
-Find their own sound: Distinguished from other instruments/ performers.
(Timbre is also known as tone quality, tone color, or voice. Some of the many words used to describe the timbre of instruments include rich, bright, mellow, dark, buzzy, and warm.)
Standard instruments used by soloists
-Clarinet
-Alto and/or tenor saxophone
-Trumpet and/or cornet
-Trombone
Blue notes
-Frequencies that fall in between the standard pitches of the major and minor scales.
-May occur on the 3rd, 5th, and 7th notes of the major scale, lower pitches but not low enough to be found in the minor scale.
Triads
-The basic chord of European and American harmony.
-Consists of 3 pitches, separated by the interval of a third.
-May either be consonant or dissonant
Extended chords
-Triads with extra thirds added
-(triads to which additional pitches, or extensions have been added)
-Commonly used in Jazz
Meter
-The organization of stressed and unstressed beats into regular, recurring patterns.
-The most commonly used meter groups the beats into sets of 2 or 4; both of these are called duple meters.
Syncopation
- Accenting the weak beats (i.e., 2 and 4)
- Placing rhythms in between beats
(the practice of displacing the beats or accents in music or a rhythm so that strong beats become weak and vice versa)
Polyrhythm
-Layering multiple, independent rhythmic patterns on top of each other
- The superimposition of one rhythmic pattern on top of at least one other
- A fundamental attribute of music of African, which is organized into distinct rhythmic layers
Principal/characteristic rhythmic traits of jazz
- Syncopation*
- Polyrhythm*
- Rhythmic repetition*
- Swing style or groove
*(trait derives from African practice)
Call and response
Dialogue between:
1. A leader and a follower (1 instrument answered by another)
2. A leader and a group of followers (1 instrument answered by the rest of the band)
3. A group of leaders followed by a group of followers (trumpets answered by trombones)
Chorus
-A repeating structural unit basic to form in Jazz
-Equates to a single statement of a repeating harmonic and rhythmic pattern, usually consisting of 12-32 statements of the meter.
-Repetition of the chorus serves as the basis for improvisation in Jazz
(In a jazz performance, the form of a tune, i.e., all the chords of the tune in a predetermined sequence (such as AAB, AABA, ABAC, etc.), will be repeated over and over; each time through is called a chorus.)
32-bar popular song form
-Consists of 4 musical phrases, each made up of 8 “bars” (complete statements of the meter)
1. AABA
2. ABAC
3. AABA’
Melodic paraphrase
-Varying a known melody by
1. adding notes
2. altering the rhythms, especially in a manner that makes the melody swing.
-The melody should be recognizable because
1. soloist retains characteristic fragments of the melody
2. entire ensemble retains the basic harmonic structure
Harmonic improvisation
-Relies upon a harmonic progression rather than a melody
- Performers either play the notes in the chord, or non-chord tones consonant with the pitches of the chord (thereby creating extended chords)
(to make melodic decisions based on chords changes)
Licks
-A short recognizable melodic motif, formula, or phrase used in improvisation (often involving stringing a set of licks together)
-May be devised by the performer himself
Minstrelsy
-19th century America’s most popular form of entertainment
- Initially featured white entertainers pretending to be of African descent (blackface, African-American influences in song, dance, and humor, imitation of African-American styles of talk, movement and dance).
-Racist and exploitative
-Brought fame to African styles and ultimately created a social/economic niche for African-American musicians (with black troupes appearing by the Civil War)
The American wind band
-Used for field music and recreational listening in military, popular entertainment.
- Instruments categorized as Jazz soloists are all used in wind bands
- Drum sets essentially combine various percussion instruments used in wind bands.
- March form (AABBCCC, AABBCCDD, AABBACCDD, etc.)
Ragtime
-May be played on any instrument but stereotypically piano.
-Persistent syncopation against a metrical beat
-Duple meter
-Use of march form
Country vs. Vaudeville/Classic Blues
Country:
1. Sung by a single raspy-voiced male accompanying himself on acoustic guitar
2. Guitar is often tuned in unconventional ways
3. Guitar is often played with unconventional devices (knives and bottlenecks) which facilitate the production of slides and blue notes
Classic:
-Single female singer, with loud volume and (often) a growly timber
-Accompanied by small groups of Jazz musicians
-Use of the 12-bar Blues and other formal patterns
-Lots of call and response, typically between the singer and the instrument/s
12-Bar Blues
Harmonic Pattern
1. Each line of text lasts for 4 bars
2. 1st line of text is harmonized with tonic triad
3. 2nd line of text has subdominant triad moving to tonic
4. 3rd line of text has the dominant falling to tonic
Buddy Bolden
-The “inventor” of jazz (or at least the key figure in its development)
-A cornet player known for loud volume and innovative, personal sounds (distinctive timbre and attack)
-Played a variety of types of music
-Best known/remembered for his “hot” music
New Orleans jazz
-Soloists: trumpet/cornet, clarinet, trombone, and (originally) violin
-Rhythm section: drum set, guitar, and string bass
-Melody: originally violin played melody straight while other instruments played in ragged, later the trumpet/cornet took over the melody
-Polyphonic texture: clarinet played a faster-moving line above the trumpet/cornet melody, the trombone moved more slowly, but added decorative slides and smears.
-Collective improvisation
- Ragged rhythm (syncopation and polyrhythm)
- Forms typically derived from Ragtime but 12-bar blues pattern also used
-Played by both black and white bands
-Called Ragtime, ratty music, gutbucket music, and hot music, as well as Jazz/jass
Paul Whiteman
- Retained the rhythms and harmony of jazz, while incorporating the precision and predictability of orchestral music
- Achieved this by notating everything
- Made use of orchestral instruments
-King of Jazz, discouraged from hiring black musicians but did use some African-American arrangers
Stride Piano
-Incorporates complicated polyrhythm and intricate harmonies
-Elements of virtuosity
1. Stereotypically fast
2. Use of the full range of the piano
3. Elaborate/difficult embellishments
-Works commonly in march form
-Performers often played at rent parties
